July 24 First stop: breakfast at a café right by our hotel. My mom and I shared a delicious orange and mango smoothie along with a tasty sandwich. We all enjoyed our brekky quite a bit. We left from there to go to Mount Manganui to hike to the summit. It was really windy and rain was blowing in our faces at the beginning, so my parents stopped to wait for Kiley and I to finish it. There were several awesome lookout points throughout the hike, and the weather got steadily better. At the top, we could see in every direction; we saw oceans, a bay, and the city we started from. It was really pretty and full of blues and greens everywhere. While on top of the mountain, someone noticed our ISU shirts and asked why we left Iowa in the middle of summer (good question! ;) On our way down, we met my parents who had climbed up farther since the weather got better. We all walked down together and left for hot water beach. The drive was curvy but beautiful and sunny the whole way until we got to the beach. Then, it started to get windy and rain. We decided to go to Cathedral Cove and walk that hike to see the beaches there instead of doing the hot water beach because it was pretty chilly. We went through the rainforest with views of the ocean most of the way. There were some nearby islands that made for some great scenery. The cove was hands down amazing. We took some awesome pictures with the cove, rocks, the beach, and waterfalls. The whole time on the beach I felt like I was on a paradise island. On the way back, we got pretty close to some mountain goats that were quite curious and photogenic. From there, we left for Auckland where our hotel was. My dad was trying to hurry so we could get the car back to the rental place before it closed, so you can imagine how the drive was. We were all pretty hungry, so we ordered some room service. While waiting for our food, my mom, Kiley, and I used some of the mud masks. They felt funny as they dried, but I guess they're good for your skin. We thought about going to the pool but decided to relax and go to bed early since we all had to catch early flights the next day. We said our goodbyes to my parents until we would see them later in Canberra, Australia.
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July 23
We got there pretty early, so we explored around the campus. Our tour started by our guide teaching us how to say a super long Maori word. Everyone that works, learns, or teaches at this “school” is of Maori decent. Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand that were originally Polynesian and left their home because of war. They crossed the ocean on double canoes and ended up in several different parts of the world. It’s amazing to think of how smart they must’ve been to follow the stars and follow the tides to find land. We went to the wood carving school and saw their current projects while learning about the tools they used to use for carving. We also saw the weaving studio and looked at students’ work with weaving and green-stone. Green-stone is a precious stone in New Zealand and is used in jewelry and art. They showed us a model of a war canoe made in battle that held 25 people and even more warriors. We went through a small model of a typical Maori village. There was a food storage building, a meeting house, a building for sleeping, and an earth oven called a “hangi.” There was a separate area for the chief and religious leader/healer because they had higher status. They showed us a silver fern which is a symbol for the Maori. It represents the birth, growth, death, and afterlife. We saw some mud pools and geysers at a lookout point. Then, we went into a nocturnal enclosure where we saw 2 Kiwi birds running around. They’re native to New Zealand but have decreased in numbers drastically in recent years due to new predators. We walked to the “hot seats” by the geysers waiting for “the indicator” to indicate that the “Prince of Whales” geyser would go off soon. The seats were hot because of the magma only 8km below us, but we didn’t get to see the geyser since it got dark. We ended at the gift shop and got some free mineral mud masks. Our next guide picked us up there and took us to see the “hangi” where our dinner was being prepared. Then, there was a welcoming ceremony where our chief had to accept the stick of friendship to show that we came in peace. After that, they did a song and dance to welcome us in. Once inside, they did more songs and dances. Some were love stories, some the women used ropes with a ball on the end, and some they used colorful sticks as instruments. Every song was in the Maori language. They invited the girls to come on stage to learn how to use the ropes with balls on one end. Kiley and I went up, and it was definitely a challenge to keep up with them. It takes way more coordination than you think. After that, they brought up the men to learn the warrior dance. They bulged their eyes and stuck out their tongues for intimidation, and of course my dad went up for that one. They showed us how they used their weapons, and then they did their closing songs. We went into another building for dinner and started off with some delicious seafood chowder. Man, that stuff was the best soup I’ve ever eaten and probably my favorite part of the meal. It was a huge buffet with seafood, meat, pasta, salad, and dessert. We all enjoyed our meals, and I ended mine with some vanilla ice cream mixed with chocolate mousse. After dinner, we left on a trolley to see the geyser erupt. They had hot chocolate with milk (is there any other way to drink it?), and we sat on the hot seats again to wait. We moved when it was about to erupt to we didn’t get soaked from the geyser. It went about 30meters high and was super loud. It was crazy to see how much pressure there was. It made me think that the whole volcano might erupt, but luckily, it didn’t (yay!). After we saw the geyser, the day at Te Puia was over. July 23 First stop of the day: some natural hot springs leading into a nearby river. We walked down to the pools wearing a variety of interesting clothing. There were definitely some stares as we got ready to get in the water. I’m assuming that most people don’t go to the hot springs in the middle of winter considering everyone walking by was wearing winter coats and pants. Nevertheless, we had a great time enjoying the hot water. There was a little waterfall that fed into the pool, and it was very peaceful and refreshing. We felt more relaxed and calm that day, but it started to rain while we were in the spring, so we had to get out one at a time and try to put on our clothes before running back to the car in the rain. When we got back to the hotel, we spent some more time in the hot pool there to enjoy it. We left for a café nearby and had a wonderful meal. I had caramel pancakes, mom got a bagel with pesto and all kinds of good stuff, Kiley got a frittata, and dad got a yummy plate of nachos. Next, we left to see Huka Falls. It was more of a passage than a waterfall, but it was mesmerizing. There was so much water crashing against rocks and splashing around. It was pretty sweet. We went to see Aratiatia Rapids after that to see flood gates open and release water through a channel. It fills up and gets more aggressive as more water is released. After the rapids. We stopped by the Lava Glass studio on our way to Rotorua. The studio was incredible. They put some of their pieces in a solution to eliminate the glossy finish and reveal a matte finish. Several of them symbolized landmarks or landscapes in New Zealand and looked even more vibrant when filled with light. They also wrap layers around their pieces to add originality. On our drive to Rotorua, we also stopped by some mud pools. They smelled, sounded, and looked disgusting. It was all gross, and yet we kept watching the bubbles explode. We saw another awesome rainbow which was an almost daily occurrence while in NZ. We arrived at the Redwood forest and found some incredibly tall, thick, red trees. We took a walk through the forest. The sun shining through the trees was lovely. We booked tickets to a Maori cultural show at a place called Te Puia for that evening. For more information on the Maori show, see my blog post called "Te Puia: Maori experience." It deserves it's own post because it was pretty awesome. After the show, we drove to Tauranga where our hotel was for the night. We all got pretty sleepy on the drive but arrived safely and fell into bed around 11:30pm. July 22
“Wake up! Wake up!” yelled our alarm that morning at 4:20am. It was time to get ready to go to the Kerikeri airport. We got there around 5:10 for our 6:45 flight thinking we weren’t that early, but check in wasn’t even open until 6am. It was a tiny airport, and our plane had propellers instead of engines. We arrived in Auckland around 7:40am to meet my parents. They picked us up to rent a car, and we left for the Waitomo Caves. We took a tour through the caves and learned about the glow worms before getting in the boat and seeing the worms. We saw some cool stalactites and stalagmites. We learned that glow worms lay around 120 eggs, but only the first one to hatch survives because they eat all their brothers and sisters so they don’t starve. Then, they grow and hang down from all these sticky strings that catch bugs so that they can eat them. Since they glow, bugs fly up to the worms thinking they’re stars in the sky at night. Then, the glow worms go into a cocoon and emerge without a mouth or stomach, so they soon die after laying their eggs. The sight of the worms was breathtaking. They were beautiful blue/green/white colored lights shining in the midst of total darkness. My eyes could never fully focus on the worms because they were constantly swaying back and forth. It was quite an experience to sit in total silence and be awestruck by the sight of those tiny worms. It’s amazing to see the things that God has created. Oh and sorry if you were expecting photos, but you have to go there to see the glow worms...no pictures allowed. After the Waitomo Caves, we ate lunch at a pizzeria and headed for the Marokopa Falls. The winding road was full of great views. The falls were roaring, steep, and surrounded by luscious rain forest. It was like a sight into another world. On our way back, we stopped by a “natural bridge” which was formed from an old cave that fell into a gorge everywhere but that spot. We went on a different path back to the car hoping to find some giant oyster that a sign talked about, but instead we got more views filled with rolling hills of unlimited shades of green. The drive to Taupo was pretty interesting with my dad driving…on the wrong side of the road…in a rental car. We made it though. We ordered some food in and went to the pool. It was naturally heated because the ground in Taupo is thermal. It was like swimming in a giant hot tub even though it was pretty chilly outside. After our wonderful, relaxing swim, we went back up to our room to eat dinner and head to bed. P.S. No pictures from me today, I let my rents take them all and left my phone in the car. July 21 Time to parasail! It was the only thing I could say to myself that convinced me to get out of bed that morning. We walked around the dock/pier area on the water until the Flying Kiwi Parasail got back from their last trip. It wasn’t windy, and it was a lovely sunny day. I had my go pro on under my helmet and videotaped the whole thing. The takeoff was a crazy feeling because the rainbow parasail blew up hugely with air and took us up high pretty fast. Naturally, once we got up, we had to sing “I believe I can fly” because, well, we were flying! It was an awesome view of the bay and the country in the distance. It was a great experience, and it felt like we were floating high in the sky. After our parasailing, we walked about half an hour to get to the Coastal Kayakers shack only to find out that there was no one there. We emailed them and got a response a few hours later saying they had rejected our booking since they were full, but we had already received a confirmation email. The plan had been to kayak to the Haruru Falls, so we decided to hike there instead. The hike was about 4 hours to get to the waterfall and back. Once we got to the trail, we had to go through a jenky gate to get to the walk through the rain forest. It was full of green foliage with awesome lookout spots on the way. We also walked on a raised path through an area of the forest with thick mud full of holes and sticks coming up. The trees drop seeds which grow into short sticks in the mud. It was a crazy thing to see that I never knew existed. We heard the falls long before we saw them, and they were amazing. I always love seeing new waterfalls because they’re all incredibly unique. A rainbow appeared out of the mist from the falls. The walk back was faster, and Kiley and I had deep life talks. Those tend to be a trend when you’re traveling and seeing new things a lot. It opens up the imagination and possibilities for the future. On our walk back to Paihia, we stopped by a cultural building where we realized we could’ve attended a performance if it hadn’t been for the mix up with the kayaking company. However, we were pretty happy about how our day turned out. We walked along the beach which was covered in shells, so we had to pick a few out. I also spotted some of my favorite flowers called "Birds of Paradise," so I had to take a selfie. Then, we ate dinner at a place called “Sauce,” and we each got some pasta. We headed back to the hostel for another early night after being exhausted from jet lag. July 20 We arrived at the Auckland airport around 9am and caught a bus to Paihia after missing our flight. We had to run a few blocks through Auckland to get from one bus to another, and we made it with 3 minutes to spare! It was about a 5 hour bus ride full of curvy roads and beautiful views. My stomach wasn’t a big fan of all the turning back and forth, but the scenery made up for it. The New Zealand countryside is full of green rolling hills, lots of sheep roaming around, cute little towns, roads along the coast of the pacific, and overall breathtaking views. We got to Paihia, and after checking in at our hostel, we left to get some dinner at Kebabulous. We ate our kebabs on rice at a picnic table in the moon light. We found a deck that overlooked the bay of islands where we could see the full moon reflecting off of the water. It was incredible, but afterwards we went to bed pretty early because we’d already been awake for about 44 hours. July 18-20
I’m not sure what day it is or what time zone I’m in, but I do know one thing. I’m on an adventure with my best friend. Sometimes the most amazing adventures begin with not the best experiences. For example…our flight to Auckland out of LA got delayed 2.5 hours. Because of this, we missed our connecting flight. There’s also the obvious uncomfortable things that go along with a long flight. Stiffness, claustrophobia, and being sleep deprived are just some of the joys that accompany traveling. Sometimes, you have to deal with those things in order to go on the adventure of a lifetime. None of those temporary struggles even matter when you compare them to the lasting friendships and memories you will make. There are so many things to see and experience in the world. Learning about and adapting to new cultures is one of my favorite things that I’ve experienced so far. During my time abroad this semester, I’ll get to do this in New Zealand, Australia, and maybe even Tasmania. Of course it’s always hard to leave home. There are family, friends, pets, and familiar routines that you have to learn to be apart from. While people are missing us back home already, we’re missing them too. However, we’re so excited to share stories, photos, videos, and new people with them when we return. I write this as we are 12 hours into our 14 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand. Knowing that in the next 24 hours I will arrive at our first destination in Paihia to start our adventure abroad is great feeling. It seems that after every semester of college, we all need some down time. Perhaps this is because we've been running on adrenaline and caffeine for all of finals week, or perhaps it's just because we've had a busy semester and need a good break. Either way, I think it's safe to say that we all need some time to simple do nothing.
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