The Greatest Week of my Life!!!

So I have been incognito over the past week as you may have noticed (I know you didn't but humor me). I apologize, for you see, I was a busy busy man. Busy with what you might ask, well busy with just about the most awesome time you can have. I will try to remember it all and write it down for you. Forgive me if some of the details are a bit hazy....I'll put the disclaimer on it right now, there was lots of drinking.  Personally I blame the Irish, but we'll get into that in a little bit.

The Plan- After two weeks of crap to so-so times and ramen noodles or pbjs for three meals a day in Auckland while waiting for my funds transfer, I was ready to spend a little cash and see the north island before making my way to Christchurch in search of work. After some deliberation I decided the best way to accomplish this was to go on an adventure bus which would start in Auckland and take one week to find its way down to Wellington, which is located at the southern tip of the North Island. The exchange program suggested Stray Adventure Buses. I was skeptical on the whole thing at first, I had this picture in my head of me and about 20 seniors touring the sulfur pits of inner New Zealand.  So the exchange program told me I should take the free Auckland tour to decide if it was for me. As I came to find out, it was most definitely for me!

The People- One of the things they mentioned during the free Auckland tour was that a great thing about Stray was the guides really emphasized creating a group that would feel more like a family at the end of the trip, and they didn't lie!  The only way to make sure I get everyone in is a list style description of the characters, here goes:

Mombo- Sounds like an odd name I know. His real name is Mike, but Stray gives all of there guides nicknames, and I prefer Mombo to Mike anyways. Mombo is a native New Zealander, guessing he was in his mid thirties. He was knowledgeable about all things New Zealand, whether it was the Maori culture, New Zealand history, or where the best Malaysian food in Wellington is. Furthermore, Mombo did his best to make sure everyone was comfortable and got to know each other. Whether it was the speed dating game on the first day, setting up communal dinners or simply talking to someone who looked to be a little left out, Mombo made sure that by weeks end we were all good friends. Beyond how he did a good job, Mombo is just a really cool guy. Funny, social, loves to raft, pretty much the guy kicks ass and in the end he wasn't just a guide, he was a friend.

Jono & Chad- Jono and Chad were the two guys who I hung out with the most over the week. Jono is from London and Chad is from Minnesota, which made him the only other American on the bus for the first four days. Both guys are really cool and share a passion for drinking. They are a little more fond of the box wine then I am...which reminds me, I finally found a beer I like down here, It's called Mac's Hop Rocker and it is deeeeeelicious. Whether it was drinking till the wee hours, or just having fun on the bus, these guys were always a good time. Chad also was the only other guy to go caving with me, and he did a bit of skydiving as well. Unfortunately Chad left the bus at Taupo, an inland city on the North Island that's home to many fruit farmers which makes it a popular stop for backpackers who want to earn some cash working the fields, this was the case with Chad.  Jono stayed on all the way to Wellington like me.  One day, when I may have been suffering from some brown bottle flu, all Jono and I did was hang out in the hostel, play pool and talk about our respective homes and I think that might have been my favorite day of the whole trip.

Julia- Julia was a really sweet girl from Germany. She got a job working for Stray, but her trainer wouldn't be back for a week so she got to come out on the tour with us to get a feel for the company. I really liked Julia, she was very nice and always open to talk. Plus she did quite a few of the same activities as me which gave us plenty of time to get to know each other. Like Chad, Julia hopped off the bus in Taupo because she had to get back to Auckland to start work.

Ben, Liam and Phil- These three guys were all from various parts of England (couldn't tell you where though but I imagine they have no idea where Colorado is either) and were all a good time. Ben gained the dubious distinction of the first member of the bus to depart. He left us in Raglan, a surfing town on the east coast of the North Island, to ride the waves for a couple more days.  I have to admit I was tempted to do the same. Phil and Liam are still on the bus as of now, as they begin their tour of the South Island. Phil is now the famous Gum Boot throwing champion of our bus as determined by the great Gum Boot off of 09 (I was terrible at it) as well as the guy who got left behind in Paeroa while he was in the bathroom. Liam was a little more quiet then some of the other passengers, but a good mate none the less. He definitely had some classic lines on his skydiving dvd.

Jan Will (J-dub) & Tir- These two were from Holland, and could not have been a better couple. They are both nice, and funny and genuine and beautiful. Like sickly beautiful, the type of people who legitimately could take up a career in modeling if they wanted to.  Truly they are a perfect match. I enjoyed their company and their kindness.

Eimear, Felicity & Ashling- The Irish! As an innocent sheltered American man (didn't realize it till I met them) I had no chance against the whims of these three Irish lasses.  Let me tell you something, the stories about the Irish and their ability to hold their liquor...all true. Whats even more impressive is these girls could party at an incredible rate, and still fend off the many advances various passengers made on them.  Somehow it seemed every night it was one of these girls keeping me out way too late past my bed time, which led for some very hung over and tiring mornings, but once night time came again we were always out again, or staying in with booze in hand. All three were really nice girls. They were funny and I got along great with them...maybe it was because they laughed at my stupid jokes.

The Trip- Alright now for the best part, again I apologize if some of the details are a bit hazy.

Auckland- So my tour with Stray started in Auckland early last week when I did the free city tour. We went to a sacred Maori land, the Skytower and Harbor bridge. But I'm pretty sure I already wrote about that, if not all I can say is Auckland isn't that great so I'm not sweating the details. About a week later is when the actual Stray trip started. I was up bright and early (brighter and earlier than the front desk receptionist at the apartment I was staying at because they were not at the desk when I left, so I left my key on the counter and moved on, I had a bus to catch!) Around 8am I was picked up on Queen st. Mombo came out of the bus with a big smile and said "You must be Zach" Apparently I was the last passenger to pick up because once I got on, Mombo Announced "We found Zach!" everyone cheered and we were off. We drove up to the top of Mt. Eden, an extinct (I think) volcano in Auckland to take one last look at the city. We got through the business end of the trip, like how things work and hopping on and off etc. Then, much to my delight, we were off. Not long after leaving Auckland we started the speed dating game. It wasn't really speed dating, it was more talk to someone else on the bus for a couple of minutes, then switch to a new seat and talk to a new person. We did this for about a half hour and it was how I was first introduced to most everyone I have talked about. Mombo suggested that everyone pitch in 10 bucks and we all have a big BBQ which we all agreed was a good idea (which it was). While we stopped at a small veggie stand I got out to stretch my legs and Jono walked over to me and introduced himself. We had a good chat and I knew we would get along. We also stopped at a small winery along the way. It wasn't bad, very quaint. It had several different wines as well as some liquers and a fujiole cider. Fujiole (more commonly known as pineapple guava in the states) is very popular in NZ, and I picked up a bottle of the cider for the night.
Hahei- Hahei is a small beach town which would end up being our destination for the night. I had hoped I would get to do some sea kayaking but the weather was crummy for most of the day so I decided against it, only to discover that it was a very nice day in Hahei. All was not lost, the whole bus went on a walk down to Cathedral Cove, a very nice little cove with a cave that looks like an entrance to a Cathedral. Unfortunately a large amount of rock had fallen from the cave ceiling the night before so we weren't allowed to go in. The cove was nice nonetheless. A few members chose to swim in the cove, I however decided that the water was much too cold for that so I only dipped my feet in...let's be honest, it was broad daylight and the first day on the bus and I wasn't about to pull my shirt off and expose the rest of the bus to the palest skin on earth.  After exploring the cove and walking along the beach for a couple of hours I headed back to the hostel. It was pretty nice, it was kind of like a campground but with a few buildings spread across the grounds. This allowed for our bus to have our own building which was nice. Once I got back the group started to work on the BBQ. Somehow I was appointed the task of vegetarian grill master despite my affinity for meat. Also it's where we all learned that Jono is a chef and has worked in many restaurants, making him the head chef of our adventure. The meal was awesome. We had everything from sausages, steak, lamb, potatoes to salad, bread, fruit salad and ice cream. After dinner we went to a hot water beach. All you have to do is dig a big hole and hot water comes bubbling up to create a pool. Luckily when we got there, there was a pool already dug for us. However unfortunately when they say hot water beach, they mean hot! You couldn't leave your feet on the bottom of the pool for more then a couple of seconds because it would burn your skin.

Raglan- The next day we left for Raglan about 8am. We stopped to look out over the ocean and grab a few photos and then continued on. Raglan is a world renown surf spot and it didn't disappoint. I took a lesson and was able to stand up on my board within about an hour of practice. It was quite possibly some of the best fun I had. Plus Ben, Phil, Liam and Julia also came with so it was a good bonding experience. After surfing I got back to find that the members who had not hit the beach were already starting dinner. I let them cook, figuring there were way too many people in the kitchen and I could just do dishes for my share of the work. I watched a little rugby (still trying to figure out that game) and then enjoyed some awesome rigatoni bolagnese. After dinner the partying started. I learned about four new card games while also teaching some Germans Fuck the Dealer (and much to their delight my mid-game prediction of me being the one to get fucked came true).  The hostel we were at had a barn that was a good bit away from where the rooms were.  Around ten we went up there to keep partying. I think it was right around this time that Jono told me he had finally wanted to smoke a spliff. Now I'm not typically a tobacco product smoker but fuck it, I'm in New Zealand. It was really cool to get to party with the whole bus, everyone was having a good time and whether it was 6 way ping pong, Chad's borderline creepy staring contest with every girl on the bus or the sting pong it was a good time. Some people stayed up till the early morning (insert Irish girl reference here) but after a second spliff I hit the hay around 2 in the morning.

Waitomo- Our destination for the next night was Maketu, an inland Maori tourist attraction, but we first had to stop off at Waitomo to check out the caves. After we finally got Felicity out of bed we headed off. At first I had planned on going on the blackwater rafting trip but after reading about it, it sounded more like blackwater tubing down the lazy river (for those of you who don't know, blackwater rafting is any rafting which takes place in a cave.) I instead opted for some rappelling, or at least that's what I thought I was signing up for. As it turns out I did sign up for rappelling, but down some cliffs in caves with waterfalls. We didn't rappelle behind the waterfalls, or to the side of them. Oh no, we rappelled straight down the middle of them. After going down three cliffs we crawled around in the river for a couple hours.  The river was what had carved the cave in the rock. We also took a look at some glowworms which are little worms who live for about 9 months and put off a small glow to attract bugs which they can eat. Then we had to get back out of the cave which required a bit of climbing. At one point we were given the option of either climbing a ladder or climbing directly up the rock face, which of course had a waterfall to go with it. Knowing that Chad (who looks like the white Dwayne Johnson) would most definitely opt to climb, I had to do the same. It was a bit of a challenge, and very very tiring. After about 4 and a half hours we emerged back out of the cave. Everyone loaded back up on the bus and we left for Maketu where we practiced a Haka, which is a New Zealand wardance of sorts, had a traditional Maori meal and slept in a big communal hut (snoring).  We also stayed up very late getting drunk and playing cards, because what doesn't say traditional Maori experience like box wine and Fuck the Dealer.

Rotorua- The next day we left for Taupo, but stopped at Rotorua on the way. A lot of people went white water rafting, but I didn't really want to spend the money on something I can do in Colorado. So I went with a few other people to Rotorua and walked around. It's a bit similar to Yellowstone. Their are a lot of sulfur pools which cause for some very stinky boiling mud and foot pools.  Pretty sure I saw at least 5 or 6 seniors taking pictures.  Otherwise the town is very touristy. I spent most of the time walking around and checking out the shops with Jono, Eimear and Ashling. It was good because we were all sober and I feel like we had a little more substance to our conversations. After a couple of hours the rafters came back and we headed off to Taupo.

Taupo- I had but one objective in Taupo, and that was to jump out of a plane. I have to admit I was pretty nervous. I don't think I said a word for the last two hours on the bus before we got there, but at least I wasn't turning green like Phil but once we arrived at the skydiving airport I was looking pretty pale. Somewhere along the way though I kind of just figured, well you're here, no turning back, might as well just not think about it. Liam, Julia, Chad, Eimear and another girl named Linda also elected to jump. After literally fifteen minutes of instruction, we hopped in the plane and took off. 12,000 feet later doors were opening and people started jumping out of the plane. I was second to last to go, but really at this point you don't have a choice. So I sat on the edge and waited for the instructor who was tandem jumping with me to leap off. As it turns out, surfing is something I think I can definitely get into...Skydiving I'm absolutely in love with! It feels like nothing I've ever done. It is the single most amazing feeling I have ever had. I could go on and on about it but really, you just have to try it yourself. Once we hit the ground everyone was excited and grinning ear to ear (even Phil). We headed back to the hostel for a night of partying, this time it wasn't like I even had a choice, the adrenaline was pumping and I couldn't sit still. Unfortunately we had a very early departure time, and while I tried to get to bed early it didn't happen, besides it was Chad's last night with us and we had to send him off properly. I was rather lucky to even find (well stumble) my way back to the hostel.  Seriously, I'm sitting here now writing this and just starting to realize how close I was to becoming completely lost in a country across the globe because I was too drunk to remember where my hostel was.

Tongariro- This time it was my turn to hold up the bus. We were scheduled to depart at 6:30, and I awoke to banging on my door around 6:35. So no shower and still drunk, I hopped on the bus. At 8:30 we made it to the point where the Tongariro Crossing starts. I had fully intended on going on this hike up to Mt. Ruahape, a volcano more commonly known as Mount Doom from the Lord of the Rings movies, but at 8:30 and hungover, 7 hour hikes in below freezing temperatures at the summit just don't sound appealing. A few of us (the Irish girls, Jono, J-dub, Tir and one Canadian girl who was very hungover as well) just went to the hostel. In all honesty it was what I needed. A day in a cozy hostel to rest and relax was right up my alley. It also gave me sometime to get to know J-dub and Tir better. Around midday Jono and I went over to the bar and shot some pool. I also got to catch some basketball, no Nuggets (Bulls/Celtics) but it was nice to get a little taste of home. The hostel we were in was really nice. It's actually more of a hotel and it came with a bar/cafe which means someone else got to prepare my meals for the first time on the trip. That night I took it easy, had only two beers, watched the first half of the All Blacks rugby game and went to bed.

Wellington- The next morning we headed off for Wellington. We stopped to look at a waterfall (the name fails me at the moment) on the Waitomo river. It was pretty sweet. We also had our Gum Boot throwing competition and stopped at this massive playground/ low ropes course. Then we got to Wellington which sits at the southern tip of the North Island and is the capital of New Zealand. We headed up Mt. Victoria to take some pictures and then went to the museum which was really interesting. This was the final stop for most of us. Mombo said we should all go out to this Malaysian cafe, and it was really really good, at least it was to me...can't really claim any Malaysian cuisine expertise. After that we hit the bars for one last night partying together. Thanks to our multi-national team we ended up winning trivia at the hostel bar, though my team mates were quite disappointed I didn't know how old Barack Obama is. So we enjoyed some free drinks and shots and then hit up another bar. I also learned a new pick-up line which I jokingly used on Eimear, and luckily she laughed and didn't slap me. It was a good time, but bittersweet since I knew that the next day I would be leaving them all behind. The next morning, the few of us taking the ferry to the South Island headed out at 6:30 am. I left the North Island for the forseeable future. At the bus station on the South Island I said my goodbyes to the few remaining members of the Stray bus and hopped on a regular bus headed to Christchurch where I arrived around 6:30 at night and have been writing this ridiculously long blog post, plus trying to get all of these pictures uploaded ever since.

This was a week I will never forget, and I am now so motivated to get a job and save up so I can do a south island tour with Stray later on in the year. I think the main thing I have learned from this week is this:
Backpacking alone in a foreign country is a double edged sword, you make friends so fast and become really close so fast because you're sharing all of these amazing experiences together, but as fast as you make your friends, you leave them even faster. Now I'm here sitting in a hostel, not knowing a single person in this city but I have the memories for a life time.  I'm bummed to be alone again, but excited for the next adventure to come.  Alright Christchurch, what are you going to show me today?