Let the journey begin!

(11.11.08 2pm Garths House, Rarotonga)
Next morning (11.1.08) I woke up at 5:30am so Kingi could pick me up for Canoe practice with the boys. When we got there I met Mark and Kerry while we waited for the other two. Originally there were 9 guys from Marks club but over time they had all dropped off except Mark and Kerry. That’s when they started recruiting guys like Kingi from other clubs for the crew. They had 5 at the time and I would make number six, enough to race iron (iron: same six do the entire race) but the race is a relay and you’re meant to have a 9man crew so you can do changes. We found out the other boys weren’t gonna make it to practice so we went out with four. We paddled for close to two hours and headed back in. They guys decided I could paddle with them at Vaka Eiva so I paid my $250 registration fee so it would all be official. Kingi dropped me off at the Wicked’s shop where Steph had just showed up. Our van came complete with storage, bed, sink, two lawn chairs, gas stove and cookware. We were able to get my name as a driver since I had my drivers license number, even though I didn’t physically have my license. Took our van and headed back to the café to figure out our game plan. Steph let me know that she was willing to let me plan out the itinerary and go where I wanted since I only had 11 days and she would be doing it all over again for the next 8 months. At the time we had couch offers for several different places all over the island. We decided to head north and then make our way back down. Our first stop would be in Whangarei with Stu and Matt. It was 190 kilometers and took us about 2 hours to get there. We saw a sign for Free Range eggs so we stopped and grabbed some on the way. When we arrived in Whangarei I called Stu to let him know were made it. He gave me directions to his house and told me where his spare key was. He told us to make ourselves at home, that he was just getting off a boat from catching crayfish and he’d be home in about an hour. He said not to worry about dinner since they had caught plenty of crayfish. I was thinking about crawfish, those little shrimp like things you catch in rivers and boil up. When he showed up I found out that he was actually talking about rock lobsters, they had 18 HUGE ones. His friend saw my Hawaiian Canoe Club shirt and told me that he had a friend, Bobby Thompson that paddles Waka Ama (outrigger canoe) as well. He called him up and told him to come over for the “Barbie”. I went to the store and bought groceries so I could make a Bacon Wrapped lobster tail with smoked gouda cheese sauce and balsamic reduction. I only made one tail and we cut it into small sections! They absolutely loved it! They used the rest of the sauce with the other tails which they either boiled or cooked on the Barbie. I got a chance to talk with Bobby who was also going to Vaka Eiva to paddle with a Masters crew from Auckland. Besides the Crayfish we also had Deer and Duck sausages, pasta salad, salad, coleslaw and potatoes. We watched the Hauka at the beginning of the All Blacks vs. Australia rugby game and then called it a night. Next morning (11.2.08) the alarm went off at 7am, I stayed in bed while Steph made omelet’s for Stu, Matt and I. Once breaky was ready I climbed out of bed. It was a rainy cold day so we weren’t in a rush to get anywhere. Our destination was Cape Reinga at the northern most point of the north island. We planned to stop at beaches along the way and a small town called Russels in the Bay of Plenty to do some Kayaking. The rain eventually stopped but it remained cloudy, windy and cold while we were in Russells so kayaking was no longer an option. We met a CS’er there who told me his friend Shelly was going to Vaka Eiva. We went to Shelly’s work to say hi but she was off that day. Her co worker called her for me and we made plans to meet her for a cup of coffee. After coffee we drove up to a look out and headed out of town. Back on the road the weather cleared so we pulled over to have a picnic in a grassy area overlooking rolling hills and pastures. Back on the road we pulled over at two beaches to stretch out and take pictures. We finally arrived at the beginning of the 90 mile beach and decided to take a detour to see what the beach was about. When we got to the beach we saw several vans and cars driving right on the beach so we decided to join them. The sand was hard packed and easy to drive on. We asked some locals how far you could drive on the beach and they let us know we could head towards Cape Reinga on the beach for about 10 k then cut back up and get back on the motorway. I got the van up to 120k/h on the beach at one point and we stopped several times for photo opts, once with a shark that had washed up on shore. Another hour drive and we found ourselves at Cape Reinga were we parked and hiked out to the lighthouse. It’s believed in Maori culture that our spirits depart from this physical plane after death through the spirit tree which is perched on the cliffs just beyond the light house. This is also the point where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea come crashing together in a violent collision. You can actually see a difference in the color of the water and movement of the oceans before they join. We had hoped to make it back down to the Waipoua Forrest to see the largest Kauri Tree: Tane Mahuta, before dark but we that no longer looked possible as sunset was only about an hour away. We decided to drive til we found somewhere to sleep and start with the forest in the morning. We finally settled in for the night in a small town called Okaihau where we found a picnic table under a tree, just like the lil blue sign by the road which we thought meant there would be a park. Next morning (11.3.08) we woke up and had breakfast then headed to Ngawha Springs (hot springs) for our morning shower. It was a 5$ fee but it was a great way to start the day. The hot springs are sulfuric but I had heard that it’s best not to rinse the water off and let it soak in the skin for a few hours. Actually the only other option was to rinse off with freezing cold water so we decided to smell like sulfur for the rest of the day. It was a rainy cold day and when we pulled up to see Tane Mahuta the sky opened up and it began to down poor. We had learned already that the weather in NZ is pretty fickle and if it’s raining now it might be sunny in 10 minutes so we decided to wait it out. With in a few minutes the rain let up. A quick 5 minute walk brought us to the Tane Mahuta where we took pictures and got back on the road. We decided we’d go to a café in Auckland and figure out where we’d head next. One the way we saw an internet café and decided to stop for lunch. After checking my emails I decided we’d go to Hamilton. I called our host there and let him know we were on our way but got his voicemail. So I left a message for him to call me back because we were on our way. When we arrived in Hamilton we still hadn’t heard from him so I called him one more time but still didn’t reach him. We decided as a last ditch effort we’d call our host in Rotorua, which was about 1 ½ hours away, to see if she could take us in. She said it wouldn’t be a problem. We stopped for dinner at a Thai restaurant so Steph could have her first experience with Thai food. The food was ok, but kinda expensive and that didn’t serve Thai Ice Tea or Thai Ice Coffee. We finally showed up at about 9pm to our hosts house. We chatted with her for a little bit but she had to get to sleep since she had work in the morning. She told us she left for work at 645am and we would have to leave at that time too.

Aotearoa (New Zealand)

(11.11.08 On board Flight 163 Auckland to Rarotonga 8pm)
Next morning (10.29.08) Jamie woke me up at about 8am and asked me if I wanted to catch a ride into the city with him. I was a little confused since I never mentioned that I wanted to get into the city. I told him I’d probably just hang out for a little bit and check emails then make my way to the city. He then let me know that CSer’s aren’t supposed to be left home alone. I got up and quickly got dressed; he was leaving in 15minutes for a meeting. We drove near the city then parked and walked the rest of the way. Jaime headed to his meeting and I found a café where I used the internet for a few hours. My friend Alessa that I paddle with at Hawaiian Canoe Club sent me an email telling me that her sister, Hina, was in Auckland because her boyfriend, Kingi, lived there and they were both paddlers as well. She gave me their numbers and told me to hook up with them. I called Kingi and he told me to stop by his work for a cup of coffee. When I arrived he was pretty busy trying to finish a project so I jumped online again til he finished up. We went to a café next to his work and joined his mother for a cup of hot cocoa. Kingi offered to let me join them for a training session on Saturday morning with his crew that was going to Rarotonga. They were also 4 paddlers short for their 9 man crew so this would be an opportunity for me to meet the other boys to see if I could join their crew. After our cocoa I took a cab back to Jaime’s house. I found a post on Couchsurfing.com from a girl that was looking to rent a car and explore the north island so I called her up. When I got her on the phone she told me she just booked a bus tour an hour before I called her! She said she could get a 50% refund if she cancelled and might be willing to do so if it seemed right. She let me know she was meeting some CSer’s for dinner later that night and I could join if I wanted and we could feel each other out. I talked to Jaime and Ben, another CS’er staying at Jaime’s house, about dinner and they decided to join. Jaime’s girlfriend Charmaine also came. At dinner we met a few other CSer’s that were staying in Auckland and I had a few minutes to talk toDaphine about possibly exploring the island together. She seemed nice, however she was French, and something about her just didn’t seem right to me. I sensed she was a lil too strong willed and maybe it would be a bad idea to travel with her for 10 days. So ultimately I told her it would probably be best if she took her bus in the morning. We returned to Jaime’s and went to sleep. Next morning (10.30.08) I slept in til around 10:30. Jaime was the only one home and we had an opportunity to hang around the house together. He was really “keen”, that’s what Kiwi and Aussies say, to get into something but I just wanted to figure out how I was gonna get out of Auckland. I had left my drivers license in Nha Trang Viet Nam, but Travis mailed it to Kingi’s house for me. I was torn on whether I should wait for it to show up or take a bus tour. I had also just booked a ticket for Rarotonga on the 11th. I figured even if I didn’t get in with Kingi’s crew I’d be able to find a crew to jump in with once I got to Raro. I spent the majority of the day on the internet searching for couches on Couchsurfing.com all over the North Island. I also borrowed Jaime’s bike and went to a meeting. Later that night there was a Couch Surfing Gathering at the Wine Cellar and Ben and I decided to check it out. When we arrived there were only about 8 people from CS there and it looked pretty lame. I sat for about 15 minutes then dug out to get some food. When I returned the bar had filled up and there were about 20 CSer’s there. I made my way around the crowd and spoke to people from Germany, Canada, NZ and Oz. I ended up meeting Steph from Canada, who had just arrived to NZ a week earlier for beginning a year long vacay. She was eager to get out and explore as was I. My only probably was I didn’t have a driver’s license. We discussed the idea of renting a car together and driving around the North Island and next thing you know we were making plans to meet the following morning to check our options for a car. Next morning (10.31.08) I woke and rode a bike to a meeting and then into town to meet Steph. When I got to her hostel I couldn’t remember her name so I had to talk someone in the internet café into letting me use their account to check an email from her so I could get her name. Once I got her name I went to the front desk but they wouldn’t give me her room number. Instead they left a note on her door for. In the note I told her I’d meet her at 2pm back at the hostel. In the meantime I rode my bike to the Police Station to pick up my passport which I had accidentally left in a cab the night before. Back at the hostel Steph rented a bike and we took off to check on Sleeper Vans. We checked 4 different places and decided to rent a “Wicked” Van for 55$ a day. I was able to talk her down to 50$ a day and give us our first day for half price. We made our reservation starting on the following day and headed to the Auckland Museum. The Auckland Museum was really well put together. They had a very large cultural exhibit representing most of the Pacific Islander cultures. There was another section devoted exclusively Maori Culture. Upstairs they had a couple war exhibits, and exhibit on volcanoes and one on Dinosaurs. We spent the remainder of the day there until they closed at 530pm. We rode back to the hostel and I went to the café to sort out couches for trip. On my bike ride to Jaime’s I saw several groups of trick or treaters walking the streets so I stopped to take my Halloween pics with them. Once back home I found that Jaime and Ben had already left for the Halloween party so I stayed home and watch a movie with his other two roommates.