Back to Taupo

I headed back up to Taupo today alongside Simon. We are doing yet another pub quiz tonight. Should be a good time. Mike and Lisa get here on the second. Should also be a good time. I am still not suffering from sinus congestion and am trying more medicine. I am pretty sick of wasting money on medicine.

Slumdog Millionaire

Simon and I decided today was a good day to go see a movie. Neither of us had seen Slumdog Millionaire so we thought we'd give it a shot. I quite enjoyed the movie and the style in which they told the story. I recommend everyone check it out if by some chance you haven't seen it yet. I am pretty sure it's already out on DVD back home but it's still in theaters here.

Strange Club

Tonight we went to a strange bar with live music and people whose dancing led me to believe more than alcohol was being consumed. The band was very good though playing a mix of classics and newer tunes. We hung out there with Simon and his friends for a bit before they left for bed and Simon and I made our way to a sports bar. I really wish I had of had my camera on me because there was a gentleman (I say gentleman because he was dressed in a suit and tie with jacket and clearly had come to the bar from work) who was dancing around on the dance floor all by himself playing air guitar. It was quite the spectacle to watch a man likely in his late thirties to early fourties play air instruments on an empty floor by himself. After a while the bouncer ruined our fun and cooked him out around 12:30AM. After that we lost interest and decided to head to bed.

Sick again.

In typical fashion I have contracted some kind of sinus affliction. I am stuck with major sinus congestion and my left eye is sore. Good times. To the pharmacy for me.

Game Over.

Yesterday we made our way up from Kaikora today towards Picton and the Interislander ferry. The ferry ride across was mostly uneventful, Simon and I played cards for most of it and met a girl from Quebec. At one point a pod of dolphins was swimming beside the boat but I couldn't be bothered to go see them. I was more afraid the boat was going tip over from 1000+ passengers running to one side of the boat. I did get some decent pictures though of the scenery heading out in the Cook Straight from the Marlborough Sounds.

When we got into Wellington I discovered my bus driver failed to book me a room at the YHA. I also learned that the hostel was full otherwise dormwise. However the nice desk clerk was able to put me in a twin room at dorm rates because it had a view looking directly into the building next door. I took it and also got a dorm booked for five days following it (although I will have to move a few times).

The trouble didn't start until Simon and I started playing drinking games after our dinner from Dominoes. We started with Mexen and then shit-head with the loser drinking. Our game went well enough and then we met up with his friends and started another round of drinking games. Thinks start to go down hill as I was playing with rum and coke instead of beer or wine. Following the demise of my bottle of Coke I began playing with just rum. Bad things began to happen after this. I got up at one point to get some water and apparently I was over there for almost ten minutes. On the way back I knocked into a table and spilled someones soup and didn't even notice (Simon gave him some beer). After this I basically just sat at the table struggling to keep my eyes open. I eventually decided I'd lost the game and was going to bed. I had to be reminded in the morning but Simon ended up having to walk me to the elevator to make sure I made it in one piece. I spent probably 15 minutes drinking from the tap following this and then went to bed. Ten-Thirty at night. Game over.

Mussels

I changed rooms today and have a fabulous dinner of New Zealand Green Lip Mussels steamed in a white wine garlic butter cream sauce with foccacia bread on the side. I am pretty damn exited.

Kaikora and Pommie Mike's Quiz Night!

Today I rolled to Kaikora with a new bus driver named Rich. The drive to Kaikora wasn't too bad and we got in around lunch time. Along the way we stopped and saw some seals and one of the most spectacular views I have seen in New Zealand. At the view point we managed to leave some people behind which was quite entertaining.

In other going to Kaikora news I met a girl from the Yukon on the bus which was a new location in Canada to meet someone from. In addition to this I had another pie and a bottle of Coke for breakfast. When we finally got into Kaikora and checked into the hostel I decided to head into town to the butcher to get some sausages for lunch. I got some lamb sausages and had them with cheese and sweet thai chili sauce.

When I got back to the hostel I realized Simon who I had met earlier in my trip was in Kaikora as well and in my room. I shared some lamb sausages with him for lunch. I didnt do a lot during the afternoon as there wasnt much to do in Kaikora. I watched Gladiator (a movie I have never seen from start to finish) and went to some burger place with Simon for dinner.

After dinner a group of us rolled into town and shot some pool and participated in a Pub Quiz with the most entertaining looked man I have ever seen. He was an older Maori guy very short with snow white hair and big glasses. The quiz went well and everyone had a good time. My team came in 3rd but there was a four way tie for first. Good times. We are off to Wellington tomorrow on the Interislander Ferry. I am looking forward to getting back to Wellington.

Loooooong Day

Today I was up with the birds to catch the bus to Christchurch. I had a two hour stop-over in Dunedin and hung around at the train station and got some pictures. The weather in Dunedin was very nice which was a bonus given the length of my stop-over. Between Queenstown and Dunedin I grabbed a Bacon, Egg and Cheese pie and a bottle of Coca-Cola for my breakfast.

I got into Christchurch on schedule. Unfortunately it was after dark so I was quickly able to get lost and spent nearly 45 minutes in the cold carrying all my stuff around walking in circles. I finally found the YHA in Christchurch no thanks to my GPS which didnt get a signal until I found the street I was looking for. It simply served to tell me I had to walk straight for 600m. I was not impressed.

I got checked into my room and met the fellow Canadians staying in my room. I actually ended up in the same room I was in last time I was in Christchurch. After getting myself sorted and showered I began trying to hunt down Chris. I found him via Facebook at a web cafe down the road. We chatted about future travel plans and then shared a few beers with a German girl he was going to do a four day road trip with.

It was getting late and I had an early bus so we said our good-byes and I headed to bed.

On the seventh day he rested...and had a meatball sub.

Today was Sunday and rest day because I have to leave at stupid O'Clock tomorrow morning. I spent most of today baking cookies and resting up from last night. I didn't get out of bed until lunch time. I made another three batches of cookies and then spent the evening with the gang at Aspen Lodge in Queenstown. For dinner I had my usual Sunday Meatball sub from Subway. I opted against cookies today because I had so many of my own.

Tomorrow I am off to Christchurch. Hopefully meeting up with Chris.

"I went to take a piss and everyone pissed off"

Last night was amusing. After spending the whole day looking for Chris only to find out he was in Christchurch I knew the night was largely doomed to failure. Mike and I decided to go out and grab some drinks at a handful of bars and use all the 2 for 1 and other drink vouchers we'd acquired.





We started at Buffalo Club and shot pool for a bit before wandering into town and hitting Chicos and Winnies. At Winnies we saw this guy wearing jeans, a sports jacket, a fedora and some Chuck Taylors walking down the street kind of dancing. We yelled at him to moon walk and he tried but failed. Then he tried to come in to Winnie's and the bouncer shut him down. After our little outing we went back to Altitude and met up with Emma and then went to World Bar. At world bar I ran into two Canadian girls from Alberta I met on the bottom bus. Our group danced away to the tunes and had a jolly good time.





Problems started when I went to the bathroom. I told Mike I was running to the can and would be right back. Apparently he neglected to relay this information because when I came back everyone from our group was not where I had left them. I ended up finding them outside making there way towards Fergburger. I decided to pack it in and head back. iPod in hand I rolled back to YHA Lakefront.

Dice Shennanigans!

Last night was a massive improvement over the previous night. The night started off with the dice game which always to good things. We played the game with myself, Kevin, Chris, Brin and two American girls Chris introduced us to named Kirsten and Katelyn. We started off by finishing Chris and Kevin's bottle of Jagermeister. After this we finished off what little was left of the girls bottle of Southern Comfort. Then we proceed to open and finish my bottle of Mount Gay Eclipse Barbados Rum. When we moved to the Rum we moved outside and across the street from the hostel to a park on the water front.





After we finished the game due to emptying all the bottles we played on the swings for a bit and then decided to head into town. I dropped the stuff off at the hostel and joined the group. Part way into town we lost Chris and Katelyn. That's the last I saw of them for the night. Brin, Kirsten, Kevin and myself continued townwards. Brin we decided was way to intoxicated after he tried to run into the lake and we had to assist him back to the sidewalk. We devised a brilliant plan to get him into bar by having him look like he was with Kirsten. Unfortunately Brin lost the plot and just walked past the bouncer when he asked for ID and then said something unintelligible when the bouncer asked him how much he had to drink. I walked Brin partway back to the YHA and then rejoined Kirsten and grabbed drinks before hitting the dance floor.





After sometime tearing up the floor at Altitude we rocked on over to World Bar and rocked on the completely dance floor. Other people saw us dancing and within 10-15 minutes the floor was hopping all thanks to us.



I ended up dancing my way (I had my iPod) back to my hostel around 1AM. It was a solid and highly entertaining night. I was also more than capable of walking myself back.

Free Taxi!

If I said last night was a disaster I would be putting mildly. Things got off to a rocky start when Chris and I planned to meet up and play the dice with Kevin and finish off his bottle of Jagermeister. When we finally met up we discovered that the Jagermeister had been locked in the now closed kitchen. This was not a good way to start the night off. Chris, myself and Emma went back to my hostel YHA Lakefront to finish off the little that was left of my Absolut Peach instead. There was really only three or four shots left so it was quick game. After this we headed back to Altitude Bar and I got started on the Rum.



Things probably would have been fine if I had of just stuck with the Rum. Unfortunately I got roped into three rounds of Sambuca and then went back to the Rum. We eventually rolled out of Altitude Bar and off to World Bar. By this point I was pretty gone but I grabbed some more Rum at World Bar and we proceeded to dance the night away. Around 1AM the bouncer decided my dancing said that I had too much to drink and that was the end of World Bar for Ryan. Feeling clever at the time I tried to walk down one set of stairs and back up the other. Not surprisingly this did not work. Unfortunately non of my friends noticed this so as far I they were concerned I gone from being right next to them to vanishing in mere seconds.



Following my removal from World Bar I went down to Altitude but it was closed. I decided to sit on the bench in front of Altitude to kill time in the hopes that maybe my friends would walk by. Whilst I sat on the bench I spoke with a girl from Brazil for awhile and then a guy from Holland. After they left I suddenly became rapidly aware of how much I had actually had to drink. Things began to spin and I could no longer keep my head up. So I sat at a table in front of Altitude Bar with my head on the table. After awhile the bouncer from the closed Altitude Bar told me I had to go and asked if I wanted a taxi. I said I would be fine and managed to peel myself off the bench and stumble off into the night in the general direction of my hostel.



My ability to walk at this point was rudimentary at best. I still had the concept of left foot right foot. However the concept of moving forward in this fashion was lost on me. There was a lot of weaving. I covered about 10 metres in around five minutes. Mostly by supporting myself against the wall of a building before making a sudden change and moving to the other side of the sidewalk and falling into a traffic sign. At this point a police car pulled up beside me and the officer asked if I was OK. I said I would be fine and proceeded to stumble a few paces forward. He followed alongside and once more asked if I was OK and if I wanted a ride. I decided to cave because at the going rate I'd be lucky to make it to my hostel by sunrise as it was still a little under 1Km away. So in an unexpected turn of events I got a free taxi ride back to my hostel with an officer named Hugh. I am not sure where else in the world this would happen but apparently it does in Queenstown.



In other good news I am not hung-over today so perhaps it was a total disaster.

Milford Sound

Today we got awake at a semi reasonable time which was good considering what happened last night for St.Patricks Day. We boarded an already have full bus of people who had to get up at stupid o'clock to catch the bus out of Queenstown. We bussed out of Te Anau with a bus driver that just does the Milford Sound trip. His name was Crackers.





The weather turned out to be perfect. It was pouring down rain on the way into Fiordland National Park which meant there was hundreds of water falls to be seen throughout the area.



At one point during the bus ride we drove through a 1.1Km long tunnel which was pretty cool. It was one lane and had a traffic light on either side to control flow. If I recall correctly it dropped about 50m over the length of the tunnel. The bus driver played "Eye of the Tiger" as we made our descent through the tunnel.



When we got to the ferry terminal the weather had cleared up which allowed us to enjoy our boat cruise through the sound in sunshine and warmth. The first thing we did when we got on the boat was enjoy a nice hot buffet lunch. It was absolutely delicious.



After lunch I went outside and began to snap photos of all the scenery. It was hard with the number of people on the boat all being outside due to the nice weather. Before heading back we stopped at the underwater observatory which was mildly entertaining. They basically dropped a glass tank deal into the water and put planter boxes around it so corral and other sea life would grow and be visible.



On the return to the port we drove past and nearly into a 150m waterfall. It was a spectacular site and made for great pictures. It also made for great pictures with my waterproof camera.









Enjoy the photos!

St.Patricks Day in Te Anau

Today we bussed to Te Anau stopping at McCrackens rest to take inappropriate pictures. We also got to stop at a Paua Shell Factory were they turn these shells into jewelry and other clever things.

I shot some pool at a cafe we stopped at with Mike whilst enjoying the delicious sandwiches I made for myself in Invercargill. I also lost $2 on a slot machine.

For some reason we stopped at a stone whale along the way too and took pictures of us surfing on it.

Our St.Patricks evening got off to a slow start with Mike and I waiting around for Lisa and Emma to do laundry. For dinner I cooked myself a delicious sausage, cheese, sweet thai chili sauce and mustard sandwich. It's delicious smell made the room jealous.

We finally headed out into town when laundry and dinner was done and went to the bar our bus driver gave us free drink vouchers at. Mike and I had a Speights before hitting the Guinness and shooting some pool. We spent quite awhile at "The Ranch" chatting and playing pool. Lisa and I split some chocolate cake and then the girls left to go to bed. Mike and I finished up on the pool table and then headed to Bailez for "live irish music" and more Guinness on tap and to meet up with our friends.

When we got there the place was pretty dead. The live Irish music consisted of an irish guy dressed in green playing electric guitar and singing and using a Macbook Pro to run the other tracks for the songs. The crowd in the bar consisted of group of about a dozen Malaysians drinking rounds of Heineken. A handful of locals, two likely in there late fifties to early sixties - one of which was wearing a kilt, the other sweat pants and a dress shirt. Both were extremely intoxicated. At one point the kilt guy grabbed on of the young bar maids and got here to start dancing with him. Before long another bar maid came over and grabbed us and then a few of the Malaysians got involved and next thing this random assortment of people were all dancing to "Funky Town". It was really quite strange.

Following this we went a bar that actually had relatively (or atleast comparatively) normal people in it called "The Moose" it was pretty hopping and I ran into Natalie's friend Brendan and chatted with him for a bit.

Shortly after midnight Mike and decided to pack it in and head back. Along the way we ran into a really drunk Kiwi Rugby player who followed us for a bit before finally leaving us just before the hostel.

It was an interesting night to say the least. Not at all what I expected to go down on St.Patrick's Day.

Dunedin to Invercargill

We headed off to Invercargill today stopping to view Sea Lions (we even got to see two of them fight) and a light house along the way. We stopped at a small cafe/bar part way and I was able to avoid the temptation of spending money on food. We got into Invercargill quite late and spent an hour grocery shopping for the supplies required to have burgers and potato wedges for dinner. When we were checking out I encountered the most thorough credit card verification I have ever seen in my life. I had to show my drivers license and passport and they were still hesitant to take it because my signatures are different.

After dinner we spent several hours talking with this elderly Scottish lady who was quite entertaining. She had been to Victoria.

It ended up being a late night and we were all severely bloated following dinner. Tomorrow we are off to Te Anau for St.Patrick's day.

Queenstown to Dunedin and a big hill.

Today we left Queenstown and headed for Dunedin. The drive down was pretty uneventful and mostly stopless until we got into Dunedin. We stopped at Baldwin St which is supposedly the steepest street in the world. We walked to the top and then back down. It was pretty steep.

After this we drove around the town seeing the different areas. When we went through the college flats area some drunk guy threw a beer bottle at our bus. Keep in mind this person was drunk enough to do that at 4 in the afternoon on a Sunday.

We were hoping to do the Cadbury or the Speights Brewery Tour but because I was sick I didnt think I should be doing a brewery tour and the Cadbury tour was closed because it was Sunday.

We decided we would do a group dinner tonight and went to the super market to get ingredients for bangers and mash. We lucked out and then misrang in the potatoes and only charged us $0.12NZD ($0.08CAD) for about 7 potatoes. I peeled the potatoes and Mike BBQ'd the sausages whilst the girls mashed the potatoes and cooked the vegetables. It was an awesome meal and only cost $3.50NZD ($2.43CAD) each.

Another visit with the doctor

I went to the clinic today and actually got to see Dr.Simpson again. This was convenient because he already knew the score I didn't have to try and articulate what was actually wrong with me. He checked my left ear and it was fine. Sadly my right ear had not progressed at all. My right ear canal is still almost entirely sealed off due to inflammation.

He concluded that my ear canal was too sealed off for the drops to be effective so he inserted a small sponge into my ear canal which is designed to absorb the drops and expand my ear canal while also allowing the drops to get in and be effective at solving the problem.

Unfortunately now I have a sponge in my ear (it's not as conspicuous as it sounds) and officially have ZERO hearing out of my right ear on account of inorganic matter completely obstructing sound from entering my ear for processing. This is frustrating because it makes it really hard to hear people now especially if they are more towards my right than my left. In two days I also have to seek a doctor again to have the sponge removed from my ear and to check if my condition is improving. Something to look forward too.

Bus to Christchurch.

Today I left Queenstown at 7:15 and bussed to Christchurch via Dunedin. I had a few hours in Dunedin where I got some pictures of the train station and the side of the Cadbury Chocolate factory. Outside of that I sat in the sun for a bit and had a Muesli bar.

My arrival in Christchurch was less than ideal. I arrived at 7:30PM and it was dark. I couldn't find my way to the hostel because I am useless remembering directions from when I went last time. I pulled GPS out and for some reason it could not get reception which put me in a really bad mood as I walked around in circles looking for signal for half an hour before finally finding the street I was looking for. Of course as soon as I found the street my GPS found signal. Typical.

I was able to finally get in and checked in and then met up with Chris and we had a few drinks before playing cards and then heading to bed. I am hoping to go visit him in Holland at some point in the future.

Exictement in Queenstown

Yesterday I caved and went to see a doctor in Queenstown. Fortunately for me the Queenstown Medical Centre was only about a two minute walk from my hostel. I called in yesterday morning and was able to book an appointment for mid afternoon yesterday.

Here is a small biography on the Doctor that I had an appointment with.



Dr Milne Simpson:

Graduated: December 1989

Joined Queenstown Medical Centre: 1997

Post Graduation Studies: GP Primex 1996, EMST 1997, Diploma Sports Medicine 2001, ACLS 2004

Areas of Interest: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine, Plastics and Minor Surgery, Chief Medical Officer for NZ ice hockey federation, Rescue diver, Ski Instructor.

Practice Responsibilities: Information Technology.

I gave the Dr. Simpson a brief summary of my misfortunes and he looked in my ears, nose, throat and listened to my breathing. According to him my breathing was good enough. However my right ear was heavily infected and my nose was inflamed. I also had some kind of inflammation on my tonsils as well. He prescribed Amoxycillin and Sofradex. Amoxycillin is an anti-biotic and Sofradex is some kind of anti-bacterial ear drop. I have to go back to the clinic tomorrow to get a check up to see if things are working. Now you all have a basic summary of my current medical situation.

In other news I had some delicious ice cream today.

Arrival in Queenstown

I made it safely to Queenstown. I am still really sick and will probably see the doctor tomorrow if I can find one. I walked past a pharmacy on the way to the bus this morning and grabbed some new medication that will hopefully help me out. The bus ride went by surprisingly quick. I do so much bussing around now that a nine hour bus ride feels like a leisurely sunday drive. That's about all I have to report for today. I am off to shower and have a Fergburger!

Off to Queenstown

I am checking out of YHA in Christchurch this morning and will be heading to the bus stop shortly. I get to attempt a 9 hour bus ride with a really bad cold. Hopefully the bus isn't full and no one has to sit beside me. I am hoping to find a pharmacy on the way to the bus stop.

I will never forget my 19th birthday...

I had an extremely memorable nineteenth birthday full of fun and adventure. My morning started with me getting up at 6AM mostly unable to breathe due to how congested I had become during the night. I finally gave up trying to sleep and rolled out of bed to shower in the hopes the steam would help clear me up. The shower didn't do much other than wake me up a bit. After this I went downstairs to enjoy the free bagels from 7-9 in attempt to provide some semblance of reason as to why I was awake this early.

It was nice to have a bagel and cream cheese again. I have had exactly one since I left Canada. Unfortunately because of how sore my throat was as a result of my illness the bagel went down about as smoothly as gravel. I decided I would try and get some more medication and some apples. This time my goal was to get something with a de-decongestant too. I ended up buying some lemon tea stuff with paracetamol and phenylephrine in it. It cost me more than I wanted to spend on it but I was desperate. You mix the powder with hot water and it tastes bearable and soothes the throat for a bit. Unfortunately I really haven't found that it's done anything productive in terms of making me feel better or decongesting me.

As an unfortunate side effect of my sinuses being blocked my right ear is once plugged and I can hear little to nothing out of it. I have yet to come up with a solution to this outside of putting drops in it and hoping it doesn't get infected.

For lunch I worked on finishing up my groceries by having two toasted ham and cheese sandwiches with a glass of raspberry and black currant lemonade.

I spent the majority of the afternoon just killing time on my laptop and listening to podcasts. When dinner came I had two more sandwiches and a double shot of rum and coke minus the coke because someone stole it. I also had some more juice and a snickers bar. After my dinner I sat down in the lounge and had a few beers whilst listening to music. I went to the bar for about 2 minutes to see if anyone I recognized anyone. I saw no one so I left and went back to shower pack and have another drink or two.

With excitement and adventure like this it's going to be a tough score to beat next year!

Dutch Dice Drinking Game

Last night my Dutch friend Chris from Holland taught me probably the most insane drinking game I've played. The game really has no winners. You will see why when I explain it.



The game is very simple. You have two dice. A shot glass and some alcoholic beverage to put into the shot glass. The first person to roll the dice can roll up to three times in attempting to get the highest roll. The highest dice is the lead number and the other dice finishes it off. For example if you rolled a four and a two then you have rolled 42. If you roll doubles it's worth x00. As an example rolling double fives is worth five hundred. The highest you can roll is a two and one. If someone rolls 21 another shot is poured and if the second roller cannot also roll 21 then they must consume the double shot. To recap - first person has three rolls and they are aiming for the highest roll, the second person is able to roll as many times as the first person did. Should the second person roll lower then they must consume the shot. The person who consumes the shot starts off the next round.

Chris and I opted to play the game with Absolut Peach Vodka. The first go at the game lasted less than five minutes when we had the sense to take an intermission to play a slower less dangerous drinking game based off the card game "Shit Head" wherein the loser has to have a shot. We played 11 rounds (in the final two rounds we were joined by an English girl who didn't know where the Netherlands was). The split ended up being 7 shots for Chris, 5 shots for Ryan and 1 shot for Rachel.

Around 9:50 we decided we should head to basement bar to catch the end of Happy Hour and do some dancing. We stayed for awhile and rocked out before heading back to the hostel to rinse away some of our sorrows with a stiff rum and coke or two. This cheered us up a bit and we went back to basement bar for another go.

We eventually met up with Nigel and Charlotte and decided we were going to head to another bar. We started off at Shooters before deciding to go somewhere else. On our way to somewhere else I asked a random Kiwi girl where the best place to go was and we ended up going to another club with her and her friend. The club we went to was very lively and populated mostly with locals which was a change of pace. It felt like Chris and I were the only two people in the club who weren't from New Zealand. Somewhere along the line I found a metal whisk on the floor (don't ask me why there was a whisk in the club in the first place) and there now exists a great picture of me looking incredibly fierce and wielding a whisk. I will post it when ever Chris gets it up on Facebook.



Around 3:30 we gave up on this club and left to return to the hostel. We got sucked in by Burger Fuel and I got to have my first sensible burger I have had in awhile. We sat in the lounge at the hostel and ate our burgers while consuming the last of my bottle of coke. I finally went to bed at 4:41AM. Solid night.

Sick again!

Day three in Wellington. I am currently sick again. I have a sore throat, a slight cough, plugged sinuses and I cant hear out of my right ear.

Last night was fun though. I went out and had some drinks and did some dancing with friends I'd met earlier on in my trip. We tried to go to some other bars after awhile and kept getting turned down because one of the guys had shorts and flip flops on. We finally found a place that would let us in after a long conversation with the bouncer. Thirty minutes or so was spent here before we decided to go find another place. We wandered aimlessly around for awhile before going back to the bar we started at only to find it was closed.



After this we just decided to pack it in and head back to the hostel.



I slept in until 11:30 because I refused to get out of bed with a sore throat. I just lied in bed falling in and out of sleep and taking Strepsils everytime I woke up. I finally gave up after having about eight of them and still having a sore throat. I am up now and am going to go make a ham and cheese toastie!

Alone again =(

I am in Wellington now once more. The same place I was for Christmas/New Years with Jennie and Malin. I am staying at the YHA here and it's really nice. This morning my two english friends Mike and Lisa headed for the south island so once more I am on my own for a bit. I have decided I am going to spend my birthday in Wellington. Still trying to figure out what to do on the big day. It's unfortunate my birthday falls on a Monday this year. Yesterday I went to the Te Papa museum again with Mike and Lisa and spent time playing around with this interactive photo wall which was quite entertaining.

Today I am laying low as I have become a bit stuffed up from the ridiculous heat in my room at night. I also am still very sore from the abuse I took when I was rafting. bought some medication for my throat and aches and hopefully I can recover by the evening so I can go out and enjoy my Friday night.

White Water Rafting - Dancing with the devil!

Today we got up at stupid o'clock to go white water rafting in River Valley. We got on the river around 9AM and went over the basic paddling commands and then hit the water. After about 45 minutes we hit the heavy class five rapids. Our rafting team consisting of myself, Lisa, Mike, Alec, Brin and our guide Sam royally screwed up on the first set of class fives and found ourselves stuck on a rock in extremely aggressive water. One member of the team already succeeded in falling out of the raft and got quickly swept downstream where she was picked up by the rafts ahead of us using a safety line. Those of us remaining shifted to the right side of the boat with our guide as he worked to unstuck us. Lucky for me I got charged with the task of getting out of the boat onto a rock and pulling on a line to help us off whilst the guide pulled else where to dislodge us. Now as I happily followed the guides orders to get out of the the boat and hang on to this rope I figured this was going to be the beginning of the end as far as me staying out of the rapids was concerned. Getting out of the raft and standing on a little rock amidst the rapids holding onto a rope attached to the raft seemed like it could only end in disaster for me. Sadly I was correct in this prediction. We got the raft dislodged and I was told to hop back into the raft which I did. We began to move and then went down the water fall at which point myself, Mike and Brin were immediately ejected from the raft and into the water. I have no idea what happened to my paddle nor did I really care. I just remember plunging into the water managing grab a bit of air on the way down and then being fully submerged in very aggressive water. I did my best to swim upwards despite being bogged down by my jacket as it filled with water. When I finally reached the surface where I had been hoping to get some much needed oxygen I realized I was underneath the boat. I scrambled to get out from underneath and eventually managed to get briefly get myself above the surface to fill my burning lungs with less than half a breath before get smashed back under the boat. I once more found myself struggling to hold my breath and swim back to the surface. After more fighting to get air I broke the surface again in slightly calmer water and managed to keep head above this time and swam as hard and fast as I could towards our raft where everything was being pieced back together. Alec hauled me back into the boat and I took a few good deep breaths to put me back in the game. We drifted for a bit and collected our paddles that had been picked up by the other boats.

When I got chucked out of the boat I was holding on the rope on the side of it and the force was so strong I thought for sure I had dislocated my shoulder as I could feel my arm and shoulder separating and was met with a really strong pain in my shoulder when I hit the water but that was the last thing on my mind at the time. Further in along in the trip I managed to slam my other should hard into a rock off a waterfall to balance the pain. I also did a number on my left hip joint from bracing in the raft.

Following this ordeal the rest of the river went well and I remained (as well as the others) in the boat at all times. A little past this we hopped out of rafts to did a rock jump into the river from about 8 metres. The rafting trip ended right in front of the lodge and we got out and had warm showers. I ate a muffin and we recanted about the day. Rafting has definately been the most exciting activity I have done in NZ.

River Valley Adventure Lodge

Today I am in River Valley. I got on the bus this morning which was nearly 45 minutes late with a new bus driver and group of people. The drive to River Valley was good fun. We made a stop at the river/waterfall where Smeagol in The Lord of the Rings catches a fish. At the waterfall we had the option to jump off an 11m ledge by the waterfall. Naturally I jumped off it twice. I even took a video the first time but it didnt turn out as well as I hoped. The pictures turned out quite nicely though. I will post them when I get them off of Mike's camera.



On the bus I decided to put my name down for White Water Rafting tomorrow and roast chicken dinner so I can eat something other than pasta for a change. I am lucky enough to be traveling with Mike and Lisa from the East As bus still. They're great fun. Mike, Chris (dutch guy I met in Whitianga) and myself along with a new guy we met named Brin spent most of the afternoon swimming in the river and jumping off rocks. We finally packed it just before six so we could get changed and head to the bar for Happy Hour and $7.50NZD ($4.82CAD) jugs of beer! We chatted over beers and then got to enjoy the delicious roast dinner. After dinner we signed on for a Pub Quiz to raise money for Cancer Research. Entry was $2NZD and our team name was "The Rock Jumpers feat. Captain Canada" It consisted of Lisa, Mike, Chris and myself. Our team absolutely dominated answering 30/32 questions correctly. Our prize for winning was two jugs of a beer and a shot each of whatever we wanted. We got two jugs off Macs Gold, three shots of Jagermeister and a shot of Baileys for Lisa.



After Mike and Lisa went to bed Chris and I proved ourselves to be the coolest guys in the bar by sitting at a table by ourselves drinking and playing Scoreblok (Dutch Yahtzee).



I am looking forward to White Water Rafting tomorrow morning!

Homestay @ Te Kaha

Yesterday we spent the night at a typical modern day Maori families house. When we first got there Mike, Simon and myself hit the water in the kayaks. We first paddled around to some secluded beaches and took pictures. Then we came back to the main beach for a bit before heading off in the other direction and just floating in the water talking about various things. After this we had the brilliant idea to attempt kayak surfing paddling in and riding the incoming waves into shore. It was a lot of fun when it worked and looked really awesome but it also had a great propensity for hard failure in the form of getting chucked out of your boat and having it land on top of you while you got dragged on the beach. All of us succeeded in drawing blood on at least one occasion. I managed to make the highlight when I was bringing out my kayak to get back into the water. I had the kayak out in about waist deep water when I realized I had it backwards. I began spinning it around at rotated it 90 degrees when a huge wave came up. I saw it way to late and accepted my fate as the kayak got lifted up and smashed into me like the fist of an angry god. Luckily for me everyone witnessed so there was no getting away it. I was more embarrassed than injured at the time but I am quite sore today.






After kayaking we hit the hot tub. The hot tub was situated right above the beach over looking the sea so we could watch the sunset from it. We took a brief intermission for dinner before heading back down to the hot tub. Most of our bus chilled out in the hot tub for hours. Eventually we were joined by two Swedish girls who'd been there for a few nights. As the night progessed we got to see the sunset and then eventually the moon set. As promised the guys from the house came down and sang us a song and then we had to sing them a song. They sang us a cultural Maori song of welcoming so naturally we responded the theme song from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air". After this we all sang as a group a cover of "Hotel California" titled "Homestay at Te Kaha" following this we sang a cover of "Hot Stuff" called "Hot Tub". The guys left us be at this point and we sat and marinated in the hot tub as one big happy family.







Slowly but surely the numbers dwindled (and the water level dropped significantly as a result) eventually leaving just myself, Mike, Swedish Lisa (not to be mistaken with Mike's girlfriend English Lisa) and Maria. The two girls offered Mike and I a beer which I accepted and so did Mike with a little arm twisting. After our beers the girls decided they wanted to go swimming in the ocean. Me being a veteran in these affairs instantly agreed and so did Mike with a little arm twisting. We made the painful journey across the rocks to the ocean which was suprisingly mild considering we'd just come out of the hot tub and it was extremely windy outside. One entertaining thing we learned quickly upon entertaining the water was that it had phospherscent algae in it which at first freaked everyone else out (except me because I already knew what it was from Paihia) when they started splashing around and the water would light up on contact. Fifteen minutes or so passed before we elected to return to the hot tub. The girls grabbed another round of beers and we resumed discussion in the hot tub. Mike and Maria discussed surfing and Swedish Lisa and I discussed books and languages. Following the next round of beers Lisa wanted to go in the ocean again. Mike staunchly refused this time and stayed back while Lisa and I went in the ocean for a second time. I did my best to explain the algae to Lisa as she still was quite freaked out by the whole concept, especially when it got in her hair. We swam around together for abut twenty minutes before heading back to the hot tub. Mike and Maria had wandered off at some point so the two of us continued to sit in the hot tub by ourselves. Around 2:30AM we finally packed it in and I agreed to go kayaking with Lisa in the morning provided she woke me up because I couldn't be bothered to set an alarm. After we got back to the room I showered and took a picture of my foot to illustrate what happens when you spend over 10 hours in the water.





This morning I was woken up as promised by Lisa but unfortunately half way through sun screening myself I was informed the kayaking was cancelled due to choppy seas. Shame, I was really looking forward to it. Now I have just finished breakfast and am working on my laptop. Today we are bussing back to Rotorua and then to Taupo where I have another night before heading south to River Valley