After the giant ferry boat KFarm and I landed in Picton for a few nights at a hostel called The Fat Cod.
I firmly believe that this is roughly where we learned to travel together efficiently.
Annoying Things LP Does According to KFarm
- I should drink good wine ONLY. Goon Lauren = Big Dumb
- I award/detract fictional points to people based off of entertaining/sucky things they say/do.
- Singing unnecessarily ALL THE DAMN TIME
- Unnecessarily random purchases - ie. "Why did you buy eggs and FORGET them at the last hostel?"
Annoying Things KFarm Does According to LP:
- She is always right, unless she's wrong...then she's right.
- She is constantly "loosing" important items in the pocket of her backpack (ie. room keys, cell phone, etc.)
- Screaming while crossing the street is totally acceptable (and leaves me on the other side of the street feeling like the mother who's child just knocked over the pyramid of cans at the end of the aisle).
- 50/50 shot that her internal GPS is right
Writing this post now, trying to compile our annoyance lists, she and I couldn't think of anything current that really and truly bothered us about the other person. In all honesty, we ended up laughing about all of the crap we just listed (especially street screaming).
That's a pretty damn good place to be at.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Fun Fact Number 6: Mary had a little lamb....and I ate it. It was delicious.
Gumboot Manor - Let's Tarantino this.
The last semblance of a thought that whipped through my head as we were leaving?
"You keep your battle cries, crazy trucker man, I'll win this war AND take your ice cream."
Midway through our escape from the north, the bus pulled over at a roadside diner called Gumboot Manor. It was an interesting place that leaves you feeling like you had suddenly become an unwilling participant in a Tarantino movie.
Climbing off the bus, you are aware of just how much noise your shoes make, crunching gravel with each step. You're a bit thirsty, as you've been on a bus for 7 hours straight drooling over mountains erupting gracefully from vast plains of sagebrush dotted with tiny purple flowers that you may never know the name of. In search of water originally, you beeline through the propped open doors into a diner straight out of a movie. Immediately, your attention is drawn to the delicious looking menu options written on the far wall.
And then I saw it. LAMB. BURGER. ::mental fist pump to the air:: Money changes hands, the deal is made and I turn in search of a fine flat surface to properly enjoy my meal and people watch from. Best to stay close to the exits. Avoid the bathrooms, that's where they always get you. Nobody wants to meet their end in a diner bathroom, its cliche.
My traveling companion eyes me warily as she walks in the room.
"Why in gods name did you buy food here, you lunatic" her eyes enunciate to me.
"Lamb. Burger." Says me.
A look of understanding and dispassionate interest sweeps across her face as she seats herself opposite of me.
As I wait patiently for my plate to arrive, my food brain reminds me that Im still thirsty as all get out. Over on a wall casually plastered with 1970's flowery wall paper, I spy the tower of highball glasses and tell-tale vase. Water. (Sidebar for my fellow Americans: here in New Zealand there generally isn't water on your table right as you sit. Usually, the waiter brings you empty highball glasses and a recycled wine bottled - the cool kind with a hinged stopper - filled with cold water. At times it's simply self service on a side table.)
Approaching the table, I notice that this particular water vase has some sort of crocheted doily like thing, edged with beads in different shades of ocean colors, placed atop it. I assume to keep flies out. Little did I know, this particular item was the catalyst for a series of events, leading directly to the best faux movie scene I've ever created in my wrinkled brain.
It happened like this:
My fingers grazed the surface of the crocheted stitching. Each fiber hooking to a cliff in my fingerprint like organic vel-cro. Simultaneously lifting a highball glass with one hand, I remove the doily apparatus from the vase. In doing so, causing the glass beads to tinkle against the thick glass neck of the vase.
It's safe to say, at this point, that the ping those beads made against the glass may just be the cleanest sound I've ever heard. They rung like a bell in a prize fight, and my imagination took off like a rocket.
Three things happen in quick succession:
1. My heart skips a beat.
2. My tongues skims quickly across my lips.
3. I lock eyes with the burly kiwi trucker across the room.
This trucker was truly a fine specimen of "I may or may not have just stabbed someone in the bathroom". Sitting in a corner booth, draped in a dingy plaid shirt, he is casually eating an ice cream cone and staring straight at me. Lets call him Harold.
I strategically return to my seat, water in hand, avoiding his gaze. Then, my darlings, the most beautiful thing happened. Tears of joy were shed, a thousand perfect sunsets blazed across the horizon like wispy fireworks, wailing babies stopped crying.
The lamb burger had arrived.
It was glorious. Perfectly toasted bun piled with crispy lettuce leaves, juicy tomato slices, onion, MINT jelly and the most adorable lamb patty ever.
Open mouth, insert burger, bite. FLAVOR explosion in mah mouth.
I went carnivore on that poor burger. Demolished it, absolutely destroyed it. Shoving the last beautiful bite into my pie-hole, I look up and see Harold staring at me again.
So we're doing this then? Game on, Harold, game on.
Begin fight scene.
The camera swoops in for a close up of his face. Harold licks his ice cream cone. Zoom in on a drop of ice cream on his dirty man beard.
In my minds eye, he takes one more lick from the ice cream cone and calmly sets it on the table. Lifting a hand, he points his grungy finger at me.
I set my water glass down on the table ::clunck:: and pick up a fork, tilting my head to the side.
Your move.
Enraged, Harold leaps from his chair and bum rushes me, arms clasped around my middle as we tumble to the ground. My fork weakly clatters to the ground. Chairs fly as we crash through the dining room and land on the order counter.
I reach behind me grasping for any kind of weaponry, success! The rack of candy finds its way to my fingers. I start throwing them rapid fire at his face. Snickers. Tim tams. Skittles. Tic tacs. Finally my hands find the holy grail of candy fire power.
Paydays.
Little bricks of pain, I hurl them at my assailant. Nailing him in the right eye, he staggers back, giving me time to recollect.
Crouching tiger style, I jump impossibly high landing on the rafters above. Harold follows suit. We then execute a complex, but perfectly framed, series of battle moves.
Knee to gut, backhanded pimp slap, half nelson, fork stab, payday to the face, haymaker, Ron Swansons, Christmas grenades, etc.
Falling back to earth, I am bleeding from a bite wound badly, but he has a fork protruding from his foot and Payday peanuts stuck in his eye. He knows that I have won, but just to drive point home, I roundhouse kick him in the jaw. Chuck Norris would be proud, if he could feel feelings that is.
I hear the bus rattle to life outside and move towards the exit, past a fetal positioned Harold on the floor. You keep your battle cries, crazy trucker man, I'll win this war AND take your ice cream.
Land of the Long White Cloud
Where to start, where to start?
Chronological is best I suppose...
Days 17-21ish
After leaving Ponsonby Backpackers (which was lovely), we stayed a night at a hostel on the other end of Ponsonby Road called Verandahs. This place is my favorite hostel by far :) It had a cute little back yard that backed up to a large tree filled park and our rooms had high ceilings, tall windows and plenty of breeze. We relaxed there the entire day, recuperating from the night before (Chinese Lantern FAIL) and formulating some sort of game plan for the next few days.
The sun was shining and then window next to my bed opened onto a sweet wrap around porch. It only seemed appropriate then, to shimmy out the window and collapse into a sun soaked chair to do some reading while KFarm slept the day away. Man-o-man did my eyes do some traveling! I finished Fifty Shades of Grey, started and finished Fifty Shades Darker (Pitiful excuses for literature, but definitely entertaining to read) and started As I Lay Dying, only to discover 3 chapters in that I had read it before many many moons ago.
Before leaving Ponsonby Backpackers we booked a trip with a "hop on, hop off" tour called Stray Bus. KFarm's initial reaction of "this sounds like a bus cruise ::skeptical face::" was all too on point. We should have listened to her gut in the first place. There was a lot of hurry up and wait, but we did see some interesting things while being herded on and off buses like tourist cattle. Chief among them: Cape Reinga, a forest of kauri trees, and the best fish and chips we've had thus far.
Cape Reinga was....perfect.
According to mythology, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga on their journey to the afterlife to leap off the headland and climb the roots of the 800 year old tree and descend to the underworld to return to their traditional homeland of Hawaiki, using the Te Ara Wairua, the 'Spirits' pathway'. At Cape Reinga they depart the mainland. They turn briefly at the Three Kings Islands for one last look back towards the land, then continue on their journey
Knowing that, you get to a place like this carrying your loved ones with you, whether you're aware of it or not. Standing on a hill top enveloped by cliffs and salty air, you look out into the vast nothingness of sea and you let them fly.
We left the cape and visited a collection of beautiful sand dunes. The lucky passengers with good knees (aka 98% of our bus) hauled themselves to the top to surf down on boogie boards. To get back to town, we drove down 90 Mile Beach (officially recognized as a road in New Zealand).
Chronological is best I suppose...
Days 17-21ish
After leaving Ponsonby Backpackers (which was lovely), we stayed a night at a hostel on the other end of Ponsonby Road called Verandahs. This place is my favorite hostel by far :) It had a cute little back yard that backed up to a large tree filled park and our rooms had high ceilings, tall windows and plenty of breeze. We relaxed there the entire day, recuperating from the night before (Chinese Lantern FAIL) and formulating some sort of game plan for the next few days.
The sun was shining and then window next to my bed opened onto a sweet wrap around porch. It only seemed appropriate then, to shimmy out the window and collapse into a sun soaked chair to do some reading while KFarm slept the day away. Man-o-man did my eyes do some traveling! I finished Fifty Shades of Grey, started and finished Fifty Shades Darker (Pitiful excuses for literature, but definitely entertaining to read) and started As I Lay Dying, only to discover 3 chapters in that I had read it before many many moons ago.
Before leaving Ponsonby Backpackers we booked a trip with a "hop on, hop off" tour called Stray Bus. KFarm's initial reaction of "this sounds like a bus cruise ::skeptical face::" was all too on point. We should have listened to her gut in the first place. There was a lot of hurry up and wait, but we did see some interesting things while being herded on and off buses like tourist cattle. Chief among them: Cape Reinga, a forest of kauri trees, and the best fish and chips we've had thus far.
Cape Reinga was....perfect.
A Little History
Cape Reinga is generally considered the separation marker between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. From the lighthouse it is possible to watch the tidal race, as the two seas clash to create unsettled waters just off the coast.According to mythology, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga on their journey to the afterlife to leap off the headland and climb the roots of the 800 year old tree and descend to the underworld to return to their traditional homeland of Hawaiki, using the Te Ara Wairua, the 'Spirits' pathway'. At Cape Reinga they depart the mainland. They turn briefly at the Three Kings Islands for one last look back towards the land, then continue on their journey
Knowing that, you get to a place like this carrying your loved ones with you, whether you're aware of it or not. Standing on a hill top enveloped by cliffs and salty air, you look out into the vast nothingness of sea and you let them fly.
We left the cape and visited a collection of beautiful sand dunes. The lucky passengers with good knees (aka 98% of our bus) hauled themselves to the top to surf down on boogie boards. To get back to town, we drove down 90 Mile Beach (officially recognized as a road in New Zealand).
Migration
After our "adventures" with Stray and my displeasure at being back in a city, we rallied to hop a bus directly from Auckland to Wellington in order to go south ASAP. The 11 hour bus ride was pretty neat actually, it was like driving through postcards. Everything is gorgeous here.
Arriving safely in Wellington (Awkward Moments), I promptly passed the hell out. I was so tired, I totally forgot to get under the damn sheets.
Fun Fact Number 5: Wellington coffee = winning.
I love this city! The whole general feel to it. It breathes and moves. PLUS there is good food EVERYWHERE.
Breakfast: Cafe Panama
Two slices of delectable french toast dusted with powdered sugar and accompanied by a sliced banana, drizzled with a none-to-stingy amount of GOOD maple syrup. Follow immediately with 20 minutes of reading/people watching while savoring a delicious cup of mochachino. (Yes, I know its fancy coffee, but the fancy coffee is so good that the normal people coffee is actually drinkable!)
Unfortunately, all of the hostels were booked up for the weekend, so we couldn't stay another night (we'll be back!)
Fortunately, we were headed to the South Island!!
Arriving safely in Wellington (Awkward Moments), I promptly passed the hell out. I was so tired, I totally forgot to get under the damn sheets.
Fun Fact Number 5: Wellington coffee = winning.
I love this city! The whole general feel to it. It breathes and moves. PLUS there is good food EVERYWHERE.
Breakfast: Cafe Panama
Two slices of delectable french toast dusted with powdered sugar and accompanied by a sliced banana, drizzled with a none-to-stingy amount of GOOD maple syrup. Follow immediately with 20 minutes of reading/people watching while savoring a delicious cup of mochachino. (Yes, I know its fancy coffee, but the fancy coffee is so good that the normal people coffee is actually drinkable!)
Unfortunately, all of the hostels were booked up for the weekend, so we couldn't stay another night (we'll be back!)
Fortunately, we were headed to the South Island!!
Interislander Ferry
- This is a big. damn. boat.
- We made friends with a rugby team from Auckland
- I spent 50% of the 3 hour trip on deck drooling over the scenery - pictures to follow soon!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Oh, the sweetest thing.
Arrived safe and sound! We succeeded in scaring the shit out of the two people who were the lucky ones picked to room with us. Our flight had been slightly delayed on take off, so we arrived around 1am New Zealand time. Trying to be quiet, I've found, is incredibly hard when you are lugging around a large backpack.
Luckily, both of the people we roomed with last night were very sweet and non-grumpy about stupid americans interrupting their sleep.
This hostel is lovely :) Ponsonby Backpackers of Auckland, lovely people and clean bathrooms! Whoop!
Currently wrapped in my kick ass sweat pants and enjoying some lovely music on my phone while I type this out. I want to sing! Being constantly in public with little actual privacy, I have been sorely missing the ability to exercise my vocal chords to something loud and beautiful (Mumford? Florence? Justin Timberlake - SIDEBAR: I am SO excited about his new album coming out in March). Singing has always been a therapeutic and barometric type activity for me. I sing the most when I am happy, and in all honesty its a tick that I use to determine how well I'm handling stress. Like a canary in a mine, when shit gets nasty I stop singing.
Its roughly 9:30am here (3:32pm yesterday at home - rocking time travel) and I have officially had a half nights decent sleep and a lovely shower. There is some sort of insect chirping outside that sounds very much like the cicadas we have in the summer at home. And I am so damn excited that I can hardly stand it :)
"The part where you let go" by Hem
Luckily, both of the people we roomed with last night were very sweet and non-grumpy about stupid americans interrupting their sleep.
This hostel is lovely :) Ponsonby Backpackers of Auckland, lovely people and clean bathrooms! Whoop!
Currently wrapped in my kick ass sweat pants and enjoying some lovely music on my phone while I type this out. I want to sing! Being constantly in public with little actual privacy, I have been sorely missing the ability to exercise my vocal chords to something loud and beautiful (Mumford? Florence? Justin Timberlake - SIDEBAR: I am SO excited about his new album coming out in March). Singing has always been a therapeutic and barometric type activity for me. I sing the most when I am happy, and in all honesty its a tick that I use to determine how well I'm handling stress. Like a canary in a mine, when shit gets nasty I stop singing.
Its roughly 9:30am here (3:32pm yesterday at home - rocking time travel) and I have officially had a half nights decent sleep and a lovely shower. There is some sort of insect chirping outside that sounds very much like the cicadas we have in the summer at home. And I am so damn excited that I can hardly stand it :)
"The part where you let go" by Hem
It's time to begin, isn't it?
There's a time for talking, there's a time for eating, there's a time for reading and sometimes those things overlap, but right now it's ok if they don't.
- KFarm
With the airplane cabin dark around me and some excellent music finally playing on my iPhone, I'm trying to take a few brief moments to collect my thoughts on the darling city of Sydney. It was lovely over all, especially Hyde Park and the Bondi to Coogee trek, but I can't put into words how excited I am to be free of the city and finally on our way to New Zealand.
Over the last few days my need to move and explore was beginning to reach stifling levels. Every time we slung our packs on it was with a resolute sigh. Traipsing all over town from hostel to hostel had started to develop a slightly sour taste in my mouth. Frankly, it reminded me quite a bit of a slice of watermelon on a hot summer night. Those first few bites are sweet enough to bring on a diabetic coma, but the closer you get to the rind, a different taste takes hold. It tastes sweet still, but with an increasing aftertaste of sour oldness. We were getting to a point where we had had too many bites of Sydney.
With great relief we hopped a train to the airport around lunch time, roughly 6 hours before our flight was due out haha. We slipped off the train and immediately broke our gear down into plane mode (which, for me, consists of removing my day pack from the top of my ever increasingly awesome pack and stuffing the remaining frame into a collapsible duffle bag). KFarm and I then proceeded to hole ourselves up in a coffee shop to zombify our brains on some tantalizingly free WiFi until our flight was ready to boogey.
Book of the Day (literally): Fifty Shades of Grey. (Yes, I broke down and bought it. And damn it all, its a crazy read. Started and finished in 24 hours haha)
- KFarm
With the airplane cabin dark around me and some excellent music finally playing on my iPhone, I'm trying to take a few brief moments to collect my thoughts on the darling city of Sydney. It was lovely over all, especially Hyde Park and the Bondi to Coogee trek, but I can't put into words how excited I am to be free of the city and finally on our way to New Zealand.
Over the last few days my need to move and explore was beginning to reach stifling levels. Every time we slung our packs on it was with a resolute sigh. Traipsing all over town from hostel to hostel had started to develop a slightly sour taste in my mouth. Frankly, it reminded me quite a bit of a slice of watermelon on a hot summer night. Those first few bites are sweet enough to bring on a diabetic coma, but the closer you get to the rind, a different taste takes hold. It tastes sweet still, but with an increasing aftertaste of sour oldness. We were getting to a point where we had had too many bites of Sydney.
With great relief we hopped a train to the airport around lunch time, roughly 6 hours before our flight was due out haha. We slipped off the train and immediately broke our gear down into plane mode (which, for me, consists of removing my day pack from the top of my ever increasingly awesome pack and stuffing the remaining frame into a collapsible duffle bag). KFarm and I then proceeded to hole ourselves up in a coffee shop to zombify our brains on some tantalizingly free WiFi until our flight was ready to boogey.
Book of the Day (literally): Fifty Shades of Grey. (Yes, I broke down and bought it. And damn it all, its a crazy read. Started and finished in 24 hours haha)
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Outstanding.
Days Four, Five and Six
I HAVE CLEAN SWEAT PANTS! Best day ever.
As I sit here and rack my brain trying to think of what in the hell we've done in the last three days, I am amazed at how fast the time has really flown by. With our tour of Sydney coming to a close, it really doesn't feel like we've been here for almost an entire week already.
Tuesday, KFarm and I went to the Sydney Aquarium, which I was overall unimpressed with. We did, however, succeed in finding Nemo.
The next day, KFarm, Linus and I hiked across town to the Sydney Bridge and proceeded to climb to the top of the bridge pylon for the best (and cheapest) view of the city.
Fun Fact Number 3: I love Gustav Holst's "Jupiter". Google that pronto.
Back at Backpacker's HQ, we added Mags and Dylan to our list of international friends gained thus far. KFarm and I convinced most of our room to stay in and play drinking games with us, mainly because we like to party in our PJ's.
Fun Fact Number 4: I'm not drinking ANYMORE on this excursion.
I had maybe 3 cups of the local boxed wine and it RUINED me. I have never in my life been so sick on wine of any sort. No bueno.
So today started off like a kick in the pants, I woke up feeling like a champion (literally. For some reason, my hangovers aren't normal, I always wake up ready to run a marathon or climb mountains.) We wolfed down a heaping pile of cereal and repacked out things to travel back across town for our last nights stay.
We checked in and I immediately started a load of laundry. I hadn't worn my sweat pants since the plane because they STUNK and all I wanted to do was take a long hot shower and climb into clean PJs.
Fast forward to now, I am currently parked on the top bunk indian style in my nice clean sweat pants with a tired smile slapped on my face.
Headed to New Zealand tomorrow!!! Let the adventures begin (again).
I HAVE CLEAN SWEAT PANTS! Best day ever.
As I sit here and rack my brain trying to think of what in the hell we've done in the last three days, I am amazed at how fast the time has really flown by. With our tour of Sydney coming to a close, it really doesn't feel like we've been here for almost an entire week already.
Tuesday, KFarm and I went to the Sydney Aquarium, which I was overall unimpressed with. We did, however, succeed in finding Nemo.
The next day, KFarm, Linus and I hiked across town to the Sydney Bridge and proceeded to climb to the top of the bridge pylon for the best (and cheapest) view of the city.
Fun Fact Number 3: I love Gustav Holst's "Jupiter". Google that pronto.
Back at Backpacker's HQ, we added Mags and Dylan to our list of international friends gained thus far. KFarm and I convinced most of our room to stay in and play drinking games with us, mainly because we like to party in our PJ's.
Fun Fact Number 4: I'm not drinking ANYMORE on this excursion.
I had maybe 3 cups of the local boxed wine and it RUINED me. I have never in my life been so sick on wine of any sort. No bueno.
So today started off like a kick in the pants, I woke up feeling like a champion (literally. For some reason, my hangovers aren't normal, I always wake up ready to run a marathon or climb mountains.) We wolfed down a heaping pile of cereal and repacked out things to travel back across town for our last nights stay.
We checked in and I immediately started a load of laundry. I hadn't worn my sweat pants since the plane because they STUNK and all I wanted to do was take a long hot shower and climb into clean PJs.
Fast forward to now, I am currently parked on the top bunk indian style in my nice clean sweat pants with a tired smile slapped on my face.
Headed to New Zealand tomorrow!!! Let the adventures begin (again).
Fit!
Holy crap! I actually had to tighten my hip belt straps on my pack this morning. We're going to pretend that's because I'm gracefully slimming down and not because the hip belt is stretching from actual use ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)