North Island .... Part 1

technically done the tour now .... just catching up on things

Day 8 (I think)
This was another long travel day. We got a new tour manager in Christchurch (wahoo), and headed off for our adventure in the North Island. Along the way we hit some beautiful roads, and got out at a few gorgeous beaches. We then made it to the InterIslander (the ferry that crosses the Sound between the North and South Island). Contiki doesn’t put there busses on the ferry, they just unload one tour at the port, and then load the other tour going in the reverse direction. Our group got out, and then cleared our luggage into a van for the ferry. Then the other tour group’s manager started putting their tour’s luggage in the coach. Then for some strange reason 5 of our people on the tour starting helping this manager load the coach. I admit, that I did not help, as I was the only person who realized that the ENTIRE other tour group was standing about 10 yards away just watching their luggage get put in by another group. I was dumbfounded at how stupid these people were.

The ferry over was cool. There appeared to be 10 decks on the ship. Or as were announced by the kiwi crew … “dicks”. “Liferafts and jackets can be found on Dick 6 but not Dick 7”. The ferry had 2 movie theatres, a pub, a nice cafeteria, and some wicked Lookouts. I had bought a box of Froot Loops a few days earlier, so I went for a bowl of cereal. Just follow your Nose!

We arrived in Wellington around 5:30, and I quickly headed off in search to meet up with Thea, a friend from University. It was nice to have a break from the tour, I was going to call it an early night as I still wasn’t feeling well, but thought I would stop at the restaurant where the group was having dinner to see what was going on. I’m still quite shocked about this place. First, the bouncer looked like he was ready to tackle me when I tried to walk in ….. I then asked if “Contiki” were still there, he smiled and welcomed me in to the strip show that was going on. Even more disturbing than that were these male predators. There were about 10 to 15 guys prowling around from girl to girl, or in some cases guy to guy, or guy to girl, with the goofy “I want to have sex with you tonight” smile. I think I got hit on about 5 times, and one guy gave me his number. I only kept it because he somehow wrote it on a coupon from one free dinner at the restaurant. Anyhow, there were a few moments where we really had to push them off. At one point one got so aggressive he knocked a girl’s drink over, and shattered the glass on the table. Kiwis seem not to know that No, means NO!!!

Day 9

Sleep in !!!! Wahoo, first one so far on the trip. This day was an All Wellington affair. I met up with Thea late in the morning and she took me up the hills to her office building. She works for the Metservice (Meteorologist), so the building is in a wicked location, with awesome views. Then went down through Wellington’s Botanic Gardens, past the Beehive (Parliament Buildings), then along the Harbour for lunch watching the Dragon Boat Races. We then got tickets (scalper tickets) for a NZ vs England Cricket match. We sat with the Barmy Army. The English fans that spend their lives following the tricket. Barmy means Mental, and let’s just say that is a fair name for these fans. There were some wicked costumes: Spiderpig, batman, and robin, dresses, ginger spice, seargent peppers. They also had cheers for every situation (ex. Cute girl walking by with ugly boyfriend ….. they spontaneously break out into “Is she really going out with him?”). Most fun I’ve ever had at any sporting event. I forgot there was even a cricket match on.

Wellington was a really awesome city. I could have easily spent a week there. It’s got a small San Francisco look to it. All I need to find is an Uncle Joey and Uncle Jesse. Oh man, a beach boys song just came on at the hotel right this second. Makes me think of the Beach Boys episode. Ok, Cut it Out.

Day 10

Wellington to Taupo. Yadda yadda, driving again, stopped on the road to see Mt Doom. They love their Lord of the Rings here. Not too much exciting going on at Lake Taupo. Myself and one of the girls participated in a Lake Hole In One challenge, with a floating green. We failed. The night was filled with an Irish Pub of course. In prep for tomorrow. Then off to the Karaoke. We brought the house down performing S Club 7 …. “everybody get down tonight”.

Day 11

On to my favourite day. Or at least what was supposed to be my favourite day. Surprise surprise. We actually stopped on the 1 hour drive from Lake Taupo to Rotorua at Huka Falls. Only 5 of us actually walked out to the falls. That was strange. We then headed to the Zorb at Rotorua. Zorbing consists of going inside a plastic bubble and then rolling down a hill. You can either get strapped in, or go in with no harnassess, but lots of water. There are also two tracks, a straight downhill one, and a zig zag one. This was the #1 thing I wanted to do in NZ. Unfortunately, as I was signing up and clicking off disclaimers, you are not allowed to with heart conditions, yadda yadda, other sicknesses, or if you’ve ever dislocated your shoulder. Technically I was still allowed to go down the straight one, as long as I lay on my back and didn’t move the whole trip down, but the risk was in my own hands. Or shoulder. They also mentioned that they frequently have people dislocate their shoulders in the Zorb. Great! I decided that 8 months of pain wasn’t worth it for 5 seconds of fun.

It’s too Luge to Apologize. So after the disappointment of zorbing, some of us headed to the Luge tracks. This was absolutely the funniest thing ever. First off we painted our faces green (St Patty’s Day), and then we raced down the tracks at break neck speeds. There were a few running of people off the road, and some wicked collisions. It was absolutely awesome.

Rotorua smells like Rotten Eggs. In Rotorua, I went to get some alcohol, and got refused for the first time in my life. And that was even with my ID. I didn’t have my passport though. It may not have helped that I still had green face paint on from St Patty’s Day. Persistence paid off when I tried again, and got refused again, this time at a grocery store. Fortunately I got the lineup on my side and they caved.

The night was fun. We had a cultural Maori performance at a traditional site …. The Hotel Lobby. It was a lot of fun. Lots of yelling, and spinning sticks. I got up on stage with some of the other guys and performed the Haka. After dinner we headed for a room party, then off to the local Polynesian spas for some warm tubbage action. A very fun day.

Continuing to add photos to my photosite
http://picasaweb.google.com/australialiterally/