Okay. Here we go.
Day One
The first plane ride was a pleasant short ride from Calgary to Seattle. Getting on the plane? Not a hitch! Despite our inability to properly fill out a declaration form (we actually needed help from an officer because we are so great at being adults...) we managed to worm our way onboard with plenty of time to spare (thanks to Caroline's insistence on leaving 3 hours early). The ride itself involved lots of sitting around and sleeping. Packing the night before was a brutal all-nighter involving plenty of stress and zero sleep, so you could say that lots of sleeping happened on that plane. Despite the excitment we felt, it still didn't quite feel real. So after a short 1 hour plummit through the sky, we landed in Seattle with what we thought was plenty of time to catch our connecting flight to LA. We set off to explore the amazing Seattle airport, cameras at the ready! After an hour of walking about, we realized we were cutting a little bit tight for time to board our flight, so we made our way to the gate. Upon arrival we found the gate more-or-less empty and decided to wait for the boarding call at a nearby Burger King (BK in the states is SO CHEAP!!). As we sat and ate, we expressed confusion that the plane hadn't started boarding. Suddenly it was anounced that our flight had been moved to a gate across the airport, and that they were doing final boarding call. I am not sure I have ever ran that fast in my life with poundage of luggage on my back! We arrived just as they were packing up the gate and managed to squeeze on board. Probably the most stressful moment of our trip so far!
The first plane ride was a pleasant short ride from Calgary to Seattle. Getting on the plane? Not a hitch! Despite our inability to properly fill out a declaration form (we actually needed help from an officer because we are so great at being adults...) we managed to worm our way onboard with plenty of time to spare (thanks to Caroline's insistence on leaving 3 hours early). The ride itself involved lots of sitting around and sleeping. Packing the night before was a brutal all-nighter involving plenty of stress and zero sleep, so you could say that lots of sleeping happened on that plane. Despite the excitment we felt, it still didn't quite feel real. So after a short 1 hour plummit through the sky, we landed in Seattle with what we thought was plenty of time to catch our connecting flight to LA. We set off to explore the amazing Seattle airport, cameras at the ready! After an hour of walking about, we realized we were cutting a little bit tight for time to board our flight, so we made our way to the gate. Upon arrival we found the gate more-or-less empty and decided to wait for the boarding call at a nearby Burger King (BK in the states is SO CHEAP!!). As we sat and ate, we expressed confusion that the plane hadn't started boarding. Suddenly it was anounced that our flight had been moved to a gate across the airport, and that they were doing final boarding call. I am not sure I have ever ran that fast in my life with poundage of luggage on my back! We arrived just as they were packing up the gate and managed to squeeze on board. Probably the most stressful moment of our trip so far!
Landing in LA we had a decent amount of time before our next flight, but we were taking no chances! We blew through security and arrived at our gate with plenty of time to spare, only to meet three wonderful travellers going on a similar trip! It was cool to connect with them and feel slightly less alone on this massive adventure. After a bit of walking around, some talking to our new friends, and a TON of waiting around (our flight was very late), we managed to make it onboard our 14 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand. (If you ever decide to fly to New Zealand, take Air New Zealand. The inflight entertainment is worth it alone! Plus the seats are extra comfy, with foot rests, they provide blankets and pillows, and the meals are quite tasty.) All told it was a pleasant and suprisingly short flight to Auckland, and as we landed we met another friend who shared her experiences on similar trips, and gave us some helpful advice. So at approx. 6 AM AKL time we landed, and the real adventure began!!
Day Two
Before we left we decided to go on a website called AirBnB (a site that allows people to rent rooms in their houses just like a hotel, but often far cheaper) and we rented our first week in Auckland. Probably the smartest thing we have ever done. Patrick, our host, was kind enough to offer to pick us up from downtown at 3pm, so we only had 9 hours to kill. Probably the longest 9 hours of my life. We were so tired after our flights, that we spent most of it in Subway half asleep in our chairs. It turns out that things in Auckland are incredibly expensive, but we could afford Subway. So most of our first day we simply hung around the downtown harbour area either eating Subway or staring at the multitude of boats or staring at the far off mysterious island (We now know this island is called Rangitoto and it is amazing. More on that later). Finally 3 o'clock rolled around and we met Patrick, a short, smiley frenchman with a thick accent and a charming personality. He drove us back to his home and thats where things started to get cool. Patrick lives in a peaceful home overlooking a small inlet with a beautiful view. I can't stress enough how gorgeous the view was. Just wow.
Patrick has a wife, two dogs, three cats, and three empty rooms that he rents out. Most of his tenants are from france, but we were lucky enough to be welcomed in despite our obvious englishness. However, that meant that we were definitely the odd ones out in a house that spoke french, had all books and tv in french, and even smelt and looked French. Here we were, our first night in New Zealand, surrounded by... France. A little bit unexpected, but definitely a welcome suprise. Plus the coffee. Mmmhhh that coffee! After a quick nap at the house, Patrick then showed his generousity by taking us to the supermarket where we purchased food for the first time in New Zealand. Despite being expensive, we bought enough for a weeks worth of good eating, and using our tolerance of cheap pasta alongside an amazing brand entitled "budget", we were able to keep our purchases cheap and within budget. We felt good! That night we cooked an amazing meal, and subsequently passed out. Our first night in New Zealand, and we slept a solid 14 hours. Well deserved rest!
Day Three
We woke up groggy, well-rested, and excited for our day! After a delicious breakfast, we started to decide what to do with our day. And that is where someone-who-will-not-be-named decided that the thing to do with our day was to borrow Patrick's bikes and go for a 20 km joyride to a local town named Devonport. While Devonport was amazing and beautiful and everything it was promised to be, the bike ride was... excrutiating. It turns out that Auckland (and most of New Zealand as far as we can tell) is covered in hills. And not hills like we are used to; massive, gigantic, rolling hills. Everywhere. It got to the point where we couldn't bike up the hills anymore. Our legs were dead, and all we could do was walk up the hill pushing our bikes, and then clamber on the bikes and let ourselves roll down the otherside. It took us several hours to get to that stupid, glorious town (but we saved 5 dollars in bus fare. So like... Yay...). Devonport itself was a quaint, picturesque town with a beautiful view of the bay and the boats going in and out. It is the Auckland version of Banff if you will, and was quite amazing to be there. I think that town and that view is what made the trip start to seem real.
Day Four
According to Caroline, this is the day she almost died. I guess the hours of biking really did her in, because she complained about her legs being broken and moaned about how close she was to death. But the instant I suggested that we pay for a bus to and from the days activities, she leapt up and insisted we walk. I'm glad we're both cheapskates!
Today was Aquarium day. We had read good things about Auckland's aquarium, and assumed that since it was close to the ocean, it would have an amazing display of beautiful fish and cool marinelife. In actuality, it was marine-animal hell. It starts off with a cool exhibit showcasing equipment used to track and study penguins in Antartica, with the promise of penguins around the corner. However, when you round the corner you simply see a plain, concrete room with a fake rock in the middle. Oh yeah, and roughly 75 - 100 penguins shoved in. The room was WAY too small to hold the number of penguins there, and moreover everything was so sad and fake. It was poorly lit, and honestly the penguins looked sad. Penguins are such an amazing, beautiful creature, who are cute and silly. Penguins in this place just stand there and don't move. Even when the trainer came in to feed them, they just stood there and frequently rejected the food. It was terribly sad. Not a great first impression.
From there the aquariam didn't get much better. We went from sad penguins, to sad stingrays who swam in circles in a boring, tiny pool. There was this massive shark tunnel that had the potential to be so cool, except it was poorly lit and frankly quite boring. I definitely DO NOT reccomend the aquarium for anyone who has any compassion or cares about animals at all.
Day Five
Most of the weather we have seen in New Zealand so far has been pretty dismal and rainy, however when we woke up this morning it was terrible. Absolutely terrible. We had planned to travel to the aforementioned island of Rangitoto, and after some thought we decided to go anyways. Google said it would clear up. Google is our friend. So we took off for the ferries. A bus ride and a short walk later we were at the ferry dock ready to board. However, because of the weather the ferry was delayed slightly, and altogether it was a confusing platform. And that is why we got onto the wrong ferry.
The ferry that ran from Auckland to Rangitoto ran straight there and back. The ferry that we went on was an all inclusive harbour tour with free coffee, muffins, a guide, and it stopped at Rangitoto. Needless to say we didn't complain, simply eating our muffins and enjoying the sights. It was fantastic!
Let's talk about Rangitoto. Most of New Zealand is volcanic; either being near a volcanoe itself or simply being over a lavafield. And most of those volcanoes have been there for thousands and thousands of years. Rangitoto is an island really close to Auckland that has only been there for 600 years. That is so recent! It blew our minds... It is absolutely gorgeous, and we enjoyed a beautiful two hour walk up to the summit, eating lunch and staring into the volcanic crater at the top, and then walking back down. On the way down we passed a side path that we enevitably followed, leading us to some amazing lava caves! The entire thing looked like a shot out of the Incredibles! Cool!
Day Six
Zoo day! The Zoo in Auckland is so much more amazing than in Calgary! Not only are the animals incredibly beautiful, but the cages they are in don't seem like cages. Evrything from the large elephant roaming grounds to the huge otter pens, each animal had a special home representative of it's native enviroment, and they seemed happy and natural. As well, it was apparent that the money being invested into the Zoo was going towards the animals, and not towards the "zoo experience" if you will. The facilities for humans were definitely more neglected than the ones for the animals, which definitely felt right. The Zoo also seems to do a ton of research, and has an active pet hospital which is amazing for the little guys who need help. All around an amazing experience! I think it was this point in the trip where I realized how much walking we would do. My legs were tired...
Day Seven
And on the seventh day... we rested. And planned. And rested some more. It was technically a Wednesday, but we decided that a solid rest was in order. We got a decent amount of planning done as well, but for the most part we simply relaxed and took a break from all the walking. Then, after it got dark, in a sudden burst of energy we went kayaking in the little inlet around the house. Despite it being pitch black, it was amazingly beautiful and so cool to paddle around in the ocean. As we paddled along we suddenly heard this random musician from one of the nearby houses playing guitar and singing. So we floated along the ocean and listened the the guitarist play his music. It was a good day.
Day Eight
This was the day we said our goodbyes and left the comfort of Patrick's home. We decided that we wanted to rent a campervan and do some driving for the next bit, but the van we rented couldn't be ready for this day. So instead we booked a different AirBnB for the night and spent a large chunk of the day packing and heading over there. We stayed at an amazing place with some very welcoming hosts. The new house was by an outdoor mall, so we immediately headed over there for some much needed grocery shopping. As well, we ate out for one of the first times since we left Calgary, and it tasted amazing to not have to cook the meal for ourselves. We then headed back to the house and stayed up late talking to our hosts and swapping stories. They were closer to our age than Patrick, and it was really cool to connect with some locals on that level!
Day Nine
We woke up early and headed to the store to pick up our vehicle. We got an old but very well maintained camper van. While the final price ended up being significantly more expensive than we wanted, the ability to drive to the places you want to and go to some of the spots off the beaten trail is priceless. So we hopped into the car, started the engine, and.... realized we were on the wrong side of the road. And that Kiwi drivers are insane. Still, we managed to navigate the busy streets of Auckland, and worked our way up the coast towards our destination of Whangaparaoa. This is a little landmass that juts quite far off of the coast, and offered a spectacular sunset view of the beach and the coastline. However, it gets dark incredibly fast in New Zealand, and we lost track of time, ending up in the middle of nowhere in the pitch dark. We had intended to move to a campsite farther up the coast, but it was now 6 PM and we didn't know exactly where the campground was located. Solution: Mcdonalds Wifi! A couple of cheap ice creams later, and we were desperately trying to get the wifi to work at Mcdonalds. And it wouldn't work. Eventually we realized our campground had closed, and the next one had closed as well. And the one beside that. It was now 8 PM, most of the campgrounds had closed, and we were desperately fighting with the wifi to find a solution to our crisis. Meanwhile, on the table beside us was another woman who was also fighting with the wifi. The wifi was out at her home, so she had decided to try and finish her work at Mcdonalds, to no avail. Eventually she noticed our distress and started to help us in finding a campground. She worked for the city council, and because of this started trying to pull strings to get us into a campground nearby. This too didn't work, so she finally offered to let us park on her driveway, stating that it was "the kiwi thing to do!". It was incredibly kind and generous offer for her to make, and we had quite an enjoyable stay on her driveway.
Day Ten
We woke up quite early this morning, intending to be off this ladies driveway as soon as possible in order to not inconvience her in any way. However, just as we were leaving she appeared on the driveway insisting that we go inside and drink coffee with her. We ended up staying for several hours swapping stories and drinking delicious coffee! Just an incredible example of kindness in the world.
We took off from her house and started driving further up the coast, stopping at anything of interest along the way. We found a nice winery with sheep and sculptures, an amazing beach and marina, and are now sitting in a Burger King, using their wifi to check social media and post this blog. Lots of driving happened today, as well as lots of rain, however we are happy to be that much closer to our eventual destination of Cape Reinga. We've had an amazing first week, and we are so crazy excited for the weeks to come!
Much love,
Braeden and Caroline