Departure

People started dropping.like flies after the 16th if June starting with Sarah, one if my good friends, then two more, Dani and Tim, the following day. I wrote my last final in the 20th, and went ti get my tattoo from Arapeta at Otautahi on K road the following day. I'm glad Nick was able to get up and come with me, though I would have rathered a woman's input. He and I then met up with buds near the Ferry Building, (Cough, sneeze, laugh laugh laugh!)and Kat and Carli both ended up back at the tattoo shop to draft their own! I went with them Friday to hold Carli's hand (she was a trooper) and help Kat with the placement.

Saturday, Carli and I ventures over to Waiheke where I rented a motorcycle!!!  It was an old school 250cc Honda, but it did the job for my inexperienced self. Carli was almost not permitted too rent as she's only 19, but in the end they let her take out a scooter. The poor thing maxed out at 50kmh, so I had to constantly pull over ti let Tue build up if cars behind us to pass, but it was worth it! We had pretty good weather, it only rained long.enough for is to.go inside and grab a coffee. Then we watched an amazing sunset from Trigg Hill!

Monday Heather, Carli, Kat and I rented a small car originally destined foe Paihia in the Bay of Islands, but given the 3.5h drive ti get there, we opted foe.the closer Piha beach on the West Coast about 1 hour from the rental dealer.  We then beach hopped from Piha to Bethells (where we saw a Caution Quicksand sign!!) to Muriwai (where Colin and I hang glidded) then back to Auckland for the last PSV blowout party! Cody DJed and we didn't get broken up by Lexi!

Tuesday, Griffin, Noah, Rachel and I went for breaky/lunch at this amaZing place called the Fridge in Kingsland. I had French toast, and it came with seared bananas! The majority of PSV cleared out Tuesday night, with 2 shuttles full of.people leaving all at once, and Abe with a car-load of people! (he bottomed out at the top of the PSV entry gate with 5 people and 4 people's stuff!)  I was pretty bumbed after that major departure as I said goodbye to 2 of my closest friends. PSV was very quiet then.

Wednesday was Griffin's departure. We went for breaky at Fraser's in Mnt Eden which was pricey, but totally worth it! (I had pancakes with honey comb butter, fruit, and_____) we then wandered back to PSV for Griffin to finish packing. He left to.catch the bus around 4pm, then I went to dinner with Celia later that night. We ate at a Thai place in Kingsland. It was delicious! The BYO laws are great, we shared a bottle of white for 5$!

Thursday I borrowed Abe's car (he rented one in anticipation of his departure on Friday) to visit the MOTAT museum. It fulfilled my nerdy side! The museum has 2 parts connected by a tram, and entry was free for the month if June. One part is full of machines and engines and cars and telecommunications equipment, details of the polar expedition etc, while the other part is an aviation museum! There's were tons if.cool planes and details about Jean ____ a e-mail kiwi pilot who kicked ass on worldwide solo flights! That night Abe, Andy, Girish and I went for a drink at the Windsor Castle in Parnell. There was live music and good company to celebrate Abe's last night.

Friday I visited the Auckland Art Gallery in the morning, passes through the UoAs gift shop to.pick up a tee, and hurried home to pack for my dive.trip up to Northland Dive to so my Advanced Open Water Dive Course!

Saturday and Sunday we're spent in the water or.freezing in the boat or in shore. Some Sun would have been nice, but we made due. I complete 5 dives: peak performance, navigation, night dive, deep dive and a wreck dive! All in all, the weekend was a success, and a good way.to end my time with the AUUC. (though I hope to.see.some if.them tonight when we go fir.drinks in at the Kingslander!

Phew. Today I've been stressed about packing, returned a shirt to.Ice Breaker (I had to.play the leaving student card), gone to get my tattoo checked (it looks great!) and wandered down Queen Steet one last time. I'm currently sitting in the same coffee shop where I enjoyed my first kiwi panini with chutney, and fell in love with kiwi coffee (mochaccinos specifically). So much has changes since then...

I'm really gonna miss New Zealand. Im off to OZ tomorrow!

Naudibranch(e)s!!!

So, I should have posted this a couple weeks ago, but I didn't get around to it, so here it is! (better late than never right?)

This past Saturday (May 26th) was spent up in Tutukaka for some Poor Knights Islands diving! I rode up Friday night with 4 other AUUC divers, one of which used to live in PSV before he got kicked out (or chose to move? it's a multi-sided story, but I think there was a massive tiff between him and one of his roomies after he had to get air-lifted off a mountain because him and his buddies weren't prepped with the local info). We had a pretty good group though, and most of us kept up the conversation for the duration of the ~3 hr drive. I ate mick dicks for the first time in ages!

The next day started bright and early (though not as early as the group that had to drive from Auckland that morning!) and we were on the boat out to dive by 9am. Our captain and guide was this awesome Kiwi guy who liked to tell us to beware the Giant Wetas that would jump down onto our heads at anytime, and warn us of possible shark chompings. He also described some of the sea life that we could expect (or hope for) among which was the NAUDIBRANCH! (I fell in love with this creature - yes, it's a sea slug - a couple years ago because of this web post). I saw my first one on our first dive off the boat (my second ever boat dive! - the first being Matauri Bay - I haven`t gotten that far in my recap yet) it - they`re hermaphrodites, but require a buddy to reproduce - was an awesome white orange and purple one!

The first dive site was Trevor`s Rock (apparently a guy named Trevor ran into a rock that`s only ever visible at low tide - go figure). In addition to multiple naudibranch(e)s we saw some carpet sharks - which I may or may not have pet - and some really cool black sea urchins that shimmered green. Our next site was Middle Arch were we saw some sting rays, and came up inside an air-bubble in a cave! You could take your regs out even though we were still 5m below sea level! (though I wouldn`t recommend it, the air was majorly stale...). We also swam through Middle Arch where there was quite a bit of a current, and found massive (fist-sized) matting naudibranchs! (all the others were ~half a pinky-sized).  After we surfaced and climbed onto the boat, a seal appeared! A few of us quickly put away our gear and hopped back in with just wetsuits to swim and play with the seal. I think it was having as much fun as we were! Jono got some pretty good shots of it with his GoPro!! Our third and final dive site was Cream Gardens where we swam along a massive wall with lots of eels and tons of fish. I cut my hand on a piece of coral, but it didn't get infected!

I had originally planned to stay for the weekend, but my final project for my Project Management class was due the following monday, so I decided to cut the trip short, luckily Rachel was able to take my spot, and I hitched a ride home with Kat all the way to her house, then Jonos drove Frankie and I home. Funny thing is, Jonos' car? A VOLVO 740 GLT! Doesn't it look strange to see me facing the glove box on the left side? I think I may have trouble driving with I get home...

Peace!
Laura

Fish and Chips!

The first week of classes was a bit nerve wracking, trying yo make friends, and get my classes established. I started off going to 6 classes before I narrowed it down to the 4 I'm allowed to take. I'm in Sensors and Actuators, Control Systems (which I think is easier to do here than it would be at UBC), Project Management (a graduate level class), and Cities and Urbanism (a class that I've wanted to take since 2nd year!). I really hope they all transfer! I tried to get preapproval, but apparently I didn't use the right channels, so I'm still waiting on course approvals...

Oweek was entertaining, there were lots of activities, and music/food in the quad. I tried to win some free Stitka stuff (a brand from Vancouver Island), but all I got was a discount coupon :(    A group of us from Parnell went to the Oweek concert, and I left early to go meet up with Christa, a friend I met on Contiki who is from Vancouver! We went and enjoyed some live music at a Brewery down on Customs Street.

I also had another friend from my Contiki tour, Katie, come and stay with me. She took me out to an extravagant delicious dinner at Igaçu (a restaurant down on Parnell Rise which has since defaulted on their lease). She walked with me to class the next day, and then we parted ways. But after my class , I decided to walk down yo check out the waterfront, and happened to walk through the park where she was sleeping on the grass! So we wandered down queen street together till she had to leave to catch her plane.

Now, if you're wondering about the title, its because I started this post sitting in a couch in iSpace (international students lounge) waiting on a free fish and chips lunch (or as the kiwis say: fush n chups).  Im now outside the business school sitting in the sun, same as Colin did when he was here to greet me after class. I really miss him, worse than I did before he came, but that's to be expected I suppose.

Oh well, I've got errands to run, so I'm off!

Laura

Back to the Begining

When I finished my Contiki, I returned to Auckland via Christchurch. The 2 days I spent there were somewhat nerve racking given that the region still experiences earthquakes from time to time. I hung out with Anita (from my tour) and she and I split the cab to the airport when we left.  At this point I had already received the offer of accommodation from the UoA, and was debating whether or not to take it.  When I arrived back in Auckland on the sunday morning, I decided to check out the Parnell Student Village (the Hall I was accepted into), and found the place quite nice (from the far side of the fence).

Monday I accepted the offer at by signing my life away at the Uni, and ventured to Parnell (we call the village PSV).  The process was very informal; when I arrived to check the place out, I was let in by one of the coodinators, and he randomly chose a room for me, handed me a key and gave me the addresses I need for mail/packages - all without checking my name on any list! I guess it would have been pretty obvious right away if I was lying...  I met a few people on campus who lived in PSV and mentioned a BBQ, so I forfeit my night in the hostel to get my stuff and move into my new place right away. The BBQ was fun, there was free food and volleyball!


There are 98 people that live in PSV - 3 RAs and the rest students. ~98% of them are American which is rather frustrating when you're on exchange expecting to live with local or international students from all over. Don't get me wrong, I really like alot of the people that I live with, and I have made really good friends, but it's not the international experience that I was expecting.

Here are a couple pictures I took on a trip out to Mission Bay (one of the east coast beaches!) Enjoy!

Hello again!

So, its been a really long time since I've written anything here.  I'm sorry about that. Honestly, I didn't think anyone was reading, so I didn't see the value, but now I wish I had. It's my journal, my own recount and memoir if everything I've done, and of course, I've botched it by not keeping up. I'm going to try to recollect a good amount of what I've done, but there's no guarantee that it's all be here. Oh well. I guess I make do.

Random van that I saw! It's awesome! ------>

I'll start with today.  I jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge this morning, and now I'm on a mission. Ive ventured out of Parnell (which is a feat you'll come to understand) and I'm on my way up to One The Hill (this has nothing to do with the American TV series...) It smells like horses, which is odd given that im in the middle of.the city....but there is a paddock of sorts next to me. (and perhaps not so odd in a country that has more sheep than people) Up a massive stair case I go, then pause for some wildberry and honey ice cream, and around the hill (aka volcano) I go to get to the path that goes to the top.

It's sheep! I've made it to the top of One Tree Hill now. The view is phenomenal. (see pic!) This is a tribute to the waitangi treaty that was signed to bring the Maori under British rule. (one that wasn't particularly good for the Maori, kinda like the Canadian treaties....)  Its quite a hike to get up here, and the Sun is starting to head towards the water. It also looks like rain off to the west, but I can see both coasts! It's a really cool sight. I can see the War Memorial Museum that's right near my flat. The hike down will be sore on my poor feet and indeed that have kept me moving fir.the better part if the last 3 hours.


Alright. Lets go find the bus.

The rest if Contiki!!

We spent one night and one half day in Fox.  A group of us did a helihike up the fox glacier  where we took a helicopter up into the glacier and spent about 2 hours hiking around and listening to how the glaciers are formed and move. It was a trip I don't know that I would ever do in Canada, so it was a lot of fun. Plus, now I want a helicopter...

We left Fox midday yo continue our travels southward, and took an amazing ride through a series or turns ans bumps named the rollercoaster by the coach drivers. We also came into Queenstown on a road that apparently we weren't supposed to take because our bus w alas too long! The last leg of it had an amazingview followed by a decent through a series of switchbacks that required us to let the driver know if any cars were coming up the hill to meet us!

Queenstown, our next stop, is known as the adventure capital of the world. Here you can do just about anything from hi jumping out if a plane, off  a cliff, off q bridge or out if gondola. We spent 3 nights and 2.5 days here. Our fist dinner was at.the skyline restaurant that overlooks all of Queenstown and some of the nearby lakes and mountains. The view was amazing, and the food almost as food. We then went out for the evening to a bar fir dome partying. Our group of 47 only had about 9 guys, if that many, so we made for an  interesting spectacle when we entered the bar. We turned alot if local guys' heads!

The next morning I was up early to go skydiving, but our trip was nearly cancelled, and ended up being postponed to noon ( we were originally supposed to jump at 830). Then I spent the rest of the day walking around the town. That night was a big night our fir mist of us.  We had dinner at Ferg Burger (biggest and best burger EVER!!!) then went to the boiler room to wait for our half-hour turn in the -5 Ice Bar. We got to put on Ugs and massive warm jackets to go into a freezer to have some Vodka at the proper temperature. It was alot if fun! My party night didn't end until 4 am when Anita and I finished our long walk back to the hotel from the club we left at 330 am.

I got about 45 min sleep before I had to get up to go River Boarding with Mad Dog.  River Boarding is basically white water rafting on a boogie board instead of in a raft, so you get hit in the face by all the rapids, and kick with your fins instead of paddling.  AKA, its major awesome and a great way to wake up after a loong night!  In the afternoon I want to do the Canyon Swing, which is similar to a bungee, but it's 60m of freefall then a massive 150m swing over a river! It's also different from a bungee because you can do just about anything to jump! Flips, run and jump, sit and release, sit and wait while they CUT a cord holding you up, or dangle upsidedown while they pull a release cord. (and your second jump is free if you go naked..which I may or may not have done...) Oh! And there's the invisible chair: sit back blindfolded into the void nit knowing it's there - we had a guy on our trip that got tricked into doing this!

For our last dinner in Queenstown we had pizza at Winnie's and then while some people went out, we went back to the hotel to chill and play cards.

The following morning we left for Dunedin where we toured and ate at the Speights brewery then headed off to a ghost tour of the Octagon and one of the cemeteries.  I caught an orb on film, and a few other peeps caught bunches of them in varying pictures. Before leaving Dunedin the next day, we toured the Cadbury factory and witnessed the only chocolate waterfall in the southern hemisphere ( I think...) and where I ate too much chocolate, including drinking  chocolate!!! It was delicious! We also climbed the steepest street in the world, then departed for our last destination: Lake Ohau.

We arrived in Lake Ohau mid-late afternoon, and 4 of the boys, Sinead ( one of my roomies) and I decided to go down to the lake for a swim.  It was definitely worth it!!! The water was freezing (maybe 12¤? So I've been in colder!), but if you swam out a bit, you could do a 360 and see mountains all around you!  The sky was beautifully blue, and the water slightly milky from the glacial minerals; plus, the company was great!  After our last dinner, we got sheets from the hotel to make togas for our final night's Toga Party! It was our tour manager's last trip before he moves from Contiki NZ to work at either the Canyon Swing in Queenstown or Contiki Asia, so we planned a going away event for him.  It started with all the girls dancing for him, then out came the boys one by one, each with a letter on his chest to spell out Brendan, and each doing a dance! It was hilarious to watch as Brendan had only a toga and a mask on, and each guy came to give him a bit of a lap dance all in their togas!!! I ended my night with a short stint in the spa ( aka hot tub).

The last day was spent travelling tailback.to.Christchurch.and saying goodbye to.the people flying out that night.  We had our final farewell dinner at the Flying Burrito Brothers (Mexican) for those that were still around, and had a few drinks at our hotel for those staying there or nearby.  The next morning many people had left already, and Anita and I saw off the reminder of our tour.  Only she and I had booked in for another night in Christchurch, so we went with Mike, our driver, to check out some cars, to get his iPhone fixed, and we wandered around on our own. We also helped him do a bit of cleaning on the coach because he started a new tour the following day.  That night was uneventful, save for a chat with 2 of Mike's next tour, an English banker from New York and a French woman from Australia, and for watching Date Night.  In the morning we said goodbye to Mike and saw off his coach before catching our shuttle to the airport.

Whoa! That's alot of writting! I started in Christchurch this morning, and I've been writting snippets since then, in the plane etc.  So I apologize for any and all of the mixed tenses!!

I'm currently in bed in Auckland. It's nice to be back in one place and nit bouncing from hotel to hotel, though I'll likely do that one more time.  I think I'm going to be moving into rez this week (I found out that I got excepted mid last week, and I think at this point it's prudent to take it rather than continue my own search).

Anyway, im off!  TTFN

Ps. If you're thinking of doing a Contiki, I totally recommend it!

Christchurch

Tonight im sleeping in Christchurch.  It's been a long day of travel: I woke at 510 get to the hotel where I met up with the tour, we then headed across the Cook straight on the Interislander Ferry, followed by 5 hours of long windy roads. (we stopped to see the seals, and passed an Antilo bus or 2-aka, Contiki's name for old people buses - sorry mom...)

Christchurch is both erie and sad.  There are abandoned homes and buildings along the streets closest to the epicentre while the latter is closed off. Three of my tour companions and I walked down to the  site of the old cathedral, and past the Knox Church, both of such are now condemned.  I've always been fascinated with old and derelict buildings, and the ones here are ever so tempting to enter, but I don't dare. As much for fear of getting caught and deported as for the thought buildings collapsing in around me. We felt a tremor while getting ready for bed, and my heart is a bit overworked still; I'll feel better in the bus out of town tomorrow I think.

We made it out of Christchurch safe and sound, and we're en route to fox glacier where we'll stay at a backpackers.