Ok, so I'm back. I've been back for about 2 weeks, actually. Working. A lot. I had a fantastic time in New Zealand. Really, truly, and absolutely amazing experience. Honestly, Life changing. But now I'm back. And I'm busy. And it's probably apparent from the length of these sentences that I'm tired. In fact, I should probably be sleeping right now instead of doing this, but I felt it necessary to at least begin writing an ending to my first New Zealand adventure.
So, to begin with, I haven't blogged since 2 weeks before I left New Zealand, and now I've been back in the United States for 2 weeks, which means (for those who may be having difficulty with the simple math) that it's been 4 weeks since I've written. An entire month. I feel kind of guilty.
Since my last blog, there were several significant events (not including coming home) that are worth mentioning here. First, kayaking. I finally managed to get hold of the people I referenced in one of my first blogs, the people I was hoping to have a social life through, and we went kayaking Saturday/Sunday. It was sweet. We did the Aniwhenua section of the Rangitaiki (?) River, and it was mean as. The people I met up with were all real cool. Two of them were very experienced kayakers, the other two not so much. The river was beautiful and fun, even for the experienced ones. The river runs through a deep gorge, a canyon really, with vertical walls rising straight out of the water in many places. The area is lush and green. The river is deep, with plenty of opportunities to eddy out, to play around, and to just enjoy the company of good people and good water. We drove down Saturday afternoon, camped Saturday night, kayaked Sunday morning/afternoon, drove back Sunday evening, and got back Sunday night. It was a cramped car (5 people in a Subaru with heaps of gear and 5 kayaks on top), but a good car. We had a misadventure (driving half an hour up an old logging road looking for a river access that wasn't there, all the while bottoming out the car on a regular basis and having to retie the boats several times due to roof-rack slippage) and a good time.
Following the awesome kayaking trip, I went to school for a week. It posed many challenges, as it does, but I survived. ... I should correct myself. I didn't really go to school for a week. I went to school for 3 days, then Thursday and Friday were teacher only days I decided to skip. I opted instead to fly to Wellington on Wednesday night after my calculus study group, where I stayed for 2 nights with Katherine, the sister of Fran, a teacher at the school in Auckland. I toured Wellington a bit, with particular interest in the parliament building, and then began a long hitch-hike up to Thames, in the Coromandel Peninsula, about an 8 hour drive away.
The hitch-hike itself was interesting, 3 rides in particular. I got one long ride, about 2 hours or so, from a young couple in a van. There were 2 seats in the front of the van, which they occupied, and no seats in the back, which I occupied with 3 dogs. But it was alright. The couple was cool and really nice, and they went out of their way to drop me off in a good location for catching my next ride, a girl my age on her way from work. She had an interesting life story. She grew up on a farm with 4 sisters, made a few mistakes, and dropped out of school when she was 15. She spent a few years figuring things out, and is now doing quite well in a small product marketing firm. She is in a program to finish up her schooling so she can become a manager in this firm, and seems to be in good standing with the owner, who actually invited her to leave the job she had and join the firm. This girl drove me for at least 3 hours, maybe longer, and we had some interesting conversations about religion, ethics, decisions, life, experiences, and all sorts of good stuff. Really a nice ride. My last ride of particular note became interesting when it happened twice. This guy picked me up and drove me for about half an hour, then dropped me off in a town where our directions diverged. He came back through town about an hour later, however, and I was still there. He happened to be heading my direction now, after having gone home to change out of his work clothes and borrow his wife's car. He was on his way to visit some people from his church, and his first stop was a pick-up, one of his fellow church members who was going out with him that night. Well, the guy we were picking up was just in the process of cooking his dinner, and offered us some, so there was a bit of a feed. Then I ended up walking out with a Book of Mormon. It wasn't aggressive or intrusive, and I didn't want to be rude, so I took it. I didn't really want to carry it, but I did anyway, and I still have it. I think it is important to educate yourself about other people's beliefs, so I will hopefully find the time to read it eventually, just out of curiosity.
I ended up in Thames about 6:00 PM. It took me 12 hours to get there, and I was supposed to meet some friends from Auckland about 6:30. Unfortunately for me, they ended up a bit late. No worries, however. I wandered around Thames, had a bit of food, and was in a restaurant enjoying the company of a nice retired couple when my friends finally showed up around 9:30. I hopped in the (very full) car and we headed up the road toward the Pinnacles, a small 'mountain' we were planning on hiking up the next day. We set up camp late that night and stared early in the morning. We made it to the top of the Pinnacles around 12:00 or 12:30 and had a good time enjoying the close-up of the inside of a cloud. Supposedly the view is breathtaking on a clear day, and judging just by the quality of the view from below the cloud layer, I believe the rumors to be true. We hiked down and headed back to Auckland on Sunday night.
I went to school Monday, and stopped by briefly on Tuesday morning, but spent most of Tuesday getting ready to leave New Zealand. It was sad to go, and my calculus boys seemed a bit torn, but coming back was a necessity, like it or no. I had an awesome trip, and am absolutely glad I went.
E noho rā Aotearoa - (Goodbye New Zealand)
