New Zealand Blog Day 4: Rotorua -> Napier

Tuesday, April 15th, 2010

Day 4: Rotorua -> Napier

Woke up in the morning freezing. Note to self: Need to be fully clothed when sleeping in the car.

After that rude awakening, Apo and I had brunch at the Fat Dog café in town and used the wireless internet there to book ferry tickets to the South Island on Saturday. After that we had a walk around town checking out the Government Gardens, Lake Rotorua (Rotorua means “Second Lake”), and the local Maori village Ohinemutu (see pictures). The village had regular western housing as well as buildings with very intricate carvings of warriors. What I found most interesting about the village was that they had hot springs coming out of the ground in random areas and it was just part of the normal setting to the locals.

The highlight of today was Wai-O-Tapu (means: Sacred Waters) a thermal park situated south of Rotorua. To enter the park costs 30 bucks, which at first put me off, but I called another nearby park and it seems that they all charge a similar entrance fee.

Wai-O-Tapu is bubbling with geological activity and intense colors are created by the waters mixed with underground chemicals. Walking past the pools and sulfur clouds with the green forest as the background is quite surreal. Hopefully I captured some of that surreality (<-not a word) in the pictures (link on the bottom).

After that we started our drive to Napier passing Lake Taupo and some other beautiful landscapes. New Zealand is really made for road trips; everywhere you pass is just stunning. Also, NZ is much safer to drive at night than Australia where car crashes caused by nocturnal kangaroos or wombats wandering onto the road are commonplace. The only thing you really have to worry about in NZ are the possums that come out at night. A guide at Wai-O-Tapu mentioned that in NZ, they call possums “Nature’s little road bumps.” Hitting a kangaroo or a wombat is much more dangerous than hitting a possum (in Australia there are cases of kangaroos being hit on the road in mid-hop and crashing through the windscreen killing the driver and the passenger).

Why do I bring this up? On the way to Napier from Rotorua, a possum ran in front of my car. I just kept driving straight as usual because there was an incoming car and if I made any sudden motion, I could’ve potentially hit the other car. Needless to say, there was a “bump” under my left front wheel and I sent that possum to possum purgatory.

We got into Napier and booked at the YHA (Youth Hostel Association) there and were surprised to find they had a two person dorm room available at $29 per person (even though they were bunk beds [see pictures] to have your own private room at that price is pretty cheap!).

DT: Brunch 9 + Internet 2.5 + Parking 2 + Ferry Ticket 110 + Ohinemutu 5 + Food 16.75 + Groceries 29 + Wai Tapu 30 + YHA 29 = 224.25

TS: 522.95

DA: 130.74

Spent BIG money today!

Pictures!

New Zealand Blog Day 3: Auckland to Rotorua

NOTE: In my last last entry (Day 1), I mentioned being an asshole and waving my US passport in my face to avoid getting checked by customs. I just read that again and said, “Wow what an asshole.” Why: I made it sound like being an American citizen should automatically exclude me from such identity checks. I made the previous statement out of anger of people that constantly doubt me about my “Americaness” however I don’t think that this was one of those cases. A friend of mine back in California once told me I looked hella suspicious when he saw me in a convenience store walking back and forth. I believe this stems from my constant daydreaming and the excess movement that this causes. When I stepped off the plane, I was thinking about something while fumbling with some bags and I think that this attracted a suspicious gaze from the Brett look alike more so than me being Asian.

April 14th, 2010

Day 3: Auckland -> Rotorua

The first half of today was especially frustrating. I spent half the day calling up rental car companies and trying to find a better deal.

Travel Tip: Car relocation in New Zealand and Australia (moving a car from one city to another for an individual or a rental car company) is the cheapest option for getting around. Individuals/Companies will either let you do it for free or charge you 5-10 dollars a day. The catch is that there’s a time limit (requiring you usually to be driving most of the time, leaving not much time for sightseeing) and for companies, they take a 3,000 dollar imprint on your credit card (an imprint is an unprocessed transaction on your credit card that goes into effect if anything should happen to the vehicle).

We got offered to drive from Auckland to Christchurch in three days which is doable, but would leave us with barely anytime to check out the sights along the way so we stuffed that option. The other option that we took was to rent for 10 days to travel both the North and South island which was cheaper than renting separately in both the North and the South Islands even after factoring in the vehicle ferry cost (note: we would’ve had to pay for the vehicle ferry cost for the car relocation option as well).

Long story short, I was able to finally put my Economics degree to use and find the best cost effective option, although it took me half the day on the phone and on the internet to do it. I commented on this to Apo and she made the accurate observation that, “You have to choose between saving money or time, you rarely get both.”

And off we went! Well not quite. We were stuck in the airport/car rental area for half an hour trying to get out (yes, my fault, I was driving) but eventually we got out and on our way to Rotorua (about 2 and ½ hours south of Auckland).

Driving on the left side of the road for me is akin to using my left hand to hold chopsticks (I’m right handed), it’s awkward at first but eventually you get used to it. One thing that I noticed that helps is that when you’re driving on the right or left side, the driver’s seat is always positioned closer to the middle of the road, making the transition a bit easier.

We knew that we got into Rotorua by just smelling the air; Rotorua is a hotspot of sulfur pools and hot springs. We checked in at a Holiday Park (caravan park) that had mineral pools (pools filled with natural, hot, mineral water). I had brought swim trunks, but Apo just went in with shorts and a t-shirt much to the surprise of the other family that was soaking with us.

We got back to the car put down the back seats and got out the sleeping bags. It was too dark and too cold to set up tent, so we decided just to sleep in the car. Luxury!

DT: Internet 2.5 + Food 16 + Car Rental* 95 + Holiday Park* 15 + Laundry 3.5 = 131 NZD

TS: 298.7 NZD

DA: 99.57 NZD

*Just my part of the cost.

Pictures!

New Zealand Blog Day 2: Auckland

Tuesday April 13^th, 2010

Day 2: Auckland

Woke up a bit early to prepare a small three year anniversary present for Apo. I had been editing a short music video for her for a while with Windows Movie Maker but had some problems syncing the music with the video. I was able to complete 1 minute of it (the whole version I will put up when I’m done) and showed that to her. She was quite happy but then quite disappointed when it abruptly ended. She said, “That’s it?” I replied, “Aw yeah, that’s it.”

I have some family that live near Auckland and met with them for lunch. The neighborhood they live in reminded me of some Northern California suburbs: green, quiet, and boring. But there’s definitely a certain sense of peace in the air and a feeling of security in these kinds of areas that I find attractive.

When Apo and I arrived we were greeted with a feast prepared by my Aunt. For those of you who don’t know Taiwanese culture, when a Taiwanese family asks you over for lunch/dinner prepare to get fed. The meal included about nine different dishes of both Western and Eastern taste (e.g. lamb chops and fried Taro balls), all of which was delicious. This was a welcomed change from the backpacker diet of instant noodles and eggs and Apo and I were very grateful for the meal.

This was the first time I had met my cousins in person (my Aunt met me when I was really small). They are all really nice and lovely people and the cousins speak with a New Zealand accent, so it was fun picking up on some new ways of pronunciation and word usage. One of my cousins is thinking about taking up boxing so I showed him some stuff I had picked up from Muay Thai and he seemed to like it. They have a wild backyard and a small aviary which must’ve have been real fun for the cousins while growing up.

Back in Auckland, I found a martial arts store that had Cesar Gracie DVDs and Matt Lindland books for sale. I told Apo, “I met those guys!” but she didn’t seem to care much. It’s very surreal to be in such a faraway place and see something close to home.

For dinner Apo and I celebrated our anniversary with all you can eat Korean BBQ (see pictures)! There is a joy I feel in a quality All You Can Eat restaurant. I know that I’m going to be full at the end of the meal and I know that I’m going to be able to taste multiple dishes without fear of paying more for food. You feel me?

The end of the day was spent online searching for rental cars (internet cafes are cheap here, 1.5-2 NZD per hour).

DT: Hostel 26 + Food & Drink 37.5 + Phone Card 10* + SIM Card 20 + Internet 5 = 107.3

TS: 167.7

DA: 83.85

*You see, I bought the Phone Card first because I was in a hurry to call my Aunt and didn’t have time to shop around. If you’re in NZ for a short time, the 2degrees SIM card is the cheapest option.

Pictures!

New Zealand Blog Day 1: Melbourne -> Auckland

Monday April 12th, 2010
Melbourne -> Auckland

I spent the wee hours of Monday morning trying to stay up surfing the net and reading The Tao of Jeet Kune Do. Eventually, the fatigue of yesterday set in and I decided to take a 40 min nap on the couch. I didn’t sleep in my bed for fear that I would sleep through my 7am departure flight. Now that I think about it, if I wanted to do, I could’ve stayed up all night at a 24 hrs McDonalds and just waited for the bus to the airport (did something similar with Dan the Man in NYC). However, since Apo isn’t Dan nor is she a Man, I thought that it might be more comfortable for us to stay at a hostel. Also on the plus side, we didn’t have to walk around the whole city with our luggage (like Dan and I did last day of our NYC trip).

Alarm! I woke up at 4:30am and then spent almost 30 minutes trying to wake up Apo. We caught the bus and were able to make it to the airport in time to check in. The flight (3 ½ hours) was smooth and the meal was pretty good (lamb w/ vegetables and mashed potatoes). Watched Men Who Stare at Goats (starring Ewan McGregor and George Clooney), a hilarious account of a journalist’s (McGregor) encounter with a former “New Earth Army” sergeant (Clooney). The film starts with the statement “More of this is true than you would believe” and there is some wacky shit that happens in the film. A must see.

Flying into New Zealand was quite breathtaking. There were these clouds of darkness in the blue/green water that I assume is coral (reminded me of Dark Water, an old US animated series). At first I thought that they might’ve been reflections of the clouds, but the dark shapes in the water stayed stationary. There’s a certain jaggedness to the hills and mountains that I noticed and it reminded me of some of the mountain ranges in Taiwan. We landed in Auckland around one in the afternoon.

My very first experience on New Zealand soil: I’m getting off the plane and this Custom’s guy (who looks like Brett from Flight of the Conchords) asks me for my passport and immigration sheet. I watch as other passengers pass me by and wonder, why me? To be an asshole, maybe I should’ve waved my US Passport in front of my face in order to avoid any confusion.
After we spent some time at the airport looking up info and booking our hostel, we took a shuttle to the YHA in the city centre and checked in. We took a look around Queen St. which is right next to our hostel and I was totally surprised by how many Korean restaurants there were. I got a 4.90 NZD chicken curry for dinner which was good and the price made it even taste better.

Needless to say we were exhausted by that point and decided to crash early. I spent the last hour of this day watching Gunbuster (an old GAINAX anime directed by Hideaki Anno of Evangelion fame). I’m surprised by how much work they put in to make it scientifically accurate (the theory of relativity is illustrated quite accurately in the series). Sleep.

NOTE: Money from now on will be in New Zealand Dollars (NZD) [1 NZD = .77 AUD = .72 USD]. I will be keeping a running tab on my spending in New Zealand.

Day Total (DT): Food 11.4 + airport round trip ticket 23 + Hostel 26 = 60.4 NZD
Total Spent (TS): 60.4 NZD
Daily Average (DA): 60.4 NZD

Pictures

New Zealand Blog Day 0: Adelaide -> Melbourne

Sunday April 11th, 2010

Day 0 Adelaide -> Melbourne

I took an 11 hour bus ride from Adelaide to Melbourne. It was long but they played two films to pass the time: Imagine That (Eddie Murphy) and Fame. I was actually glad that they played these films because I would never spend money to watch them but was curious to know what the hype was about (Fame). To my surprise I found both films entertaining and also I felt that Fame gave a glimpse of the reality of what it takes to be an artist which I found refreshing.

What was also refreshing was the change of landscape of South Australia to Victoria. As Victoria is more humid, there is more lushness in the greenery and the rolling hills and light drizzling of rain made me feel at home (Northern California).

My thought of Melbourne as I was crossing the bridge into the city was, “Damn, this place reminds me of San Francisco.” The fact that I was on a bridge overlooking the city skyline was reminiscent of what I feel every time I enter SF via the Bay Bridge. While walking to a local hostel near Southern Cross Station, I could tell that Melbourne, though it seems to have similarities with SF, had one glaring difference: the streets are freaking wide.

That night in Melbourne was the start of a very long journey of self imposed insomnia. I met with a friend (co-worker from my cleaning stint in SA) to leave some luggage at his place. I talked to him about my trip to New Zealand, how it materialized out of nothing and that I had no real plan. He said, “Joy is unplanned.” I thought that was a good point, but then I replied, “Sadness too.” He laughed. When we parted I thought, if you follow that line of logic, human emotion and reactions cannot be planned, they can be anticipated but not planned for (Consider this example – 15 minutes from now, I plan to be happy).

I met up with Apo and two friends from the mango farm (See “Notes from the Mango Farm”) that were in Melbourne at the time. We shared work stories of the past few months. They had been working on another mango farm except this farm farmed lemon trees as well. Apo and I shared our cleaning stories (See my March, April 2010 facebook pictures). In particular we talked about this one co-worker that wouldn’t shake my hand when I first met her and later was found to be mentally unstable. One of our cleaning coworkers that disliked her nicknamed her MQ (Mad Queen) which I thought was hilarious and incredibly accurate.

After getting back to the hostel, we checked online to see if we could check in for our flights for the following morning. For some reason Apo didn’t receive a confirmation email for her flight ticket. We tried in vain to contact the airline reservation desk. Apo went to sleep for a few hours as I stayed up, deciding to just wait for our 5am bus to the airport. The night bled into early morning.

Money spent today (in AUD): Bus (Adelaide->Melbourne) 55 + Melbourne Sunday Savers Bus Ticket 3.1 + Water & Food 26.4 + Hostel 24 = 108.5 AUD

For specific bus company or hostel information, please msg me.

Pictures on facebook