So since this is our blog we get to make our own rules here. We have decided that to take a quick trip back in time and update our faithful blog reader(s) about how our quest through New Zealand went down. In honor of the original inspiration behind this trip, we’ll make this a mythical three-part epic with a new chapter dropping every time we feel like typing up a new section. Without further ado…part 1:
So after the ruckusness (yes it’s a word) of our wedding , we needed to get out of town for a little bit of R&R. New Zealand was the choice and wow that flight took forever. We left Austin around 6:00 p.m. on a Monday and then landed in Auckland 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday. We may have skipped a day in there somewhere, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyways, pictures are better than words so lets kick off a montage:
So this is the Auckland skyline. Amongst this lineup the Sky City Tower is the obvious standout, with the whole needle-thing going on. The last night of the trip we actually stayed at the hotel there and gambled away our last New Zealand dollars betting on when bungee jumpers would leap off of the sky deck.
Gnarly Factoid: Only 4 Million people live in New Zealand and 1.2 Million of those live in Auckland
Yeah so this is me big timing some other tourists aboard our Whale & Dolphin Safari. So if you are starting to ask “what is the deal with these two and whale watching?” well I don’t have an answer for you. Maybe the big fellas are subconsciously drawing Lindsay to them in order to thank her for her non-mammalian diet. Anyways, this righteous pic is of the legendary Blue Whale….turns out this was only the 2
nd one the safari guide had seen in 17 years so, needless to say, we felt pretty awesome afterwards.
So this was embarrassing: I paid a bouncer $100 to get Lindsay and I into Auckland’s exclusive 5 Below Bar and to get upgraded into pimptastic Russian parkas with Isotoner ski mitts, but after going to the bar and getting us drinks, I returned to find Lindsay copping a feel of this naked ice dude. Turns out he was a pretty cool guy though so no big deal.
It may not look it, but this was probably the most intense moment of our time in the land of extreme sports. We are in the Hertz parking garage about to hit the New Zealand highway in our brand new bizarro-world Ford Focus. Unfortunately for Lindsay, she lost the pre-drive paper-rock-scissors match and got 1st shift. Overall, our time in Auckland was a good time, but New Zealand isn't about city life. In order to get this trip started, we needed to step it up a bit.
Okay, so first stop on our North Island road trip was Rotorua, the land of hot springs and weird Kiwi thrill rides. Luckily, these hot spring all reek of sulfuric gas (a la rotten eggs) and this big boy was right outside of our hotel room. Nice romantic choice of hotel room, huh?
Alright, bizarre adrenaline rush #1… street luge racing. That dude in the blue helmet was about to get run off the road by my nasty Mario Kart skills. As for Lindsay, she is actually about to slap some kid that started mouthing off about being a more radical racer than her. She refrained from the physical beat down, but made sure he ate asphalt before it was all over. Bottom line, Texas owned the mountain that day my friends.
Bizarre adrenaline rush #2 = Zorbing! Pretty simple process. They drive you up the hill, put you in a huge plastic ball and then fill it with warm water (good cause it was like 50 degrees outside). A quick nudge and you are spinning around inside while the ball is bouncing and rolling down the hill. Tops out at less than a minute, but it was totally worth it.
So after issuing beatdowns on the street luge and getting all twisted in the Zorb, we were feeling a lot more confident about getting back on the road in our Focus. How could you not with such a fly ride.
So its no Africa, but New Zealand has its fair share of wildlife. On our way from Rotorua to Waitomo we were lucky enough to witness these rare black & white hill-grazing bovines and then later caught a glimpse of the world famous shepherd and mega-sheep dog combo. That sure was a groovy little drive.
Aww yeah. Welcome to Waitomo my friends. Population 215 and home to the world famous glowworm caves (actually world famous this time, unlike the shepherd & mega sheep dog thing from earlier). So seeing as the whole reason we were here was to get extreme with an underground cave adventure, we had to stay in equally wild accomodations. The Waitanic and the Hobbit Motel definitely fit the bill.
So yes we look really tough with this sweet gear on, but man was it clutch. Our outfits consist of a wool base-layer fleece, an arctic-rated thermal wetsuit with a an additional over-layer jacket, thermal booties, gnarly red helmets, and some killer boots. For two hours we abseiled, ziplined, tubed, swam, trekked, and climbed through this massive underground cave system all under the luminescence of the glow worms. It was by far the most physically grueling and ridiculously freezing cold thing we did on the trip. It was awesome.
So other than the caves, there wasn’t much to do in Waitomo, so we shortly set off on the road again towards Wellington. When you are making good time, the last thing you need is a delay, but its kind of tough to get mad when its caused by a hundred or so sheep that happened to sneak out onto the highway. Plus we got to help the dogs get them off the road with some skilled driving and horn honking. We eventually made up the lost time and completed our relaxing and scenic journey through New Zealand’s North Island.
Stay tuned for Part 2....
As my ole friend Dorothy once said, "there is no place like home." Despite this, Jared and I are doing our best to have ourselves a Merry little Christmas here in sunny Cape Town. Christmas lights, overdone malls, and contemporary carols everywhere you go haven't quite caught on here so we are attempting to remind ourselves that it is indeed Christmas time (or Festive Season as it is known here) with our very first Christmas Tree. 
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