Halloween

My Halloween experience was buckets of fun. I went over and got changed at Amy's. I wore a shiny purple shirt, a weird tie, and shiny blue boxers that said "charm the snake" on them. In a brilliant last minute move, I decided to use 2 socks to create a cock bulge. That was what really made the outfit. I also wore Amy's big hat and some makeup. Beautiful! lol

We went to the Mars Bar and there was someone we knew there right away. Oh yeah, Amy was Suri Cruise, Tom Cruise's daughter - she wore a baby-ish dress, carried a bear, and wore foil alien antennas. It was pretty funny but not a lot of people got it. There wasn't much to get about mine, and people thought it was funny. Especially when I pointed out my cock bulge. Some people decided to touch it, which was only weird because the place they were touching was actually over my actual crotch. haha. There was free laser tag and mini golf, so we (Amy, Karin, Austin, Alex Garett and I) did both of those things. Fun! Got free soft drinks, too. Then we just talked to people we knew. My flatmate Patrick was there and was ridiculously wasted and couldn't really say words. He and his friends were the Anchorman team and they were pretty good.

Almost all of the Arcadia kids were there, including somehow some of the Wellington girls who were visiting I guess. There were some great costumes: an ewok, a bear, a couple sheep, lots of bloody whatevers, one girl was Alex from A Clockwork Orange, one girl was her Facebook profile, one guy was probably a Brussels Sprout but didn't seem to remember what he was, my friend Jack was a sperm, somebody was Jesus, and plenty more I can't think of at the moment (one guy was a rock).

After that I went with Amy, Brianna, and Becky to Gardie's which is a really skeevy bar. Then Becky, Amy, and I went to the 24 for food (remember, I didn't eat dinner) then to Amy's to eat it and talk. Then Becky left and Amy and I talked for awhile, now I'm home. We were going to do the Pineapple Track tomorrow (up Mt. Flagstaff) but it's supposed to rain so we're going to do it Sunday.

Salsa Lessons

Oct. 24: What I did today was I went to the grocery store. Between going there and back I managed to run across all of the Grange flat. Then I cooked dinner in Amy's flat (we shared a dinner of beans-only chilli and potatoes). We did some planning of our Northland trip. We have decided to take the Magic Bus because it will be probably less expensive due to the price of gas and just easier since neither of us have done much driving here and don't really want to start in the biggest city in the country.

After that I went to a salsa lesson with Amy, Michelle, Hannah, Austin, Laura (a Canadian who's friends with Michelle), and Liam (a Kiwi I met the night before my big trip and who apparently has a thing for Amy). It was really cool. The lesson was just the basic steps in a line and then you add a partner. I was dancing with a guy named Nathan who knew what he was doing, so that made it easier. Then they just have dancing, and first I was dancing with Liam. Then for a while no one asked me to dance but then I danced with Michelle, and then this really awesomely good guy who is also really nice whose name I forgot, then Austin, then a guy named Shaun who was also good. So I know some salsa moves now. The instructor was dancing with his girlfriend and they are both really good and they were pretty much having sex on the dance floor. At first Amy was like 'I can imagine them having really great sex tonight' then as we were watching it was like 'well, no need to imagine'!

Then we went to Laura's flat which is on Leith Street North and played Catchphrase until some people decided to go to Jenn's to play beer pong. Then Michelle and I went home.

Oct. 26: I studied pretty much all day until 10 pm when I watched Cabin Fever which is about flesh eating bacteria and is terrible. Then to get our minds off that we tried to watch Love Actually but it turned out Jenn didn't have it on her comp. We went to McDonald's and talked for a while.

Oct. 27: I studied, and then at 11 met Amy to do karaoke. Went to Stock Exchange but no one was there so we went to the Bowler instead. Two guys stripped naked during their song, it was hilarious and wow, everyone there was so drunk. Amy and I sang 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love', and Amy sang 'Put Your Records On.' I tried again to sing 'Throw it all away' but they never let me. Maybe they don't actually have it? The announcer guy remembers us as 'those American girls' and he was staring at us a lot... yeah cause we're so hot. Then I got mini muffins at the 24! Yum.

Mega Exam Trip

Oct. 10 - I'm in Auckland. I got here at 3:30. NZ airports have like no security. The bus into the city took awhile. I ate dinner at BurgerFuel. My left foot hurts. Also, I'm very tired. Ah well! I will have an early night tonight because I have to get up early!

Oct. 11 - I am at Hahei Holiday Park in Hahei. I have been to Mt. Eden to see Auckland City, Thames for the Pak n Save, and Hot Water Beach where I stood on some REALLY hot sand. Apparently according to the driver's sheet thing I am not booked through to Wellington, but really I am! Argh. I should be doing a walk to Cathedral Cove soon and also there is a barbecue tonight.

Oct. 12 - Today we went to Raglan. Stopped at Paeroa along the way where L&P was born. Greg got lost... we ended up in Matamata but got to Raglan eventually. The lodge is amazing. There's a ropes course, and a flying fox (aka zipline). It's very secluded in the bush on the slopes of Mt. Karioi. I didn't do the surf school because well, I couldn't afford it. Walked around in downtown Raglan, went to the beach and watched some surfers, played on the ropes course, watched the sun set (we're on the west coast). Tomorrow is Waitomo! I've decided I'm totally going for it and doing the Haggis Honking Holes, one of the more extreme options. Sweet as. Next day is whitewater rafting, then Tongariro Crossing, which I may be doing alone (but apparently everyone has to go with a guide anyway). Other people are definitely caving and rafting with me. I'm having so much fun! Oh, also, I am the only American on the bus! In addition to that, everyone at first guesses I'm Canadian because apparently I don't have an American accent, nor do I act especially American. I can totally pass as Canadian! I like that everyone's foreign. It's interesting, most of them are still excited by sheep. haha. There are a bunch of Germans, a bunch of British people, an Irish girl, a couple Dutch girls, a Swedish couple, and a few Canadians. Interestingly, I find the British accent harder to understand than the Kiwi accent. Oh yeah and today is pretty warm, yeah. Yesterday, not so much. The sand was hot because there's a hot spring running underneath it, not because of the weather :P at low tide you can dig natural hot pools in the sand!!!

Oct. 14 - Yesterday I did the Haggis Honking Holes which was BRILLIANT! so amazing! Then we stayed on a marae and learned poi (for girls) and haka (for guys) and all slept on mattresses in the wharenui. Like a big sleepover. I was surprised at how well I slept. Today I did whitewater rafting in Rotorua - exciting!!! Now I"m in "sunny" Taupo where it's raining. I'm doing the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow despite shite Stray politics! Too complicated to explain at the moment. Sorry I have such limited time to write but am keeping a detailed journal so I will tell you EVERYTHING when I get back. It will take hours probably.

Oct. 17 - I just walked through a street carnival. It was mostly for little kids. Okay, just for little kids. There were rides (ferris wheel, carousel), a moon bounce, balloon animals, etc. I got silly string all over my shoes. It was fun just to watch. There was a young band playing carnival music. I think Nelson would be a nice place to spend a few more days (that's where I am now). The Festival of the Arts is on now. Other than that today I have gone to the grocery store and eaten in the little garden at the YHA. This YHA is really nice. The nicest one (of the YHAs) I think I've stayed at so far. It has a ping pong table and some guy watching this week's Heroes on his laptop in the lounge (I'm jealous). There's a table and couches and a sink in my room which is a 6-bed dorm. My bed isn't bunked. There's a grill and a hammock... etc. Really awesome.

Earlier I walked to the train station in Welly with Ally and caught the shuttle to the InterIslander ferry terminal where I waited a few minutes then got on the ferry then it left late. It had a movie theatre, food court, play place, arcade... I got a NZ hot dog and chips (NZ hot dog is a batter covered sausage but not like corndog batter, I quite like them actually).

Yesterday I traveled to Wellington via Ohakune (which has a giant carrot that I didn't get my camera out in time for), Taihape (gumboot capital of the world), and Bulls (a terribly pun-filled town). Got into Welly about 3~ish and went and met Ally and Kailah. Threw my stuff down in Ally's flat then we walked around town. They got tickets to a Tiki Taane concert and then we went to Te Papa, a really awesome museum. It's so overwhelmingly large and had a Bourne Identity-like wall. Sweet as.

Then it was raining so couldn't do much else so we went to Hell Pizza which they had never been too. It was attached to Syn Bar and we stayed for their quiz night and failed miserably in every round except the last, a picture round where you had to identify martial artists and the movies the picture was from. I knew quite a few of those. Then we basically went to bed (Ally and I) and Kailah went out to a gay bar. I was able to procure a mattress, sheets, and a blanket, and Ally's floor was quiet and dark. Yay.

So I am having a grand old time! Tomorrow I join the Magic Bus (which I could have done today, if I had only realised that of course they would change the departure time if the ferry was delayed...) Anyway, I leapt onto the Intercity which was about to leave and paid an extra $25 not to stand around in Picton for 4 hours. Because of the opportunity costs, it was well worth it.

Oct. 18 - Today I got on the Magic Bus and traveled to Greymouth, stopping at a cafe in Murchison, for lunch in Westport, at a place overlooking the Buller River, to walk the Truman Track, and at the Pancake Rocks. All pretty sweet as. We just got into Greymouth and when we got to the YHA the desk was temporarily closed. It's in this big old house and has a chapel. The keys are the old fashioned kind! I found a terry pratchett book in the book exchange and promptly ditched the book I picked up at the last hostel which was some shit. It's not a discworld novel, it's called "The Dark Side of the Sun" I hope it's alright. Well I'm going to be picked up for a brewery tour soon.

Oct. 19 - [A kayak trip I had put my name down for had seemed to be rained out.] It cleared up but the kayak trip didn't go because of not enough numbers. bleargh. So I was like. huh. what now? I saw there was a shuttle out to the glacier so I booked that for 4:45 (only $12). I was left with over an hour to kill... I just sort of read and stuff. Then got on the shuttle which was full of old British people. Couldn't really see much out there because of clouds and mist. I'm hoping it clears up for tomorrow or else my only option will be some indoor ice climbing. Well I did a few nice walks and took some pictures and came back and made my unsatisfying dinner. Victor and Mike are going out at 8 or 8:30 for dinner and drinks so I think I will join them and get a snack to supplement the crap I've been eating, blah. Let's just say I'm beginning to eye actual cheese with major envy.

You know how you start rock climbing and you use your arms way too much because you don't know what you're doing then you can't use your arms anymore? that's exactly what's happening to me right now. ice climbing was fun fun fun! you can throw your axes in just about anywhere and shove in your feet where you please. There is a technique to it which I learned pretty quickly. Apparently I was doing quite well but my arms were tiring out quickly. Also it was about -2 degrees in the climbing room.

Oct. 20 - Tonight I went to make dinner. I walked in the lounge and who should I see but Dave, a guy who was on my Stray bus the whole 6 days! It turns out he is on Magic Bus now too so I will traveling again with him tomorrow. It is so weird! Pretty much everyone in this hostel is on the Magic Bus and is leaving tomorrow. It is a nice hostel. They put the fire on!

Oct. 21 - I am in Queenstown after a LONG day on the bus. I think I will eat in tonight, and do Fergburger tomorrow night (though I'm tempted to just go now... and not have to worry about cooking. There was some major beauty going on today. I don't know what tonight will bring... but tomorrow, at 11 am, I will be canyoning! Supposedly, according to my guidebook, it is "the harrowing adventure to your hardcore prayer." So let's hope so.

Oct. 22 - OMG CANYONING JSDKALDJSKLDFJO!!!!

For instance I jumped into a pool of water from a height of 6 or 7 meters. Went down a waterfall slide, scrambled over rocks, went down some rapids headfirst, through a chute, abseiled, ziplining, ziplined to when you stop then abseiling down from there and then when I wasn't too high up let go and fell in the water! OMGOMOGOGMOGMGOGM

Yep. One of the best things I have done, no question. That and caving were the HIGHLIGHTS of this little trip here. Those two things are indeed pretty similar! When I was faced with a 6 or 7 m jump... I had to get the guy to count me down just like in bungy. And for another jump as well. Works every time! I knew I HAD to do them of course (well obviously you didn't have to, there were other options but I would regret it if I didn't) but my brain was like NO NO NO NO JESUS CHRIST NO. But then it was AMAZING. On one of my jumps, you had to jump out pretty far and try to land on your butt, the guy before me didn't do it very well but I was rated 9/10 HIGH SCORE! lol. We absolutely MUST go canyoning or caving or BOTH!!! MUST!!!

WEEEE ADRENALIN HIGH!
Now I think I'll go get some well-deserved Ferg burger fries.

Oct. 23 - [got back to Dunners] Today I was busy with laundry, napping, hanging out with Amy, and with my Magic Bus friends. It is pretty sad that I will probably never see them again. I've found you make friends really fast when you're traveling because you know if you can enjoy traveling with them, you must really like them quite a lot. And so you can know someone for a week, and really know pretty much nothing about them, except that they're a really cool person who you have shared a great experience with. And where they're from and maybe what they do. Perhaps you can get a free place to stay in the Canary Islands, or Wales, or Germany, one day. You never know!

Anyway. So that's that. It feels cool to know that I know people all over the world now. Not just people from interesting places in the world like in college that live in the US but people who actually live all the time in those interesting places.

So tonight, I went to eat at Velvet Burger because Mike texted me saying that he and Victor weren't going to be back from a wildlife tour until 9. I tried e-mailing Dave to tell him about that but he didn't check it I guess and right after I went to Circadian Rhythm with Amy and played Guess Who, he texted me about dinner. So I went with him to the other Velvet Burger and we chatted. He had done the Cadbury and Speight's tours and didn't really want to go out later. Then I got another text from Mike around 9 saying they weren't going to be back until 9:30. So around that time I tried to find On Top Backpackers but it turned out to not be where I thought it was. But I saw the wildlife tour bus and followed it, and found the backpackers. I sat in the lounge to wait for Mike to change and Victor to get there and I saw and talked to the Dutch guy from my canyoning trip. Weird.

Then Mike, Victor, and a Korean guy, and I tried to find a place that was still open to eat - and ended up going to Velvet Burger. Hey I only actually ate there once. Though I stole some fries. After that we sat at Robbie Burns and listened to the live jazz and talked about Scottish man purses. Eventually Amy and Hannah joined us, followed by the really drunk Toroa girls. We played some telephone, and then decided to go to Stock Exchange because Robbie Burns was closing (around midnight). So we went there and danced, and it was good fun. We sang on the way, and wished there was karaoke. The Magic Bus guys left around 1 because they had to be on the bus in the morning, and Amy, Michelle, and I went to Monkey Bar (Hannah left and Michelle was at Stock Exchange). Oh I almost forgot about the pink-shirt guys, who came in and danced all around us. I was like 'is this suddenly a gay bar?' (not the first time I've wondered that about Stock Exchange, mind you?). So the Monkey Bar was pretty much dead and we only stayed so that Amy could finish her drink, then tried to leave but Amy decided to stay so Michelle and I left anyway.

Farewell Dinner and bizarreness

I went to the farewell dinner. It was nice seeing Jane and everybody. Bell Pepper Blues was supposed to be Dunedin's best restaurant, and it was indeed one of the best restaurants I have EVER been to!!! Had soup, mashed potatoes, chicken, salmon, beef, veges, potstickers, salad, and chocolate cake! So much food. Then I sat in Grange until Amy was ready to go out. I wanted some sparkling wine to be a little celebratory but couldn't find a small enough bottle lol. We went to Jenn's and hung out there a little then went downtown. We had to wait for Liam (some Kiwi friend of Jenn's) and Scott to get their IDs and during that time some people in a 3rd floor window threw water on us. Not much later we were hit with some water balloons. Then we really had to pee so Amy, Becky, and I went in South Bar to use the toilets. Amy's stall had literal semen in it. GROSS. Then we went to Stock Exchange cuz Amy had a bar tab. There was some fun dancing. I'm pretty sure I saw two trannies. Hot. I left around 2 am when Scott left so I could have someone to walk home with.

Sinclair Wetlands; Brighton Beach

Austin and I had planned to do Silverpeaks or a similar day hike on 5 October, but I woke up with sore ankles for some reason, and so we did something flat instead. We looked up possibilities and discovered the Sinclair Wetlands, which are just out past the airport. So we went out and walked around out there. It was pretty cool, and looked a lot like the Dead Marshes. At one point we encountered a lamb and ewe on the path, and they ran away from us until we realised we had accidentally cornered them, and then we turned back because the ewe started hurling herself at a fence and I was afraid for their safety. After walking around there for a while, we made our way back to Dunedin. We had been thinking about checking out a waterfall on the map but our decision was made for us due to low petrol.

On the way back we stopped at Brighton which has a nice beach. There are really cool rock formations there. We walked around and played on the rocks, then walked down the beach. There was someone riding on the beach! We stepped in the hoofprints. It was a good time.

BBQ and more

Amy and I did go to Hell Pizza. I got a pizza with blue cheese, caramelised onions, tomatoes, and bacon. It usually comes with mushrooms, but you know how I feel about mushrooms. Then we went to a barbeque. Amy had led me to believe you were supposed to bring your own meat-ish stuff and only eat what you cooked, so that's why I agreed to eat pizza with her. It turned out there was heaps of food and everyone was sharing. Anyway, she left after not too long because she couldn't take the meat smell. I stayed and talked to one of Hannah's Kiwi friends Emma, who is in my anthropology class. Also to Michelle, Austin, and Hannah. Karin and Gavin showed up eventually. Then there was a fire. Then Amy came back. There were some marshmallows. It got chilly. Eventually Amy and I left, Grange was watching Apocalypto but I've seen it and we now don't like watching movies with them, more on that later. So we got a Who Wants to Be a Millionaire DVD game and the first season of The Office. We played the game some, it's Australian so not that easy, but still pretty fun. We'll be playing nonstop for a week, probably.

I went on some errands with Amy. First I turned in a survey to Uni Flats and got a free candy bar. Then to the post office, where I mailed off my ballot and got a texting top-up. Next to the Med Library where I dropped off books, then the regular lib for more (on the way stopping at the Museum Cafe to get fresh-squeezed OJ).

Last night I first went to Amy's because I wanted to DO SOMETHING because I had just finished my paper. Grange was watching Black Sheep and had invited us, but didn't bother to text us when they were going to start. So we asked them but they had already started it. Amy has a thing about starting movies in the middle apparently (well, I totally get that, I can't do it either) and didn't want to go, plus was kind of mad they didn't text her because they did that last week too I guess. Eventually they persuaded us to come by telling us they would start over. So we get there and they're all pretty drunk, and they have the movie paused 30 minutes in and weren't actually planning to restart it. They also talked through the whole thing.

Anyway, we thought they would do something after that, but instead they started playing House of the Dead. So we left to search for something interesting to do. No one was out and all the bars were closing (this was slightly before midnight). It was really balmy and warm and lovely. But it was so lame. We found a Christian group who had set up Sing Star in the street. But this one girl from the group talked to us and by the time we were finished talking to her they had packed up the game :( So we wandered. It was cloudy so we couldn't stargaze. I really wanted to walk to the beach but Amy's not much of a walking long distances person and the beach is pretty far away.

We eventually ended up going to see Hannah, who was doing homework. Outside of her house someone had spray painted "Fish?" on the sidewalk. Down the street a ways, some guys were sitting on the sidewalk and we were sort of concerned but then it appeared they were all fine, and they said hi to us, but we went in Hannah's for probably an hour. When we came out the guys were still there, and were like 'hey look it's our friends' and we found out they were playing Risk. On the street. Kind of neat actually, it was nice enough out. Walking down Leith street we caught a nasty whiff of fish, and soon after saw a disgusting dead fish in the street. So, that was my Thursday night.