It's time I spilled the beans on my New Year's holiday... It was amazing! This year I decided to celebrate New Years in yet another country. Let's see... I've done that in four different foreign countries now and while every one has been unique, all have been glorious! This year's was spent in New Zealand. I have a friend living there and going to Uni. I had met her during my time in Bahrain.
The trip started off on the evening of Dec 25th. I left Okinawa and arrived in Brisbane, Australia the next morning for a 23 hour 40 min layover. Or that was the plan... But before I get into that I just have to state for the record, after spending the day killing time at the mall and wondering the streets of Brisbane, I came to the conclusion that Australia deports all it's unattractive women! It must! That or they are forced to stay indoors because as hard as I looked I saw nothing but beauties everywhere! Alright, now that that's off my chest, on with the story... The backpackers I was staying at had a bar in it, so when night fell, I naturally decided to start my holiday off right away. By midnight, I was pissed! I stumbled to my room were I passed out and slept in. I didn't miss my flight by much, but fortunately there was space on the flight the very next morning and at no extra cost. So, my one day layover turned into two. Fine by me! I had wanted to visit Australia since a project on it in the third grade!
By the afternoon of the 28th, I had finally gotten myself to Auckland, New Zealand. Huge city... Just the sort of thing I've been missing. The first few days were spent chilling and nights there were spent going out to eat and partying. My friend Dez introduced me to her boyfriend and their friends, most of which came in pairs. Not that I was looking to get hooked up with their friends but it was a little awkward at times to be the single guy swimming in a sea of couples. New Years Eve was the turning point for the trip. The day was spent canyoning in Piha. Basically, hike a trail to the top of a waterfall and start repelling down one after another with the occasional pool of water deep enough to jump off a cliff into. That night we stayed out all night dancing, drinking, and partying. But not until after we watched the fireworks off Skytower, the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere. By the time we started heading home, the sun was coming up. I hadn't done that in a while. After a bit of recuperating on New Years Day, we set out on a road trip down south. First stop Lake Roturua.
It was a decent drive down the Roturua but fortunately Rhys, Dez's boyfriend was able the borrow his father's BMW, which made for a nice comfortable ride. Once we arrived, we found ourselves in a small lakeside town teeming with hot springs. Everywhere you went there was evidence of the geothermal activity. everywhere you went you could either see the steam rising from the springs or smell the strong sulfur smell they eminate. Even the streets had vents built into them that steam poured from. As for the activities we took advantage of... Zorbing, Sledging, and a taste of the Maori culture were on the agenda, with a little random fun thrown in too.
First up, Zorbing! Just imagine an inflatable hamster ball, throw in some water and roll it down a hill with you and a couple friends inside. What a blast! You can find the pictures and videos on my profile. Sledging is basically white water rafting meets boogie boarding. You hold onto a hollow, hard plastic board and hit the rapids. Again, great fun and pictures on the profile. Our Maori experience was another story. It was a dinner and show type of thing. I've always had a fascination with warrior cultures so needless to say I got quite a bit from this. In addition to all that, we found time the time to hit a small amusement park call Skyline Skyrides. There were only a few attractions there, but they were fun. Just as soon as I can edit the video of me on the luge, I'll get it on the profile. There were three different tracks. Scenic/beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. One guess as to which one I picked.
After a couple days in Roturua, our next stop was another lake, Lake Taupo. Pretty much the only reason we went to Taupo was so that I could do my first bungee jump. There were jumps all over New Zealand, which is to be expected as bungee jumping was invented there, but the one in Taupo was the most appealing given my time frame. After the jump and some lunch we started the drive back to Auckland.
The remainder of the time in Auckland was more going out and one last big night of partying. It was such a relief to go out to places that not only stayed open past midnight but still be packed with people afterward. On the morning on the 5th I found myself back at Auckland International ready to begin the series of flights back to Okinawa. I've been back for three weeks and I have been busy! But I finally got around to writing this blog.
Overall, the trip was filled with good times, great food, wonderful experiences and I can't wait to go back. I just wish this trip could've been more than just a couple weeks long. If you have never been to that part of the world, be it Australia or New Zealand, GET GOING!
The trip started off on the evening of Dec 25th. I left Okinawa and arrived in Brisbane, Australia the next morning for a 23 hour 40 min layover. Or that was the plan... But before I get into that I just have to state for the record, after spending the day killing time at the mall and wondering the streets of Brisbane, I came to the conclusion that Australia deports all it's unattractive women! It must! That or they are forced to stay indoors because as hard as I looked I saw nothing but beauties everywhere! Alright, now that that's off my chest, on with the story... The backpackers I was staying at had a bar in it, so when night fell, I naturally decided to start my holiday off right away. By midnight, I was pissed! I stumbled to my room were I passed out and slept in. I didn't miss my flight by much, but fortunately there was space on the flight the very next morning and at no extra cost. So, my one day layover turned into two. Fine by me! I had wanted to visit Australia since a project on it in the third grade!
By the afternoon of the 28th, I had finally gotten myself to Auckland, New Zealand. Huge city... Just the sort of thing I've been missing. The first few days were spent chilling and nights there were spent going out to eat and partying. My friend Dez introduced me to her boyfriend and their friends, most of which came in pairs. Not that I was looking to get hooked up with their friends but it was a little awkward at times to be the single guy swimming in a sea of couples. New Years Eve was the turning point for the trip. The day was spent canyoning in Piha. Basically, hike a trail to the top of a waterfall and start repelling down one after another with the occasional pool of water deep enough to jump off a cliff into. That night we stayed out all night dancing, drinking, and partying. But not until after we watched the fireworks off Skytower, the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere. By the time we started heading home, the sun was coming up. I hadn't done that in a while. After a bit of recuperating on New Years Day, we set out on a road trip down south. First stop Lake Roturua.
It was a decent drive down the Roturua but fortunately Rhys, Dez's boyfriend was able the borrow his father's BMW, which made for a nice comfortable ride. Once we arrived, we found ourselves in a small lakeside town teeming with hot springs. Everywhere you went there was evidence of the geothermal activity. everywhere you went you could either see the steam rising from the springs or smell the strong sulfur smell they eminate. Even the streets had vents built into them that steam poured from. As for the activities we took advantage of... Zorbing, Sledging, and a taste of the Maori culture were on the agenda, with a little random fun thrown in too.
First up, Zorbing! Just imagine an inflatable hamster ball, throw in some water and roll it down a hill with you and a couple friends inside. What a blast! You can find the pictures and videos on my profile. Sledging is basically white water rafting meets boogie boarding. You hold onto a hollow, hard plastic board and hit the rapids. Again, great fun and pictures on the profile. Our Maori experience was another story. It was a dinner and show type of thing. I've always had a fascination with warrior cultures so needless to say I got quite a bit from this. In addition to all that, we found time the time to hit a small amusement park call Skyline Skyrides. There were only a few attractions there, but they were fun. Just as soon as I can edit the video of me on the luge, I'll get it on the profile. There were three different tracks. Scenic/beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. One guess as to which one I picked.
After a couple days in Roturua, our next stop was another lake, Lake Taupo. Pretty much the only reason we went to Taupo was so that I could do my first bungee jump. There were jumps all over New Zealand, which is to be expected as bungee jumping was invented there, but the one in Taupo was the most appealing given my time frame. After the jump and some lunch we started the drive back to Auckland.
The remainder of the time in Auckland was more going out and one last big night of partying. It was such a relief to go out to places that not only stayed open past midnight but still be packed with people afterward. On the morning on the 5th I found myself back at Auckland International ready to begin the series of flights back to Okinawa. I've been back for three weeks and I have been busy! But I finally got around to writing this blog.
Overall, the trip was filled with good times, great food, wonderful experiences and I can't wait to go back. I just wish this trip could've been more than just a couple weeks long. If you have never been to that part of the world, be it Australia or New Zealand, GET GOING!
glad your back, sounds like an amazing trip.
I just knew you'd find something to climb and or jump from.
hurry with video please
(oooh and check out my new bimmer)