The plane flight from Los Angeles to Auckland was the longest I've ever been on (12.5hrs + 1.5hrs waiting to taxi out of LA). Luckily, however, the plane was well equipt to keep one occupied. Seat-back television monitors were pre-loaded with dozens of free current movies and programs. We had an entire multimedia center at our beckon call. Even better, all meals and drinks were complimentary...wine and beer included. I highly suggest New Zealand Air.
On to New Zealand...
We flew into Auckland (North Island), the largest city in NZ. They call it the city of sails...being that it sits on a large popular bay. Within an hour, we left for our first destination, Roturua (Roe-too-rah). Within 5 minutes of driving (as soon as the airport stopped blocking our view), we quickly realized we were in a completely different world. There are more hills in New Zealand than anywhere I have ever been. It seems that every building somehow sits on its own personal hill. The land is incredibly 3D. We drove through what I suppose are Auckland's suburbs for almost 20 minutes. They couldn't be any more different from suburbs in the states. There were no business parks and shopping malls, neighborhoods were not clearly defined, small businesses were mixed in with housing developements, and livestock grazed in backyards. It was overwhelming different. As we left the outer boundaries of Auckland, neighborhoods turned into giant bulging hills of farmland. Sheep were everywhere. So far, the drive was scenic...but not what I'd expected.
That changed as we entered the valley that Roturua sits in. The town is built around a large lake (Lake Roturua). In the center is a large island/mountain. The entire place is encompassed by high, rolling hills (not quite mountiains). Like everywhere else in NZ, the landscape is dominated by the color green. Even the lake itself was a bright, transparent, emerald green. The thing about Roturua, is that it confused your senses. Visually, you are overloaded (except for the beach town-like archetecture.). The lake and the surrounding area are beautiful. However, Roturua is a geothermal hotbed. The town itself is like a cherry sitting on top the crust of a steaming hot pie. Only it doesn't smell like a pie...its smells like fart. Throughout the town, there are hundreds of bubbling mud pools. Each emits its own share of gaseous sulfer...hence the aroma. The pools themselves are fascinating. Some are the size of a small pond, while others are no larger than your feet. Most have been fenced off and act as tourist attractions, but there are many smaller ones that are scattered even throughout the downtown. It was somewhat scary actually. Just two blocks away from our hostel, there was a pit of bubbling mud where a house stood just six months ago. The town is literally imploading. Even the local rugby field was shut down due to a man-sized hole (although they filled that particular one with concrete).
We spent four days in Roturua, travelling each day to see sights in the area. On the second day in town, we travelled 30min to a traditional Maori (May-or-ee) village (recreated of course...but done surprisingly well). Cooking in giant sand pits, filled with red hot rocks, and wet leaves, they served the best plate of fish I have ever had.
On the Maoris.......
The Maoris are the indigenious peoples of New Zealand. They arrived in the 8th century, and are related to most of the tribes found throughout the south Pacific. Unlike Native Americans in the U.S., their culture has been heavily integrated into New Zealand life. The language here is full of Maori vocabulary. It is about 80% English, and 20% Maori. It reminds me of Tex-Mex along the U.S./Mexican border.
The last day in Roturua was by far the best. We left that morning at 8am for a small town about 3hrs away. I forget its name (it was Maori), but it meant "place of caves and water". We were going caving. There were two different caves we could go in. One was advanced, and required repelling and climbing skills. The other was for the average person. Unfortunately, the 10 spots for the advanced caving filled before I could get on the list. I thought I'd be walking on paths through lit caves (like in the U.S.). I was wrong. When we arrived at our "base-camp" we suited up in full body wetsuits (6mm neoprene...thick stuff), large water boots, and helmets with lights on them. I was a bit surprised. To get to the cave, we walked about half a mile through mountain pastures (breathtaking). After climbing down a hole (even I had to squeeze through) on a 15ft ladder, we ended up in the cave. However, this cave was special, because in it, there was a large stream. It would take forever to get to all the details (this post is getting too long as it is), but the highlights would include: crawling down little rabbit holes to advance in the cave, swimming sections of the underground stream, and turning out all of our lights to see the constellations of glow-in-the-dark larvae that clung to the cielings...I'm talking millions...and they lit up entire portions of the cave. It was a cool day.
Sorry about the segue here...I'm running out of time.
Yesterday I left Roturua for Dunedin...my final destination. The 2hr plane ride was incredible. The south island is even more beautiful than the north....somehow. To the west lie the Southern Alps...an incredible mountain range with peaks that fall only a few thousand feet below Everest. To the east is a clear, aqua-blue, Pacific Ocean. In the center, there are nothing but giant rolling hills and saphire blue rivers. What blows my mind the most is that the land is so uninhabitted. Towns are surrounded by rural farms, but beyond the farms lies nothing but wilderness. To give you an idea of how little of the land is populated...just last month scientist discovered a new and very distinct species of moose (large animal...hard to miss) just 200km northwest of where I am.
But on to Dunedin...
It's a town of 110,000 people...20,000 of which are university students. I can't really compare it to any town/city that I've ever been to. It is an intense contrast of classical European/Scotish and "new-age" archetecture. Picture the Macnamara Alumni Center sitting next to a gothic cathedral. The campus is absolutely beautiful. It is primarilly buildings of the classic architecture I spoke of, with gardens and green areas tying them together. It even has a swift little stream that runs through the center of campus. I wish I could say more, but I haven't had the time to do much exploring yet.
My flat...
It's about 4 blocks north of campus in an apartment complex. I do not live with any New Zealanders...despite being told that I would. I have 5 roommates...2 guys and 3 girls. We are all from the U.S. (only one AustraLearn student), except for Anuk (female) who is from Paris. The two other males have yet to arrive...so at the moment, I'm swimming in estrogen...not all bad. The flat is nice, but not great. It has a decent sized kitchen, a large living room, two showers, but only one toilet. I have MY OWN LARGE ROOM on the second floor with a lovely view of a parking lot/alley way.
I've got to go...time is about to run out. I am having trouble uploading pictures, but should have them up soon...65 taken so far. Mom and Dad...I plan to call Saturday at around 7pm your time. Gooday..
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