Greetings from Napier and a New Zealand Outhouse!

So, I went on yet another road trip to Napier. Ten Pakistani guys (1 girl), 1 German, and Myself all loaded into a 12 passenger van at 6:30 in the morning. 

Boy do the pakistanis come prepared! They had made up unique sandwiches for the trip which looked like a potato cake and later on we had one of their chicken curry dishes. Their food was so hot my face looked like a tomato and tears stream down my face as I ate it. I can't say I am a fan of spicy foods, but it was fantastic!

 

The beaches in Napier are pebble which is hard to walk on barefoot, but nothing was going to keep these guys from the sea. Before I knew it we were all diving into the ocean fully clothed. The problem is that I think only a couple of them can actually swim.

...

We all survived.

 

Fahim and I are trying to learn German from Bernd, and one of the best parts of the trip had to do with the two of us trying to practice the German accent by repeating everything that came out of Bernd's mouth- you know the game- Copy Cat. Well it works, but it doesn't make the German guy happy. 

I have to say the International part of things has been very interesting. Although there are many American Exchange students, I pride myself on being the only one in a group of friends- I didn't come here to hang out with Americans... Well I get teased a lot for being such, but we've all acquired certain stereotypes. 

We have our little "international disputes", when I am leader of somthing they say- typical american trying to boss everyone around... Due to where I come from I happen to take on the role of the "typical" stupid and ignorant American who has too much money and power to know any different- look at our president they say. 

We joke around a lot, the German's drink and complain too much while the Pakistanis and simply from a whole other planet, but you know after awhile it does get to you. The people I spend time with know that these hollywood themes are not the full truth about America, actually you may be surprised that most of them are more educated about the USA than majority of Americans. You know, It is incredible how much you learn when spending so much time with these highly intellectual people. I was surprised to learn that most of them are working on their post grads and some of them are already veterinarians and doctors. How cool is that!

What better way to end this blog than with an Outhouse! This one is for you Mom! Oh and I don't know how many people you can fit in an outhouse, I wanted to make sure you could still see the hole, you know shit happens.

Greetings from a New Zealand Outhouse!

SHEEP, BAAAH!!

Did I mention all the sheep in New Zealand! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE! I am certainly going to watch Lord of the Rings again, just to look for sheep. I don't know how they could have possibly filmed the whole movie and not overlooked a few.

Castle Point

 This is Steve (Kiwi) and Ivi (German) as we are climbing around the sea cliffs towards a cave at Castle Point. We spent the day surfing in the beautiful blue waters of the cove, and spent the night down the road just off of the beach. We lit a little camp fire and played cards into the night by the light of my head lamp. As we crawled into our sleeping bags and rolled over to say good night, I looked at my watch, only to realize it was 8pm!

  This is the hike across the beach to the light house, which was apparently the last man operated light house in New Zealand.

  

This was one of my favorite finds, it reads home of the lost souls. Need I say more, the monument itself says it all.

This beautiful ocean scape was only fifteen feet from where we slept. The waves were monstrous, I kept dreaming I would be swept up by the sea.

  

This incredible sight is Castle Rock, and the view from above. The bay you are looking at in the first photo is where some of the best surfing takes place. I only hope it isn't a popular place for sharks!

Takin' a rest after a long hike to the top of the world.

Surfing in Wellington

Wellington was Great! We went to Lyall beach where the sky was bright blue and the sun was shining brightly. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Ten incredible hours of surfing- followed by a night out on the town. 

Though surfing was Saturday, Sunday was a more mellow day. One of us was Sick, the other was Actually Sick, and the other was too exhausted to care.

I have to say Wellington was my first REAL culture shock! There are so many FRICKIN people! Where do they all come from? After being absolutely exhausted then submerged into this foreign city. A city in itself is rather foreign to me, let alone the night life of foreigners with cool accents (which I can't really understand). The levels of energy and strength of emotions is powerful and amazing. There were thousands of young people flooding the streets in beautiful dresses and tuxes off to dance and drink the night away to trance of the city rhythm. 

For those of you who have never experienced this- I could not possible describe it in words. You must see it for yourself. For those of you who live in a city, it has probably become so familiar to you that you would probably not recognize the beauty and enchantment of it all. I could only recommend traveling to a small town in the middle of nowhere, to embrace quiet living, space, and clarity of mind.

Obsession with New Zealand- and it's beaches

It's hard to believe I have spent so much of my life landlocked. The ocean is spectacular- and it's everywhere here. Seashells scattered along the beaches, the crash of the waves- a Great Big Fire with good drinks and great company. What more could I ask for?

                 

I managed to borrow a surf board yesterday and I'll be taking it out for the weekend. I am awful at it... actually I am still at the point where I enter the water talking to myself out loud, "I am not afraid of the ocean, I am not afraid of jellyfish. I am not afraid of the ocean, I am not afraid of what's in it..." Actually I feel a lot better about it now.   : )

I have high hopes for getting on the board soon. And if all goes well I'll be in the water when I do it!

  

Somehow we squeezed a surfboard with four people in that car.

I have fallen in love. Sorry Mom, I'm never coming home. The locals tell me I have probably seen some of the worst of this country and I shouldn't base my opinion on where I've been so far. If these places are ugliest- my obsession with New Zealand's beauty can only get worse. 

Next week Featuring:

Wed, Fri, Sat: Surfing

Sun: Hangi- traditional Maori Meal where the food is buried.

 possibly a movie of the bridge jump

Abseiling, Bridge Swinging, Climbing, Exploring- ALPINE CLUB's First Adventure

 

Abseiling is a like repelling, you tie a rope to something securely and do some magic work with the ropes and karabiners and you are able to lower you self down some pretty fantastic places. I'm thinking these skills will come in hand when I go caving later on.

The first pic is of me on the bridge, the guy told me to basically lower myself off the bridge, but keep my feet on it until I was basically upside down. The hard part was trusting myself and the ropes to not slip while I hopped over the railing 60 feet above the ground. 

      

  

Abseiling is AWESOME! 

Mentally preparing myself to jump.

Ryan decided to take his camera with him when he jumped, and snapped shots of his expressions all the way down.

    

Some people needed a little motivation while others had decided, "If I stand on my hands falling wont be so scary right?" It really looked awesome when they fell backwards from a handstand. 

There are great places to explore, we found a series of old train tunnels and broken down bridges. After climbing under one of them I found a Fantastic view overlooking the river and valley below.

Wind farms are everywhere. I have to mention: one girl was upset because she didn't bring a jacket since no one told her we were going to be by the wind farms. She was under the impression that the wind farms actually created the wind.  (She's a college student)

Flatting and a Birthday

Me and All my wonderful Flatmates!

(L: Susan, Capri, Kristin, Julie, Rheyda)

Julie's Birthday was last week, so we celebrated by crowning her princess!

Though I must say Ryan made a pretty princess too.