I tripped on a cloud and fell 8 miles high

So we said our goodbyes to Freddie at the end of our Rotorua stay and headed for Taupo. We're looking forward to meeting up with him in Nelson, at the northern tip of the south island a month from now. We really enjoyed hanging out with him, he's a great guy. And it was fun seeing the interaction between the most English of Englishmen and the most Irish of Irishmen. Yes Freddie, the Irish have a language, what do you think we spoke before you came around? And I believe Dermot can now use the word "whilst" more often...

Good times.

We got up to a lot in Rotorua. The highlight being white water rafting. For an hour we battled level 5 rapids (level 6 being too difficult for commercial rafting). The instructor for some crazy ass reason put me in the front, despite me arguing that I wasn't that light... but now upon reflection maybe it was because I am in fact not light (10,000 cheesburgers later, remember?) The crew paddled at my at my pace and we managed to not flip our boat as it went down a 7 meter waterfall. I was surprisingly calm because at the back of my mind I knew I was a good swimmer. Dermot, on the other hand was more nervous. After the waterfall, I switched places with Dermot and Freddie as they took to the front and I got in the back. They got the chance to be nearly drowned as we went head first into a rapid. All the pictures I posted have us smiling like idiots. It was awesome.

We also went to a Maori Hangi in Rotorua, which is the equivalent to a Hawaiian Luau. It gave us tourists a chance to dig into Maori culture and food. We got to see an hour's worth of dancing, singing, and fearsome haka's (seriously, look up the word "Haka" on Youtube and see what I'm talking about) then we stuffed ourselves stupid in typical Maori cuisine. Mmm... vegetables. Then after it got dark they took us to see some glow worms, or the Maori fairy eyes. Touristy, but mandatory. It's their country after all.

We also did some luging, which gave the men in our party a chance to be boys again and the girl in the group to worry. Haha, it was fun. Little tiny carts winding up and down a steep, concrete track.

Rotorua was great.

But seriously, they should change the name of the town to What's That F#cking Smell

It's a volcanic hot spot. The gut wrenching odor of molten rock and sulfur hit your nose at the most undesirable of times. By the third day I was ready to leave or one of those gags of mine was gonna turn into puke.

Picture it!

Anyway... Taupo was our next destination and since it was pretty close to Rototura the drive there was easy. We checked into our hostel then proceeded to book some events for the days ahead.

There are two things to do in Taupo. One, is the Tongariro Crossing, i.e. for LOTR fans it's Mordor and Mount Doom. So to me, that was my priority.

Two, is skydive.

We wanted to do both.

It was 2 o'clock and we were thinking of getting something to eat. But the lady behind reception had better ideas. She suggested we go sky diving instead, and do the crossing tomorrow.

Ok, whatever you say lady.

4 o'clock comes around and Dermot and I are hoisted off to Taupo Airport in a limo.

5 o'clock we're strapped into harnesses and suits and thrown in a plane.

Shortly after, I'm dangling my legs over a the side of a plane and thinking what on God's green earth am I doing!?

Too late! WHOOSH!

Dermot said I screamed but I don't really remember much.

I was the first to jump (i.e. get pushed) out of the plane, but we both experienced one minute's free fall and 5 minutes of floating from 15,000 feet.

We both agreed that it was the longest minute of our lives, versus the popular argument that it goes by too quick. We didn't anticipate the speed at which we were going to fall. For 60 seconds I struggled to breath (and in the DVD you'll see that that struggling looks something like a fish trying to breath out of water) and my head felt like it was going to explode from the pressure. We fell through a cloud and green earth came up to meet us then, thank God, the parachute unfolded and we were hoisted back up in the sky for the most unbelievable 5 minutes of life. Because the instructor is behind you, you feel like you're alone, in the windowless, bottomless world of the sky. You could see for miles and catch your breath. My instructor pointed our Mount Doom in the distance, I squealed with delight.

Our instructors landed us both safe and sound on the ground.

It was the best thing we've ever done.

We'll show you the DVDs in person, cause they take too long to load here on the blog. Check out the photos.

It was good that that was the best thing we've ever done because the following day was the worst thing we've ever done. I can look at the pictures now and see the beauty and I can feel the pride in me knowing that I completed a 12 mile trail of tears around volcanic wasteland in the searing, ozone-less New Zealand sun. I mean, what else could I have expected? It's Mordor for crissake, it's not gonna be a walk in the park, like the hike up to Murren in Switzerland now seems. I was weeping by the end of it, under my breath because I didn't want to test Dermot's nerves anymore. I basically made him carry me down the side of a volcano. It was the steepest of slopes with a surface of loose, sharp rocks. I had already wiped out and bruised my spine and cut my hands trying to do it on my own. So he ushered me down for 45 minutes of terror like my brother used to help my 93 year old great grandma climb the step to our house if it was icy. We walked up the devil's staircase, then down jagged crags, then up steep inclines, through snow and then surfaces that looked like the surface of the moon. I got my pictures in front of Mount Doom but that was only the beginning of the hike, so don't be decieved by the smiles, haha. Aw man, I'm never going to yell "hurry up" at Frodo and Sam running up Mount Doom at the end of Return of the King anymore because I know how hard it is.

After a day of rest, we left Taupo and headed to New Zealand's capital city Wellington. It's built around a bay at New Zealand's southern most point in the north island. The major highway into Wellington was basically on the beach. High tide was in and only one strong gust of wind would've drenched the cars in ocean. It was so strange to see. Our hostel was located a good distance away from the center of the city, in a little town called Plimmerton. Our hostel was right by the ocean, it was beautiful.

In Wellington I got to get my geek on with a full LOTR day tour that took us to several locations including Weta Studios where all the magic happened (the CGI, the costumes, art design, etc). Dermot got to shake hands with Lurtz, the massive Uruk-hai leader - just look at the pictures I'm not talking crazy! We got to visit where the Hobbits left the Shire, The Road where they encountered their first Ringwraith; Rivendell where we really had to use our imagination; Isengard where Gandalf of Saruman had a stroll; the river Anduin; and Helms Deep. Now, nothing looks anything like the movie, except for maybe The Road. Peter Jackson and crew manipulated the scenery so much with CGI. But you could still see traces of the crew and you got to hear the stories of how everything was done.

I remember back in 2001 trying to explain to my parents as we were heading to the theatre to watch The Fellowship of the Ring about the books and the story. My mom asked me "where is Middle Earth"? I said, well, it's made up, it's Tolkien's fictional world. But I said that in 2001, before I had been to New Zealand. New Zealand is Middle Earth, there can be no other country on earth more suitable to be the place that millions of people have visited in their minds since 1937 when the stories were first published.

It's magical. The Maori call it Aotearoa, or the land of the long white cloud. To me, as I can't see it from space, it's like driving on the back of a sleeping dragon, one of those mythical sea creatures from the Dark Ages that foreign explorers would devise to occupy the farthest stretches of maps. The jagged edges of mountains and beaches look like claws. The green, its scales, the parched earth, it's haunches. The volcanic fissures are its breath. You must drive slow and careful around the slithering mountains, and take in all the beauty.

Because our hostel in Wellington was away from the city and by the beach, we got the chance to see the famous New Zealand stars. They twinkle. And the sky is actually a dark blue, except if you looked to the far left to see the bright lights of Wellington that seem to be from a distance something out of War of the Worlds.

Anyway, Wellington was great. It was a very vibrant, artsy city. It was surprisingly small for a capital city, but that is not a complaint, because it was very walkable and warm, people wise. Dermot and I looked lost, what else is new, and a woman came up to us and said as much and pointed us on our way. You don't get that it most capital cities.

After Wellington we headed to Christchurch on the south island. We boarded the Interislander Ferry with our car. When the ferry started to churn about in the Cook Straight, we headed down a level to the movie theatre to pass most of the "turbulence" for lack of a better word. Sea sickness is never fun.

Christchurch was very nice. It was colonial in appearance, kinda like if Tommy Bahama designed Boston. Not as youthful and hopping as Wellington was, but it still had a lot for us to do... like pub crawls! Which are always a great way to meet people and see the city (and hopefully remember it the next day).

But the highlight of Christchurch was the day trip to "Rohan" (stay with me, more LOTR references here). Rohan featured in the 2nd movie, The Two Towers, it was the home of the horselords and Edoras, the capital and the Golden Hall. Tolkien described Edoras as this isolated kingdom surrounded by 360 degrees of mountains. Peter Jackson wanted to build his own Edoras in a studio because the chances of finding such a place on earth were slim to none. But him and his film scouts were in a helicopter, flying around the south island to map of other film locations when they flew into this place, Mount Sunday as it's called in real life. The helicopter pilot said, as they flew through a cloud and Mount Sunday was revealed to them, "holy shit, is that for real". And it was. And it became the location for Edoras in both the 2nd and 3rd movies.

The crew built The Golden Hall upon Mount Sunday in 8 months for little under 3 weeks of filming.

That's where Dermot and I went that day, on this tour. We alongside a few others hopped in an off road vehicle to visit the site of the Golden Hall and I got to stand where Eowyn stood in The Two Towers and, and, it was the greatest day ever. I got to sword fight Dermot in front of the mountain. The tour guide wanted me to use the sword, but I said gimme the battle axe. And I got to sit where the fire place in The Golden Hall was, and...

And, I can die a happy person... many, many years from now, heh.

My geekness has been fulfilled.

So we're in Dunedin now. A sleepy, little Scottish town 6 hours south of Christchurch. It's raining today too, pouring actually. Kinda funny, we go to the "Edinburgh of New Zealand" and it's our first rainy day. Dunedin was founded by Scottish immigrants in the late 1800s and the town is rife with the celebration of all things Scottish. Rainy days, included.

We head to Queenstown on Thursday, the party central of New Zealand.

So ah, I figured I'd blog now while I had the time.

Sorry for the long entry. There's so much to do in New Zealand, it's hard to find the time.

Hope all is well, Happy Thanksgiving to all the yankees to read this.

Over the moon...

Kia Ora, bro. Or hello, to those that do not speak Maori.

Happy days, I get to blog.

Dermot and Freddie are black water rafting right now. I was planning on doing it, we had paid for me to do it, but I woke up this morning and truly realized what the f#ck black water rafting entails, and I chickened out. I'll let someone push me out of a plane over Mount Doom (Tongariro National Park) but I'm not gonna raft in a cave by myself with a single light on my head and a single tub keeping me afloat.

Bgok! Bgok! (Chicken noises?)

By the way, Freddie is our friend we met in the last hostel back.

Anyway, we'll start at the beginning, or the plane ride from Berlin to Auckland.

It was the nicest plane ride I've ever taken. Korean airlines is packed with polite, helpful employees, you get great food, free socks, and loads of great movies to watch. And in between the movies they show you clips of how to do airplane yoga, which after 20 hours of sitting down, felt really nice. So getting here was really a peice of cake. It's a small world when you think of it. We can fly to the farthest land mass away within 24 hours, and you get free socks in the meantime. Lovin your work.

That's another saying here, loving your work. The Kiwis are full of catch phrases. New Zealanders called themselves Kiwis, not after the fruit, but from the native, flightless bird. Makes sense, right?

We arrived in Auckland on the 28th. It was sunny and warm.

We took showers, left our stuff at the hostel, then walked to the local town of Parnell, where our hostel was located, to get some food. Parnell is a very posh borough of Auckland, so cheap backpacker food was hard to find. We ended up in The Bog, an Irish pub for a pint and some burgers.

The Phillies were playing on the t.v. I assumed it was the rained out game, a re-run, it couldn't be game 5. But it was the bottom of the 6th inning...

Bar tender, excuse me, is this game live?

Yep, this game is live.

Dermot and I got to watch a team from Philadelphia WIN a championship. It was the greatest, most random moment. Something must've told me to go into that pub, probably the only pub in Auckland showing the game. I got to watch it live. I still don't believe it. The Philadelphia Phillies are world champs. Phuck yeah!

Auckland was a great city. It's the biggest city in the North Island, where we'll be spending the next couple of weeks. We got to drink in a pub called Father Ted's and watch the All Blacks beat the Aussie's in rugby. Dermot called Auckland mini America. We got to eat at Wendy's, it was very exciting all together. Though relatively small, there's a great street called Queen St that has lots of pubs and restaurants and an IMAX theatre we took well advantage of (we hadn't seen a movie in months!) It's great to be in a country that speak English, haha.

And Maori.

New Zealand has only been a country since 1840. I guess because of that the natives and their culture had a chance of survival against the colonization. The English were the first ones here and they signed a treaty with the natives that gave them their land and their language and protection against other potential white faced threats (i.e. the French and the Dutch). So nowadays, you are of European or Maori descent (or of course both, love knows no bounds). I know I'm only seeing the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure there are grave social injustices and prejudice, but it's wonderful to see the European incorporate the Maori culture into their own, and almost show it off with pride and humility. It makes me wonder if in another world the US couldn't have been this way. Native American culture at the forefront instead of radio-active reservations and bloody memories...

We stayed in Auckland for 5 days, 3 of which it took us to get over the jet lag. Going to bed at 5 p.m. and waking up a 6 a.m. was fun (not).

During the five days there, we took a day tour. The woman giving the tour said we're going to start the day with a game. Everyone stand up who wants the chance to win a free bungy jump off of Auckland's Sky Tower (the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere). Dermot stands up. After two rounds of heads or tails, Dermot wins the contest. A half hour the contest, Dermot is standing on top on the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere getting ready to jump off it. I'm standing below getting it all on camera.

3,2,1, and Dermot jumps!

I have it all on video. I'll post it soon.

Luck of the Irish, right?

After Auckland we headed north to the Bay of Islands in our new (used) car that we bought. It's a Mazda Astina. It drives, and it has breaks, good enough for me. And the guy we bought it from gave us a written guarantee that when we bring it back to him, if it's still in one peice, he'll buy it back from us for a little under what we paid for it. I drove and Dermot navigated. There are only like 4 roads in New Zealand (just kidding) so it wasn't hard for us to find Paihia, the town in which we were anchoring in in the Bay of Islands.

It was beautiful and the weather cleared up for us giving us 4 sunny and warm days by the beach.

Jealous? ;-)

We met Freddie Judge from London in our hostel the first day and figured out that we were all headed the same direction for the next week or so, we'll tag along together and see what kind of stuff we can get up to. The second day in Paihia we did some extreme flip flopping along the rocky coast of the beach. Dermot got blisters and everything.

The third day we took an Awesome Experience tour bus up to the north of the North Island to Cape Reinga where our bus driver drove us along a 90 mile beach, taught us some more catchy phrases, made us listen to Kiwi reggae music, pushed us down high verticle sand dunes on boogey boards, and fed us fish and chips. Sweet as, bro.

The fourth day my mom called me every hour to update me on the election. And around 4 o'clock New Zealand time I got a text from Carrie: OBAMA! And a phone call from my mom a second later saying it was official, President Elect Barack Obama. Dermot, Freddie and I were walking around downtown Paihia at the time. Dermot took a picture of me screaming with joy before I ran all the way back to our hostel to watch the live coverage on CNN.

Pinch me, the Phillies and Obama win in one week.

Best. Week. Ever.

We headed south for Waitomo then after making the most of the Bay of Islands.

We stopped over in Auckland to pick up some stuff we forgot in the hostel and do a Skyscreamer reverse bungy, when in New Zealand!

Waitomo is a remote part of the North Island, you have to find it on small roads through winding hills. It was lovely. I saw what looked like Shire (from the Lord of the Rings) at every turn (the whole fecking North Island looks like the Shire) but this part of it even more so. The sun was setting and it turned the mountains purple.

As the sun began the set, I noticed a couple of cars coming towards me were flashing there lights. At first I thought it meant a cop was ahead, or something. But when the cars kept flashing, even miles up the road, I made Freddie get out of the car and check my headlights, maybe they weren't working.

They weren't.

Freddie said, well, you better hurry up then because the sun is going to set soon.

Cue the reverse vampirism.

We chased the last bit of sunset through the winding, dark roads towards Waitomo. Dermot asked Freddie for his miners cap (i.e. the thing he uses to read books at night in the room) to shine towards the road ahead and I turned the emergency blinkers on.

For 15 km we rode in the dark, seeing the signs for Waitomo in the blink of the emergency lights.
It was hysterically insane.

We parked the car in the bright lights of Waitomo's only pub, waddled our way to our hostel which happened to be right behind the pub, dropped our stuff off in the room, and proceeded to drink and laugh away the danger. Freddie played some awful songs on the juke box and we went to sleep safe and sound.

Yesterday we drove around the countryside of Waitomo, eventually ending up at the black sand beach where local Maori women were catching fish (apparently to put in omelets) and I managed to get burnt in the 3 minutes I took off my hoody when the sun managed to show itself. New Zealand has "bugger all" ozone. Apparently.

Tomorrow we head to Rotorua, i.e. the movie location for the Shire, and the heart of Maori culture in the whole country.

Sweet as, bro.