Here is a preview of what my facebook pictures might look like...hahah they aren't all as pretty as this one...but its pretty cool. That mountain is sooo beautiful. Sigh...wish i could do more in Taupo but we are leaving tomorrow morning. oh well. Today was another free day. Nothing much has happened except packing, eating, and interneting.

But i want to say a few weird or different things I have found in NZ...

1) no free refills

2) no tipping...which is nice but the service isn't as good

3) no napkins

4) the drive on the other side of the road and walk on the other side of the sidewalk and stairs

5) sizes are different and hard to judge

6) toilets have a half flush and a full flush

7) police seem scarce

8) they have some differences in menues at fast food resturante like McDonalds and KFC.

There are many more...but i need to get going cause i dont wanna pay 6 dollars for internet...oy.

miss you all...pipes

back from the attack of suple jack

OMG....there are no correct words to describe the adventure i just went on, but i will try to explain it all. So we woke up at 5:30am Jan 25 to go to Waitamo. It was about a 2 hours drive from Auckland. Once we got to base camp we all met Doug, our abrasive guide who had a very weird and creepy sense of humor. His way of guiding us was to help us get lost...how nice of him. Anyways, we immeditaley got suited up to go caving and repelling (abseiling). We had to dress in long polypro (warm clothing - pants and long sleeves) and hike 45 minutes UP with wetsuits, harnesses, and helmets to a 350 ft abseil, which was so much fun coming down on. It was super high up and i think i found out i am a little afraid of heights, but i have since conquered that. Once we got down the abseil, we hiked another 15 minutes through "Indiana Jones" like forests, where we had to climb over hanging trees, abseil again, and make sure we didn't fall off a cliff...that was a tiny bit scary, but after the abseil we made it to the cave! I was so excited until i saw the first SQUEEZE we had to go through. It was TINY and we all barley got through, but we all did after some fancy manuvering (sp?). Once we got into some bigger caverns and saw the cool formations it was clear that my hands were going to be raw coming out because some of the rocks were super sharp to hold onto. What was scary about this part was that we had to go into freezing cold water that made it almost hard to breath, esp when we have to completely submerge ourseleves. I was not happy about that, but looking back, it was pretty awesome. We saw glow worms too, and made it th rough after an hour and half under the ground. I was exhausted after that because it was mentally trying, BUT the day was far from being over. We got out of the cave around 3:30pm (maybe) and hiked back to base camp. We then re-packed our backpacks with all the essentials (clothing, food, some snacks, etc), and then started our tramping (backpacking) journey at 5:20pm. With 20 extra pounds on your pack and going up and down hills...is NOT easy.

After tramping through lots and lots of suple jack (a horrible thick vine that tangles you into everything around you) we found our first campsite near a stream (it was a random clearing we found) arounf 7pm. We had to cook dinner and set up our tents quickly (tents being a tarp). The water is clean to drink so we didnt have to worry about that. Not much to say about this night expect that i had a difficult time sleeping (as i did every night after that).

The next day we woke up at 7am and ate breakfast and packed up to go on a 8 hour hike...8 HOURS!!! we went through more suple jack...lots more...got lost a few times, got scraped up by thorns in the dead lands (logging areas), got stung by wasps (not pleasant), slipped a few times in the steep up hills and downhills and found ourseleves with no energy after hour 5, but we still had 3 more hours to go. HOwever, our camping location of day two was by a beautiful waterfall that we abseiled down, which was awesome (a bright light at the end of the tunnel). The only problem with this campsite was that it was super sandy and sand got EVERYWHERE. Oh yeah...our boots were SOAKED because we had to walk in the mud and water in them. NOT fun, because putting on wet boots and socks SUCKS...i swear im having fun here (haha).

Once again not good sleep because i was sleeping on a slope and things got wet because it rained a little. The next day...was just as long, maybe longer. We got up and started a hike up a diabolical hill (as Doug said). It was slippery and it felt like it would never end, but it did and we had a track to follow!! finally! we followed this nice track for a little while until we had to go off track to take a short cut...short cuts can sometimes suck because there was more suple jack!! but once we got out of the suple jack we were by Double Falls, which is a waterfall with two drops. However, it was around here i saw my life flash before my eyes when i slipped and fell down a narrow path, but i somehow stopped myself. That was terrifying. Anyways....at the bottom of the fall we started gorging, which would have been fun if the rocks were so slippery. Gorging is bascially jumping from rock to rock with a ruching river below you, and you have to try really hard not to fall in or you might break a leg or DIE!! Well this was a terrifying experience for me because i have no balance and i was convinced that this was going to be the end for me. There was one part where i panicked, but made it. I was happy to be passed that huge obstcle, but felt foolish for being so scared. Oh well.

After gorging we walked for hours more, making all of us get to our breaking point. i fell face first on some nice thorns, and then felt super light headed/dizzy after climbing the last HUGE hill of the day. My knees felt like they were going to collapse but i made myself continue until we got to campsite # 3, in the middle of a cow field. Not much to sayhere except i am convinced it rained on my during the night and Dom snored all night long keeping most of us awake. UGH!

Day 4....dun dun dun...hahah no this was the first GOOD day. We went tubing down the Tawerau River, which is like white water rafting, but in a tube. We went down rapids, and i evenr fell out of my tube down one rapid. This was fun because we didnt have to walk much and our feet got to rest. I wish we went tubing everyday, because i finally was having a blast. After tubing and JUMPING off a waterfall (which was AWESOME), we walked to our next campsite, (we had to cross the river to get to is, which is scary because the rocks underneath and so slippery), but it was a nice campsite. We finally were feeling light hearted and the trip was looking up.

Day 5...was our canoe day...margaret and I were canoeing parnters. We went down the Marakopa river to the Tasman Sea. Marg and I had issues in the first part of our four hour journey down the river. We did a lot of 360 turns down the rapids and even capsized the boat...the water was FREEZING!!, but after lunch we finally found our groove and were second to the Tasman sea, which has the most beautiful black sand you will ever see. I was so happy to be there because my arms were about to fall off. oy! So we got to our final destination and then drove all the way back to where we started and cleaned all the equipment and got out of there as fast as we could...we needed civilization! we needed showers and we needed beds! and now we have them all...and we are having nightmares about being in the wilderness (all of us, which is funny). Last night i was convinced i was lost in a cave, which was scary and funny.

Today i might parasail, which who knows. its a free day...and i wanns just soak in all the creature comforts i missed the past 5 days. yay for being at a computer. hahaha. well i hope you enjoyed listening to my nice story...but now that I am in Taupo i wanna explore. Cheers!!

p.s. im going to try to put up pics on facebook. i hope it works. there arent that many because i didnt wanna destroy the camera. miss you all!!

pics on facebook!!

check out facebook for some pictures. there aren't many bc im going to use other peoples pics...but this is the first of many! yay!! I didn't do much today because it was a free day -- but i did some shopping, ate some Burger Fuel (VERY VERY good burgers. YUM), started packing for adventure 1, and got an awesome nap. Now i am at the internet cafe writing to you guys, and about to get some snacks like chocolate and chips...because we dont know what kind of food we are getting, but im sure we will all be so hungry that we will eat anything they give us.

well i need to finish this upload. i hope you enjoy them on facebook. miss you all

piper

back from isolation!

so its been five or so days and i am back and SUPER SUPER dark. the sun here is ridiculous!! i even burned which never happens!!

anyways...ill try to touch upon everything. on the 18th we left from Auckland for an island in the Bay of Islands called Urapukapuka. It was a 3.5 hours drive, and we had to take a ferry and a boat to get there. We stopped in a town called Russel first to get some food and some supplies for the week. Once we got to the boat that the Department of Conservation was using we unloaded all our stuff out of the van and took a ten minute boat ride to the island. It was amazing. The scerny was awesome and never gets old. Green green mountains and super blue water. (tho the water isn't as warm as you would think). Once we got on the island we had to upload all the stuff (which was a work out) and set up our tents. It was a relaxing first day on the island, which was nice because the rest of the trip was intense. A few of the girls went for a hike around the island, which is huge and def. went in the ocean. its so nice, but a little too seaweedy where were at. there are def better beaches out there. We all pretty much passed out after dinner. so tired from the long long day.

on day two, we all broke up into groups. I, along with Audra and Dominick, cleaned out a water drain...woo hoo! haha and then Audra and I week whacked (scrub baring - in NZ terms), whihc was fun at first, but then got old real fast. Afetr that we had lunch -- YUM and then all of us herded 200 sheep to another padock. That was AWESOME. it was a lot of planning ahead and making sure all the sheep were found (they weren't -- we eneded up herding three today, but still -- so much fun!!). After herding sheep we all kinda plopped down and relaxed till dinner. (we all help cook -- have our cooking days). We then made friends with the locals, who are all insane and huge drinkers. (it was cool bc one party were there for a wedding on this remote island -- so cool -- reminded me of Steph's sisters wedding on top of a moutain). The hills on this island were super steep so to get to anywhere was a good work out, but we eat a ton of food to make up for it because all the work makes us super hungry.

Showers here were freezing cold, and the bathrooms were AWFULL...i hated going into them. they smelled so bad because they were compost toilets. yuck! oh well...thats over..thank goodness. Oh and apparently NZ isnt that environmentally friendly because of all the sheep they have and their farts create A LOT of C02 emissions, making the country the worst for those emissions. weird, eh?

Oh yeah...our neighbors. besides the wedding party with the annoying kids who followed maragret around there was Charlies group, who got us all drunk on our second night and then Bob and Lil' Wayne, who showed us a good time as well (last night). It was a lot of fun.

On the next day we went to another island called Moturua island (with Chris and Tobey -- part of DOC - deparment of conservation) and cleaned out more water dicthes and then we went to Robertsen Island to take down wire fences. those were touch jobs, but so rewarding afterwards when you kno wyou did something good. Maragret, Dom and I went out to the lookout of Robertsen and saw amazing views with a side of a tough work out. phew.

at this point, the group is becoming a lot closer. we all seem to be meshing very well.

the next day we went to Cape Brett (and the Hole in the Rock -- it is what it sounds like) and we made a new trail (marg, bennett, katie and i) and then got to go in the nice lighthouse, which was recently painted and restored. it was really cool because it was so old. However, this day was a little uneventful. We picked up some hikers form Cape Brett and gace them a ride home on our boat. They were from Holland and Germany...pretty cool.

The last full day we were in the Bay of islands, we cleaned some underwater information panels so snorklers could see what they read, cleaned up another trail and touch up some posts with a new coat of paint, and then went dolphin/blue penguin watching. We saw a whole family of dolphins and the occasional penguin which was soooo cute. Once we got back from that trip, we all went the local bar and hung out there. That was fun and we got to use FLUSH toilets, which are AMAZING. that night was fun -- we hung out with Bob and Wayne. OY.

Today we packed up and herded three more sheep and went back to the mainland. it was sad leaving, since that had become our home and i was super used to having Ba-ing sheep around me....i swear i still hear them bleating. oh well. took some good pictures and will upload when i get the chance. We stopped back in Russel on the way back to Auckland and got some lunch and then we took the 3.5 hour drive back home. it was uncomfortable but i slept a bit, which was nice.

once back in the city most of us did laundry and took a REAL shower, which was amazing. FH girls...i have the rash again...GROSS...like all over my hands. i think its heat rash tho because its worse when im under the sun too long. sigh. hopefully it'll go away before we go out our first adventure trip -- where we will be repelling off a 300 ft cliff, caving for 3 hours, treking through the woods (with our heavy bags on) for 9!! hours, making our own shelters, and floating down a river on tubes. it should be sweet an di can't wait to update you guys on that. But for now we are back to civilization, and probably going to watch some fireworks and maybe get a drink tonight. Should be fun. I'm looking forward to seeing what Auckland's nightlife is like. But i def need some sleep too because on sunday we have to wake up at 5:30am...not looking forward to that.

well if i forgot to mention anything im sorry. I'll probably come back tomorrow. but i hope you are all well. ill get photos up as soon as i can. miss you all!!

i feel so much better...

so i felt like death after my trip but after some REAL sleep...i feel soooo much better. So now that im rested i can tell you a little bit more about this super warm place. The first thing to stike me is that there is a hole in the ozone layer here. The sun is SUPER warm and you burn a lot easier here...but i havent burned yet. Just have gotten a little more brown. The beach we have gone to (Mission Beach or Bay) is really nice. Super blue water, but there are volcanic rocks that hurt your feet when you sleep on them. YES there are dormant vocanoes around us. YIKES. could blow up at any time....hope that doesn't happen.

Today (Saturday) I met the rest of the group. There is Katie (19), Audra (22), Bennett (18), Dominick (20), Jordan (24), and Margaret (23). I think those are their ages. It's a really cool group of people. We are getting along really well so far, but its only been a day. haha. Scott is our leader and hes nice too. A little soft spoken and we are hoping he opens up a little more. He makes a good dinner, but we are all picthing in on that...i guess i will be a better cook when i get home (yes i will ben!)

After we all met one another we went to Cornwell PArk, which is super nice. We saw SHEEP (they are famous) and climbed down the super steep hill...that was interesting. This park is historical...i forget why...haha...but i will let you know next blog post.

We then ate breakfast, which was lunch casue we ate sandwiches. We then did lame group bonding games (you know things we would have done when we were in high school, but i guess it got us to know one another). We then got briefed on all the stuff we would be doing, which was long and tedious...esp when all you wanna do is sleep some more. AFTER the games and briefing we went to the Mission Beach again and swam in that super blue water.

Then the girls went to grab something to eat and grabbed a bus back to the hostel. The hostel is actually very nice. Its like a dorm (maybes a slight downgrade). Good warm shower and a big kitchen. Laundry, phones, dining area, internet cafe (thats wayy too expensive to use). A lot nicer than i expected, which was a nice surprise.

lets see what else can i tell you...oh...my new watch BROKE...it started beeping and wouldnt stop. Had to go buy a new one. OH the new zealand money is soo cool. So colorful and parts that are see through. makes our dollar look lame. Ill take a pictue of that soon a post it. oh no 5 minutes left! that went FAST!

Tomorrow we are going up to the Bay of Islands (north island) to start our first volunteer trip. We are going to clean up the beaches, weed and do some documenting of birds (something like that). We are sleeping right by the beach, which will be so nice im sure. That will be for a week...so a week for cold showers and no electricty. can't want....NOT...haha but im excited to go see the country side!! enough of the city i wanna see scenery.

I wont be in contact for a week, so I will have a lot to post next friday! can't wait to tell you about my new adventues. hope you are enjoying these posts if you are reading. Miss you all and keep in touch...somehow!!

It took forever, but im here!!!

OOMMGG...never ever ever take a 15 hour flight than a 10 hour flight right after. It breaks you. I was convinced i was going to jump out of the plane at hour 13 of the trip to Hong Kong...well not really, but it was awful...im not joking. As of right now i am running on maybe 4 hours of sleep since i left on the 14th. I arrived in NZ at 1:30pm on Friday Jan 16. weird. its almost saturday here. almost a day ahead of you all.

So far I have just checked into the hostel, met some of the group members (who are very nice). I'll go into more detail later, and gotten someone to eat. Oh, and I was also preached to by two God loving people. That was interesting. AH!! I only have 3 motre minutes on the internet. yay for internet cafes. its a dollar for twenty minutes. Guess i needed 30.

Oh I flew over the north pole, which was cool. It felt like I could almost touch the moon.

Well sadly I have to go for now, but Auckland is pretty nice, but i am looking forward to seeing the country side. Miss you all lots and lots. and I will continue with updates as much as I can.

day before the trip

So I leave for NZ and Australia tomorrow, and I am nervous. I didn't think I would be, but I think its mostly because of the connecting flights I have to catch in New York and Hong Kong. Ugh! I don't wanna miss them. I wanna get to New Zealand. haha. 

I am finally finished packing...well almost. I have last minute things to pack like my wallet & coat. (things I need to use today) Today I am relaxing...until I decide to go to the gym and run some errands and do chores around the house, which will happen after I am done writing this post. I think I am going to like writing in this blog (thanks PAN). I thought I would never start one, but like I mentioned in the description, this is a lot easier than writing individual e-mails. Clearly I have no pictures yet, and honestly, I don't know how to post pictures yet. I'll figure that out, but if worse comes to worse i'll put them up on facebook. keep watch.

Well I hope some people keep in touch and read what I write. I'll miss all you guys!!