Rangitoto and other treks

A few weeks ago Nate, Tanja, Guido, and I (Tanja and Guido are flatmates of ours) took the bus out to One Tree Hill. Nate and I were there before at the brazillian BBQ we went to, but never got to actually go up to the monument. We left the flat around noon and walked downtown to catch the bus. It dropped us off a ways from the hill and we had to walk through some suburbs to get there. We decided we must live in the wrong part of town since everyone in this area seemed to have a pool. We finally found the park entrance and made our way to the base of the hill. On the way up we found herds of sheep. Tanja and I decided we wanted our picture with them but they kept running away when we got too close...so then Tanja decided to chase the sheep instead which was fun to watch. After the sheep chasing we headed up the rest of the way. At the top we decided to try and get a group photo...a lady decided right at the wrong time to step in front of our camera and we got a superb picture of her err chest. We did a retake that turned out much better. We hung out on the hill for a bit, just enjoying the views of the city, then made our way down the opposite side. We found the spot where we had the BBQ at and then a neat little cafe where we ordered water and some tiny sandwiches that just made us more hungry. Tanja was craving icecream and ordered this $11 icecream that was the smallest portion I have ever seen! Ha ha it came out in a tiny little cup...just one tiny scoop. After the cafe we headed for the nearest road we thought we could catch a bus from...to go back the way we came would have been a long trek...but it turned out to be long anyway...the road we found had bus stops but none that had buses that ran on sundays. We walked for a while and found another main road where we caught the bus home. We got some fantastic group "family" looking photos and saw some amazing sights so it was all worth it...except for the icecream part lol!

This past friday Patrick (Nate's Irish friend) and Mike (from Zimbabwe) both got good news...Patrick got NZ citizenship and Mike got an extended 2 year work visa....cause for drinks. Plus it was Ryan's (also from Zimbabwe)birthday! So we went to a bar/cafe called liquid and drank them out of beers lol! They usually close at 4 and are more of a cafe...well we were there till about 8 and cleaned them out ha ha ha. After Liquid we went next door to Bungalo 8...a bar with much more beer than liquid! We danced for a bit but I find the bars here play really crap music. Most play techno dance music...not so great to dance to...at least not for me. We went strait home after and went to bed. It was around 2am NZ time. The bars usually are open till around 5-6am!

Also on the past weekend there was a little festival in downtown Auckland...they closed down part of Queen street...which is the main street and set up a huge stage. We went shopping in the little booths they had set up and looked at some neat maori carvings and stuff. Then Nate and I got a wood fired pizza...it was delicious. We met up with Tanja and some of her work friends and our new flattie Marlene from Germany. We did some more shopping on Queen, and I finaly found a cool hat that doesnt look so dumb on me and a rash gaurd to wear over my bathing suit...(the strong waves are no match for string bikini). After shopping we went back to the stage and We watched a traditional Maori dance called the Haka. We listened to a few other bands playing before we headed home for dinner.

All weekend it was supposed to rain and we had originally planned to go to Coromandel up north but we didnt want to deal with rain the whole trip...well obviously it didnt rain since we were outside most of the weekend and the weather was beautiful so instead of wasting the last days of summer inside we decided on sunday to check out the island called Rangitoto. Its only a 20 min ferry ride from Auckland. Just a bit of info for you from my travel book....sloping elegantly from the waters of the gulf, Rangitoto (260m), the largest and youngest of Auckland's volcanic cones, provides a picturesque backdrop to all the cities activities. It erupted approximately 600 years ago. This island made for a great day trip! Its harsh rocky slopes hold a surprising amount of flora! The walk to the summit only took us an hour and I only had to stop to rest once! At the top we were rewarded with sublime views of the Auckland coast. We ate our lunch that we packed while enjoying this view amongst many other tourists. Afterwards we trekked down to the lava caves where we stumbled around in the dark trying to see with the digital camera screen (which I should mention, didnt work at all) but it was great fun! The trek back down was much easier and there was really no one else around so it was like we had the island to ourselves.

For the rest of the week both Nate and I have been planning our trip to the South Island. Nate's Mom and Sister are coming here on April 3rd and are touring around with us until the 12th! There is so much to do and everything seems to be really epensive. So its been hard to choose from all the amazing things. We are starting in Christchurch. We fly from auckland on the 4th and arrive in Christchurch around 9. We are renting a car and driving 3hrs to Lake Tekapo. From there its another 3hrs or so to Queenstown. We plan to spend the first day there. There is supposed to be alot of thrilling activities here like bungie jumping, canyon swings, zorbing and much more! From Queenstown we are gonna head to Milford Sounds and take a ferry tour and maybe check out the underwater observatory there. Then back to Queenstown for the night and then off to Fox Glacier for some hikes and amazing views. We will probably stay the night there and then head to Hokitika Gorge. Then back to Christchurch for a day and a half. This is just a rough plan...everything will depend on the weather and what Nate's mom and sis wanna do. I wish we had more time so we could see the whole island but I think its gonna be an awesome trip and I cant wait for Lynne and Whitney to get here!

This weekend we are finally going to Coromandel! I booked the car today and we pick it up tomorrow morning at 9. We plan to go to the Coromandel beach where there is a huge archway thats supposed to be spectacular. We are gonna go to hot water beach and burn our bums in the sand holes we will have to dig. Then maybe check out the nearby rainforest.

So a few things to note to keep up with my little trend I got going...no one seems to wear shoes around here. There are alot of people just wandering around shops and down queen street, in the super market, you name it, with bare feet. It just seems strange since I am used to the signs "no shirt, no shoes, no service" Even parents let thier kids go shoeless. Its starting to get a bit chilly here since fall has officially started so maybe people will wear shoes now...we will see. Nate wanted me to mention there are many caveliers here...but they are Toyota made! Same look and everything just Toyota not Chevy. Tylenol is called panadol rapid. They dont have tumms...just gaviscon and quickeeze lol!

O and I will leave you with a little surprise Nate and I found in our room a few weeks ago...isnt she cute?!