I’m all moved in at the University of Waikato! I've been in the
country for about 1.5 weeks and it’s been wonderful so far. Now that I’m all
settled, let me tell you about my road trip to Northland.
Orientation ended on June 24, but we decided to stay an
extra day in Auckland and do a wine tasting tour on Waiheke Island. There were five
of us: Emily (Davis), Alyssa (SC), Chris (SB), Mollie (SC) and myself. None of
had ever done a wine tour before as most of us were underage in the states. After
breakfast we walked downtown to catch our ferry out. It was the longest ferry
we had taken so far, and it really gave us time to look around. The weather in
Auckland is incredible variable, so we were able to see the patches of rain and
sun moving around us from the boat. As we were coming into Waiheke we could see
that very little of it had been developed, a welcome change from Auckland.
Penny, our guide picked us up at the ferry building and we were off! She told
us little history of the island, how
many of the people who live there are only seasonal residents and that it only
really took off once the vehicle ferry was created.
The first winery we went to was Kennedy Point. The owner was
originally from New York and came to NZ from Hawaii. She told us how making
wine was a longtime dream of her and her husband and once they retired they
came to Waiheke. It was a beautiful place and a gorgeous view. She poured us
the wines as we walked around the property. Once we were back in the building
we tasted their olive and avocados oils. Both were so buttery!
The next one, Peacock Sky, was my favorite in every way. The
property was way on the top of a hill in the middle of the island, so you could
see everything! When we first got there, the owner didn’t have the tasting
prepared yet. Her husband talked to us about the land, the grapes and the
effect the weather had on the wine. We mostly just wanted to play with the dog.
The woman who did the tastign for us was also a chef, so she had food pairings
for each wine! We had a pumpkin bisque, a pastry with blackcurrant jam and
feta, a black pepper pate and a chocolate brownie. The foods and wines really
complemented each other and the owner was a funny and interesting woman. She
moved to Waiheke from Canada with her Irish husband to start the vineyard. She
told us that the most important thing for her was to make wine she wanted to
drink because that’s what would happen to any wine that people didn’t buy.
After the standard tasting she gave us each a taste of her lemoncello, which
was delicious! The label on the bottle
was a peacock butterfly. I was sad to leave.
The last winery was called Jurassic Ridge, and the owner’s
philosophy was that wine is only a means of getting the flavor out of the
ground. He was knowledgeable but he didn’t pour our glasses very full at all,
so I’m a little bitter about that.
After all this wine, we went to lunch on the island. One of
the people on our tour was an older man form Melbourne who clearly had experienced
the finer things in life. The six of us went to a very hip looking restaurant
overlooking the water. Alastor told us some history of the antipodes and his
perspective on the differences we would notice from America. I was surprised to
hear him praise it so much! He said that the US has everything great and
everything bad. We asked him about Melbourne and he said they were the most
cultured city in Australia! They have perfected everything important: books,
food, wine, art and sex.
After lunch we were shuttled back to the ferry building and went
back to the hostel for the night.
The next morning Emily, Alyssa, Chris and I were beginning
our road trip, with an initial plan of ‘go north’. Eventually we refined this
plan a little and decided to rent a car and drive up to Pahia, stay there for
two nights, drive south to Whangarei for a night and the drive back to
Auckland, then continue to Hamilton. Getting the rental car was a complete fiasco
(as it usually is), so we didn't end up actually getting on the road until
noon. None of us had ever driven in a commonwealth country before, so it took a
long, long time to get used to driving on the opposite side of the road, on the
opposite side of the car with the turn signals on the opposite side. The drive north
was incredible the entire time. I just can’t get over how beautiful this
country its! Everything is so vibrantly green because of the rain and the sky
is perfectly blue. Although some of the time it was on winding mountain roads,
it was still one of the best drives of my life. Our hostel in Pahia was right
near the water and after getting checked in we made and ate our dinner. We
tried our best to recreate the pastries from Peacock Sky. After a few beers
each it tasted almost better! The woman working the front desk at the hostel
told us about a jam sesh and a little restaurant called Tito’s just down the
road from the hostel. The moment we arrived there, the two guys on guitar started
playing Old Crow Medicine Show’s Wagon Wheel. That night, finally being on our
own, seeing NZ other than Auckland, eating our own food then dancing to good
music with exotic friends from the hostel, was the best night in the country so
far.
The next day we woke to pouring, drenching rain. But our
plan was to hike to a waterfall and hike we would, goddammit! Chris opted to check out the Waitangi treaty
grounds instead, the place where the treaty that made NZ a country was signed. We
suited up in our waterproof clothes as much as we could and set out on the
Waitangi Track to Haruru Falls. The first section of the trail was through
thick green rain forest. Our feet were soaked almost immediately, but it was so
beautiful it didn't matter. When there was a break in the trees we were able to
see the Waitangi River. As we reached the edge of the river we could see the
transformation into a Mangrove ecosystem and the beginning of a narrow wooden
walkway. The walkway turned into a bridge and we crossed the river. After the
crossing, the walkway wound its way through the Mangrove, just a few feet above
the water. The walkway turned back into a trail and we soon reached the falls.
We ate a soggy lunch before heading back down the trail toward the treaty grounds
at Waitangi. That night we had dinner at a place called Shippey’s, which was an
old sugar ship reverted into a leaky fish and chips restaurant. When we walked
in it was totally empty and the sleazy lounge music went well with the sound of
the water dripping onto the floor. Eventually we found somebody to help us, who
ended up being the owner who looked very displeased with having customers. We
overpaid for our food, ate quickly and fell asleep.
The next day we wanted to spend a little more time in Pahia
before driving down to Whangarei. Emily, Alyssa and I decided to take the
coastal trail and Chris went to Russell, the first capital of NZ. We couldn't
find the trailhead then found out that it was inaccessible because of the tide.
The rest of the time we had was spent wandering along the coast and making
friends with the local cat. When we got to Whangarei a few hours later we were
unable to check in because the office was closed. We decided right away to go
on a hike to the Whangarei Falls. It was a short loop walk around the
waterfall, but we continued on down the river walk back toward Whangarei. It
was a cold evening and we got back to the car just before dark. I was really surprised
by this place because such a special and striking place was a very short walk
from a residential neighborhood. The only place I've seen something like that
in California is Niscene Marks State Park in Aptos. Lush and impressive
redwoods just a few minute walk from the Safeway. We made dinner, drank cider,
met a guy from Chico and headed out into the forest to find some glow worms.
The trailhead was a short walk from the hostel and from there it was only a few
minutes before we were being wowed by worms in the drippy forest under a
sky full of stars.
Yesterday we woke up pretty early with quite a drive ahead
of us. We drove from Whangarei to Warkworth, where we stopped for a snack and I
had my first New Zealand pie (curry chicken, mmm) and continued on to Auckland.
We stopped by the hostel there to drop off Chris and Emily. Chris has a while
to travel still before starting school and Emily flew down to Dunedin this
morning. Alyssa and I continued on another two hours to Hamilton. We drove
around the school at least four times before figuring out where we needed to
move in. After picking up some stuff for the store, we split up.
Last night was an interesting one for me because it was the
first time I was actually alone in a long time. I had lost my converter
sometime between leaving Auckland after orientation and arriving in Hamilton,
so although there was electricity I couldn't charge any of my electronics. I also
don’t have access to the wifi yet, so I couldn't really talk to anybody from
home. I took care of things like unpacking and showering and eating, but didn't
know what else to do!
I say unpacking because ‘moving in’ doesn't accurately describe
what I did. My room has tons of storage space for all the things I decided not
to bring. So I just moved clothes into drawers and tried to figure out an
organization system that will still make sense six months from now. I have an address again! I you want to send me
something, message me on facebook and I’ll tell you what it is. Once I've lived
here a little longer I’ll talk about what Orchard Park is like. The basics are
that I’m living in a University owned cottage just a little bit off campus with
three other girls. It’s adorable and I can see cows from my living room.
Shamless plug: I've spent the last week and a half staying
in YHA Hostels. These hostels are throughout NZ and they’re wonderful! They’re cheap
and clean and I've had nothing but good interactions with both the staff and
the guests. I’m paying 16$ (US) per night to stay in places more beautiful than
I've ever seen. If you plan on traveling here in NZ I would recommend then
without hesitation.
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