Rock and Pool is Nice and Cool

I kissed myself on the arm today. I thanked my body for rebounding from what I what thought was a bout of strep throat or a second onslaught of mono. With my interrupted and unrefreshing sleeps from the last few weeks, I feared the latter.

But before the sickness fell I will tell you about the occurrences prior. I left my house in Russell, slightly saddened, but craving some civilization so I headed to Whangarei. I knew where the closest backpacker (the south pacific word for hostel) was and I drove to the destination with a lunch break at the Whangarei Falls. I took the walk down the stairs and ooh’ed and aah’ed at “NZ’s most photogenic waterfall!” I saw another walking trail and opted to go for a nice afternoon stroll while the sun was shining. The trail led me down a path along a narrow river, over suspended bridges and through canopied forests. Once every so often would be one of those swimming holes with green water and the classic childhood rope dangling from the tree that hangs over. It was really beautiful. All to the background music of falling water in the distance. A long wooden bridge in the middle of the forest brought me to te Kauri trees, NZ’s famed flora. These trees are unbelievable. So thick, I think it would take at least 3 people holding hands in order to properly hug the tree. And it’s bark is like none I have ever seen. It almost looks, and feels, like cement. Cement that has been chiseled. It was extraordinary to stand beside it and made me wonder if the tiny spider that sleeps next to my headboard at night thinks of me in the same awe-struck way.

I found my backpacker immediately, paid for a night’s stay and walked around the city’s Strand which somewhat resembles Charlottetown’s Victoria Row on a larger scale. I guiltily entered a few clothing stores to “just browse” I told my myself. But alas, my feminine ways could not resist. I found a store that screamed out Ashley and I had to make a purchase. And come one, storage space is no longer an issue now that I have the car right? Right? Right. A pair of nice pants and a summer dress. It is just what I needed to remind myself that I’m not a traveling bum, but a traveling lady. A traveling lady who still may wear the same tshirt and cargo pants combo for four days in a row. I never said I was classy. By this time I was famished so I asked a local clerk where his favorite pub food was and I found myself at an Irish place named Morrisey’s with a fresh batch of fried snapper and chips and a pint of beer. Fabulous. Here, in a very PEI fashion, I met a guy that I had recognized from the internet café that I had visited earlier. We had never spoke before this, but the recognition was all we needed and a friendship was made. I invited him to sit with me with me and join me in a beer. Here was a Cedric from Switzerland. He is a banker. Of course he is a banker in Switzerland. What other possible stereotypical job is there to give a Swiss? We chatted of the highs and lows of solo traveling and he left to meet up with friends for a BBQ. Feeling good about making fast friends, sunny days, and cold beer, I walked back to the backpacker and hit the basement bar for another cold one. Here I met Orielle. A French man, also solo traveling. We drank our beers, he smoked. He smoked a lot. He can roll a cigarette and walk and talk all at the same time. We agreed to hit up the cinema for a viewing of the Blood Diamond. I introduced him to malt balls and he loved them so much he had to buy his own bag. The movie was great and I was ready for sleep when it was over.

I awoke to another restless sleep on the bottom of a bunk bed, too hot for blankets. Today I must drive the near three hours to Auckland. A fellow hitcher overheard my plans and asked for a ride to the city as well. We were both heading for the airport. I had a quick breakfast with Orielle at a nearby café and I found Steffan and we took off. Steffan, a young German (always a German) and we had great conversations on the drive down. So nice it was to have someone in the car riding with me. Someone to keep me distracted from the road, hehe. I kid. We made it Auckland International Airport flawlessly. I must, at this point, applaud myself for paying attention to my surroundings and being able to, so far, find my way around this country quite easily. I know had to drive next door to the domestic airport and pick up my other German friends, Rico and Canter who were freshly arriving from the South Island.

There they were, calling my name and waving like maniacs, standing outside the doors. It was like they hadn’t seen me in years. I was welcomed with big hugs and kisses on the cheek. How warm this made me feel; a greeting so large that came of only one and half days of previous acquaintances. And to be honest I felt the same way back. Friends that I’ve always known, just not yet introduced. I met Matthias, the other friend. He lives in Auckland with his wife, Alexandra, and their two children Mika (three) and Milla (10 months). I soon met the rest of these faces after loading the 3 grown Germans into my car, with all of their luggage and hearing endless stories about their adventures in the south. The house was beautiful. Just as I would have my own someday. Not too big, not too small. Just the size of Montreal. And this is where I stayed for the 3 days.

My internet time is done, so I must finish writing later. But I’m not sick anymore!!

So I fulfilled a lifelong dream today. How good it feels!

I SAW REAL LIFE WILD DOLPHINS IN THE OCEAN RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE!

Yes it was that exciting it deserves all capital letters. To truely express my excitment the letters would have to be as big as a house. But yes, I can check that off my Life’s To Do List now. But naturally, I want more. So now I have to seek out more dolphins and swim with them and make them my eternal friends. Mwahaha!

It was amazing. At one point, two of them jumped high out of the water, literally, in front of my face right at the bow of the boat. I near cried. And to make it all the better, I was on a 50 foot catamaran and we also got to sail around the Bay of Islands. It was superb. Sailing is just one of those things that you will never compare anything else to. And I realize I must have it my life forever.

Ok , I have to go now!

Well, here I am in Russell, NZ. A quaint little town on the other side of the harbour from the town of Paihai. It much reminds me of home in the summer with all it’s little shops and restaurants along the water. It’s terribly romantic. I arrive in this area last Friday after spending a night in Paihai, with a nice beach front view. For free. How you may ask? I slept in my car. Yes, that’s right. I had to try it out. And I was inspired by Benjamin and knew that it was doable. So I found a nice quiet location in front of the beach, laid down the back seats, rolled out my sleeping bag and voila! A bed! Mind you, not the most comfortable bed in the world, but a safe place to sleep for the night. The following day, I took the car ferry over to Russell where I was to meet with Wilhelm. An old man who has an old house in Russell in which he used to spend his summers. He hasn’t been there in some time so he told me not to expect much. And I didn’t and that was fine. It’s a small little wood house nesteled in amongst the trees. Very basic, no electricity, and and outdoor shower. There is propane though for the stove and fridge. This is a challenge though for myself to be alone in a house in the woods with no electricity. But a challenge I was willing to take. Wilhelm stayed there one night and meanwhile introduced me to some of his friends in case I got lonely or scared. Wilhlem is a very kind old man. Especially to let me stay in his house with barely an introduction to him. Some years ago he had a surgery done his throat and leaves him with a raspy voice and makes it very difficult to speak for a long amount of time. So conversation was limited, but I could sense his kindness from the few words he was able to produce. On the day he left, he treated me to a nice dinner at the Gables restaurant where I had the world’s BIGGEST mussels. I saw mussels and prawns on the menu and ordered them, expecting mussles somewhat like home. But upon arrival of my dish there were but four mussels. And I swear, the shell was the size of my hand. And the meat inside was almost equally as big. I was amazed.

After dinner he showed me another old historic part of the town. The flagstaff. This is when the British first came to claim Russell as the capital city of New Zealand and to basically show that they have landed to take over. The Brits erected a flagstaff at the top of the hill raising proudly the Union Jack. To their surprise, the next day, the flagstaff has been demolished. The Maori cheif in the area and his tribe went in the middle of the night and tore it down. The Brits put up another. And down it came. This went on four times before the Brits gave up. But soon, the treaty was signed and together, the Maori and the British built a new flagstaff and it has stayed up ever since. 1845 I believe it was.

ANYWAYS, besides getting small bouts of lonliness staying up in the trees alone, I’ve met some great strangers who live in the area. A girl names Alex who owns a small cafe on the corner who had been travelling the world for 12 years, never finding a place she wanted to live. But when she came to Russell she fell in love with it and has since rested here and opened her own business. I like that life. I met a couple of local Maori’s who offered to take me out fishing. I gladly accepted and yesterday went to attempt some fishing. Unfortunately the waters were quite rocky and not very suitable but we went out to Matauri Bay anyways, at least to go snorkelling and see if could grab some sea urchins. Or Kina, as they call them. So whilst snorkelling, GUESS what I found. I dive underneath to take a look under a rock, and to my shock, saw two big eyes staring back at me. At first glance I thought it was a Moray Eel, but soon realized it was not! It was but an OCTOPUS! Oh man, I was pretty dang excited that I found a real live octopus. Then we gathered some kina and sat on the rocks for a bit to warm up. Meanwhile, Oli one of the Maori’s, whips out his knife and cracks open the kina. “Here,” he says, as he dumps its innards into my hand. “Eat it.” Hesitantly, I bring it to my mouth, chuck it in and swallow. “No, man, you gotta taste it! Chew it!” and he hand me another. Chomp, chomp on the raw sea urchin. Not so bad actually. Kind of eggy, but definitely has it’s own flavor. So I had another. But I didn’t want to over indulge so I declined the next.

So my time here in Russell ha been great so far and every time I go into Paihai and I am taunted by the dolphin cruises. They are all over the place, as this is the Bay of Islands, and the dolphins apparently run mad around here. And even though I want to see a wild dolphin more than anything in the world, I can’t bring myself to sign up for the cruise. Somehow in my head I feel like it’s just a total exploitation of them. And I’ve seen the line ups for these things. Boats filled with tons of people, tourists, ready to snap photos of the dolphins. I just can’t bring myself to join along that. That’s not how I want to see my first dolphin. BUT, I’ve been doing some looking around and have found a less intrusive company, that sails out to the dolphins with a minimum of 10 people and I may further inquire about that. So, regardless, I will see them at some point in my travels. Maybe not in the Bay of Islands, but I will make sure of it.

Well, I must be off for some lunch and perhaps a swim down at the beach. Tomorrow my lovely little car gets inspected to make sure it’s safe for the roads, so wish the Star Car luck!! Love.