Back Home With Sontsa

Greg, Paulo & I left Waiheke last Friday and took the ferry back to Auckland. From there, we caught a bus down to a city called Hamilton. The boys wanted to go to a big car racing event that was going on that weekend in Hamilton & I just came along for the ride since it meant going back down toward the south, which was the general direction I wanted to go. Once the bus dropped us off, we walked toward a house that Greg had previously stayed in some time before. Many backpackers use websites like couchsurfing.org and easyroommate.co.nz to find local Kiwis to stay with during their travels. Greg had done exactly that & had stayed at this particular house in Hamilton for 3 weeks when he first arrived in the country and didn't know any English. So, the same people he stayed with all that time ago were nice enough to let all 3 of us stay on their couches for the short time we'd be in Hamilton. Paulo & I met the flatmates Steph and Lucy, as well as Jesse, Lucy's boyfriend, and Caleb, Steph's brother. We all just hung out at the house for the evening; it was an interesting experience, to say the very least. I can't go into too much detail, but let's just say I wasn't sad to leave.

I had already planned to meet back up with Sonja after spending a couple of weeks with Greg, but I just didn't know exactly when or where. Well, when Sonja took the Kiwi Experience bus to Taupo a couple of weeks ago, she couldn't find work & actually ended up going back to Napier since she knew more job opportunities were available there. She got a job doing orange picking & orange packing with Rory, Torni & Neil (part of our Napier hostel family). So, during my evening in Hamilton, I decided to join Sonja back in Napier & booked a bus for the next day. I said goodbye to Greg & Paulo the following afternoon when they left for the car races, and I walked around the town for a couple of hours until it was time to catch my bus. Let's just say that you can learn a lot about a person & your connection with him or her (or lack thereof) when you travel together one on one...hence the rushed booking of my bus back to Napier. Oh, and I have also never been one to appreciate being blatantly lied to either. But hey, it's always amusing when liars actually think you believe their lies, eh?  =)  Still, I did have some good times, saw some wonderful new places, and met great new people over the past 2 weeks. Plus, everything is a learning experience!
On a brighter note, after 5 hours on the bus, I started seeing familiar sights out of the window & was sooo excited--felt like a little school girl! Sonja & Neil picked me up from the bus stop with the hostel van & I couldn't have been more happy to see my little Sontsa!!! It was SOOO good to be back in my NZ home away from home with my favorite travelmate. We quickly went to the hostel & met up with Sontsa's friend Simon from France. The three of us were picked up a few minutes later by Eva from Germany and Patrick from France in their little camper van. We all drove to the next small town Clive about 20 minutes away to go to a small house party thrown by a couple of guys Sontsa had previously met at the hostel. There, I met Sontsa's friends Christian from Italy & Max from Chile, as well as their other two flatmates Felipe & Alberto from Chile. The 9 of us had a fun night chilling out, playing pool, having a few drinks & a lot of laughs. They lived in a nice house owned by a local Maori guy that hads sleeping space for at least 7 people. Since Eva & Patrick left early (and they were our transportation), Simon, Sontsa & I just crashed at the house. Philipe gave us all a ride back to the hostel the next morning.

Later that day, Sontsa & I walked about 40 minutes down to the port of Napier to meet up with Daniel who we used to work with at the restaurant. We hadn't seen him in ages & weren't able to say goodbye to him when we'd left Napier before, so it was really great to see him again. The port area was really beautiful too--Daniel told us that they have little blue penguins that come through there every day, as well as dolphins & even whales on occasion. The three of us stayed there for a while chatting & just sitting by the water while Daniel tried to catch some fish. He is like the little brother I never had =) His mom came by later & gave Sontsa & I a ride back to the hostel, so that was really sweet. Not too much else has been going on in Napier the past few days. Sontsa & I stopped by the restaurant Sunday morning to go visit Carl for a few minutes. It was of course great to see him again! I would so love to see everyone else in our Napier family as well, but just haven't been able to work it out.

Other than that, I've been spending a lot of time with Mia from the hostel, which has been wonderful =) Mia even made me an omelette the other day to show me how it's done. Oh, and I have been cleaning around the hostel a few hours each day in exchange for accommodation...pretty sweet setup. I must say Mia & Greg are pretty awesome to have as bosses =) They also got an air hockey table for the hostel since I was last here! Greg challenged me to a game the other day, which I accepted. I didn't end up doing so well, but that game is so much fun! I've also met a couple of new people at the hostel, Julian from Germany & Lorna from England. They are really great. Julian & I went to Starbucks yesterday afternoon, then walked around town a bit while the weather was still really nice outside. Last night, Sontsa, Mia, Neil, Rory & I went to the local pub for a couple of hours and had a relaxing evening out. This afternoon, Sontsa, Mia, Neil & I challenged one another to a game of mini golf haha. It was a lot of fun. Tonight, Lorna & Julian are cooking some dinner and have invited me to join. Then after dinner, we are all planning on staying in & watching a good DVD. The big news, however, is for what is planned in the next couple of day. Sontsa & I are leaving Napier tomorrow once again and heading to Taupo to...dum dum dum....SKYDIVE!! It is going to be amazing.

Cheers,
Ash