To try and avoid further issues with poor planning, we spent a lot of time yesterday in McDonalds on the free wi-fi getting some things done. We created an account on couchsurfing.org, filled out a profile, uploaded a picture, then sent tons of messages to people in the next five cities that we will be visiting to see if they would have couches available for us. The money we would save on accomodation would be huge! So, we'll see. We also researched places in the south island of New Zealand where we could do our skydives. There are plenty of options, including jumping over an area in NZ that has a massive glacier (Fox Glacier), which I'm sure would be a stunning view. I haven't decided for sure if I also want to do a bungy jump while I'm here, but I think I will. I find it odd that I'm hesitant to bungy jump from a height of 120-350 feet, but I'm pretty thrilled about jumping out of a plane at 12,000-15,000 feet high haha.
Other than that, we walked around the town a bit, went down by Lake Taupo & took pictures. We were amazed to find out that Lake Taupo is the same size as Singapore. Crazy! Most all of the shops were closed since it was Good Friday, but we did manage to get some NZ beanies & gloves for really cheap from one souvenir shop that was actually open. Later, we spent our evening eating a nice steak meal at the hostel, then went to the cinema. We made the mistake of watching Just Go With It, but in my defense we only had a total of 3 mediocre movies to choose from. For those of you who haven't seen it, don't. Those were 2 of the most incredibly painful hours of my life haha. After the movie though, we went back to our hostel room and had a lot of fun chatting with our four roommates--Hayley, Halie, Shaun & Dominic. They were all architecture students from Australia on a short 12-day trip in NZ; I really enjoyed them...really funny & easy to talk with. The hostel (Rainbow Lodge) was pretty good too & had a fantastic staff.
I should probably mention mine & Sontsa's first evening cooking at the hostel too, just for kicks =) We needed to cook fettucine noodles, minced beef, and a tomato mushroom sauce to make pasta (what else?). Problem #1: The stovetops were gas-fired. We don't smoke, don't have lighters, and someone had apparently stolen the matches that were in the kitchen. Problem #2: We needed a can opener for our can of sauce. One of the counter tops had this huge strange-looking device on the end that people claimed was a can opener, but I am still not convinced. Honestly, it was unlike anything I have ever seen before & it beared absolutley no resemblence to something that could open a can. I searched & searched all the drawers for a real can opener, but to no avail. I then tried to poke holes in the top of the can with a knife, but that was also unsuccessful. You can imagine just how helpless we looked wandering around the kitchen, messing with this huge 'can opener' on the end of the counter with puzzled faces, then repeatedly banging a can with a knife. It eventually all worked out when a woman came in & let us borrow her lighter, then another woman magically found a small can opener in one of the drawers I had previously looked through. Of course, the can opener was complete crap so we ended up having to pry most of the lid open with a knife anyway. All in all, it was a comical start to Sontsa & I traveling together once again. Man, we would make wretched housewives. =)
Also, a couple of things happened on the bus going to Taupo that are worth mentioning. The bus was really full, so Sontsa & I couldn't sit together. Instead, we sat diagnol to one another. There was a young couple probably in their late teens that were sitting in front of me & across from Sontsa. The first hour going to Taupo, the couple was incessantly making out. I wanted to get some newspaper and tape it to the back of their seats so I could no longer see their ridiculous behavior--I mean really. The good part of this story is that all of a sudden, without warning, the boy projectile-vomited! The vomit flew over the tops of the seats in front of him and luckily went into an empty seat next to an unprepared woman, as well as all over the window haha. Oh, and he got some on his girlfriend.
I felt bad for the guy, but at the same time, the incident really ruled in my favor; the rest of my bus ride was much more enjoyable because he & the girlfriend didn't make out anymore after that haha. :) To add a little more humor to the story, Sontsa was the one sitting right across the aisle from him during the projectile-vomitting incident & she slept right through it! Awesome. Besides that lovely part of the bus ride, I also sat next to a local Kiwi woman who was in her 50s or 60s. She was SOO nice & was slightly concerned about Sontsa and I traveling around by ourselves. So, she is going to check in with me once a week to make sure Sontsa & I are okay haha. I just love the people here! Oh, and she told me that the further south you go in NZ, especially in the south island, the nicer the people get. I just can't even imagine that--the people in the north are already so nice! I have a feeling I will have a really hard time leaving this country, when that time does indeed come.
Cheers,
Ash
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