Emma lead me to our dorm room so I could drop off my stuff , and lo and behold, it was the same ROOM Sontsa and I had stayed in too! Ohhh, the memories! It felt like just yesterday that Sontsa and I were in that room chatting with our Australian dorm mates. =) This time around, I was sharing the room with Emma and three of her younger cousins. I dropped off my stuff, and Emma and I went to the kitchen where all of her family members were having lunch…and I do mean ALL of her family members (well almost anyway) =). At least 40 people had all come together for her Nana’s 70th birthday—parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins—all having traveled from different parts of New Zealand for the event. The Ratuki family had the entire hostel to themselves, with the exception of three stray backpackers who no doubt had no idea what they were in for that weekend when they booked to stay there haha.
After snacking on the smorgasbord of food that everyone had brought, we all chilled out in the kitchen/lounge area. The boys played pool while us gals had a bit of a nail-painting party. Emma and a couple of the other girls had brought an array of nail polishes, which mostly consisted of verrry bright and flashy colors. So, by the time all the girls were done painting our nails, we probably looked pretty funny to any outsiders—a massive group of girls aged 10 to 70, all with incredibly loud nails =). Besides that, Nana had brought a big bag of cozy, knitted socks that she’d made for everyone. So, some of the crew rummaged through the bag to find the colors they preferred, and I was lucky enough to get a pair too. Later that afternoon, a big group of us got our bathing suits out and drove down to the Taupo AC Baths and Hot Pools.
The Hot Pools were massive, with a huge indoor leisure pool that linked to an even bigger outdoor leisure pool, along with a lap pool and a kiddie pool. The indoor leisure pool had two hydro slides (which Emma’s little cousins took full advantage of), plus the outside area had a Tarzan swing and a “bombing” zone for the kids to go wild. I mostly hung out with Emma’s aunt Andrea and her uncle Lloyd (who looked remarkably similar to Dustin Hoffman by the way). I kept entertained by watching Emma’s little cousins fling themselves off of the Tarzan swing, participate in cannonball competitions, and leap into the pool, prepared to be caught by their older cousins (whether they were ready for them or not). Right before we left, I helped egg on one of the youngest boys Cooper to conquer the hydro slide. He finally did and naturally loved it.
After our hot pools excursion, we all got changed for dinner. I had forgotten to bring a nice outfit for the occasion, but Emma surprised us all by wearing a dress and hot pink high heels—yowzer! She let me borrow her chic grey pea coat for the evening though, so I didn’t look quite as out of place as I would have if I’d worn my casual fleece jacket =). The whole group walked down to the RSA, where we’d booked in for a buffet dinner. Emma and I sat with her two brothers Scott and James, their wives Amanda and Megan, their little ones, as well as Emma’s cousin Shaun. After stuffing our faces with meat, veg, potatoes, and dessert, it was time to watch the rugby game. An RSA here is comparable to an American Legion back in The States. So, it had a large open space just around the corner from the eating area that was appropriately equipped with a very large screen for watching games.
We each grabbed a chair, a drink from the bar, and took a seat. It wasn’t long before the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team was performing the famed Haka. One of Emma’s family members asked me, “What do you think??” I responded with, “I love it!” =) I must admit that I’ve become a bit of a rugby fan, especially when it comes to the All Blacks. After the RSA, Emma and I set out with her cousins Garreth and Shaun on a mission to enjoy some of Taupo’s nightlife. Well, after walking around the small town for approximately a total of 5 to 10 minutes, we quickly became aware that we WERE the nightlife in Taupo haha. So, back to the hostel we went…where we made our own fun. Emma and Shaun ingeniously turned an innocent game of pickup sticks into a drinking game. Yup, you would have thought they’d been living in hostels for ages haha.
The next morning was quite chilly, with frost covering the ground and snow atop the mountains in the distance. Everyone had breakfast at the hostel, then took tons of group photos before saying goodbye. Emma and I stopped by Huka Falls before leaving town, which was one of the spots Sontsa and I had missed during our previous visit in Taupo. So, I was glad I finally got to see it. On our way back to Auckland, we stopped by Emma’s parents house in Hamilton, had some ice cream, then hit the road again. A Burger King drive-thru later and another small pit-stop for refreshments, we were back home in Auckland. The rest of the day was spent chilling out and posting the blogs I’d written on my bus ride over. =)
Cheers,
Ash
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