A brief rundown of the first 6 days.
Day 1:
The plane ride from Philly to LAX seemed worst to me than the ride from LAX to NZ. However, I did manage to sleep for most of the 13 hours on the plane on the leg to NZ. At the Auckland international airport, we met cookie (our bus driver) and were on our way to Mount Eden, one of the many cinder/scoria cones that make up the volcano Auckland Field. Then we took a boat ride to Mount Rangitoto, were I got to walk on basaltic lava flows that flowed all the way to the ocean. When walking on them, it sounded like walking on broken glass.
http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/environment/hazards/volcanoes-of-auckland/volcanic-field.cfm#rangitoto is a good website that talks about some of the volcanoes that make up the Auckland Field. We then walked around Auckland for the night and stayed in a hostile. I stayed in a big room with 8 other people.
Day 1:
The plane ride from Philly to LAX seemed worst to me than the ride from LAX to NZ. However, I did manage to sleep for most of the 13 hours on the plane on the leg to NZ. At the Auckland international airport, we met cookie (our bus driver) and were on our way to Mount Eden, one of the many cinder/scoria cones that make up the volcano Auckland Field. Then we took a boat ride to Mount Rangitoto, were I got to walk on basaltic lava flows that flowed all the way to the ocean. When walking on them, it sounded like walking on broken glass.
http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/environment/hazards/volcanoes-of-auckland/volcanic-field.cfm#rangitoto is a good website that talks about some of the volcanoes that make up the Auckland Field. We then walked around Auckland for the night and stayed in a hostile. I stayed in a big room with 8 other people.Day 2:
We went to see Tane Mahuta, the biggest Kaori tree. It was massive, I’ve never seen anything like it, I just wished we could have gone up to touch it. We then went to the Waitangi treaty grounds. Our tour guide was very nice and knowledgable. I also loved the bus ride today, since we stopped and looked at spectacular views.
Day 3:
Took a long bus ride to Cape Reinga. Didn’t mind the long bus ride though because there were gorgeous views from both sides of the bus. We then went to Taputaputa and people swam in the beach. We then went dune sledding. It was a lot of fun. The first time going down I had to roll off because hitting the bumps made me slide off my board. Going 100mph down a 60 degree slope is pretty intense, so of course I had to do it a second time. We then took a coach ride onto 90 mile beach. It was strange at first being in any kind of vehicle on the beach. I was amazed at how wide the beach was, going to the Delaware beaches every summer I’ve never seen a wide beach. Day 4:
Took a nice ferry ride to the Whole in the Rock. I loved the boat ride with all the views, especially when the dolphins came along side the boat. Then we stopped in Russell for lunch. That has been my favorite place so far. Eating fish and chips on the beach made me feel like I was in heaven. Then we took a 6 hr bus ride to the University of Waikato. Midway, we did stop at a rest stop where I had my first ostrich burger, it was very good.
Day 5:
This was a relaxing day, Art and Doug outlined the courses and then we had the rest of the day off. I went with a bunch of people into downtown Hamilton, it was a longer walk than I thought it would be. My favorite part of the day was laying on the green in downtown and watching people walk by. I then got back to my room and fell asleep. Then I ate and played Frisbee for an hour.
Day 6:
Today we left at 9am and went to Cave World in Waitomo. I did abseiling, which is just like repelling. It was a lot of fun, and the views down the cave were amazing. Our guide was a nice, fun guy and explained everything very thoroughly. I went only with Doug, which was nice since we took our time. We got to go down the same cave twice. The second time was better, since I felt like I knew what I was doing. I also enjoyed the sight since the first time you’re still getting the hang of the mechanics, looking at what your hands are doing. After abseiling, we took a walk on a trail to see some views of other caves. Then we made our way to a rabbit shearing place, which was very interesting to watch.
We went to see Tane Mahuta, the biggest Kaori tree. It was massive, I’ve never seen anything like it, I just wished we could have gone up to touch it. We then went to the Waitangi treaty grounds. Our tour guide was very nice and knowledgable. I also loved the bus ride today, since we stopped and looked at spectacular views.
Day 3:
Took a long bus ride to Cape Reinga. Didn’t mind the long bus ride though because there were gorgeous views from both sides of the bus. We then went to Taputaputa and people swam in the beach. We then went dune sledding. It was a lot of fun. The first time going down I had to roll off because hitting the bumps made me slide off my board. Going 100mph down a 60 degree slope is pretty intense, so of course I had to do it a second time. We then took a coach ride onto 90 mile beach. It was strange at first being in any kind of vehicle on the beach. I was amazed at how wide the beach was, going to the Delaware beaches every summer I’ve never seen a wide beach. Day 4:
Took a nice ferry ride to the Whole in the Rock. I loved the boat ride with all the views, especially when the dolphins came along side the boat. Then we stopped in Russell for lunch. That has been my favorite place so far. Eating fish and chips on the beach made me feel like I was in heaven. Then we took a 6 hr bus ride to the University of Waikato. Midway, we did stop at a rest stop where I had my first ostrich burger, it was very good.
Day 5:
This was a relaxing day, Art and Doug outlined the courses and then we had the rest of the day off. I went with a bunch of people into downtown Hamilton, it was a longer walk than I thought it would be. My favorite part of the day was laying on the green in downtown and watching people walk by. I then got back to my room and fell asleep. Then I ate and played Frisbee for an hour.
Day 6:
Today we left at 9am and went to Cave World in Waitomo. I did abseiling, which is just like repelling. It was a lot of fun, and the views down the cave were amazing. Our guide was a nice, fun guy and explained everything very thoroughly. I went only with Doug, which was nice since we took our time. We got to go down the same cave twice. The second time was better, since I felt like I knew what I was doing. I also enjoyed the sight since the first time you’re still getting the hang of the mechanics, looking at what your hands are doing. After abseiling, we took a walk on a trail to see some views of other caves. Then we made our way to a rabbit shearing place, which was very interesting to watch.
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