My Brisbane Blog: NZ: Chasing Waterfalls & Dodging Raindrops

N e w Z e a l a n d is an incredible c o u n t r y .

"Shells sink,

Dreams float.

Life's good on our boat."

☽

I'd like to thank my past self from 3 months ago for having the forethought to plan a trip to the North Island before my semester in Brisbane started, and thank you New Zealand for being one of the most gorgeous and fascinating places I could ever imagine.

But the biggest thank you to Paige (Penut) & Jordan (Cash) for being wonderful hosts and showing me a lot of the North Island in a little amount of time, and giving me a local's view Hamilton, Taupo, Auckland, and the beautiful views around them.

Fun Facts:

New Zealand is the birthplace of bungee jumping, making it the bungee jumping capital of the world. What better & safer place to do that?!

New Zealand is the birthplace of bungee jumping, making it the bungee jumping capital of the world. What better & safer place to do that?!
NZ was one of the first countries to legalize same-sex marriage. YAY for progression.
They were the first country to legalize women's suffrage. Also interesting.
45% of tourists in NZ are from Australia.
The McDonald's in Taupo was once voted the coolest McDonald's in the world... but a SMALL McFlurry cost me $4.80 NZD which is NOT cool.
Hobbiton is apparently super cool but costs $80... I did not visit there.

Things New Zealanders Say Better Than Americans:

The NZ Way American Version
"Sweet as" "Sweet / good / cool AF"
"Have a spa" "Go in a hottub"
"Give way" "Yield"
"Chilly bin" "Cooler" for food
& my very favorite...
"That really rips my nightie" "That really makes me mad"

And now, for those wondering, this is what I did all last week.
(As you read the list, I hope you enjoy the super cool/confusing Maori names)
[Maori: (sometimes pronounced like "Moldy")
noun 1. a member of the aboriginal people of New Zealand.
2. the Polynesian language of the Maoris, with about 100,000 speakers.
adjective 1. relating to the Maoris or their language.]

What I Did All Week in New Zealand

PART 1: HAMILTON

Karangahake

We swam at a swimming hole with a waterfall (MY FIRST WATERFALL) & I got brave enough to jump off part of it. The water was perfect. & there was a wedding party getting photos there! (orange & purple color scheme though... BLEH)

We also checked out the Gorge walked across some old bridges (they were safe though) & explored the old factories from the mining days. The views were incredible. If you've ever played on DK's Jungle Parkway on Mario Kart, that's what I thought the gorge looked like.

Hamilton bars

Paige's friends Meagan & Lewis took me out to the bars which were a lot of fun!
Big differences from Cola bars

People dress nicer
J-walking is not an issue. People just run across the street. In front of cars. & cops.
A black X on your hand does not mean "underage" (remember- the drinking age is 18 there) it means you are essentially banned from the bars that night. This did not happen to me. Just an observation.
Live bands play at almost all the bars every weekend. Super cool. I especially loved the Maori ones!
Drunk food is mince pies, not pizza & calzones. Eh, not my favorite.

Omanawa Falls

AKA the most epic hike of our lives.
Paige saw stunning pics of this magical place called Omanawa Falls on Instagram, and we figured Sunday would be a great day to check it out.
On the way, we had to stop & ask for directions twice (once from a motorcyclist & once we knocked on a stranger's door- They were both pretty helpful! Can you imagine doing that in the US?) and we finally found it down a gravel path in the bush (forest).
We got there and could see down into swimming hole & waterfall. Definitely one of the coolest things I've EVER seen.

The catch is (there's always a catch isn't there?) we had to hike UP the mountain and then back down to get there. It took over 40 minutes & was quite treacherous. Not to mention, we had our backpacks & a cooler with us.

We would not have survived the walk & made it to the gorgeous waterfall without the help of a couple we met who helped us carry our bags, & we were all able to watch out for each other in the trickier parts of the hike. People in New Zealand have been incredibly nice & friendly!

Even though it sucked carrying the cooler & we were all sweaty & muddy by the time we reached the falls, it was worth it. Having a beer & some snacks while sitting on the rocks & gazing out into the piercing blue water was PERFECT.

We finally jumped in & popped right back up. It was FREEZING. But so worth it.

Aaaand on the long drive back, I could see so many stars, reminding me of summers at camp & being so grateful that I'm spending time in a place that's not so crowded with lights that hinder the views.

(No picture would fully depict the stars out there in the countryside of NZ)

Hamilton Gardens: just adding a little culture to the mix

The Indian garden at Hamilton Gardens. The most colorful & my favorite!

Raglan Beach

We went to a cool local beach and got some sun! We really needed it after the exhausting hike the day before. The water was awesome & it was wonderful to swim around in salt water again, probably the first time since September.

Bridal Veil Falls

Another incredible waterfall that we viewed from the top. The walk there was beautiful & full of greenery. I was nervous to take a picture of the falls because I thought I would drop my phone the 50 meters down!

The falls would be just behind the rail to my right in this picture.

THANK YOU PAIGE FOR SUCH A GREAT TIME!!!

_________________________________________________________________________________

PART 2: TAUPO

& Fun Facts about NZ

Sights

Huka Falls: on the way to Taupo, we stopped at the famous Huka Falls. I was kind of dizzy from the altitude all of a sudden, but the view was great! The water was a lot more powerful than I expected.

Downtown Taupo: according to my pal Jordan, it is a 1 by 4 grid. So basically their entire downtown is the size of or smaller than Five Points. I thought it was really cute, and even though there wasn't a lot to do in the rain, I had a great time.

Taupo from Jordan's backyard!

Downtown, the lake, and the mountains are all there,

you just can't see in this picture.

Watching Bungee Jumpers: We went to "Taupo Bungy" to watch some of the jumpers... No, I didn't do it yet. But I'm definitely going to at some point. Sorry in advance, Mom.

Aratiatia Dam: Also a cool waterfall-esque place. They open the floodgates of the dam 4 times a day in the summer, and there were a ton of tourists there. I got a cool video, and the view looked like this.

Before it filled up. AFTER.

New Zealand is considering changing the nation's flag. Quite a hot topic.

The one on the left is the current flag & the one on the right is the potential new one!

Jordan reppin the STL Cardinals in Auckland.

View of Auckland CBD from Mt Eden. One of my favorite views of the week.

Skytower looking snazzy on this sunny day.

I would go here in another life. Probably not actually, but it's really fancy.

View of Auckland & the Harbor from the Skytower.

Auckland Skytower! Fun fact: it's taller than the Arch,

standing tall at 1076 ft!!! (or 328, for the rest of the world!)

Selfie under the Skytower with Jordan & his lovely sister, Tegan!

THANKS SIEVWRIGHT FAM FOR LETTING ME STAY!!!

And the next morning, I finally moved in to my new home in Brisbane.
But before I was able to do so, I was stranded on the front porch, locked out with all my bags, and you know there were a lot.

But don't worry, it was only for about 5 minutes. I banged on the door and received no answer because many housemates were out enjoying the sun or hiding away hungover in their beds.
Then, I awkwardly asked a passerby to borrow her phone... turns out this girl was actually one of my new house mates, and she let me in!

A Melting Pot

I'm having a great time in my new apartment or "share house" so far, and the people are really awesome. We have housemates from America (obviously) Australia, Denmark, France, Austria, Ecuador, Mexico, Norway, France, the Netherlands, & England!