NZ Trip - Day 7 to 10

Here we are the final installment of the NZ trip blog trilogy

Day 7

The plan today was to go horse riding, trotting and cantering in the wild over hills and mountains, seeing the beautiful green countryside and breathing in the fresh air...However, if you remember from Day 6th I noted it was a particularly sunny day. Well both bix and I got sunburnt. Especially bix who was so badly sunburnt that she couldn't even walk. And so we had to cancel our horse riding plan :( It's okay, there is always next time!

We took a leisure drive down to Wellington. When I say ‘leisure’ it’s more in terms of we have no planned activities to be in time for, the ride itself was pretty horrible. The Getz shook at around 100km/hr, there was also loud noise coming from the engine/tire friction on the road/wind. Not a nice drive and we should perhaps invest on better rentals for roadtrips!

Day 8

In the morning we went to have Mojo coffee, supposedly the best coffee in Wellington. I wouldn’t know cos coffee tastes pretty much the same to me. But I think bix enjoyed it. We then went to Te Papa museum (the largest museum in NZ). I was pleasantly surprised and learnt a lot of things there. There was a Colossal Squid from deep ocean which was ‘fished’ out. The story goes, fishermen were fishing for deep water toothfish off the coast of Antarctica, then out came a squid! The fish after being hooked then became prey to the squid, and this squid did not let go of it's prey. It’s eyes were as big as soccer balls while squid rings from it would be larger than tires! I also learnt that Lake Taupo is actually a volcano! It’s one with very slow flowing magma (very sticky) which slowly piles up forming a caldera shape. While Mount Ruapehu the tallest mountain in North Island is an active volcano formed by medium flowing magma (slightly sticky). There were also some galleries showing painting and artworks which I tried hard to appreciate to their reputable levels.

Day 9

Today we hiked in Egmont National Park on the Waingongoro track. It was a much easier hike compared to what we have done before. There was a couple dressed in complete hiking gear with hiking poles and looking especially pro. Yet they ended up been behind us! During the hike, there were lots of rock scrambling and steep steps, some with small streams of water flowing past. We then back tracked to Dawson Falls. It wasn't really huge but water was rushing so fast! When we stood next to it to take photos we were splashed with water!

Bix looking like a true mountaineer

Some rock scrambling

Dawson Falls

During our time in NZ, we have seen ‘Tui’ signs with a kiwi bird outside many food places. At first, I thought it was welcome in Maori. We finally found out that it was the name of a beer produced in NZ lol. We sampled some Tui at a restaurant. I have to say it’s perhaps the best beer I have tasted, it was refreshingly clear and had a sweet after taste.

Bix with Tui

The seared lamb (love lamb) salad that we ordered at the same restaurant came as it was described, seared, only the surface was slightly cooked, you can smell the blood on the inside and it can’t even be cut using a knife! So we had to return it for further cooking. Our waiter was servicing another table and girls were flirting heavily with him, they appeared completely head over heels with him and he was beaming with boasted ego. So naturally when he came to our table he expected the same treatment. But do not expect that because 1. Bix has no interest in guys 2. I have no interest in guys who use their looks to get things. Which reminds me, the first night in Auckland when I was walking back from buying dinner at night, a guy with his friends sitting in front of their balcony asked me if I was around there, I said no. I was stunned - he has to be the best looking guy I’ve seen, period. As I was walking away, he said rather awkwardly ‘I was asking because I wanted to know if you know any places to go out tonight.’ I think he was asking me if I know any bars or clubs, but whether because of the jet lag, or me subconsciously teasing him in front of his mates or a combination of both. I answered ‘well, I just came back from a sushi place but I think they are closed now.’ That was true but totally irrelevant to the question at hand, it’s suffice to say he wasn’t pleased. I NEED to stop doing this! Actually, there was someone I was interested in. When I was waiting for bix to catch up with me at Tongariro Crossing, in the NZ tradition of greeting people who passes by, I smiled and said hi to an approaching guy. He smiled slowly and greeted me back shyly, he was unsure of himself which I found really cute. I can’t really place it but he was intriguingly different. We did cross paths several times but he was shy and I’m shy when it comes to those things so we simply looked at each other curiously lol. So bix, in line with your search for the Christchurch girl, here goes mine ‘he was last seen at Tongariro Crossing on Jan 1st 2011, he was wearing a black jacket with black shorts and carrying a dslr camera, he has medium length dark blonde/brown hair tied up in ridiculously looking bulbs.’

Day 10

All great things come to a close, it was time to say goodbye to bix and NZ. I was sad and quite nostalgic. I felt that I didn’t fully appreciate this experience during it, but it’s also the fond memories that we keep - is it not?! I’ll be back to NZ for sure, perhaps skiing or hiking in the South Island! I’d also like to do the Tongariro Crossing again this time including an ascent up Mount Ngauruhoe :D And I've been thinking about how to stay in NZ longer, although it may not be good for professional growth, it would be a wonderful place for retirement!