New Zealand
While I was in New Zealand, I encountered many travelers from Brazil to the United Kingdom to Australia to back home in Bremerton, Washington. They all asked the same question, “why New Zealand?” and unfortunately, Chiara and I didn’t have an exciting story to share. For others, New Zealand was their “utopia”, a place they dreamt of experiencing. For me, I didn’t even know where New Zealand was located on the map until I purchased my ticket. In reality, New Zealand was a spontaneous travel decision due to a cheap plane ticket (to be exact, $410 round trip from Seattle to Auckland). I knew NOTHING about this country. However, each day, I fell more in love with the stunning landscapes, the cultural pride of the Polynesian people, and the kindness of fellow travelers and locals themselves.
Background:
It was 2 am on Cyber Monday and I was preparing for a chemistry exam. We both share a huge passion for traveling and we often joked about going on a trip together. As I was procrastinating on Facebook, I noticed a post about cheap tickets to Auckland on the Girls Loves Travel group page. I often joke that my favorite past time is going on Google Flights to find cheap tickets, and my curiosity led me to check if the $400 deal was real. And to my surprise, it was legit.
To be completely honest, I had never heard of Auckland nor did I know anything about New Zealand. However, my heart was racing because how could I pass on this deal. When would I have this opportunity in the future? But, should I discuss with my parents before I make a decision? Would this glitch be fixed if I wait until the morning? I vividly remember how distraught I felt. After an hour of contemplating and attempting to rationalize the irrational decision I was about to make, we purchased our tickets. I can’t even describe the insane adrenaline rush I felt afterward. I was internally screaming at 4 in the morning and at that moment, I lived up to my reputation of being “spontaneous”. I vividly remember calling my dad that morning to tell him about the irresponsible decision I had made and he replied, “where’s New Zealand?”. Truly, this was a fat mood because I was on the same page as my dad.
Finals week snuck up on us, and we had zero plans. At the least, we had our hostels booked. I was busy with finals until Friday at 8:30 pm, and we decided to prioritize our exams. However, it was a blessing in disguise that we lacked a plan as it allowed an insane amount of flexibility or more spontaneity.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
I don’t think I can emphasize the amount of spontaneity involved in this trip.
According to our itinerary, we planned to fly from Seattle to San Francisco with a 2-hour layer. Then, we would fly from SF to Auckland. However, on the day of departure, our flight to SFO was delayed repeatedly. We prayed that everything would be fine (#justcatholicthings), but our flight was delayed extremely far back that United canceled and rebooked our flights all together for the following day without communicating with us. Luckily, we arrived at the airport early. Everything was a SHITSHOW. We spoke to the United representative, who rebook us for a flight departing from Seattle in less than an hour to LAX. Everything is chaotic and all we have is a receipt of our new tickets to LAX, then Auckland. We run through premiere security and board our plane 10 minutes before the gate closed. Fast forward, we arrive at LAX, a MASSIVE airport, and we don’t have our tickets nor any information on what to do. With the help of many kind strangers at the airport, we find our gate, and we take off 30 minutes later to Rarotonga for a layover. Let me explain: Rarotonga has the main international airport of the Cook Island (which I did not know existed), and this airport LITERALLY had 2 gates. So random, but truly a beauty for the short 3 hours I was there.
Monday, June 11, 2018 (Auckland)
FINALLY, we arrived in Auckland. First impression: it felt similar to home, a large city surrounded by water. There are small differences. Kiwi people are MUCH friendlier. People say “cheers” rather than goodbye. They drive on the opposite side of the road. Differences in the people’s mannerism and language. Also, turkey can’t be found anywhere besides at Subway.
Prior to the trip, I messaged Megan Zollars out of the blue, who was on an exchange at the Universty of Auckland. We had grown up together (go Lynndale Lions!), and honestly, there’s something magical about meeting up with old friends when you’re abroad! Her mom was in town as well, and it just blew my mind how we had a mini-reunion.
Real talk, everything seriously was a shitshow. The weather was awful. Even though it was pouring rain and windy af, we decided to start exploring.
Waiheke Island
We walked toward the pier and took a ferry to go wine tasting in Waiheke Island. NZ has a population of 4 million people with roughly 1.4 million within Auckland itself. As we purchased a ticket on the hop-on and hop-off bus, we visited Te Motu, a winery on Waiheke Island and enjoyed a variety of rose, red wine such as cabernet merlot and the signature Te Motu. It was definitely the right way to start off our trip and to celebrate the long hours of traveling.
Fun Fact: We “hitchhiked”.
I don’t think I can describe how kind Kiwi people are or how safe I felt walking around, even when I was by myself. From the spot we had gotten dropped off, it was pouring rain and easily a 10-minute walk to the vineyard. A car was heading to the vineyard as well and Chiara joked about hitchhiking and stuck out her thumb. To our surprise, the car stopped and they opened the door to welcome us in. They were a sweet couple, the guy from New Hampshire and the woman from NZ.
The weather was a bust. There were many stressful moments of finding transportation and navigating as we didn’t have service. But, things always manage to come together as we found our way to our hostel at Attic Backpackers.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 (Auckland)
We woke up early and boarded our full day tour bus with Rachel. Deadass, I was impressed by how much she could talk. Fun fact: she loves to “yap”.
Waitomo Glow Worm Caves
Glow worms are typically found only in New Zealand and Australia! It was a bit underwhelming, but it was incredibly serene and eerie as we walked into the caverns and admired the rock formations.
Agrodome
Found on the outskirts of Rotorua, we took a tour of a working farm to get an insight of the NZ’s agriculture industry. To be honest, it was a bit uncomfortable witnessing a sheep-shearing.
Te Puia
Found in Rotorua, we were guided into a cultural venue where we experienced a Maori cultural performance, which was one of the highlights of my trip. The Maori people performed haka and shared stories told through song and dance. 10/10 would recommend watching videos on YouTube!!
Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley
super dope tour where we got to view the landscape full of mud pools and active geysers. Also, witnessed a kiwi in a kiwi hut and that was very cool!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 (Queenstown)
We made our way to Queenstown. 10/10 would recommend sitting in a window seat because I don’t think I have ever seen a mountain range so incredibly beautiful like my flight to Queenstown. In many ways, I saw similarities of Queenstown to Whistler (mountain range, ski resorts, a village full of shopping, bars, and restaurants), but the beauty of Queenstown stems from the landscape and loving life mentality of the locals. We stayed at Adventure Q2 Hostel, the most beautiful hostel I have ever experienced. The amenities were insane from checking out GoPros for free to the most comfortable beds. LIFE WAS GOOD.
Fergburger
IF YOU ARE EVER IN QUEENSTOWN, THIS IS A MUST. I am not a fan of burgers, but this place is world famous and honestly, the best darn burger I’ve ever had. Who would’ve thought brie and pineapples would compliment well. Another plus was meeting Carolina, a girl from Chile who was on a work visa in New Zealand. She had overheard our order and she was so incredibly kind and friendly to check up how we enjoyed our food and what not. We would run into her again in the upcoming few days and her kindness was so infectious and heart-warming like WOW.
Thursday, June 14, 2018 (Queenstown)
Queenstown is known to be the capital of adrenaline activities ranging from bungy jumping to skydiving to paragliding to skiing/snowboarding and the list goes on! Everyone visiting here is so eager to be adventurous and to live their best life!
Skyline Gondola
The view above Queenstown is absolutely stunning. It was a bummer that luging was closed, but we had decided to purchase a ticket up the gondola with a lunch. And just imagine this bougie restaurant, full of glass windows, natural lighting, and a spectacular view, with a buffet ranging from all kinds of ethnic food to endless pastries. Along the way, we befriended our waiter Long, a 19-year-old German-Vietnamese who was on a work-visa in Queenstown. It was SUNNY AF and we chatted for 30 minutes, and I’m surprised he didn’t get in trouble with his manager but whatever. We shared social media accounts, and this man would become one of my favorite people we encountered on this trip.
Sunset Stroll by Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown Garden
Fresh air and alone time were needed. As I “chased” the sunset, there was an eerie feeling of serenity as I sipped on my latte, people watched and enjoyed live music from street performers. I watched other solo travelers appreciating the peace, large tour groups full of visitors from Singapore to Philippines with their Gucci belts and Chanel bags, skiers and snowboarders coming back from a long day at the mountains, and the overall sense of joy from everyone around me. Queenstown is definitely one of my favorite places I have had the privilege to travel to.
Friday, June 15, 2018 (Queenstown)
Milford Sound
Named as one of the natural wonders of the world, Milford Sound is MUST. We left Queenstown at 7 am and boarded our bus to Milford Sound. It was a 5-hour drive each way, and it seemed like a drag but the drive itself was absolutely scenic of a variety of landscapes. In some parts, the landscape reminded me of home, but to greater extremes of beauty. Along the journey, I met other visitors from all over the world and it was so fun to share that experience of pure joy together.
Nightlife
Easily, one of the most fun nights I’ve ever had. SO many new friends were made and that is what made this night so memorable. I vividly remember coming home just SMILING because I was so darn happy. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever danced so hard within the time span of 6 hours in my entire life. It was a Friday night. People were out. IT WAS POPPIN’
London Pub – had dinner, usual start of the night, live music – some good ol’ Ed Sheeran and dua lipa
Loco – gimmeTHAT Beyonce and despacito and latino jamz that GET ME GOING. s/o to all the Aussies and Rosie from Sweden, who were straight jamming with me.
Cowboys – apparently, they have a mechanical bull. definitely, a different age scene as a lot of older people. met Mr. Darcy from Australia and his friends Jaime and Tom, who had very questionable tattoos.
World Bar – intense electronic music that I don’t know how to dance to (but, I like to try my best). met Alice and Lucy from Sydney, who invited us to tag along on their crawl. had a ton of fun straight jamming and dancing and twirling.
Searle Silver – met Brie and Deandre from Alabama, Spanish boys, and visitors from France. truly poppin’ as these people know how to dance
Saturday, June 16, 2018 (Wellington)
We bounced out of Queenstown real quick and headed to Wellington for the All Blacks v. France Rugby match.
Quick Backstory:
Initially, we intended to fly back to Auckland on Saturday. Two days prior, we took the L on our plane ticket and bought new tickets from Queenstown to Wellington and Wellington to Auckland. Our justification, when will we have the opportunity to see the All Blacks play in NZ. (yolo)
Exploring Wellington
walked toward the pier, befriended locals at the park, checked out the French Festival and enjoyed food, discovered an underground market where I found sopapillas (tbt to chile), went shopping on Cuba and Queens street where I met trendy af teenagers (very dope)
All Blacks Rugby Game
One of my all-time favorite experiences. It was wild to surround myself with locals and traveling Kiwis and embrace the huge national pride they are shared. What I love about New Zealand is that strong sense of unity and pride in their cultural roots of the Maori culture. I was in awe by the All Black’s performance of the Haka, a traditional war chant. There was an incredible sense of power and it was eerie as individuals in the crowd joined in the haka as well. The game itself was dope and physically intense. I absolutely loved it.
Sunday, June 17 (Auckland)
We bounced out of Wellington and headed back to Auckland to prepare for the end of our trip.
Bungee Jumping off the Auckland Bridge
EASILY, the craziest thing I’ve ever done. The minute you’re off the bridge, you feel this insane rush of adrenaline, which is indescribable. I HAVE NO REGRETS. Prior to NZ, bunging jumping was on my bucket list. But, this was partially me attempting to be adventurous, and I never mentally processed what I was getting myself into until I was on the ledge. I signed up for the jump alone, and the nerves were kicking in. I would meet Chantel and Darren, a couple from Auckland, who became my moral support as we instantaneously bonded. We joked that they adopted me. Also, I was super nervous beforehand that I forgot to bring my phone along for photos. But, shout out to Chantel and Darren, who were so kind to take photos and videos without me asking.I’m all geared up and the first girl to go. That’s when reality kicked in. I had no idea what I got myself into. I began to consider all the what if’s as I felt the weight on my legs pull me down. I’m terrified and I ask them to push me off and I receive a response “this is called bungee JUMPING.”First round, I timidly jump off and I feel the crazy rush of adrenaline. AND it is insane. I couldn’t process what I was experiencing nor could I even come to words how I was feeling. I decided to go for a second round (yolo), and this time, I went backward. This was so much more thrilling, and even though I was 40 meters above, I was able to touch the ocean water. WILD.
Catching Sunsets and Exploring Auckland
watched the sunset as I sat on the pier with my gelato, walked through Albert Park, people watched, and just enjoyed the liveliness of Auckland
FINALLY HOME.
By no means was this trip perfect. Many unexpected events arose that were both positive and negative. Regardless, I am really thankful I had this opportunity to travel to a place that so many people dream of. I was able to meet so many different individuals from all over the world. My favorite part of this trip was gaining cross-cultural experiences, sharing stories, and learning from strangers.
A friend once told me that “Your life is a never-ending saga of random bullshit and storybook surprises.” And honestly, I don’t think he could have said it any better. Over time, I have truly developed the understanding that life is more than work and school rather be enjoyed and lived to the fullest. With that, I have become this “spontaneous” gal everyone has come to know.
Anyway, thank you New Zealand for sharing your beauty and rawness with me. I don’t know when I will be back, but I do hope to return one day to discover your beauty once more. Cheers!