A Week in the Life...

Here is a fun thing I thought I would try:  I am going to post one week of journal entries unedited.  It's a good thing for me and hopefully you will enjoy the silly and mundane details that make up my travel life. This particular journal week takes place in November. I'm very behind! Without further adieu...

Sunday:
Wake up at unknown time after camping in unknown location near Taupo, with 5 other people...3 of whom I met yesterday before setting out on a road trip. Eat breakfast of PB on bread with apple. Brush teeth. Hit the road with German kid named Timo who is one of the most genuine and funny people ever. Get to know each other over talk of Kid Rock, Burger Beef, and cars. Arrive at Napier, Art Deco Capital of New Zealand. Walk around with 2 people, get to know them, and wonder how on earth we ended up here. Immediately plot our escape. Buy wine to drink on the beach with Dutch dude who keeps building beach fires, as once some Brazilian girls came and danced naked around his campfire. He has not given up the dream that it might happen again. “If I build it,” he says, “they will come.” It's his own of Field of Dreams. Gale force winds and pouring rain thwart our plans. Hole up in room to laugh with Timo, Paul, and Freddy. Go to sleep circa 2am, after all of us fall asleep while reading. Wake up before dawn with ipod cord wrapped around me, glasses underneath me, and book on my face. Ponder, quickly, how I am alive and immediately go back to sleep.

Monday:
Wake up late, circa 10am. Eat breakfast of toast & coffee. Lounge around big table with random people. Plot of escape established. Book tickets for the three of us (Paul, Freddy, and me) to National Park for excessive quantities of camping and hiking. Make giant vat of rice for the next day. Take walk to beach and Pak-N-Save for extra food. Buy muffin for next day. Heck, buy muffin for now and eat since it somehow became 5pm and I got hungry. Back to hostel. Hear girl gossip about love affairs. Be thankful that I am no longer 20. Check for wrinkles and moisturize. Use rest of purchased internet to watch video of me eating cake in Auckland. Laugh. Do some more lounging. Shower. Sneak some wine into our room and start drinking with Freddy. Pack. Sleep.

Tuesday:
Wake up early and catch bus to National Park. On bus by 7:45am. Stop in Taupo for 2 hours. Experience immense enjoyment of our pre-packaged rice lunch. Eat bananas and chocolate for dessert. Luck! A live performance of local artists: teenage rock band (“Origin”) and a dance troupe called...ummm...well, they were dressed like birds. I think. Very modern. Hop bus to Turangi, hop another (very small) bus to National Park. Driver is a funny fella named Connor. Full of the crack-ups. Try to convince my travel mates he is awesome because he is enjoying his job and embracing the mantra “why be dull?”. Enjoy mild success. Catch a ride with Izzie, who runs our campground. Set up camp. Prep more food for big hike tomorrow. Shower. Bed early. Share my 2 person tent with 2 additional persons. Gear outside wrapped in plastic. Sleep.

Wednesday:
Wake up early, circa 5:45am, and make giant breakfast in prep for big walk. Fill water reservoir. Pack up rice, beans, pasta. Get snacks. Catch bus to Tongariro Crossing. Hike uphill for 10kms, including “The Devil's Staircase.” Decide it is aptly named, as my legs are burning and I curse Satan for his rotten stairs. Get tired. See amazing views. Watch Paul climb the summit of Mt. Ngaurahoe (“Mt. Doom”) with envy. My mind is willing. My legs are not. Carry on with Freddy who feels the same. Laugh. Eat more. Descend mostly downhill for another 10K. Bruise my toes, even with awesome boots. Wish for more water. Find a rogue apple. Eat with fervor. Feel pleased at my smarts in buying/bringing them. Back to campground. Chat, cook, eat, shower, and...enjoy the spa tub! Relax, drink one beer, one bottle of wine, get out of spa tub and enjoy unbelievably good night of sleep.

Thursday:
Take another big hike. Freddy stays behind. Chat near waterfall for several hours with Paul. Eat chocolate. See our Austrian campground mate, Stefan, who wants to hike with us. Paul makes up story about need for privacy. Stefan thinks we are a couple. Freddy and Paul have secret thing. Potential awkwardness could ensue but Freddy is cooler than that (thank god). Get back late, people were worried. People ask questions about our relationship. I say we've been together since Auckland, which isn't a lie; we have been in the same place, together, since then. Plot escape for the next day, with some sorrow, to Wellington.

Friday:
Catch late bus to Windy Welly, after having morning coffee with Izzie. Call dad and sing Happy Birthday from NZ mobile phone (it's still the day before in ND). No answer. Assume M&D are enjoying delicious pizza in McLeod. Discuss delicious pizza as a result. Crave food that is neither rice nor beans nor pasta. Miss salt and pepper. Get to Wellington late. Go to bar and have some beers after missing the liquor store by 5 minutes. See man on street who has just come from stag party. He is drunk. He is also funny. He knows where ND is! He is tall...but I move on. End up hearing kiwi girl sing 8 karaoke songs that decrease in quality as her intake of beer increases. Meet Vinnie, goth kid extraordinaire. He is sweet, surprisingly so. Decide to leave lovely Welly immediately due to expense. No camping, expensive hostels, bummer.

Saturday:
Saw Te Papa museum, with Vinnie as our tour guide. Decide I am happy enough with that in Wellington and hop the ferry to Picton, South Island. Splurge for french fries to stop the hunger pangs of Paul. Peace and happiness for $6.80. Wish it was daylight and not raining so we could see the lovely view. Raining! Three people, small tent...this does not bode well. Get picked up by our campsite. Pitch tent. Rain starts. Downpour ensues. Drenching imminent.**

**Oddly, still happy...