The Sweet Smell of the North

Our first week here was spent in Rotorua. After a four hour bus ride from the Auckland, we finally arrived to the beautiful sights...and smells...of the city. While Rotorua itself was gorgeous, it took a day or two to get over the sulfur smelling air. The entire city is a geothermal hotspot, with geysers and hot thermal springs popping up everywhere. At our hostel, Kiwi Paka, we had a thermal pool heated naturally by the hot springs in the area.

 

A little Wikipedia history: The name Rotorua comes from Māori, the full name being Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe; roto means lake and rua two – Rotorua thus meaning 'Second lake'. Kahumatamomoe was the uncle of the Māori chief Ihenga, the ancestral explorer of the Te Arawa. It was the second major lake the chief discovered, and he dedicated it to his uncle.

Our time in Rotorua was orientation week for my fellow interns and me. Through our internship program, AustraLearn, we have all been placed in various towns and cities across New Zealand to work in a position related to our field of study. For example, I am a public relations major interested in the field of non-profit so I have been working for Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand doing mostly PR work for the past five weeks (I’ll explain more about my internship later). 

During our week in Rotorua, we got to go on quite a few adventures, one being spelunking at Waitomo Caves. On our bus ride over to the caves, we were told by our driver that the sky was unusually clear and we got to see out over the valley and mountains below over to the famous Mount Ruapehu, or Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. 

Exploring the caves themselves was way more thrilling and challenging than I ever could have imagined. I have been to caves in the states in the past with my family, and we basically got to stand upright the entire time and casually stroll through the cave site. Our first few minutes at Waitomo Caves were spent stripping down and suiting up in thick and almost uncomfortably tight wetsuits. We then got to step into some oversized gumboots and put on helmets with lights attached to them. After finally getting suited up in this hilarious looking spelunking gear, we began our “training.” There was a practice area set up halfway down to the caves where we got to practice abseiling, or descending, down the hill. We learned how to hook ourselves up to a rope and ease up on the rope a little at a time in order to gradually lower ourselves down. 

After we had a good understanding of the basics, our caving adventure began. The first step into the cave was even more adventurous than anything I had done in the past. My heart started racing as I looked down into the black abyss below. I could see a ladder rung that appeared to be slippery and covered and mud. I immediately pictured myself stepping onto the rung, and then slipping and falling down headfirst to a bottomless pit below. I soon discovered that this was a silly thought, as I stepped onto the ladder without a problem and planted my feet on the floor below after climbing down only a 10 foot drop. 

We were told before entering the caves that we would be abseiling down a 60 foot hole. I remember thinking..okay we practiced a bit, that doesn’t seem too awful and I’m sure we will have time to get accustomed to exploring the cave before having to perform such a tricky task...oh man was I wrong. After climbing down the ladder into the cave, I was motioned over by our guide to step onto a ledge. A few feet past the ledge was a hole even darker than the one I had previously stepped into. I had also seen the girl before me disappear into it moments before and could not even hear her land at the bottom. Regardless, I finally stepped onto the ledge and began attaching myself to the rope in front of me. My heart was racing and I was ready to go until our guide told me to just swing out into the middle of the 60ft hole before me. Every inch of my body was telling me, “No!” but as there were several people waiting to follow behind me I went for it. I had my first adrenaline rush in New Zealand as I hung over the hole hanging by only a rope. I then began my descent. Every release of the rope brought a new burst of adrenaline as I pushed off the cave wall to descend to the cave floor below.

I finally reached the bottom and felt so energized and accomplished at what I just done. The rest of the time in the cave was spent abseiling down two more holes, one of which was actually a waterfall. At the end of this descent, we were told to climb through the small hole before us. I looked around in confusion, as the space I was standing in at this point was only about five feet by ten feet and I could see no hole in the cave wall before me. To make matters worse, the person who had gone before me was nowhere to be seen and I had to get out of the way before those following me abseiled down to the narrow space below. After a few seconds of analysis, I deducted that the hole must be behind the waterfall. I pushed through the freezing stream of water before me to see a two by three foot hole in the cave wall. I climbed through the hole to join my fellow interns.

From here, we had the chance to see glow worms, tiny green worms that live in caves and only survive for about a day after they hatch out of their cocoons. We turned off our lights and sat in a pool of water to observe the peculiar little creatures attached to the ceiling above us. It was quite a pretty sight...it seemed as if I was looking up at a clear and starry sky, except that the stars were all a neon green.

Another adventure we got to take part in during our time in Rotorua was luging, which is basically riding down a steep mountain in a go-kart without a motor. We only had a brake to pull back on if we began to go too fast. This was quite fun, except that I had accidentally grabbed a helmet that was a little too big for me, so that when I got half-way through the course each time my helmet fell around my neck. The guys had quite the experience, as a group of them decided to race down the advanced course. At one point or another they all crashed, and when one of the interns, Lawrence, crashed alongside one of our program guides, Gavin, our guide decided to take the liberty of grabbing Lawrence’s kart and using it to win the race down the mountain.

4Play for a day!!!

I know I have a lot of catching up to do, but before I start from the beginning I want to tell you all about my epic adventure today!!! Six of my fellow interns and I are in Taupo, NZ and found a great adventure package called 4Play (go ahead and giggle now). For $500 (plus a few dollars more for video and pictures later) we got to go bungee jumping, ride in a helicopter, jetboat, and skydive. Today was soooo amazing!!

The day started with the bungee, the activity I was the most excited about beforehand but also the most nervous about when it was my turn to take the plunge. Pictures will be up soon, but for now I can tell you that the bungee site was unbelievably gorgeous. The water here is completely see-through and depending on where you are it ranges from robin egg blue to seafoam green in color. Three other interns did the bungee with me, and I was third in line to jump. Honestly, until I was the next in line to go, I was calm as could be and very excited. The moment I neared the platform to have the bungee cord strapped to me, however, was when I started to panic. Check out my video in a day or two and you'll see what I mean. My heart was racing and my legs shaking as I was strapped into the bungee (only my legs down mind you...my upper half was completely free). I inched toward the ledge as they instructed but needed a little encouragement to place my arms above my head. As they counted down, I felt what a suicide jumper must feel before taking the final plunge. Even though others had gone before me, I was about to jump down NZ's highest water touch off a platform 47 meters from the Waikato River. I was terrified. Finally, after what seemed like ages of waiting, I leaned forward and was suddenly free-falling toward the water below me. The thrill was exhilarating. I regret closing my eyes for the first second or two, but after opening them I got to see a glimpse of the cliffs and foliage around me before plunging into the water below. I was soaked from the waist down (or up since I was upside down at the moment), but the thrill of the jump overtook my soaked and frozen body. I was then lowered toward the water again, where two friendly Kiwis helped me onto a boat and brought me safely to shore.

Part two of the adventure was a helicopter ride over the gorgeous Lake Taupo, Waikato River, Mt Ruapehu, Craters of the Moon and Huka Falls. It was a lot to take in at once and the view took my breath away. Also, the helicopter ride was a great experience in and of itself, as I had never been in such a small plane before. It was pleasant, but more turbulent ride than I'm used to and more noisy as well. I got to wear a pair of headphones with a mic to communicate with the pilot.

The helicopter ride brought us to part three of our adventure, jetboating. I wasn't sure how much of a thrill it would be...what was a boat compared to jumping off a cliff or out of a plane??...but it ended up being a fun and slightly terrifying ride. Our driver was a really funny guy and every minute or so would have us doing 360degree spins along the Waikato River! I managed to get a few good videos of our trip, but almost ruined my phone by trying to take a video close to the falls. We sped along the river and made a stop at Wairakei Thermal Power Station, Huka Prawn Park, the Aratiatia Dam and Huka Falls, the most visited natural attraction of New Zealand. The water was the lightest blue I had ever seen.

The final activity in our 4Play package was skydiving, and it was by far my favorite. I paid a little extra on this part of the trip to get a video taken and to jump from 15,000ft instead of 12,000ft...and it was definitely worth it! I was second to last on the plane to jump, and the fall out of the plane was way easier than my jump off a platform earlier in the day. I was jumping in tandem with a professional skydiver, so it wasn't up to me when we got to make the plunge. We snapped a picture, he pushed forward and soon we were plummeting toward the Earth. We got to free fall for a full 60 seconds, during which our camera man would fly below us to get some footage, and also during which I got to feel a rush of adrenaline while taking in the spectacular scenery around me. The first part of the jump was such a rush, but it almost got better as the parachute was pulled. I went from wind rushing in my face and my heart racing as I was speeding toward the ground to complete peacefulness and silence as I hung suspended in the air looking at the view before me. I could see above the mountains in the distance and could see the snowy peaks of Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. I could also see all of Lake Taupo, and Huka Falls and geothermal springs in the distance. I wanted to stay up there forever.

After today, there is no way I can live my life apart from all the natural beauty around me. I hope to skydive and go on more grand adventures in the future. The rush of the moment, along with the breath-taking views was like nothing I've ever experienced before!

Flying to the Land of the Long White Cloud

   First off, flying to New Zealand took well over 24 hours…but I met some really interesting people along the way! Every time I travel, I try to meet at least one new person and possibly grab a few business cards while I’m at it (networking, yay!). 

   My flight from Chicago to Denver gave me the chance to meet a businessman from Quebec City, Canada. I noticed a slight accent when he mumbled a greeting as I took a seat next to him, but I couldn’t quite identify what type of accent it was. When my first comment of “Bless you” as he sneezed was returned with a confused, but polite look and hesitant smile, I presumed he was not from the states. I spent the next few hours learning about his hometown, international travels and business in the U.S., and sharing with him stories from my past internships and what I was most looking forward to in New Zealand. By the end of the conversation, he had handed me his business card and told me that his company does business in Iowa and to give him a call if I was ever interested in working there. 

   The second woman I met had been assigned a seat on the opposite end of the plane from her husband and children and was thankful to have a companion to chat with on the flight from Denver to Los Angeles. The woman was a psychologist who lived with her husband and kids in Los Angeles and had been spending Memorial Day weekend in Boulder, Colorado with her extended family. While she enjoys living in California, she plans on retiring in Boulder someday and spent much of the time talking about the beauty and peacefulness of Boulder and suggesting I make the trip there to see it. We also got on the conversation of her family, and I discovered that her daughter had once entered the Miss California pageant. This gave me a chance to reminisce about my days as a small town fair queen several years ago. We chatted for about half of the flight to L.A., and spent the other half gazing in awe at the beautiful landscapes below. This flight gave me the opportunity to see the Rocky Mountains and Grand Canyon for the first time. I got some really pretty pictures on my phone (which I will post as soon as I have access to wifi, as opposed to the cable internet I am paying per hour for now). This four hour flight also resulted in my gaining another business card and offering that she take a look at my blog while I am away in New Zealand.

   The final people I got to meet on my flight to NZ were my fellow interns! We had all planned to wear green to the L.A. airport in order to more easily identify each other. I ran into the first intern as I was approaching security. I had never seen Bridget Smith in person before, but I knew it was her when I saw a girl bouncing up and down, smiling and waving my direction. After getting an okay from security, Bridget and I turned the corner to run into Chris Cena, another intern dressed in the color of the day. From there, we continued to gain group members as we got closer to our departure time and we quickly learned that the cost of living was much higher in Los Angeles than it was in our hometowns…I paid over $10 for a sandwich. One “necessity” that was much cheaper in Los Angeles than in New Zealand, however, was alcohol, so we grabbed a few liters from the duty free store to take with us on our flight and hold us over for the next few weeks.

   The flight to New Zealand was unlike any flight I had taken before. First of all, it took us almost thirteen hours to fly across the Pacific, but the plane itself was also twice as big as any I had previously flown on. As I entered the plane, walking past first class and business class was a tease. I looked around in wonder at the sky couches and swivel chairs I longed to cozy up in for the long flight ahead. As my group and I reached economy class, however, I could not complain about the accommodations offered to us there. The plane had just been within the past year and looked shiny and new. Our seats were more spacious than those in my previous flights and a blanket and pillow welcomed us to our new quarters. After taking a seat, I discovered that the screen in front of me offered a wide variety of movies, games, TV shows, and news from around the world to keep me informed and entertained. There was also a screen to show us how far we had flown and how much time we had left, along with the temperature outside the plane, which was well below freezing as we flew high above the Pacific and into the Southern Hemisphere. 

   Throughout the course of our flight, we were offered free wine and two rather delicious meals. The staff was also wearing bright purple and black printed outfits and welcomed us with that Kiwi accent and charm I have grown to love since my time over here. Overall, my travel to New Zealand was long and tiring, but also a great experience during which I got to see new places and network with a lot of people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

My Last Day in the U.S.

With a little under 12 hours until I depart, I am beginning to feel a bit nervous...okay maybe I've been nervous for a few days now, but I digress...Tomorrow will be the first time I have flown alone, carrying more luggage than usual and nursing a wounded foot. I am taking a flight from the Windy City to Denver and then Denver to L.A. At this point, I will finally be able to meet up with the people I have been chatting with and Facebook stalking for the past month or so! (A little too creepy, maybe? You have to make sure your future roommates are going to be cool as hell!...which mine are by the way=) From L.A., my fellow interns and I will be flying about 13 hours across the Pacific to Auckland, New Zealand, aka "The City of Sails." Then we will take a bus to Rotorua...where the real adventure begins!