When she swings, shes a heavy hitter

Auckland. I hate it here. Also, I'm in a foul mood. I am not ready to go home at all. I keep telling myself at least I'm leaving on a good note. Which is true, but it doesn't make me feel THAT much better.

This week was great. Monday night was pretty laid back, just watched some Friends episodes with Katie. Tuesday I ran Canon Point, just for something different... Spent the day trying to sort through my clothes and pack a little bit. Did some housework too. That night I went to Mama T's for delish burgers. I love a good kiwi burger, they put a fried egg on it, and beetroot and pineapple. YUM!

Wednesday I trained with Katie, she kicked my ass as usual! So much tricep work! Loved it. That night I met Michelle for dinner at Subway, the new Moroccan Chicken sub is actually quite yum. We saw Eat, Pray, Love at the Ascot. I thought it was awesome! I actually am dying to read the book now. Its funny because Mimi told me to read the book like 2 or 3 years ago! And Rosa told me to read it a few months ago. I looked in a few bookstores, but it was always 30-40$, so I'll wait and get it used at home somewhere.

Thursday I went for coffee and lunch in town, I mean Upper Hutt, with Katie. We went to Fresh Bun and I got custard slice, chicken-cranberry-avo sandwich and a trim flat white with cinnamon. SO good. Its for the best that Katie and Josh only discovered it recently! I could have spent a loooot of time there. Thursday night I went to Jade and Tracey's for a delish dinner of caramelized bananas and bacon, another kiwi classic!

Friday morning brought another intense workout with my favourite trainer! I actually was dying at the end. I squatted/lunged my life away. Walked to the train station after. Was rocking my new skinny jeans. I thought I looked pretty damn hot until I got to the train station and realized I had left the long sticker on and it was all down my leg. So flash! I felt like a bit of a tool...

Met up with Cherie and Kirsten for lunch. I loooved Sushi Pen, cheap fresh and delish.

Kirsten and I did some shopping, i got a pair of cute sandals which I won't be wearing until like July. Dirty Ottawa winter here I come... I finally made it to the Wellington Botanic Gardens, and on my Mom's birthday! It was huuuuge. Not heaps of flowers, but a decent amount. I walked back to the city centre through the gardens it took like half an hour. Jade finished tech early and met me in town. I bought another new pair of shoes, Nike high tops! I actually love them so much. Kind of am an idiot for buying so much new stuff this week, I will have to throw out everything I don't absolutely love in the airport. We went for coffee and then met up with Tracey at Kirk's. I found a cool red lipstick at MAC, but I can't remember the name now!

Had an awesome dinner with Josh and Katie at Satay Village, my first taste of Malaysian cuisine.

We got a movie "New York, I love you" and some wine and treats and went back to the flat.

Jess and Jason came over with their puppy, Nellie, for a little while. The movie was complete crap, we turned it off after a half hour or so. It was filthy! We had heaps of homemade treats that Katie made. So yum! She helped me pack, I anticipated not being able to take my large suitcase on the bus, so I put the stuff I didn't care as much about in it. Went to bed at midnight with my alarm set for 6am. Yuck. Katie gave me Edmond's cookbook, I'm so stoked!!

Woke up and got ready to go. Josh got us some flat whites from McCafe. We got to the train station way too early and it was freezing cold! Jade, Josiah, Lauren and Kirsten came to the train station to see me off! So sweet and they got me some gifts and cards! The driver took my stuff, it was no worries! He said 50% of the luggage should have been turned away but he didn't care! Of course, I cried as I left. Such a dork. 11 hour bus ride was rubbish, but my Ipod was fully charged so I was all good. In Auckland, I was dropped off at Sky city centre, I tried to walk with my bags but had so much trouble I just made it one block to a hostel. Surf n Snow. It was way more expensive than all the other hostels I researched, but I had no other choice. Its only 2 nights anyway. My room was full and SO hot. The traffic was wildly noisy though. Went for a short walk and then to bed. I couldn't sleep so I watched a 3 hr movie. Funny but pretty inappropriate.

This morning I went out for a trim flat white with cinnamon, yum! Now I'm just at the libs for free interweb. My plan for the afternoon is to go to the beach one last time! Dumb that Halloween is no big deal here. Happy Halloween anyway!!!!!!!

LOVE!

Everybody knows it sucks to grow up

Maija and I on Pangaimotu island
The end of my trip to Tonga was pretty sweet! Maija came back from Ha'apai and a new guy, Shaun, arrived. I moved into the green house after being shouted at by a crazy man in the blue house. And there was a massive spider in the bathroom which was gross. Maija and I made a massive and delish dinner and traded movies on our netbooks.

In the morning I got up early and paid my bills. Walked into town around 8am and got a coffee at Friends, just for something different. Haha. Checked my emails and then Maija and Shaun came to meet me. We went down to the wharf and ran into a castmember and film crew from Biggest Loser, family edition. One guy was Tongan so they were filming a 2 hour special. I talked to the film crew for a while, nice to hear a familiar accent even if it was American.

We took a ferry to Pangiamotu (or something like that) and snorkelled around a shipwreck just off the island. It was so cool. Shaun had his own snorkel gear so we all just shared it. We saw heaps of fish, starfish, sea cukes etc., and took silly underwater pictures with his fancy camera that had a case for underwater use. It made me want to go to China, crazy cheap electronics, BUT not the same quality and standards as Canadian imported things.

Shipwreck

We walked around the island (not too big, took maybe 30 mins) and then went for lunch at the cafe. I ordered a club sandwich, but to them a club sandwich is apparently garlic bread with a chicken salad mix, tomato and lettuce. It was so filthy I can't even describe it. Mayo is disgusting. The hot chips were good though and the tomato sauce came in a sea shell! Pretty... In the afternoon we just lay out in the shade. Took the 4pm ferry back and went to the market where I bought my only souvenir, a shell necklace. Cheesy, I know. But I had to bring something back. We went out for dinner, I got seafood chowder, such great and fresh seafood. It had whole scallops and prawns. Yum. For dessert I shared a passionfruit cheesecake with Maija.

We walked back to the hostel, stopping at the bakery for breakfast food. Got a cinnamon bun and pineapple muffin for 1$ since it was yesterdays stuff. Awesome.

Didn't do much my last night in Tonga, just got some movies off Shaun and the couples I hung out with in Eua were back so we all caught up.

Had to get up so early Thursday am for the flight, it was pouring with rain and therefore a perfect day to be leaving. I was so happy to be going home, Also, was pretty stoked it didn't rain all week like the weather station predicted, it only rained my first 2 days and super sunny ever since. I have the peeling burn to prove it. Not so pretty but all good.

Flight was stressful, luckily Maija and I could sit together and complain. There were some dramas with 15 passengers missing and then another person decided not to fly and the crew had to hunt through the luggage to find her bag. We left about an hour late and I needed to catch my connecting flight to Welly within like an hour. I grabbed my bags, got through customs and then had to run to the domestic airport. Luckily its only about a 10 minute walk away. I got there just in time to board. Cut it SO close. Katie picked me up at the airport, which was awesome. Friday night I went to Jade and Tracey's to watch New Zealand's Next Top Model and X Factor Australia. Saturday we went out to Logan Brown for dinner. It was delish. I had smoked eel to start and then the snapper. Awesome meal. We went out for gelato after at Kaffe Eis. I was so full. Sunday I got up at 7am and drove to Mt Ruapehu with Josh. I felt a bit sick at first, but felt better after a coffee from the cart in Otaki. It was a mint day, 2 degrees, blue skies. Best day of my season! I got the flippen filthy goggle tan to prove it. We climbed to the very topo of the volcano (not an easy feat with a snowboard and awkward boots). Took about an hour. The view of the crater lake alone was worth it. One guy hiked up with an inflatable raft and paddle and skiied to the lake to fish! Crazy. You could see the people who hiked up the other side of the mountain from the Whakapapa ski field. So cool. The best was skiing down the fresh powder. Loved that. It took ages to board all the way to the bottom of the mountain. Unfortunately, I fell and bashed my wrist and its been killing me ever since. My medical insurance ran out in September so I'll have to get it looked at when I get home. Its not swollen or anything, just kills.

Drive home was a bit boring since my Ipod died. Stopped at good old Wild Bean for ginger slice and a flat white. Slept over at Jade and Tracey's again. We ate lollies and chocolate and Kylie and Kirsten came over too. Was a good night. This morning I got up and drove back to Upper Hutt. Walked into town to meet Katie and then we all drove to the mall in Lower Hutt with Kelly and Jess. I got a bunch of new clothes and some gifts for the fam. I think I'm all done my shopping now! Got my first real pair of skinny jeans, big step for me...

The week is looking pretty intense for me. Mostly meals out with friends, trying to catch up with everyone before I leave on Saturday morning. Sucks to be leaving so soon. I feel a bit sick about it, so I'm pretty in denial about it all.

LOVE!

They can hear the clamour in your whispering

I am so burnt. But, on the upside the weather has been awesome the past 3 days!

The Tongan cave party/feast was so good. I had raw fish, suckling pig, octopus, seaweed, kumala, cassava and breadfruit pudding. The dancing was really good too, probably super touristy but I liked it. They had fire dancing too, the boys lit their bodies on fire, it was pretty wild. The girls would grease up their arms and people stuck money on them. A few dirty old men stuck the bills elsewhere, which was not appreciated in this uber-religious country. I took the ferry to Eua on Saturday, the old german couple gave me seasickness pills before we left, so while everyone else was voming we were all good! Arrived at the 'resort' a few hours later. It was like no resort I've ever seen. I elected to stay in a tent and they put down a mattress for me with a pillow and blankets. I was stoked with it. Sat on the platforms by the beach all afternoon and read my book. Finally, the Tonga beach vacation I was looking for! Free wireless internet too, although very slow and very unreliable was nice to have. That night there was a massive thunderstorm. I had been warned that lightening often touches ground here. Freaked me out a bit but I was fine. In the morning I realized the tent was flooded with about a 1/4 inch of water. Siiick. I went to Tongan church that morning with the 3 other couples at the resort. It was wild to not understand a word, but the singing was incredible and SO loud. In the afternoon I whale whatched (saw 4!) and slept in the sun, swam a bit but it was hard since the water was shallow and the coral cuts your feet. I ate dinner with the other couples, it was a traditional Umu, lamb, fish and beef cooked in tonga leaves underground. It was yum and very smoky, kind of like hangi. I went to bed early-ish since I had to get up at 330am for the ferry. Couldn't sleep well because I got a migraine and my bed was really disgustingly damp. The ferry back was nice, got to see the sunrise. Now I'm back at Friend's cafe, waiting for the hostel van to pick me up. I decided to stay in the nicer rooms this time around, a bit more expensive but worth it I hope.

LOVE.

3 more sleeps until I'm back home! NZ home anyway...

I wear my sunglasses at night

TONGA! After 8 hours in Transit I arrived in Tonga. It was a bumpy ride to say the least, most people on the plane were vomiting and it was really gross. I just watched a few shows about Working Holidays, those people were homesick and their trips were just 6 weeks, come on!

So at the Tongan airport, while awaiting baggage the power kept shutting off. It actually was really scary. Each time, the police would start yelling in Tongan. Great way to calm down tired people...

Luckily my ride was waiting for me to take me to Toni's Guest House. The hostel left a lot to be desired. We drink rainwater and the toilet has no sink in it. Gross, you have to go all the way to the kitchen or use the shower to wash your hands. The hostel is actually in the ghetto, beside us is a shack with like 10 Tongans living in it. Not what I was expecting at all. Stayed up getting to know the 3 guys staying in the same house as me. I fell asleep with my mosquito net tucked around me and awoke in the night to it falling on me after the nail broke away from the ceiling. Gave me a fright!

The next morning I went on an island tour and saw Tonga's Stonehenge, surfer's beach, a big cave and about 300 Mormon churches. I'm not even kidding, Mormon's are trying to make Tongan the first Mormon country. They spent 49 million US$ on one church. Its insane, especially since these people live in huts, there are better ways to spend money I think. There are a bunch of signs from Japan reading "pipe work" which is supposed to help the Japanese get UN votes from Tonga to allow them to continue whale poaching. China practiced building roads here a while ago (they actually don't go anywhere useful) so there are like 4 random paved roads, while the rest are just dirt. No seatbelts here!

Last night I went to Cava night, its the ground up root of a tree here and its supposed to make you feel lightheaded but after a few coconut shells full I felt nothing but tired and just went to bed.

Today I'm in town at Friends cafe with a few new mates, the staff actually remember everyone's name, I like it. Granted it is low season for tourists, its still cool. The good thing about being in a place like Tonga, where its unsafe to go out alone and you get yelled at by overly friendly Tongans every step of the way is that it makes it pretty easy to bond with the other travelers. Unfortunately most people I've met are going to the more touristy islands tomorrow that actually have beaches, here the closest beach is quite far. But since I'm just here 8 nights and flights here are very unpredictable (cancelled often) I don't want to risk it. I'll take a ferry to Eua tomorrow to stay a few nights and do some hiking, that should be nice. And tonight I'm going to a Tongan cultural experience night in a giant cave. I'm excited for that!

LOVE!

Lets be more than this

Oh my gosh, 29 days. Thats not ok! I'm not ready to leave at all. Not even a little bit.

The rest of my trip up North was awesome. It was pouring with rain on Thursday when I was driving to Tauranga, and Brian was busy so we just hung out for a little bit. Got some fish and chips and a deep fried Moro bar. Kind of like a mars bar but a bit more Aero-like inside. Filthy but delish. I drove to Rotorua from there. The city that smells like sulphur because of all the thermal pools. I stayed at a really nice hostel called Astray, tiny rooms but proper massive, comfy mattresses. I had some time before it got dark, yay for daylight savings, so I went for a walk to Kiurnan Park where there was a free geothermal park. The last geyser (spray of mud) was in 2003 so I figured I was pretty safe. It was pretty cool, had some free hot pools but they were a bit dirty looking.

Got up early the next day, hoping to do some mountain biking, but the company wasn't answering their phone and it was still raining, so I decided to just drive to Wellington. The roads past Taupo were flippen insanely flooded! I'd never driven on flooded roads before, it was crazy.

Also, the tax prises rose 2.5% so since everything has tax already included prices went up a lot. Unfortunately, they rose by 10% rather than 2.5%. What the heck people? Do your math properly! I was gutted that I didn't fill up the tank the night before. But then in Taupo I went to the cheapest gas station in all of NZ and their prices were lower than when I drove up. $1.64/L. Literally cheapest ever. So then I was happy. The same company of gas station 2 blocks down was $1.81/L. I don't understand, but I like it.

It got really sunny and lovely in the afternoon so I stopped at Foxton beach for a run. The beach was also a road!

I decided to take the backroads to Upper Hutt as suggested by Googlemaps, Akatarawa Hill Road or highway 58. Wow, that was a mistake. I thought for a moment I was on a one-way road (going the wrong direction) but due top signposts on both sides I realized I had a found the most dangerous one way highway in the world. Literally this hill was insanely steep and super curvy, I was so scared of running into anotehr car, there were no shoulders, just forest (or cliff face) and mountain. I came across a few others, but luckily we were JUST able to squeeze by. I prayed like crazy the whole time! My car is a beast!

Got home late afternoon and went to Kirsten and Lauren's to bake cookies and watch some Flight of the Conchords.

Saturday morning Katie and I went for a run up Canon Point and then into town for coffees and some shopping. The new second hand shop is awesome I got a dress and a cute skirt for 22.50$! Bargain. That evening I went to see Kids of 88 as well as Naked and Famous. Sadly we had to go to the All Ages show which was at 5pm! But, it was so worth it, Kids of 88 were amazing and we got to meet them after. They were such sweethearts. Kirsten and I went out for Turkish food after the show. Really yum.

After church on Sunday, since it was another sunny day (yay spring!), we went to the beach for a BBQ and a game of football (our soccer). It was great.

Monday was my first training session with Katie, she kicked my but and then we went for a short run and ran into Kelly and her adorable little puppy! We went for a coffee at McCaf and to the second hand shop again... Monday night I went to Jade and Tracey's for an awesome dinner and then watched a netball game in Petone. Such a weird game, I can't handle it. Tried Goody Goody Gumdrops ice cream. So good.

Today the plan is to run Canon Point with Katie again and then pick up some Glee episodes from Cherie later, fun!

LOVE!