Ups and Downs and Ups

So here's some recent events.

-After my last post I went to a region called Taranaki. It is a cool area totally centered on a dormant Volcanic Mountain. We stayed with a family we had met on their farmhouse (they have 800 cows) and spent a night at their nearby beachhouse. The highlight was the challenging but rewarding hike to the top of Mt. Taranaki.

-Next stop was going to the Taupo region what as reputed to be one of the best one day hikes in NZ. It was called the Tauranga Crossing. It goes through the area that was used to represent Mordon and Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. It was a pretty nice hike, though truly only one of the 4.5 hours was that amazing. It did include an amazing volcanic craitor and some other neat volcanic sites.

-Unfortunately as we were arriving at the hike our car broke down. We had it towed to a small town and found out the camshaft was busted. This was terrible news and really brought us down. Ben was leaving to go be with his parents who were visiting the country so it left Henry and I to handle it. It looked like it was going to be a 2000+ repair (we paid 2000 for the whole car). We did have an idea though. The previous owner had an extended warranty he had purchased for the car. There were some complications: we had to get it transfered, this required a number of steps including the previous owner's signature, he was in England now.

So Henry and I embarked on a quest. It has involved many steps (we actually numbered them and got up to seven or eight). We had to get in contact with the former owner, scan, fax, call, transfer money, make more calls, scan again, more calls, but eventually a week later we managed to get all approved. The company is going to pay for 1775$ of the the 2350 repair. All is not lost and the car is being fixed.

-Not that we haven't been doing any thing the entire time. After the car broke down we had scooter pick us up in his operating vehicle and the three of us went to a beach ulitmate tournament. It was call 'Boutique Beach' and it was a fitting name. It was at a fairly isolated beach and had only one field. It was the smallest tournament I've ever played but it was fun. It was a stark difference from the last beach tourney I played, lei-out with it's 30-40 fields. I got to know more New Zealanders and lost to Scooter's team by one point in the finals.

-After that Henry and I spent some time in the city of Napier. It was a nice day to spend a couple days while we got things figured out. The city had a large, damaging earthquake in the 30's and had to rebuild. The result was the center of the city being built much in the style of the day, 'Art Deco'. It makes for a unique and fun look to the city. We also visited a cider brewery which was fun.

-Since then we have been working at a bed and breakfast in the country. It's work trade; we work 5 hours a day and in return get food and lodging as well as use of the facilities. It's a really nice place and were enjoying. The work is mostly groundskeeping and were done by 1pm. It has left plenty of time for other pursuits. Henry and I have been learning tennis together and as were both beginners are enjoying a steep learning curve. We have also been playing a lot of pool on the enourmous 12ft billards tables, though I don't think we are getting much better at that. The owners are great and were going to stay until the car is ready on Tuesday most likely. The website is www.chapelwick.co.nz if you're curious

The car breakdown was a big dissapointment and I was pretty down for a while, I really want to get to the south Island. However I've made the best of things and am doing alright.

Joey

oh so much

So I haven't posted in while. Things have been crazy. I'm traveling right now so I am going to work on some longer posts on my laptop and then upload them later. For now some mini updates

-I went to the NZI seven's tournament, one of a series of international Rugby Seven's tournaments. It's is perhaps the event of the year in Wellington and it was amazing. It's basically one big party and everyone dresses up, Scooter and I went as Friars. It was one of the best weekends I've had here, maybe the best. Like all great weekends it included drinking, friends, and a beautiful girl.

-I've moved out of my Wellington flat. I will now be a nomad until I arrive at camp in May.

-I've spent the last week working at a vineyard in an area called the Wairarapa. It was really fun and I think I'll come back in a month. Scooter was there with me and we both loved it. It had a strong impact on me and could affect my future plans.

-Up next is some regional travels and then to the south island for a bunch of traveling. I'm pumped, but worried about money a little.

Joey