A Tint of Blue in the Ice

February 10 & February 11. The 10^th was as uneventful and dull as the last two days. We traveled again, but the 11^th more than made up for the last three days of boredom. I went for a run this morning and was surprised to see that I was stock full of energy. The dullness of the last three days had given me a lust to do something adventurous again. We drove away from the hostel in high spirits, intent on arriving to a glacier that we would be hiking. We stopped along the way for breakfast, but it was a short affair and we wolfed down our food without really realizing what we were eating.

We arrived at a small log cabin, exactly like a Lincoln Log cabin. We stepped inside and were greeted warmly by the guides. They didn’t waste any time, but went straight to the equipment and safety procedures. We slid on hiking socks and laced up the hiking boots we were given. We also received crampons, special foot grips for when you’re hiking the glacier. Backpacks (that smelled like they had never been washed), jackets and, peculiarly, empty water bottles were all handed out before we ran onto the bus. I expected to see a large hill of frost when we came to the glacier, not a 3 mile stretch of compacted, super dense ice moving at 6 meters per day. The landscape was breathtaking. There is no other word for it. It was an enormous valley with massive mountains surrounding the area. I was therefore taken aback when the guide told us we would be hiking one of the mountains in order to reach the glacier. So we set off, trudging through a surrounding rainforest. It wasn’t what I expected a rainforest to be, however. It was humid and desperately quite. The only sounds that broke the monotony of our steps was the faint trickle of a stream or a loud crash as another piece of ice broke free from the glacier. Caitie and I passed the time laughing about the past few nights and quoting Family Guy, but even our joking couldn’t distract me from my rapidly increasing dehydration.

We finally rose to the entrance of the glacier, clutching stitches in our sides. A stunning stream of fresh water flowing through the ice, which gave it a slight blue tint, met us at the base of the entrance. We filled our water bottles to the brim with the ice cold water, bringing them up instantly to our mouths. There is no other water like it. We drank deeply, occasionally coming up for air. I only stopped after 3 bottles full and filled it a 4^th time for the return journey. The guide instructed us on how to put on our crampons and gave us walking sticks. He then hiked off, using his icepick to occasionally carve steps for the more difficult pathways. As we walked I became aware of the immediate climate change. We went from a humid rainforest to a freezing iceberg, and my body was reacting accordingly. I was shivering soon, but the captivating sights of the glacier kept my mind away from my body.  I regretted not taking sunglasses after a while. The glare off the blue ice was blinding. However, the weather turned to overcast after 20 minutes of hiking.

We trekked through crevasses, plains, and even through the glacier. The cracks of time and expanding air were always evident, and some of my group voiced their worries that the glacier might crack under our feet. The guide informed us that the ice was way too thick, but I continually noticed worried looks as the ice creaked under our feet. We came across many streams and ice formations, each more fascinating than the last. After about an hour and a half of hiking, our hands became numb and we were starving.

The hike back wasn’t a long one; apparently there was a 10 minute path back to the bus. We crawled into the bus and savored the pleasure of stretching our cramped muscles. We packed up our gear and handed it back to the guide as soon as we came back to the cabin. We received certificates of survival, which was well deserved, and ate ravenously as Erik and Elise handed us sandwiches. We slept away the long journey to another hostile in ­­Fox Town. We are now stretching on our beds, cracking jokes and playing B.S. We’re going to a pub tonight where we can play some pool. There isn’t any wifi in this deserted town, but we are going to Queenstown tomorrow night. Hopefully I can post this then.

Reflection

February 9. Today was as boring and uneventful as the last. We drove another 8 hours, while stopping occasionally for lunch and to see blowholes and pancake rocks. The south island has a very different landscape then the north island. The south island’s mountainous regions and its rocky coasts give the perception of being insignificant. When you are shadowed by a New Zealand mountain, or look out upon the vast ocean, you feel like a trivial ant trying to safely return to its society. The rolling plains of the north island provide a connection to nature. You appreciate the landscape, cherishing that it has not yet been overrun by civilization.

 During this experience, I was forced to reflect upon myself and how I have grown in the last 9 days. In a little over a week, I have learned more about myself and my limits then I ever had in high school. I noticed that the real world isn’t portrayed well through high school. Being taken care of, depending on others, and being able to blow off work, that is later forgiven, is a luxury. There has been a drastic change in routine in my life. I now have to actually do laundry. I feed myself and plan my day around the necessities. I am a bit more self-disciplined now, making sure that I write my blog every day as well as budget my money and keep track of all my possessions. People steal everywhere. We have already had people’s laundry stolen from the dryer and a few wallets have gone missing. I always know where everything is now, which is comforting. Also, in high school I developed a shell of insecurity, which has now broken. Everyone on this trip is nice, fun, and intelligent, where in high school you are thrown into an environment where people immediately point out your flaws and shoot down your ideals. People who try to make you insecure to bolster their own security are rarely found, and if they are, they aren’t significant to anyone.

I wish I have learned more about myself and the world outside during this trip, but this month is more focused on the fun aspects of life. I wish I could tell you I have learned something from it, but it’s hard to tell at the moment. I’ll keep you updated on my findings, but I’m sure they will become more pronounced as the months progress.

A Break

February 8. This photo was the definite highlight of the day. Today was a traveling day entirely. We woke up and had a great breakfast of bacon and eggs. We packed up and drove another 6 hours to a ferry to the south island of New Zealand. The ferry ride was uneventful, until the end. The sun set and we watched the gorgeous landscape disappear behind the curtain of dusk. We drove literally 3 minutes from the ferry drop-off to a hostel. Everyone is ridiculously tired right now and they are complaining that there livers are protesting the intake of more alcohol. So we are going to pick out a movie and finish up the night.

A Speedy Rescue

                February 7. I was woken by my alarm clock at 8am this morning. We didn’t need to leave until 10:30am, but I wanted to go for another run this morning, because I didn’t know when I would be able to next. So I went for a run and by the time I came back to take a shower, breakfast was ready. Today we finally had a real breakfast. We have been living off toast, jelly, and bran cereal for the past 6 days. Erik cooked us bacon, egg, and cheeses, a much better alternative. Yet again we hopped in the van and drove 2 hours.

                We arrived at a white water rafting facility, which I was pumped about. This was one of the experiences I was looking forward to the most. We were given wetsuits, life jackets, booties, and helmets and we were introduced to our guide. His name was Ben, a really cool and nice aussie. On the way to the river he gave us the usual safety and rowing instructions for rafting. I was too engrossed in my own excitement to hear much of this however. I was disappointed, however, when I saw the river. It looked more like the Lazy River from Splish Splash. The guide seemed to see the disappointment in my eyes because he said “Mate, I can’t wait to see your expression when we round the bend.”

                We were then split up into groups of 7 with 1 guide. My group carried the raft into the calm waters and swung ourselves into the boat. When instructed to, we rowed like a well-oiled rafting machine. Upon rounding the bend I realized why Ben wanted to see my expression. My jaw dropped in exclamation. “We got some class 4 rapids coming up!” bellowed the instructor. Class 5 is the highest class of rapids and is only attempted by professionals (if attempted at all). After all the stuff I had done so far, I wasn’t going to lose my nerve because I was being plunged into class 4 rapids (when I had only been rafting for probably 5 minutes). We were tossed, turned, continually splashed with water, and scraped over rocks. The water soon chilled us to the bone, but we stayed resilient in our paddling. The rapids were 3 minutes long, and it was the longest and craziest 3 minutes of my life. I was soon crying with laughter and everyone was screaming and yelling with excitement.

 After 30 minutes of on and off rapids, we came to a lull in the current. We jumped off the raft and swam through another lazy river, but we were back in the raft after 10 minutes. We then came to another class 4 rapid, but I had a slightly arrogant confidence in me. “This was easy.” I thought to myself. As we came to a depression in the water, the bow of the boat dipped and the stern whipped up in response, where I happened to be sitting. I was launched at least 5 feet in the air, and splashed into the rapids. I panicked slightly as I came up for air and let go of my paddle in my frenzy to reach the raft. I made to wade on my back for the remainder of the rapids, but no sooner had I tried when a hand grasped my life jacket and swung me into the raft. “Alright mate?” asked Ben. I coughed up water, but I had a stupid grin on my face as I stammered my thanks. He waved away my gratitude saying “I haven’t lost a person yet, and I’ll be damned if it happens today.”

We only had 5 minutes left in the trip, but without a paddle I was left to brew on how overconfident I had been. I was that person that everyone talks about who had been thrown off the raft. We came to shore and docked the boat. Everyone was howling with laughter at how I had fell off, which surprisingly made me feel better about the situation. I laughed along and told my story of the experience. We later all agreed that was the best part of today’s adventure.

                We drove another 4 hours to a hostel near Lake Taupo. Everybody was ready for a drink and some dinner after that experience, but after dinner I went back to jot down my crazy day. I’m going to head out and watch the super bowl with everybody now. All the pubs are replaying it at 10:30pm. I’ll post this when I get the chance. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

A Notion

February 6. I was really looking forward to starting the day because we had 3 amazing experiences planned. Elise and Erik explained that Sundays are usually dedicated to having as much fun as possible, so there was little cultural experience today. Upon explaining this to me, I had a realization that I want to share with you. The Rustic Pathways “Essentials” trips are described as deep cultural immersions, but in my experience, that is only half true. The time is split between the examination of the culture and experiencing fun activities that are usually exclusive to the country you are in. If you are looking for more of a volunteer or cultural experience activity, I would go with the “Skills” or “Give.” Many of the kids I’m with gave me useful info on these programs and they definitely tally with my notion.

                Anyway, we left the hostel at 8am and drove 2 hours to a hill where you can Zorb. For those of you who don’t know what a Zorb is, it is a plastic orb 12’ in diameter that strongly resembles a hamster ball. There is a hole in which a person can slide into the center of the Zorb. They put about 10 gallons of water in with you as well. So we put on our bathing suits and were driven to the top of the hill. There was a choice of going in doubles, which most of the girls did, and there was the choice of going alone, which the guys did. The difference was that if you wanted to go tandem, you had to roll down the shorter path. If you wanted to go solo, you could roll down the longer, zigzag path. Naturally, I went solo. I climbed into my Zorb, with 10 gallons of freezing water, and was pushed from the top of the hill. It was chaos. I tried to stand up and run in the ball, but every time I tried I was thrown into the water. The mixture of banking the turns and not being able to see (due to the dirt on the ball) made for a hectic and dizzying ride, but it was part of the fun. I laughed out loud the entire time while the water attacked me from every which way. After they pulled me from the ball I bounced on the balls of my feet, trying to expel the rush of adrenaline. When they took my picture I jumped high into the air in my excitement (which I have posted no matter how embarrassing).

                From there we left to an extreme sport activity center. The two activities they offered today were intense speed boating and free falling. We did the speed boating first, which is the second world class racing boat we have been on in our first 6 days. This was, however, the opposite of a sailboat. This boat, driven by the world class racer, carved the banks with intense speed that caused a 5 foot wall of water to expel from the back. I rode with Dave, who is easily the craziest and most fun kid on the trip. The driver turned out 180s like they were nothing. We lost our voices by the second loop (there were 4). The driver finished big with a legendary 360 into its slot and we stumbled onto the deck, too giddy to speak.

                We headed up a nearby tower to the free fall area. 5 minutes later we were suited up with overlarge suits with large holes cut through them. Calling this experience a free fall is a bit misleading, because it consisted of you being pushed up by a powerful fan which simulates the experience of sky diving. So our group was shown the basic safety tips and silent instructions we would need when free falling. We individually strolled onto the area where you would be pushed up by the fan and laid down on a layer of netting, the only thing separating me from a fan that can lift 1000 pounds. The fan started and I was immediately lifted high into the air, almost hitting the top net. I didn’t have perfect form throughout the entire experience. On the contrary I kept looking down in exclamation and apprehension, taking temporary looks at the enormous blades of the fan. During the periods where I did have perfect the instructors spun me around and flipped me on my back where I hovered ominously. My face felt like it was being pushed into my skull and I would bet that I looked hilarious because my group kept chuckling during my turn. Suddenly the instructor thrust me out of the air and I floated gracefully to the ground. That was an experience that will be etched in my mind forever. Apparently it was nothing like sky diving however, because Dave (who has been sky diving) told me it was completely different. Maybe I’ll try sky diving in the states.

                From there we drove to yet another hostel. I lathered up on sunscreen (hope your proud mom and dad) and went for another run. From there I dipped in the pool to cool off and helped cook dinner with the group leaders, which was a delicious dinner of make-your-own tacos. After dinner I came up to blog, a huge feat in my opinion because of how exhausted I feel. Even now I’m slipping off to sleep so this is where my day ends. Thanks for reading everyone.

Flightless and Fearless

February 5. This morning was incredibly frantic. I woke up at 8:45am and had to shower, have breakfast, and do a little exercise (I have been trying to keep up my girlish figure while I’m here) before we left at 7:15 . Remarkably I did it all before we were on the road for another 2 hours.

 We stopped at a Kiwi farm first. For those of you who don’t know a Kiwi, it is an indigenous bird of New Zealand that is rapidly going extinct. It resembles the characteristics of the Dodo bird, with two legs, short wings, and a heavy flightless body. However, it possesses a long thing beak. So we went through a tour and learned much about these nocturnal animals, while also seeing and learning about other native creatures. The guide ranged from creatures such as lizards to owls. We were also able to hold a Kiwi, which was similar to holding a large and heavy cotton ball. We picnicked right outside the farm for lunch, but we were soon on our way to cave tubing.

We drove another hour to the cave tubing tourist location. The people were very friendly. We were soon suited up with 5mm wetsuits, booties, a helmet, and a tube. We had to drive to the cave site, and all the while I wondered why we needed a 5mm wetsuit (the water had been incredibly warm so far). So we hauled our too heavy bodies out of the bus and walked ¼ a mile to the cave entrance, which was about 5’ high and 2’ wide. We squeezed through the entrance and trekked along the tunnel (the only source of light was our headlamps). The water rushed along our feet, and I realized why we had 5mm wetsuits on. The water had an icy chill that penetrated to your bones. It made for an uncomfortable, but not less exciting, cave tubing experience. We hopped in our rafts and drifted (at a Lazy River speed) for about 10 minutes through a passage where the ceiling was, I kid you not, 1’ 6” high from the water. After the 10 minutes, the cave opened up to a magnificent opening, large enough to fit a cathedral in. We were instructed to turn off our headlamps and look up. What I saw almost made me topple off my tube. There were billions of tiny glowing dots, way up on the ceiling. It was as if the night sky was etched on the cave ceiling. We soon discovered that these green lights were actually maggots, which mixed my awe with slight repulsion. 30 minutes later we came to a 15’ waterfall. We had to dive into the abyss with our tubes pressed against our butts. It was alarming, but we all survived the leap. So we trekked and waded through the cave a bit more, stopping occasionally for photos and chocolate, and finally came out through “light at the end of the tunnel.” I will never forget that experience, I would say it was one of the best so far.

So we got back to the car, after taking more photos and eating bagels, and drove 10 minutes to the nearest hostel. This was even better than the last. Equipped with pool, hot tub, trampoline, and washing machine! We were in heaven. After some pool time, 3 loads of laundry, and an intense rugby pickup game with some locals, we hiked up the pub to have dinner and watch rugby (New Zealand vs. Kenya). After about 3 hours the group started drinking and getting rambunctious, which was my cue to start documenting my day, but now I’m finished and I think I’ll go back to the pub to see how much of a fool everyone has become. Thanks for reading and keep the feedback coming!

All of us hanging off the side of the world class racing boat.