North Island, New Zealand

New Zealand

After my time in Bangkok, I dipped into the southern hemisphere and added a new continent to my life list. My first stop was New Zealand where my cousin was studying. New Zealand is divided into two main islands and I first traveled around North Island.

I landed in Auckland and we went to Hamilton, Rotorua, and Waitomo (not pictured)

Sacagawea

My cousin faithfully guided me around North Island and I crowned her Sacagawea, in honor of the famous guide of Lewis and Clark. One time when Regis Philbin hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire he asked a question whose answer was, “D. Sacagawea”. Unfortunately, Regis had no idea how to pronounce the name and went with a variation similar to “sock-a-woggy”. This gaffe inspired me to add a twist to my cousin's new name and Sacky Wacky aka “S’wacky” was born.

Posing with S'wacky at a park in Rotorua

Natural Beauty

Many people, including me, say that New Zealand is a gorgeous place full of natural beauty. When they say that, they are referring to the South Island, as the North Island is not equally endowed with charm. However, there is still some beauty and I still enjoyed going to parks with S'wacky and seeing the wildlife. We first went to a local park in Rotorua.

I most enjoyed the swans

The swans were black. The black swan had been hunted to extinction
in New Zealand, but has been reintroduced

There were no Natalie Portman sightings

The cygnets are born white

The birds and the bee…

I also enjoyed the other waterfowl

Less enjoyable, but more interesting were the massive spiders

 

Kids grow up so fast these days…

In my mind, people stay the same age as when I last saw them and it's hard for me to consciously realize they have mature when I haven't seen them. Thus, I thought of my cousin as a kind, caring, loving girl. Seeing her in New Zealand, I was pleasantly surprised to realize she still has all those wonderful qualities AND she is now a grown woman with whom I can have meaningful conversations about a variety of topics and connect as adults in a deep way.

As I move through life, I often lament that things aren't the way they once were and I need to remind myself to see the opportunity in change. Moving can mean the loss of friendships and community, but it can also mean the start of new friendships or an opportunity to travel. Time passing can mean declining health, but it can also mean personal growth. Seeing S'wacky helped me be more optimistic about the future because even though the past decade has led to some losses in our family (e.g. the passing of our beloved grandfather), the time has also given us grandchildren a chance to grow so we can have deeper conversations and better support and encourage one another. Change is inevitable and I hope to be able to enjoy the opportunities that develop and the things that have changed for the better.

I particularly enjoyed discovering my cousin's fun side. We had a blast on our adventures in New Zealand!

We stayed at a Backpackers - a youth hostel that is everywhere in Australia and New Zealand

We saw interesting food options

We learned British words like anti-clockwise

I met her super nice boyfriend and hung out with them
and their Kiwi friend

Ice cream

Ice cream!

We went to an ice cream parlor where the server thought I was mentally challenged because I didn’t recognize many of the most popular flavors and pronounced them horribly wrong. This was all cleared up when I said I was American (although I don't know if she thought that explained a mental condition or lack of familiarity.)

• Feijoa (I went with Fa-Joy-Ah instead of "Fee-Joe-Ah")

This fruit tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear. It's a tasty ice cream flavor.

• Kiwi fruit

In New Zealand, kiwi has three meanings: 1. the flightless bird, 2. the fruit, and C.
a citizen of New Zealand. When ordering kiwi ice cream, making sure you order
the "kiwi fruit" flavor or you might be in for an unpleasant surprise
(Pic source: Dose Fun)

• Hokey pokey. The hokey pokey flavor is a New Zealand invention that is a combination of vanilla ice cream and toffee. While the ice cream was delicious, it did not make me want to perform the dance. However, the next day I did get the chance to do the hokey pokey at a tribal village.

Many people spend their whole lives trying the find the meaning in life.
That's silly as anyone who has done the hokey pokey already knows what it's all about.
(Pic source: Encouragement Foundation)

Fun fact: The renditions in NZ and the US are remarkably similar, but Americans clap at every syllable of the end of each verse, "That's *clap* what *clap* it's *clap* all *clap* a- *clap* bout *clap*” while in New Zealand they clap on the quarter note, "That's *clap* what it's all *clap* about *clap*."

Zorbing

Zorbing is a relatively new activity where participants get into a giant hamster ball and get pushed down a hill. They can either be harnessed in (so they go completely upside down) or they can coast on a small pool of water inside, which is what we chose. Before we went, I was pumped as one of my favorite “Fail” videos involves a zorbing ball. We decided to go down the ball together and the experience was totally ridiculous. I probably won't do it again soon, but we were both glad we did it once.

We climbed into a ball like this

And went down this hill, laughing all the way.
 Minor bruising was included at no additional charge.