New Years Festival? Why the Heck Not?!

Whilst I was planning my trip back in England, I heard about a 3 day festival that takes place in the North Island every year over the New Year period. It's in Gisborne, the first major city in the world to see the sun in the morning, and as such, the new year. It sounded ace. It's held on a vineyard, and is therefore aptly named Rhythm and Vines.

Being a festival virgin, I figured I really needed to get my arse in gear and actually go to one, and what better one than this? So without even seeing the line-up (it hadn't been released yet), I bought myself a festival and camping ticket, and just hoped that I'd meet some other people who were going there during my travels!

Anyway... as fate would have it, I ended up staying in Auckland, and noone I met could afford a ticket. So I ummm'd and ahhh'd for a good few weeks about whether or not to go... could I really go to a festival ON MY OWN?? Isn't that just reeeeally sad?! Then when it came to crunch time (the last day I could possibly sell my ticket on Trade Me, the Kiwi equivalent of eBay), I decided to go for it. So what if I don't know anyone? I'm a traveller - meeting strangers is what I do!! So a few days later I packed up Jerry (my car), and hit the road. I went via Dad's house so that we could celebrate a belated Christmas together, and it was gooood. I do like having two Christmases!!

Then I left for the festival. On the way, I passed a young couple with backpacks and a sign saying 'GIZZY'. Gizzy? I didn't understand, so kept on driving. Then I realised - duh - Gisborne! So I assessed the space situation in my car, reversed back and picked them up. They were both from Canada and were really lovely. They weren't actually going to the festival, but it was nice to just have some company on the long roadtrip. Especially during the gorge driving (which I hadn't anticipated), whereby there wasn't a petrol station for about 100km, and I was desperately in need of said petrol. That was pretty tense. But wasn't a problem in the end - I just paid an extortionate amount for petrol in the middle of the gorge. Note to self: make sure you look at the terrain you'll be driving through in future, before you actually get into it!

So when I arrived at the festival, I was on my own again. Billy No Mates. It was hot hot hot, so carrying everything by myself up to the campsite was pretty tough going! I got my wrist band, and got into the campsite. It was incredible! The tents were actually pitched within the vines! You'd have two lines of vines with tents in, then the two lines either side of them would be empty to act as alley ways. Then you'd have two more lines of tents then an alleyway etc. The vines were the perfect disctance apart for a tent too!!

So then I had to pitch up. As I was late to arrive (most people had come the day before), there was very limited space left. But as I only had one tent, I could go wherever there was a gap. The lady showed me to a spot next to two girls. They looked nice enough, but they looked very 'pretty' doing their hair and makeup. I don't know why, but I didn't get a great vibe off them, and I had my oldest brother, Adam, singing in my ears 'remember - a festival is all about the people surrounding you. You don't have to settle in the first spot you see'. So I didn't. I walked further and saw (over the adjoining vine) a nice couple who looked really friendly. I've got to be honest... the fact that they looked nice was fantastic, as I was too hot and shattered to keep moving! So I set up tent and went for a wander around the campsite.

My tent and the view from inside

The way the campsite was all set up, although really cool, meant that there were big barriers between all tents. You couldn't catch people's eyes to chat to them when they were sat just a few feet away next to their tents, and even when you were within the vines, you couldn't really see into the next tent-space. This was great for privicy if you were in a group, but not so great if you'd been the sad-sack who actually went to the festival by yourself (who does that??). Oh dear. I was starting to feel very aware that I was by myself. But on the plus side, the campsite was sweet. It had a hot tub, BBQs... and HOT SHOWERS!! :) Oh how I was thankful for the hot showers!

There were lots of campsites in the area, but I'd chosen the on-site one. The beauty of this (although I hadn't really appreciated this at the time of booking) was that we had access to the campsite during the festival. So although we couldn't take food or alcohol into the festival, we COULD go back to the campsite during the festival and eat / drink in the campsite. This saved me a fortune! I didn't see the couple next to me all evening, but I did chat to some other cool people and watched some good acts.

The next morning was hellish. Waking up in a tent in the sweltering heat was not fun. I needed to get out of there and so went to explore the delights of Gisborne. When I got back, I started chatting to guy next to me, and found out that him and his friend were from Germany. He was a very nice chap called Chris, and his friend was called Kat. We chatted for a while, and they were lovely. Best friends from home, but not romantically involved. The rest of the festival was great fun. I hung out with them and one of their friends, Matt, for the rest of the festival. It was so hot that waking up with a hangover in the morning was absolutley aweful, and there wasn't really any escape from the sun. But then the music started again, and the sun went down, and it all started over again.

Left to right: Chris, me, Matt and Kat

Chase & Status - awesome gig

New years eve was pretty good (despite the stages somehow all playing mediocre music), and the new year fireworks were great. Chris and I were becoming increasingly close too. Happy vibes all round. I'd hoped to stay up and be one of the first to to catch the first dawn of 2011, but alas it was not to be. I'd konked out by about 3am.

New Years Day was another hot one. Packing up the tent was a real, real effort. We were among the last ones to leave the campsite (which probably won't shock those of you who know me well!!), but we had a plan. The previous day, we'd all decided that it would be a great idea to travel around the Eastcape of NZ together. What was that?? Another roadtrip!?! Yes please!! :)

Christmas in New Zealand...

...is a very strange affair.

First of all, you don't get constantly bombarded by the same ten christmas tracks for months on end every time you enter a shop. The decorations are minimal... except for the big Santa Clause & reindeers on Queens Street. And it's hot. It's really hot.

Christmas decorations in Auckland

So all of these factors combined makes you easily forget that it's even Christmas time at all! So I decided to decorate the hostel to help us remember that it was, in fact, Christmas. I probably went a bit OTT with the tacky tinsil, but it made me feel happy :) 

Some people found that it made them think about Christmas more, and therefore made them sad that they weren't with their family. I didn't have these pangs of homesickness, and it took me ages to realise why - then I realised. Although I was missing my family, I already had one very important family member here in New Zealand: my dad. This reeeeally took the edge off the desire to be home. Don't get me wrong - when Christmas day came, I was really missing the rest of my family, but the knowledge that dad was just 2 hours away (I had to work Christmas day / boxing day) meant that I wasn't moping around feeling sorry for myself...

The people at Oaklands Lodge all acted like a surrogate family anyway - some of our long-term guests cooked a huge roast dinner on Christmas eve, then when we were too stuffed to move, we watched Christmas TV. 

Christmas eve feast

No matter where you are in the world, unfortunately you simply cannot escape 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' at Christmas time...

You cannot escape Hugh Grant's floppy hair

On Christmas day, we woke up, opened presents, and had a fantastic Christmas morning breakfast complete with bucks fizz. Awesome.
 

Christmas morning breakfast

Some of us bought some ugly sweaters as a fancy dress theme to wear on Christmas day morning too, so although it was hot, we donned them with pride.

  

 Oaklanders on 'de porch'

Then we all headed over to Bamber House (our sister hostel) for a fun day of BBQ and games!!

Playing games in the garden and drinking Pimms & lemonade in the sunshine.. how can this be Christmas??

All in all, it was a very fun (if bizarre?) Christmas. As I'm hoping to be in Australia for the next one, I'd better get used to this hot Christmas malarky! Although I have to say... it will never ever feel quite right.

Raglan & Taupo Roadtrip

23/11/10 - 27/11/10

During my weekend of work, we decided to head off on yet another roadtrip! This time I was to have Graham (from Canada) and Paul (from USA) in my car. Henry and Jane had already left for Raglan, so we joined them down there. We found a campsite called 'SolScape', which was an eco-friendly campsite. It was very cool! There were cabins made from old train carriages, and mud-brick houses. We went on a walk up to where they were creating a tipi area, which looked as though it would be an absolutely amazing place to stay once i was completed. I've actually just spoken to someone who worked there tonight, and she said that they had managed to complete it in time for Christmas, and that it was, indeed, awesome.

  

SolScape Holiday Park / Eco Retreat, Raglan

We cooked dinner and started having a few beers. At 10pm we were told there was a silence curfew, which we didn't particularly like (but did appreciate that surfers like to get up early!), so we went off to find the beach. We found our way to a beautiful lookout point, where you could see the full moon reflecting off the dark sea below. It was truly mesmerising.

 Full moon over the ocean - spectacular

We saw a possum in the tree on the way back - I do find it hard to believe that these cute critters are seen as rodents here. But then again, so are rabbits... :(

The next morning we woke up early(ish) and went to the beach. Graham and Henry tried surfing, and Jane, me and Paul watched from the sidelines. 'Twas a lovely beach!

The best thing about having my Dad living right here in New Zealand? That I can just pop in and see him whenever I like! Although I'm not really sure that he loves it when I phone just hours before my ETA with the news that I'm coming along with four of my friends... Oh - and we'd all like to stay the night (please!). He was very accommodating though, and even fed us an absolutely amazing gormet 'Thanksgiving' feast of raw food - it was sublime! It was great to see the pigs again - they'd already grown so much since I'd seen them last - and that had only been a few weeks before.

Thanksgiving dinner & the pigletts :)

We left Dad's the next morning and made our way to Taupo, via Rotorua. Well... I say via, but all we really did there was stop at the I-Site and go to a supermarket. In fact, we spent a good few hours in the carpark of said supermarket, boiling water for cups of tea and making sandwiches. So if ever I'm to think back to my time in Rotorua, all I'll be able to recall is a New World carpark. How very random.

We left the stench of Rotorua behind us (seriously - the whole place absolutley reeeeeeks of sulphur), and made it down to Taupo. We found our (free) campsite and went to see the Huka Falls, before retreating back to our campsite for some (quite frankly undeserved) rest & relaxation.

Huka Falls

We saw a black swan at our campsite! This was RIGHT next to our tents!!

The next day we went off to do the Taupo bungy jump. Henry had talked me into it whilst in Raglan, for the sole reason that we had some discount vouchers. Bungy jumping hadn't really been on my 'to do list', for the following reasons:

1) I thought that the initial jump would be reeeeeally scary, in that you have to actually jump it yourself (rather than having a tandem skydive guy push you out) and
2) that the jolt up after the bungy chord has extended to its full length must be really painful.

But I had said I'd do it, so I was damn well going to do it!
 

Me, Graham and Henry about to do our bungy jumps!!

Even as we were getting strapped up and about to jump, I surprised myself in the fact that I really didn't get nervous, scared or apprehensive. I was just looking forward to it! Weird! And then when the time came to actually take the plunge... there was no hesitation. I just fell forward into the abys. But then there was a scream to beat all screams... and a lot of swearing. But good swearing. The kind of swearing like when you're on a rollercoaster. Or on a jetski / motorbike and take a corner too sharp. Or when you're skiing really fast downhill. Ok - admittedly you don't really scream these swear words at the top of your lungs in these other situations, but it sure does feel good to!

Hmmm... I'm trying to liken a bungy jump to things that people can relate to, but I really shouldn't. It's unlike anything I've ever done before - even skydiving. They are very different sensations. I guess you can only know what a bungy jump feels like by actually doing one. If you do, I promise you that you won't regret it!

To think back to my previous fears of 1) having to do a terrifying initial jump and 2) that the jolt of the bungy chord would be really painful, I'm pleased to report that both of these fears proved to be invalid. It was easy to jump and I felt absolutely no discomfort whatsoever in my ankle/ leg area - and I have a bad right ankle!! Maybe the reason why I could jump so easily was because I wasn't really that high up - just 154m (I think?) and it was above water (the highest water touch bungy) - I'm sure that the Nevis one, which is about 3 times as high and over a rocky canyon will actually be positively petrifying!!!!

Happy and raring to go!!

Taking the plunge...

  

Showing the same points in time as the above photos, but from a different viewpoint

The bungy jump was incredible (despite my blood curdling scream implying to the contrary!!) ! I was on such a high afterwards and just wanted to keep jumping. Henry and I are both so so excited about the big bungy jump in Nevis (Queenstown) now - we seriously can't wait!

After the jumps, we unfortunately had to said goodbye to our dear friend Graham, who was off to work in the South Island - sad times :( The rest of us then spent day in Taupo, looking around the city and relaxing by the lake.

That's not the ocean - it's a huuuuuge lake!

On the way back to our campsite, we passed by at Huka Falls yet again - it was my third time there!! It's still incredible though, so I really didn't mind.

Sun setting over Lake Taupo

The next day it was time to head back to Auckland. On the way back, we went to a dam which (we were told) releases a huge torrent of water when it's opened, causing huge volumes of water to cascade down the river, filling it at an incredible rate. This had been used in one of The Lord of the Rings films, so we had to go and see this spectacle!

Waiting for the big rush of water as the dam is opened..

We thought we'd go downstream to see this, as we'd read that it was a good idea to do so, plus we wanted to avoid the crowds. So we got there early, and waited. And waited. And waited. No torrent of water appeared. Poo. So we went back up to the main lookout bridge, admitted defeat, had a picnic and headed back 'home' to Auckland...

Northland Roadtrip

16/11/10 - 20/11/10

When Monday morning came around, we were ready to go off on our roadtrip! A few others had left over the weekend, and me, Graham (from Canada) and Anne-Marie (from Ireland) were heading up in my car to meet them.

All packed up and ready to leave Auckland!

It wasn't long before Ann-Marie saw a sign for free-range eggs, and said she wanted some. I turned around, but managed to accidentally reverse into a hidden ditch, into which ran a concrete pipe. My car fell down, and I thought I'd done something TERRIBLE. I managed to get out, and upon closer inspection, confirmed that I hadn't damaged my car. Phew!

Ann-Marie showing the scene of the accident, and the sign...

We carried on driving (after buying some eggs), and turned off at a random sign to a scenic reserve. We went for about 17km along a dirt track, and finally came to the Waipu Gorge Scenic Reserve.

We went on a short walk, and arrived at some beautiful waterfalls.

Koru - the Maori name for the opening up of ferns. It means 'new beginnings'.

  

Whilst driving, we were trying to name my car. It took a long time, but Anne-Marie (or Graham, I can't remember) finally came up with the perfect name: Jerry. He was so named because I'd mentioned we were meeting up with a guy called Tom. It's a very fitting name - "Yeah - Jerry's the kind of fun loving guy who likes to wear loud shirts" is how Tom described the name choice when I told him.

We stopped off at the amazing Hundertwasser Public Toilets in Kawakawa

  

We arrived in Paiha to meet our friends, and pitched our tents up next to the ocean...

 A spot of yoga the next morning... 

  

...Our idylic spot also happened to be next to the road! Ah well - 'twas still wonderul :) Henry & Jane's amazing camper van has a roof that comes up to give it a top hat!!

When we got going for the day, we headed over to do the Waitangi Track (leading to the Hutia Creek Mangrove Forest Boardwalk) and see the Haruru Falls. 

The mangrove boardwalk

Drew & Graham at the Haruru Falls

After that, we fancied a spot of wine tasting, so headed to Marsden Wineries. The grounds were truly beautiful.

Most of the group: Jane, Henry, Graham, Drew, Ann-Marie and me

After the vineyard, we headed off to find where we were going to sleep that evening. We decided upon Coopers Beach (again, we were freecamping). Me, Ann-Marie, Graham and Drew were all camping in tents, so managed to pitch up in the most beautiful spot - just above the sand on a patch of grass, right next to the ocean. Amazing!!! After setting up camp, we made a fire and spent a wonderful evening on the beach.

Coopers Beach

Collecting firewood for the fire (collected from dryland, not the ocean by the way!)

Where we set up camp for the night...

Tom and Kat making the campfire

The next day, we headed up to the tip of the north island, Cape Rienga. On the way there, I detoured to go along 90 Mile Beach (one of the only beaches in NZ that you can drive on). I figured you could probably get on it and then get off at any point. I was wrong... once on, we were stuck on there for about 40km. Having not checked the tides at all, I'll admit that I was a bit anxious, as if the tide came in we could become totally stranded! But it was great fun driving 100km/hr along the beach none-the-less!!

Driving along 90 Mile Beach

  

Stopping for a spot of lunch on the way up to Cape Rienga

Cape Rienga - The northenmost point of New Zealand

I let Graham drive Jerry. It was his first time driving on the left hand side of the road, in a right-hand drive car. He only almost killed us twice.

We freecamped by the side of the road again that night, then packed up at first light and headed over to explore some sand dunes.

We used boogie boards to surf down the sand. It was soooooo much fun!!! But the walk back up to the top of the hill wasn't so much fun!

We found a beetle that we befriended, and carried it with us away from the sand. We named him Charlie. It turns out that he was a Christmas Beetle.

We played around in the sand for hours! Rolling down the hills...

Drawing in the sand...

Burrying Graham in the sand!

And all the while, we still had Charlie with us

When we got back to the carpark, we found out there'd been a big issue with a man from the Department of Conservation (DOC) talking to the others who'd not come up the dunes - he thought that we'd camped there (in the carpark) overnight, when we hadn't. He wanted to impose a fine on us, but when he asked us where we'd stayed, different people came up with different answers, as we couldn't really tell him that we'd freecamped elsewhere. We somehow managed to convince him that we hadn't stayed there, but it was all a bit tense for a while!!

We started on our way back to Auckland, and stopped off at a campsite which had some natural hot springs. Boy were they hot and smelly (smelling of sulphur)! But oh so relaxing.

Lots of different wood-enclosed hot pools of varying temperatures (hot to very, very, very hot!!)

It was nice to have Graham sharing the driving

We stopped off to see the biggest Kauri tree. It was freakin' huge.

You can just about see Graham at the base (the red dot)

We made it back later than anticipated, and absolutely shattered. We sat out on the porch, until someone came out and told me what a mess the kitchen was. That meant I'd either have to tidy it now or first thing in the morning. I chose now! And the others all came and helped me. It really touched me that they helped me like that :)

In the Oaklands Lodge kitchen - Henry, Jane, Graham and Paul helping me to clean it up in preperation of my shift the next day. I love them!!