From Karioi Peak Karioi Peak

Oh, and thank you to everyone who has shown concern and support for my overly traumatic experience with gingerism in Auckland. with a little luck and a lot of love I WONT be scarred for the rest of my life. :)

Raglan

Scrumptiously Salty Sea Snacks

Two days ago I took a bus to a little surf town called Raglan. It’s a laid back place with amazing waves. I decided to buy a surfboard, but as my French traveling companion Alex pointed out, I was too gung-ho and didn’t realize that the price I paid was completely negotiable. Even still, the board and board-bag was at least $200 less than I would have paid in California.
I met Alex in a hostel in Auckland along with two other guys who are coming to Raglan today. I also met a surfer from Maine named Erin, here in Raglan, who has been nice enough to drive me to the surf beaches twice a day.
The first day out riding, the conditions were epic. Although Erin told me that the swell was fairly small for Raglan, compared to Santa Barbara the waves were not small at all. 3-4 foot swells rolling in consistently = Happiness, and although I struggled riding a different board than I am used to, I had a great day. Getting out of the water proved to be a bit tricky because low tide left 100 yards of treacherous tide pools and malevolently mossy rocks exposed. As I was precariously balancing/falling on the rocks, two Kiwi men noticed I was having a hard time. They were fishing for pāua and uni (Abalone and Sea Urchin) in the tidal pools and felt bad for me when I ate it hard on some rocks. They offered me some tasty samples of their catch and I have to say that having never eaten sea urchin or Abalone before, getting them five minutes after they were caught was quite an experience. We chatted for a while, mostly small talk, but I noticed that as soon as I mentioned that I had just come from Auckland a slight sense of bitterness emerged in the overly friendly Kiwis. It has become apparent to me, not only from this experience but others as well, that while people who live in Auckland love it quite literally most everyone else in the country hates not only Auckland, but also the people in it. These particular Kiwis told me that they thought that Aucklanders were extremely snobby and “high to do” and one said “I regret it every time I go there”. Alex told me that in France there is a similar feeling of resentment towards Paris. My own opinion is that Auckland is no different than any other big city in the world: there are more people so generally people are less friendly.

Auckland Days 1 & 2

I am having problems uploading pictures, but am setting up a picasa album that will hopefully be up soon.

Sidenote: They drive on the left side of the road here, which is alone hard to get used to, but on top of that they also walk on the opposite side. Let me explain; in the U.S. people generally walk on the right side of a sidewalk, or staircase, or something along those lines. Here, people walk on the left. I keep bumping into people because I instinctively go to the right whenever I am passing someone in a cramped space. Just thought that was funny

Auckland Prejudice

After over a year of anticipation I finally made it to New Zealand! The flight went by easily, probably because there were over 80 movies to choose from, along with a large assortment of TV shows and video games. Every seat had a personal screen on the seat in front of it so you could watch whatever you wanted which was nice.

Getting a ride to the hotel was easy as well, 30 NZ dollars (roughly $20) got me a direct ride to the lobby. After I regained some energy I explored Auckland a little, mainly just walking where my eyes led me. So far it seems like a cool city, but I really haven’t seen too much. Although, something funny did happen to me when I went into a pub to get some lunch. There were four people in this place when I walked in, (the door was open) and as I was looking at the menu on the wall this girl who worked there and was obviously already hammered (at 12:15) came up to me and told me I had to leave because they were closed. I looked around, laughed, and tried my best to determine if she was really joking or not but she just stared at me. So I asked, why? She replied that it was because of my hair. “Because it’s red?” “Yes”. “But there is a Guinness banner outside! Why are you hating on the Irish?” “We are closed”. … REALLY awkward silence filled with this crazy look she kept giving me. “What the hell? Really?” I said. “Yes”. “Ummmm ok I guess I’ll just go across the street then”. “Ok, Bye!”

At first I was kinda pissed, but then I realized how funny it was and am actually glad it happened haha. Hopefully discriminating against redheads isn’t a popular trend in Auckland.