Auckland - Days One and Two! 8/15 & 8/16

Auckland: We haven't really slept since LA, though I think we slept on and off on the plane for about 5 hrs. That was one NICE flight by the way - I haven‘t flown international in so long I forgot how amazing international flights can be (ETA: Originally I wrote "1st class" because I was typing while jetlagged. Please note we did not fly first class, because if we could afford that we wouldn't be staying in any hostels at all). Movies and tv choices that seem endless, food every two or three hours, hot towels, etc. . Once we got through customs and to the hostel I think it finally hit us that we were tired, but it was 9am. Everyone was in the kitchen of the hostel having breakfast and we stumbled in with our bags. We changed clothes (to trick ourselves into thinking it was a new day) and then we set off for the Auckland Domain (massive city park), and the Auckland museum. It was really neat - the whole first floor is devoted to Maori art and culture and history. After that first floor we decided to grab a bite in the lobby of the museum, which is when we realized a) we were hungry, and b) we'd been eating nonstop since we left LA. A series of hilarious events ensued, which taught us that we weren't quite ready to concentrate on words yet - all the displays were blurring together and we decided it was time to be outside, since the light rain had stopped. We left the museum and headed to the ferry port, and took the ferry over to Devonport, a small seaside town across the bay from Auckland proper. We hiked to the top of Mt. Victoria, which feels like it’s two miles above sea level but probably is more like 800 meters, but we have to remind you guys that that’s 800 meters practically vertical……those paths are probably at 20% grade. The views are incredible.
I have to take time out here to mention our stunning lack of pictures and video, part of the multimedia extravaganza we promised you. We had a snafu involving power and cables and plugs (we have all our plugs, except for the correct one for our computer) so our computer time is severly limited - typing this has taken up 5% of this poor netbook’s battery. I hate to sound like a Mac person, because I hate Mac people, but I want my Mac!!! : )
Ok, so back to Auckland. Figured out the bus system to get back to the hostel - haven’t really gone into detail on the hostel yet, and probably won’t because of this massive lack of battery time, but it’s really nice. Even my mom, who was very hesitant about the whole hostel thing, is very impressed by how clean and nice it is. (Also, I’m giving up on spell check. No time for such frivolities. Same with advanced sentence structure and varied writing. That’s for people with power cords.) We ended up crashing at 9pm our first night in Auckland, and slept a full 10 hrs to wake up refreshed for our early morning Rangitito Volcanic Explorer tour, out on Rangitoto island, which (shocker0 was formed by volcanic activity 700 years ago. We walked across pumice rock, strewn all over the island during the many eruptions, and climbed to the summit, which was rather unimpressive due to the tall trees growing down in it (makes the huge volcanic crater look less deep.) After the ferry back to the mainland it started pouring the rain, though it was this light (but wet!) sideways rain - not at all what I pictured when I thought of a rainforest-type climate. We did a little shopping around downtown and then boarded a bus for Mt. Eden, a virtually perfectly intact volcanic cone in one of the Auckland suburbs. Another super steep climb awaited us, but by then we were practically drenched (Mom kept saying variations of “Why are we doing this??” to which I kept replying “Because I’ve seen pictures of this, and I want to see it in person!”)… once we got to the top of this mountain, even mom realized it was worth it. What used to be the inside of the volcano long ago sprouted grass and dirt, and the Maori people eventually cut terraces in the sides to they could grow crops. As we crested the top of the cone, in the rain, and finally saw inside, it was pretty breathtaking. Again, no pictures right now, so take my word for it!
After Mt. Eden we went back to the hostel to dry up and clean up, and then went out for a very lovely dinner at a local (Parnell) restaurant. More on that later, as battery is dying. If we can’t find the right plug tomorrow, we might have to update solely from internet cafes, in which case updates will be limited. Tomorrow we’re renting a car (left hand driving - yay!) and driving to Rotorua, where we’ll be for the next two days.
Thinking of all you!
(Katrina)

Welcome!

Welcome to Kiwi Birds and Kangaroos!

If you're reading this, it means that either myself or my mother like you enough to give you the link to this blog, so you can follow our adventures through New Zealand and Australia. We're going to be updating as often as we can, both while we're on our trip and when we get back. Our vision for this blog is for it to be a place where we can post pictures, observations, and experiences for all of you to read, so we're not stuck in a coffee shop in Wellington sending 17 emails to 17 different people :)

So why are we going in the first place? Where are we going? What's the deal with this blog? Read on!

It all started with a gut-wrenching email in my inbox on Tuesday May 12th, 2009. From Lost and Lonesome Records, the subject line was simple: "The Lucksmiths say farewell." For those who don't know, The Lucksmiths are an indie pop band from Melbourne, Australia who've been making excellent music with densely layered lyrics since 1993. For many fans, including myself, their music became the soundtrack to the formative years of my life. And the first song I ever heard by them, "Birthday Present for Katrina," became my official birthday song for some crazy and inexplicable reason.

Then came a series of additional emails from my older sister, Cathy. She knew of my Lucksmiths love (having bought me a few of their albums) and had heard the news. A few offhanded comments (Me: I'd totally go to their final concert if only I had the money! Her: You should totally consider it....) led to a shocking moment: Cathy offered to pay my airfare, if I wanted to go to the concert. So I leapt at the chance, and a few developments soon followed: 1) I couldn't fly all the way to Australia without going to New Zealand, given their proximity and the intense love of NZ I've had ever since I was a kid. And 2) I wasn't quite so sure I wanted to go alone. Enter... My mom. Who's never been out of the country except for on a cruise, and who's always wanted to go on a trip with me. We've always eyed Italy (who hasn't? I'd love to go back) but that darn Euro to US Dollar thing is a pain. The NZ Dollar, on the other hand, is awesome, and the Australian Dollar's not too bad either. So... there you go! There's the story behind our trip.

(Katrina)