On The Road Again

We didn't get home and into bed until 6am, then it was up at 7am to pack up all of our stuff so that we could meet Kieth at the railway station around 9:30. I was still pretty drunk and my hands were stained red from handling my suspenders, but no matter, everything got taken care of on time and Simon gave us a ride down to the station. We transferred our packs and said our goodbyes to Simon, then it was almost on our way out of Wellington. Kieth had to stop at a DoC office to talk to somebody or whatnot, and I got to go in and meet some of his coworkers, which was pretty fun, they're a good group of people. Then we were lucky and stopped at a cafe to grab a coffee and a sandwhich/breakfast before getting on the road to Palmerston North. Uncle Chris' friends in Auckland have friends there, so that's whom Ann and I were going to stay with- oh important note! Hilary had decided to start her WWOOFing early (Willing Workers On Organic Farms), so she was onto Mangawaka with Kieth.

On the way up to PN, I sat in the front seat, chipper (read: drunk) as a squirrel, keeping Kieth entertained, while Hilary and Ann passed out in the back seat. We stopped at a couple of Kieth's friends house, one to drop off some traps, the other to have a tea with, before Ann and I got out near the library in PN. Another important note I've forgot to mention: on Saturday morning, I noticed my right ankle really start to hurt, then by this time the pain had transferred to my left foot. I believe I've pulled a muscle, probably from playing touch, but man oh man, I am not inclined to do any walking right now :/. Ann's foot is also bothering her. Anywho, so we got to the library around 1pm and set up shop, staying there for about 3 hours until we were both so hung over and tired that we had to get to the Peterson's house or else we weren't going to leave our spot. We called a cab, because our feet just weren't up to the task of walking what's actually a decent walk.Their house is a big, old one probably from the early 1900's, and Ann and I had the top floor room, each getting our own little bed. Ann passed out for about an hour, while I stayed up, like a ninja, and chatted with the kids, James, 14, and Christie, 10. It was a bit awkward because they were a bit shy (but apparently, I am not so bad at making conversation!), but it was fine. Sam is a rather funny guy who works at the Massey University with livestock, trying to figure out how an ewe's condition during pregnancy affects the lambs, particularely their mammory glands, and what he called 'fetal programming'. It's kind of exciting research because I guess what you learn from sheep can be applied to humans as lambs and babies weigh the same, among other things (and obviously you can't experiement with people, so they've got to do it somehow!). His wife, Catriona, also works with sheep at the University I believe. We stayed there for two nights, Monday night and Tuesday night, enjoying relaxing days to catch up on sleep and writing. Sam took us around the country side on Tuesday afternoon to look at his property outside of the city (it sits on a hill, breathtaking view) and also to see some of the only tracts of native New Zealand bush in the area. We saw HUGE trees, I can't remember the names just now, but Sam said "just wait until you see the Kaori trees in Northland (north of Auckland), they make these ones look like jokes!" The river that runs through the city is also an interesting geological feature in the world as it runs through the mountain range into the sea; most rivers run down from the mountains, not through to the other side of them. I also got my iPhone unlocked! Hurrah! Now all I have to do is get a SIM card, et voila, I will have a working phone!

We decided to leave PN on Wednesday afternoon on the bus (both Ann and I have bought ourselves Flexi Passes) and head to New Plymouth to see Mount Taranaki, an active volcano that is more or less the only giant mountain around. Both Ann and I have couchsurfing, so we are staying at a really, really posh house by the sea with a man named Phillip Grant, his wife and his son. Seriously Mom, you would like a lot of the things in this house! He picked us up from the bus station, and then we dropped our stuff off and went for a walk along the beach, snapping photos of surfers and waves and sunshine. We got hungry as we walked, so we stopped at a cafe and grabbed a small snack. On the way back to Phillip's house, we were caught in a bit of a downpour, but that was okay as I geniunely like being outside in the rain. We got back to the house, dried off, then went upstairs and chatted and watched TV with Phillip and his partner, having a glass or two of wine and a cup of tea, before calling it a night around 10ish.