Notes from a picture postcard

New Zealand born Flight of the Conchords wrote a song called "The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)" but I think they missed an opportunity in writing "The Most Beautiful Beach (In The World)" based on their very own Bark Bay in Abel Tasman National Park. That's right. I've found the most beautiful beach in the world. Prettier than Long Beach and Maya Bay in Thailand? you ask. Yes! Prettier than Byron Bay and Tallows? Yes! Prettier than any beach you've seen on the Cape or Costa Rica or Bali or the Caribbean? Yes! I know, it seems impossible. Until today, Tallows Beach, part of a preserve just outside of Byron Bay, was the prettiest beach I'd seen to date, but as our Aquataxi approached the golden shores of Bark Bay, the contest was over. The beaches here in Abel Tasman (established in 1942 as a national park), are literally golden from the iron oxide (a form of rust) that forms on the granite and eventually erodes to form the beaches. I have seen white sand, black sand, regular Atlantic Ocean beach sand, and even green sand (in Hawaii, from the olivine), but I don't think I've ever seen a purely golden sand beach. Molly described it as a brown sugar beach because of the consistency.

But wait a second...last time I wrote to you I was just about to meet up with Molly. Where have I been for this past week before getting to paradise? I'll break it up by city...

Auckland
Molly arrived at 7 AM in Auckland. I was definitely still asleep at Jayne and Greg's house when, what I thought was part of my dream I heard, "Molly's here!" I popped out of bed to greet her. She had managed to fly for 12 hours, find the rental car, and then drive on the left hand side of the road to find Jayne's house. I knew right then I had the right travel partner for this leg of my journey. Competent and cool...couldn't ask for better. For those of you that don't know, Molly and I met 5 years ago (this month) in Costa Rica when we were studying abroad. I've told a few people this ("We met five years ago!") and I'm pretty sure that has contributed to any thought they might have about us being a couple. Anyway...we took the day to get our bearings together and a plan for our first week, checked out the view of the city from the highest volcano, Mt. Eden, and hit the road mid-afternoon to get to Raglan.

Raglan
We had called ahead to book a room at the popular Raglan Backpackers. Note to all of you--if you're going to Raglan, stay at the Raglan Backpackers. My friend, Cameron, had stayed here a few months earlier, but I had forgotten this and didn't realize it was the same place that he had highly recommended until I recognized the courtyard from his facebook album. Upon realizing this I asked Ian (working reception at the time) if I could check out the guest book. "Who are you looking for?" "Cameron Madill from Portland, OR." "Yeah! He stayed here," he replied without much hesitation. "Are you friends with Stacia, too?" Small world. Small town. Stacia is a friend of Cameron's that I had met back in Portland and had since moved to Raglan. This brings me to what we did in Raglan. Most people go to surf, and while I received a fair amount of peer pressure from other backpackers to give it a go, I decided to hang on to my $90 and check out the the beach from, well, the beach, and not the surf. So Molly and I hung out, met some other people that we agreed to meet up with later on in our trip (which we did, successfully), and went to see where Stacia had been living these days. A picture wouldn't even do this plot of land justice, but she is living on the most scenic plot of land I have ever seen. Granted, the house isn't built yet and the bathtub is outside, but when I asked her what she and her boyfriend, Kev, were going to do that day, she said something about tending to the garden and getting rid of the possum that had eaten all of their peppers and corn. Doesn't sound too bad to me... We said goodbye and hopped back in the Nissan Bluebird to head to...

Rotorua
Rotorua is a stinky town because of all the natural steam vents and bubbling pools. We decided to take advantage of the town for its Maori culture and Zorbing! But before we got to Rotorua we stopped in Waitomo to check out the caves. We took short tours through two caves, including the glowworm cave! Millions of glowworms make their home in the dark corners of this now well toured cave. You take a little boat through the water in the dark and looking up is like looking at a sky of green stars. It's amazing! From there we checked out Aranui cave and then after a hearty lunch of hummus and crackers, hit the road to make it just in time for the Hangi, the traditional Maori dinner.

Tamaki Village, like other Maori villages in the region, are highly commercialized at this point, but bring traditional Maori ceremonies, food, music, and dance to a bunch of white people who are willing and eager to pay to see it. If you've seen Whale Rider then you are familiar with some of the dancing and "goofy" faces characteristic of the Maori traditions. It's pretty wonderful to see and the music and people are beautiful.

That night we stayed at the Funky Green Voyager, another wonderful backpackers. Remember what I said about not being that into the backpacking culture? I lied. It's awesome and people of all ages stay at these places which gives me hope in my 20 year plan to come back here and not have to spend a fortune. Gerard, our Funky Green host, recommended yet another great place for us to stay the next night in Taupo. But before we left for Taupo, we had things to do....like Zorbing! Cameron best described Zorbing: For sheer stupidity, nothing can top this. You basically climb into an enormous beach ball that is filled with water, and roll down a hill smashing into things. Seriously, this was incredibly cool. The stupid factor was off the charts. And as you exit, it has the added bonus of looking like you are being birthed from some strange purple alien vagina. I'll leave it at that. An additional comment I'll make is about the very friendly staff that directed me and Molly to the local emporium to find our costumes for the upcoming 7's rugby match in Wellington that we were headed to from there.

This entry is already quite long, and there is much more to report, but I think I will hold off until the next entry to do so. So tune back in in a few days to hear about Taupo, Tongariro (Lord of the Rings country!), the rugby matches, our day in Abel Tasman, and our adventures to come. I will just say this: I can now add "giant stingray" to the list of potentially lethal animals I almost stepped on in the water. Now the python won't be so lonely.