Trip Update #1

Hi everyone, Welcome to the first installment of the Where in the World is Paraag update. To refresh your memory, I'm on a 3.5 month trip through New Zealand, Australia, and most of Southeast Asia just for the sheer heck of it. That, and because I enjoy making my poor mother worry to death about her "only son named Paraag". A friend of mine from college, Rayman, is with me for the first 10 weeks, and the remainder will be on my own. Enough of that boring stuff... to the juicy details! Wednesday, May 15th Landed in Auckland, New Zealand. Rayman and I took up residence with the local YHA (Youth Hostelling Association ??) - essentially a room crammed with bunk beds with one bathroom per floor. It's cheap, which is the point. We used this day to get our bearings straight (as opposed to the Bering Strait - bad pun, sorry), and figure out how to tackle this weird island country we know as New Zealand. Given our relative lack of time to see the sights (the prevailing local theory is that 12 days is not enough to see anything), we decided to rent a car beginning the next morning to drive around the two islands. The rest of the day, we walked around downtown Auckland. Went up the Sky Tower, which is Auckland's version of Seattle's Space Needle or Toronto's CN Tower. As with all such towers, spectacular views were seen. Thursday, May 16th Picked up the rental car and immediately scoured the city for a music store that sold cassette tapes upon the realization that New Zealand is not proliferous in the radio station arena. After purchasing some oldies rap cassettes, we were on our way. Our first task was to figure out which side of the street we were supposed to be driving on. Add the fact that I kept on turning the windshield wipers on whenever I wanted to a signal a turn - you can imagine the hilarity that ensued. We headed to a place called Waitomo Caves, where we donned on some holey wetsuits and went Black-Water Rafting in the caves. Personally, the name lured me in. Little did I know that I paid to go tubing in the dark in a cave. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun. The cave was full of glo-worms, which are attached the ceiling and glow a bright light blue color (who'd a thunk?) in the dark. Pretty neato. Left and drove to Rotorua (we called it Roto-rooter) from there. The country-side is very hilly. Made me wonder what a pain in the neck it must be to mow. Then I realized that New Zealand employs millions of natural mowers - they're called sheep. Maybe I should get some sheep for the backyard - Marcus and Scott, I expect a full report on the viability of having sheep in the backyard my trip's end... Friday, May 17th Went Zorbing in the morning. For those of you not in the know, Zorbing is a fantastic little ride where you jump into a very large spherical plastic ball along with a couple bucket loads of warm water, and they roll you down the hill. Don't worry - I have pictures. Also took a gondola ride to the top of a mountain to check out Lake Rotorua and environs (isn't that a great word?). We luged down the hill a few times - probably the most fun I've had in a while. The ride was far from being idiot-proofed like everything is in the US, so we felt like Mario Andretti. Actually, driving around New Zealand has been similar. Stayed the night in National Park. Saturday, May 18th Full day hike through Tongariro National Park. The Tongariro Crossing is billed as the "finest one day hike in NZ", so we just simply had to do it. Well worth it. The majority of the hike was up and around volcanoes (not active), so the earth was very rocky and sandy. Though very strenuous, I wasn't hurting much at all afterwards. Apparently, my investment in a good pair of hiking shoes paid off (thanks roomies). Drove through the night to get to Wellington (capital city on the southern tip of the North Island). Saw Star Wars - Episode II. Awesome. Theatres here have assigned seating - kinda neat. Must be a British thing (England and India are the same if memory serves). Sunday, May 19th Took the ferry from Wellington to Picton in the South Island. South Island is clearly more magnificent. The mountains are simply huge. Actually reminded me a bit of the Appalachians in West Virginia, though only slightly more dramatic... Got another rental car (another white Toyota Corolla), and perfected my driving skills on very windy roads. Rayman complained of headaches the rest of the evening. I, on the other hand, wish the sun would stay out longer so I could drive more. If only they rented convertibles... Staying in Nelson. Monday, May 20th (today) Did a full-day kayaking trip around part of the coastline of Abel Tasman National park. Stunning beaches and mountains. Gorgeous landscapes is the repeating theme here. Back in Nelson tonight, preparing for a long long drive down to Franz Joseph tomorrow. Franz Joseph is on the western coast of South Island and is home of a very famous massive glacier. May do a hike. May do a plane trip. We'll figure it out when we get there. So far, it has been very easy to book stuff since it is low season here. It's also freakin' cold, which explains why it's low season. Oh well. Rayman and I will probably extend our trip in New Zealand by 4-5 days (at the expense of Australia). Too much to do and not enough time. Andrea (my boss), can I take a 6 month leave of absence? Look for updates roughly weekly from me. Let me know if you want to be removed or if I need to add someone. And please write me if you can. I know this is not a personal e-mail, but it would be nice to receive e-mails from folks letting me know what's going on. I'll find the time to respond, don't worry. The nights are pretty long here, and so far, we're not really wasting time or money on nightlife. I already do that at home, so why do it here? -Paraag Words for the wise: 1. It is worth $1 to rent a comforter to stay warm in the hostel bed, regardless of your opinion on whether or not you should have to rent something like that. 2. Always check the parking brake before calling AA (NZ version of AAA) to help you with your supposed "braking" issues. 3. No matter how hard you try, there simply is no way to escape eating breakfast at McDonald's. Nothing else is open early enough.