I set out running but I take my time, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine

I had every intention of leaving Auckland and driving to Raglan last Wednesday. When I woke up that morning, it was cold and rainy and Harry told me I could expect that sort of weather all along the west coast of the north island. I sent an inquiring text message and when I received the response I was quite happy to scrap Raglan for a new destination.
I made a final trip to the Warehouse, New Zealand's version of Wal-Mart, loaded up the van with gear and snacks and hit the road. I stopped by Harry's shop on the way out to thank him profusely for everything he had done for me. I tried to explain to him how much he had aided in getting me started on this trip. He responded with a very simple but powerful remark "That's what you do for your friends."
As it turns out I would find many friends, both old and new in the days that followed. I did a city search on the GPS for Taupo and started following the illustrated directions leading me out of Auckland. I have thought about it for days now and I still do not feel that I can effectively describe the experience of driving from Auckland to Taupo. I could have had Robert Frost riding shotgun with me, spitting out descriptive poetry and it still would not do justice to the emotional high I made that drive on. The night before I left, I made a massive playlist full of driving songs. I shuffled the playlist and burned its contents to 6 CD's, unaware of the track selection of each disc. One of them came out absolutely perfect, and I will share it with you now.

This music was the perfect complement to the rolling hills, blue skies and picture perfect clouds of the New Zealand countryside. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I am still in awe of everything I have seen since leaving Auckland. It wasn't long before I arrived at the Tongariro National Holiday Park, where I pulled up next to a blue 4 person tent and a 1999 toyota mini van very similar to mine. Hanging around this site were some of my best friends from the Austin days.

Pictured above from left to right are Michael, Nate, Lacy and to my left is Ley.
I met Michael and his girlfriend lacy the summer I moved to Austin and we've been raising hell together ever since. Michael is of the rare breed of guys who I can have an in depth conversation with about the holy trinity: Live Music, SEC Football (Michael and Lacy=Mississippi State), and cycling. Lacy is one of my favorite foodie pals and might be the only person on the planet who is as passionate about chocolate as me. Nate and I lived together for about 6 months in Austin and it wasn't long before he had my stomach hurting from laughing with his vivid story telling. Ley is a friend of Michael and Lacy's and hopped a plane from Maui (where she was living and working) to New Zealand. Life's a bitch.
Although I have seen my pals as recently as September, we talked as if we hadn't seen each other in years. They have been tramping around New Zealand since October 28^th and I thouroughly enjoyed hearing about their recent adventures. I was still quietly glowing from the drive down.
From time to time I address Lacy with the nickname "Team Lacy". There's a story that goes with this name and someday I might tell it to you, but for now I will refer the aforementioned group of four as "Team Lacy". As I said before, Team Lacy is traveling in a mini van very similar to mine which they have named Turbo. After a day or two of consideration, I officially named my transport Voodoo. Voodoo the van. I slept in Voodoo for the first time in Tongariro National Holiday Park and was quite pleased with my slumber. The next morning, the five of us embarked on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. It is regularly listed as New Zealand's top ranked walk.

Tongariro National Park includes three active volcanic mountains (Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu) and appears as pieces of Mordor and Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings films.
The hike definitely was reminiscent of Frodo and company traveling middle earth. The weather made dramatic temperature swings causing us to sweat on the steep inclines and then within minutes be shivering from the piercing wind. We walked through fog that seemed to materialize from the ground and would then suddenly disappear with a cold gush of wind. The hike included two steep climbs, one known as the Devil's Staircase. As we climbed higher the wind got brutal and we all had to put on every layer of clothing we were carrying. We reached the highest point of the hike and started to descend the other side. This is where we found the crystal clear blue lakes and snow. The vegetation and growth of the mountain changed as frequently as the weather. The final leg of the hike was through a rainforest like atmosphere with full tree coverage and plenty of small streams and waterfalls. We finished the hike in a little under six hours and were groaning and moaning in protest of our aching bodies for the next 24 hours.
Upon returning to the holiday park we cooked a huge pot of chili and potatos and then capped the day off with an hour long soak in the hot tub. Sleep came easy that evening and was more than welcome.

Taihape

The next morning I split with Team Lacy and headed towards Taihape to meet some new friends. Kacee is another one of my best friends who is lucky enough to reside in Austin. As it turns out she has a cousin who lives in New Zealand and was kind of enough to invite me to her home. Elizabeth Cottrell grew up in Atlanta and met her husband Mark in Colorado on a ski trip. Mark was born and raised in the farming community of Taihape and was visiting the United States on his Overseas Experience (OE). All kiwis travel internationally at some point in their young adult life, usually before or after uni (college). Mark and Elizabeth are sheep and beef farmers and live in a beautiful home outside Taihape. This was my first visit to a farm and Elizabeth and I spent the afternoon walking through the paddocks of their land. Once again, I was astounded by the beauty of the land. The terrain is extremely hilly, but I'm not talking about the Indian mounds on LSU's campus. These are volcanic hills and appear chaotic and out of place. The colors of the grass and trees remind of the first time I saw a Pixar movie. They appear so bright and vibrant that it is almost as if they are enhanced. Elizabeth gave me a crash course in farming terminology and procedures. That night we ate a delicious piece of lamb shoulder accompanied by koura (potatos). I made her show me exactly how she cooked the meat so that I might be able to reproduce the dish someday. I got to sleep in a full sized bed that night with about 7 pillows, an electric blanket and a comforter. Luxuries like that will be few and far between over here and I soaked up the comfort like a spunge. In the same fashion that Harry did, Mark and Elizabeth provided me with extremely valuable information about the kiwi culture and traveling the land. They sent me off fully rested and carrying a bag of fresh walnuts and another bag full of fresh corned beef. I was smitten.

Mt. Taranaki

My original plans included me rushing to Queenstown as quickly as possible to find a summer job. However, as many do, I caught the travel bug after getting a little taste of the New Zealand scenery and decided to rendezvous with Team Lacy. I found them at a campsite outside Manaia, which is south of Mt. Taranaki and New Plymouth. I was particularly interested in this region of the country as it is highly likely that I could end up here for a professional job. We camped at the intersection of the black sand beach of the Tasman Sea and small river that dumps into it. Team Lacy had encountered a new friend who called himself Snow and is an accomplished fisherman. Snow had shared many secrets of the area with Nate and Michael and also given them a dozen and half fresh mussels that he picked. We ate those for dinner and hatched a plan to pick our own mussels the next day.
Nate, Michael and I gave mussel picking a try the next morning, but only came back with a handful of small ones. According to snow we needed to be out there when the tide is at its lowest point and he advised us to give it another go around 8 pm. Michael was determined to catch some fish that day so he and Lacy hung back around the campsite while Nate, Ley and myself went to go explore Mt. Taranaki.

We were able to complete the Wilkies Pools Loop which included lots of steps. Mt. Taranaki is unique in that is surrounded by a "cloud of tears" as legend has it. It is usually completely hidden by clouds. However, when it is visible, it is another New Zealand view that looks so picturesque it almost looks fake. You should Wikipedia Taranaki as it has an interesting little love story that goes with it.
That evening we went rooting about the underbellies of the rocks along the beach again. I think picking mussels might be one of the most enjoyable activities I have ever taken part of in my life. The tide was low and the weather was beautiful. Once we got the hang of it, we found more mussels than we could shake a stick at. 127 to be exact.

I had never cooked mussels before but quickly learned that there is nothing to it. We ate every single one of those little buggers on plates of imitation Ramen noodles and fresh broccoli (yes, you read that right). It was delicious and for the umpteenth time as I was totally content. We capped the night off with a bonfire on the beach.
On Monday we returned to Mt. Taranaki with the full crew this time and did a more challenging walk. As was the case the day before there was a lot of stairs involved and in general we found the hike less enjoyable than the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

Before we set out for the mountain, Michael and Snow had a set a shark line in the river. I had my doubts about them actually snagging a shark, but sure enough they had one hooked when we returned. I can't recall ever having eaten shark before, but it is a bright white fish meat. Snow instructed us not to botch it up with a bunch of herbs and seasonings as it would take away from the natural taste of the meat. He showed us the best way to batter and pan fry it and we followed his instructions. As it turns out, shark is a very tasty fish. The filets were thick and a really good consistency. Not too chewy and not too flaky. The flavor is simple and not overbearing, but still savory. This meal was accompanied by a fresh green salad and a few people claimed it as their best New Zealand meal to date. For me the fresh caught shark is still in a close footrace with the fresh farm raised lamb.
I'm grinning slyly now. Who would have every thought I'd have to rate shark over lamb in New Zealand. I am totally content.

Short Circuits

• It has been taking me forever to get these blog posts set up the way I want them. The blogspot editing software is awful and I really hate using it.
• I went to kindergarten twice because I had a late birthday. In New Zealand, all kiwi children start kindergarten on their 5th birthday, no matter what day of the year that is. So, in my case I would have walked into my kindergarten classroom at Westminister elementary late in October, a solid month and a half after the first students would have started. And yes, to answer your question, if there birthday is on the last day of the school year, they can choose to go to school for this one day.