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Home / Exploring Our World / Member Stories (31) / Amateur Writer (7) / Australia (5) / People: Rural (5)

 

Kiwi Travels Conclusion

Email I Sent to Friends and Family While Living In New Zealand

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The next day we headed east until we couldn’t go any farther east! We hiked up to a light house on "East Cape." This is the farthest point east in New Zealand and therefore is the first place in the world to get the new day! We went a bit farther south to a small farm called Rangitukia. Do I need to help with the pronunciation? Bdub, just remember Hooked-on-Phonics. There I did a bone carving of a Koru, or an unraveling fern frond. I can tell you what it means later, but right now I can’t remember. After dinner, our one armed host asked us all, "Who wants to go possum hunting?" I and an English guy went that night. Possums are an introduced species and are killing off many unique animals, most notably the Kiwi. We had a 22 rifle and a spot light gerry-rigged to the car battery. Rainy (surprise), but loads of fun. We just drove down the street looking for glowing eyes and shot them! That morning, a bunch of us woke up around 630 and hiked to the top of a hill to watch the sunrise. I was one of the first in the world to see March 5, 2004! But it was raining and all I saw was it getting brighter, and no sun. I do have a picture to prove I was there!

That day we drove down to Gisborne. This is the surf Mecca of the south pacific. The weather was great and the place we stayed was awesome. I rented a surf board and wetsuit, and got some folks to teach me a bit of the basics and hit the waves. Well more accurately, the waves hit me. They hit me pretty damn hard. The waves were huge! Two days later and I’m still aching from all the paddling and beating the waves gave me! I was out there for two hours and I did manage to stand up on the board...10 seconds total I think! Loads of fun. But unfortunately I had to leave Gisborne the following day.

We stopped in Napier for a bit (nothing to get excited about there except the art deco architecture. woo hoo.) And then headed back to Taupo. We got in about 730pm. I ate dinner, watched rugby and caught the bus back up to Rotorua today. And here I am right now!!

I've been sitting here for about 2 hours typing this thing and I’m ready to stop typing. Tomorrow I’m going to Waitomo to go black water rafting in a cave system, and then the next day I'm heading to Auckland. From there I’m going to spend a week in Sydney with Alison, Katherine, and Larisa, and then back to Auckland for a day. Then on March 18, 11 days from now, ill be home! Then March 20 or 21 I’m starting work back at sea gull. Howard, let me know the dates!

Congratulations if you have made it this far in my email. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn’t. I didn’t feel like reading it again, so if some of it doesn’t make since, it’s because I didn’t proof read it. I’m not getting graded on it, so what's it matter! I promise I will never send one this long again! Take care everyone! See y’all soon!

Andrew

 

Community Question

I write like I talk, and want to know opinions of this? My friends and family really enjoyed my emails and I want to have an unbiased, professional opinion.

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