Anything helps. I am not trying to pan-handle. All profits go towards the family trip.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Day 50

The past couple of days have had so much going on but no internet to post. We left Cook's Beach and then headed to Auckland for a night. We stayed at the Unicorn Motel again and my dad had another gig. The next morning we picked up our camper from transfercar. It was huge! It held all of our things and slept us 5 comfortably. We drove south and stayed at camper parks along the way. We took the camper on the ferry and made it to the South Island. We then continued south and stopped at a few more parks. The scenery is amazing. There were points of the drive with snowy mountains on one side and a beach with surf on the other. There are tons of sheep and reindeer too. We made it to Christchurch and are staying at a friend from the cruise ship's house. Carey and I went skating yesterday afternoon, which was Halloween, at a nearby park and Carey broke his board. It isn't all the way through, but he'll need a new one within a week or two. He has no money for one so we aren't sure what to do. I have taken some pictures, but not enough to upload a whole roll. I did, however, make a .gif of looking off of Shakespeare's Cliff near Cook's Beach. It was an almost 360 degree view of ocean and islands off an overhang. I have wi-fi for at least a few days while we stay here, so I will definitely post tomorrow.

I used gifninja to make this because I didn't have very much time and there were to many photos for other sites. I hope it works alright, I think it might be a little slow. Here is the .gif!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Day 44

We went to the hot water beach today. It was a lot of fun and pretty weird. The water was cold, and then you would walk on the beach through a little puddle and it would burn your feet. We eventually got the perfect temperature and sat in the homemade hot tub for a while. After the beach, we took a little hike down to Cathedral Cove. That was also a lot of fun. There were caves and rocks to climb on, but the water was also pretty cold. After that, we went to a winery/restaurant that was amazing. We learned a lot from the owner and the food was great. My parents and brother loved the drinks as well. I recommend anybody in the area to go there. It's called Purangi Winery. We also secured a 6-berth camper to take from the Auckland Airport to Christchurch in two days. It was also free because it needs to be relocated. There is a website that has campers available for relocation called transfercar. I took a video of me jumping off of a rock at Cathedral Cove, but it isn't uploading correctly. Maybe I will try when i have more reliable wi-fi.




Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Day 43

We left Auckland and made it to Cook's Beach. We are staying at a nice place for not too much money. It is pretty close to the hot water beach, which we are going to tomorrow. The hot water beach is a beach that if you dig down, hot spring water bubbles up and makes a pool. You can only go at noon or midnight for the tide to be right, so we are going at noon tomorrow. We just took the ferry across a river to a small town and had really good Thai food. We also found an OK skatepark that Carey and I may go to soon. I still want to get my dad a gig on a cruise ship and will try calling some as soon as possible.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Day 42

Last night was crazy. All of New Zealand was watching the rugby game and the All Blacks won. The streets were filled with fans screaming and crying. Then today, there was a parade through Auckland with the players. The whole city was watching that as well. I think tomorrow we are going to get a hotel room and calm down for a few days. While we're there I want to try to get my dad a cruise ship gig so that we can have food and passage in exchange for him doing a few shows. If anybody has any ideas or places to contact, please let me know. Thanks.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Day 41

So yesterday I went to the shop to get that Almost complete and it was gone! I was really angry because all other boards were really expensive. Today I went to Cheapskates, a common skate shop in NZ, and saw a  Girl board for 250 NZ. I decided to get it and got to talking with the guy who worked there. When it came time to buy it, he gave it to me for 200 and gave me a phone number to call if I want to go surfing when I go back up north. Thanks bro! Then I got some super glue for my shoes at a $3.50 store. Since things are more expensive here, this is like their dollar stores. Right now I am in a pub watching the world series with my family, and then Carey and I are going skating. Tonight is going to be really crazy. The world cup final game is tonight and the crowd will be huge. The entire city is blocked off because of it. Let's go All Blacks! I don't want an angry riot.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Day 40

I haven't been able to post the last couple of days for a few reasons. The wi-fi ran out at the motel we were staying at, and then we went to the Occupation. That is where we are staying, in our recently bought tents and sleeping bags. The Occupation is a huge group of people from all over with the same views about Wall Street camping out in tents Aotea Square to spread awareness. They have been there for 8 days without being kicked out and stay there, always NONVIOLENTLY, for as long as they can. There are at least 50 tents filled with activists. It is most easily compared to a miniature Live Oak Music Festival with no drugs or alcohol allowed. There is a lot of music going on and hopefully my dad can impress some people. Here is the link to the Occupy Auckland website. I am also thinking about getting a skateboard because there are a lot of spots here, and Victoria skatepark is AMAZING! I went there with Carey a few days ago, but couldn't take photos because it was too crowded. There is an Almost complete at a local shop for 229 NZD. This might seem steep compared to the US, but it's actually the best deal that I've seen. Auckland is great and I am hopeful for the future of the Occupation.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Day 37

We made it to Auckland and my dad is currently playing at the Guitar Association of New Zealand. Last night we stayed at a really cool backpackers accommodation place a few hours away. We woke up this morning and drove to Auckland, where we are staying in the Unicorn Motel. We all fit in a room, which has two rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, TV, and wi-fi. It's a pretty good deal! We have the room for two nights and then I think we are going to rent a camper and drive it to Christchurch. We aren't completely sure what is directly ahead of us, but I am excited.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Day 36

No time to talk at all. We are about to leave the bach and will probably spend the night in a hotel halfway between here and Auckland. We are almost finished packing and cleaning and then will be o our way. I don't know when the next time I'll have wi-fi is, so this might be goodbye for a while.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Day 35

It was a lazy day today. Mostly all that happened was homework. It was too windy to fish and now it is raining, so we didn't get outside much. My mom made some really good homemade mac and cheese for dinner that filled us up pretty well. We are leaving the bach either tomorrow or the next day and heading to Auckland. My dad has a gig there in a few days and somebody is going to stay here, so we have to roll out. Tomorrow will probably consist of packing and cleaning, with homework wherever is possible. Hopefully we do some more sightseeing soon so I can take more pictures. Oh, and good job to the All Blacks. They beat Australia and are heading to the finals to play France. I have a feeling it won't even be close.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Day 34

I have nothing to do really, seeing as how it is raining in New Zealand, so I decided to do a post. Yesterday's didn't really count. I just typed a big essay for History class and my brothers are both doing homework. My mom and dad left a few minutes ago to go explore. I have no idea where they are going, but they took the rental car because of the rain. The skatepark that Carey and I went to yesterday was in Kerikeri. It was a lot better then the one we went to in Kaitaia and there were no Maori's trying to fight us either. I don't do much skating anymore because of my previous broken ankle and I have no board or helmet, so I usually just take pictures of Carey. I actually got one picture yesterday, though. The New Zealand vs. Australia rugby game is in a couple of hours which is a HUGE deal. The winner goes on to the final to play against France. We heard that the reaction to whoever wins will be pretty dramatic, so we are hoping for the All Blacks. I am actually starting to understand and like the game. I would play it instead of American football any day. Here are a few photos from yesterday that I said I would upload. The waterfall was great to see!





Day 33

We did so much today! We saw almost the entire Northern Island. We went to waterfalls and skateparks and all kinds of places. I took quite a few pictures and will put them up later because it's a little bit too late right now. I am pretty tired, so I can't write a ton. I want to do some fishing and homework tomorrow. I'll also try to upload the photos soon

Friday, October 14, 2011

Day 32

Just barely made the post for tonight. It is 11:30 in New Zealand. My dad, Carey, and I all tried fishing again today and caught 0 fish again. I actually got one bite though, so maybe I'll have more luck tomorrow. We got some homework done and took it easy mostly. I am still pretty sick and I think Miles might be getting it. Lastly, I am thinking of just putting what day it is as the title of each post. This is a test, I'm not sure if it will last.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Maori Thugs

Today, my brothers and I went to the skatepark in the closest city to the Kerikeri Peninsula. I can't remember the name exactly. Anyways, these kids showed up and wanted to use Carey's brand new board after they borrowed a kids scooter and broke it. Carey said no and they kept bugging and then tried to fight him and I. Some other kid got there and they fought him instead while we left. They ripped Carey's favorite shirt and pushed us around a little bit. After we left, we got some grub and then headed to the Northernmost part of the island. There were a lot of great sights to see, and we learned a lot about the history of New Zealand. I took way too many pictures, so here are a few. These are the ones that I kept from Facebook.


Day 31

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Another Slow Day

We mostly just lied around today and then went grocery shopping. Later, we went to the beginning of 90 Mile Beach, but it was too stormy to go all the way down. I think we might in the next few days. I also got a couple of photos and will upload them soon. I hope these colds don't last!

Day 30

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Getting Sick

Carey is sick and I can feel myself getting it too. I guess that means I won't want to do anything tomorrow, so I can get a lot of school work done. Because the weather was a little bit nicer than yesterday, I went for a super long run and tried fishing again. The fishing ended with a broken line and 0 catches. I think retirement is in the near future fore me. I know that I haven't uploaded photos in a while and I still need to put together that video. I don't want to put photos up until I have more than a few. Once I get some more pictures, I will definitely put them up. About the video, I haven't gotten around to it because I need to get caught up for school. I will try to make it as soon as possible. Hopefully the school won't take too long.

Day 29

Monday, October 10, 2011

New Zealand Weather

There isn't much to say about today, except that there was a major storm. It was pouring and the wind would almost blow you over. It was also pretty cold, so we mostly just stayed inside. I had some nice, home-cooked meals and got a couple school assignments done. If you think about it: October in New Zealand is like April in California, so the rain makes sense. I hope the sun comes out tomorrow so that I can go swimming and fishing, but I will need to do a ton of school work either way.

Day 28

Sunday, October 9, 2011

The Bach

Sorry that I couldn't post yesterday. We didn't have internet, but now paid for it so I think I can post everyday for the next week or so. The place we are staying in is really cool. We are on a little peninsula about 5 hours from Auckland and there is public beach access a few houses away. The water is nowhere near tropical, but it isn't horrible. The closest that I could compare it to is Southern California in the winter. There isn't any surf at the beach right by us but we went swimming and it wasn't too cold. I also tried fishing at about sunset and watched the rugby games tonight. We went grocery shopping, so we won't have to go anywhere for a while. Our family is planning on using this time away from society to get  work and homework done. I have something like 60 assignments to do in order to be caught up. Even though I'm a little stressed about the school, I am loving the isolation here.

Day 27

Friday, October 7, 2011

Another Adventure Tomorrow

Today began with my brothers and me searching for a coffee shop with wi-fi and power outlets to do homework. It took us a while, but we eventually found the perfect place and did a few homework assignments while eating breakfast. When we got back to the house we are staying at, my parents and Deborah (our hostess) had brought back pies. Pies are common meals in New Zealand and are filled with all sorts of things, such as: chicken, steak, vegetables, bacon, eggs, cheese, and ground beef-a.k.a. mince. After sampling quite a few of these, we ate dessert. The dessert was all different types of pastries from the same bakery where we got the pies. With all of this, we drank some New Zealand milk. After all of the eating I've done here so far, I came to this conclusion: All food is better, fresher, and richer in New Zealand-atleast up until this point. I also lent Carey some money to buy a skateboard and he took the bus downtown and went skating. [IMPORTANT-do not wait to buy things in New Zealand if you are going on a trip. Everything is way more expensive and I heard it is even worse in Australia. Carey's board was a pre-made complete for 260 New Zealand Dollars (still over 200 U.S.). Almost everything can be more than double what it is in The States.] For dinner we had some local pizza that was really good. Then we made some grapefruit juice from the tree in the yard and had some Hokey Pokey ice cream. I can't explain what this is, but it is huge over here. It is super good as well. Tomorrow we take a 4 hour drive up to the North part of the island and are staying in a house by the beach until possibly the 21st. I can't wait to see what it's like.

Day 25

Thursday, October 6, 2011

New Zealand

OK. A lot needs to be said in this. For one, I am sorry that I have taken so long to post anything. The wi-fi costed 65 cents a minute and was very unreliable. It adds up fast, so I decided not to use the internet. I am over 60 assignments behind in my schooling now because of it. Secondly, the cruise was AMAZING! There were always things to do and people to meet. I took advantage of the pools and gym quite regularly. The food was great and it was all included. We were the only american kids on the ship, so we learned a lot about places we are going to. Also, Carey and I caught a glimpse of the elusive Green Flash. Now Tahiti...what can I say about that? It was so perfect. I did more in those three days than I have in a year. Thanks very much to the Murphy family, I hope we can make it back soon. We swam with stingrays, sharks, and whales, went wake-surfing, and more. Words can't even describe how much fun the last few weeks have been. I will hopefully have a video up of some of the snorkeling and such in a few days. We're in New Zealand now and will be for up to six weeks. I am really looking forward to the future and am stoked with the trip so far. Keep checking the blog because I will try to post daily now that I'm on land.

Day 24