Fuck Zorbing

The story continues. Warning, this one is long because it recounts a jam packed orientation. If you have a short attention span skip down to the Zorbing story. Last I left off, I was chilling out in LAX and Andee had just arrived. I met up with her and Hillary shortly joined us and I found the giant group of people that were part of the Arcadia Crew. Greeted by friendly faces and welcomings, the group immediately seemed friendly and people that I could get along with. It was much like those first days of college where for the most part everyone is outgoing and trying to make as many friends as possible. I spent the rest of the time hanging out with these new found friends then before I knew it the plane was boarding.

I ended up next to Andee and the window seat so it was nice to have a familiar face for the long flight. The plane was gianormous and had TV’s in the back of all of the seats which helped pass the time. There were something like 80 movies, a bunch of TV shows, and games that were all free. The take off was weird because the airport is right by the water, so when we finally left, LA is this glowing expansive myriad of lights which ends abruptly where it meets the Pacific. There was a weird isolated feeling due to the complete blackness of the ocean, yet the good company and movies made it all go by quickly. I watched two Simpson’s episodes, 12 Angry Men, and most of W. Got about 6 hours of sleep and it was all over before I knew it.

We landed in Auckland, NZ which is the largest city in New Zealand boasting 1.5 million people, making up almost half of New Zealand’s population of 4 million. The airport was nice and we go through customs relatively quickly. The big deal in NZ is the BioSecurity so they make sure you don’t have any food, animals, plants, or dirt from where ever you are traveling. After getting through all that, we piled into a bus which took us to our first hostel. The weather was in the 70s with high humidity.

After checking in, we quickly left to go check out a nice beach that has a hill that overlooks the city and the water. Awesome view and beautiful blue water. I also got my first taste of the pacific when we all went for a swim. It was a nice refreshing plunge after the long flight. The plants are really cool there. The trees are massive and are in interesting shapes and patterns. The limbs are more tangled and start lower on the trunk which make them perfect for climbing. Also there are more palm plants and ferns.

Next we went to a miniature aquarium place where we saw penguins, sharks, fish, and a giant sting ray. It was a cool little place. Then we hopped over and grabbed dinner at a pizza place, which serves gourmet pizza with lots of interesting combos. Apparently that’s all the rage in NZ. After making sure we stayed up all day so we could beat the jet lag quickly, they let us retire to our rooms around 7. Instead of trying to sleep, myself and a few others hit the town to see the sights. Stayed up until around 11-12 (missed a fire alarm wake up, score one for me) and fell asleep rather quickly.

The next day we packed up our bags and headed outta Auckland for Rotorua, about a three hour drive south east. We drove through lovely rolling hills with lots of pastures and farmland. It was the area where The Shire was shot for LoTR. We stopped at a small town for lunch which was proudly self proclaimed Hobbiton. Quite cool and snapped a few shots of some of the cooler pieces, like the Gollum statue. Tried a NZ staple, the meat pie which is basically a pot-pie filled with whatever meet, gravy, and cheese you desire. Not too bad.

Finally we arrived in Rotorua which reeks of sulfur because of all the geothermic activity. We went to a “farm show” with loads of different sheep and they sheared a sheep right in front of our eyes. Also they showed off how a herding sheep dog and how it worked. Sounds lame but was really cool. We also did a quick hike through a park that had some of the local fauna. We settled into a really nice hotel and grabbed some delicious dinner food. They don’t tip in NZ which is clutch when going out to eat. We hung out on a beach for a while and then went to a geothermal spa at night. The next day we saw some of the sights, a boiling mud pit which only needed dinosaurs to be complete. Went to a geyser which shot up 20 feet into the air and did a tour of the surrounding area. Apparently the whole place, including Rotorua is a caldera volcano spanning 50 km in diameter. Quite impressive with some really unique geological sights to see.

To cap off the day we went Zorbing which is an extreme sport activity started in NZ. This is where it kinda got crazy. We were all really excited to try this sport. You and two others get into this giant plastic ball filled with some lubricating water and roll down a hill. Sounds simple and nice right? Not so much for me and my group. First we all laid on the hill and let it roll down across our backs then got in line to head up the hill and subsequently back down. I went with Andee and my friend Justin. After a quick ride up the hill, we jumped into this giant ball. We had talked earlier that we’d see who could stay up the longest before succumbing to gravity. We started off alright, but after a few seconds things got bad. The inside bubble developed a rip in it, tossing us into the outer one that has a mess of cords that keep the Zorb shapely. So instead of a smooth ride down the hill, we were getting slapped and cut by these wires. Not to mention the fact that we were slamming into each other. The scariest part was when my head and neck almost got caught up in the spinning wires, which in hindsight was very close to serious injury. The ball deflated about halfway down and we eventually stopped after a terrifying ordeal. Andee was laying at the bottom of the Zorb and I quickly went over to ask if she was ok, which much to my chagrin she said no. Fortunately she was just upset from the freak accident. Justin was hanging by the cords and dropped down to safety. We all walked away from the accident with a whole bunch of cuts and bruises. They said it was only the second time this has ever happened. After filling out some paper work we were given free T-shirts as an apology. I got my ass kicked by a zorb and alls I got was this lousy T-shirt. I’m just thankful everyone walked away. I had a good bruise/scrape down my face, on my leg, neck and arm. Andee definitely got the worst. That night we went to a Maori (the indigenous people) village where we were entertained with traditional stories and dances. Also they cooked a mean dinner for us. Cool people with an interesting culture.

The next day we parted ways with the kids who were studying at Auckland, and the Otago group flew down to Dunedin (pronounced Do-need-in). It was a quick flight with an hour layover in Wellington. Dunedin has been unseasonably cold, needing long pants and hoodies with unrelenting rain. Still is a pretty place. My flat is nice, with a big room to myself. I have three flat mates, Emma my Kiwi host, an American named Dan, and a Canadian named Shannon. We all get along well. The past few days have been spent getting acclimated with the area and living situation. Everyone is really nice and we’re all having a blast. Finally it got warmer today and I played Frisbee with the club here at Otago. Things are good. Until next time.