third time’s the charm

Posted on October 3, 2013 by karenula

my days in Aotearoa were coming close to an end.
I had finally reached what I thought would be my final destination before flying back home. but I got there on Tuesday, earlier than I expected, and obviously I didn’t want to be a pain with my Kiwi family staying in their house for the whole time… AND for the third time… but of course, mom Ali said that there was no problem and that I could stay there as long as I wanted!

notice the “Mexican maid” note there…

I really didn’t do much in Wellington this last week and a half.
I met at Te Papa Museum with Andrea, Angela, and Jimena my Mexican friend that lives in Melbourne (she was travelling all around NZ by bus).

I met with Jeronimo and Anna who came all the way down to this city just to say goodbye. we went to the Te Papa Museum, again… but to be honest I could never get tired of this place. every time I go there, I find something new, it’s like the never ending museum! the Aztec exhibition was about to be open, so there were ads all around the entrance… and I found an old friend of mine among them…

Mictlantecuhtli and me

zee Germans!

then we walked around the city, had dinner at my favourite mexican place Viva Mexico, and finished the night at my favourite pub Molly Malones.

I gathered once more on Saturday with my Funky Green friends to say goodbye to Andrea who was leaving the next day. so we walked around the city, we had dinner at Burger Fuel, and then ended up at Four Kings to have a couple of beers.

next day I was going to have the Mexican Night with my family. so early in the morning Mark and I went to the Sunday market on the waterfront. we bought all the ingredients, and on the way out I saw my friend Bruno once more! third time in three months… we talked a little bit and then said goodbye for good, chances of seeing him again this last week were very low.

after the market we went to their real home, which is being remodelled, for me to see the changes since last time. then he took me to see the Wellington sign near the airport, a sign I hadn’t been able to see and really wanted to have the cliche picture of it.

we went back home and I started getting things ready to start cooking. Mark’s daughter, Anna with her husband and kid were going to join as well and Tasarla’s boyfriend, Josh, too. so it would be full house for the Mexican night!

I started doing the dough for the homemade tortillas, and then started cooking the main course. everybody started arriving, and I started feeling a lot of pressure, the good thing was that they ALL started helping me, so while I was doing the sauce and the chicken, they became my tortilla making army.

it was a fun night! we laughed, and talked, and drank some wine. I was for sure going to miss them once I left.

the next day I stayed at home all day, writing and setting things for my departure. I was leaving on the 6th of October to LA from Auckland, so I had to find my way back up there. I found one of those relocation sites where you can rent cars for free, and there I found a car I could pick up in Wellington and return in Auckland airport after two days… so I decided to drive up to Rotorua, stay there for two nights, and then leave early on Sunday morning directly to the airport… the tricky part was that it would be a manual car, and it has been a WHILE since I’ve driven one… oh shit!

the next day I met with Angela. we went for a big walk and had some lunch together. we printed a couple of the “Funky Green Biatches” photos to give to the hostel owners as a thank you gift… she wanted to hang out a lot before I left, and I really wanted to do the same, but I just had a lot of things to do so I decided to be with her that whole day, and then see her on my last night… I was going to miss her for sure!

next day my driving lessons with Tasarla started. we went op shopping together along with Josh. I found this very cute outfit to wear the day I would meet with Robert, and other than that, nothing. in fact, I couldn’t really buy stuff, I actually had to get rid of my winter clothes because where I was going, was not as cold as NZ.

almost every day since I got to Wellington I had been texting and skyping with Robert. when I was in Napier, Robert and I had decided to go to Mexico. but I didn’t want to go back to Mexico City, it would not be fair to enter my comfort zone with him, specially if he doesn’t speak the language. I already had my ticket and I couldn’t afford to lose that, I was running out of money and buying a ticket to go somewhere else was not the best idea. so he agreed to come with me. we would fly to LA along with his friend Sebastian, stay there four days, then say goodbye to Sebastian and go to San Diego for a night to take the plane to San Jose del Cabo the next day. in Mexico we would start working for a guy from the States in Cabo Pulmo where he has some kind of hotel, a place that seems wonderful. we also had booked some work in exchange for accommodation with another couple in a ranch with horses, but that was not until the end of December. we decided that, because it would give me the chance to find a job to save some money and travel some more, if that’s what we wished for in the future. he was coming with me! he was being the sweetest guy ever, comforting me because I was really nervous with the road trip, and the manual car… he really cared for me, and we were both very excited to start this new adventure together!

on my last night in Wellington, my Kiwi family invited Angela and me to have a farewell dinner and drinks. this time, was the real goodbye… until they go to Mexico again, which seems more possible than me going back to NZ. we had dinner in an Indian restaurant, and then had some beers at a pub called Laundry… a pretty cool place!

next morning, Tasarla took me to where I had to pick up the car… I was VERY nervous… of course, I took the wheel and the engine stopped like three times right there in the car rental company… in front of everyone… terrible! Tasarla tried to cheer me up and helped me feel less nervous… we said goodbye with a big big hug, and we both drove away…

I was sad to leave my family… but I’m sure we’ll meet again someday… that’s what families do!

note for the road… may the Gods be with me and the people around me while I drive…

more northland

Posted on August 23, 2013 by karenula

I left Ahipara on Monday, August 12th.
Riah gave me a ride to the hostel where Chris had stayed in Kaitaia. and with a big hug, we said goodbye.

I had booked the Harrisons Cape Runner tour for that day along with a night in the hostel. when I arrived there, two other girls were doing the same: checking in for one night, doing the Cape Reinga tour, staying in room number six. their names: Cally (from South Africa) and Sara (from USA).

we hopped into the bus, which was full of cute, older people. most of them part of a group of friends from Wellington.

we started the tour stopping at Ancient Kauri Kingdom, a coffee shop with lots of souvenirs and Kauri wood stuff… FYI Kauri trees are the largest (by volume) but not tallest species of trees in New Zealand, standing up to 50m tall in the emergent layer above the forest’s main canopy. It has been estimated that before 1840, the kauri forests of northern New Zealand occupied at least 12,000 square kilometres. today, there is only 4 per cent of uncut forest left… SAD!
after this, the tour took us to Houhora Heads, a very small town mostly occupied by people living in trailer homes.

then they took us to Rarawa Beach… a beautiful place that might be super cool for camping in summer!

then we had the biggest ice cream ever in Te Kao before arriving to Cape Reinga.

The name comes from the Māori word ‘Reinga’ that means ‘Underworld’, referring to the belief that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld. it’s also the point where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet.

we then had lunch at Tapotupotu Bay, where a group of dolphins was waiting for us riding the waves.

we headed after this to Te Paki Stream & Sand Dunes, where obviously the only ones to do tobogganing where us three… we had SO much fun!

and then to ride along the Ninety Mile Beach in the bus from north to south.

we returned to the hostel and the three of us decided to go have something to eat and buy some wine for the night… the night went smooth with some card games and talks… they invited me to join their roadtrip, and that was good for me because they were going south to Auckland through the west coast, and I really wanted to see that. so I agreed, thinking that maybe I could get dropped off at a very nice beach.

next morning we woke up very early to leave Kaitaia.
we drove all the way to Kohukohu to take the ferry, but we missed it by two minutes, so we returned to the town to try and use the library’s wifi… but oh surprise… no wifi.
so we just sat there relaxing for a couple of minutes and then we went back to the port to hop on the ferry.
I had three options to be dropped off at: Opononi, Omapere, or Dargaville.
I thought of staying on Omapere because it seems beautiful, but since we drove past it to get to the “Labyrinth Woodworks, Maze & Puzzle Museum”, I thought it was too much driving for the girls to take me back, and I really wanted to see this huge Kauri tree called “Tane Mahuta”… so I told them that I would stay in Dargaville instead… though I had the feeling it was going to be a VERY boring town…

so, we saw the maze place first. to be horribly honest, I would’ve saved those four dollars for a good pie or something… it’s not worth going… it’s not even a maze! it’s just a zigzag thing where you cannot even get lost…

we then drove to Tane Mahuta… it’s a very short walk, but it is pretty amazing to see a tree that size! Especially after knowing that they are sort of extinct because they used them all for construction and other things.

after this I got dropped off in Dargaville… and as I thought, it was a town with nothing interesting (there’s not even a McDonalds!!!)…
I went to the Greenhouse Backpackers, which used to be a school where the current owner attended… I asked Daren (the owner) if there was someone else staying here, and he said that there was only this guy called Bruno… I froze… “Bruno?” I asked… “yes, he’s a Maori guy that is selling his book”… “whaaat?! I’ve met this guy in Auckland! and I’ve met his daughter in Kerikeri!” and sure thing, Tuhoe “Bruno” Isaac was in the dorm, and of course he recognised me and greeted me happily telling me that he had seen Whai, and that she told her we met!

I went out to town – first to the library to use the wifi and tell mom and dad that I’m still alive, then to grab something to eat, and then to the supermarket to buy some things for dinner.

then I just relaxed in the hostel. writing, and talking a little bit with Bruno and with this other older guy called Willy, who is originally from Croatia. the evening passed, and I finally bought Bruno’s (very expensive) book… I thought our “friendship” history gave me the right to have a long and beautiful dedication and autograph along with our picture taken… but all I got was:

To Karen
ch…
Tuhoe Isaac
Best Wishes
13/8/2013

damn! after all we’ve been through…

next morning I took the shuttle to arrive in Whangarei and went directly to the YHA… I still had to kill some time to go serve in the Meditation Centre a week from that day (on the 21st), and I still needed to figure out how the hell I was going to get there…

I wrote a text message to Paul the Dutch to see if he was still living there, and he told me that Chris had arrived that day and was staying with him. in the hostel I met this really cool girl from England called Emma, with whom I went to the supermarket and had dinner back in the hostel.

next day I met with Chris. we walked around town and then decided to go up the mountain, where the YHA is, to the lookout… but stopped in the hostel for a cup of tea. there we met a Maori guy called Chazz who offered to take us up in his car. we walked down and went to Paul’s house, where Chris was going to cook dinner for him and his flatmate. So the four of us were hanging, having some wine, talking, and eating… fun times!

on Friday I got picked up by John, my kiwi mom’s brother… or in other words, my kiwi uncle… I was going to stay with them (John, Shireen, and Patrick) in their beautiful house in Ngunguru until the meditation course started.

my time with them was happy and relaxing. uncle John took me on a rowboat to the beach the day I got there, we went to see Patrick play football on Saturday, I cooked Mexican breakfast on Sunday and then went for a walk to the lighthouse on Kukutauwhao Island and a visit to the beach in Matapouri.

Kukutauwhao Island

the following days I basically stayed at home. I was getting tired of travelling and spending so much money. I thought of changing my flight to go back home when the meditation course ended, but the “penalty” for changing dates was something around NZ$300… so I decided I’d better spend those dollars in something worth visiting… and besides, I was already in this part of the world and I would definitely regret not visiting more places once I got back home.
I gave up on serving in the meditation course as well. it was just difficult to get there without a car. I needed to go to Auckland to take another bus that would drop me on a town between Auckland and where I was now… just stupid… instead I found a job opportunity on the BBH website: Rotorua’s Funky Green Voyager needed a cleaner in exchange for accommodation, wifi, and laundry… “well, I’ve never been to Rotorua… from there I might be able to go to Hobbiton! ooh! and get into one of those stinky hot pools!… and just for cleaning? bitch please! I’m THE Mexican maid! ok… I’m calling them NOW”… I got accepted immediately, they had just posted the ad when I called, so I took it as a sign… I even got a free bus ticket from a Brazilian guy that is now in Spain and is definitely not using his “nakedbus passport” with seven trips left… everything was set… I was arriving in Rotorua on Friday, and even my uncles let me stay with them until that day! Orsome!!!

so I just relaxed and enjoyed the days in beautiful Ngunguru with this beautiful family! I cooked a Mexican dinner for my uncles and their neighbours. Shireen gave me a recipe for making TORTILLAS… that’s right, an English woman teaching a MEXICAN this! outrageous!

on Thursday I went to visit another kauri tree, his name: Tane Moana. it turned out that this small walk is part of the Te Araroa Track that the Swedish were walking… so before going there I did the math in my head and I thought that I was right on time to meet them face to face in that forest… if that happened, I don’t know what I would think or do… I was breaking with my meditation vows of not generating new cravings, but for some reason I could not stop thinking of that cute, very blonde guy…
of course, I didn’t meet anyone, and I didn’t hear anything other than the pīwakawakas that were around me… the meditation “guru” in my head said “see, I told you… now you feel miserable because your craving turned out to be just that, a craving”… and although I did have my hopes high, I didn’t feel miserable like my imaginary teacher said… I knew I would see him again, though the fact that they are WALKING made things very complicated in times and stuff…

I said goodbye to the family that night, and next morning Shireen took me to the bus stop in Whangarei.

my favourite place

Posted on August 11, 2013 by karenula

the moment I met my new host Riah, I knew I was in for a good treat!
she had a very positive vibe since the very first second.
She’s a Maori girl that actually SPEAKS Maori. she works in the local radio station in Kaitaia and she and her dad, Ricky, live together in Ahipara.

first we went to pack n’ save in Kaitaia, and I bought stuff to make dinner that night: quesadillas. and then we went to her sister’s house to pick up her dad.

Ahipara is a 15 min drive from Kaitaia, and it’s the very beginning of the 90 Mile Beach (which is actually 55 miles long).
when we got to the town I couldn’t really see much of the beach and stuff, but from Riah’s house (which by the way was a beautiful house and one of the cleanest I’ve ever been to) I could see why I wanted to come here… I’ve been wanting to go to a nice beach ever since I got to the Northland.

I started making some ham and cheese quesadillas for dinner, teaching Riah how to flip the tortilla… so the last ones she did them by herself, and she called them “great party food”.

flipping the quesadilla

after dinner we went to visit her friend Trudy taking her the last quesadillas, which she also thought they were “great party food”.
then we had some drinks with her in the toolshed in the back. Riah had taken a couple of bourbon and cola cans, so I had one… terrible mistake!!! after I finished it I started feeling sick, I excused myself and went out to the garden to throw up, while I tried to shoo the cat away (THAT would’ve been even MORE embarrassing!). I came back in, not being able to look them in the eye and apologising ALL the time!

back in the two bedroom house, Ricky offered to sleep on the couch and gave me his room… I didn’t want to take it, I thought it was enough for them to have me staying in their house, and I really didn’t mind sleeping on the couch at all! but he insisted, so I gratefully took it.

next day, while Riah went to work, Ricky and I set off for a big walk in town. I had contacted the hostel from Ahipara because they needed someone to work there in return for accommodation, and I really, really wanted to stay in Ahipara for a while. so Ricky took me to the hostel, and then he went fishing on the beach while walking back home.

the hostel, Endless Summer Lodge, is just beautiful! a lovely old house with a huge garden on the front and just a couple of meters away from the beach. there I talked to the owner to see if they still needed someone, but unfortunately the guys that were working there were going to stay for another week or so. their names: Anna and Jeronimo (any guess where they are from?…correct! Germany). I talked to them a little bit, and they seemed like very cool people. so before leaving I asked them for their phone number and gave them mine, in case they had a plan and wanted to hang or do something.

Endless Summer Lodge

I walked back home on the beach, met with Ricky who was not far away fishing, and then arrived to the house where I had some lunch.

then Riah came and took me for a drive on the beach. it was an amazing feeling!!! then she took me to Shipwreck Bay and to a sort of lookout on the hill… Ahipara, I love you!

on Friday I went down to the beach to walk and take some pictures… I got a message from Chris telling me that he got tired of Kaitaia and was now in Ahipara. he was staying at the backpackers I had visited the previous day, so I told him I would visit him after lunch. then I saw from far away two guys with their backpacks walking towards where I was standing… I was a little bit curious to see who the hell would be walking on the beach at this time of day. I was starting to walk back home through the main road, but I realised that the only way back I knew was through the river and the park. so I walked back to the beach to take that path and came across the two backpackers I had seen from the distance: two very tall, blonde guys that were even carrying their tramping poles, seemed like they had been out on the beach for quite a while… “Germans…”‘ I thought. we just looked at each other and said “hi”.

so I went back home and had some lunch. then went down to the beach again and started walking towards the hostel to meet with my friend and “ex-husband” Chris.

I was happy to see him. I came into the hostel to have some coffee with him.

there I saw the backpackers again, cleaning their tent and getting rid of all the sand. I was interested in them, so I started with the now well-practiced ice-breaking questions:

me: “sooo, where are you guys from?” (expecting the obvious answer, I thought I should’ve asked “so, what part of Germany are you guys from?”)
them: “Sweden”
me: “oh (well, that’s a surprise)! I know just one word in Swedish: skit!”
them: “ha ha ha”
guy 1: “we just saw you when we were coming in from the beach, right?”
me: “yeah! that was me… sooo, why were you walking… where have you been?”
guy 1: “we came from Cape Reinga we are walking all the way down to Bluff”
us (Chris and I): “walking?!”
them: “yes!” with a big smirk on their faces
me: “wow! so, how did you get to the Cape, then?”
guy 1: “we hitchhiked”
us: “nice!”

it seemed as if they were not really interested in having a conversation, so we left them and went to the front lawn to have a cigarette with Jeronimo and Anna.
I went back in, and met the Swedish again. I really wanted to talk to them (the fact that one of them was really cute had NOTHING to do with that… yea, right!)
me: “sooo, what are your names?”
guy 2: “I’m Sebastian”
guy 1: “I’m Robert… and you?”
me: “I’m Karen”
Robert: “have you been here for long?”
me: “I arrived in Ahipara on Wednesday, but I’ve been staying in a house near where I saw you first”
Robert: “cool! so, I’m going to go look for my sweater and buy something to drink… are you going to be here to have some beers at night?”
me: “yeah, I think so (I hope so)”.
and he left riding a bike barefoot…

the sun was starting to set, and I had been told not to wander around alone at night, so I started to worry a little bit and decided to walk back home along the beach, watching this beautiful sunset… sadly I was going to miss those beers with the cute Swedish guy…

next day I went to visit Chris again. it seemed like no one else was in the hostel… so we walked to the fish & ships shop in town to have lunch. that night Riah’s sister, Ann, was having a housewarming party and we were both invited. so after eating we went to Riah’s house to see what was happening. she told us that we were not leaving until eight, so we asked her if she could pick us up at the hostel. so we walked back again.

the Swedish and the Germans were playing monopoly. I sat next to them while Chris sorted his things. Anna lost first, then Sebastian… Robert seemed to have a good method to make everyone owe him money… then Chris came and asked me if I wanted to play chess with him in the common room, but ended up playing backgammon. Anna and Sebastian went out for a smoke, so I joined them.. and I learnt my second word in Swedish: tack (thank you).

when eight o’ clock approached we came to say goodbye to the rest. it was the Swedish’s last night, they were leaving next morning at 4 am to continue their walking odyssey… I wanted to ask them for their emails or phone numbers, but for some reason I thought “when I meet them again…”. so with a big hug I said goodbye wishing them safe travels, and went off to the party with Riah.

we arrived to Kaitaia and went directly to the liquor shop. then to Ann’s house where the party started with drinking games. we were six girls and Chris was the only guy there (lucky bastard). we drank and played ALL night… all kinds of games, the goal was to get pissed fast, and we achieved it (some more than others)… and at 12 Ricky came to pick us up. a fast but REALLY fun party!

next morning Riah left very early. I tried to go to the beach but the wind was very strong and I was getting blown away, so I just returned home to watch some TV with Noah (Ann’s son) and Ricky.

when Riah returned from town, we went down to the beach on her truck to pick up some pipis (clams) for dinner…

pipis

back home I made some of them as Mexican style as possible, with the lifesaving just-add-water salsa that Sandra gave me in Australia. the rest of the pipis were cooked by Riah with some veggies, noodles and curry, she also made some mashed potatoes… is was all yum! then I packed and sat with them to watch some TV before going to bed. I was leaving next morning to do the Cape Reinga tour and I would stay in Kaitaia with the hopes of finding a ride back to wherever…

the shortest marriage

Posted on August 7, 2013 by karenula

Chris and I had prepared a couple of cardboard signs to start our hitchhiking adventure with a little sense of humour… so this is what we had to show our possible drivers:

we were standing on a crossroad near the exit to the motorway… we walked there and stood for about 20 min when our first driver stopped.

her name is Susan, she saw us standing there, read our signs and decided to come back for us. she did not have to go to Whangarei or any other place other than her house in Auckland. and still she picked us up, and drove all the way to Warkworth.
she was ONE CRAZY CHICK! in the good way… she was all hyper turning the volume up with every song, laughing and saying that everything was a sign or a good omen… simply nuts!

pink: Susan

in Warkworth we got picked up by Peter, a guy that lives in Whangarei. again we only had to wait for 20 min. he was a very nice guy, interested in what we are doing in NZ and stuff. he dropped us off at the iSite where Sophie (the German girl from Auckland) was waiting for her bag to arrive.

green: Peter

we got picked up by the owner of the hostel where we were going to stay. there we met Paul, a very fun Dutch guy that is working in Whangarei. we were all in the same room. that night, after dinner and joking that we were like a married couple (though we were just beginning), we just had beers and played some card games.

next morning Sophie appeared, she switched hostels and was given the extra bed in our room. so the four of us went to see the waterfall and walk a little bit along the forest. we then went to the supermarket to buy stuff to have a BBQ at night.

honeymooners

Paul went to rugby training, we got into the hot tub, and I got a message from Flavia saying she had a campervan until sunday so she was coming our way.

when Paul came back we had our BBQ with some nice beers.

then Flavia arrived, we had some more beers with her, and then went to sleep… or did we…
it turned out that Paul and Sophie hooked up with a terrible teenager strategy that actually worked!!! she was complaining of having the upper bunk, so she simply went into Paul’s bed telling him she was not moving… I thought that was pretty lame, but after they were both in the same bed, we just started listening to this smacking and saliva sounds… very inappropriate! I did tell them that there is a big, heated, and lonely common room where they could go, but they didn’t reply… at least they stopped making sounds… for a while… at around 4 am I heard Chris telling them off because he couldn’t sleep…

next morning the five of us went to have breakfast… and then we left Paul with his new girl to take Flavia to the falls, and hit the road.

we drove mostly along the coast, stopping every now and then to take pictures, see a beach, have coffee or a cigarette… until we reached the town of Russell and stayed at a holiday park for the night.

Russell

next morning we had breakfast at the beach, and then crossed on the ferry to get to Paihia. we stopped there to take a look around and then continued to Kerikeri were we got dropped off at Aranga Backpackers and said goodbye to Flavia.

orange: Flavia

we stayed in Kerikeri for a whole week, a result of our indecision of how and where to go next and the shitty weather.

we did some walks around the area, seeing the Rainbow Falls, the Maori village and the old English houses.

the hostel was packed with people mainly from the Pacific Islands. men and women from Vanuatu, Tonga, Kiribati, and some Maori were living there for the fruit picking season. there were also some Germans that had jobs in the area.
it was a funny hostel because we were all divided by ethnic groups: from hut 1-7 Vanuatuans, 8-9 Asian, 10-11 Europeans (or white butts), 12-14 Kiribatians, 15-24 Maori girls and others not working in farms, 41-76 Tongans and Maori boys… and the rest, who knows…

we immediately made friends with everyone.
the Vanuatuans were shy but very, very friendly. my favourites: Manuel, Kevin and Douglas.
the Maori guys were just amazing, open and friendly… and you won’t believe this, but remember I told you about the Maori guy selling his book? well, his daughter Whai was living there!
and my favourite German was Timo.

Chris and Manuel

on the back: Douglas and Kevin

Jordan and Jesse

Whai

Timo

we were playing cards almost every night, drinking a lot of wine because is cheaper than beer, cooking amazing German and Mexican meals, I gave a haircut to Timo and Whai, and I got a marriage proposal from Manuel… yes! first time in my life… and he was insisting A LOT!

so after a week we decided to leave, and Timo had offered us a ride to Whangaroa because he was going near there.

yellow: Timo

Whangaroa was a dream! a very small town with literally NOTHING, but just beautiful! I wanted to stay there forever. and the backpackers, one of the prettiest I’ve seen.

we said goodbye to Timo, and then walked around town.

next day, our marriage dissolved abruptly… for some reason Chris was ignoring me and being a complete dick, and sadly it was affecting me terribly. after being so close this past two weeks, we now were acting like complete strangers…

I started stressing out because I didn’t know what was going to happen with the rest of the Northland trip. I was not going to hitchhike by myself, so I needed him… but why would I want to continue travelling with a person who is being a jerk? that night I confronted him, but like a teen girl he said “nothing”… “fine!” I thought, I’m definitely NOT going to beg for his attention.

next day I talked to the manager, a very sweet french girl called Oceane. I asked her about the bus or other means of transportation to get to Ahipara (where Whai is from), and after telling me what my options were, she said that she might be going to 90 Mile Beach on Thursday, so she could probably give me a ride to Kaitaia.

I confronted Chris again that day, telling him that if I do not get a ride, he cannot leave me hitchhiking by myself. he agreed… he would come with me to Kaitaia and there we would split, but he also wanted to stay in Whangaroa for a couple more days. when Oceane told me that she was going I felt a relief that I would no longer have to be with Chris… but in he end, he decided he wanted to come as well… bugger…

next morning we were friends again… like if nothing had happened. Oceane gave us a lift telling us what was cool in every town we crossed… a great travel guide!

blue: Oceane

I had contacted a host from Couch Surfing in Ahipara, so I was going to meet her in Kaitaia that afternoon, and Chris needed to find a hostel. so, like old times (or more like two days ago) we went together to find a hostel, leave our stuff, and go find something to eat. then he came with me to meet my host Riah, and we said goodbye with a big, big hug… not knowing if we would ever meet again…

total time of marriage: 15 days

novaeseelandiae

this is basically what I'm living, take it as an update, novel, or travel guide…

Tag Archives: maori

third time’s the charm

more northland

my favourite place

the shortest marriage

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