Jurassic Park 3?

ah! back again so soon, Z! Writing from my hostel. I have two nights left. It is Monday..I’m typing about this past Friday.

Still writing about the ferry over to Great Barrier Island.

I noticed that my tummy wasn’t the only thing that lost its appetite..my appetite to continue engaging in the slightest of conversations went away…this is a sign for me. Pete comes down to chat for a sec with me and Kristy..he said “heaps of em’ are puking up there”..I look out to my right..I see a few leaning over the side of the boat…one lady is sitting on the stairs with her head in her hands and her husband comforting her with a back rub.

I’m trying hard to check out the horizon and keep my mind occupied..but it’s beginning to happen to me too. I decide that maybe I can go under the boat where there is less rocking and its darker…I try it for a little bit…it begins to work..I start to feel at ease again. The dang strange man walked down there…he passes me…comes back..looks at me(I still don’t think he recognizes me from this morning) he says…”Ah it smells like bloody puke everywhere on this boat…Don’t you smell it?” as he makes a gagging sound. I’m bout ready to throw creepy Dick Van Dyke over the back of the boat at this point…I can’t escape him and I’m on the verge of puking myself. He actually resembled and acted more like um…what was that movie..it was a series of movies…Pause..I’m gonna think and figure this out.

Unpause. Found him. This strange man reminded of the guy who played in the Ernest movies…”Ernest goes to jail” “Ernest goes to school” etc. This was his long lost brother.

Alright..I do smell a little bit of something though after I was told to use my sniffer better by Ernest. I need to get fresh air now….too much moving around is screwing with my equilibrium as the boat seemingly gets rockier. I try to snap out of it by petting the dogs…I can’t form a sentence to Kristy.….game over. I head to the toilet. I think I stayed in there 30 minutes sitting down. Never puked…but I was not well. I tried everything…closing my eyes..counting to 10…doesn't work…okay…music in my ears..nope doesn’t work…looks at phone…oof..worst thing you can do. I sit there on the toilet staring in front of me…waiting for the sickness to pass…there is a sign on the back of the door…it reads in big bold letters “Toilet Cleanliness” and below it in smaller font “If these toilets need to be cleaned or tidied please inform our friendly crew” There wasn’t a period after the sentence. That bugged me. (But look at Mr. Grammar king over here looking like he failed every English course ever offered lol. Idc. I’m typing fast and there is no return) I think I read that sign 101 Dalmatians damn times! You would think the reading side to side would mess with me…but it kept my head tilted a little upwards and distracted me. Ironic that the sign talking about keeping the bathroom clean…was truly..the only thing…keeping me from destroying it. I feel ready to step back outside…pet the dogs…maybe I can go to sleep to get over this…I’m better than I was in the bathroom..but still not fixed…I try something else…maybe instead of trying to fight the ocean and the motion of the boat…I can just become one with it and ride the waves as one. I lay down at the back of the boat on the concrete..legs crossed..back on the ground…arms spread out..sun hitting my face…a breeze is helpful. I don’t care how strange I look out here. I plug in my AirPods…queue up 10ish songs….I am in an out of sleep…I am day dreaming some of the time and I’m asleep some of the time…I still don’t know where I’m going to stay on this island as we have two hours left in the trip.

I wake up with a rush…like a…what are you doing in this world..where are you.why are you laying on a boat on the otherside of the world..…the thought surrounded my upcoming move to a place where I don’t know anyone..it didn’t last too long…but it was very strong…and it was a jolt/rush of reality coming my way very soon. I didn’t know how long I was asleep for..It exceeded ten songs and there is no telling how many more after that…I don’t even know if I was asleep. I stand up…no longer sea sick. Sunny day..boat is still rocking..but I’m okay..I got through it thank goodness. I sit back with the dogs and Kristy…she is telling me more about the island she lives on…she understands my backpacking and winging it way of traveling..but she begins to insinuate that I should probably go ahead and try to secure a place to sleep as it gets very cold at night and things close early in the “towns”…there aren’t towns…there are like 4 cafes across the island..a couple restaurants..a couple single gas pumps, there's…not much whatsoever…everything runs off solar panels and their water source is generated from rain water. I knew some of this..but still figured I could make it work.

“Fee” worked on the boat…she sold me a cup of cashews..I talked with her for a second..very kind lady…she insisted I call for accommodation…I said I will I will…she gave me a card of a place she thought might work…I went back to the dogs..still haven’t called…Fee checkin on me again…asking if I secured a place to stay…this is like the 4th time someone on the boat has tried to tell me to get a place before its too late.. I email the lodge on the card. While I’m doing that…I start to look up other places to stay…there were either outrageous places to stay for thousands of dollars…like renting 4 bedroom houses…or getting small cottages scattered across the island. Place after place was unavailable or closed. The email I sent from Fee’s card had vacancy. She also had a car and she would pick me up from the ferry with that car….take me to my room..and then give me the car for 2 days. Perfect scenario. My ferry friends were happy to hear I figured out the basics.

An hour or so left on the boat….some Auckland bro’s around 18 years old…are taking kool photos on the boat. They kept to themselves…some ppl are asleep…different people are talking to different people…I’m sitting on the bow.

We begin to see our destination emerge on the horizon in front of us…it is much wider/bigger than what I had imagined. I still feel like I’m in Jurassic Park 3 and all of us will be eaten by dinosaurs or eaten by some remote tribe as part of some sick ceremony. But I love it;) Every bit of it. I now have a car and a place to rest my head comfortably. I don’t have much time…I grab a map in the kitchen….how do I make the most of my Friday through Sunday here. 2 total days. I was planning on hitchhiking my way around..now I have freedom to really explore..on my own terms.

The only similar situation looking person on the boat sits next to me on the bow…she’s a hiker..we have two completely different game plans on how to attack and make the most of our time on the island right in front of us. She is going to hike this long overnight trail across the island. She will hit the ground running as soon as we land at 11am so that she can make it to her “hut” before it gets too cold and dark out.

I’m looking to explore the middle of the bush as well…but I have a new love for these NZ beaches and I just know that this little island will have some special ones. So I’m going to do a mix of both.

Lottie is working in Auckland…from England. She and I both heard about the dolphins that pop up near the ferries sometimes on this voyage. We were reaching the end of the trip…no dolphins yet. We keep talking…this little girl jumps up in front of us…”Dolphins!”…the few of us on the bow rush to the front of the bow to see them..Lottie and I have a great spot on the front left side. One group takes over the right front side. We have our own set of dolphins..the right has their own set of dolphins…and then the middle has dolphins. These are beautiful…gray and white bottle nose dolphins…I’ve never had a viewpoint on top of them like this before…they are swimming very very quickly. It looks like they barely put in effort to keep up with the boat…they switch sides sometimes…they breach the surface sometimes…Lottie liked it when they “splish splashed” on top of the water. We gave each other a big high five…it was such a cool experience as we approached our destination….it was a lifetime memory that we just experienced together.

Pulling into the wharf…excited…sailboats in the harbor..in a gorgeous cove…families await on the shore..barefooted…their loved ones are back on the island.

We gather around the luggage box waiting to retrieve our belongings…the Auckland boys unzip a bag…one of them is a dj…there is a turntable..I ask where the party is…they say…ah..a private party on medlands beach. I asked how do I find it….they say…just head to the beach tomorrow night and follow the music. Deal.

Lottie starts her walk. The dogs set off back to their home..the strange man heads on his adventure. Zack gets picked up by his ride. We all go our separate ways. I throw my bags onto my bed. My host gives me map…guides me through the ins and outs of the island…makes a few pen marks on must sees…and then places to not waste my time. I have a car. Another little Mazda. Here are your keys…enjoy our island and your stay…I get in the car….I am off to the races. Freedom and a playground. I thought NZ as a whole was a playground…at the end of my trip..I have made it to the playground of all playgrounds….The Great Barrier Island. I have two days here. it’s 11:30 am. Crank up the car…here.we.go.baby. I’ll finish out my day on the next post.

Much love to all.

-Z