A traditional Irish song, “The Parting Glass” seems appropriate this week, as we’re preparing to leave beautiful New Zealand and all the lessons we’ve learned along the way! I’ve been charged with writing a farewell post, and while there have been many great writings about our time here, I’ll fill in some spots with what I know.
Our first few days in Auckland left us amazed – a huge city with paved roads, coffee shops, and something called a Sky Tower surrounded us. Having left Fiji, seeing such a big city was very welcomed. The Auckland Aquarium, while smaller than some of the ones back home, had a brilliant shark tunnel, complete with a moving track. One shark in particular followed Cheridyn and Ryan around for a while, evidence provided below.
As much of the group explored Auckland by traveling the streets, Ryan and I sat perched up high in the Sky Tower. Reaching 328 meters, it dwarfs the Seattle Sky Needle by 144 meters. Almost deliberately designed to make anyone with a fear of heights nervous, the Tower featured glass paneling on the elevator floor and along the first viewing level floor. These panels are strong enough to hold weight while giving a different perspective of Auckland right below you. The second viewing level was much smaller and quieter than the first, and provided a perfect place to eat dinner and watch the sunset.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and given the chance to have two of them, I quickly signed up. Back home, my family purchases a turkey from the store, but why bother when Anne offered Rebecca, Tia, Brandon, Ryan, and I the chance to hunt and kill our own bird! Having never chased and killed my meal before, I opted to photograph the spectacle. When we arrived, it appeared that all the turkeys were gone but there was an alternative: peacock. These peacocks are not the traditionally beautiful ones you’d imagine, but either brown or white bog dwellers. For nearly three hours, we walked and bushwhacked through Anne’s paddocks. Finally the five of us walked into the likely housing area of the peacocks, as their cries had stopped mocking us when we approached. The tricky thing about peacocks is that they know you’re near them before you do – as Rebecca and Ryan were startled by loud wings and cries as our dinner flew out of their reaches. And by reaches, I mean the hunting form to catch a peacock is to throw your body on them, a quick jump to capture the bird as someone else was to chop their neck. Our prey outwitted us three times before we called it quits. Thankfully, we had purchased lamb and chicken ahead of time, just in case we came home empty handed.
Back home I tend to bake whenever I can and was very excited at the opportunity to bake apple pies, brownies, and frost a chocolate cake. In my family, Grandma’s chocolate frosting is famous and I think I did her recipe justice for Peter’s birthday cake! Another tradition seemed to carry over from my life: great holidays with large numbers of people aren’t without hiccups. When the fuse blew an hour or two before our 16 guests were due to arrive, it was a little reminiscent to a Thanksgiving I experienced years ago. It’s a true testament to our group’s ability to make due without a stove, running water, and use of candles and still have a great Thanksgiving and birthday celebration!
As an avid fan of all things LOTR, I have been looking forward to hiking Mt. Doom from the minute I signed up for FANZ. Even my best friends have been looking forward to it. What they (and I) didn’t realize was Mt. Doom is very appropriately named. The hike to the base of Mt. Doom was about 2 hours, leaving Rebecca, Brandon, Patrick, Caitlin, Tia, Ryan, and I to journey the same path as Sam and Frodo once did. I don’t profess to be a great mountain hiker but when I finished my ascent, I was amazed to see how high our group had gotten. The group was 200 meters from the top! And the only way to get back down what took us 90 minutes to get that high, was to run/slide down. For less than 10 minutes, we ran down Doom on the edges of our feet in a sliding motion, just in time to meet up with the rest of the group. Sometimes, life provides you amazing opportunities you can’t believe you are offered and are thrilled to take.
As we leave New Zealand, a stark reality hits in – we’ve only got a month left on this adventure! When did that happen?! A month left to learn from Buddhists, explore the Outback, protect native species, and get SCUBA certified. It astounds me that two months have gone so quickly and yet every moment is packed with growth, new experiences, ups and downs, and bonding. This group has gotten tighter each day and I’m incredibly thankful to learn about them and from them. We’ve all grown and it’ll be great to continue learning for this next month we have together. Just think – one more month until we’re back home, cramming our bags in the laundry, talking y’alls ears off with stories, and filling up on familiar foods!
With that said, my Irish voice cries: Good night and joy be with you all!
-Anya
- Peacock hunting crew: good intentions but empty hands. Thank goodness for grocery store runs!
Just a small portion of our Thanksgiving/Birthday guests! 
- Caitlin and Anya – all smiles before the Mt. Doom hike!
Grace!
When we say it was cold, we mean it.
Mt. Doom hikers going for a run. 
The Ladies of Mt. Doom! 
Found in Abel Tasman – an appropriate farewell from this Eugene girl!
