As I wrote this, I realized that, much like the roads here, I had given you a long, winding story: Names of people I would meet and possibly meet again, cities I would try unsuccessfully to leave, and mountains I would potentially never reach. This is what the freedom of travel should be. A checklist is not exploration.
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"The future can no longer be
What is going to happen?
It is: What are we going to do?"
-Henri Bergson
Taken out of context, this quote could be interpreted in two quite different ways. The first speaks to a future already written, in which our actions, though potentially preparatory, are reactionary nonetheless. The second interpretation stresses free will to the point that the author proposes actively choosing our paths.
I like to use "ride the wave" to describe my adaptable nature, but we must be careful to not just ride, but to steer the board. Perform (or at least attempt) those stunts you want to try! If you don't try new things, you'll surely become tired of your routine. You'll also never improve if you don't challenge yourself. This is the case for anything, but I find myself off topic.
Everything we do is the result of a decision, even if it's a decision to not do anything or to abstain from deciding. I set out with a rough plan, a route, to tour this island. However, I knew from previous travels that the concept of scheduling every day or destination cheats me of choice. And so, I choose to book my couchsurfing hosts only two locations (3-5 days) ahead. Maybe I will enjoy a city so much, I'll want to spend more time there. Perhaps an outside factor will come into play. A combination of the two have turned my plans into laughable situations again and again. So much so, that this is the third time I've attempted to write this piece!
I arrived at Stu's house in Whangerai to find that I was the fifth couchsurfer (hereafter referred to as surfers or CSers) he was having that night. Stu generously runs what essentially comes across as a free hostel. Residents are only through the CS community and thus are filtered/accepted at Stu's discretion. He has two spare rooms with bunks and a sofa bed in the lounge. The other surfers for the night were two pairs of German girls: one set just arriving for a couple days and the other on their way out after visiting Stu multiple times. Having faced the option of traveling New Zealand without a car, I was quick to offer rides to the others to improve their Whangerai experience. The following day, after dropping the departing pair at the bus station, Anna, Tamara, and I drove around in miserable weather, bonding and amusing each other. We realized that we were going to essentially the same area after Whangerai, so I offered a ride if they didn't mind delaying their plans for a day. Normally, my flexible schedule would've said, "Hey, I'll just leave a day early," but I've learned that while I like helping people, there are certain times I need to stand firm on my wishes: Diving Poor Knights Islands in this case. So, they asked Stu for an extra night, he happily agreed, and we headed to Coromandel together the next day.
After a pleasant drive along the equivalent of the Big Sur coast in forested mountain terrain, I dropped them off at their host in a town that didn't exist on my map (which already had many towns and roads so small that Google doesn't acknowledge them) and drove the hour to my host (Ryan), who lived above his restaurant in a much more central location. After hearing that I had dropped my friends in a town that he had never heard of and apparently couldn't exist because the name violated the grammatical structure of the Maori language, Ryan offered up bunks for A+T if they wanted to stay with us. In the peak season, Ryan provides bunks in his flat for his seasonal staff. Since it's the off-season, the bunks are empty. I proposed the idea (and possibly having to wash dishes) to the girls, and I rescued them from -- albeit a beautiful, remote beach town -- Nowheresville in the morning. We spent the day exploring, then the three of us came to Ryan's aid by volunteering ourselves as restaurant staff for an unexpectedly busy evening. This was the first time I had ever worked in food service...EVER. Taking orders, washing dishes, bussing tables, delivering food, and sampling the menu are all on my list of work experiences now. I actually kind of enjoyed it and since we extended our beachfront Cook's Beach stay by a night, I worked for Ryan the next evening too. The perk of working (volunteering) for a restaurateur is the opportunity to sample food. To thank us for our service, Ryan gave us the full experience, seating us at a table with menus and a dialogue something like "What would you like to start with? And after that? And after that? We shared lots of new not-so-vegetarian dishes: tofu souffle, tuna tartare, prawn tortellini, braised beef cheeks, seasoned asparagus, lamb, a couple desserts, etc. I can't remember the full menu, but let's just say it was a nice luxury for three people that are used to peanut butter and bread. I was also offered seasonal work if I wanted to come back for the holidays.
The girls needed to get to Rotorua the next day, which was a bit ahead of my schedule, but we headed there to find terrible weather. I dropped them at Hobbiton on my way west and we sadly said our goodbyes. I went through a few cities and amazing experiences on my way back to Rotorua (stories for another time) and, while deciding where to go next, I learned that my path was possibly crossing that of A+T. Weather wasn't looking great for a four-day backpacking around Lake Waikaremoana, so I drove to my buddies! They asked their host if I could crash and we ended up staying an extra day there (Napier). Our destinations matched up again, and they skipped their bus south so they could ride with me to Wellington. I remember a point where one stated, "Last Tuesday we said goodbye, but this Tuesday we're riding together." That's what it's all about! We enjoyed a day together in Wellington before they headed south to the other island, a place I would not venture, so our farewells were a bit more certain. A toast of chocolate, bread, and laughter goes out to our travels together!
My Wellington host, Bruce, has surely tired of me. I initially requested three nights with him. Since then, I've declared my departure three and a half times. Anna (different one - this one's Czech) was an unexpected surfer at Bruce's, as her housing hadn't worked out. The three of us had entertaining conversations and shared meals. On my third day, Wellington was pulling me in and I hadn't reached many destinations I'd intended in the city. Though I'd officially moved out, I sent Bruce a text about an additional night. I'd been sleeping on the floor, so I'm a relatively low impact guest. We all paid our own way mealwise as well. He agreed to my postponed departure, but he had already accepted an additional guest, Zuzana (Slovak), so we would be extra comfy. Zuzana and I wandered the city the next day and shared some amazing discussions ranging from life objectives to religions of the world. The problem with extending my Wellington time (besides overstaying my welcome) was that I am in my final week and I have been seeking the ideal weather window to hike the most famous mountains on the island. Each day added in town equaled a day of potential (bad weather mostly) climbable days. However, each night/morning, Z+A tried their best to convince me to stay an extra night. It actually developed to them trying to get me to live here and work the visa issues out. Life becomes rough when you have convincing friends in attractive cities! I'm wrapping up day 7 in this city and I could spend more. My car is due in Auckland six days from now and I fly out in nine. I'm heading north tomorrow. Sadly, it's time to move. Here's to having too many attractive options, great new friends, and flexible hosts!
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