Untitled #1

Malolo Island.
That's where we're headed.
It's a dot on the map.
I wanted to make a post on all things amazing about our upcoming trip to Fiji.
I wanted to summarize and highlight and make more lists about New Zealand.
I wanted more pictures.
I wanted to talk about getting back home and reuniting.
I waited too long, swamped with finals and packing and trying to memorize each road and tree and wave and face of this place by heart.
In just over 12 hours I will be on my way to Auckland International, and maybe then I'll be ready to go.

Far enough behind to be ahead.

So goes Waiheke Island's who gives a damn if it makes sense travel slogan. This island, the second largest in the Hauraki Gulf which shelters Auckland from the Pacific, is a prime example of effective backwardness. O, contraire it is to have such a beautiful and sprawling island, stuck pioneering East for at least another decade, a mere 35 minute ferry ride from the downtown bustle of Auckland City.



The island is filled on the West end, large and elegant homes built into vineyards along the entirely hilly landscape that makes up the island. The East end of the Island is largely uninhabited, having served as Stony Batter, a WWII fort that is now a scenic reserve populated by giant boulders stopped mid-tumble on green hills. Along the North and South are beaches, some big, some small, all a great place to soak up sun and dip into the surf on a warm New Zealand day. Too bad the warmth of the summer sun seems to have been soaked up in the gales of rain and winter we're now entrenched in. Relatively speaking, 50-55 degrees is about the norm. So is rain for at least part of the day. We had as good a day as you could expect for Waiheke--clear, dry, not cold--unfortunately not beach warm though.

We woke up and got to the Ferry Building in time to catch an early ferry over to Waiheke. The ferry ride took us past Rangitoto, the familiar hazy volcano always on the horizon. Pulling into the port in Waiheke, we could see wineries at the top of hills of vineyards, along with several sailboats in the harbour.



We had planned on renting scooters for the 5 of us, prepared to act as the tourist version of Hell's Angels if need be. Unfortunately we had somehow all forgotten that renting age here is 21, or were under the illusion that scooters were child's toys and were on a set of different terms. We got a car instead, with Drew as the elder scooting behind us. We decided we would tour the beaches, scope them out, maybe get some feet in and hopefully check out the wineries which Waiheke prides itself on.

Winding around on the side of the road we are now used to, we finally came to our first stop at Onetangi Beach. This was by far the largest beach we saw on the Island, and was bookmarked on either side by high hills of dense foliage. We stopped on our walk to the water and spotted several giant starfish in our area of the beach. The surf rolled far on to the relatively flat beach and was slightly warmer than I had expected. For 5 minutes I contemplated jumping in, before realizing jumping in just mildly cold water in 50 degree weather with no towel in the car to dry me was not the type of thing you contemplate before doing. It's the kind of thing you just do. And I didn't.


Not that it wasn't inviting though. Our hunger set in and we voyaged around town looking for a cafe that was actually open. For some reason this was a lot harder than we expected. We found one and ate a good lunch, then set out for Palm Beach. This beach was smaller, but as the name suggests, did have some dense brush on the outside of it including palm trees. Steph and I went exploring the rocky end of the coast, where we had thought penguin hunting would be optimal. Although my Antarctica professor swears to it, I have yet to see a living blue penguin in the Hauraki Gulf.

The terrain was rocky but we ventured out to the tip of it, spotting only tiny fish in clear blue tidepools of water. We then set out to destroy all oysters in our general vicinity in search for a pearl. Our attempts at penguin hunting and pearl harvesting were futile, yet fun. We walked back and got into the car to head into the village of Oneroa, the only real village on the 12 mile long island. There was a small shopping area, mostly surf stores and souvenir shops. We perused briefly and made our way back to the car rental place where we split paths, some opting to return back to the city while Steph and I remained on the island to check out attractions beyond beaches.

This resulted in discovering quite possibly the most unique (as in good unique, not Ripley's Believe it or Not unique) tourist venue in existence--Whittaker's Musical Experience. I had wanted to visit the place when I started looking at things to do on Waiheke, basically because it looked strange and impressive. It boasts the oldest collection of musical instruments in NZ, including a grand piano that Paderewski, Polish pianist and Prime Minister, had brought with him on a tour of NZ and had sold in 1904 upon departure.

It was those strings of the grand piano I heard as we walked up the hill back into the village. The closer we got the more you could hear the keyboard alive, played by someone with genuine musical talent. We stepped into the museum and were delighted to be greeted by Lloyd Whittaker himself, owner, showman, and entrepeuner. It was the offseason, and though the museum rarely operated in the offseason, it seemed as though he was anticipating visitors. We were the only people in the place, aside from him, his wife, and the pianist. Him and his wife explained to us first about the piano we were hearing, then about the skilled man behind it. We learned that this Bechstein piano, though old, was well maintained and among the best of the region. The man playing it so effortlessly was a concert pianist--Auckland's best (according to Lloyd and Joan)--practicing for an upcoming concert.

As we listened to his lenos and fortissimos, they took us around on a free tour of their collection. The old mouth organs were cool, like a miniature trumpet with a keyboard in the middle. They were similar to the kind Ben Folds used on his later tracks on "Whatever and Ever Amen"--the kind I had onced searched for on E-bay because I have a weird knack for weird things. All the items in the collection were restored and working, and though we saw about 20 different kinds of pianos, organs, and pianolas, each had its own use and its own story. How do you walk out of a concert pianist's performance? Even on a practice run? And the Whittaker's? Well they went back to their tea and crackers, and we walked out the the way we came in, in hopes to find a winery still open so late in the day.

The Mudbrick was the most popular winery on the island. We went late in the day and were lucky to have a private tasting with a man who seemed like an aficianado to me. We climbed up a hill in a taxivan in order to reach the top of the vineyard and were instantly impressed when we stepped out. On the right Rangitoto stands in the foreground, as Auckland on the left is more hazy in the distance.

We steeped ourself in wine, attempting to teach ourselves the finer parts of life which only true sophisticates could understand. Us philistines were so used to just drinking the wine that the whole tasting seemed like a tease. But the wine man spoke about all of the different pallettes, recognizing us as beginners and wanting to give us a crash course in bubbly booze fanship. I don't know how it worked for me, after a while of him listing all the different things you can taste I started to pick up on what he was saying--an epiphany. I still prefer my wine boxed, cheap, and potent.

We sat on that porch and waited for the cab to come take us away, down the hill, to the port where we boarded a boat back to the city. The island was full of cornered beaches and precious real estate lived in by some well-ahead Aucklanders, who commute daily because at the end of the day, Waiheke is where they want to be. The vineyards sprawled over the hills in the style of sheep in the South Island. There were those too--sheep--of course, but not as many. Little harbours at every turn of the island, with not a single flat acre or straight coast. An art gallery serves as the center of town, next to an art supply store bigger than the Waiheke library and post office combined; and the concert pianist plays on, delighting his crowd of two aged experts.

Ahead, yes. Behind, I guess.

A couple of things you should know.

1 (one) list compiled in my mind periodically. Sporadically truthful, often guesstimations on the brink of truth or a valid attempt thereof. 100% Natural & Pure Brokedown Snapshot of a Day in the Queen's City.

37 late-night McDonald's trips.
10 people kicked out of bars one or more times.
8 times I've asked for a White Lady t-shirt (an infamous burger stand) and got shut down.
149 pictures taken of John dancing.
3 times Drew has sworn off Loyola girls forever.

5 times I've signed my life away.

3.9 million people live in New Zealand.
47.2 million sheep live in New Zealand.
1 blue starfish Ryan attempted to consume.
3 bucks for a bottle of Heineken at Provedor on Thursdays.
7 times I've passed people dressed in medieval garb and fighting with broadswords and spears on my way to class.
3 harnesses worn.
1,097 miles driven in a camper in the South Island.
9 stores we went searching in for Solo cups before finally getting them imported.
24 iced coffees I've purchased from Mascot Cafe.
4 Media Studies lectures I've attended.
10 weeks Garry went without shaving.
12,133 feet of freefalls.
4 more finals and
20 more days in Auckland.