Today was another travel day.

My alarm was set for 6:30 as I needed to be on the InterCity bus at 7:30. Similar to waking early or not sleeping well for fear of missing a flight, I was awake before 6:00 (slept fine, though).

At 10:00a, we visited Waitomo Glowworm Caves. I was really looking forward to this tour stop, and I ended up…. underwhelmed. The glowworms were indeed beautiful, but they were neither as plentiful nor as vibrant as the photos on the site, plus our group was in and out of the tour in 40 minutes, so I left feeling like, “That’s it?” Which kind of makes me feel like an asshole tourist, but there it is.

After a few more stops for some folks on the bus to do other tours, I arrived in Rotorua at 2:00pm, and my Airbnb host graciously offered to pick me up to take me to her listing.

I thought I might spend the evening at the Polynesian Spa, but as the afternoon went on while I got settled, I was feeling pretty burnt. Out of my 4 full days here, 3 have been InterCity bus travel days. Which is how I arranged my trip.. it’s just caught up with me now. And while I slept well last night, I didn’t sleep enough.

I opted for takeout (again!) from a nearby joint called, appropriately enough, Uncle Lee’s Takeaway (how they say it here, as in the UK). As I walked from my Airbnb home away from home through a residential neighborhood in Rotorua, New Zealand, to pick up my dinner, I smiled with giddiness at my independence and wanderlust.

I’m staying a luxurious 3 nights here. I look forward to a restful evening and 2 full days to explore Rotorua.

I awoke at 7:45a after almost 8 hours sleep (I’ve suffered very little jet lag) and spent the first 3 hours of the day in bed on my laptop. I finalized and published yesterday’s blog post, deleted unwanted photos and videos from iCloud, reviewed my first two Airbnb stays, looked up geocaches to find today…

I’ve chosen several platforms to document and share my trip, primary among them Facebook posts and stories, 1 Second Everyday videos, and this blog. I’m struggling a bit to keep up with all of it, not so much in the classic dilemma of documenting vs. living in the moment.. more that I need to create moments to manage all of the content. I don’t want to let any of it go, both because I want to preserve my memories and because so many of my close peeps have requested to follow along with me.

Graham (from a previous post) gave many recommendations for my one day in Auckland. What I really wanted was to be on the harbour, and he suggested the ferry to Devonport, a quaint town with bookstores and such. Sold!

I chose a breakfast spot near the ferry terminal, a cafe in a hotel. I sat on their patio and enjoyed a turmeric vanilla latte (YUM) and salmon benedict over hash brown slabs (not shredded). Something in the egg dish did not sit right in my belly, but fortunately it passed without incident, which was good since I was getting on a boat!

The ferry to Devonport takes not even 10 minutes but affords nice views of downtown Auckland and the Harbour Bridge. Once docked, I walked the harbour for a bit, taking sit breaks so as not to aggravate my back. Still, around 3:00pm, my back was telling me it needed rest, and the sunscreen I’d applied was wearing off and I hadn’t brought it with me.

So when I happened upon the town theater with a showing of Avengers: Infinity War that had just begun, I surprised myself by spontaneously buying a ticket and taking a seat. Spend 2-1/2 hours in a dark theater on a mostly sunny day, my only day in this city? Yes. Even with the pause in walking around, my Fitbit steps for the day wound up being over 14,000, or about 6.5 miles. I benefited from the break far more than if I’d pushed myself to see more, do more.

This also meant I got to take the ferry back to Auckland at dusk, with the same view now ablaze in city lights.

I caught an Uber from the ferry building to Ponsonby Central, a collection of mini-restaurants and shops, very similar to Chelsea Market in NYC, where you belly up and watch your food being made. This was another recommendation from Graham. I wish I could tell him I took up two things he suggested. I was in the mood for some nourishing ramen, so I opted for Chop Chop Noodle House.

From there, I walked to New World, the grocery store from last night, to pick up a banana and granola bar for my 7:30a bus ride tomorrow (what I found instead of bars were something called wholefood balls). Then back to the listing for laundry (yay!) and…. more laptop time (this post, Facebook photos of the day…).

I had set my alarm for 7:45 but awoke an hour before that to the sounds of blustery rain outside the window. When I was still in Portland, I saw rain in today’s forecast, which was disappointing for the dolphin-watching cruise I’d booked (Fullers Hole in the Rock), but I didn’t know a full-on storm would roll in.

The cruise is from 9:00a to 12:00p. Checkout from the hostel is at 10:00a, so I’d asked Jake the hostel owner when I booked the room if I could store my bags. He agreed to both that and a late check-in last night since my bus arrived after he closes the office at 8:00p. Super nice. I later learned that the Fullers office will also store bags.

I brought all my stuff down to the hostel office to leave the key for checkout and found Jake on the phone with Fullers. Another guest had left her phone behind (I would die), and they were coordinating a way to get it back to her since Fullers is owned by InterCity, the bus operator.

Since he had them on the line, he asked on my behalf if the cruise would proceed, and they were in the process of deciding. They called back a moment later and said it was indeed canceled, which was a bummer and a relief. It would have been miserable. They said I should contact the main InterCity office to request a refund since I’d purchased the cruise as part of my bus pass. This surprised me as I’d assumed that weather cancellation would be non-refundable. We’ll see.

With 5 hours until my bus departure and no further need to store my bags at the hostel, it was time to take the 10-minute walk with all my stuff to the tour office/bus depot. But it was shitty out and my back was a bit unhappy from the soft mattress (my only very minor complaint with my stay), so I asked Jake about the prospect of getting a cab. He said something that seemed to indicate they are few and far between and said he’d just take me. Put the office phone on hold and everything. On the morning of my second day in New Zealand, I was in love with the kindness of strangers here.

I dropped my bags and wandered the town, stopping here and there for breakfast and WiFi, photos, a chai latte and WiFi to post those photos, geocaching, and finally, a Thai lunch before boarding the bus back to Auckland.

The scenery between Auckland and Paihia reminded me a lot of Ireland, with rolling green hills and lots of sheep. (No castles, though.) I tried to take some video but none of it came out very well.

Yet another 10-minute walk from the bus station, I arrived at my Airbnb listing for the next two nights, a beautiful home filled with plants and windows and light. My loft bedroom has views of the Sky Tower from the main windows and the Auckland Harbour Bridge from a porthole window. Utterly charming.

The storm from Paihia was even worse in Auckland, with many homes here losing power. I was tired and not dressed for the places to eat nearby. Thanks to my hosts’ Airbnb guidebook, I found a grocery store nearby and opted for frozen pizza and a bottle of wine.

Perfect!

​I hit the pillow at midnight and slept solid until 5:30. After a bathroom break, I grabbed my eye mask but had a hard time falling back asleep as it was 10:30 my time. (On the day before, but my body didn’t know that, so I suppose a 19-hour time difference across the international date line is really only a 5-hour change.)

At various points over the next few hours, I realized I’d managed to mostly get back to sleep, meaning it wasn’t deep but it was certainly welcome and better than being wide awake. This was despite construction work on a massive building immediately outside my bedroom window. Earplugs FTW.

I showered off the travel and took a 10-minute walk from my listing to Karangahape Road, or K Road, a shopping and business district. Through a Google Maps search, I found an adorable cafe named Revel. I wish I’d taken a photo of the cashier/server as he embodied the reputation of the New Zealand people for their friendliness. Huge smile, very welcoming, somehow knows about the Trailblazers.

I packed up at the listing and walked with my bags about 10 minutes to the SkyCity bus terminal to catch my first InterCity bus to Paihia in the Bay of Islands, about 4-1/2 hours north with stops.

I took my third 10-minute walk of the day to my next Airbnb listing (I booked my accommodations strategically) and the only hostel on the trip. My first hostel ever! Knowing that hostels often have bed bugs and what a nightmare they are to get rid of, I couldn’t help but worry, but this place is super clean and well-run.

After checking in, I went across the street to a burger-and-brews joint and enjoyed a Hawkes Bay Ginger Fusion and a fish-wich.

This is Daryl, Graham, and Ian:

Graham saw me taking photos and came over to ask if I wanted him to take one of me (I didn’t.. there will be plenty of photos of me in more picturesque locales) and also invited me to join their table since I “looked lonely”, which I prompted him to correct to being alone, since there is a difference 🙂

Daryl and Ian are brothers and they’ve known Graham for about 5 years and they’re motorcycling buddies. They live about 8 hours away and rode up here today. They celebrate birthdays with long rides; the birthday boy gets to pick the destination, and it has to be somewhere they’ve never been.

I was embarrassed to tell them I am only staying in Paihia for 1 night. I knew this would happen when I booked my schedule this way, but there’s just so much ground to cover here.

When booking my flights to New Zealand on Hawaiian Airlines, I researched their “Extra Comfort” seating and opted for it to minimize the impact of flying on my back as much as I could.

Rows 11 and 12 are in their own tiny section behind First/Business Class and in front of Economy. Row 11 is a 2-4-2 configuration, while Row 12 is just 4 consecutive seats in the center. Row 11 has no seats in front, so belongings must be stowed overhead during takeoff and landing, and both the tray table and entertainment console fold up and out from the arms of the seats, with the trade-off of more legroom.

I didn’t know what my experience of more legroom would be (does pitch length really give anyone an idea?), so I chose one of each for the two legs.

I know that I prefer to have the screen, tray table, seat pocket, and handbag storage in front of me, but open space was appealing too. I flew last year on LEVEL in a seat I thought was similar to Row 11, and there was a fairly good-sized area at the bulkhead in front of me where I could stand and stretch frequently with ample space. So I chose Row 12 for the 6-hour flight to Honolulu and Row 11 for the 9-hour flight to Auckland.

PDX -> HNL

Score! The legroom in Row 12 is comically large. I could get up from my seat without closing my tray. My aisle seat (STRETCH!) was right in front of both the lavatory and galley, which I found more convenient than disruptive.

I additionally won the airline lottery on this leg. The passenger in front never reclined, no crying babies (!), and no seatmates. The other aisle seat was occupied, and the two between us remained empty.

I watched Wonder, a movie about kindness that hits all the right notes and made me cry happy tears I don’t know how many times (although that could be for a lot of reasons}. I tried for a moment to sleep, unsuccessfully. And I started re-watching S01 of Westworld so I’ll be ready to catch up on the new season when I get home.

My back did pretty well! I got up and stretched a lot, and I was no worse for wear upon landing than I imagine most people are after a flight of 6 hours. Excellent use of $80.

HNL -> AKL

On the first flight, I could see what would be my seat on the next plane, and there was no empty bulkhead area. Rather, it was the back wall of the front section. Still more space than with a seat in front, though.

I was less optimistic once I actually boarded and sat down. The extra space was insufficient for the trade-offs, the aforementioned oddly located seat amenities and lack of place for stuff to keep handy.

I asked a flight attendant if I could move to Row 12 if a seat remained empty and he said “Sure” so nonchalantly I should have expected it was pretty unlikely. Those 4 seats remained tantalizingly empty for a good chunk of boarding, but alas they filled in. I might have gazed a little too long at the folks getting settled there.

I hadn’t put my backpack and messenger bag up above yet since I was hoping to move, and just as I was figuring out I needed to get settled where I was, my seatmate arrived and took up the whole bin space.

I put my bags in the next bin over, which was above a First Class seat so I braced myself for a tsk-tsk (none came), and sat down to my seatmate having removed his shoes and airing out his stinky feet.

I wasn’t resentful about either of these things. I disturbed his sleep by getting up a lot to stretch. It is what it is.

Once in the air, I got both my bags down and kept them in front of me because I wanted/needed different things at different times and it wasn’t feasible to continually access them from the overhead bin as I’d done on the first flight. This compromised the extra space that was the point of sitting in this seat! Terrible use of $125. Win some, lose some. Certainly not the worst in travel fuckery.

My back didn’t hold up as well on the second leg, but no lasting damage after a good night’s sleep.

AKL to Airbnb listing

I deleted the Uber app in 2014 after reading this piece by Sarah Lacy, whom they threatened. I restored it a few days ago because I unfortunately needed it.

The SkyBus into the city is $18 NZD ($13 USD) but takes 55 minutes and then would still be a short taxi ride to the listing or a 12-13 minute walk. Having landed at 10:00pm, after being awake for 21 hours, a door-to-door ride was in order. A taxi would have been $65-75 NZD ($46-53 USD), whereas an Uber was $45 NZD ($32 USD) and included the benefit of paying via the app, seeing who the driver is, etc.

I will delete the app again upon returning home, however.

I am fortunate enough to work for a company that sees the value in a sabbatical program for its employees of 5 years. A sabbatical is not only likely to result in a decrease in stress and increase in psychological well-being for the employee, but also allows the company to stress-test their organization (Harvard Business Review). Win-win, as they say.

To the 4 paid weeks off provided by the program I added 2 weeks of standard PTO for a total of 6 paid weeks off of work. Incredible. The last time I had this much time off work or school was in the Fall of 1998, when I thought I was building a network marketing business but I was really just blowing through 3 months of savings and establishing that I am not an entrepreneur.

Given that I finally figured out how to make travel a part of one’s life, I never considered doing anything other than seeing new countries with the extended time off.

And with that much time off, I wanted to go far.

I’ve been to Europe a couple times now and will continue to explore those countries for the rest of my life. I’ve been south to various beaches when one week off of work meant traveling no more than one or two time zones away.

I’ve never been Down Under or to Asia and those are good places to travel from the United States when one has a lot of time to spend there.

Hence:

• April 25 to May 8: New Zealand (North Island)
• May 9: travel from NZ through Australia with a 8.5-hour layover in Sydney
• May 10 to 17: Bali, Indonesia
• May 18 to 30: Japan

OH MY GOD. Look at that itinerary. I can’t even believe I get to do this.

While I am excited, what I feel more is total overwhelm. It took many, many hours of planning to book my flights, ground transportation, and accommodations.

Those have been complete for two weeks now, and here are some of the other things I’ve been working through before and since:

This site

I’d like to keep a travel log that extends beyond social media posts. I don’t know whether I’ll actually take the time to write here, but I did some updating with that in mind. Meaning, I revised the About page, published a very old draft, and am writing this post.

I wanted to choose a new theme and update the look but I just can’t with that. I got lost in the options and said ‘fuck it’. You’ll do just fine, Twenty Eleven theme.

Health

Last summer, I injured my lumbar back by… sitting too long. Yep, that is totally a thing.

I saw my trusty physical therapist, Kevin Schmidt at Pedal PT, until I was no longer in daily pain. I was anxious to be done with the appointments; unfortunately, I didn’t know I wasn’t ready to quit. I remained vulnerable to re-injury and went back in February.

After 2 sessions per week for 2 months, and armed with the proactive and reactive exercises to do, I am in much better condition for travel. Not superb, though.

I have good days and bad days, and I worry that long plane-sitting and bus rides and tons of walking and dragging bags around will impede my ability to see and do things.

Travel fuckery

I’m flying four different airlines, one of which I’d never heard of; I’m staying in 13 Airbnbs and 1 ryokan; I have scheduled legs on a hop-on, hop-off bus line in New Zealand; I’ve hired drivers in Bali; I have a Japan Rail Pass to ride the shinkansen (bullet trains); I attached an Electronic Travel Authority to my passport so I can leave the airport in Sydney and explore during my layover….

There is a lot of room here for things to go wrong.

I’m making an effort not to rehearse for disaster and to instead take things as they come. Better yet, to notice and give thanks when things are going right.

Schedule

I didn’t know how else to get around New Zealand than the aforementioned bus (no thank you, car on the other side of the road), which has a set route with flexible timing: I was able to choose when to board each of the legs. However, because I didn’t want to leave availability to chance for either the bus legs or accommodations, I had to choose how many nights in each place before I know how I feel about those places, and there is so much to see and do on the island that even with almost two weeks there, I’m staying mostly 1 or 2 nights in each place.

I worry that I’ve done this wrong. That I’ll feel rushed through my experiences. That I’ll spend my time in one place preparing to get to the next place.

A member of my family reminded me to make sure I take some down days to just sit in a cafe and people-watch.

I am writing this reminder to self now to live in the moment while on this trip.

Packing light

Errr… never done it.

In 2010, I bought a 3-piece spinner set of luggage and have used the middle size, 25″, on every trip I’ve ever taken since, even short work trips (about which my colleagues rightfully teased me).

Even if I thought I could swing to the other extreme and be a backpacker, my back isn’t about that.

So I will be carrying a light backpack and the small size of the luggage set, a 21″ carry-on, which even with packing cubes will probably be pretty stuffed.

I worry about packing too much and yet not enough at the same time. I worry about the roller being heavy while I walk it from the bus stop to the Airbnb and still not having enough fresh clothing before I get to the next place I can do laundry.

I have no idea how any of this works.

Only one way to find out 😄