Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines: 6 months down. USA- We’re Coming Home.

It is definitely bittersweet to be writing this. How can 6 months possibly have gone by so quickly? I remember sitting in our newly purchased campervan [Sherman] in New Zealand crying my eyes out because I missed home- 2 weeks felt like forever to be away. I knew I would get stronger and it wasn’t just about being away or taking the longest vacation EVER [I think of it as a quarter life break], it was about learning new cultures, growing, and finding more about myself than I knew when I left. I have powered through the tears and found strength in knowing the journey was more than I even could comprehend at that time.

We have slept in campervans, cars, overnight trains, and airports; we have found ourselves staying in hostels, homestays, tents, hotels, and new friend’s homes; we have indulged in street food, picked fresh fruit that we have never heard of and tried it [in the jungle of Thailand, might I add!], grocery shopped and ate out of a cooler for weeks, and cooked endless amounts of meals on the gas stove that was bolted inside of our campervan.

What an incredible journey we have been on and through the ups and downs, we are landing back in the United States changed. Changed completely. It has been a frequent topic of conversation Adam and I have lately, “How do you think we have changed since we left?” It seems like a simple question but it’s truly hard to comprehend when you sit down and think about it.

I don’t feel like I’ve changed but more so grown in so many ways I didn’t know possible. I guess they can work hand in hand but it’s inevitable that once you start learning new things, the way you look at others will change with the new knowledge. Before leaving the US- I can admit now that I was close minded. Before this trip, have I ever been out of the country? Of course, we live so close to Canada. Oh, and I took that family vacation to Mexico way back when. Yes, maybe we can sometimes say we have been out of the country- but did you learn about where you went or was your mind in strict vacation/beach/cocktail mode? Mine was in strict vacation mode when I went and I was too young to appreciate it anyways.

We knew leaving on this trip we wanted all that traveling to foreign countries has to offer and then some. Giving ourselves about a month in each location we were able to settle in and learn about the country.

We successfully bought and sold a vehicle, made amazing life-long friends, stayed with locals, hiked around a volcano, hiked in the jungle, rode elephants, kayaked, scuba dove, covered ourselves in neon paint to attend a full moon party on the beach, got tattoos, white water rafted, and completed a Tough Mudder. Just typing this- I can’t believe that’s all true. How fortunate we are to see so many parts of the world and meet so many incredible people.

There are people that you meet who leave a lasting impression. We find ourselves lucky to come across these people in life and specifically in our 6 month journey. If you remember a previous post from our time in Australia and the amazing couple that invited us into their home, Harvey & Jane, to this day we still talk about how wonderful they are. The conversations you have and memories you make shape the way you grow and can be linked to how you may “change” along the way. We have handed our card out to many people we converse with along the way and we love the amount of emails we receive back. It’s not always easy to exchange information on the go but when you have it all written down on a card it’s much easier to hand over.

We met some amazing people through AirBnb as well- John Money in New Zealand for starters! John took us to the local bar and even made us a delicious pasta dinner and cake the night before we were heading out. We enjoyed a few beers and meals while talking about our families and how we got to where we were today. John also makes the most amazing cakes that Adam and I LOVE!! Yum. I don’t think John realized how nice it was to have a home cooked meal and how much we appreciated everything he did for us. Would we have met someone like John if we stayed in a hotel over an AirBnb location? My guess is no…and we would have missed out big time.

As I reflect on all of the great times we have had- you know some struggle came with it! Can you imagine being with your significant other for 6 months straight, every minute of every day? Can you imagine being with ANYONE for that length of time? You get real close, real quick and at times you want to get REAL FAR real quick. Haha. The best part is- we are closer than ever and on top of experiencing all the things we have, we are both absolutely confident we have found our soul mate- and how lucky is THAT!

I don’t think we can count the amount of times I said- I JUST WANT TO DO MY HAIR! I WANT TO BE PRETTY AGAIN. I WANT TO FEEL GIRLY. When you are backpacking all over- you have a small bag of clothes and that’s what you wear. EVERY. DAY. Maybe you trade some things out and buy others, but rarely because if you can’t carry it in your pack- you can’t have it. I made it to Australia until I made a very girly purchase- I bought a BRA. OMG you mean you can wear a sports bra EVERY DAY and you don’t want to? Girls- go 2 months in a sports bra and tell me you still like it. Life got much perkier after that purchase J. Yes we may be backpacking, but I realized I can’t give everything up. I still haven’t worn an ounce of make-up and absolutely love it. I am excited, however, to style my hair. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it since it’s grown so much and it really has no style- but it will be nice to not rock a braid or messy bun.

I don’t even know where to begin with all of the ANIMALS we have seen! Penguins, seals, hedgehogs, kangaroos, wombats, koalas, monkeys, elephants, crocodiles, turtles, sharks, TONS of fish and so much more. Almost all of these we have seen in the wild and in their natural habitat. We hugged elephants, took selfies with turtles and spent an entire day hanging around kangaroos. These are the types of things I thought only existed in movies and on TV…until now.

The thought of a zoo becomes sad in a sense when you see these animals in their own world- they all should be free. We saw the most beautiful birds in Australia and while in Thailand, those same birds were in cages at a pet shop. It’s so sad and hard to not get caught up in emotions when you see animals like this. And the stray dogs and cats- OMG. I could tear up just thinking about all of the stray sick looking dogs we have seen during this trip. I want to just scoop all of these puppies up and save them. BUT when it comes to the treatment of animals around the world, we have to remember that other countries don’t have rules and regulations that the USA does and we can’t expect people to act the way we think they should as they don’t know better. They don’t know to STOP letting these dogs breed… if you can’t take care of one with food, love, and attention- you definitely can’t take care of one plus all of its babies. They don’t have vets sprinkled all over like we do in the US. On Gili Trawangan Island in Indonesia, only cats are allowed, no dogs. And one of our friends told us a vet comes to the island once a month for free to service the cats. A step in the right direction to say the least.


During this journey we have seen so much and lately Adam continues to say to me- “You would have NEVER done that 6 months ago!” Looking back, almost every time he has been right. You learn to appreciate things so much more when you take a step back and look at the big picture. You stop stressing about the little things and you learn to take more chances. Life is precious, everyone’s dream may not be the same but at least we’re all dreaming!

I took a chance and pulled a 180 on my life. I’m not sure how I gathered the courage to do this but I wasn’t happy with where I was and I knew I had to make a change. It was a BIT DRASTIC- but this trip has completely changed my life. I am so thankful to all of the people we have met, landmarks we have seen, things we have learned, and millions of memories I have made with the love of my life and my best friend. And an even bigger THANK YOU to everyone who has followed along with us and enjoyed a view into a few countries through our eyes. The support from our friends and family means the world to us. Just because we are coming home doesn’t mean the blogging will stop. We plan to take a little bit of time [before settling down] to travel around the United States and explore as much as we have in other countries back in our homeland. Hopefully then we will find a place we love and want to make “home”.

Life isn’t always about your job, your house, your car, and what you are doing Saturday night. Trust me, I know firsthand- I left my job, I sold my house AND my car, and I turned every day into Saturday. I saw the world and I may have taken 6 months off and away from everything but I found more happiness in these 6 months than I have in a very long time. I learned the importance of small things, learned that having a lot of material things can have the power to hold you back, and that if for once you find the courage and strength to do what truly makes you happy- you will finally feel free.

Two months in and going strong. Some amazing new friends, gifts, credit card fraud, broken down rental cars, airport camp outs and a completed Tough Mudder.

I blinked and two months went by.
Why didn’t time pass like this when I was working?!

We have had one hell of an experience in New Zealand. The scenery was beautiful and pictures don't even do it justice. I lose count of how many times while we were driving that I said, “This looks like a picture.”  Between the rolling mountains, beaches, volcanoes, and desert like views- you really can experience and see it all. Since I don’t want to clutter these posts with tons of photos [it’s hard not to do!], Adam captures some incredible moments which you can find on his Instagram here. This awesome shot is from our boat trip through Milford Sound in the South Island of New Zealand on March 11th.

We will forever remember Little Wing [Elliott] and the treasures he gave us. We were gifted our first pieces of New Zealand Jade [also known as greenstone or Pounamu] and kauri gum from Elliott. For New Zealand’s Māori people, Pounamu is of great cultural and spiritual value, and is considered tapu or sacred. You are also told that you should never buy your first piece of Pounamu, but you should be gifted it. Luck us!! In addition, Adam walked away with a red stag antler carved into what they call Hei Matau [fish hook]. The fish hook signifies abundance and plenty, strength and determination. It is believed to bring peace, prosperity and good health. It is a device for catching good luck and energy, and is believed to provide safe journey over water. It is therefore considered a good luck charm by travellers, boaties, fishermen and surfers.

It’s incredible what friendly conversation can bring you.

Elliott has since wrote us from our website and ended one of his emails with: “Keep the sun on your faces and the wind on your backs.” I love it.

We must always remember to try to see the positive in every situation. I am not as good at this as Adam is, which I am constantly trying to work on. Traveling around is about taking chances which may drive those over-planners like me C-R-A-Z-Y!! Oddly enough, things that we have no plan at all with sometimes seem to work out just as good as those that we plan. SOMETIMES. Having said that, I will always try to plan! I sleep better at night that way...

 
Adam was inspired to write up a list of tips for traveling the world- almost all of which we have encountered since the start of our journey. You can find his list here on GuyManningham.com- thanks, Shannon!
  
Some other things that we have come across worth mentioning…

• Airbnb= Yes. Yes. YES!
• Credit Card Fraud
• NZ Rent a Car from Hell
• Early flight? Accommodation a la airport beanbag!
• T’s & C’s will get you every time.
• And on another note, TOUGH MUDDER!!!
• Kangaroo!

 
Airbnb= Yes. Yes. YES!
Airbnb has proved to be a success while in New Zealand and Australia. HUGE thanks to Anna in Wellington and our newly dear friend John in Wanaka- you made us feel at home while we are so far away. Anna made sure we had enough food and knew our way around while John cooked up and enjoyed an amazing pasta dinner with us and sent us off with some of his INCREDIBLE pumpkin cake. I HIGHLY suggest utilizing AirBnb.com if you are traveling around. We are 3 for 3 with having luck finding great spots to stay. Low cost and you have all the benefits of being in a home- showers, kitchen, internet, etc.
 
I am currently writing this from an Airbnb location on Frankston South, Australia. There is another couple [Anja from Germany and Antonio from Italy] staying here as well so not only do you have accommodation, but you are meeting people from all around the world- and they are awesome! Adam and I were blown away by the kindness from the couple whose house we are staying at [Chris & Noel]. I posted about it on Facebook, but I have to mention it again. It is amazing the people you meet while traveling. I stated, “We rented a room for before and after the Tough Mudder and the couple that owns the house is incredible. They are both so sweet but they took it to another level. We woke up to get ready for the Mudder this morning and there were over 6 of these signs posted all over the house, and even one was on the windshield of the car. It's the small things that people do that mean the most.”  

We gathered all the signs and put them in the car for luck and support!! We had a blast at the Tough Mudder and I truly think the little extra motivation from the signs helped! They sent us off with a donation to Legacy Australia and upon our return back from the Mudder, Chris wrapped my sprained ankle and provided me with some wonderful herbal cream to help with the swelling and bruising. I may be bruised and sprained, but I still finished!! Thank you, Chris!!

Oh, and another plus- unlimited WIFI which means I can Skype home!! Love you, mom, dad, Chloe, & Joey! :)

Credit Card Fraud
Watch your accounts!!! I am 2/2 with fraud since we have left. I booked a rental car and room in Australia, next thing I know I have $1700 in charges on my card from some random place in Australia. I contacted my bank immediately and they notified me that someone physically swiped a card for those charges… which is even scarier since I had it in my possession, and I was still in New Zealand at the time. This being the only card I had that doesn’t have an “international fee” for purchases [which is also something to look out for when traveling], I was stuck waiting for a new card to be sent to me in another country...somewhere. Twice. Watch for fraud!  

NZ Rent a Car from Hell
We had a wicked experience with car rentals in the South Island so it’s not always worth going toward the cheaper option with things. Our vehicle broke down and turned out the alternator went. The rental car company [New Zealand Rent a Car= NEVER USE THEM!] gave us a few ridiculous suggestions to fix the situation: 1- Since it was Saturday, wait until Monday and make an appointment at the nearest shop to get the alternator fixed. We would also have to deal with getting it towed. 2- We would have to separate. They would pay for only one of us to take a bus to one of their locations to get a new vehicle. They would not bring one to us. At some point, they would come and retrieve the dead vehicle. 3- End the hire. GREAT OPTIONS. Needless to say, we were stuck for 2 days at a motel dealing with this and another branch finally brought us a vehicle. They are not compensating us for anything but one day of the rental. The car broke down at 10pm and apparently they wanted us to sleep in the vehicle in a random parking lot until they decided to help us out. What an awful company. Never again.

Early flight? Accommodation a la airport beanbag!
Our flight from Christchurch [South Island] to Auckland [North Island] was at 6:30am. Paying to stay somewhere and having to be at the airport by 4:30 wasn’t worth it…so we headed to the airport the night prior. Not even 10 minutes at the airport and we were approached by a security guard asking if we planned to spend the night- the packs must have given it away. She gave us wrist bands and told us to go to the Air Lounge- you pay $5 and can stay the night. First come first serve bean bags to sleep on are available as well. Guess who were the two first people in line? Beanbags- success!!

T’s & C’s will get you every time.
Read the Terms & Conditions!! It’s usually a bunch of tiny print that you don’t want to get into... but you’ll regret it if you don’t. We booked our flights from NZ to Australia IN the airport when they told us we couldn’t board the flight unless we had a flight out. We didn’t really have time to read the T’s & C’s but the flights were CHEAP so it was perfect! Priceline.com is great until you arrive at the airport. Our flights were $130 which was lovely. We arrive at the counter to check in and get our tickets and the airline worker sated we did not note we were checking bags [as Priceline didn’t give the option [that we could see] when booking on mobile]. “No problem!” she said. “It will be $110 a person to check your bag” WHAT?! How could it possible cost that much to check a bag. Their max for carry-on luggage was 7kg [about 15lbs] and our packs weighed way more than that. Lesson learned. Again, don’t always trust the cheap.

And on another note, TOUGH MUDDER!!!
We earned our x2 Tough Mudder bright green headbands that will now travel with us for the rest of our journey. We are beat up. Bruised. Achy. Chaffed. Bandaged and Sprained. But would I trade it? Not a chance.
There’s just nothing like a Tough Mudder.

One final thing that makes me smile from ear to ear… we saw kangaroos on our way out of the Mudder!!
We really ARE in Australia! :)

 

We're going to THAILAND!

As I sit on the ferry en route to the South Island of New Zealand, I think back in amazement that this journey has already brought me so far; mentally AND physically. I have realized so much and appreciate this life that is truly what we make of it. Our plans have changed so much since we initially started our journey and I couldn’t be happier with where they are headed.

We have officially planned the next leg of our trip, and where we will spend my birthday- BANGKOK.
Happy. Birthday. To. ME!!!

Because once you are on the other side of the world, what’s the rush?

Our plans to date:

• March 5 – March 19: South Island, New Zealand
• March 20 – April 22: Australia [Tough Mudder, March 23]
• April 22 – Undecided: Thailand

We can only spend one month in Thailand per visa rules so from there, we aren’t sure where we are headed. It all depends on what flights are right and if we will need visas or not.

Please email us if there are any places we should see while in Australia and Thailand- as we both have never been. Even more so- where we should head after since that will be up in the air until we leave Australia.

Woooohhhh!!

 

Heading North & Trip Update- WWOOF, Locations, Good People & Good Eatin’

Our trip so far has been jam packed- from purchasing Sherman our campervan to some unexpected turns dealing with the vineyard- we have smiled and laughed our way through it.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
Sherman Rocks. He gets a little hot when going uphill but it’s nothing putting on a little heat won’t fix. The hardwood floors are easy for cleaning, and we can cook all of our meals on the double burner stove that is inside- talk about convenience, it even came with pots and pans. We learned a few things the hard way- like you have to pay about .06 cents a mile on diesel vehicles. We bought Sherman not aware of this until we went to the Post Store [where all vehicle logistics are taken care of, no DMV’s] and learned that the previous owner left us with 4,000 miles that he drove to pay for. We could have realized this on the sticker, but we had no idea with the stickers meant. Lesson learned. Diesel is great on gas here, but it all evens out. There is no vehicle insurance, just a WOF [Warrant of Fitness] to get every 6 months I believe. We are dealing with all other Sherman Logistics when we get back to Auckland later this week.

Sherman

WWOOF UPDATE
Working at the vineyard didn’t play out as we imagined. We went in with hopes of learning, a place to stay and meals in exchange for our work; time to save some moolah, we thought. The work was vigorous- 8 hours a day outside nailing nets and doing vineyard work with two [very closely timed] 25 to 30 minute breaks. The day we arrived, we had to clean our own room due to the last person saying there vomiting and leaving it a mess- we never successfully got that smell out. Day 1 we had boiled hotdogs, and day 2 there wasn’t enough food for us to bring lunch, and we were provided frozen meatballs and a can of sauce for dinner. To us, spending 8 hours a day working just wasn’t worth what was being provided back. The thing is, we don't mind the work- maybe we were just expecting too much. We were hoping somewhere that was Organic, also provided that during the stay when dealing with meals. What we did get out of it was meeting amazing people from all over the world; Dave & Lenka from Czech, Sebastian from Germany, Pauline Julian and Penash [sp?] from France, and Gabe from Oregon [the only person to date that we’ve met from the US]. This made our few days there worth it. The thing is, we have somewhere to sleep, so that wasn’t what we went into WWOOFing for… and if we weren’t learning or getting at least some good meals out of it, there was no point in us to waste 2 weeks doing something we weren’t happy with. It was time to move on, and we are thankful we got something out of the experience.  The people there are kind, it just wasn’t what we were looking for in our travels. Time to keep it moving.

LOCATION UPDATE
After Freemans lodge we ended the last post with, we purchased Sherman and made our way to Waihi Beach area and then back up north through Auckland. We started getting ourselves familiar with freedom camping [campervans that aren’t self-contained with a shower & toilet] and the different areas to do so.

Marsden Bay

January 31- Forest Pools Campsite; bush [forest] setting by the Waipapa River
The past few days have been awesome. We met Nick from Dublin, and learned what an Irish temper really was. We were heading back to our camping spot after our hike that day and spotted him fly fishing down by the water. He made conversation and headed up to move his vehicle close to us so we could keep an eye on it. He put his fishing pole in the back of his campervan and jumped in to move it. As he was headed toward us in the extremely rocky terrain, his side door slid closed- snapping his rod in half.   He jumped out of the vehicle before putting it in park, jumped back in to stop it and made his way around to assess the situation- screaming BOLLACKS and all sorts of explicit Irish words!! He threw a few punts to the vehicle leaving a good dent in the door, and then apologized with a smile for his rage. Lesson learned, we spent 2 nights there and decided to head north together. Turns out, the Irish may have some rage, but Nick has to be one of the nicest people we have met- just don’t snap his fishing rod.

February 2- Maitai Beach Campsite to Rarawa Beach Campsite to Tapotupotu Campsite
Nick, Adam and I spent the first part of the day stocking up on groceries, gas, vegetables, and finding WIFI before we make our way north. We have had luck with different town libraries, and that’s about it when it comes to WIFI. All McDonalds advertise FREE WIFI, but we have yet to find one that works. After we finished up at the library, we picked this campsite [$10/per person] but there is running water and showers [cold showers... cold, cold showers]. The beach sits right over a small hill. We carried our chairs up there the first night and watched the sunset- absolutely beautiful. The next morning we made breakfast and packed our things up to hike out for the day. We made our way through some steep inclines to where we had our eye on. The tough up-hill’s were worth it once we got to the spot. As the guys fished, I walked around and enjoyed the sun, which in turn gave me a real nice burn where I forgot sunscreen. We stayed another night and then were headed north. We ended up at Tapotupotu Campsite, parked on the highest point of the campground with a clear shot of the beach; $6/night pp.

Maitai Bay

Each spot we stay is completely different from the last. Some are set deep into the woods after over 10 miles on a dirt road, and some you find yourself parked looking at the beach. I prefer the beach, as Adam prefers the woods- fair trade. There are a number of free campervan locations with restrooms, while other locations range from $6/person up to $30+/person, all depending on showers, laundry, and other additional amenities.


MEAL UPDATE
It seems what we have spent the most on while over here has been food- but that has calmed down quite a bit as we learn where to shop, and what to get [campervan life is much different when you only have a cooler to keep your cold food, cold]. You aren’t drinking pop unless you’re willing to spend $25 for a small case of cans- not a chance here. Same with beer- in store or even at the bar they are double what it is in the US. All your fruit and veg can be saved for the places you pass on the street. 10 avocados for $3 in Waihi Beach, or $2 an avocado as you make your way up north- it is all location depending, so planning is huge. Lunchmeat is mainly just ham- there is no turkey here like there is in the US, and everything is in kg, not lb. I almost ordered 3 lbs of ham not having a clue what the conversion was. As for grocery stores- PAK n SAVE is the WAY TO GO. It’s like the Sam’s Club for food, and loads cheaper than anywhere else. Countdown is another grocery store, but PAK n SAVE is the way to go. Chicken is also insanely expensive, as is milk and other things that are cheap to us in the US. We have loaded up on oatmeal, pastas, rice and other pantry type food that has a longer shelf life. A new thing to us was learning of Salt Ice. It lasts DAYS longer than regular ice and you can find it cheaper in fishing stores. We have been making some killer meals and eating super healthy for the most part- other than the wine consumption. On that note- wine is EXPENSIVE here. I have to say I dabbled in some New Zealand red boxed wine, and it was delightful. It even had a stamp on it that said New Zealand Favorite, what’s not to trust with that? It’s like the World’s Best Cup of Coffee… legit. Problem is, when there is a spout and you are drinking out of a coffee mug- you tend to lose track. We are now on a wine break :)

The views have been amazing and truly like nothing I've ever seen before. From the waterfalls to the glow worm caves- everything is worth writing about.

We are now heading south through Auckland and to our next WWOOFing spot [starting Feb 17] located in central north island. WIFI may be a bit better so I hope to write and post more.

Walk to Piroa Falls

Missing everyone at home! Xoxo.

From a 4 hour flight from LA to LA, to the airport management office in Tahiti, we FINALLY MADE IT!

Our trip took about 100 more interesting turns..

Our flights [on 1/18] from Buffalo to California were as smooth as can be. We arrived in LA and made our way to our hotel for the night. The smoothness stopped there.

Just landed in LA

We packed everything up the next morning fingers crossed the weight of our packs would be good to carry on. We had to do a bit of re arranging as the overhead bins are tighter than we expected [which we found out during our flight in to LA]. Security at LAX was smooth and we were on our way to our gate. We relaxed for a bit and showed up about an hour before boarding. 30 minutes go by and we hear “Nicole Hauser & Adam Bautz please report to gate 121”. Oh boy…

The representative at the gate explains to us that in order to board this flight, we must provide a departure flight out of Auckland, NZ… FYI: we are only rolling with one way tickets and apparently this is a no-no. She then told us we must show proof of a flight out before boarding began for THIS flight if we wanted to board it- we had 10 minutes.

We sat down and I jumped on Kayak.com and started searching. Knowing that we have signed up for the Tough Mudder on March 23 in Melbourne, Australia- we had a good idea when we were going to exit NZ for a little while as it was. They were making announcements in French which made me even more nervous and pressured since I had no idea what they were saying- all I was hoping was that it had nothing to do with boarding that’s for sure. Bingo- nonstop flights came to the top and I booked us on a direct flight March 20^th from Auckland to Melbourne- ran to the counter, showed our proof and we were good to go.

Talk about a close one.

From there we will decide if we head back to New Zealand, which we think is the plan right now, or head elsewhere from Australia. We are still waiting on our FIRST ticket money back from the insurance company [the claim is still in progress] so that may play a part in what we do as well.

As I type this we are now two hours into flight #3 [LAX to PPT/Tahiti_8hr40m flight].

We just enjoyed our Chicken dinner which was actually quite delightful [even though the picture doesn't appear so] and so graciously accompanied by complimentary wine- thank you Air Tahiti Nui [keep em’ coming]!

Air Tahiti Meal

We will land in Pepeete around 10pm their time.  After customs, we will find the shuttle to the hotel we are staying at for the night, which is where I will have WIFI and be able to post this. Thankfully, I noticed on the booking reservation that they only accept cash in their currency for payment. We stopped at Currency exchange to get the 9,500 in Tahiti money [$130USD] and exchange the rest of our USD for NZD [New Zealand Dollars].

We depart Tahiti at 9am Jan 20 and arrive in Auckland at 1pm Jan 21. This flight is only 5.5 hours but considered an overnight flight because of the time difference and date change. Once we arrive in New Zealand, we booked our first 2 nights stay through Budget Backpacker Hostels NZ [BBH] so we are able to get situated and relax. BBH is a network of approved hostels and better pricing if you are a BBH member. We can pay for and pick up our BBH member cards at the location of our first stay [$65NZD]. On the BBH website, you are able to put requests in for different locations based on the accommodation you would like- single room, private room, private room with private bathroom, single bed in a multi-stay room, etc.

From there we will have a few days until we start at our first WWOOFing location.

The flight attendants also gave us cute little flowers while en route Tahiti.

Flower Power.

CHANGE OF PLANS.

Literally as I pushed SAVE and was about to put my Surface away, an announcement came on in French and all I could make out was “LA”. The English version came on which informed us that due to mechanical issues, we are heading back to LAX and will arrive at 7:30pm, which is in about an hour and a half. 4 hour flight, and we will be back where we started. Update: Mechanical Issues=a bird flying into the engine. W.T.F.

Side note: they requested the cute little flowers pictured above back, since you can't bring flowers into the United States.. 

We have to fill out brand new customs forms to enter back into the US, they are taking care of hotel accommodations, and who knows what else….

And let me tell you, the worst flight ever to have is a 4 hour flight from LA to LA. Fact.

LAX Hell..

After sitting in LAX for three hours, they prompted us to board again. We got back on the plane and were off at around 11pm. We tried to sleep most of the time, ate the meal they served at 4am which threw us both off, and finally arrived in Tahiti around 530am. Our flight out of there was at 910am so we were looking OK there. We go through customs, out of the airport, and right to the check-in counter for this flight. More issues.

Apparently Air Tahiti Nui didn’t update their system with the flight out of NZ- so they asked us to show proof. We had no WIFI and nothing to show that we had that flight to Melbourne, so they brought us into the management office of the airport so I could log on to my email and pull up the receipt. The keyboard was different and I was basically a hot mess.

Tahiti Airport Management Office

All in all- the boss logged in for me because I was not capable of doing it myself with their wacky keyboard, we showed proof, and we were checked in. All I could think was- when will we catch a break!?

Waiting in the Tahiti Airport

We had 2 hours in the Tahiti airport and we boarded our LAST FLIGHT of our 4 flight disaster. We were FINALLY en route to land in New Zealand…

and finally... THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!!

I am finishing this from Freemans Backpackers Lodge [Hostel]. We walked around to get a bite last night and check out what was around us, and immediately crashed when we got back. I think we are both ready to get out of the city already, and get into some pretty epic scenery and nature.

Freemans Backpacker Lodge- Our Room

It’s a bit rainy this morning, but we are on a mission today to possibly purchase a campervan so we have something to drive/sleep in while we are here [when not camping or WWOOFing] and a few other things [wall plug converters, etc].

All smiles from Auckland, New Zealand,

Nicole

Wednesday January 22, 8:31am

 

Polar Vortex…The Dream Crusher

I’m not even sure where to begin with this one.

Two Words: POLAR VORTEX.

POLAR VORTEX

We are still in Buffalo.

Everything out of Buffalo is cancelled.

We were booked on FIJI Airways out of LAX tonight at 9:30pm- we can’t get there.

W T F.

We thought we were in the clear. Everything was scheduled and on time, we finished packing- posted our farewell on Facebook, poured some wine and then BOOM- CANCELLED. The Buffalo Storm of the Decade is the crusher of all dreams.

Adam and I spent about 4 hours, starting at 1am, on the phone trying to figure out a way to get out of Buffalo, how to cancel our flights, contact the reservation we had in New Zealand for the first couple nights we got there, and if we just lost all of our money.

Here are some things we learned in this process.

Oh, and only twice did Adam have to take the phone away from me because I’m pretty sure I wasn’t speaking English, but pure profanity after 3am.

Tip 1: Do not book FIJI Airways. Ever. In a million years.

                  Example Conversation:        

Fiji Airway Employee: There is nothing we can do for you. We do not refund.

                                    Adam: So you’re saying even though there are traveling bans where we are and every flight is cancelled, if we cannot make it across the US before our flight at 9:30pm we are screwed.

                                    Fiji Airway Employee: Yes, sir.

Tip 2: NEVER book through AIRFARE.COM…who apparently I booked through when I used KAYAK [this may be more so the problem, but FIJI Air was about as helpful as speaking directly to a wall]. And I repeat, NEVER. They hung up on me twice, and they refuse to cancel my flight. They sent me 2 emails with a link to change the flight telling me that’s all I can do, and by doing so- I will get charged $350 per ticket. There is no way for me to take out my credit card information to process the request. Mind you, all of their flights now are about 2 or 3 times more than what we paid in August, and they will not honor our pricing.

Example Conversation:        

Airfare Employee: You are confirmed! Your flight is on time, have a great trip. 

                                    Nicole: No, I am trying to tell you…

                                    Airfare Employee: Your flight is on time and you are confirmed.

                                    Nicole: No, I need to cancel my flight. 

                                    Airfare Employee: You cannot cancel your flight it is non refundable.

                                    Nicole: Our connecting flight was cancelled and nothing is flying out for us to get to LAX- we have no choice.

                                    Airfare Employee: Your flight is confirmed and it is non refundable.

                                    Nicole: We are unable to get there- there is no possible way for us to get on that flight. 

                                    Airfare Employee: Our flight is on- I suggest you get here or you lose your money. ::CLICK::

Tip 3: PURCHASE ALLIANZ TRAVEL INSURANCE. AAA uses Allianz, which is how I heard of them. Adam and I purchased this insurance directly through Allianz and my fingers are crossed that this is covered with them. I was hopeful on the phone and I am currently gathering everything I need to send them for this claim. They are extremely helpful and someone from the United States actually answered my phone call at 2am- points in my book for sure. They even knew of the situation; fingers crossed.

We changed our Southwest flights out of Buffalo, and we booked elsewhere to get to New Zealand.

January 18^th is almost the same as January 8^th, right?

See you on the 21^st New Zealand.