Today begins with planning again!!! ;) I am leaving on Friday and want to try and knock off a few more places before I leave the country. I voiced my travel plans during yesterday's car journey and Abby had said that she was interested in exploring the same areas, so we have agreed to become an adventuring duo for the next few days! :)
I now need to draft a explorers plan to ensure we get the most out of our trip:
The Plan
Wednesday:
8am - Pick up hire car.
8:30 - Pick up Abby and drive to Rotarua
12 - Tour around the geo-thermal pools.
1:30 - Sulphur and Mud spa pools :)
3 - Leave to check into the hostel
4:30 - Be picked up by Maori's for evening
10:30 - Sleep
Thursday:
8am -Drive to Hobbiton
9:30am - Hobbiton tour!
11:30am - Drive to Waitomo
2:15 - Black water rafting
5:15 - Drive back to Auckland
8:15 - Arrive in Auckland
I had hoped that planning would be a simple matter but it rarely seems to be, luckily Inhave somewhere nice to do the planning and Abby is pretty easy going and happy to do most stuff that I am interested in :)
Travelling solo basically means that you may be lonely sometimes, but you will meet many new people and you will get to decide what you do and when. Travelling with someone is also great but travelling with the right kind of person makes the world of difference and luckily for me Abby is a great travel companion.
I work out how to split the trip costs and arrangements and we get our planning done by about 3pm. I just about have enough time then for some yoga, a shower and to get ready to go out for dinner and cirque du soleil. Alice suggested that I invite my new friend Logan and he seems really keen to see the show so I have bought Abby, Logan and I tickets.
I pack up my evening supplies and head out and down to the waterfront. I have still not really explored Auckland at all yet and so my opinion of this town is very limited to the few streets I have well now well trodden. Proper Auckland exploration will have to wait ;)
I message Alice to tell her I am on my way and she asks me if I have the keys. I send her a picture to give her visual confirmation:
I see Alice across the street and I meet her in the centre of the intersection because it amuses me. She is excited and ready to get going. We head back where I have come from to the bar we are having food at and sit down :) It's a very trendy big open bar area with a warm a friendly vibe. We meet one of LJs friends at a big table and I order us some cider :)
Before long there is a good crowd and Logan has arrived straight from work so I introduce him to lots of people I have also just met and we chose some food.
Happy Birthday LJ ! ! ! !
After dinner we settle up and head off to the huge Auckland stadium, just down the street from us, to see Cirque du Soleil's Quidem.
Quidem tells the story of a young girl called Zoé for whom life has lost all meaning. Her parents, distant and apathetic, ignore her. Seeking to fill the void of her existence, she slides into an imaginary world where she learns to free her soul. Quidam, is a place for dreaming and genuine relations, where by proclaiming individuality, all may emerge from anonymity.
Custosy of Quidem website :)
Last three photos from Quidem website.
This is my first experience of a Cirque du soleil performance and I am entertained but in a way I didn't expect. I didn't really follow the plot easily and plot is usually a big thing for me, but it is there a bit and a strand of it woven through the acts. It's is generally a series of specific performances interspersed with bridging entertainers. I recognised most of the activities from the diabalo to the hola hoop and found myself wondering how it comes about that someone gets to be so good at the Diabalo? They were good though and the performance was either designed to distract attention from errors or flawless in execution because I didn't see any missed catches or bum moves.
I watched the guy spin and juggle three diabalo and I wonder what he felt like when he got his first... Was it live at first Diabalo? Was he good straight away or did he have to work at it? Did his parents say with a kind and concerned look "you need a back up plan son, just in case the Diabalo doesn't work out?!"
The whole show is entertaining and also very warm and after the show finished we all meet outside to compare thoughts. We all seem to have enjoyed it and while I probably wouldn't go to another one it is not because I haven't enjoyed it but more because I realise I have mostly enjoyed the novelty of what I have seen and feel any other performances will probably include similar stuff.
I saw goodbye to Logan and wish him well with his up and coming trip to the states. It's nice to meet such a kind and sweet man :) I love making new friends :)
Alice and I walk back chatting and she seems relaxed and happy. I know she has a lot on her mind though and big life and career decisions to make. I have faith that she will make them though and be able to work with whatever happens.
Alice and I chat for a while and then it's time for sleep, lovely sleep ready for adventures in the morning :)
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