Days 157-159 (Fri Jan 25th – Sun Jan 27th)
Friday found me flying back to Christchurch, NZ by way of Melbourne. I didn’t have any trouble with the flights, and soon I was picking up Tuatoru (my car). Saturday I spent in Christchurch, seeing a few of the friends I had made while I was there in November. I saw Alison and her kids, and they took me to the top of the gondola in Christchurch.
Sunday I went back to The Well for one last church service before making my way north via the Aratere Interislander ferry.
Catch the reflection 
We left gray clouds 
We found blue skies 
This ferry ride provided me with a time of reflection, because I thought about what I had seen and experienced since last being on this ferry 5 months earlier. It made me proud to see all that I was able to see and do, and the friends that I had made up to this point.
I also hit my 333rd Instagram post and blogged about it.
Soon, we pulled into the ferry terminal in Wellington, NZ. This would be my homebase for the next 2 days.
Day 160 (Monday Jan 28th)
I spent some time at the Te Papa museum in central Wellington on Monday morning. My eyes caught several rainbows and trinities.
Te Papa Museum 
Maori carving 
Settlement on New Zealand’s Islands 
Life and Death – Lonnie Hutchinson 
Indra’s bow-Tiffany Singh 
Everything in its right place – Helen Calder 
Te Papa’s special exhibit was a war tribute that was quite chilling. There were several oversized figurines of New Zealand war heroes.
I also found several interesting archways in the museum…
That afternoon, I hiked to the top of Mt. Victoria which gave stunning views of Wellington and its harbor.
Stay off the sand! 
Richard Evelyn Byrd 
Northwest 
Southwest 
Southeast 
Northeast 
Harbor Selfie 
Photobombed by a Pikachu hat
That night, I met a guy named Jamie from the UK. We had dinner and drinks and it was nice to have someone to spend time with. He was just passing through, but we’ve kept in touch on WhatsApp.
Day 161 (Tuesday Jan 29th)
The day started by finding a rainbow in the street as I went to breakfast!
After getting back to homebase (my airbnb in Wellington), I realized that I was again staying in apartment 3!
Next up, the botanical gardens…
That night, I checked out Checkmate, Wellington’s gay sauna. But, I wasn’t impressed. It is very small and run-down. I didn’t end up staying very long.
Day 162 (Wednesday Jan 30th)
Wednesday I needed to drive 8 hours north to Tutukaka, as I would be diving the Poor Knights Islands on the 31st and 1st. My journey began just as the sun was rising.
Sunrise in Wellington 
Auckland by lunchtime 
Rest break on my way north
My 8-hour drive took closer to 11 because of an accident that shut down the one-lane highway north. I had to backtrack and go around, so I didn’t get to my airbnb until after dark. It had been a long day of travel, but I was excited to do more diving!
Days 162 & 163 (Thur Jan 31st & Fri Feb 1st)
I awoke with daybreak and took a few pictures of my unique living space and view for the next two days.
I had picked up a new GoPro camera in Auckland but neglected to get a new memory card as well, so I still couldn’t take any underwater pics or video for Poor Knights Island. But there were some fun sites to photograph and video above water. Heading out to the dive site, we saw some dolphins
Rikoriko Cave 
Rikoriko Cave 
The poor squires
We visited Rikoriko cave, which is the worldest largest seacave (it’s calculated volume is 221, 494 cubic metres or 7.8 million cubic feet). I tried to capture some of the reverberations on video, but they don’t do the actual experience justice.
On the way back, we also saw several of the natural archways…
That night, it dawned on me that my table was a rainbow. I also tried to catch a sunset time-lapse video…
Friday was another great day of diving, as well as the start to a new journal. I first took a time-lapse video of sunrise, and then some photos of my 6th journal.
For the dives, I saw a puffer fish that was successfully defending itself from getting eaten by puffing up. I also saw some different kinds of rays and eels and plenty of fish. And there were a few underwater pics that Dive Tutukaka posted on their Facebook page.
After the dives, a couple of the other divers and I got a drink and they told me about The Canterbury, a wreck you could dive that was a few hours north of Tutukaka. I called right away and got on their dive schedule for February 2nd and 3rd. Quickly packing up my car, I headed further north. I was able to stop by a Noel Leeming to buy a new memory card. My GoPro underwater photography was finally back in business!
Days 164 & 165 (Sat Feb 2nd & Sun Feb 3rd)
I dove twice on Saturday with NorthLand Dive. For the morning dive, we did the Canterbury wreck, which was on par with my Great Barrier Reef diving! By sinking the wreck over ten years ago, the dive company was able to create an artificial reef that would last for several decades. And since they were the ones that planned out how to sink the ship, there were plenty of ways to enter and exit the ship!
The second dive was at Cathedral Cove, an small underwater cave with some sizeable currents and waves. It was rough and dark enough I couldn’t get good pictures, but I did get a great video of a boatside entry.
Northland Dive actually has rooms and dormitories to stay in, so I stayed Saturday night and then started my journey back to Wellington on Sunday.
I got to Auckland early Sunday afternoon and met back up with Anna who was my first scuba diving partner when I arrived to New Zealand in August 2018. She was able to host me in her guest bedroom. I hiked the North Heads Historic Reserve, journaling about the previous days and enjoying the warmth and sun. Oh, and I was visited by a ladybug (called a ladybird in New Zealand).
Auckland CBD 
A friendly ladybird 
She liked my tattoo
I also went to church at the Auckland Metropolitan Community Church…I was the only parishioner for their Sunday night service, it was a little awkward. But I really liked the Statement of Faith they used – “We are not alone”
Day 166 (Monday Feb 4th)
April 4, 2019 – the anniversary to Miracle Sunday (in new Zealand). I met three guys from Grindr before I left Auckland, having coffee or lunch with each of them. All of the conversations were very worthwhile, and I enjoyed meeting Sunny, Hugh, and Kerry. Kerry was even a christian, although hadn’t been to church in a while. I also encountered a few rainbows as I went about my day.
By mid-afternoon I was in Rotorua where I would spend the next two days caving, visiting Hobbiton, and exploring central North Island. My airbnb in Rotorua was another great place to stay.
Day 167 (Tuesday Feb 5th)
I explored Rotorua on Tuesday, spending some time by the lake front before doing a hike in the nearby forest reserve.
Tuesday night I went to a nearby Maori village that shows guests Maori history and culture. We even had a traditional Maori feast after touring the village.
Day 168 (Wednesday Feb 6th)
Hobbiton and Waitomo Caves! I did a caving adventure in the morning which was incredibly fun. We went into “The Lost World”. After walking through the forest, we absailed 100 meters into the cave before slowly climbing back out. I was able to see glowworms in the cave depths and a fresh water eel. This adventure also gave me my current profile photo on Facebook.
And here was our intrepid caving group at journey’s end…
I drove about an hour from Waitomo Caves to get to the i-site where the bus would depart to Hobbiton. The tour was fun, but VERY guided. I can understand why though, as the tour is quite popular. Overall, I spent 2 hours at Hobbiton, I had fun interacting with our guide and learning LOTR trivia. Oh, and the stout beer at the Green Dragon really hit the spot!
Next stop, Taupo, a few hours south. I wanted to get a little closer to Wellington as I needed to be in there on February 8th to catch my flight to Los Angeles and Disneyland.
Day 169 (Thursday Feb 7th)
Taupo is known for their hot pools so I spent the morning at the pools exploring some trails and soaking away the soreness from caving.
For lunch, I grabbed a sandwich in Taupo before driving down to Wellington. I stayed in an airbnb close to the airport, as I had an early morning flight to Los Angeles via Auckland. Here’s a photo of the sky on my drive down to Wellington.
And that was my whirlwind trip across the North Island of New Zealand. What I had planned to do in two months I instead did in 2 weeks. And while I didn’t see everything that I could have, I still had tons of fun.
Thanks for reading along! Today’s song (April 25th) on my Fellowship playlist talks about not getting any sleep but still dreaming. For me, that’s been much of the past year. I’ve had more sleepless nights, but also more dreams and visions than I have ever had in my life. And I’m sure that’s due to my fellowship with the Holy Trinity.
I love the photobombing Pikachu. Ha! Those cave pictures are also so cool! I didn’t know they had caves like that down there, if we ever make it down we’ll have to try and go there.
Yea, the caves were pretty cool. Thanks again for reading and following along!