New Zealand Week 1: North Island

When we arrived to New Zealand (for the second time) on January 7, we hit the ground running. We were recovering from the feeling of emptiness felt after we said goodbye to 25 of our closest family and friends a couple days before, and we eager to get back into our travel groove. We stayed in Auckland only 2 nights - long enough to research our transportation options and decide on renting a car for our month of travel. We were able to get a great "backpacker" deal that wouldn't break our bank so we could have the flexibility to explore at our leisure and whim. Soon, we were on our way touring the North Island for a week...

Coramandel Peninsula
Our first destination was the Coramandel Peninsula for a couple days. This pretty area is only a couple hours east of Auckland and has a summery, vacation feel to it. We found a small hostel in the town of Hahei owned by a retired couple. They essentially rent out their 2 spare rooms and let you use their newly remodeled kitchen, and relax on their perfectly situated front and back decks. Across the road and only a few minute walk away is the sandy white Hahei beach. After all the activity from the past few weeks, this little homey retreat was the perfect place to relax and rejuvenate. We spent 2 nights and did a short hike to nearby Cathedral Cove that features neat caverns along the beach. We also dug our own little spa pool at the famed "Hot Water Beach" with borrowed spade shovels. There is hot mineral water that runs beneath the sand and two hours each side of low-tide, people gather to dig holes in the sand that fill with hot water. It was harder work than we anticipated, so we partnered with a few others nearby and all pitched in to dig one huge spa bath. It was great fun! We were sad to leave this idyllic spot, but had much more to see and do.

Our second stop on the Coramandel was at Pinnacles National Park, where we did a 6 hour hike (to boast, it was supposed to take 9 hours ;) up a mountain to an incredible look out for miles beyond. It was our first major hike in New Zealand and was a great jump start to getting us excited and ready for more hikes. My body did have a bit of a shock, but it's about time I got in better shape. Eric is very patient with me on the steep uphills thank goodness.

Waitomo Caves
From the Coramandel we headed south to Waitomo, famous for its multitude of glow worm caves. We found another homey B&B called the Big Bird Inn, also an ostrich farm. We even sampled scrambled ostrich eggs for breakfast. My mom and I had visited Waitomo before when I was studying for a semester in NZ and had had a great experience exploring the caves and underwater rivers on inner-tubes. It was so much fun, we decided to do a similar cave tour, but with a different company and in a different cave. The 3 hours we spent underground included a bit of exploration on foot, wading and crawling in muddy cave water through a small tunnel to a larger room that is home to a 12 meter waterfall, floating on our inner-tubes through long tunnels and admiring the glow worms that make the cave ceiling look like a starry night, a backwards jump off a 3 meter waterfall and an underground water slide finale that sends you flying down a 10 meter drop and a near miss of a cave wall at the bottom. It was wet, muddy and messy and a great thrill. Even included a dorky outfit and helmet with headlamp. We recommend you check out the photos!

Tongariro Crossing
In the lower half of the North Island sits Tongariro National Park, featuring 3 live volcanoes. For Lord of the Rings fans, you must also note that these cool volcanoes were the backdrop of Mordor. We had heard about a must-do day hike called the Tongariro Crossing and made arrangements to partake. It's a popular hike, but well worth dealing with the company of others and the effort of climbing "Devil's Staircase" as they call it. It takes about 6-8 hours and includes steep climbs and descents, some incredible views of the volcanoes up close, lava fields, craters, emerald mineral lakes, and surrounding valleys and faraway lakes. It's a stunning hike with a bit of everything and we thoroughly enjoyed every part of it. Well, ok, maybe not the really steep climbs, but at least they were worth it. We were also finding how much we were enjoying hiking together...it's a great time to talk about things on your mind, or even just be quite together and take in natural wonders. I might become a little "outdoorsy" girl after all.

Wanganui
We were planning to just stay one night in this small town near the sea and along a big river, but once we arrived and found yet another homey little hostel, we ended up staying a few days. We met a really nice family from the US with two teenage daughters who had moved to NZ for 6 months on a short-term work assignment. It was great chatting with them about their lives and also giving a bit of NZ advice from our experiences here. One of the guys, Daniel, who manned the reception desk at the hostel was also great fun and we watched a few evening movies with him and others. They had a lovely back garden where we spent time reading and journaling and having our meals. Since we were really getting into this whole outdoor thing again, and planned to continue, we decided to invest a bit in some warmer clothes and camp gear. We explored the quaint downtown and found a Salvation Army where we rummaged through the racks and bins, trying on all sorts of fun stuff and settling on some wool socks, hats, gloves and sweaters for our higher altitude endeavors. We also raided the camp stores and decided to purchase a small tent, 2 sleeping bags and a gas cooker so we could start camping more. Considering we had all this stuff and sent it home earlier in the trip, we were a bit gutted to buy it all again, but figured it would pay itself off in the end if we used it a lot and saved money from camping. Plus, we are also planning on a lot of hiking and camping in Argentina and Chile, so these items will prove useful there as well.

Wellington
Our stop in Wellington was a brief one...only a matter of hours to wait for the departure of our ferry across to the South Island. On the way to the capital city, we ran a number of errands in the small towns along the way...popping into a few more charity shops in case there were other good deals, mailing home another package of stuff we decided we could live without and just enjoying the journey. In fact, we truly enjoyed all the driving we did...it feels a bit like you are driving in a postcard in NZ. There are so many diverse and stunning landscapes to keep you entertained as you curve around winding roads or speed through the straightaways. Its really surprising how much variety is packed into this small country.

Next...
Soon, we will continue our story with adventures on the South Island and updates about our travel plans in Samoa, Tonga and South America. So keep checking back for new stuff and we'll try and be better about updating the blog more often! :)

To see photos from our North Island Adventures, click here.

The Much Anticipated Wedding

After a couple weeks of preparing and vacationing, we were anxious to meet and greet the remaining of our arriving family and friends for the big day. On Friday, Dec 28, we arrived back on Rarotonga and over the course of the next few days were joined by another 17 guests - making our group total 27. We had a couple complete surprises...two of Eric's friends (Casey and Ben) had told us they were not coming and then unexpectedly showed up on the doorstep. It was a perfect wedding gift!

The Weekend Before...
The weekend before the wedding was spent in vacation mode...everyone enjoyed swimming and snorkeling, big group dinners, island exploration, catch-up conversations, and Eric and his crew enjoyed their favorite past time of philosophizing while smoking flavored tobacco in the hookah (2 travel hookahs were brought to the island for the occasion). It was a flurry of activity after so much time just the two of us - in fact, we hardly saw each other! But we didn't mind too much since we were so eager to spend time with friends and family...after all, we still have a 5 month honeymoon ahead of us! I personally found it difficult to sleep at night because I was so energized from the action and wanting to not miss a thing. As a result, my immune system got hold of the cold my mom had the week before and within a couple days I started to lose my voice. I figured maybe it was God's way of getting me to quiet down and reflect on this wonderful week of time with loved ones and getting married.

The Day Before...
It wasn't until the day before the wedding that Eric and I woke up early morning and thought "Crap! We've gotta figure out how everything will go tomorrow!" We jumped into action and convened a meeting with Eric's father (who married us) to discuss the content and flow of the ceremony, a meeting with the small group of people with a role in the ceremony and then a big group rehearsal that night before dinner to practice human aisle formation and our positions for the next day.

Once we got most of the items checked off our list, Eric and the boys (except our dads who both graciously stayed behind to help with wedding stuff) set off for the challenging cross-island trek. I was sent to bed for a nap and also snuck in some beach and talk time with my girlfriends and family. Later, when the boys returned I was told about Eric's climb to "the needle" - a rock face at the top of the mountain that is the highest point on the island. It was a good thing he was back safe and sound before I saw all the photos that could have prevented the wedding the next day! I suppose every groom must have his last hurrah with his guys before the big day.

The Day Of...
Bride's side of the story: The night before the wedding I spent with my mom in a sleepover just like old times. We both woke up at 5:30AM and talked and reminisced before the day began. It was a very special time for the two of us. Eric spent the night and morning with his family as well. And we all had a big breakfast at my family's villa next door. I, unfortunately, didn't have much of a voice and was quite exhausted already, which kept me from stressing out. About noon, all the girls headed over to The Muri Beach Club Hotel for a light lunch and tropical drinks. Afterwards, I headed up to my room to get ready with my girlfriends Kandice, Kavita, Lorri and my mom. Kandice, my maid of honor and friend of 20 years, did my hair and make-up (just like we used to as girls, but a bit more sophisticated for the occasion ;) As tradition dictates, my mom helped me to get dressed and put on my wedding jewelry (hand-made by my dear friend Laura). After all the grooming and photos, my Dad came to pick us up and escort us stealthily to the villa for us to wait until the ceremony began. I was given my bridal bouquet of Frangipani flowers, I put a flower lei on my dad and we waited for the cue to make our way to the beach aisle entrance.

Groom's side of the story: Prior to embarking on the day's events I took some much needed time to re-write my wedding vows for the ceremony and reflect on the promises we were about to make. After that it was distraction time and my friends and I headed out to find a good snorkel spot and had a great time seeing eels, rays, parrot fish and even a turtle. We headed back a little early to make sure everything was ready for the ceremony and enjoyed a last hookah session while getting reports from friends across the globe about USC's (our college football team) win in the Rose Bowl - Go Trojans! Before I knew it, my dad and I were standing underneath the flowered alter surrounded by friends and family waiting for Mariah to walk down the aisle. (My dad was kind enough to offer me a few parting jokes to help pass the minutes before the big moment - thanks dad!)

The Ceremony...
It was an emotional moment standing there with my dad - so symbolic and much anticipated - that neither of us could completely hold back our tears. After our ring bearer and flower girl (Sage and Maya - my friend Cheryl's children) walked down the aisle, it was our turn. It is a moment I will remember more vividly than the rest of the ceremony - being able to look at each person standing there supporting and loving us as we were about to say our vows as we walked past them. And seeing Eric, my husband-to-be, at the end waiting for me with a smile. As Eric's dad Jeff gave his blessing and sermon; as we said our vows and promises; as Anne Baumgarten and Cheryl each gave a wedding reading; as we exchanged rings and kissed...we were surrounded by a circle of friends and loved ones who we knew would love, support and help us as we embark on this life-long journey.

Our ceremony concluded with us joining the circle, holding hands, offering a prayer and a blessing and a moment of reflection. The backdrop was the most lovely of beaches and lapping clear water on the shore. And my favorite part - the part I've always dreamed about for our wedding - feeling the sand in between my toes as I wriggled them about...reminding myself to always remember this moment, and this promise.

Then it was photo time! We didn't hire a photographer...we didn't need to because we had several in our group of friends on hand who did a great job. I think we totaled over 2,000 photos in the first cut...click here to see a small sample of the photos. We'll post more as we get them sorted and edited. :) Thank you to John, Lorri, Tom and all our other photographers for capturing the many moments of our wedding.

Wedding Dinner...
And then to the dinner at Muri Beach Club. The dinner was delicious and very elegant. We had several gourmet options to choose from and plenty of wine and champagne to go around.

Although I wasn't feeling 100% at the start of dinner (due to my cold and lack of food...most brides I'm told are too nervous to eat much on their wedding day), once I got some food in me and the music got going, we both thoroughly enjoyed the evening. We were touched and entertained by toasts from my father and mother, maid of honor and several of Eric's friends. We did the traditional bride/groom first dance, father/daughter dance and then everyone jumped in to join the dance party. Some of our friends even got inspired by the evening and sang karaoke to a few classic songs. It was certainly a night to remember!

After...
And then to the wedding night...BLEEP...you didn't really think we'd let you in on those details! Ha ha ha! What we can say is that the whole experience was much more emotional than either of us anticipated...and of course, it all went so fast! It was an event to promise and celebrate our union, to honor the family and friends that have and will support us throughout life, and to mark the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. We are thankful to all who were able to be there in person, and also to everyone that we know was there with us in spirit. We are a very blessed couple and feel extremely grateful as we now start our "honeymoon." Five months to go!

Christmas on Aitutaki

A few days after our "legal" wedding with Joni, Mariah's mom, we were met with other reinforcements to enjoy a short trip out to an outer island called Aitutaki for Christmas. We were joined by my parents (Jean and Jeff), sisters (Anne and Emma), friend (Al) and Mariah's Dad and girlfriend (Ray and Lorri).

Aitutaki is a pristine island a few hundred km away from Rarotonga, the main island of Cook Islands. Due to the island's origin as part atoll and part volcanic, it has formed a partial cauldron creating a beautiful lagoon where the water is only 30m deep. It makes for spectacular shades of blue and an idyllic setting for swimming and snorkeling.

After traveling for over 6 months, being surrounded by friends and family every minute of the day felt a bit overwhelming, and yet very fulfilling at the same time. Our bungalows were positioned on a beautiful beach that sat between the reef and lagoon where we were able to snorkel and sunbathe. Our beach was also the perfect place to enjoy an evening meal, drinks, and an occasional cigar.

Christmas Dinner
After being on the island for less than 24hrs, we had to scramble to put together a Christmas dinner for the 10 of us on a small atoll in the middle of the Pacific. Everything turned out perfectly...we were able to purchase some meat and veggies at the local market and put together a fine island meal. In Cherniss/Martin fashion there was food for 20, so we were able to invite our British neighbors, Glen and Laura, for dinner and drinks. The back drop felt nothing like Christmas at home but none were complaining :)

Hiking/Biking around the Island
Once settled in, and with Christmas behind us, everyone set out to explore the island with our newly rented car and motor scooters. Ray and Lorri headed out first on their wild tour while the rest of us settled into the island flow and eased out the door much later :) We headed first to the highest peak on Aitutaki for a short hike and to take in the breathtaking views of the lagoon below. Following our exploration of the hills, we got comfortable for the hour long motor tour around the island. Don't get the wrong impression...this little atoll is only several km around, but many of the roads are not paved and we also wanted to take our time for photo ops. The trip around the island gave us all some time together while enjoying the slow island life style.

While my Dad and I rode around on the motor bikes, my friend Al was stuck in the tiny car with my mom, Mariah and Joni because he skidded on gravel and bailed on the motorbike on the first day of the trip - bummer! He got himself a nice island "tattoo" that he had to deal with the remainder of the trip. The real bummer is that after he went home two weeks later, he found out he got a small fracture that was causing a considerable amount of pain, sorry buddy! In spite of it all, he powered through and had a great time...and provided some much needed guy time for me after 6 months with just Mariah. ;)

Lagoon Cruise
The highlight for everyone was on our full day lagoon cruise. We chartered a boat "Wet and Wild" for the day to explore the surrounding islands in the lagoon. We headed out at 10am island time (10:45am) for a day of snorkeling, island hopping and lunch with our captain Quinton. Our first stop was the giant clam area where we were dropped in the water amongst clams the size of our motor bikes. Every one got into it and was having fun diving down and exploring these huge creatures. There was even a black pearl farm nearby that we could see underwater.

After clam swimming, we headed to another large coral outcropping with tons of fish... and my mom's favorite, a huge giant eel that came out to enjoy the feast of the head and tail of what was to become our fish lunch (Quinton was cleaning the fish nearby).

Mariah and I had the opportunity to follow a Cook Islands tradition of planting a coconut tree on Honeymoon Island, a small island that is pretty much just sand and coconut trees. We had a lot of fun taking photos (none with our camera, but we will try and get some to post soon) and exploring the island before lunch.

After Honeymoon Island, we headed to One Foot Island where some of the episodes of "Survivor- Cook Islands" was filmed. We enjoyed an amazing fish lunch cooked on an open flame by Quinton before heading home. We also had a chance to head outside of the lagoon for one last short snorkel.

All in all, Aitutaki was an amazing experience for all (even Mariah and I who have been on small islands for the last few months). We were all able to chill out enjoy each other's company before the wedding festivities absorbed us all.