Indonesia disasters and my arrival to the beautiful Waiheke

So the trip to Indonesia was pretty inconsequential.  I went there to visit friends on a whim.  We had good food, shopping (in Asia its always cheap), movies and then I got sick, ruining all plans of hiking.  So I spent 2 of my five days back in Indonesia in bed.  After I got better a couple of us were supposed to go hiking.  I wanted to see the crater lake (kawah putih) and a dormant (Gunung Tangkuban perahu).  They were supposed to be fabulous.  That plan got dashed, not because I was sick, but because Mt. Kelud, a volcano, erupted and covered the city in ash.  And if it’s snowing ash in the city you know it will be worse up on those hiking trails. 

  

They even said that no one in the city was the move around unless it was absolutely necessary.  We of coarse didn’t listen to that.  I had limited time to enjoy bandung so we headed over  to the mall and goofed off.  The day after the eruption I was worried about my flight.  My line of thinking was so many flights had been cancelled the day before so maybe the airlines were playing catch up or there was still a lot of ash in the air.  I should have been fine, but AirAsia sucks.  They are cheap and fly just about everywhere in Asia, but they suck.  My plane was delayed 8 hours, making me miss my connecting flight with a different airline.  None of the other airlines were experiencing delays from the volcano, but I think organization with these guys is just non-existent.  

So I got into Bali at 1 AM and was told that the desk didn’t open until 6 AM.  I had quite a few hours to kill before I could sort out my flight.  Luckily there was free internet and an outlet to charge my phone in the bathroom hallway.  I just cruised online and then chatted with people back home (the time difference was in my favor). 

 This is how I found out my Oma had passed away; in an airport, after a missed flight, sleep deprived and not sure how I am getting to my next destination.  It was a shock.  The last time I had talked to people back home about her health she was doing ok.  I knew she was pretty sick, but I didn’t know she was declining so fast.  I guess in my week of no/limited contact a lot had happened.  She passed in hospice over night, peacefully.  May she rest in peace.

I debated just changing my flight to home instead.  I mean I had already missed the flight I was supposed to take, why not just redirect it in the other direction?  But mom and dad told me to stay put.  I was good where I was, traveling.  I’m not sure if I flew home if I would have ever made it back to New Zealand.

I did eventually get my flight figured out.  The guys at the transfer desk were surprised that the volcano had caused my flight to be delayed, but accepted it and rerouted my flight for free.  So I was heading in the right direction later that night.  I contacted Ashlie and let her know I would be getting in a day later as well.  This worked out in her favor because she went fishing and caught a big one.  She was so sunburnt when I saw her next.

Flying into Auckland felt very similar to flying into Melbourne.  The bus from the airport to the city was easy access and the airport itself was well laid out and friendly.  The city bus dropped me right at the ferry terminal, so I didn’t have to go searching all over the place, with my bags, to find my end goal.  The ferry wasn’t leaving for another hour so I hung out and got some food before getting on the boat.  The ride over was fast, about 50 minutes, and beautiful.  I spent the whole time outside, just enjoying the view.  All the islands I saw on the way over I would love to explore, but I’m pretty sure I’ll need a boat for that.  That should be my next goal, a boat!

When I got to Waiheke the buses were waiting for us at the Ferry terminal.  The buses and the ferry are owned by the same company, so they make sure the schedule sink up.  I took the bus to Ashlie’s work, Goldie.  It only took about 20 minutes, and the bus driver was super nice.  Ashlie was still working for a little bit, so we just chilled out in cellar door.  It was a bit surreal walking down the driveway to Goldie.  I was in New Zealand, surrounded on either side by beautiful grape vines and could see a glimpse of a stunning view of the bay and our winery.  This is where I am going to be working and living.  Crazy.  I also got to meet Nicky, the vineyard boss and soon to be my new boss.  After all the work stuff was wrapped up we headed back to Ashlie’s place on her scooter.  I think it was a bit hard to balance me, plus a bag on the small scooter, but she seemed to figure it out.

My first night on Waiheke

The house was so cute!  A little wooden house with one bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom.  It also had a little yard surrounded by fruit trees and a porch.  Ashlie and I just acted like a couple of teenagers that first night and actually for several nights after.  We chatting all night long, about everything, and had a few glasses of wine along the way.  Cheers to a new fun adventure!