The expert fools team jumps in the car, ready for the new adventure and road hungry as always - and as never before. It's friday afternoon, and the sky is sliding towards sunset already. We drive past the most amazing landscapes, the ones drawn by the fingers of lake Taupo.
Sigur Rós plays through some burning clouds, the fingers of the night can't wait to wrap themselves around us. At our last stop before destination we play with the weaker sunbeams and with the shadows, drinking the golden light that has invaded everything around us.
We reach a last the place where we're gonna spend the night.
And wow, yes. It's a school camp, and it looks like an old school from the fifties. It's amazingly fascinating. And there's something spooky to it, that's for sure. We keep of course on kidding about that. The ghosts hidden behind the walls must have had a good laugh as well, aey.
Half a pizza, a couple of beers on some old couches, than it's bedtime. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow. A beautiful day.
With a bit of rain. That's just a detail. We're driving towards the start of the Tongariro crossing, and some rain is falling from the sky. Oh, it's soon gonna stop.
Or maybe not. On the walk towards the top the rain increases in quantity and power, and a cold wind starts blowing. I got it, I've got it. We've got it. This was not the best day to go for a little walk on an old volcano. The ridiculous thing about the whole is that I'm actually enjoying it. I'm laughing at myself, than at us, and I'm having fun, while Steve and Bendik are waaay ahead of Jesper and me.
The downhill is real fun. We slide down from the top on volcanic sand, and it's like skiing on black, grainy snow. We run past some bewildered tourists, laughing, screaming, freezing. We leave some fog-baked blue acid lakes behind us, and are once again alone with Mother Nature. She hears us singing loud some Beatles songs though the desert, quiet landscape.
The rain stops falling, and some sunbeams appear towards the end of the path. I love this weather's sense of humor.
A few hours later we're floating in the water of some thermal pools, getting cooked like tired, happy chickens. It feels like we deserved, although the word "deserve" never really sounds appropriate to me. We leave some beautiful mountains behind us, some wonderful landscapes that we never got to see. That's pretty fascinating. I love having reasons to go back to places.
Be thankful for all the things you've lost, amen.
It's Saturday evening and we're back in Hamilton, rushing to get to the big Balloon show at university. I leave my camera at home, and like Jesper says, leaving the memories to the mind alone, does give a sense of freedom sometimes.
The balloons are lightened up following the rhythm of the music, the cricket lawn on campus is packed. It's just like being back in the North Harbour Stadium. Well, the Who aren't there, that is a pretty important detail. The fireworks explode over our heads. It feels good to just have a sip of kiwibeer and let the world work for our minds, getting brainlessly amazed and blasted by some lights flashing in the sky.
Time stops being a matter, numbers are never important when the beats of the music regulate the passing of hours, days, and breaths.
Undefined elapsed time, and we're following Oklahoma Boy and Jersey towards a house right in front of campus. Some guys are standing naked on the roof, and the whole crowd walking away from the balloon show slows down staring at them. I'm incredibly amused, I can seriously not stop laughing and smiling. Undefined elapsed time, and we're walking towards the city, meeting random people that I'm gonna forget in a while. Undefined elapsed time, bar 101, and heyk, Stever's here!, undefined elapsed time, again and again.
Dlindlontrilliliii, whatever sound the alarm on my cellphone makes. It's sunday morning, nine o'clock. And we have a whole day of adventures ahead of us. Aey!
Our bus heads towards our beloved geothermical-stinking Rotorua. And the first stop is the Zorb. That has got nooothing to do with the Zorba-the Greek dance. Although it's a bit of a dance, for sure. It's the kind of thing I've dreamt of as a child. I remember looking at my roof at home, my head upside down, wondering how I eventually would place the furniture if the house was ever gonna be tilted upside-down. 'Cause that would have been so cool. Be able to walk on the roof inside the house. And roll down a hill in a gum ball filled with warm water. Believe it or not, it's the best thing to do after a party night.
The kid pushes the nose against the still foggy glass, and smiles in a wasted, amazingly amused way. "Than I liked the rafting".
And it's true, it's been one of the best experiences so far in New Zealand. Jumping on a raft with the mates, screaming like madmans at the maori raft-captain's orders. Ahhhr!
It's sunday afternoon, and we're falling down a seven meters fall on a raft. Our cap* Lee gets thrown overboard, the rest of us manage to emerge from the scum screaming and laughing, still on the raft. I get thrown out of the raft and into the water, and yes. I love being there, ridiculously trying to get back on the raft, feeling like a stupid duck, laughing at myself, and at everything at the same time.
I love crossing the most beautiful forests sliding down a river, playing with mother nature's veins. Which are as powerful as dinosaur breaths.
I love sitting in the new sunset an hour later, staring at everything and nothing at all. I'm thankful, I suddenly realize how much I adore this whole life.
The kid opens her eyes, the bus has reached Hamilton. And now she realizes how everything actually did happen. The four norwegians walk through the night in the park, and the milky way is shining like a jewel rainbow.
Home is where your own smile appears.
Quote of the day(s)
"You're pretty too, but you have a penis..." (Jesper to Steve)
Song of the day: "The only living boy in New York" by Simon and Garkunkel
2 comments:
Beautiful!
Thanks for that!
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