Puke Green Dream

with Stephen Crabbe

Apparently Stephen Crabbe was a famous NZ swimmer, most older local get real kicks from my name.



Pat and I have landed in NZ safe and sound. So far it has been all biz but still very exciting! We have been staying at X Base ACB (Auckland Central Backpackers) which is the largest hostel in NZ which has 500 rooms, a night club, and a very exuberant global atmosphere. The cost is 25 per night which is expensive but we are in the heart of the city and this is touted as the best place in NZ to begin your adventure. There is talk everywhere about place to get cheap food, drink specials etc.

Believe it or not but we didn’t get jetlag. We left LAX at around 10:30 PM which was a 13 hour flight to Australia, we managed to get a solid nights sleep. I still haven’t figured out the time change but I know we are a day or so ahead?!?

Our room has 8 beds, it is a complete fucking mess and it seems everyone is on a very odd sleeping schedule. I am already used to hearing other people have sex. I mean what are you supposed to do? I have adopted the ear plug/ignore strategy; I don’t think there is any other way. The girl underneath me took my bunk for quite a ride early this morning which was very uncomfortable/humorus/liberating…? I ignored it and tried not to believe I was listening to another man grunt to climax.

The weather is very similar to a Canadian spring here right now with the exception of a warmer sun when it is exposed. The vegetation is tropical and even in the heart of Auckland there is an abundance of trees, grass and parks which are just lovely. People are playing rugby, throwing Frisbees, smoking the reefer, drinking beer, dancing, singing and everything else you can imagine.

We have just purchased a faded puke green 1990 Nissan Sentra wagon for $1800 NZD! We got a $200 inspection and background check for security. We purchased the car at a packpackers car exchange where people like us showcase their car for 3 days for $65. The staff is very helpful and it was a phenomenal experience. We wanted to buy a camper van but they where more like 5G’s for a decent one. The insurance is only $120 for 3 months and gas is about the same price as Canada once you figure out the exchange rate of around 25-30% We are losing our shit thinking about our 1st car and how much of the island this opens up to us. A bus pass for the whole island is over $1000 each. Now we have a sleep able wagon with the steering on the right side…haha.

So apparently Pat has taken up the sleep all day mentality because we need to get going but he won’t get out of bed. I have to try and wake him again because if we don’t go get our car from the garage then we will have to wait until Tuesday (Monday is Labor day).

The world cup rugby game is on tonight which is possibly a bigger deal than the superbowl. The NZ all blacks lost in the quarter finals and the country is still in a state of mourning.

It is everything I imagined and more so far and we haven’t got out of the city! Apparently people like the way we look and talk down here. That’s ok with us.