So Andrew has been teaching me how to drive manual. After a number of sloppy starts and gear switches, and just a few stalls, I can proudly say I can comfortably drive stick. As we pulled into Rob's house in Whangarei (our 2nd couchsurfing host), I forgot to hold the clutch down when I stopped at the top of his driveway, and consequently stalled the car as he came out to greet us; "Hi Rob! I am driving this car but I have no idea how to drive this car! Nice to meet you!"... embarrassing!
Anyway, our couchsurfing experience with Rob (or Bob, as he likes to call himself, for the nationalities that may have difficulty pronouncing the R in Rob, what a beautifully selfless man!) was great. We stayed for two nights. It was really nice to kick back and relax for the day, and we finally got some laundry done. We cooked up taccos for Rob, his two sons, and Katherine (another couchsurfer/host), and settled down after dinner with a few rum and cokes. Over these drinks, Katherine (also American) suggested we joined herself and some fellow Americans down in New Plymouth to celebrate Thanksgiving (yes, the American Thanksgiving is in November! Weirdos!). I objected due to the fact that it would consist of an 8 hour drive, as we had to be down there by Wednesday night as the "dinner" was at noon on Thursday. But, I was out-numbered. 2 Americans: 1 Canadian. Though it seemed Rob was on my side, I'm sure his vote was worth nothing more than 0.5 as he wasn't even going to be there nor would he have to do the drive.
Needless to say, we were on route to New Plymouth by 10 the next morning. We picked up Josh in Auckland, a fellow American and couchsurfer on our way down the coast. Josh told us about this cool spot, White Cliffs where we decided to take a quick break. The place was stunning but our quick scenic stop soon turned into a disaster. The Great White wasn't happy that we parked her on such a steep hill, never mind the storm that was rolling in. The clutch broke. Disaster! But have no fear! Andrew's here! The man is an absolute legend. With the assistance of Josh and I pushing her out, Andrew manages to start the car and we limp our way into New Plymouth. The 7 hour drive turned into like 10 and a half. How will I live without Andrew in my life?
Thanksgiving was a success! In the morning I helped Andrew prepare his rum sauce for the pumpkin pie and his jalapeno corn bread (So yum!). And I helped Josh create his mac n' cheese dish (Definitely one of the favourite casserole dishes); it was beastly!
The dinner turned into a toga party. Oh yeah! Though only Josh, Andrew, Katherine and I were in togas. Due to the guest count of about 20, Cheryl (our host) got permission from her boss at Decante to hold the event at the bar! Success! There was an enormous amount of food, and my god was it good! 2 turkeys, corn bread, rolls, garlic bread, potatoes, cranberry, casseroles galore, the sweet potato casserole (yum!). Never mind the dessert table. Anyway, it was an American Thanksgiving shared with a Canadian, some Germans, Kiwis and even a Japanese guest! Thank you Americans for sharing this event with me!
I loved my time in New Plymouth. With Great White broken down we ended up spending a few extra nights there. Thanks to Cheryl, Colby, Julia and Natalie for hosting us! Greatly appreciated guys. Andrew got the car fixed on Saturday well I selfishly took off and did the Tongariro Crossing hike with Josh, Julia and two german girls I met at Thanksgiving dinner, Stef and Karo. It was a great 8 hour hike, a good kick to burn off some of the left overs we'd been having for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Andrew nurtured Great White back into working order and off we set on Monday morning to Taupo. On the road again! Fare well New Plymouth, the beautiful disaster!
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