Volcanic Islands and Motion Sickness

Hi everyone. It's been a bit, I couldn't find decent internet access for a while. So... the day after my first day at Auckland, we went for a hike on Rangitoto Island, which is a ferry ride across. Rangitoto Island is a dead volcanic site. It has black rocks everywhere and some caves. Anyways, it was a kind-of exploration day. You could take many different tracks and travel to different parts of the island. We visited a old war barrack thing. The vegetation was gorgeous, there were these little cactus things all over with flowers growing out of them. There were also some caves, one of which you could walk through, which was nice. And... on the way back, we saw an orca whale, in the harbor! It was really cool. The next day, I woke up at five in the morning (which is starting to be a regular occurence) and could not get back to sleep. So I packed and practiced some scales, arpeggios, and "twinkle twinkle" on the guitar at the hostel. Then we caught a bus to Whangarei. Did you know that "wh" is pronounced like "f"? So it's "fangaray". Anyways, I was so intelligent and booked a hostel five kilometres from town. They offered free pick-up from the bus station, but we would have to get into town ourselves. But when we got there, it was actually quite nice, we were the only ones in the dorms and the owner showed us all these walking trails past Whangarei Falls. The trails provided pretty good access to town. So we walked in and stocked up on food, then pretty much relaxed for the rest of the day. The next day we walked into town again and checked out the Info-Centre, inquiring about diving and snorkeling for the next day. After looking up some information, we went to "ArtBeat", a music/art festival. It was really nice and relaxing. We also stopped by a music store, so I could get my piano fix for the day. I got to play on three different pianos, including one grand! It was very nice. We stopped by a grocery store to pick up some staple foods. But I confess... I bought two extra things that were definitely not necessary. I bought apricot jam, because a plain peanut butter sandwich can get kind of boring after a while. Plus... some aged cheddar cheese. I really love cheese, it adds so much to food, so I think that was a necessary extra. We had pasta (with tomatoes, asparagus, and cheese) and avocado salad (made by me and not half bad). Our cooking skills have definitely been improving. Also, did I mention that we had meat the nice before? That was definitely nice. So, on Sunday we went snorkeling and Sydney went diving. We had a bit of a drive to get in the boat, but it was quite pleasant. This was to be my first snorkeling experience, so I was nervous. We had to sign waivers, even though I am not eighteen, I signed my own. They didn't even ask for ID! I have been surprised by how easy it is to get across the world when you're not eighteen. If you have money and want to run away, nobody is going to stop you. Anyways, the boat ride to The Poor Knight Islands where we were snorkeling was about 45 minutes. We saw two dolphins on the way out. The crew talked about the origin of the island name and such, but what I found most interesting is that almost no one is allowed on these islands. The only people are conservation staff and scientists. They want to preserve the islands from humans. It was said that since almost no humans have set foot on the island, many species have adapted and evolved to become much different. Apparently there are grasshoppers the size of your hand and millipedes over 25 cm long! But I was thinking about how it may be free from direct human contact, humans still have affected the island. Through air pollution, water contamination, etc... they have still changed it. I wonder what the island would be like if there were no effect. Anyways, we all got suited up with wetsuits, fins, masks, and snorkels, then we jumped in. The water wasn't bad, but after a while it got pretty cool. I had to get the hang of the snorkel, so I drank a bit of salt water when I started. But the views! It was amazing!!!!!!! There were fish all around me and so many little organisms floating around in the water. I just kind of floated around in the bay, not really moving myself. But after a while, I started to feel really nauseous. I was thinking, it's mental, just ignore it. So Bretton and I went out further. We saw more stuff and it was really pretty, but then, I started to feel really sick. It told Bretton, so we started to head back. Halfway back, I got sick. At the Poor Knight Islands, renowned for some of the best diving and snorkeling, I got sea sick! I felt pretty ridiculous, I didn't even know it was possible to get sea sick from snorkeling. So we went back, warmed up, ate lunch, then headed back out for a bit more. We got to go through some caves, it was beautiful! Some parts were really shallow, so you could touch all the plants and anemones! Also, we saw a seal, it was so close! It was just swimming and flipping around, having fun. So... I guess overall, snorkeling was completely worth it. I had an amazing time, even if I have a weak stomach. We got back to our hostel at about 5:30. There's this guy at the hostel that always is listening to music. Seriously, he carries a radio with him while he walks. So while he was taking a shower, he had his radio on. I heard him singing along, so I sang with him. It was pretty funny. So today, we headed up to Paihia (which is really hard to pronounce. I think you say it "pie-hea"). We've barely been here, but I love it already. The ocean borders the town and the hostel is big and really clean. I'm missing my flute and the piano, but it's still good. Scrambled eggs with add-ins for supper! I hope I'm not leaving anything out. Anyways, hope all is well with you guys back in Canada! And don't forget to comment.