Crastinate

My wife and I had a fun time taking this linguistic pattern recognition intelligence test.

I scored 30/33 without hints and 33/33 with a little help. I had my last three but for a couple of words and I needed a little nudge to help my sleep-deprived brain. The page says you are a genius if you get 19 or more. Yay me! When the revolution comes, I'm sure I'll be envied for my ability to recognize how many B's are in the N T.

I am also 52% white and nerdy. What a surprise. I've taken a few other types of tests before.

Update: See also 3 wankers on a tanker

My wife, Diana, and I traveled to New Zealand this month. We had originally wanted to go for three weeks, like we did when we went to Australia, but we had to cut it short and only went for ten days. We toured the North Island by renting a car and driving from Auckland to Whitianga to Rotorua to Tongariro to Wellington.

You hear this over and over again, and it is true: New Zealand is a fabulous country. Clean skies, rolling hills, mountains, volcanos, friendly people, and lots of sheep. Peter Jackson did a great service to his country when he associated it with Middle Earth, but I'm sure people made the association even before he made his films. Some call it the godzone, short for "God's Own Country."

Auckland is... well... Auckland. It is the largest city in New Zealand. It is just a big city in a small country. It's ok. The food is ok, the views are ok, the activities are ok. That was our impression. Things improved greatly when we got out of Auckland. You'll find this sentiment echoed throughout New Zealand - everyone who lives outside of Auckland is glad they aren't there.

Whitianga, at Mercury Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula, is a great little seaside community. New Zealand Encounters, the tour company that helped us create our itinerary, is based there. David and Andrea rock! Great restaurants in Whitianga: Tua Tua and The Fireplace. I went diving with Dive HQ and had a great time.

Rotorua is a very interesting city. It has a great deal of importance to the native Maori and sits upon a huge thermal field. Steam boils out of the ground in a number of places throughout the region. We spent a full day on a trek with Roger TeKiri of TeKiri Treks. I can highly recommend spending a day with Roger. It was by far the most... er... unique tour I have ever been on.

Tongariro National Park is beautiful. It is home to a few volcanos. It is also the major ski area for the North Island. There was plenty of skiing going on, but we opted instead to go hiking to the Tama Lakes. We made it to Lower Tama Lake on our day hike (10 miles round trip). The Tama Lakes were created during major explosive events. The dominant volcano in the park is Mt. Ruapehu, which erupted in 1995 and 1996.

What disappointed me during our hike was the vast amounts of toilet paper which littered the ground along the trail. When we inquired at the Dept. of Conservation office before our hike to ask about where to go, we received no briefing about trail rules or any kind of "pack it out" philosophy. People: bring ziplock bags. Ugh.

While on the way to Wellington, we stopped off at Gravity Canyon for some bungy jumping and a ride on the Flying Fox. Diana jumped, I did not. Ordinarily, I have no problem with heights, but there are certain circumstances where I feel uncomfortable. Diana was terrified, but did it anyway. She enjoyed it. The Flying Fox is where you get strapped into a sling and ride a cable down through the canyon: 1km at 160kph. Fun.

Wellington is a great city. It reminds me a lot of Austin. It is a hip, trendy (for New Zealand), capital city with great views, great recreation, and great food. The bangers and mash at the Matterhorn was the best I've ever had. Cuba Street is great fun. And Te Papa, the national museum, is a fantastic place.

We had a great time in New Zealand and we can't wait to return to visit the South Island.