Tekapo and Last Lingerings

Ahh, I'm so glad I saved my day in Tekapo for last, as, even though every mountain is beautiful, I'm convinced the ones around Lake Tekapo were the best, highest and snowiest. I took the bus here in the morning and boy oh boy was it a beautiful drive. It was all through mountain country as the bus worked its way through a pass in the Southern Alps. We passed Mt. Cook, many, many more mountains and gorgeous tussock country - home of the hardy Merino sheep. The country reminded me of the mountains in Lord of the Rings sooo many times, and I expected to see the crazy woods wizard racing across the Tussock country with his Ragadast rabbits being chased by Wargs at any moment.

Merino country

 I finally arrived in Lake Tekapo itself and ahhhh, gorgeous! The town is next to a large, very glacially blue glacier/snow melt lake, and it reflected the mountains to great effect. I climbed up Mt. John for a full view of the area, and it was beautiful (surprise, surprise). The area was incredible, and I think I'm just going to have to post a few pictures, stop the description, and recommend you go there yourself! Along my trek, one highlight was a incredibly musical bird song - possibly one of the most beautiful and exquisitely musical things I have ever heard.

Pure beauty

 The town of Lake Tekapo was also lovely, and very tiny with highlights being the other amusing tourists, a lovely old Church of the Good Sheppard, and sheepdog statue. The church was along the side of the lake, and was beautifully set amongst the mountains. The statue was in recognition of the contribution the sheepdog has made to the farmers in the area and was a lovely tribute.

Well that’s all for now folks! The next day, I bussed into Christchurch, and planed to Auckland. My lovely hosts picked me up (yayyyy), and we went to their son's house where they had been baby sitting their granddaughter while their son and daughter in law visited… Canada! I repacked my bag and somehow actually managed to fit most of my things in my bag. Ahh, what a great trip! Friendly Kiwis, a wonderful new second family, great travel buddies and acquaintances, really good work experience, spectacular scenery, near perfect weather and lots of those moments where I just had to sit back and say wow - what a fantastic summer/winter. I definitely hope to be back some day, but for now I'm content to head home. I boarded the plane in Auckland, 13.5h later ended up in Vancouver, Vancouver to Toronto (destination confirmation pending), and then home.

 Sweet as, and love you long time NZ.

 

 Church of the good Shepherd

 

Queenstown

Next morning we got up to head out of beautiful Wanaka to possibly even more beautiful Queenstown! Our first stop of the day was at a place called Puzzle World. Here, we were entranced by many puzzling things such as the leaning tower of Wanaka, a wooden maze which took an incredible amount of time and confusion to find ones way around in, a room tilted so water appeared to flow uphill, etc., a perspective room (see picture) and many other super neat optical illusions, etc..

The perspective room - look at how tall I am!!

Along the way, we stopped off at the birthplace of bungee jumping to hear its history and watch some sillies take a leap. We watched a video on the origin of the bungee idea - a tribe which used to do it without the elastic part of the rope to promote fertility - and its evolution and commercialization by a few crazy Kiwis who took elasticized the rope and took it all around the world to bridges and tall buildings before commercially setting it up in Queenstown. We watched one of our friends take the leap, and several others gracefully (or not) dive from the platform and bounce around upside down before being retrieved from dangling above the river by two expert fishermen in a boat - sweet as.
 

 

Queenstown itself had a strong resemblance to Whistler as a ski/resort town, but was a bit more spread out and diverse than Whistler. The town is nestled between a lake and some big hills which become mountains in the distance and was quite picturesque. Our first evening there we reveled in being in a somewhat bigger town and enjoyed shopping and exploring in the many gift shops for the afternoon/evening.

Queenstown

The next morning was an early start for a day trip to Milford Sound! It was a beautiful day in Queenstown, but as we headed towards Milford sound, the weather became more and more 'fiord-land-like'. We bundled up and enjoyed it anyways - I was toasty warm in a few sweaters, including one my mom had bought almost 19 years previous when my parents (and I) visited the sound - it returns, but I doubt it will hold together for another trip. The countryside for our bus ride was wrapped in mist, but was still quite beautiful with mountains and farmland changing to steeper mountains, lakes and untouched forest. When we got to Fiordland National Park, we could truly appreciate the wilderness of the area as we stopped to check out the sights. On a brief walk through the forest we were able to enjoy the rainforest and the multitude of mosses and incredible green of our surroundings - so mysteriously beautiful. The fiord landscape was shaped by glaciers over the ice ages and continues to be shaped today, but by water rather than ice. The gloomy weather we experienced illustrated this as the rain falling created thousands and thousands of waterfalls. I thought there were a lot as we drove through the hills to the Sound, but that was nothing compared to the number we saw when we were cruising along the Sound. We took a boat ride for a few hours into the Sound (which is technically a Fiord, but good luck fixing that now) to enjoy the amazing sights. There were steep cliffs and mountainsides on either side of the water and through the mist, the waterfalls were quite visible. Some were large and thundered down the banks, but others were small and swept up by the wind halfway down their course. It was difficult to keep track of scale as we cruised through, but many of the cliff faces and therefore waterfalls were up to 150m high! I loved watching the waterfall as we cruised up the Sound, turned around in the Tasman Sea, and cruised back down, catching a wee glimpse of some seals. The waterfalls and spectacular landscape stole the day though, and, while the pictures I took really don’t seem to do the area justice thanks to the mist, I'll just have to remember, and come back again some day! Oh yeah, and the mountains were crying, and every tear drop was a wa-wa-wa-wa-waterfall (Coldplay reference!).

Milford Sound. Pictures just cannot capture the scale and beauty

We topped off a great day with a trip to the renowned Ferg Burger shop where, of course, we ate a Ferg burger! Despite the wait, the burger was quite good, and it was a fun dinner out.

Ferging it up!

Conny and our other travelling friends all left Queenstown this morning, so I had a quiet day exploring solo again. Unlike ski-in Whistler, around Queenstown, you have to take a further bus up to the mountains to the ski fields, as snow in the town is not at all a permanent winter feature (when it snows in New Zealand, it's often only at high altitudes, rarely at sea level, and when it snows at the bases of mountains, it usually melts before too long, but it also helps that I've been enjoying New Zealand's warmest winter in 40 years)! So I decided that morning to get my fix of summer snow and go visit the ski fields. I chose the Remarkable field, and as I hoped, found it to be quite remarkable! The ski bus took about 45 minutes to get out of town and up the switchbacks to the top of the mountains. The view from the top of the mountains revealed way more snow peaked mountains than I had seen from the base or Queenstown, and some lovely looking ski conditions on the slopes. I wandered around, took some pictures of the scenery and enjoyed being surrounded in snow! (If only there had been a bus to the cross country ski fields… :() That afternoon, I returned to Queenstown, and hiked up the Tiki track which ran along the trail of the gondola in Queenstown. My climb was rewarded by a beautiful, free view of the city of Queenstown, the lake and the surrounding mountains, ahh how lovely. I just wish the towns along the West coast of New Zealand were a bit bigger and had more practical opportunities to live and work there… :)

The remarkable Remarkables.

Mountains! Franz Josef and Wanaka

We caught a bus inland to the small town of Franz Josef to take a look at the Franz Josef glacier. We arrived late in the afternoon, so no time to do any ice climbing or anything too exciting, but I wanted to catch a glimpse, so grabbed a bus out to the glacier. It was a bit of a trek into the glacier, so I had a good run in trying to catch the last glimpses of sunlight on the glacier. I had enough light to take a look at the glacier, and it ended up being a very cool experience as I was the only person in the glacial valley. The glacier itself was pretty cool, 'dirty' and towering up between two steep cliffs, but even better was the valley. It was a huge valley with steep sides, water falls, neat vegetation and a valley floor littered with glacial debris and stones - very picturesque and beautiful . I'm so glad I made it out to the glacier, and it was nice to stretch my legs with a good run!

The magical Franz Valley.

We left Franz early the next morning on our way towards the ski and adventure area of the South Island - Wanaka and Queenstown. Wanaka was our destination for the day, and we had a great ride there through some absolutely amazing mountain scenery. I don’t think it will matter how many times I see mountains, I will always be impressed by them, and take way too many pictures of the same one. My visit to the mountains in the winter has been especially neat as I have gotten to see the beautiful snow on the mountains, but I haven't gotten snowed in anywhere! We stopped at the picturesque Mattison Lake in front of the mountains, and enjoyed the reflection of the mountains in the water, the beautiful vistas and the crisp, fresh air. The forest we went for a walk through was also very different and beautiful as this one was more mossy than the past ones and had a very green hue. We arrived in beautiful Wanaka with more spectacular views and I had a very lovely rest of my day… skydiving!!

 

The Lake Mattison view

Yep, you heard that right - I went skydiving and had a blast! I got my gorgeous suit on, a harness and climbed into a plane. I got all strapped to my 'beautiful stranger'  and enjoyed my one way plane ride. The scenery was beautiful as we climbed up into the air, and circled higher and higher until 12000 feet. If I thought the view was nice from inside the plane, it was even better from outside the plane!! My tandem partner and I jumped out of the plane in 'free-fall' position, and I loved every minute of it! I had an unobstructed view of Lake Wanaka and the beautiful mountains surrounding the area. After a few fun spins to get the full 360 view, we had a smooth landing and were back on solid ground. I'm definitely going to have to do that again some day! We spent the rest of the day with lots of adrenalin in our systems and heard a great live band that night.

  

 Me and my beautiful stranger

West Coast Wandering

Let the wanderings in small but beautiful West coast towns begin! After a morning in Greymouth, I headed on the bus up to Nelson - a full day's ride through beautiful West coast scenery - huge surf, big cliffs and mountains on the other side. The vegetation was also quite different from what I have gotten used to with a lot more green and jungle-like conifers (great description eh?). We even got a great stop in at the pancake rocks - WAHOO! They were quite cool and the best way to describe them is really their name - pancake rocks. Columns of rock formations which were layered rocks appearing like a good old stack of pancakes with the maple syrup effect being provided by the moss. I'd say the pancakes were layered quite firmly though as the intense surf was giving them quite a beating - very cool spot! I got into artful Nelson a bit after dark, but my exploratory walk to the hostel gave me a good vibe about the quaint, medium-sized town.

Just add syrup to the pancake rocks!

 The next morning I adventured around Nelson, walking to the downtown, out along the harbour flats, and along a route to the centre of New Zealand! Okay, the geographical North-South Centre of the country apparently (I wouldn't really know). The centre was a survey point up on a look out and, of course, climbing the hill gave me a great look at the city and surrounding mountains and ocean. I quite liked my walk around and time in Nelson on another beautiful morning. Travelling in the tourist off season has been a fantastic experience so far - places which I know are normally full and bustling have been quite empty (I was one of 3 travellers staying in the Greymouth hostel), but I have still had fantastic weather to enjoy everything - that's just been luck so far. Also, it's been a decent temperature and I haven't had to deal with that killer NZ heat (but I might melt when I come home seeing as I've only had winter/autumn for about a year). I met up with my travelling companion and friend from working in Gisborne in Nelson, and together we continue along to Kaiteriteri!

 

The centre of New Zealand in Nelson!

 Kaiteriteri is a super small town right next to the beautiful Abel Tasman park and a beach destination for Kiwis and tourists alike (although mostly in summer…). We arrived after dark, but the next morning explored the area. I went for a walk along a trail on the cliffs and beaches and felt as if I was in the Caribbean with the golden sand, eroded cliffs dropping down to beaches, many lovely birds and bird song, and beachy feel of the place. The sand and beaches were truly beautiful, and I could have spent much longer there, but it was time to hit the road again to Westport!

 

Kaiteriteri beach

 Westport was a pretty small town again, but we arrived with enough time for a grocery run and to find a comfortable spot to watch the Super Rugby finals (go Chiefs! < look at me, such a good Kiwi!). After a good game and a come from behind surge in the last 20 minutes, the New Zealand team won - Wahoo!! The next morning I decided to try my hand at a famous New Zealand adventure activity - I realized I had been way  too relaxed in my travelling. So we went for some Jet Boating on the Buller River. Jet boating is a form of boating invented by a crazy Kiwi, and is quite similar to Jet skiing, but in a boat. The engine works by shooting water out behind the boat, and this technique allows the boat to go in very shallow water and do lots of fancy maneuvers. We had a 'leisurely' cruise up the Buller River and got to see a tree which appeared to change species half way up (a vine had established itself in the crown and taken over the original tree's vascular system - way cool). We also heard about the river which was quite surprising - when we boated on the river it looked like a moderately fast, big river - but nothing too intense, but our driver told us stories of how it can rise 10-15 metres in half an hour and move incredible amounts of water - having (I think) the second largest discharge to the ocean of any river in the world. Picturing the river with that much water in filling its large banks was quite intense! But none of that excitement for us - we just had our man-made adventure as, on the jet boat's way downstream on the river, we did many spins and daring maneuvers and shot around corners at an alarming route. Wahoo adrenalin!
 

The Jet Boat!

Well that was some great West Coast scenery along the way, but it's time to say goodbye to the West Coast and head inland to the bigger mountains!

 

 

Christchurch Construction

We left for Christchurch the next morning and arrived on the Canterbury plains after a few hours drive. The city was pretty big, and driving in and to the hostel you could barely tell there had been an earthquake other than a few closed buildings, etc.. After I settled in and went for a wander into the downtown area it was a different story. Three years after the first quake it was quite clear how bad the devastation had been, and how big the rebuilding efforts were. There were empty corners a-plenty where buildings had been removed and not yet rebuilt, but several of these were filled through 'open-space projects' - community efforts to fill in the gaps in Christchurch's centre through innovative ideas like mini putt courses and, my favourite, a pallet pavilion. The pallet pavilion was a very neat space where brightly coloured pallets had been stacked and some decorated or filled with plants to form a square with a stage, coffee shop, and lots of innovative seating - yay rebuilding!

Pallet Pavillion

The downtown also still had several streets closed to cars, but most were navigable on foot. Walking around, I saw many buildings which were still in ruins, their walls stabilized by beams or leaning against boxcars for stability (lots of boxcars actually). Through the destruction, there was still lots going on in the city with restaurants set up out of box cars throughout the area, and a whole boxcar shopping area (complete with LuluLemon, which I went into to say hi to the Canadians which were working there:)).

Downtown shopping - I`ve never seen box cars that looked so good!

 Taking a walk through the Cathedral square was interesting and, the cathedral structure was still visible through the construction fence (there were so many construction/engineering projects going on in the area and so many workers busy fixing things, it shows how destroyed the city was that they aren't all done yet!). I took a look at the Earthquake City Museum, and got great picture of the stories and struggles of the city. It was a really cool display with lots of information and stories. I took a meander through the beautiful botanical gardens on my way back to the hostel, and they were quite alive and well - beautifully so! Overall, I'd say the city is alive and well - what doesn't destroy a city makes it stronger.

 

 

The famous Christchurch Cathedral

Kaikoura

Early morning to the ferry for a hop, skip and a jump over to the South Island. We had great weather and lovely views along the way of Wellington and the North Island receding, and then the sounds and hills of the South Island approaching. It was very cool to almost immediately see a different landscape on the south island of different looking hills, way more forested area, and the big sounds that the boat passed through. A short ride through Picton, we stopped in Blenheim for a visit. The town had a very different demographic than I had been used to seeing as there were many migrant workers in the area to work in the many local vineyards. The town itself was small but pretty nice with a public square and pretty waterfront features. As we drove off, the landscape around the town was also quite nice with the many vineyards sheltered between mountains - tres cool! Our next stop on the way to Kaikoura was a very special one at a magical seal pond! About a 10 minute walk up the road, there was a waterfall flowing into a small pool of water which was alive with the activity of 25-35 seal pups - SOOO CUTE! The pups come up to the pool from the ocean to swim and socialize in safety, and they were making the most of it! They were leaping and splashing through the water, chasing each other, sitting on rocks, climbing the banks to appear as 'tree-seals', and generally being very entertaining. Neato!

Seeing Seals

 

We then continued our drive through snow capped and impressive mountains and very different vegetation, alongside the ocean to beautiful Kaikoura. Here, I was lucky enough to be able to stay with parents of the friends I was travelling with in their beautiful home. It was quite a neat place with gorgeous, highly functional gardens and a view down onto the ocean and town, and up to the mountains.

Kaikoura the beautiful

 My next day was spent in Kaikoura and included a lovely tour of the house, workshop and gardens in the area where the couple makes or grows much of their food from garden and scratch - very cool, and delicious home made honey. I also walked and explored the area, having a beautiful walk along the wharf of the old whaling town (almost stepping on a seal), and enjoying the small town. Kaikoura was originally a whaling and sealing town as its waters are especially productive for these species, and while they aren't hunted here anymore, the town is still based around them, just through tourism and whale watching now. After lunch I went for another walk the other direction along the coast and found more seals than I have ever seen in one place! The seals were just chilling on the rocks making quite a site between the two colonies that were stationed there. My hosts were my guides for the walk as they used to work as seal divers and had lots of information for me. Kaikoura was a beautiful and wonderful place with great mountain to ocean views, and a very entertaining local seal population.

 

 

 

Tough day eh?

Wobbly Wellington

On the road again! Here goes my 2.5 week South Island adventure!... The first leg was done with a few friends I met in Gisborne who were headed down to the South Island for a ski trip - what great timing! They were absolutely lovely to travel with, and I had a great time riding with them from Gisborne, down to Christchurch via the East coast most of the way. They were very knowledgeable about the areas we drove through, and talking about the landscapes, flora and fauna along the way was great - my own personal tour guides! Our first stop was at a bird sanctuary where we saw several native bird species, including quite a few Kaka birds feeding! Other highlights included HUGE eels relaxing in the stream - after finally seeing some of the giants, I now understand why people eat them! Our first night was in Wellington, where I was fortunate enough to be able to stay with a 'friend of a friend' and get some local information on the area. We went out for sushi and I retired early in anticipation of a busy next day. Busy day indeed! I started my morning off with a visit to New Zealand's main national museum - Te Papa. It was first rate! The displays were super interesting and covered everything from NZ culture to the volcanic/seismic habits of the island, to its wildlife and more. Highlights included an Earthquake house (so I guess I kind of experienced one of those Wellington earthquakes), a giant squid, really neat art, the Marae house and the Maori weaving. Next was a walk along the harbour to the parliament buildings where I went on a free tour - it was great! The parliament buildings were remarkably similar to Canada's and I suppose that makes sense, given our shared British heritage. The Beehive is where all the politicians' offices are located and it was interesting architecture to be sure;  ornate hallways, committee rooms, chambers and the library were an added bonus. Another rather unique feature of the building was that it was all designed to be 'base-isolated' to resist earthquakes - some cool engineering there!

 

Keeping busy at the Beehive

 

Next, I checked out old St. Paul's church which looked normal enough from the outside but the inside revealed its magnificent wooden construction. The whole inside of the church was beautifully sculpted wooden architecture that looked amazing with the stained glass windows.

Next was a bus to Weta Caves!!! Weta is a movie production group that has done the special costuming, set designing, etc. for lots of famous movies - Lord of the Rings, Avatar, King Kong and lots and lots more! The props they had on hand and their stories of how they design and make them were amazing! For example, a sword used in a movie would be made in metal, plastic, wood, etc. Also, watching one of the graphic designers at work brought a whole new meaning to Photoshop!

My buddy at Weta Caves

 

Finally, I knew my trip to Wellington wouldn't be complete without a view over the city, so up Mt. Victoria I climbed for a stunning view of the metropolis sprawling between the ocean and nearby hills. Dinner and relaxing by the waterfront was followed by watching 'the rugby' and meeting lots of new people at a friend's flat. 

 

Doing well in Wellington

Farewell Gisborne

Oops I did it again, but because my holidays are almost over, I suppose I should try to remember how to get some work done! My last week of work ended on July 26th and then I left for the South Island. But I'm getting ahead of myself,  I had a last great two weeks in Gizzy which included quite a few goodbyes and 'lasts', until I return of course… I said goodbye to my co-workers at a lovely work lunch where they gave me a fantastic greenstone necklace, a beautiful bracelet and a warm send off - they were a great bunch to work with, I learned a lot and had a blast! I also had my last venture to the Fishing Club, but only had to say good-bye to the place, as all my friends from there came to my birthday party later. We had a super fun birthday party with pulled pork and lots of other delicious treats and an amazing carrot birthday cake. Thanks to all my friends who came and for all the great times we had in Gizzy!!

HBday!

 

On my actual birth day anniversary, I went to work and to the last Mercantile Badminton night of the season. At work, I brought in 'my shout' treat of pumpkin pie. Pumpkins are eaten here almost exclusively as a savoury dish, and the idea of pumpkin pie caused quite a bit of worry for a few of my coworkers…. until they tasted it of course :) Badminton that evening was great fun! My team won two games and lost two for our last night but had a great time as we always do! At the small 'prize giving' end-of-year ceremonies, all the other players sang Happy Birthday for me - awww.  After all my goodbyes and three months of bliss, I left dear Gisborne. I'm definitely going to miss that place and the wonderful, warm, friendly people but I'll just have to take all the great lessons I learned and my wonderful experiences back to Canada. Maybe someday I'll even blog some of my 'Gisborne' reflections.

A sign well said.

Palmerston North

Another week down, only two more to go!!! After a busy week of work, and getting some stuff done at home, I thought I deserved a Friday off and a weekend away. My lovely hosts and I took off for the weekend to visit some rellies in Palmerston North. North Palmie is about a 5 hour drive South along the coast, and then inland a bit, and is one of New Zealand's only two inland cities!

Now that I've driven the road south a few times, and almost know my way around, I'll describe the highlights (yes, I do think that driving along a road in the fog/rain and once in a while sunshine has highlights). Almost the entire length of the road is windey and hilly and I'm impressed with Kiwi driving skills as many of the corners are quite sharp and sudden. Along the side of the road, there are often cliff faces which, in the recent rain, have many rock falls - small ones along the side of the road, and big one which send chunks quite dangerously every which way. The main scenery is either cliffs dotted with waterfalls, steep pasture hills dotted with sheep, cows and more sheep, or more steep hills dotted with trees. There is a bit of natural bush in preserves, but most of the non-pasture hills are in some stage of forestry pine production. The sheep are ever-present in the pastures, and even though I see them still often, there's still a place in my heart which thinks they're quite cute!! :) While the sheep are in the pastures, there are an incredible amount of wild goats along the roadside. Wild goats are considered a nuisance animal, and population control is a quite profitable side-business for some shepherds and their skilled dogs. No matter what the hills are covered in, I still find them and their steepness beautiful in the sun, and mysterious in the rain. Once we go inland a bit, there is a good section of flattish land with - more pastureland - some of which was underwater this time! Just before Palmerston N., the road gets hilly again and I saw windmills all over the hills in the distance - cool! The windmill hills marked the start of the gorge which is similar to the one to the Northwest of Gisborne and has a very wide, muddy and fast-flowing river flowing on the bottom of two steep sides. The road clung to one of the sides, and a railway line to the other - not too much room for more! The scenery in the gorge was beautiful, but I'm glad we made it out and avoided the rocks!!

View through the gorgeous gorge.

When we arrived into Palmerston, I was reminded a bit of a New Zealand version of Waterloo. Other than the many, beautiful vineyards on the way in, they had lots of shopping along the streets, a major University campus (Massey University), and a downtown core not focused around the ocean. Instead, it was focused around a grassy square, had an actual mall nearby and lots of shopping around the square. Oh, andddd, would you believe it, there was an ice rink in the middle! The weather was alright so we went for a wander, and I was quite enchanted by the bright orange plastic skates the people on the rink all seemed to be wearing as they lurched around in circles. But I can't really blame them, because there are only a handful of ice rinks in the country - not one in every small town, and definitely no seasonal ones in back yards. We checked out a few of the shops and the mall - first time I'd been in an actual mall since December! While just about all the NZ brands are different than Canada's, the wares are pretty much the same, save some extra emphasis on wool in everyday wear. We had two specific shopping hunts as well - one for some more wool to finish my sweater (yes, I've run out), and one for Root Beer for a recipe I've been wanting to make. You have no idea how hard it is to find Root Beer in New Zealand!!

 

Palmerston North town square - see ice skating back right

We then arrived at our hosts' lovely home for the evening. It was a beautiful house with lots of greenery on the outside, and books and great reading locations on the inside. And a cat. What more could I ask for? We had a good night of visiting, watching the rugby (of course), and yummy food. The next day we went for a driving tour of the town. We crossed several very swollen and muddy rivers, and, would you believe it, went up the local hill! The clouds didn't allow for great sights and pictures, but it was nice to see the lay of the land and marvel at just how 'KW' the place felt. We then went on a tour around the university campus - it was a beautiful place with lots of greenery and gardens. It was pretty much like any university one would find around home, with the addition of a pro rugby training facility, and, due to the large veterinary college, some paddocks and specialized facilities right near the heart of the campus. Quite a cool place! The afternoon was more shopping in many neat little shops, and the evening was some more great food and visiting. The morning dawned rainy, and we soon left for the long journey back home. It rained almost the whole way, and save for a lunch break and short visit in Hastings, our only stop was in Norsewood (I think). Norsewood was a small, historical town on the side of the highway which had long been a place where NZ wool had been processed into hats/mitts/scarves/sweaters(aka jerseys). While the manufacturing had since gone overseas, the town still exists through, probably through it's woolenwear outlet. Anddd, at long last and after many raindrops, we were home!

Massey Uni. Campus

Adventuring

Happy Canada Day! A day early really, but I wore some red and white nonetheless. A few people with great memories even remembered to wish me a good one - how cool is that! I sought out the fellow Canadian turned kiwi who works at the Council, and we shared a happy moment and a quiet celebration after work (including a ride in her vintage cooper mini - wheeee!).

 

Canada Day aside, this week was Maori language week! We celebrated it at work with many activities, phone greeting contests and more. We had a great lecture by a local language historian on local Maori  place names and stories and how they related. I've found that I've picked up quite a few Maori words while here, I can hardly pronounce most of them, but I know what they're supposed to sound like! Our week finished with a workplace social 'boil-up' - a traditional Maori dish which involved boiling pork bones, potatoes, a bunch of other things, and a local vegetable a lot like watercress called (and I know the spelling's wrong) poha. The poha was prepared to perfection and the dish was very yummy! Later that evening, I watched a New Zealand movie, 'Once We Were Warriors,' for another perspective on kiwi life and had a chance to admire the beautiful Southern stars under a really clear sky. I don't think I have ever seen so many stars!!

We had absolutely fantastic weather for the weekend so, I went for an adventure! I went up to a huge sheep and beef farm, aka 'station,' with a friend from work. There, a group of about 10 of us young folk went to bring home the bacon, old-school style. We drove through a beautiful countryside for about an hour out of town to the Station, which was even more beautiful countryside.  There were great views of those huge and terraced hills that are so common in this part of the world and I never tire of admiring.

The hills, which also happen to be darn hard to take decent pictures of...

 

The main part of the farm included a beautiful old farm house surrounded with a lovely lawn and a few fruit trees (fijoah, mandarin, lemon, etc.); shepherd's quarters where about five or so  shepherds live full time and look after the sheep; dog's quarters where there must have been over 30 energetic sheep dogs living the good life; a shearing shed; and a few storage sheds. When we arrived, we decided to go to the Rere rock slide - something I'd heard I had to try, but hadn't been brave enough to without being equipped with a wet suit and inflatable tube/boggie board. Now, I had no excuses and we all went to the giant, natural, slopped rock face which made an absolutely amazing slide! Other than the mid-winter chill of the water and the slippery rocks, it was a lot of fun!

Me raring down Rere

 

We cleaned up and packed up to head out to the cabin in the woods of the farm. The cabin was quite nice and we started a great, roaring fire, no need for torches (flashlights). 'The boys' brought home their catch of five deer and we had a delicious 'tea' (that's what they seem to call dinner over here) of roast lamb and veggies and a great evening of socializing. Yummm.

A shepherd's dogs-in-waiting

 The next day we made the  exciting trek back to the main station via ute-back (the back of a truck) and bike (4-wheelers), divided the catch up into chilli-bins (coolers), checked out the farm a bit more, and parted ways. Great weekend, and hopefully some kiwi visits to Canada to come! When back home, I just couldn't ignore the perfect weather, and went for another walk around beautiful Wainui beach neighborhood, across the bridge to neighbouring Okatu, up the local hill at the end of the beach (Makarori headlands), checked out the Okatu scenic reserve, and returned home for tea. Tonight,  tea was a good mix of kiwi and Canadian with bacon and egg pie (kiwi), complimented by a Julie-made pumpkin pie. Yum!

The view of Wainui from the Makarori Headlands

On Shaky Ground

Another average week dawned to a weekend of beautiful weather!! I somehow managed to wrangle a Friday off, and the family I'm staying with and I headed down to Napier and Hastings to visit extended family. It was a foggy drive through some more very windey roads for about 3 hours South along the coast. Napier and Hastings are nestled beside each other (kind of like K-W), and keep a steady watch over beautiful Hawke's Bay. The towns have lots of interesting architecture and a great sea-front focus as they centre around dark-stone beaches. On our drive in, we passed a busy port and through the two towns to the Slade residence. The Hastings crew was a great, friendly bunch and I felt right at home!

The view of Napier on a hill on the way into town

 

The next day we all went for an art deco tour of Napier, great way for us all to see the city in a new light! Wait, art what? In the 1930s, a large earthquake in the area made some significant changes to the area. The earthquake plus the resulting fire pretty well leveled Napier and brought the land about 5 feet out of the sea (bye-bye existing beaches and harbour, hello new beach and a lot of reclaimed land). During the rebuilding, the preferred building style was the modern one of the time - art deco! So, all the buildings have that plaster/concrete look with lots of geometric patterning and decorative designs and because it's NZ, many of the designs have Maori motifs.

An art-deco upper store front in downtown Napier.

Overall, it creates a really neat effect in the town and you can see it all over, especially when a wonderful tour shows you what you're looking for. After the great walk, an historic video of the earthquake,  and a morning coffee break, we went for a drive. Most of Napier is built on a low-lying flat area, but there's one very steep hill near the centre of town, and we went for a wild ride to the top to  see the sites - I would not like to learn to drive around there! The houses were all quite lovely and colourful (I love NZ houses for some reason, I think it's because they all look so full of character) and we got a great view of the port area from a park at the top. After getting the lay of the land from this direction, we headed back through Hastings for a different view. I've realized that New Zealander's favourite way of showing off their country is climbing the nearest and tallest hill, and I must say I quite like it! (Not kidding though, no matter where I go, it seems to be the mandatory thing to do, Auckland, Gisborne, Hastings, Whakatane, Tauronga… :) The hill we climbed, okay drove up, in this case, was quite the hill! It offered an absolutely beautiful vista of the many, many other hills in the surrounding area, and of the Hastings/Napier Hawke's Bay area in general.

It's a bird, it's a plane, nope, it's up a hill!

 

On our way home, we visited a swampy estuary, and it was very cool to see all the birds and native vegetation preserved just next to the highway. After that full day, we spent our evening, of course, watching rugby!!! Including a world cup 7s game which Canada won, not versus the kiwis of course… the kiwis later won both the men's and woman's championships!

The estuary swmp!

 The next morning, I made some good old Canadian pancakes and we went to a memorial service for one of the members of the Sir Edmund Hillory's (a kiwi's) Everest climbing mission. The memorial was for George, the photographer and a Hastings native. It included speeches from his family and friends, and lots of stories about his Everest, Antarctica, etc., adventuring days. Very, very cool! And also held in a very beautiful church. We then left to get back to Gizzy and had a beautiful drive back stopping for lots of scenic pictures (most often at the top of hills), and at a hot springs to check out the area and take a wee trek in the native bush. Thanks to great hosts for a great weekend!

Here and There

Whoops I did it again - I just got too busy having fun! :) The last few weekends have been full of out-of-town adventures!

One weekend, a friend from work and took a trek up to Tauronga and 'the Mount' (Mt. Manganui). We arrived in Tauronga after about 4h drive through the beautiful gorge and along the coast. Highlights of the drive include the normal, bushy reeds along the side of the road being coloured bright pink… something we initially thought was an amusing spray-painting prank, but soon realized that not even the most ambitious spray painter would paint every one of them for about 15km, so apparently that's  natural in that part of the world. In Tauronga we walked around the 'big city,'  and were amazed by the non-casual attire of the other pedestrians - apparently I've spent a bit too long in dear Gizzy. :) We then headed over to the smaller settlement on the other side of the harbour known as the Mount due to the large hill/small mountain to one side of the area, and visited my friend's friend and had a lovely evening there. The next morning, we stopped at the local hot pools before taking the trek home through incredibly rainy weather. On the way, we passed through the kiwifruit growing capital of NZ, Te Puke (sounds yummy, eh?) and their giant kiwi statue!

Tauronga Beach Front

The next weekend was a rainy, relaxing one where I worked on my latest project - a hand-knit NZ wool sweater! What more perfect souvenir and way to pass the time could there be. It's progressing well, and I have only one arm left, pending more wool coming in… :S I've also been reading quite a bit, watching some new TV shows (including a quite funny British comedy Mrs. Browns Boys, teehee) and enjoying having some down time! During the week, I continue to play badminton, go to a friend's movie night and visit friends at the fishing club - busy schedule! One evening, some friends and I had a classy evening, going out for a yummy seafood platter and a play. The play was a dramatization about life in a remote town 'up the coast' and how young kids entertain themselves despite the isolation. The story line was a bit weird, but there was great effects and it was quite entertaining! Oh yeah, I also work… which I promised more info about, so here goes. I work for the Gisborne District Council on their policy planning team and am helping them with their water plan, among a few other things. I feel kind of uncomfortable posting details about what the local council's staff is doing online for all to see, and no one really wants to hear about work, so if you have any more questions, send me an email! Basically, I'm helping them gather data to report on irrigation and water quality in the area and make management policies based on that. I love my job, the team I'm with, being productively busy and working at the intersection of science and policy!

View outside my window on a sunny day!!

What I actually look at all day... :)

 

 Side note of the day: New Zealanders are very British, 'Palmie' in kiwi speak. From their speech, following the Royals, often visiting/living in/immigrating to England, watching British comedy and other tv shows and many other little habits, they seem to have maintained much more of a connection to the homeland than us Canadians. They theorize it's because they're an Island with no one else to connect to, and we're so close to the American dream, but who knows!

 

Local life

Another week done! Rather than thinking 'Winter is coming,' I think I'm safe to say it's here now. It's been a chilly, rainy week; but there has been a bit of beautiful sun! Other than that, it's been pretty quiet. My badminton colleagues and I won our games (WAHOO!), I finished another book, saw the finale of MKR (My Kitchen Rules - a popular NZ cooking show) and enjoyed New Zealand life.  I met some more young people living and working in Gisborne, celebrated a birthday with them, and went 'dancing in the dark.' That entails turning up some great, funky music in the local theatre/'poverty bay club,' turning out the lights, and dancing happily with a few others crazy enough to join us - lots of fun! I also headed out to the local silver screen (yes, Gisborne has not only one, but three!) to se Gatsby. The next day my local 'Aunti' brought be out to the netball courts. The what? Netball is one of New Zealand's favourite sports. Played almost only by females it looks a bit like basketball, but without the backboard, dribbling, and with a few other rules. A very fast-paced game, I was impressed by the skills of the locals of all ages who filled 14 netball courts on the chilly Saturday morning. Saturday night the all-blacks were played France in Auckland and I watched as they (of course), won. Sunday I wandered the beach again (the waves change and I love how the sea looks different every time I SEA it!), and was treated by a large seal gracelessly plopping around  on some rocks at the end,  a cool shell, and a great view from the top of the bluff. Tonight I was treated to a kiwi special - pavlova!! A meringue-like dish, we had it with kiwis and fresh cream - yummmmiee, and a great end to  a great week.

Local netball heros!

 

 Wonder of the week: the 'kiwi language.' Ahh I love it! Bro, I'll meet you this avro, ai? Sweet as! Far out! Lets eat veges, my favourite is collie. Awww, but I wanted chips, fizzies (L&P) and hokey pokey ice cream! Next week I'll try to update on what I actually do 8-5.

 

Clearly I was there. HAKA!

Volcano visits

The Queen's birthday is celebrated in New Zealand on the first weekend of June, with their only winter long weekend, also known as a perfect chance to go for an adventure out of town! Friday night was spent with colleagues as we celebrated the end of the work-week and friends as an intern from Germany who had also been working in Gisborne left for home. Farewell, and thank you for all the German words, laughter and great memories!  The next morning, I packed and hopped on the bus to Whakatane and the volcanic adventure of a lifetime!! It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the bus passed through an incredible gorge with an extremely windy road, through inland farming areas, and along beautiful  coastline. I settled into the backpackers in Whakatane and explored the lovely, colourful downtown nestled between the ocean and some impressive cliffs! I caught the local bay hopper bus one town over to Ohope, which has one of the nicest beaches in all of New Zealand! I walked along the lovely, sandy beach in the beautiful sunshine - ahhhh the life. I then headed along the coast, up the cliffs along a trail which ran along the shore to connect Whakatane and Ohope. I had a great walk with beautiful views of the ocean and surrounding landscape. A few hours later, I was back in Whakatane for a quiet evening in preparation for my SUPER EXCITING DAY tomorrow.

 This super exciting day blew me away! (Thankfully not literally:)) I enjoyed my birthday present from Mom and Dad - a tour on an active volcano! I hopped on a boat for the 50km trip out to the volcanic island. Along the way, I enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and sea spray and part of our trip was even accompanied by dolphins!! A large pod joined the journey and swam all around the boat with incredible speed and grace - a fantastic start to the day. I arrived at the island, and, armed with a hard hat and breathing mask, took a small zodiac to the shore. I walked among mounds of stone debris from the last eruption (no lava on this volcano) as I made my way to the crater. My group passed through hot streams with mineral crystals formed on the surface of the rocks, walked over and around heat and pressure mounds and admired the vivid red to yellow colours of the surrounding crater edges. We stood metres away from venting fumaroles, and boiling mud and water pits - so cool!!! Finally, we stood on the edge of the crater and looked down into a lot of steam and a lake of bubbling, not-so-yummy looking water. SO COOL!!!!!! On our way off the island, we checked out an old mining camp and saw some of the new equipment which is keeping a watch on the place. It was really neat to be on a volcano  and see 'the Earth in motion' wowwwieeee!!! :)

What happens when a German fruit picker, an italian author, a belgian doctor and I sit down to dinner in the hostel? Not a bad joke which I know you were hoping for, but an enjoyable evening spent playing cards. Next day after a morning in town, I caught the bus back to Gisborne. Definitely a well-spent long weekend!

PS - technical difficulties, pictures to come.

Far out in Gisborne!!

FAR OUT! I'm in Gisborne! My far out home for the next 3 months, and I love it here!! My first month here has passed in a flash, and I can hardly believe it's actually been a month since I arrived in Gizzy. I arrived here after a 3h bus ride from Rotarua, which is about how far out of town you have to drive to find another major city. I drove in through a magnificent gorge and ended up on some of the Eastern-most land in the world. Gisborne's slogan and claim to fame is, 'first to see the light,' and it holds the honour of being the first city to see the sun each morning. The couple I am boarding with picked me up at the bus stop and took me out to their beautiful home at Wainui beach (yes, I live at a beach:)). Wainui is a 10 minute drive out of town, but makes up for that by being peaceful and being perched along one of the nicest beaches I have ever seen, let alone seen from the windows of the house! The house itself is a lovely, modern house which seems to belong next to the ocean and it is almost as wonderful as the people who live in it! My hosts have welcomed me more than I ever could have asked and are super friendly and accommodating! They cook and bake wonderfully and are always happy to teach me kiwisms and show me the area. So where have we explored? In my first few days of sunshine, I explored the long and beautiful destination surfing beach, toured town and saw a bit of the countryside. Gisborne town has a population of about 46 000, and is big enough to have everything, but still very much keep the small-town feel. It's main street is lined with palm trees,  and it has quite the surfing, etc., vibe if you look for it - there is another beautiful beach right in town. Town also has many shops including a McDonalds, but no Tim Hortons, and houses both old and new.

Wainui Beach - my view.

 

 I have experienced and been told that it has a different feel to most of the rest of New Zealand. It is also interesting to note that a large proportion of its residents are Maori (First Nations), almost 50%. Out here on the distant east coast, not really on the way to anywhere and without any huge tourist attractions, Gizzy is off the usual tourist track, and seemingly remains a few years behind the rest of New Zealand, but not at all in a bad way! The main industries around here are primary with most people involved in farming (including lots of wine production), fishing and forestry, or supporting those industries through other town businesses. There aren't huge opportunities for educated professionals in town, and as a result of this and a combination of other factors, it is a fairly low socio-economic area, especially in some of the smaller areas outside the city, but I love it all the same. From my experiences, Gisborne is a lovely, vibrant town with extremely friendly, amazing people and a great atmosphere.

Gisborne from Kaiti Hill.

 

 So what have I gotten up to in 4 weeks? Quite a bit it would seem! A highlight was feeding the stingrays of Tatapouri! One morning (bright and really, really early), a German traveller passing through and I went out to Tatapouri to experience the magic of the wild stingrays. We waded out into the ocean with our hip waders with a guide and a bucket of fish pieces, and soon enough we were rewarded by  stingrays! There were at least 8 - 3 big ones and 5 little ones of another species, and they swam around us, pushing into us, almost climbing us, and eating the fish right from our hands with their bony jaws. They were huge, strong, and some of the most graceful ocean creatures I have seen - morning well spent! The traveller and I then drove up the coast to Tolaga bay where we saw and walked along the longest wharf in the southern hemisphere! The wharf was built thanks to formerly booming sheep and lumber exports, but today stood as a long, unused wharf and a fantastic way to see Tolaga Bay. We also climbed a hill for an inland view. On the East Coast, the coastline is usually a beautiful beach or cliffs, followed by steeply rolling, hills, terraced by erosion and the feet of many grazing animals. The erosion, both coastal and inland is intense as the young land is 'soft,' and very full of water. In many places, sections of road have been washed out, and the battle to move rivers and repair roads is ongoing and intense along many stretches of road. Our stingray friends invited us to join them later that day for some local musical talent, and we did!  Well, there's an average weekend for ya!

An average day up at Tolaga Bay!

Other weekend activities include touring the countryside, seeing places such as patches of local native bush, and hills which offer great views of the countryside, going up Kaiti hill to overlook the city, helping the community plant native vegetation in an estuary, watching rugby and watching movies with friends. Rugby is a Friday and Saturday night staple around here, and every night I'm around, I'm sure to watch it like a true kiwi! And yes, I have friends!!! I have met more people than I remember the names of, and they have all been friendly and welcoming. I've met both a few fellow travellers and interns (a grand total of 3) and many locals of all ages. Together, we explore the town, meet more people, hang out at the beach, watch Julie try to surf in the freezing cold water and laugh, visit the sailing club and hang out with our all ages Wednesday night crew at 'the fishing club.' I have loved getting to know everyone, and was very sad to say bye to one of the interns when she went home.

One of my favourite experiences thus far has been my job!! I am interning at the local council as a member of the policy planning team. I am helping with their freshwater plan, and learning a lot about freshwater and developing management plans. As part of my job, I also get to 'tour' the countryside and visit sites of interest with my colleagues. These sites have included: numerous farms including kiwifruit and citrus plantations, vinyards, sheep stations; hydoelectric dam stations; and numerous rivers and waterways. It's been a great way to see the countryside 'up the coast' to Tologa bay, Tokamoru bay and Ruoatoria, inland to Matawa, and everywhere in-between. Going inland one day, we followed a windey one-lane logging road with trucks going in both directions. How does that work? We just call in on our radio our location and direction every km and hope that all the other rigs do the same. "Loaded runabout 4k-3 anyone? 10-4, you're golden." Another exciting day saw me streamside doing biotic river analysis (aka looking for bugs in the stream) with students from a small, remote school. I love my job!! 

Early-morning sunrise.