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!