lackadaisical

ho hum. lazy day this Christmas Eve. The plans that were to be this day have been waylayed due to COLD weather and other people changing their plans. I suppose that is alright with me. Though a bit bored, I am by no means hard done by!



This is the view from the harbour bridge last night. I was treated to an italian style meal at a quaint little restaurant near the sea. It was a wonderful night with good food and wine and ice cream afterwards with the kids! There was a funny man singing in the corner singing away songs that were meant to be played faster and with a little more rhythm, but he was a crooner, it's what he does.

Notes

I've added some photos below to previous entries that originally had none. Also, I wanted to remind you to check my flickr.com photos.

There are plenty of photos from my last two days in Katikati. Which includes my adventures along the Katikati Haiku pathway.

Enjoy!

The parents of the Crawford house have arrived and they exhausted from their travels. They will hopefully be more perky tomorrow after a good nights sleep :)

Happy House - Remuera, Auckland

I've arrived and what a treat has greeted me here! The Crawford's have a wonderful home. It is bright and new and HUGE! Well, bigger than I am used to. It is in a really beautiful uptown community. I haven't met the parents yet, but the Nanny (Pip)and the two children (Pia, 11, and Rory, 12) are very nice :) The children are quiet around me, but that is understandable as I am a stranger. Right now I am listening to the cleaners work around the house.



When I was first shown my room I was so delighted. It has a double bed with white comforter and extra pillows for show. The bathroom that is mine to use has an elegant shower with the best designed showerhead I have ever seen! It adjusts along a pole to make as high or as low as you like, within the limits of the pole length. It is the first shower I have used here that has allowed me to shower the whole time while standing upright! Oh Blessings!!! (that's for you annie)





As well as a beautiful home and family, they have two pets. One is an older cat, Rangi, who has just been to the vet, so she is not highly interactive with me. The other is a pooch about four years old. His name is spooky and he is a Swedish Vallhund, which is a very rare breed that used to be referred to as the "Viking Dog." He kind of looks like the mini-me version of a husky! hehe. He is a fun little dog. I just got back from taking him for a 40 minute walk around the neighbourhood. His short little legs did quite well keeping up with my long gate. We even had a race up a hill and I only won by a step or two. Poor Spooky is exhausted now.



Pip and the children are away at the mall. I opted to stay home as being at a mall will only encourage me to spend money I don't have! Before they went though, she dropped me by the Conservation Volunteers office in Ponsonby (another suburb of Auckland) to get registered for my Volunteer expedition. I am really excited about it now. I should be going to some of the nicer parts of the parklands around Auckland. All of this excitement has left me ignoring the fact that I have made no plans yet for new years, or any days thereafter. But I am blissful in my ignorance. I have a feeling, that like everything else so far, I will pull something amazing together when the time is right.

Needless to say, I am "quite happily situated here." (That's a P&P quote from A&E). I am looking forward to meeting the mom and dad of the family and have high hopes to be spending a very very merry christmas here.

Last Day On The Farm

Well, it's official, I'll be leaving on the 2:05 bus to head back to Auckland. I'll be there at 5:47 pm. Yup.



It feels so strange each time an adventure ends, and not really knowing what is around the corner...

I've been working on my resume. But here, they call it a CV, and it is supposed to be 6-8 pages long! They want details people! The content contained in your CV is supposed to be equivilant with that of a first interview. Can you IMAGINE being the employer, having to go through a stack of CVs each about 7 pages long!!! OI. No thank you. But it is the standard here. So 7 pages I shall write.

I discovered that Fritz's wife's name is Nan yesterday. But I still don't know what the other lady's is (Cindy's good friend).



Nan wanted to take a picture. "I help you" she says, and took my picture :) She is a very cute lady. She has a very beautiful face, deep lines that tell a story.... I wanted to take a picture of her, but she is shy.

Christmas should be good with friends of the family, even if I can't recall ever meeting them. I am glad I am not in some random hostel with other waifs (not that they aren't special too).

Cheers! Happy Holidays!

When it rains, it pours. Rain Logic Lesson

When it rains here, you can't pick kiwis. When you can't pick kiwis, you don't make any money.

I haven't made any money.
Therefore it must have rained.

This can still be proven to be false, so its not a valid argument.
But in this case, it IS true. Despite what Charles (my old logic prof) would say.

Stay warm in that snow my friends and family in Canada! Take care.

Words for the more patient readers

I appologise for the strange order in which these posts are coming. As much as I could modify the datestamps and all that.... I'm not gonna. So I hope you still manage to enjoy!

After an awesome vacation style trip up to Northland, I spent the first night back at a place called X-base backpackers. It was $29 NZD/night which included 1/2 hour free internet, a free dinner (fish and chips, that sort of thing) and one night stay in an 8 bed dorm. I guess it was a good deal, but for some reason I didn't like the atmosphere there. I met one guy there on my second and last night, and he wasn't even staying there!!! He was Canadian though, and we had a nice chat over lousy dinner.

The next couple days were boring,and I think I posted about them already, but here is a shot of the sterile hostel I ended up in over that weekend (dec 8- 11):



But it did afford a good view of the street below:



I have now been in Katikati, a small, arsty town reffered to as 'mural town', staying with the Thompson family at their beautiful home. They themselves do not own the kiwi farms we have been working on, but they manage the upkeep of about 16 different orchards. That's A LOT of kiwis!

When I arrived in Katikati off the bus I hung out reading the blank newspaper with statue guy while I waited to be picked up.



When my ride came and I met my host, David, for the first time, I didn't know what to think. But as we drove he told me there were other workers staying at his house and he had a wife and children. All of those laughs I had with Jade that morning about my dodgy plans to stay with some random guy out in a small town fell to the way side.

I survived my first day out in the orchards fairly well. Even though the 5'8" clearance of the kiwis kept me in a constant slouch/limbo lean/half kneal the entire time. It was a short work day, only 6 hours as opposed to 8. I was out there with about 18 other people. Everyone there was shorter than myself. There was one tall guy there with his mate, but he was a pruner and didn't have to analyse the kiwis to the degree that the rest of us did. We were thinning the kiwis, aka picking out the bad ones. Each orchard has rows upon rows of plants, stuffed full of kiwis.






This particular orchard was lined with Orange trees. You are constantly surrounded by other fruit that is actually ripe enough to eat. You have no idea what fresh is until you eat fruit like this straight off the tree.

The first three days of work passed very quickly. I stuck mainly to myself and my host family as the other groups tended to be quite clique-y. They all spoke their own languages amongst themselves so it was hard for me to find an easy in. Until friday night.

There are two locations where the seasonal workers tend to live. One is here with the Thompsons and the other is in a large house not too far away. It was filled to the brim with other backpackers who had come here to find work. On friday, they hosted a barbeque... more sausages than you can shake a stick at. Beer, and laughter everywhere. (I wish I had remembered to bring my camera. It was all ready to go, I was just a doughhead and forgot to grab it on the way out the door.) It was a spectacular night. There were people there from Holland, Sweden, Thailand, Burma, Canada (only me), Brazil, Chili and my favourites from Czech Republic. There was singing and entertainment of all sorts. A lot of the guys showed off their diabolo juggling skills, while two guys brought out torches and JUGGLED FIRE for us! I managed to befriend Irena and Lucas who are also staying here in the family's house. We were joined by two guy from Czech, Petr and Meric, as we gabbed on the couch with Joe and Nat (friend of the family, and the daughter of the family).

FUNNY STORY: It is traditionaly in Thailand to add a prefix to the names of respected people amongst your acquainences. In this case, Joe gained the prefix /pi/ (pee), to mean like 'uncle' or 'sir.' Unfortunately for him, when the two sounds are combined, you get /pi dzo/ (pee-jo), which, in Czech, is a fairly rude slang term for a part of the female anatomy! Poor Joe! At least he was a good humoured guy who could take the joke with great ease. It was the standing joke for the whole evening and into the next day.

The next day, this past Saturday, I went with my host family, Pi-Joe and another border, Ezikial, to Tauranga to do some christmas shopping. I decided, however, that I didn't want to be tempted to spend any money so I took a walk instead. I soon got it in my head that I would try and walk to Mt. Maunganui. It was a famed mount and deamed the one place you MUST see if you are ever in Tauranga. When the weather is good you can see as far as Taupo boasted one of the travelers I'd met in Auckland. So, off i went. I took it slowly at first. I wandered towards the water, as I couldn't even see the mountain from downtown. Then I passed a Maori Waka, tromped through a small park, passed a rose garden and looped through a graveyard:






I walked for almost an hour, feeling cocksure (as much as a girl can feel that way)that my expedition would not be in vane. As I thought I was getting nearer and nearer to the mountain, it only seemed to look further and further away. Every time that I got the inkling that it was a fruitless effort I kept walking anyways. I was determined to make it "come rain or come snow." Though after I passed a large wharf full of boats (and spotted a boat called "Island Girl") I ended up entering a huge industrial zone *grumble*. I began to think that this:



...was as close as I was ever going to get to the Mountain. I had to be back by 3 pm to meet my ride back to Katikati and by that time it was already past one. I ended up pushing on anyways, until I came to a sign advertising a climbing gym. I decided that maybe climbing for an hour would save my expedition from being entirely foolish. Instead, however, I ended up meeting two really friendly guys who provided me with all the information I needed to find the bus (there was a stop just outside their bay door) that would take me straight to the mountain or straight back into town, whichever it was that i chose. I chose mountain. 6 min wait for a bus that only comes every 30 minutes was brilliant. It dropped me right at the base of the mountain where I was greeted with white sandy beach and green/blue Pacific waters.



The base of Mt. Maunganui is farmland, and was littered with sheep.



I charged up the hill, determined to make it to the top, even if my watch was screaming at me "NO TIME! NO TIME!" I did the 40 minute climb in about 30 minutes. And by that time my watch read 2:25 pm. What kind of fool wears a sweater to climb a mountain? Me, of course. But I made it. Brow shiny and eyes glistening. I made it, and yes... the view was worth it:





I had to half run all the way back to the base of the mountain, but I made my 2:50 bus back into town. I arrived at 3:15 which was just about the perfect time to meet the rest of the group. What an awesome adventure. I felt so accomplished actually making it to my goal destination and back within my time limit. I think it might have been more of a thrill than the actual splendor of the mountain itself. Which is saying A LOT.

When we got back to the house I was suprised to be included in a large Thai style feast called /su ki/ (soo-kee). It is similar to a traditional fondu (not the chocolate kind), but instead of a vat of oil it was a pot of broth boiling away in the center of the table. You put vegetables and meat into the pot as it brewed and then served yourself as it became cooked. We just kept adding more and more food. It was like a never ending pot of soup and it was SOOO good! I was so full by the end of it. We also had strawberry champaigne and Sauvignon Blanc wine from a local winery. It was wonderful.



That's Fritz closest to the camera, he's a real character. He is really cheeky and likes to make people laugh. Then it is my hosts, Nattly, the daughter, and Cindy, the mother. Their friend, bin? ban? something like that, is sitting next to them followed by Ezikial (another person who has been staying with them for 7 months now), Pi-Joe (hehe) and Fritz' wife. Fritz is his nickname, I can't remember his real full name.

I stayed up late talking to a friend on the internet. I swear, after today (I have been on here for about 3 hours, having lost and rewritten my entry) and that night the family must think I am some crazy internet junky. *sigh* I suppose it is sad because it's so very true... hehe

Luckily, they started the work day (yes, we work on sunday) later than usual, so I was not left behind. Because of the late start though it seemed like an extra long day. Blah. But it was much more pleasant now that I had made friends. This is Irena and chubby dog that was hanging out on the orchard with us. She was absolutely filthy with dust from the farm but she was loving the attention so much Irena could not refuse her.



Today, it was pouring rain when we all woke up in the morning. My steal roofed garage was rattling and tinking like crazy. No work for us this morning. Later in the afternoon we tried, but after 20 minutes at it, the rain began to pour down on us and it still hasn't stopped yet, though it is much lighter. It is warm outside and smells of fresh rain... one of my favourite combinations.

I am really beginning to appreciate how this house is almost always buzzing with people, especially Cindy's Thai friends. I like sitting and listening to the Thai chatter, even though I don't understand any of it. Maybe it is because it reminds me of family visits with my dad's side. It is comforting to be surrounded by asians that I don't understand :D hehe.

They also have three lovely cats. Two very cuddly and one that looks like my brown tabby Ruca, but is fat enough to have maybe eaten her! One of them is sitting purring on my lap right now. She is a long haired pretty black cat. I am glad to have her.

I wish you all the best, and for all of you that have made it through this entire entry in one go, WOW, you are amazing in my eyes.

Recap With Pictures

Ok ok, so most of my posts have been pretty rushed. I didn't want to write at length and bore you all in this catch up entry, just in case some of you won't be able to read it all *irf-cough-irf*.

Auckland Nov 30-Dec 2

The most exciting event I got to witness in auckland:



The Crossing of the diagonal sidewalk....



Auckland is also home to the southern hemisphere's (and possibly the world's) most creepy santa clause:



He beckoned you with his pointer finger and his right eye winks at you!!! AH!

Another highlight is the various parks and green spaces you can find around the downtown area. This is Albert Park:



Complete with statue of the Queen.



And its crazy trees... :)

Unfortunately, I missed the hari krishna parade that took place, in downtown Auckland, on the 2nd; but lucky for me, I got to spend that day on the top of Rangitoto Island. The largest and youngest Volcanic cone in the Greater Auckland area.



The ferry boat



The forest bit



There were pockets of lava rock everywhere, even inside the thickest part of the trees. These dark piles of stones looked like fresh dirt from a distance, but were actually jagged hard formations left after the lava cooled 600 years ago.



This is Jade, one of my dorm mates, who accompanied me on the trek to the top. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with full sun and just a few spots of white fluffy clouds.




That's me and the view, and then Jade and the view. We are so squinty and photogenic at the same time :)



I stalked the little birds until I was quick enough to catch one on camera. This is one of my favourite shots!



We took the long route around to the ferry and stopped at a little windy beach on the bay to the right of this photo. It was gorgeous, but we had to hoof it pretty hard to get back to the boat. We made it with mere minutes to spare! We were so exhausted!

NORTHLAND Dec 3-6

I travelled from Auckland to Paihia, then from Paihia up to Cape Reinga, and back again. It was a whirlwind adventure that makes me glow just thinking about it. I met incredible people on my journey and acquired some brilliant stories and other things to smile about. I went kayaking, biking, hiking, wading, and SAND SURFING! I hung out at the pub, I snacked at bakeries and other nooks around town, and loved every minute. Here are some highlights:



The first evening I hung out with my hostel room sharer peoples. That's (from left to right) Adam from Wales, Daniel from Chester, Donna from London, and Matt from Wales. They were all crazy and wonderful.



I'd been taking photos of the moon the night before, so this bright exposure was accidental, but rewarding as well. The boys were brave enough to get past the "chicken wing and tippy-toe" stage of wading and dove right in. I on the other hand, kept it at waist level.




The kayakers: Daniel (our guide), Matt, Adam, Four German Girls, and Daniel (not our guide).



This oyster catcher was absolutely mad! She was protecting her nest and at one point began to swoop at us to stay away.



We biked up and down some crazy steep hills to get to Haruru Falls. I look refreshed and happy, but my legs were like rubber.



This Kauri tree is 300-400 years young. It is a baby among giants. There are Kauri trees in other areas of Northland as old as 1200 years. The largest tree ever recorded was in 1850. It was said to be 23.43 metres in girth alone.



Cape Reinga. A very spiritual place for the Maori people. It is where the spirits of the dead pass through on to the land of their ancestors.



90 Mile Beach. An official motorway of NZ. Another guide harvested tuatua, a clam like animal, from the sandy surf and allowed some of our passengers a chance to try the delicacy ... raw! Needless to say, I think the name 'tuatua' might have something to do with the sound people made when they spat it back out! haha!



Matapia Island. The Maori spirits pass through the giant hole on their way to Cape Reinga. It is the cleansing of the spirit.



SAND BOARDING!!!



An awesome last night in Paihia, involving our first night in the hostel pub as well as another adventure to the Salty Pub around the corner. This is Daniel, Dave, Will, Matt, a guy from Virginia, and Adam...all looking giddy.

Before the bus left to take myself and a few of the others back to Auckland, the boys and I went to Russell. The famed town used to be known as the Hellhole of the pacific as it was a whaling town which filled with pubs and brothels to entertain the dirty sailors. It is now, however, a tiny lazy town with old buildings and a story about a flagpole.



SWEET AS, BRO!!! The ferry ride over was on a little tug type boat that took its time chugging across the bay.







Flagstaff hill. You really can't learn this kind of cool, it HAS TO come naturally.



Sundials serve very little purpose when there is cloud cover. Even though this one was intricately tiled with a map of the bay of islands.



I think the ducks were a little too used to being fed by tourists, because they became meaner and meaner the longer we sat there and ate. One actually nipped Adam in the butt, but that might have had something to do with Matt putting crackers in his back pocket!

Then, I went back to Auckland. Said goodbye to the boys, maybe forever, maybe just til next time.

I hope you enjoyed this little photo blog :) Another one about my day in Auckland and my adventure to Katikati are still to come!

The thick and thin

That's right. It's a dog eat dog world out here in New Zealand. The competition is tough to be allowed to stay, and the expectations are extremely high. If you are too fat, your face is too round or you skin is the wrong colour.... that's right, you're gone. No chance. If there isn't enough room and you're in the way, you have to go. If you've got a big nose or any type of scarring, don't even think about trying to survive here. God forbid you have any deformities such as a siamese twin or a misshaped appendage. There is no room for the imperfect here.

That's right. Be wary 'hairy berries', we, the kiwi pickers of New Zealand lack compassion and empathy. We will not be lenient with any of you or your friends. Beware our power to snare and remove!

*insert impending doom march here*

Auckland Suckland

After four tedious days wandering and sleeping in Auckland city I have managed to push off and start a new adventure once again :D

Tomorrow I leave on a bus bound for Katikati, a small town near the Bay of Plenty on the Northern coast of the North Island of New Zealand! I will be staying there until the 22nd of Christmas working on a Kiwi farm.... the fruit kind. It will be a rigorous week or so and then back to Auckland I shall go for Christmas with friends of my uncles :D I am excited to have plans again. Sitting on my rump over this past weekend has been a real downer.



Cape Reinga. That's the Tasman Sea on the left, and the Pacific Ocean on the right :D No wonder the Maori saw this as such sacred ground. It is so beautiful there.

I will be checking in to ACB tonight, the first hostel I stayed at. I feel the need to spoil myself as I will be making a bit of money over the next little while. haha, yay for Christmas holidays picking Kiwis in New Zealand!!!

I might not have access to internet until Christmas, so love and hugs to all. Take care! and Merry Holidays!

Back In Auckland

Here I am back in the big city. What a crappy way to re-enter into the city. I tried switching hostels. I was in a place called X-base backpackers for two nights. I met almost nobody, and spent too much money. I feel like the only plus side was getting to talk to a Canadian (from Edmonton) over dinner and getting some laundry done :) woohoo! I have wasted away yesterday trying to find a new place to stay and have found myself at a place called Choice Plaza Backpackers. This place is HUGE! I have an entire dorm room to myself. It is clean and bright and each floor has an international theme. I am staying on the "Europe" floor. And to top it all off it is only $20/night. It sounds too good to be true because it really is kind of a lame place. Hardly any people, and a crappy common room, but I guess if you save $7 you save $7, right?

The weather has been on crack the past couple days. Rain, sun, storm, sun, rain, sun, sun, sun, sun, rain! I feel like it is spring in Victoria.

I got a cell phone today :) I figured out how to use it too :D Unfortunately, I dont' know how to instruct people on how to call me as there is a whole country code, city code, thing that I don't quite understand.

I had such an incredible time in Paihia, it seems worlds appart from where I am now. Check out my flickr.com link on the right hand side. I have uploaded a TON of photos.

cheers. My time is up again. I really have to start writing entries BEFORE I turn on msn ;) haha.

Cape Reinga and Paihai

Just got back from a four day trip to Paihai, which included a trip to the tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. It was so incredible and I want to show you the pictures, but I won't get to post them until tomorrow at the earliest, unfortunately.

My first day there I was so exhausted from my hike the day before that I just toodled around the town and checked it out. I have never seen such a tourist orientated place in my life! Every store, ever niche was dedicated to tourism.

It was a beautiful place though, anyways. The hostel was not as fancy as they seem to claim it to be, and had I not been sharing my room with awesome new "mates," I would have checked out one of the other 6 hostels on that street. haha. If you see the town, the idea of 6 hostels in 3 blocks is shocking. The town is TINY. WEE, even.

Running out of time with the internet so will be brief. I have kayaked and biked through the bay of islands. I have sand boarded down an 85 metre high dune. It took me a long time to actually work up the courage to walk to the top. I was totally terrified to do it. It didn't help that I just happened to be the only girl in my entire tour group! haha! I finally made it to the top and, well there was only one way down. woosh! all the way down. It was such an adrenaline rush I forgot to be afraid. I was so excited I ran (struggled) up to the top of the dune again and immediately threw myself down the hill again. SAND EVERYWHERE!!! I have visited the ex-"hell hole of the pacific" and I have met a large bundle of incredibly awesome people.

I am pretty exhausted now and am going to head up to bed. I hope that my bunkers are quiet for me. Pictures and more detail to come. Miss you guys.

Too much sun today

Hi :)

What did you do today?
that's nice.
me?

Oh. I just climbed a volcano and ate lunch at an elevation of 260 metres with 360 degree views emersed in sunlight and a light breeze.

Ok. so I'm being a jerk. I had a really good day though. Even if I look a bit like a racoon for foolishly refusing to put on sunscreen even though I brought it with me. I had fully intended to bring my camera with me to the Internet Cafe so I could upload a few photos for you guys, however I failed miserably to remember to bring the camera. I think it has to do with the 5 hours of hiking starting to take its toll. I am exhausted!

Tomorrow morning I have to be out and ready for the bus at 7 am! I hope I will make it. If I don't I have to pay another $27 for my hostel and rebook for monday. I'd rather just get to go tomorrow.

I always think of such insightful interesting things to write on my blog, except when I'm sitting in front of a computer.

I am having a wonderful time. Good people and Beautiful places. I think four days in Auckland is enough for now though. It's not the capital of New Zealand, but it is the largest city. It is like a hub for tourism and other economical boosts for NZ.

Onward and northward to Paihai and Cape Rienga! I might not be on for a while, but I'll think of you all and next time I'll remember to load some pictures!!

Long Days and Short Nights

I have only been here two days and already I feel like I have left you all behind in the dust. Not in my heart of course, just by way of keeping you informed of my adventures. I have been on two free city tours around Auckland. Yesterday I went with a company called Kiwi Experience. We went out to Northhead and tromped around in the pouring rain. It was extremely beautiful even if it was wet. I have a great appreciation for the fact that it was warm and not cold. It was unfortunate however, discovering that my jacket really isn't waterproof, and neither is my day pack. ARGH! my poor water damaged lonely planet guide... not to mention poor Sudoku haha. :(

I had an awesome trip out today in the sun and light showers with a company called Stray. The tour guide was from Langley, BC, and had a crazy "i don't know if i'm canadian or kiwi" style accent. He was incredibly off the wall and funny. And the tour was awesome.

I have signed up for a bus trip to the north end of the island. I will get to see the Bay of Islands rumoured to be the depot for some of the best water sports and activities in New Zealand. I will also get to see ancient forests and surf down sand dunes. And to top it all off I will get to go to the northern most point of NZ and see where the two oceans meet. Apparently they are two different colours and you can see the line of swirling water where they meet.

I am in such a rush to not have to pay more than $2 for my internet. SO I will go. 2 min left! ah!! post post!