Here we go again....!

Gallery: Hot, hot, hot!

carla_and_dean — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:16:00 GMT

Gallery: New Zealand Spring!

carla_and_dean — Sun, 9 Nov 2008 13:23:00 GMT

Spring is here....so why all the rain????

carla_and_dean — Sun, 9 Nov 2008 13:13:00 GMT

Finally someone employed me! Work equals cash which then equals spending on cool stuff, and boy have we been spending. Firstly we had to buy another car so we could both get to work. It is a rather sporty little number which would look right at home cruising along the sea front at Southend! Next came the Surfboard. 6’8 of pure pleasure. It is known as a super fish XL (a fish hybrid board for you wax heads) and handles like a dream at the bottom end. Unfortunately the amount of time that Dean has been able to spend with his new curvy companion has been limited due to the micro climate that Taranaki so uniquely possesses. We have never seen so much rain, and coming from the UK that is one serious statement. Thunder, lighting, gale force winds, torrential rain, bright hot sunshine, a bit cloudy and then back to the thunder all in one day. When the weather is good though...it is really good, and if the surf is pumping we only have to walk about 4 minutes from our house and then we are on the beach. It is so strange watching all the little kids (who are far too bloody good at surfing and make me sick) running down to the beach after school to catch some tubes in their wetsuits.

Great explorers both past and present have always had a method of letting others know that they had been at a place. Some, such as the great Scott of the Antarctic have employed measures such as the use of a flag, whilst others have simply carved their name into a tree stump, or rock. Then there are those who really leave their mark, they build Veggie patches! Yep, it seems that no matter where we go in the world, the need to create nature’s garden is overwhelming. We have dedicated one whole corner of our “back yard” to the cultivation of food. Within this area we are growing the following items; Silver beet (no idea what it is but the Kiwis love it), Broccoli, Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Tomatoes (3 varieties), Celery, Cucumber, Aubergines, Pak Choy, Parsley and Strawberries. With the current economic climate as it is we are hoping that the bleeding things produce some goods before we leave!

When we are not in the sea at the front of our house (or tending to the veg) we do an 180ᵒ turn and head to the Mountain and the Kaitake Ranges. A 5 minute drive and we are climbing through native bush and crossing rivers. In NZ this is called tramping (some folks in Essex do this although I think they are very different things!!) We did a tramp with the local Tramping club and the DoC (Department of Conservation). It was about a 5 hour hike along a track called Lucy’s Gully to a Trig point high up in the ranges. It was beautiful. We could see all along the coastline and our little Village. Through this we meet Mike at the DoC and a few weeks later we offered our services and helped plant some native trees up in the Kaitakes. Dean and I planted about 180 trees between us, however in total 1500 trees were planted that day. It felt so rewarding. In the UK the closest we got to tree planting was donating £10 to the Forestry Commission, and as nice as that is, hands on help is by far the most fun.

15 minutes down the road (or 7.5 minutes if we go in the sporty number) is the city of New Plymouth. This could only ever be a city by NZ standards as it has the same number of inhabitants as Cheshunt! It is however home to a small group of Islands known as the Sugarloafs. We took a boat ride out to them with a Captain called Chaddy. The sea was a bit rocky but we did manage to see the large colony of seals that inhabit the Islands. The height that these seals can climb to is astounding. I am sure that they must defy some law of physics. Dean helped pull in the crayfish pots, and was only shown up a little by the incredibly fit 82 year old 1^st mate whom he was assisting!

A recent highlight for Dean and I was a trip to Rotorua. Craters, Arsenic, sulphur pools, geysers, mud pools, hot springs and a distinctive aroma make Rotorua feel like you are on another planet. It can be quite off-putting driving through town and seeing rising smoke everywhere. One wouldn’t say the smell is unpleasant, unless you find the smell of 5 day old decaying eggs offensive! Luckily after a few hours of breathing in the local olfactory offerings you don’t notice it anymore. We went to the Thermal Wonderland and managed to fit in a bit of kayaking (not the white water kind, but it was fun anyway). We also went to a Maori cultural evening. The night involved a concert; a huge feed cooked in a Hangi (underground cooker), and a twilight wander around some sacred springs hunting for glow worms (which since Dean has become obsessed with finding near our house). Dean did some hydro Zorbing which is where one gets in a big inflatable ball filled with water and rolls down a hill (awesome!), and we both sampled the Luge (go karting without the motor). These were brilliant. We felt a bit 'Louis Hamilton' when we had finished.

Although we stick out like a sore thumb (owing mostly to the rather distinctive accents Dean and I both have!) We have managed to mingle in a bit with NZ life. I have joined a book club at the local library and become quite obsessed by a NZ soap. Not saying the NZ TV is rubbish but there is absolutely nothing good at all to watch on TV except the stuff that has been made in the UK and USA. Outrageous Fortune is the exception. Think Shameless the first series but better (a controversial point but one I would argue none the less). Series 6 will start when we have gone home, so glad they invented the box set!

So, all in all things are good. The weather is starting to get better and with that comes the limitless options for playing outside.....woohoo!

Well that is all for now. Take care everyone, and please leave comments on our travel page. As always we miss you all.

Aotearoa Adventures; In the Beginning......

carla_and_dean — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:05:00 GMT

14 hours later and there he is, although not with a placard like I hoped! Little Vein had come to pick us up from the airport, and show us the real Auckland. It was great to see him and Sharan again, and see them on their turf, and what lovely turf it was.

We stayed in the City Centre and spent the first 5 days getting ourselves equipped for the coming year. Buying a car..a fab Mitsubishi Lancer Station Wagon, full time 4 wheel drive, and a mobile phone. The weather was rubbish. One winter into another, is not something we would recommend to anyone!

We didn’t visit too many places in Auckland. We wondered around the town, went to the Harbour and went up Mt Eden, which had a fantastic view of Auckland. We figured that we will spend a bit more time there on our way out of NZ, but not yet!

Dean then got the call. We had to go to the ‘Naki’ as he had a job interview.

The drive down to Taranaki was actually not that bad. It is strange that once you leave Auckland, you only see single lane roads. Not quite the M25! It was nice to see the scenery change as we travelled down. We stayed at a Farm stay in Hawera when we arrived there. It was beautiful, but freezing. My goodness we reached NZ just as it was having its worst winter in years. Worse than the UK and that is saying something. Dean had his interview and we decided that we should explore the area a little more. There are 2 main highways in Taranaki. Highway 3 and the surf highway 45. You can guess which one we decided to take! Highway 45 goes around the outside of Mount Taranki. The first time you set eyes on Mount Taranaki (which is harder than it sounds due to the awful weather that the ‘Naki’ seems to get), you breath is taken from you. It is immense and beautiful. This huge mountain just sticking out of the middle of the ground. A single point. We drove around stopping at all the little places on the way. The first place we thought we may be able to stay at was Opanake. This is a surf Mecca, however was completely deserted on the day we visited. We kept driving and finally arrived in New Plymouth. Apparently a ‘City’, New Plymouth isn’t exactly pretty. It looks like someone needed more space and just kept building. We stayed a night and decided to explore a little more. And there it was. The place we decided to stay. Oakura. Perfect, the sea and mountain all in a 360⁰ view.

We stayed at a campsite for a couple of weeks (and made great friends with the owners) while we looked for an abode and 3 weeks later we had moved in. We now live in a little house from which we can view the mountain from our kitchen window and the sea while sitting in our lounge. Heaven.

If the weather is bad, don’t moan about it, make the most of it. We decided that we should have a small trip to the snow. Dean has only ever been once and I have never been. This was going to be interesting! Mount Taranaki has its own ski field; however it really is for those with a bit of snow savvy of which Dean and I have none. Instead we opted for the 4 hour drive to Mt Ruapheu with 2 days of snowboard lessons for each of us.

The adventure begins. Driving up a mountain with almost zero visibility, a blizzard and no barriers on an ice road with a sheer drop is not for the faint hearted, and not one of the most pleasurable experiences, but by ‘eck you know you are alive. We were geniuses for having the four wheel drive! After reaching the top we felt that we could take on the world, snowboarding was going to be a breeze. With nerves of steel and being the talented surf legends that we are we thought we had it in the bag. Oh how wrong we were. We spent most of the time on my rear, but my goodness it is addictive! I loved it. We came home exhausted but determined to do it all again before the snow disappears.

So this is where we are up to. The next instalment will hopefully be a little sooner. We just want to say that we miss everyone loads, but are loving the great outdoors. Here is a little preview of our next instalment:

Tramping....

We buy another car

Cornerstone roots

Carla joins a book club (geek)

Carla gets a job

Dean buys a surfboard

Surfing at the end of our street!

Dean and Carla go to the sugarloaf’s

Dean catches a big fish

Seals near our house

Outrageous Fortune...it is outrageous

The veggie patch

Training for round the mountain race

Dean and Carla volunteer for the DoC

More snowboard adventures

Until then...sweet as bro’!

Gallery: New Zealand_Part 1

carla_and_dean — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:29:00 GMT

Gallery: Japan

carla_and_dean — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:12:00 GMT

Japanese Memories

carla_and_dean — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:05:00 GMT

Well it may have taken us 4 months to write it, but finally here is the first instalment of the 'Trotter Tales'. We hope you like it!

So we got dropped off at Heathrow airport by our folks, and said our goodbyes with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. The fact that we were leaving the country and in a few hours time would arrive in another half way around the world had not really sunk in. The flight was good and we managed to get a few hours sleep. Eating breakfast at 10pm UK time was a little strange, but it was food so of course we ate it!

We arrived in Tokyo, and finally managed to find the right exit for the underground, and then the right ticket machine from which to purchase a ticket. It was a strange experience being somewhere where everything is not only in another language, but also another script altogether. However, it is also a humbling experience to be somewhere where everyone is so willing to help you, at no benefit to them what so ever.

The hotel we stayed in was basic, but nice and reminded us a bit of youth hostels you find in Europe, full of travellers with stories to share. The one difference however since our last travels is the presence of technology...the laptop! Everyone seems to have them with them, although ours was by far the biggest.

We spent a total of 4 days in Tokyo at first, visiting most of the districts.

Shimbuya was completely crazy. Here is the world’s busiest cross road which is surrounded by big TV screens showing adverts. The red man shows and the crowds gather the green man shows and it is like a meeting of the oceans biggest waves. The amazing thing is that no one even seems to get hurt.

Roppongi Hills has the best view out over Tokyo, especially from the Tokyo City View. This is a viewing deck situated 52 floors up which with a 360⁰ view around the city. It is also the best point from which to view the Tokyo Tower (imagine the Blackpool Tower at night and you get the gist!).

Shinjuku is the place of complete opposites. The west is the financial district housing the huge skyscraper that is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government offices. The east is the equivalent of being in a Japanese advertisement, very animated. When we were here the viewing deck in the TMG offices was closed as there was an earthquake, which apparently happens very often and we didn’t even notice!

Harajuku is where the trendy kids hang out. It is very funky, almost like a living work of modern or even futuristic art. There is a beautiful Shrine here called Meiji-jingu which is set amongst a forest. There was a traditional Japanese wedding taking place when we visited. It was quite an honour to be present although I thought weddings were supposed to be happy events and everyone looked really miserable!

Central Tokyo has loads of stuff to look at. We did a walk from our hotel to the imperial palace. Although you couldn’t actually go in the palace, there was a really nice garden nearby which you could walk through. The first park we visited was the Kitanomaru-Koen (the city park). This was full of people with their families, many were westerners. This was the first time we were really aware of the multiculturalism that existed in Tokyo. We then went on to the east Imperial Palace gardens. These were stunning, but it was strange to see all the skyscrapers in the background. Around the streets of Central Tokyo we also spotted three genuine Geishas. They were beautiful and very shy.

Tsukiji Fish Market, wow what an experience. As a vegetarian seeing so many dead fish was not the nicest experience, however just being there was fascinating. The feeling is intense, and people are just rushing around all over the place. It really did encapsulate all things Japanese. Dean was in his element, absolutely loved it as you can see in the photos. We had our first plate of sushi (at 7.30am) although mine was just rice and carrot!

Odaiba is situated across Tokyo bay. To get here you have to take the automatic monorail (driver less) across Rainbow Bridge. It has a beach and really reminded us of Brisbane as you can see all the skyscrapers in the back. The ambience here is definitely ‘Rivera’ with a huge posh shopping area at the back whilst down on the foreshore the surf dudes hang out looking very cool. Odaiba also has Japans very own Statue of Liberty (yes we were confused too!). I am not sure what the Americans make of it.

We left Tokyo looking forward to a more relaxed pace. Our next stop was Kyoto. To get there we had to take a Shinkasen, or bullet train. These things look like something out of a space movie so sleek and high tech, you would never find one of these in London!

In Kyoto we stayed in our first Ryokan which is a traditional Japanese Hotel. These are usually nice old wooden buildings which are run by families. On arrival you must remove your shoes and put on some slippers that are provided for you. You are then shown to your room where there is a flask of hot water and some traditional Japanese Green Tea. The floor is covered with Tatami mats and the beds are Futons. There is a Yakata or Japanese robe that you can wear in your room, or where there are shared facilities you can wear them to the bathroom.

Kyoto is known for the vast number of Temples and Shrines that are located in a relatively small area. I was hoping that with all the Temples and Shrines around I would be in luck and there would be a variety of vegetarian restaurants around. Wishful thinking! More veggie sushi from the supermarket!

Many of the Temples and Shrines involve a steep walk up a hill or a ramble through a forest to get there. This is always worth the effort, and maybe even adds to the wonder of the place.

In Kyoto we spotted our second group of Geisha. They seemed a little less confident than the group we saw in Tokyo and we suspect that they were not the real deal. It is possible (for a small fee) to get dressed up as a Geisha for the day, have your photo taken and walk about the streets of Kyoto! Looked like fun, but wasn’t sure that Dean had the legs to carry off the look!

There were two highlights of Kyoto for us. The first was Tenryu-ji Temple. This is a beautiful World Cultural Heritage Temple located in Sagano District of Kyoto. Here we were able to eat a Zen Buddhist meal while looking out over a beautiful Zen Garden. The whole experience was very spiritual for me, although I think dean would have preferred a big lump of Kobi Beef!

The Sagano area is very attractive. There is a big lake which sits at the bottom of a large range of mountains. You are able to do a rural walk through a bamboo forest which passes by a few other Temples and Shrines. Dean and I did this walk and found ourselves in the middle of nowhere. We went to a bus stop which looked very deserted, and due to our very poor grasp of the Japanese language (even though we were armed with a phrase book) became slightly apprehensive that we had missed the last bus. This view was shared with a passing Japanese family who saw us waiting and stopped to give us a lift to the bus station. It turned out that we were lucky as there was one bus left, but we really appreciated them stopping for us. Later we tried to imagine if that same situation had occurred in Cheshunt would we have got in the car...I don’t think we need to answer that!

The second highlight was the Fushimi-Iriari Shrine. There are 4km of orange Torii Gates that you can walk through to get to the other Shrines that are situated within the vicinity. While we were here we saw some workman fixing one of the Torii Gates which was really tough work as they had to carry the massive structures by hand up steps in the 40ᵒC heat. Impressive!

Next on the itinerary was Nara. This is very close to Kyoto and very similar in lay out. Nara has loads of Deer. There are hundreds of them and you can buy Deer biscuits to feed them! They can get a bit aggressive, but the baby ones are very cute. The highlight in Nara however was the Todai-ji Temple which is the oldest and biggest wooden Temple in existence and houses a huge bronze Buddha.

On our last night in Nara, Dean and I had our first Japanese baths. They are separate for men and women and lucky Dean got his to himself. I on the other hand didn’t and shared mine with a very nice French lady. I have to admit I felt very British, naked bathing with strangers is a bizarre experience, and probably not one that I will encourage in the UK!

Hiroshima was our last destination (other than returning to Tokyo to catch our flight). This was more familiar. Nowhere in the same league as London for dirt, pollution, Crime, and basic grubbiness, but it felt more like home. Downtown Hiroshima is very quirky and has edginess that we had not experienced anywhere else in the country. Vibrant and inspiring.

Sadly Hiroshima is known for being the site the first Atomic Bomb hit. The museum there has lots of traumatic reminders of effects of that event but it also echoes strong feelings of hope. The people of Hiroshima are unwavering in their quest for world peace and the abolishment of nuclear weapons. Britain by no means has the most weapons, but we definitely are up there. It was hard not to feel angry at world leaders and the stupidity of man.

From Hiroshima you can travel across the river to Miyajima. Here is a beautiful shrine which at high tide has Torii gates which appear to be floating in the water! We met a Spanish couple on our way there. The girl was wearing a T-shirt that said “save the whales”. Brilliant, I hope no one spat in her food!

Japan was such a contrast for us. For a country where people are so humble, polite, and caring it is hard to understand why they encourage the killing of Whales. It is so baffling.

On reflection I don’t think we have ever visited a country and been so unprepared for how much we would fall in love with it. It really is a wonderfully diverse and magical place.

Our next stop is New Zealand.....can’t wait!!