New Zealand

Homeward Bound

monica_gill — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:41:00 GMT

Well, I've checked out of my room, and soon will be heading to the airport to board a plane back to the US. The last few days have been great. A few days ago I went to the Blue Mountains and hiked a bit. The views were astounding. They apparently aren't technically mountains at all, but canyons covered in trees. The eucalyptus oil hanging in the air reflects the light, giving them a blue tint.

Then last night, I finished off my trip by seeing Carmen at the Sydney Opera House. It was amazing, a great end to my trip. And the views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are beautiful, especially at night.

I can't figure out how to get my pictures onto this computer, so I'll have to do that when I get home. But for now, so long!

Sydney!

monica_gill — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:19:00 GMT

My first two days in Sydney have been great. I wandered around Darling Harbour, which was darling, and saw the aquarium, which included some really interesting creatures like sea dragons (kind of like sea horses, but bigger and weird.) Unfortunately, I missed the platypus. Oh well.

Yesterday I saw the Opera House really for the first time (I had a glance from the plane when we were far away,) and Harbour Bridge. Both were very cool, and I hope to explore them a bit more. After that, I walked from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach. Although the walk was not that long, it took all day because I had several beaches to stop at in-between. It was beautiful, and the day was cloudless. Unfortunately, despite many applications of sunscreen, I got burned. Now I'm kicking myself for not keeping to the shade more!

There's plenty to see here, so I'm sure it will be a busy, packed-full kind of week.

On to Australia!

monica_gill — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:45:00 GMT

Wow, it's my last night in New Zealand. I can hardly believe that this trip is nearly over. I don't have long to write, but I'll try to post some pictures when I get a chance (if not in Sydney, when I return to the states!)

It has been a wonderful trip with lots of quirky coincidences. A couple of days ago, in the Bay of Islands, I went on a ship cruise and one of the crew was a girl I went to elementary school with (Heather Kelleher). Then last night I found myself sharing a dorm room with another American--her name was Jonika (rhymes with Monica) and we had exactly the same sandals.

Just some of the small amusements of late, but I'm getting cut off notw!

Raglan

monica_gill — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:35:00 GMT

I've been road tripping in a rental car for several days now. The freedom and flexibility is nice. From Wellington, I drove north and walked the Tongariro Crossing, a one-day hike through volcanic mountains. There were pretty pools and geothermal activity to be seen. It was a good hike (although I'm not sure it would qualify as the best day hike in the world, as one van claimed it to be).

From there, I drove further north to Lake Taupo, and onto Rotorua. The whole region is known for its geothermal activity, so I saw lots of pools bubbling, and I even sat under a hot waterfall!

Now I'm on the west coast, at Raglan, a famous surfing town. I went to the beach last night, which was gorgeous, but today it is raining so I think I'll move on. Only one week left until I fly to Australia. I met a couple from Sydney at my campsite last night and they gave me lots of tips on what to see while I'm there. It should be a good ten days!

Back in Wellington

monica_gill — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 06:53:00 GMT

After Christchurch, I got a ride from an English woman named Susan to Kaikoura, a little beach town. It was a cloudy day when we arrived, but the next day was sunny. I knew I had to get moving back up to the south island, so I headed up to Blenheim pretty quickly, stopping there one day to take in a wine tour. I ended up on a tour with three older couples, which was pleasant, because they knew what they wanted to try, and I had no ideas. So I tagged along and had a really good time. The next morning I caught a bus to Picton and took the ferry back across to Wellington. On my previous ferry trip, the sea had been very calm. This time, it was pretty rough, and we had a good two hours of up and down. I don't get seasick, but it was still distracting. Too bad because I met this friendly Canadian woman and she wanted to have a good conversation--as did I--but I needed to just close my eyes after a while because the motion was getting to me.

I still like Wellington. Not that I have really seen a whole lot of it, it just has a nice feel to it for me. Today I am renting a car and going to head north. I don't even have two weeks left in New Zealand, which is hard to believe. I have been trying to plan my 10 days in Australia, and it sounds like I will only get a small taste in such a short time. Looking at the size difference between NZ and Australia, and given how much I won't be seeing in New Zealand, I can imagine I won't be able to do too much in Australia. Hopefully it will be a good taste, though.

Off to pack up my things, once again!

Gallery: Kaikoura to Wellington

monica_gill — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 06:50:00 GMT

Christchurch

monica_gill — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:05:00 GMT

Wow, I only have one more month of travel--only three weeks of it in New Zealand! The whole trip has been wonderful, but I am starting to really look forward to the options for when I get back to the US. All of the traveling here has reminded me how much of my country I haven't seen yet, too!

I had a great road trip with Anna and Brianna. We went down the west coast, saw the Pancake Rocks and the glaciers, and went through Fiordland all the way to Milford Sound. We drove through Queenstown twice, though we didn't spend much time there--only enough to do the luge and have some fish and chips! That is an amazingly beautiful city. It is set on the water, and all around the lake, these mountains shoot out of nowhere. Fiordland was like that as well. The starkness of them is astounding. We camped and stayed with friends of Brianna and Anna, which was fun. I have met so many people on this trip, it's pretty exciting to look back on.

Now I'm in Christchurch and I have just been chilling for the past two days. When I first arrived at my hostel, I ran into this girl I had met in Karamea. She told me that she was going to Lyttleton for the day with a friend, so I tagged along. There wasn't much to Lyttleton except for a nice view and huge ice cream cones, but I enjoyed it!

I think I will WWOOF one more place, near Auckland, for a short time before I leave. That leaves me just two weeks to get up there and sight-see as I go. Right now I have no plans, but I guess I better get going on that!

Gallery: Road trip to Christchurch

monica_gill — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:55:00 GMT

Leaving Port Ligar

monica_gill — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:18:00 GMT

Well, tomorrow I'm off. This has been a very peaceful place to have spent the last two and a half weeks. I'm hoping I can carry that peaceful feeling with me. Next stop, I'm not sure...I'm going on a road trip with Brianna and Anna--Brianna is a Shand, one of the daughters in the family here, and Anna is sort of an honorary daughter. They are both fun people, and I'm really looking forward to the trip, whatever it may bring!

More Port Ligar

monica_gill — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:51:00 GMT

Here are some pictures from my time here. It has been wonderful the last few days--lots of kayaking, seeing dolphins, giant (more than 1 meter wide) stingrays, and jellyfish. Swimming is a bit cold, but I have done that too. Earlier this week, we had to get the sheep ready because the lambs were going to be picked up to be taken to town and sold. That meant waking up at 4:30 and going up a very windy road in the misty, windy weather. From there, we herded the sheep into a pen and got them to run down a path to be separated into lambs and sheep by Tim (the owner of the place). It was a fun challenge, although it was a bit cold and early! The next two days, yesterday and today, I've gone out on the mussel boat to help retie floats on the mussel lines. So many new experiences!

Gallery: Port Ligar

monica_gill — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:23:00 GMT

Port Ligar

monica_gill — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:28:00 GMT

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update! The Heaphy Track was beautiful, and a good challenge for a first-time backpacker. The first day was along the beach, and my mouth just hung open in awe of the beauty. That night, I camped near the beach at a campsite, and my tent held up beautifully despite the fact that it rained pretty hard. Luckily, that was the only rain I got for the whole walk. The second day was tougher--at first it seemed like the line for a ride at Disneyland--great atmosphere, a slow river rolling by and trees with ferns and things all around, but then I found that I had longer to go than I had thought, and the second bit was all uphill! By the time I got to the top I was beat. The third day was better, although I was mostly out of the foresty terrain and going through brush and high grass. There was a bit of uphill at the end, but I was prepared this time--I listened to music which really helped. The last day was alright--all downhill. By the end my knees were killing me, and I was glad to be done, but it was certainly a "Great Walk," as it is called. I spent New Year's at a hostel near the end of the track, which was nice and small. One thing I have found about New Zealand is that it seems much more geared towards community. It's possible that the places I have chosen to go simply lend themselves to it, and this was no exception. New Year's Eve was not terribly exciting, but the company surrounding that time was very nice. I spent a day around the Abel Tasman National Park, and I had planned to go sea kayaking, and booked a day trip. Unfortunately, somehow that didn't get into the computer, so the trips were booked up and I didn't get to go. The company I had booked with still picked me up, and I went on a water taxi to this less populated beach and had a short walk along the Abel Tasman track, another "Great Walk." It was beautiful, and the weather that day was great, too. Then I made my way out to the Marlborough Sounds, and took the mailboat last Friday out to Port Ligar. I am WWOOFing here for a family with 10 children, ages 28 down to 5 years old. They have mussel lines, sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, and several cottages and a lodge. I am not doing much actual farm work, more household work, cooking, and child minding. It's quite a zoo around here on a regular basis. Despite that, there's a peace about being so far out of town and on the water. When I'm not busy in the kitchen, swimming in the ocean, or trying to keep up with (or shake off) children, I have been eating wonderful food, reading, and getting to bed early. One day, we went out on their boat and fished and went scalloping. We also got some mussels from their lines. The mussels and scallops were cooked on the boat, and the mussels in particular were delicious. I'm not a huge seafood person, but they were wonderful. I had never been fishing before, so that was a fun experience, too. Although I did get a little turned off to it when I caught a small fish but didn't realize it. When I pulled it up it was already about dead, and when I threw it back it floated. I didn't catch anything big enough to keep, but hardly anyone did. I'm not sure what's next on the schedule, right now I'm just enjoying being here and day to day life seems to keep me busy enough! I'm sure I'll make some plans before too long.

Merry Christmas!

monica_gill — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 22:17:00 GMT

Merry Christmas! I got two celebrations today--I was invited to the home of another woman from the church, and then we had a potluck at the hostel. Although it has been nice, it still doesn't quite feel right, not quite like Christmas. It's hard for me to believe that Christmas Eve services have happened and there are Christmas trees up across the world. Looking at the stars again tonight reminded me of just what a different place it is that I'm in.

Tomorrow I finish things up around here and prepare for the Heaphy Track. For now I think I'd better start heading to bed!

Mount Stormy

monica_gill — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 10:34:00 GMT

Yesterday I had a first: I drove on the left side of the road! My friends let me drive their van to our hike. It was fun. I hit the windshield wipers instead of the blinker a couple of times, but otherwise I did okay.

Five of us hiked up Mount Stormy (which is aptly named, it is usually covered in clouds.) The posted sign says it takes 6-8 hours return. We definitely took 8 hours! I haven't done anything like that in quite a while. We crossed two rivers, went over a little ridge with nothing on either side but down, and climbed a very steep and slippery mountain. It was quite a challenge, and I'm pretty sore today, but it felt good to challenge myself like that. The whole climb was really beautiful--we went through a lot of rainforest and saw about 30 different types of moss and Dr. Seuss-looking trees. When we got to the top, there was a beautiful view of a mountain range on one side, Karamea and the ocean on the other. We sat down to eat some lunch, and when we were done we were inside a cloud and couldn't see a thing! The trip down was much easier on my lungs, but it was still slippery and tricky at parts.

Now I'm hoping my feet recover fully by Thursday, when I leave on the Heaphy Track!

Still in Karamea, but scheming!

monica_gill — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:30:00 GMT

I'm sorry it's been a while since my last update. I have mostly been drinking in the slow pace of life around here and doing a good deal of reading and eating. My new favorite snack is toast with Nutella. I have been eating so much of it, soon my pants won't fit! The relaxation is really nice, but a few days ago I started feeling the need to make plans for my next stop, so I emailed some folks, and I think I'll be headed to a mussel farm on the other side of the northern part of the south island next. The woman I emailed seems very friendly, so I'm looking forward to it. They're a Christian family, too. While I have had time to read the Bible a fair amount here, it's not always the most comfortable atmosphere for it--which is maybe a good challenge for my spiritual growth, but it can make me feel a bit defensive. The people here are generally accepting and friendly, but I don't think there are any other Christians. So I am looking forward to spending some time in a Christian home, as a contrasting experience. We'll see how it goes.

Right now, the tentative plan is to stay here through Christmas and Boxing Day (which will be Christmas in the US) and then head out via the Heaphy track, a 3-6 day walk near here that takes me generally in the direction I want to go. From there I may do a bit of exploring at a national park before heading to the mussel farm.

I haven't been a complete lump this last week or two--a guy named Brad stayed several nights, and he was very generous--he cooked two dinners to share with Sarah and myself (a welcome gift after eating mostly pasta) and he took me along to see the Oparara arch and some caves near it. The arch was really huge--more of a cave with a hole in the top and both ends, really. The caves were pretty small and I didn't get as scared as I thought I might (they said there were spiders in there.) The hiking around here really is gorgeous. The other day I borrowed Raoul and Fabienne's bike and rode up to see the Big Rimu tree. It was a pleasant ride and the walk was beautiful, but the tree itself was rather anticlimactic. Yes, it was big, but I have seen bigger trees. On the way there, I actually saw one that looked like much more fun to me. I'll try to post pictures of the two trees soon!

More WWOOFers have arrived--three Germans. They are all very friendly, and it's nice to spread the work around a bit.

Gallery: Karamea outings

monica_gill — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:19:00 GMT

Still at Rongo

monica_gill — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:16:00 GMT

The last few days have been grey and drizzly, on and off, so I haven't gotten out too much. I don't really want to plan a long walk or a scenic one in the rain, but it sounds like it might not clear up for a while, so we'll see. That may be my only option.

"Tea" was really dinner, and it was lovely. The woman (Fabienne) invited me to a Bible Study with her the next morning, which I went to (three older women...two of them 88, and Fabienne, who is probably in her forties.) We looked at women in the Old Testament. It was very nice! After dinner, Raoul, Fabienne's husband, showed me the best ways to do a couple of walks, and told me the things I absolutely should not miss while I'm here. He's the outdoor education teacher at the school, so he likes teaching people this stuff. He even offered to let me use their bike, and he may hook me up with some other folks who want to walk the Heaphy Track, a four-day trail that ends (or starts, depending on how you go) nearby. I'd really like to do it, I hear it's very nice. But again, the rain makes planning a little tricky.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for Brian, the manager here, and we all contributed a bit of food. It was fun. Now my day's work is done and I need to figure out what I want to do with myself. Pretty soon I'll start figuring out where I want to go next.

Gallery: Wellington to Karamea

monica_gill — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:08:00 GMT

Karamea

monica_gill — Sun, 9 Dec 2007 23:42:00 GMT

The last three days have been wonderful. My "work" here is not too difficult--just keep the place looking decent, really. And I'm not the only one in charge of doing that. There haven't been very many guests, either. So the first two days I went to the beach, and today I just hung out (it was cloudy and threatening rain all day.)

On Friday, my first full day here, I had my first organic farming experience. There are some sheep, I learned, and I helped herd them into their place. Also, I got to watch some of the young ones get treated for maggots. I guess the maggots had found an entry at wounds that had developed because they were castrated a little late (still, they were only a few months old!) The poor things--it looked pretty painful. They were treating them with tea tree oil, because they're doing everything organically here. Apparently it looked much better on Saturday, so it's working. Unfortunately I missed out on the sheep shearing, as I had to be the one to man the hostel. Oh well, I'll have to have that experience another time.

Yesterday I finally remembered to check out the stars. Boy, were they amazing! You can see so many here. We're really in the middle of nowhere. I saw the Southern Cross, and Orion...but he was upside-down, I think. I also had an authentic small-town New Zealand experience. I went with a Canadian guy staying at the hostel to the Karamea Christmas party--an outdoor picnic complete with fireworks at the end. It was pretty fun, although we really didn't mingle--you could tell it was a clique-y kind of place. Fun to observe, and get free food, though.

Today I went to church...and I thought maybe there wasn't going to be a service, because I inadvertently showed up 15 minutes early and the doors were locked. After a while, some others showed up and told me someone would be coming with the keys. Altogether there were probably 10-15 people at this very informal service. The pastor didn't really seem to have a plan, he just read some scripture, asked which songs people wanted to sing, read a letter he'd received from some friends of the congregation, and unceremoniously passed around communion. It was really interesting to step into their world for a short time, and hard to imagine living someplace like this! I was invited to tea tomorrow night at one of the family's homes, so I'm looking forward to that. They said they may be able to help in finding me transportation to some of the walks around here (there are tons of trails everywhere.)

Rongo

monica_gill — Thu, 6 Dec 2007 22:33:00 GMT

I stayed at the recommended hostel in Nelson, which was indeed very nice. Nelson has a sort of Santa Cruz-y feel to it. People were walking around barefoot, so I figured the beach must be within walking distance. When I asked, however, I was told that it was several miles away. I enjoyed it, but I think I prefer the feel of Wellington as a city.

What struck me when I got to the south island was how much it reminded me of the California foothills. They haven't had much rain here recently, so the hills (especially near Nelson and Marlborough, which is where their wine country is,) were pretty dry.

Today I took a bus from Nelson to Westport, where I was collected by the owner of the hostel I'm going to be working at for a while. He and his "partner," as he addresses her, drove me back to the hostel, which was about 100 km away on very windy roads. On the way we stopped at the beach, which was beautiful. It's a very mountainous area (the whole country seems to be, actually,) and the hills were all misty off in the distance.

I was shown my room, which for now I have to myself, as there is only one other WWOOFer here and no guests right now (which is odd, since it's summer.) This other girl and I hung out and chatted with the owner and manager and then cooked dinner, and it was very laid back and pleasant. It seems there's not that much work to do, really, especially when there are no guests. They are short on water, because I guess they get all their water from rainfall, so I'm not allowed to take a shower (but they have a motel up the road which has an available shower.)

The name of the hostel is Rongo, which means Peace in Maori. It seems like a very peaceful place, so far.