Hello Friends, I mean...how ya going? or Talofa (Samoan for hello).
We're sorry it's been a while since we've written...but combined with being extremely occupied, and internet being so bloody expensive, it's taken us until now to find the time and save the money (kidding).
We arrived in Aukland, New Zealand...having scammed yet again 2 MORE MINI bottles of wine from the plane AND 2 Fiji beers from our boat-ride that Julia described (WOW...we're so good...and cheap haha)...we arrived with some 58% Fijian rum and a big bottle of 42 below Vodka as per Nara's request and high expectations to tie on a good one that night. We met Dan and Nara Calvelle in the airport that evening...they looked EXACTLY as we remembered...even better, perhaps because of the strange self-induced glow (waited for us at a bar with friends). Anyway...we were staying at Nara's sister's house (where she - Ang, husband Fitz, and their two children live) which was vacant as the family were on holidays. In the Samoan culture, every house of a family member can be treated as your own...if you're family. We felt right at home for sure...and Dan and I tried to catch up where we likely left off (drinking at the clubhouse)...by having too many beers. In the meantime, Nara cooked an excellent meal (chicken, scallops, etc.) which we hungrily ate after half starving ourselves in Fiji. Unfortunately, I ended up over-eating and stuffed my guts so full I was sick for the next two days. Could have been the snacks Dan steamed up at 1am...fresh off the island of Samoa themselves...intented for one of Nara's other sisters in celebration for her becoming a chief...taro leaf wrapped coconut cream. Could have been the 2 or 4 or 6 pack...I don't know...but just a look at the mess I'm in (quote from old song I loved). In all seriousness...life was ALL good and we had a blast catching up and listening to Dan speak in a mixture of Canadian, Irish and New Zealander accents all at once hahaha.
We drove north from there, finding a rugby touch tournament along the way (these are like the Ultimate Frisbee players of rugby...athletic, but whiney!), a few beautiful look-out points, before ending up in a marine sanctuary somewhere around 1.5 hours north of Aukland. It was FREEZING cold water, but Dan, in his see-through rugby trunks, and I braved that water for a rewarding snorkel...Dan's first...and the girls had a nice sun-bathe under the intense NZ sun. We dined on fish and chips at our next stop before playing some frisbee and doing some wave casting-fishing (or fish feeding as is so often the case with me) on an enormous sandy beach. We spent the night in Aukland again, visited the very cool and affordable market the next day (or it may have been the day before...no matter) and headed towards a place called Cathedral Cove along a north easterly peninsula. We hiked, swam, enjoyed the beauty of the cove, had another FREEZING snorkel, and generally enjoyed ourselves to the max. We chilled out that night at our hostel, played some top notch pool, watched movies, ate corn, bacon sandwiches, and garlic bread before nightfall. The long drive to Wanganui the next day was higlighted with MANY more moments of Krem's rugby reminiscence...hours of farming talk (much to the girl's delight) and a quick stop in a town to change the balding tires on Dan's car.
We were greeted in Wanganui by Nara's BEAUTIFUL parents...Melli and Gui. I got a full-lipped kiss by Melli who has got to be one of the most hospitable people on the planet...and frequently says 'That's ALLL-ROIGHT'. We ate a delicious meal of salted boiled beef, potatoes with coconut cream, and asparagus...played in the park for a while, had a brew in their local pub and watched cricket and rugby, and chatted and watched their AMAZING wedding video until too late. The next day, as Dan had to work and Nara was recruited to be his assistant, I drove (left handed) for 1.5 perilous hours and Julia and I had a beautiful hike in some nearby mountain (name to be added later when I have a book). We travelled home via Wanganui river road...antoher perilous drive as much of the road was washed out and was consequently gravel...but beautiful none the less. We met Nara's older brother (Tasi) and family briefly before kidnapping Tasi to another local bar for a Taggart like session. They had these very cool 3 litre glass cylinder personal taps...so we each drank one, played some MORE top-notch pool, and told more Krem stories hahaha. The next day, Julia and I (with Nara's help) planned much of our coming weeks in NZ...sad to have to leave...but none-the-less...had to move on. We also visited a small dairy farmer who is a potential client of Dan's...had a nice walk and talk through is fields...and returned home to prepare a big meal for 11 people (of which only 7 ate)...Dan's favorite dish of mine...Lazagna along wtih our brie/basil/tomato dish, greek salad, and some chickens. We spent that night visiting with Nara's family, playing cards, watching and talking more rugby...feeling like family with a family we'd only known for a few days. They left us with several VERY generous and unexpected gifts...a turtle shell bracelet, a woven Samoan fan, and a Samoan Lava-lava (a very cool wrap for men). Unbelievable people that we'll never forget, and hope to see in the future.
I must leave off here for a short while...will finishe the NZ story soon, as will Julia finish the Fiji one.
Talk soon...hope everyone is well!! Much to come.
TW
I'm back...from Wanganuie we were off to Wellington for a night and day. Very nice city, good architecture, on the harbour...all around nice looking place. We walked around a lot...stoped to see a chick flick called the 'stone family'...made us think of home during the holidays, missed the snow and the festivities even more, but it was a nice and familiar kind of entertainment. The following day we visited a very good museum about the Kiwi and Maori cultures and the history of new zealand. One of the exhibits Paul (Julia's dad...my pop-in-law) would have LOVED had to do with the formation of the earth, the crust, plate techtonics, rocks...etc. Very cool indeed.
We were off to Picton via a 3hr ferry ride that evening. A very picturesque boat ride...but high winds and cool temperatures kept us inside for much of the time. There was a strange group of youngsters (early 20's?), kind of like mennonites, all the guys in white shirts, black pants and tie...the girls in long blue dresses with bonets, and hair that was down past their bums. Don't know what that cult was...don't really care I guess. We left early the next morning to Christchurch on a 5 hr busride which took us through Kaikura where we were going to try to swim with dolphins...but luckily they were fully booked as all trips were cancelled on the day we passed through (wind). Besides beautiful scenery, the only other thing to report on that journey were the seals we saw basking on the beach rocks.
In Christchurch, we did a very basic walking tour of the city...set up (they say) like Oxford in England...a peaceful stream passing through, very pretty and well kept place with a great big Cathedral. We made some travel arrangements for our dolphin swim the following day in Akaroa, had some nachos and enjoyed a beer while writing a few post-cards...then enjoyed another beer while watching a rugby game (still not sick of it...even Julia watched this massive CLASH between two SA teams...the lions and western province..I think). Our dolphin swim began with yet another beautiful bus ride through amazing countryside with a semi-lunatic old bus driver who's english was mostly incomprehensible to us. The day was beautiful, and we were full of excitement to get a chance to swim with a very rare and small dolphin called the Hector dolphin (only found in NZ, about 6-7000 of them, therefore very rare). We suited up in full wetsuits (water being FREEZING cold here), and as we went out into the harbour of this place which was formed by the MASSIVE explosions of 3 volcanoes many millenia ago, a huge wind picked up. Our boat...a small and powerful craft, was being driven by a young evil kinevil who had us totally airborne several times over the course of our search. I kept hoping that we wouldn't land on one of the poor wee hectors coming up for air...who knows. Anyway...we did manage to see a few dolphins, but there were always young calves with them, and we're not allowed to swim with these pods as it may affect the mother/calf bond...so we looked some more. The 20 foot swells became a little hindering to our efforts however, and we found no 'positive' pods to swim with, although we did see a rare blue penguin...we returned all a little put-out by the lack of experience. The only saving grace was that they refunded our money completely as it was a poor experience for dolphin swimming. The boating was a laugh though...so we by no means felt we left empty handed. SO...we wait for another chance to swim with these amazing creatures. We dined that evening at a Burmese place...portions so puny we had to laugh...but yummy none the less and increasing our thirst for some good/cheap thai food!
The HIGHLY recommended Tranz-Alpine train trip...will unfortunately have to wait for next e-mail session...place is closing.
Talk soon,
TW
