movin' on south

Well boozey people out there, I am off again. I finished up my last shifts at the Grange Road Café a few days ago, and am in the airport waiting for my flight that will take me way down south to Queenstown, New Zealand. While I am excited to move on in my travels, I am surely going to miss Tauranga and the people in it. It has been my home for the past five months, and it’s been quite a fine home. There, I was lucky enough to spend time sailboat racing with Tauranga’s “Women on Water” program. I always worked foredeck, and enjoyed every minute of it, including a few first place races. In Tauranga I also met a good friend Tim while rock climbing on the mount. Being from the UK, and in the process of obtaining his NZ residency, he shared my frustration with NZ immigration. He recently received his residency and I couldn’t be happier for him. My second to last day in Tauranga was spent with him, his girlfriend Biv, three of their friends and of course my wonderful travel mate, Taylor. We took a trip back up to the Coromandel Peninsula where we hiked an hour up a river valley, and spent the next six hours “canyoning” or “canyoneering” back down. 

This included rappelling (or abseiling as the kiwis call it) down massive waterfalls, jumping off 10 meter plus jumps into the clear pools beneath the waterfalls, sliding down natural rock waterslides, taking breaks for an emergency Tim-Tam, swimming, deep water soloing (for Taylor), and all around fun having.

It was one of the coolest things I’ve done in NZ thus far, and when I found out going with a guide and group costs around 300 dollars for the day, I consider myself even luckier for having some serious bad-ass friends who will take me on their adventures with them.

Now it’s down to the South Island for some hiking around. Ah, the South Island. Really, the main reason for me coming to NZ at all. Huge mountains, big backcountry hikes, tons of world class rock climbing, and of course, millions of sand flies…great. In all honesty, I came to the North Island of NZ and didn’t really expect much, and I am so happy my opinion has changed ten fold. I sort of got stuck on the North Island, and I am so glad for it. I have found so many amazing things here, and met amazing people. I can’t wait to someday come back here and catch up with all the people I met. For now, it’s down South I go! My American crew of Gus, Abe, Josh, Abby, and Levi will be picking me up (hopefully if they haven’t drunk too much last night) at 9 am. Keas, Milford sound and Castle Hill, here I come!

Much love.

Happy (very belated) Holidays!

Happy Holidays from down under! Or almost down under. The holiday season is celebrated quite differently here in NZ, as to be expected as summer is really getting going now. Life is still great here in Tauranga, and looks like they're going to continue being great. Now..where to begin?

Thanksgiving was spent with wonderful American and Kiwi friends in the sun. Unfortunately, Kiwis aren't as keen on Turkey as we are, so Abby and I had to resort to making a duck and a chicken. That's two thirds of a turduckin, so we called it good.

yum

We of course dressed up in the traditional Native American garb, headdresses, and enjoyed champagne while our new friend Toby carved the birds. He became first place bird carver.

first place

perfect sweet potatoes

After a fun Thanksgiving, our friends Gus and Abe returned to us after spending some days doing two of New Zealand's "Great walks." There are nine Great walks in NZ now, and as you can tell by their title, they're great. They are so named because they are usually the most popular, and always the most expensive. NZ has a really awesome hut system set up in their backcountry. Along multi-day tramping tracks the Dept. of Conservation has built huts, and trampers are welcome to stay in them for a small (or  in the case of Great Walks, quite large) fee. They eliminate the need to carry a tent, sleeping pad, and other heavy items which is really nice, but not always necessary. Anyways, back to the holiday topic at hand.

Just a few days after our Kiwi Thanksgiving, another American joined the colony here in Tauranga. Our friend Levi flew in. This warranted a mini vacation to some beautiful natural hot springs close to Napier.

Over the next few weeks, the apartment was quite crowded with so many Americans living under one roof, so we took as many chances as possible to go explore beautiful New Zealand. Here a few pics...

Rock climbing/camping at a new crag 

'the mount' as seen from Matakana island

just another beautiful Tauranga sunset 

As Christmas crept closer and closer, it was weird to experience the weather getting warmer and warmer. I had to remind myself that Christmas was coming. My mind knew it, but I never really got in the Christmas spirit. I was just excited for the week and a half I would have off from work during the Holidays.

As I left Tauranga for my week and a half holiday trip, I was semi excited to be back living in the trusty ol' Mitsubishi Chariot again. Living in a car is not always such a bad thing. We first traveled to Lake Tarawera with a kiwi friend and spent the day sailing on his 21 footer and stayed the night near some amazing hot springs (I like hot springs, have you noticed?) Christmas day was spent climbing at Waipapa.

on lake Tarawera

Happy Holidays from some NZ travelers!

Next, on to do some spelunking in the Central North Island. Glow worms everywhere! Unfortunately cave pictures rarely come out very well, but I find these cave pics entertaining.

yum

After caves were thouroughly explored, we went to Raglan. An amazing little surf town on the West coast. Rain and living in a car doesn't add up well, so we splurged on a hostel for the night.

After Raglan, it was straight up to Northland to see the second largest trees in the world. Kauri trees! These beautiful giants are truly amazing, though, like most natural beautiful things in this world, there is a disease killing them and great care has to be taken when visiting them. We made sure to clean our soles and got to visit 'The Father of the Forest' the 'King of the Forest' and the 'Four Sisters.'

yup, there's four of them

16 meteres girth. big guy

After checkin out the amazing giants, and searching in vain for a kiwi (I heard a kiwi call at a campsite though, it was awesome! Too bad they're tricky to spot), we met up with Gus, Abe and Levi who had been way up north planting kumara (sweet potatoes) for about a month. That meant it was party time, New Years was upon us and as is tradition; a music festival. Northern Bass. We celebrated a day ahead of everyone else, and, clearly, it was awesome. 

Happy New 2013 everyone! 

happy November!

So, if there are any if you who are still reading this since I haven't updated in over a month, I would firstly like to say, all is well! I have found a very sweet spot located in Tauranga, New Zealand. It's really an amazing town. There's so much activity here it's unreal. I worked my way into finding an amazing living location at the end of a point, and found a job waitressing at a swanky NZ european style cafe as a waitress. Living in Tauranga has been and will continue to be amazing. More to come on that...

Since I left Taupo after the theft of my car, I took a trip further down south on the North island to Wellington. On the way, I camped at a few wonderful places, one of which was right by a trailhead that started with New Zealand's longest swing bridge; 90 meters long! Nothing too exciting happened at my camp spots, and soon I was in Wellington, the capitol of NZ. They don't call it "the windy city" for nothin' I'll tell ya that. The entire time I was there it was blowing over 30 knots. No wonder so many great sailors come from NZ. I went to a soccer, (or football) game while I was there. The NZ All Whites versus the Sydney Rabbitoes. NZ won and it was quite a boozey evening. While I was in the windy city, I had to make a stop at the largest museum in NZ. I could have spent the entire 4 days I was there at the museum, but instead I spent half the day wandering the Maori exhibits and admiring their culture and craft; as well as checking out the history of European immigration to this lovely island. After Wellington, it was only a 7 hour drive back North to Tauranga where I am residing now.

Tauranga has proven itself to me to be a place I could envision myself for years. Mt. Maunganui is part of the landscape of this town of 100,000 residents (the 5th largest in NZ and some people think it's way too big to live in. I think moving to the states is definitely not an option for these people) and it's an old volcano at the end of the peninsula that creates shelter for the bay of Tauranga. "The mount" as locals call it, provides an excellent work out track, as well as shelter from the wind for surfers, a jumping point for paragliders, and (for me especially) a kick ass climbing spot. The mount will be my new stomping ground and a great place to meet many other traveling climbers. I have already met a German, a Kiwi, and an Englishman from London there. I wish I had pictures to share with everyone, but alas, I must wait until ebay sends me my new charger for my camera since my old one was stolen in the robbery. The beach here is really quite spectacular and I want to show it's beauty off with some snap shots.

I am adjusting so well to living here in NZ and I am so excited for things to come. Though Kiwis really don't celebrate Halloween night at all, my All Hallow's Eve was spent with two dear Kiwi friends (Zac & Kate) I met in Seattle, and the rest of my Yankee friends on the beach fire spinning and hula hooping on the beach. Oh and I now have a whole colony of Americans living with me. Gus and Abe just got here and we're living it up! Can't wait for even more of my friends to get here. We have some amazing hiking planned in our near future, and now that I have some stability in my life (aka a constant power source for my laptop and wifi access) I will be able to update much more frequently. 

I am feeling so elated here and so grateful to have my wonderful family back home who will send me things from the states when I get robbed, however the thing I really wish they could send me is themselves. I think of everyone at home so much and miss you all. I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

Much love.

bittersweet

It's been way too long since I've updated y'all on my ridiculous travels and needless to say, lots has happened. After spending some time in Auckland sorting out visa problems, I was so ready to leave the city. My first stop out of Auckland was the Auckland botanical gardens, before heading off to the Coromandel Peninsula. In the botanical gardens, I had my first encounter with an extremely common, and quite hilarious bird called a Tui (also the name of a very popular and quite tasty beer). The Tui is very talkative and instead of trying to describe their complicated noises, here is a video to enjoy and laugh at; which I have more times than I would like to admit. 

After enjoying the wonderful flowers and comical wildlife, it was off to the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula. Directly to the East of Auckland, the Coromandel was a quick escape back to the beaches. 

It reminded me a lot of the Washington and Oregon coast; with it's awesome sea stacks and tall cliffs. The only thing the Coromandel has on the NW beaches is the awesome blue color of the water.

After avoiding car camping for a few days, I finally arrived in Wharepapa South. An extremely small town consisting of a school, a domain (park with rugby field) and Bryce's climbing center. The best part of it, it's smack dab in the middle of copious amounts of rock climbing. Some crags right in the middle of fields of cows (Froggat & Sheridan) and the other (Waipapa) in the fern filled forest. I spent about two weeks car camping in the school and enjoying wonderful days full of rock climbing. After awhile, I decided to move on to Taupo. 

Taupo...the city that refuses to let me leave. I got into town late afternoon, grabbed some beer, and after hearing about some free hot springs close to town, I headed straight there. I was feeling great after soaking for about 45 minutes in the killer hot water stream, when I came back to find my little chariot was broken into. All my bags were stolen, passport, wallet, you name it. They even took my food bag with new avocados in it! Bastards. I ran off to the Taupo Police station. This is where I met Sergeant Mark Robertson; policeman extraordinaire. After taking down the report, he sent me back to his house to stay with his wonderful caring family who welcomed me with open arms. In the weeks since the theft, I got my stolen rock climbing gear back, and the Taupo police caught the culprit, but I have yet to get my passport and backpack back. But I'm hopeful and it'll just take time.  The Robertsons have been the most amazing hosts and I'm almost glad I was robbed because that meant that I got to meet and stay with them.

Tomorrow it's off to Napier after I talk to a locksmith. Damn car key broke off in the ignition. So many problems to deal with, but hey! Who said traveling was easy? 

I'm missing everyone at home right now very much. I especially wish I could watch the Seahawks games here. Can't wait until I have internet so I can stream them. Missing and thinking of everyone! Love you all,

on the road to Wharepapa South. I thought this only happened in movies!

Much love.

which came first; the kiwi, the kiwi, or the kiwi?

After two weeks spent upside down, five hours behind my hometown of Seattle, yet a day ahead, I still can't answer that question. Was it the kiwi fruit, the kiwi bird, or the kiwi nationality? Doesn't matter much to me though. It's true, the kiwis (fruit) seem to be 100 times better in kiwiland than they are back home. I have yet to see a kiwi bird, but I plan on seeing one as soon as possible. I'm still waiting around to hear back from the New Zealand immigration office to see if they want to give me a working holiday visa. Shouldn't be a problem, but since I arrived a little earlier than expected, they probably had to do some extra paperwork on me.

the needle in the middle of Auckland; copy cats!

In other news, I am now a proud owner of a Mitsubishi Chariot. It's going to be my home for a bit. I got a for a killer deal and since I'll be living out of it, mostly for free, it'll pay for itself in a few weeks because I would've had to pay hostel bills. It does lack a shower, which would be nice for when I start going to interviews, but I'm sure I'll manage to find one somewhere.

Auckland is a wonderful city, but now that I'm in New Zealand finally, I'm really starting to get antsy. I want to get out and start exploring as soon as possible. Waiting to hear back from jobs in unnerving as I definitely need to start making money. Kiwiland is wonderful, and wonderfully expensive! Thank goodness one Kiwi dollar is 80 US cents; gotta love that exchange rate. I'm hoping for a barista position at a Cafe somewhere downtown. We'll see. As soon as I know though, I'm heading to a climbing area called Wharepapa (pronounced Fa-ray-pa-pa; weird right? 'Wh' = 'F' in NZ I suppose) and I'll post up there for a bit and get my fingers on some rock.

Went for a little hike to the top of Mt. Eden for sunset. It's the tallest place in Auckland and it's an inactive volcano. I didn't realize how beautiful the surrounding area is, absolutely gorgeous. Looking Southwest you can see the Tasman Sea and looking Northeast the Pacific, all from one spot. Pretty neat.

just me an my chariot on Mt Eden

As for tonight, well it's Saturday here, and for most of you it's still Friday so party on friends! Tonight there's a big Rugby tournament in Auckland, the NZ All Blacks vs. the Australian Wallabes. Rugby is really big here, they take it almost as seriously as I take American Football. Since I doubt they're going to show any Seahawks games at any bar, I guess I have to get used to rugby and get all rowdy with the kiwis. Should be just fine I think. Though they don't have Beast Mode....

Love and miss you all!

Much love

kiwiland

Hello all! Ok, so I have a lot of explaining to do. First off though, I want to tell some more stories from French Polynesia. When I last left off, I had just brought you all on my journey to Huahine. Huahine was perhaps my favorite place in the Society Islands. We were in an anchorage with many other boats in about 15 feet of clear blue water with sandy bottom; coral heads and the fishies living in them were easily visible.

the anchorage

 The first order of business was, of course, find a store at which to buy beer. We couldn't believe our luck when we walked into the store; it was huge! More like a regular supermarket, and much more decently priced. Soon, after obtaining our necessities, we heard rumor of a bar on the waterfront by the quay where the happy hour was cheap. We found ourselves amidst many other cruisers and enjoyed the evening immensely watching the sun go down and enjoying cold Hinano on tap. I even saw a friend that I met on Moorea!

just another sunset in paradise

John from Moorea

           

nom

 I didn't enjoy Huahine solely for the cheap booze though. The next few days were full of snorkeling, and surfing (by the boys not by me; the reef break is much too dangerous for a beginner, but I heard it was quite epic and I intend to return someday when I'm a pro-surfer...right). We also made a point of putting the spear gun and sling to use and getting some yummy squirrel fish for dinner. I myself didn't get any fish; my hunter instinct didn't really kick in, not to mention I lost a flipper during one windy night in Moorea, so that made things a little difficult. The boys got a few fish though, more and more each night. Taylor, Connor and Mat from s/v Gypsy Blues got a grand total of 15 fish over three days! They weren't the biggest, but that's really a huge achievement because those fish are quite quick to dive back into their coral homes when we got close.

mmmm fish guts

We decided to get off the boat the next day and go walk around the island a bit. There are quite a few interesting archaeological sites on Huahine. There are about twenty ancient Polynesian ruins that are called Marae; used for many important ceremonies and events; including human sacrifices and human dinners. Damn cannibals. They don't look like much in the pictures, but they were actually quite interesting. 

These sites were quite a few kilometers away from the quay where we parked the dinghy, so Mat, Taylor, Connor and I had to hitchhike to them. We got separated during the hitching process, so Connor and I wandered amidst the Marae, and soon found ourselves at a locals house that sold ice cream out of their house next to their art gallery. Naturally, both of us having big sweet tooths, we had to stop and we enjoyed cookies and cream with a local guy name He'are. We were soon invited to a bbq at his house the next night with his American girlfriend and some of their French and Polynesian friends.

if you're going to be eaten, I suppose there are worst places for it to happen

a marae Connor and I found on a short hike

 An invitation to a bbq seems to be a pretty thing to get when you're cruising around these islands. We came back the next night with nine freshly speared squirrel fish, a large fruit salad, and fresh baked cookies (by yours truly). We enjoyed a night with hew friends in He'are's self built home, attempting to play a traditional Polynesian instrument made from a tree trunk, drinking Hinano, and bbqing fish. Pretty enjoyable.

bbq made from coconut husks

ice cream shop aka He'are's house

fish cleaning

Connor being musical

approaching Raiate'a

Soon we were off to Raiatea. Only a half day sail away. We were there for two days, but it wasn't super exciting so we left for Taha'a after we searched in vain to find one of the world's rarest flowers. In Taha'a we did some more walking around and general hanging out, before we found a beautiful place to snorkel where I proceeded to snorkel with one flipper. Not the easiest thing to do when you're inches above pokey sea urchin, but I made it work.

I'm convinced this is the motu Captain Jack Sparrow was stranded on

In Taha'a, the decision was made to head back to Raiatea where I could get off the boat. I hopped on a flight to Papeete, where I stayed for two nights at Chez Fifi, a wonderful hostel right by the airport.

breakfast table & lounge at Chez Fifi

last Tahitian sunset...for now

I hopped on another flight, and here I am now, in Auckland! Kiwiland! I couldn't be more excited. Though it's still winter here...my wardrobe wasn't really ready to be here this early, but it's ok. It feels more like a Seattle Autumn than a winter so I think I can handle it.