Well hello faithful
readers! I guess I say that a little
toung-in-cheek as I don’t know who, if anyone really reads this blog. (Yes mom, I know you do. Thanks). But either way, I’ve got a lot to report on,
but I’ll try to keep it organized, concise, succinct, precise and -ok, you get
the point.
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| Before |
Thursday, January 10, 2013
“The Secret Spot”
One thing that made today
special was that it was Gibson’s 6th birthday and so that entailed
cake in the afternoon, rice and chili for supper (her choice), and a wonderful
evening at the not so secret “secret spot”. If you
didn’t know, there is a lot of thermal activity in NZ, specifically in the area
of Rotorua, so that means there are lots of hot, warm, and cool springs coming up from the
earth, as well as ponds of stinky boiling mud.
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| After |
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| Boiling Mud pits |
The
“secret spot” is a place under a bridge where a hot stream connects with a cold
stream making it the perfect place to swim because everyone can have whatever
temperature of water they desire by moving closer to the corresponding
stream. I love being with the locals and
saving mass amounts of money by knowing the spots to go to see things for free,
rather than paying $30+ to see them as most tourists would have to do! Other notes of the day are that I drove quad
bike (as they say) for the first time here, and did laundry.
One more thing; I had an
interesting conversation with someone about “religion” and how he had no need
for it. Basically he was saying if
others want to believe in something, that’s all good, but it’s not for
him. When he looks down at his plate of
food, he doesn’t need to thank anyone but himself. He worked for it, bought it, prepared it,
caught it, and cooked it, and so the only person he has to thank is himself.
Fact of the day: 77% of Kiwi’s dry their clothes on a clothesline.
The local weather agency (like environment Canada) is actually making a
“Laundry Scale” to let everyone know how good of a day it is to put out your
laundry.
Friday, January 11, 2013
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| Huka Falls, near Taupo |
“The Weekend Away”
Today was the start of my weekend hiking
adventure, and an adventure it was!
First off, an explanation of how it came up. Tui ridge was (kinda) running a family camp
this past week, and I talked with some of the families who were attending, and
naturally we talked about what I was doing in NZ and my plans and such. After one such discussion, one lady, Louise,
told me about a hike she was planning to do with some others on the weekend and
she invited me to come alone. I of
course was up for anything, so before you know it, I was on my way to an
unfamiliar destination in a van with 2 people I didn’t know to meet 6 more new
people with whom I was to spend the weekend!
Needless to say, I liked the adventure (and randomness) of it all.
So I packed up in the morning, we left at 11,
shopped, and then drove out to Lake Taupo for a picnic lunch.
Taupo is the largest lake in NZ, and said to be as large as Singapore
(False by 100 square km’s), and while it looks big, in Canada we have a lake
like Lake Manitoba which is 4100 square km larger than Taupo, so I guess it’s
all relative.
Fact #1: NZ would fit
inside Manitoba 2.4 times.
As we continue our drive I realized something
huge (for me anyways) and I put a smile on my face. I was doing what I’d wanted to do, what I’d
talked about, and what I hope for! I was meeting people and getting to know
their stories, doing random and adventurous things, and living life to the
fullest. This hiking trip and even the
previous week’s events all dawned on me as we drove and it was exciting and
reassuring. It’s not wasted time, it’s
all teaching me something! Everyone I run into becomes part of my story and I
become part of theirs! I’ll share some of those stories with you as we go.
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| 1 of 4 kitchen set ups in the amenities building at the Holiday Park |
Anyways, we stayed at a holiday park, which are
apparently all over the country. Its
like a campground that also has 6 person cabins, a lodge which is like a dorm,
and then a community building with showers/toilets and a bunch of kitchen
units. It’s sweet because you can use
the appliances and eat great food all while meeting new people from around the
world. The
kitchen becomes a delicious conglomeration of smells around meal times, each
scent hinting at the variety of cultures represented by New Zealand’s tourists.
STORY: ROBYN, 60+ (pictured below)
She was in our group (Louise’s
mother) and walked to the Red Crater with another friend hers. She regularly participates in other outdoorsy
activities, has a passion for Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in our
daily lives, is not afraid of trying new things and has such a wonderfully
pleasant disposition.
STORY: TOM (pictured below)
The kind of guy who switched a hen’s eggs with
a different variety of chicks in the middle of the night with his wife so that
the hen would adopt the better type of chicks.
Special Note: Now
that I’m always in a new place with new people,
I'd say finding the right balance is the hardest thing. On the one side is being so removed
you seem uninterested, uncaring, unwilling to help, and unfriendly. The
other side is being clingy, copycat, annoyingly close, and just too much. The
balance is important, but especially difficult when everything is new and I'm
not sure what the expeditions or even the plans are.
Fact #2: Pac’nsave is a local
grocery store, (kinda a cross between costco and superstore) in which they have
made the entrance a maze. Literally, to
enter the store you have to weave (back and forth) through the entire produce
section, bulk isle, and meat section before you can branch off. Bizarre concept to me.
Fact #3: I saw a Wreck-it Ralf poster at
a bus stop and was instantly super pumped for March 5!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
“The Hike”
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| Mysterious landscape along the road |
Today was the day! We boarded the shuttle bus at 7:00AM that
took us to the base of the mountain for the climb. The day was perfectly clear and sunny, and
there were throngs of trampers (hikers) taking advantage of the great
weather. The hike provided an array of
ever-changing views
and everywhere I found myself feeling like a hobbit. We went out to
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| View from the red crater, Blue Lake and Emerald Lakes. |
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| Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom!) |
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| The Red Crater |
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| At the edge of the volcano rim! |
the red crater (1886m), and then up Mt. Ngauruhoe (2287m) which was a crazy steep climb that just kept going and going until you were suddenly on the edge of a volcano. The descent was great though, as we could surf down in all the soft loose rocks. Pretty much 2 hours up, and 30 minutes down! It was a pretty hard climb and so I’m glad I did a bit of running the first few days I was in NZ, but it was definitely worth it for the sense of accomplishment and the view from on top. I must say I don’t love hiking, but I also don’t regret doing it at all. I just wouldn’t want to go out every weekend. As I think about it, I’m not sure I love any one thing enough to become an expert, or even just great at it.
The day was fairly uneventful
until we looked at the time and saw that for us to make it back to the pick up
point for the final bus we’d have to book it!
We end up having 4.4km to do in 35 minutes. That required running part of it, with our
packs on the often uneven or steep trail.
I suppose it was all part of the adventure and we made it, barely, but
we made it!
As I’m involved in all this
physically active stuff, I definitely feel the desire to become more fit when
I’m back home. But it’s so easy to say and very hard to follow through on. But
with a little consistent exercise and decent eating habits I'll
live to be 100!
NZ Fact of the day: Mt. Ngauruhoe was the inspiration for Mt. Doom from LOTR.
STORY: TIM from Australia
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| Part of the Hiking Team Back - Louise, Samson, Tom Front- Robyn, Tim |
He was my hiking partner; old
enough to be my father, has lived in England for 7 years, and is on a work
assignment for 4 months in NZ. His wife
works for a children’s relief organization in Cambodia and he’s hiked and biked
everywhere it seems! So many awesome
stories, and also a devout Christian who has the desire to see his church
denomination embrace the living and active power of the Holy Spirit in
day-to-day living!
STORY: LOUISE
The wonderful type of lady who would invite a
random Canadian to join her family in their hiking adventure, wrote a book
about having an autistic child, seriously loves to hike and plan trips, and
teaches flute lessons.
STORY: LIL BUDDY
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| My German Buddy |
At the holiday park, I was
sitting at a picnic table with a book and little blond boy came and sat at my
table with a coloring book. "Doing
some coloring?” I asked. He replied with
"I speak German," and that was that. I continued to read and he color
and hummed to himself. I love the things that happen in life.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
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| So much stuff! |
Breakfast was again full of stories of
house swaps, finding long lost relatives in London, and the history layers of
the European villages. It seems that
some people are never boring to be around.
I am feeling the aftereffects of the hike as my neck and the tops of my
hands a rather wind/sun burned. I’ve
never had it on my hands like that before.
On our way back we stopped in
at Rotorua and I got to check out the Sunday market with Gypsy’s, artisans, and even one old
guy literally trying to sell a boxful of miscellaneous screwdrivers. So much stuff, but I really like looking at
it all.
Travelers Tip of the day: As much as I think it’s great hanging with
locals, I find I need to keep an open mind to things they disregard just
because they’ve seen them before.
Everyone is cynical towards different things, and if as a traveler you
fall into that attitude, you’ll miss out on some great things of the country
and culture. But I suppose that’s really
true everywhere you go, even your own neighborhood.
I feel like the Kiwi’s/Aussies have a more colorful vocabulary, and it has a bit of “British” feel to it. I’d almost be willing to say a more intelligent vocabulary even. Here are some new words I’ve picked up on.
VOCABULARY
Tramp –
hike
Cue – line
up
Tomato
(toe-muh-toe) sauce – ketchup
Beanie –
Toque
Jandals -
Flip-flops
Sweet As –
Use it wherever you want, it’s just like “cool” or “awesome”
Salubrious
– excessive or overdone
Keen – in
to, talented in, to have a strong desire to do something
Rubbish bin
– garbage can
Carpark –
parking lot
