To Wellington, and Beyond...

So, we drove from National Park to Wellington on Monday… taking in all the sights along the way. Which pretty much means that we stopped in a few towns for pit-stops and photo-ops. Highlights included: Ohakune “Where Adventures Begin” (Home of the giant carrot), Some place with a giant gumboot, and the town of Bulls. See, in Bulls, they like puns. So they have signs on every single business that they can figure out a way to add “ble/bull” to the end… so the police station says “Bulls Police – Con-sta-bulls” and the Public Restrooms say “Reliev-a-bull”, post office says “Post-a-bull” and you get the idea. Kind of cute, for a town with no other conceivable attractions…!

Tuesday morning I had my interview with the educational agency, got the job! That means I’ll be working on a day-to-day basis with kids aged 0-6. They’ll call me in the morning and tell me which early childcare centre has work for me, and then I do my best to navigate buses and whatnot. It’s actually not a bad way to get to know the city, and it’s not THAT big so it’s not terribly overwhelming. So on Wednesday morning I got a call to head out to work with infants. INFANTS! I forgot that they can’t talk! Eeps! I didn’t have to change any nappies, so that was good. Mostly I just cuddled them, talked to them and chased them around (the ones that could walk), and pushed them on the swing. Story time with babies is hilarious. Nobody listens. They all crawl around. Plus, I couldn’t understand a word the storytelling girl was saying so I couldn’t be bothered to pay much attention either! :o)

Thursday I didn’t get a phone call for work, so I did some grocery shopping (YAY) and met up with Emma my Swedish hiking companion from National Park for a day of fun. We went to the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand, which is free (YAY) and fun (YAY). Walked around there for a bit, saw some really cool kiwi art and a bit of history. We were both really sleepy so we went back to the hostel for a nap (YAY) and then a pre-dinner snack before trekking on to find the Wellington Cable Car which took us to the Botanical Gardens. Nerdy? Perhaps. The Cable Car was mildly entertaining, mostly because when it stops it sort of hangs there and bounces for a minute before you’re allowed to get off, meanwhile you entertain visions of stretched or fraying cables holding you up between life and death… The botanical gardens are HUGE, and mostly just forest from what I can tell. Finally Emma and I found some flowers, which smelled very nice.

(Photos of Botanical Gardens and so on)

Yesterday morning I was working with some toddlers. Only for 3 hours, which was too bad because I would have gladly stayed longer. I quite enjoyed myself. They can talk, sort of. They can mostly walk, sort of. And they’re pretty hilarious. One of the staff’s jobs this morning was to make a “messy activity”. So she pulls out a water table, fills it with flour, and pours a tub of coloured water into the flour. Have at it, kids! Before I can blink they are all covered head to toe in orange muck. Fun! Then we washed up and had morning tea (lunch) and put the kids to bed. Funny little kids, all sleeping with their bums up in the air. I rubbed backs, it was pretty sweet. Then it was time to go home. I hope I get to go back there, I like rubbing backs and reading stories to kids on my lap.

The last night I went to the flashiest bowling alley I have ever been to… and the secret of Movember was finally revealed to me. It all started with that massive L&P bottle with a big moustache, weeks ago, I stood there and wondered to myself, “But why a giant moustache? Sure, it’s funny, but why?” and only continued when I got here and tons of dudes on the street are growing these mo’s… some of them good, some of them bad! ANYWAY I guess that November has been renamed Movember here, in honour of the “Mo” and it’s to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer. Aaaaaahhhh (see, it’s all coming clear to me now!) Tui beer had a tent set up in the bowling alley and they were shaving for free, courtesy of girls in short orange shorts. Now I don’t know about you, but if I were in need of a shave, these girls probably wouldn’t be the first ones I would entrust with a razor on my face, but… Bart trusted his life to them and ended up with one of the worst shaves in his life. Onward, to the Mighty Mighty, home of the smallest beer glasses ever (see photographic evidence). And, uh, that’s all for now. I’m still homeless but at least I sort of have a job! Loads more exploring to do soon. ☺ xo

From Tongariro to Wellington...

A few days ago I was in Taupo, adventure capital of the North Island. Did I partake in any of the skydiving, bungee jumping, or various other adrenaline inducing activities? No, I did not. I'll go back and maybe jump out of a plane another day! ;) I was only there for 2 daylight hours, got a bit of a sense of the town (small, touristy but cute all the same) but instead I spent the night taking it easy and catching up with Laura before crashing early. Because the next morning I was going to do a big hike.

The Tongariro Crossing is named as one of New Zealand's "Great Walks". The other day 2 people died on it. Of heart attacks. But I digress. Our bus left at 5:40 from Taupo, we arrived around 7 and then started on the long hike. It's really long. Like, 7 hours long. Some people do it quicker but I like to stop and take in the views every now and again. And every once in awhile I'll admit I needed to catch my breath. Because they weren't kidding when they called the second 1/2 hour stretch "The Devil's Staircase"....

(Photos of Tongariro Crossing)

Anyway, that night we stayed in the super swank backpacker's hostel in National Park Village. I would have gladly stayed there for a year if there was something to do around there other than the Tongariro Crossing (and snowboarding/skiing in the wintertime). Definitely enjoyed the hot tub that night!

And now I'm in Wellington, I got a job with an educational temp agency that places people in Early Childcare Centres on a day-to-day basis. Yesterday I got put in the infants room at one place, it's been awhile since I held a little one. It was actually really nice, except for the crying. But the cuddles and snuggles are nice, and they are all really cute in that funny bobble-head-alien kind of a way!!! :) Tomorrow I'm in the toddler's room so at least they will talk to me! I'm still looking for a place to live temporarily, in the meantime I'm in the backpacker's where everyone is on a different schedule and doing their own thing (including the Dutch boy who literally moonwalked into the room last night around 11 all out of breath and continued to dance to his iPod for a solid 5 minutes before moonwalking out again....).

It's really windy here, but things are good. I am kind of looking forward to some semblance of a routine for a bit, and maybe buying groceries for more than the next day at a time, that sort of thing... Anyway, I miss you. Send me mail and hugs, okay?

Adventures on the North Island!

Okay, a quick update! Super quick! Goodbye Auckland (for now)…. You were grand, but you were rainy and it was getting me down. I met some great people there (some much greater than others…) and I had loads of fun ;) In the end, sadly, it was just another city and I needed to leave you to find bigger adventures. I thought about getting a job at a vineyard restaurant on your nearby Waiheke Island, but it was just a bit too small for my liking. Plus, it was raining there too!

(Photos of Auckland / Waiheke)

Onwards then, to Hahei, home of the Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove. Alas, it was rainy there as well, but still more beautiful. I didn’t brave the cold to dig a natural spa pool in my togs (bikini) to then sit in a vat of sandy scorching hot water… Don’t feel as though I missed out, though it was kind of cool to see! Later in the day we did a SUPER muddy hike to Cathedral Cove, which is incredibly beautiful… We saw some people trying to get married in a natural Cathedral there, would have been so much more amazing on a sunny day, but beautiful nonetheless!

The following day we were back on the bus (ugh) with our driver, BaggiNZ (looks kind of like Frodo and lost some bags once, hence the tricky name) to get to Raglan. A frustrating experience on a crowded beach didn’t do it for me. SO glad I had my first surf experience with our guru Tim, otherwise I don’t think I’d be so determined to keep doing it! Oh well. I stayed at the super-hippy-psychadelic-paintings-everywhere-dorms-in-the-woods hostel in Raglan, had a ride on the Flying Fox (whoopadeedoo!) surrounded by people in dreadlocks and dirty clothes. Exaggerating. But still. Funny.

The next day zooming off to Waitomo caves for a bit of caving, that was amazing. I abseiled 3 times, twice over waterfalls, crept through underground streams and under rocks, saw some glow-worms (which sound pretty in principle, but really their butt glows and bugs get stuck in their poop), and generally just spent an amazing day underground.

(Photos of Hahei / Hot Water Beach / Cathedral Cove / Raglan / Waitomo / Bridal Veil Falls)

Later on, to Uncle Boy’s Marae near Maketu. This Maori guy, Phillip, built a family Marae (not a traditional one, but one for his family and all the visitors to his home/backpacker’s) on his land. We got there and he talked (a lot, in that endearing but rambling old man sort of a way) about his life, then we had a delicious hangi meal before being entertained and trained in the art of Poi dancing. The boys did the Haka dance (JEALOUS!) and the girls got to learn the poi. I managed alright but couldn’t swing and take photos at the same time, so no photos of that, sadly. Only photos of white guys trying to beat their chests unconvincingly while the Maori intimidated like nothing else. Wow.

This morning we drove up to Rotorua (known also as Roto-Vegas) where some people went Zorbing and others white water rafting. I decided to check out some of the geo-thermal stuff, like the geysers and the mud pools. Stinky stinky poo poo. I doubt people there ever eat eggs, the whole town stinks like rotton ones. Ick. The walk was okay (and free!) but every time I got to a burbling mud pool it was all I could do to not make a face. Later on BaggiNZ took us to a place where a hot stream and a cold stream meet, for some swimming. Then to Huka Falls which is so brilliantly blue because of all of the oxygen in it. Tonight in Taupo, home of skydiving and bungee jumping and general adrenaline addictions all over the place!

(Photos of Uncle Boy’s / Smelly Rotorua / Huka Falls)

I’m opting out of the jumping business for the time being (maybe later?) and saving up my energy for the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow. Should have some amazing photos from that!
xoxox
I miss you!

Taupo Bay: Isobar Surf

I’m just whistling away the day here in Paihia, the town which has bookended my week in Taupo Bay with Tim, surf master, host and chef… It was so sad saying goodbye this morning, with Jack Johnson and G-Love blasting from his HiAce van, I REALLY didn’t want to leave. The good news is, Tim and Milena (his girlfriend) and Wesley and Lola (cutest dogs) have invited Laura and I back for Christmas. So, at this point, definitely high up there as far as Christmas day options are concerned. Beach, check. Surf, check. Big comfy couch, check. Good food, beer, wine, check. Awesome company, check. Place to sleep that isn’t a random backpackers, check.

It has been an AWESOME week. I don’t even know what to say. Just check out the pictures…..

Action shots!