Danielle, Indigo and Kerry take leave from Los Angeles to travel the globe and seek out possible places to settle in the future. We're casting for a place to settle in for a while - and it has to have good schools for Indigo, who will be starting kindergarden next September.
Monday, November 24, 2003
OFFICIAL LAST POST TO THE BLOG FROM DOWN UNDER!!
We're moving into the next phase of our adventure now. Our arrival back in LA saw us returning to dependably sunny skies and more temperate weather - it was even clear as a bell with mountains shimmering in the distance. Perhaps the Great Fires had actually combusted all the smog as well?
The very last thing we'll do is go through the 600-odd photos that we took on this trip and get them condensed into a more managable album featuring the most interesting shots with some explainations and keep them in the double digit range. I'll post a URL for it when we've done the work, which will require a bit of time and a solid fast connection for a little while.
I was able to connect with a couple motorcycling friends that I knew through the internet boards I frequent. This was great in terms of getting some information about the local scene and putting faces with names. Met with Hawkwind Racing, aka Gary, in Canberra and Paddy, aka Irish Busa in Sydney near the opera house on our last night.
I realize looking back at the previous posts that we haven't provided much insight into the Australia portion of the trip, so I'll rush through that all right now.
We arrived in Melbourne to pick up our rental car and were pleasantly surprised to find that our econo-shoebox car reservation had been upgraded into a somewhat sporty and luxurious Mitsubishi Magna (I'd never heard of one either). Less than a quarter of a mile from the airport on the busy access highway we spotted the first kangaroo roadkill of the trip (there would be plenty more). We spent a couple days exploring the city. Fashion week had followed us from Auckland to Melbourne apparently as the Federation Square had been transformed into an oasis of Haute Couture, or Haughty Critters as I like to say.
We celebrated my birthday by going to an Imax theater showing a program about the "Science of Risk". It was a bit of a disappointment to find out that it was mostly about skydiving and base jumping. I was hoping for a bit more variety in extreme sporting. We found the original Luna Park amusement park that a well known LA music club is named after. We rode a tram around the city; Indigo called the omnipresent electric cables over the streets powering the trams 'spider webs'.
We took a day trip one day to the Healesville Nature Sanctuary, about an hour's drive away. What is with the tremendous number of vineyards Down Under, anyway? The Sanctuary features all the native Aussie wildlife displayed in such a way that it appears pretty dang natural. Half the time, there is no 'animal enclosure'; you are simply IN the enclosure with the animials. Everything was close up, from the emu that checked us out from less than a meter away - to the large stork-like bird that tried to poke his long sharp beak into our flesh through a little mesh fence (OK, so there were some fences.) Oh yeah, and did you know a koala bear sounds like a hippo when it bellows? I didn't either.
We drove to Sydney in a day - averaging 95km/h or so according to our car's computer. There are speed cameras EVERYWHERE if you believe all the bill boards and signs that appear all over the place. Perhaps I got more tickets to join the 91km/h in an 80km/h zone that I apparently earned in NZ.
So it is a ten hour drive - not as scenic as NZ, but very nice nonetheless. I'm used to hearing the occasional beeping of the car at me when I exceed 120 in the 110 zone. However, the car really BEEPS at me flashing a little yellow light I hadn't noticed on the dash at one point after we'd been going for a while. WTF? Looking at it closely thinking that perhaps we'd just run out of some vital automotive fluid, I see it looks like a little coffee cup with steam rising from it. I've never seen this before, so I ignore it. Ten minutes later, more loud beeping. Again, WTF? I pump through a bunch of options on the tiny dash display and there it is: a countdown timer for 'scheduled resting' flashing 0:00. Aussies apparently, need their cars to tell them to pull over every two hours so they can rest and get some coffee. We pulled over about 90 minutes later. Beeep beep beeep beeep etc.
Sydney was a blast. We spent a good bit of time in the downtown area walking around the botanical garden, seeing the harbor area and checking out the various districts. Some places were overrun with white shirted English people with red crosses painted on their faces. The Rugby World Cup finals were being played while we were there and there were reminders about this everywhere. Kind of made for a festive mood.n Poms beat the Frogs. (English beat the French.) And the Wallabies beat the All Blacks. (Aussies beat New Zealand- to the horror of an entire nation with the initials NZ.)
On our last night, we saw Australian Idol being filmed on the steps of the Sydney Opera House as we went to attend the Bella Trilogy ballet that night.
We went to the famous local beaches, Manly and Bondi. Surf was strong, sand golden and water chilly. We also visited the Blue Mountains and hiked a bit around the lovely Wentworth Falls and the Three Sisters, a famous rock formation that is important the Aborigines.
Sometime, I'm going to have to return to the Southern hemisphere with some good hiking boots. There are an incredible number of fabulous walks - and the people are warm and engaging to boot.
So, that'll wrap up this phase of our Adventure.
We're moving into the next phase of our adventure now. Our arrival back in LA saw us returning to dependably sunny skies and more temperate weather - it was even clear as a bell with mountains shimmering in the distance. Perhaps the Great Fires had actually combusted all the smog as well?
The very last thing we'll do is go through the 600-odd photos that we took on this trip and get them condensed into a more managable album featuring the most interesting shots with some explainations and keep them in the double digit range. I'll post a URL for it when we've done the work, which will require a bit of time and a solid fast connection for a little while.
I was able to connect with a couple motorcycling friends that I knew through the internet boards I frequent. This was great in terms of getting some information about the local scene and putting faces with names. Met with Hawkwind Racing, aka Gary, in Canberra and Paddy, aka Irish Busa in Sydney near the opera house on our last night.
I realize looking back at the previous posts that we haven't provided much insight into the Australia portion of the trip, so I'll rush through that all right now.
We arrived in Melbourne to pick up our rental car and were pleasantly surprised to find that our econo-shoebox car reservation had been upgraded into a somewhat sporty and luxurious Mitsubishi Magna (I'd never heard of one either). Less than a quarter of a mile from the airport on the busy access highway we spotted the first kangaroo roadkill of the trip (there would be plenty more). We spent a couple days exploring the city. Fashion week had followed us from Auckland to Melbourne apparently as the Federation Square had been transformed into an oasis of Haute Couture, or Haughty Critters as I like to say.
We celebrated my birthday by going to an Imax theater showing a program about the "Science of Risk". It was a bit of a disappointment to find out that it was mostly about skydiving and base jumping. I was hoping for a bit more variety in extreme sporting. We found the original Luna Park amusement park that a well known LA music club is named after. We rode a tram around the city; Indigo called the omnipresent electric cables over the streets powering the trams 'spider webs'.
We took a day trip one day to the Healesville Nature Sanctuary, about an hour's drive away. What is with the tremendous number of vineyards Down Under, anyway? The Sanctuary features all the native Aussie wildlife displayed in such a way that it appears pretty dang natural. Half the time, there is no 'animal enclosure'; you are simply IN the enclosure with the animials. Everything was close up, from the emu that checked us out from less than a meter away - to the large stork-like bird that tried to poke his long sharp beak into our flesh through a little mesh fence (OK, so there were some fences.) Oh yeah, and did you know a koala bear sounds like a hippo when it bellows? I didn't either.
We drove to Sydney in a day - averaging 95km/h or so according to our car's computer. There are speed cameras EVERYWHERE if you believe all the bill boards and signs that appear all over the place. Perhaps I got more tickets to join the 91km/h in an 80km/h zone that I apparently earned in NZ.
So it is a ten hour drive - not as scenic as NZ, but very nice nonetheless. I'm used to hearing the occasional beeping of the car at me when I exceed 120 in the 110 zone. However, the car really BEEPS at me flashing a little yellow light I hadn't noticed on the dash at one point after we'd been going for a while. WTF? Looking at it closely thinking that perhaps we'd just run out of some vital automotive fluid, I see it looks like a little coffee cup with steam rising from it. I've never seen this before, so I ignore it. Ten minutes later, more loud beeping. Again, WTF? I pump through a bunch of options on the tiny dash display and there it is: a countdown timer for 'scheduled resting' flashing 0:00. Aussies apparently, need their cars to tell them to pull over every two hours so they can rest and get some coffee. We pulled over about 90 minutes later. Beeep beep beeep beeep etc.
Sydney was a blast. We spent a good bit of time in the downtown area walking around the botanical garden, seeing the harbor area and checking out the various districts. Some places were overrun with white shirted English people with red crosses painted on their faces. The Rugby World Cup finals were being played while we were there and there were reminders about this everywhere. Kind of made for a festive mood.n Poms beat the Frogs. (English beat the French.) And the Wallabies beat the All Blacks. (Aussies beat New Zealand- to the horror of an entire nation with the initials NZ.)
On our last night, we saw Australian Idol being filmed on the steps of the Sydney Opera House as we went to attend the Bella Trilogy ballet that night.
We went to the famous local beaches, Manly and Bondi. Surf was strong, sand golden and water chilly. We also visited the Blue Mountains and hiked a bit around the lovely Wentworth Falls and the Three Sisters, a famous rock formation that is important the Aborigines.
Sometime, I'm going to have to return to the Southern hemisphere with some good hiking boots. There are an incredible number of fabulous walks - and the people are warm and engaging to boot.
So, that'll wrap up this phase of our Adventure.
Host number twelve, Isla, lived in a Victorian home originally built in the late 1800's, with a wonderful pond in the back--complete with toy fish. Indigo loved the fish, and the "mean cat" that turned out to be pretty nice after all. Isla specialized in providing non-religious funeral services, which we thought was pretty interesting. (Especially since Kerry had just been asked to provide a non-religious marriage service for some good friends.) On our last night in Sydney (and the last night of our trip) we walked from Isla's lovely neighborhood, thought the botanical gardens, right up to the step of the Sydney Opera House. It was one of the most beautiful walks I've ever taken. We enjoyed a unique ballet performance in the famous Opera House (topless) followed by a late night dinner on the water, overlooking the Sydney Harbor. What a wonderful way to end the trip.
Our eleventh host, Kaaren, graciously took us in in Sydney, which was quite something, considering that the World Cup in Rugby was going on at the same time. We watched the games at her place and had a blast (but were a bit sad when the All Blacks lost because we'd developed such a fondess for our Kiwi hosts, and for the enthusiasm they showed for their team). The city of Sydney was buzzing, and Rugby was all around. The day England played France we saw several people decked out in large flags, with not much else on. The game is fun to watch, but rough (much rougher than NFL football, for instance). When I commented to Kaaren about how rough the game was, and the lack of padding for the players, she replied, "No padding needed. The Australians are real men."
Our tenth host, Cathy, was a kind and energetic woman who lived in Melbourne. She was an avid traveler, and when she couldn't travel the world came to her (via Servas). She even had guests who stayed a while and ended up moving to Melbourne. She worked with young kids and had several children's books waiting for Indigo. Indigo loved the Australian books, especially the one about the young monster who was afraid of the little boy beneath his bed. That was her favorite.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
We're back in LA again after a whirlwind four days in Syndey. A very long travel day consisting of flights from Sydney to Auckland, a four hour layover, followed by the Jumbo Qantas flight to LAX took about 24 hours or so to complete. We're all in decent spirits (Indigo and Danielle had a good nap this afternoon), and ready to get back down to speed (as it were in this case). One lovely part of my welcome back was discovering that someone had opened an account at Robinson Mays? in my name using my name, address, SS# and cell phone number. Seems they bought two Coach bags worth about $1000, which maxed out the credit. I'm a bit worried about anything else I might discover since this information is not exactly insignificant. All the credit agencies have now placed my name under a 'fraud alert' status, so no other surpises should show up. Filed a police report over the phone, so all I'll lose is a little trouble dealing with the cleanup.
I'm downloading the last photos from our time in and around Sydney as I write this. We're staying with a motorcycling buddy of mine Nick and his wife, Gina right now. It is nice to be back to a high speed connection on my own laptop again, I must say. Both Danielle and I will do some more reporting about our trip in the coming days to wrap up this portion.
We'll also do a massive editing of all the photos we've taken so there are a more manageable number of them - somewhere less than the 700 or so I've posted up thus far. Danielle's mantra to me when it comes to posting pictures is "quality not quantity". But hey, digital film is cheap, right? And actual editing takes time that I don't have at the moment.
Cheers.
I'm downloading the last photos from our time in and around Sydney as I write this. We're staying with a motorcycling buddy of mine Nick and his wife, Gina right now. It is nice to be back to a high speed connection on my own laptop again, I must say. Both Danielle and I will do some more reporting about our trip in the coming days to wrap up this portion.
We'll also do a massive editing of all the photos we've taken so there are a more manageable number of them - somewhere less than the 700 or so I've posted up thus far. Danielle's mantra to me when it comes to posting pictures is "quality not quantity". But hey, digital film is cheap, right? And actual editing takes time that I don't have at the moment.
Cheers.
Saturday, November 15, 2003
Last set of pictures from the road. We'll get a good edited set together once we get Back on Top (as opposed to Down Under).
Sydney is lovely today. We're at Manly Beach and Indigo is here bugging me to get going. Bye, bye.
Sydney is lovely today. We're at Manly Beach and Indigo is here bugging me to get going. Bye, bye.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
This is Danielle here:
Our seventh hosts, Brian and his children Tammy and Morgen, were in the process of selling thier house in Wellington when we arrived. It was located on a hill, with lovely views of the rolling green hills below. That sums up a lot of New Zealand--rolling green hills. Truly beautiful. They had a trampoline out back (as do most New Zealanders) and a rope swing that was able to make it to dizzing heights. I only saw the photos (luckily) as Indigo looked like a small lump on the end of a very long (and very high) rope swing. Our next stop was Queenstown (home of extreme sports) and Kerry was so impressed by Indigo's fearlessness on the rope swing that he wanted her to be the youngest person to do the "canyon dive," but the operators wern't going for it.
Our eighth hosts, Leonie and Rene, were a very laid back family who lived on the northern tip of the South Island. Indigo took an immediate liking to their fourteen year old daugter, Jessica, and would not leave her side. She followed the "big girls" around and hung out in their room as the ate dinner and gossiped. They were most tolerant of her, and Indigo was in heaven. Afterwards Indigo started mimicking a few phrases and words that sounded just like a teenager. Boy it comes fast! After a wonderful seafood B-B-Q (freshly caught) Kerry and Rene headed out (the following morning) to compete in a shortened version of the Triathalon (put on by a very fit Rene). Rene noted that many Sevas guests were tired from traveling, and he was happy to meet the equally fit, and very enthusiastic, Kerry. The best part was that Kerry competed in the fourteen year old daughter's old pink bicycle helmet--the worst part is that I didn't get a photo!
Our ninth host, Peter and his two daughters Rebecca and Megan, offered a wonderful and warm welcome to Australia. It was the first time during our trip that we allowed ourselves to relax a little--sleeping in, taking the girls swimming, etc. It was also Kerry's 36th birthday, and Peter actually baked him a layer cake from scratch. The cake was wonderful, even if the help was a little overwhelming. Young girls tend to become extremely excited about baking projects and all three girls were crowding around, clamouring to help. The problem was that as Rebecca carried the bowl of whipped creme across the kitchen it fell loudly to the floor, spilling all over Peter's nice pants. After Peter had changed and began seeing to the layers, an equally enthusiastic Megan lifted the second layer, which promptly broke into several pieces. After that the four year olds (Indigo and Megan) began to fight over who could put the candles in, and how many. But all is well than ends well, and the completed (and very loved) cake finally made it to the table. And it was delicious.
Our seventh hosts, Brian and his children Tammy and Morgen, were in the process of selling thier house in Wellington when we arrived. It was located on a hill, with lovely views of the rolling green hills below. That sums up a lot of New Zealand--rolling green hills. Truly beautiful. They had a trampoline out back (as do most New Zealanders) and a rope swing that was able to make it to dizzing heights. I only saw the photos (luckily) as Indigo looked like a small lump on the end of a very long (and very high) rope swing. Our next stop was Queenstown (home of extreme sports) and Kerry was so impressed by Indigo's fearlessness on the rope swing that he wanted her to be the youngest person to do the "canyon dive," but the operators wern't going for it.
Our eighth hosts, Leonie and Rene, were a very laid back family who lived on the northern tip of the South Island. Indigo took an immediate liking to their fourteen year old daugter, Jessica, and would not leave her side. She followed the "big girls" around and hung out in their room as the ate dinner and gossiped. They were most tolerant of her, and Indigo was in heaven. Afterwards Indigo started mimicking a few phrases and words that sounded just like a teenager. Boy it comes fast! After a wonderful seafood B-B-Q (freshly caught) Kerry and Rene headed out (the following morning) to compete in a shortened version of the Triathalon (put on by a very fit Rene). Rene noted that many Sevas guests were tired from traveling, and he was happy to meet the equally fit, and very enthusiastic, Kerry. The best part was that Kerry competed in the fourteen year old daughter's old pink bicycle helmet--the worst part is that I didn't get a photo!
Our ninth host, Peter and his two daughters Rebecca and Megan, offered a wonderful and warm welcome to Australia. It was the first time during our trip that we allowed ourselves to relax a little--sleeping in, taking the girls swimming, etc. It was also Kerry's 36th birthday, and Peter actually baked him a layer cake from scratch. The cake was wonderful, even if the help was a little overwhelming. Young girls tend to become extremely excited about baking projects and all three girls were crowding around, clamouring to help. The problem was that as Rebecca carried the bowl of whipped creme across the kitchen it fell loudly to the floor, spilling all over Peter's nice pants. After Peter had changed and began seeing to the layers, an equally enthusiastic Megan lifted the second layer, which promptly broke into several pieces. After that the four year olds (Indigo and Megan) began to fight over who could put the candles in, and how many. But all is well than ends well, and the completed (and very loved) cake finally made it to the table. And it was delicious.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
hi
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
I have to say, Queenstown is the coolest town we've been in yet. Reminds me alot of Aspen when I lived there as it was just coming into its own. This is one place I'd consider living for a while. The fact that real estate prices have gone up 45% in the past year (100% in the last 3) is both scary and encouraging in terms of owning property.
We've just been blasting through New Zealand so far. Although we're only here for about three weeks, we'll have covered a sizable portion of the country and seen and done many of the 'highlight' tourist things. Planning has been of paramount importance for us in order to fit everything in. In a bit of a role reversal for Danielle and I, I've been pushing to get things logically laid out on paper so we can plan for everything. For instance, yesterday we got up at 5AM in Wellington, drove to the airport, took a prop plance to Christchurch and then Queenstown. Got a decent hotel for Indigo and Danielle to rest while I went out to take on the Nevis bungy jump (the highest in Australasia at 134M or about 425 feet). Upon my return, we all went out to the highest canyon swing in the world (109 meters). I was very proud of Danielle for making the jump without the drama we witnessed with the girl who went before her. Indigo enjoyed the cliffside viewing platform particularly since there was a orphaned baby goat there to keep her company.
This morning I did the Fly by Wire experience, recommended by Gary Morgan back in LA. Very fun, like being strapped into a little wingless jet suspended from a point high above the canyon and then simply zooming around like a mad fool. Perfect for me. Photos from all this stuff are downloading right now, so I'll get a link posted pronto. Might have to do it in a subsequent post though, as I'm about to do the Shotover Canyon Jet Boat ride with Indigo (while Danielle does some internet surfing). Indigo is free on this ride, so we'll get her to do at least one good signature Queenstown event.
As with the rest of the trip, the weather has been cooperating nicely for us and it is sunny and gorgeous out today. Later we'll head up the west coast and stop near the Fox Glacier for the night. Tomorrow, we'll walk on the glacier and take a trip around Lake Matheson, another Morgan recommendation.
I hooked up with an American guy from Seattle named Kevin for the bungy jump and the Fly by Wire activities. He's a fanatical rugby player who is Down Under specifically for the Rugby World Cup. He'll be heading to Australia at the same time we are and has tickets for all the final Rugby Cup games. Might connect with him again in Sydeny. It would be fun to go see a game, but I think tickets will be VERY expensive for that.
Going back a couple days, we had a very nice time in Wellington, which is another pretty hip city. Liked it fairly well as it reminds me of a miniature Vancouver, BC.
Link to Southern NZ Photos
We've just been blasting through New Zealand so far. Although we're only here for about three weeks, we'll have covered a sizable portion of the country and seen and done many of the 'highlight' tourist things. Planning has been of paramount importance for us in order to fit everything in. In a bit of a role reversal for Danielle and I, I've been pushing to get things logically laid out on paper so we can plan for everything. For instance, yesterday we got up at 5AM in Wellington, drove to the airport, took a prop plance to Christchurch and then Queenstown. Got a decent hotel for Indigo and Danielle to rest while I went out to take on the Nevis bungy jump (the highest in Australasia at 134M or about 425 feet). Upon my return, we all went out to the highest canyon swing in the world (109 meters). I was very proud of Danielle for making the jump without the drama we witnessed with the girl who went before her. Indigo enjoyed the cliffside viewing platform particularly since there was a orphaned baby goat there to keep her company.
This morning I did the Fly by Wire experience, recommended by Gary Morgan back in LA. Very fun, like being strapped into a little wingless jet suspended from a point high above the canyon and then simply zooming around like a mad fool. Perfect for me. Photos from all this stuff are downloading right now, so I'll get a link posted pronto. Might have to do it in a subsequent post though, as I'm about to do the Shotover Canyon Jet Boat ride with Indigo (while Danielle does some internet surfing). Indigo is free on this ride, so we'll get her to do at least one good signature Queenstown event.
As with the rest of the trip, the weather has been cooperating nicely for us and it is sunny and gorgeous out today. Later we'll head up the west coast and stop near the Fox Glacier for the night. Tomorrow, we'll walk on the glacier and take a trip around Lake Matheson, another Morgan recommendation.
I hooked up with an American guy from Seattle named Kevin for the bungy jump and the Fly by Wire activities. He's a fanatical rugby player who is Down Under specifically for the Rugby World Cup. He'll be heading to Australia at the same time we are and has tickets for all the final Rugby Cup games. Might connect with him again in Sydeny. It would be fun to go see a game, but I think tickets will be VERY expensive for that.
Going back a couple days, we had a very nice time in Wellington, which is another pretty hip city. Liked it fairly well as it reminds me of a miniature Vancouver, BC.
Link to Southern NZ Photos
Saturday, November 01, 2003
Well, here we are in Wellington at an internet cafe. Danielle is checking email two chairs down. Indigo is cruising the Sesame Street web site right next to me. Pretty funny this internet age; easy to do so many things. I'm uploading over 100 new photos I type this. I'll post the link to the album when it gets done uploading (only 20 minutes to go with this fast connection).
Indigo has discovered the pleasure of using the digital camera. She wants to take pictures all the time now. Perhaps her own easy to use camera (not a high dollar unit) would be a good Xmas present for her. Hmmmmm.
It is incredibly windy out there right now and we've seen a ton of rain - though only when we're driving, which is nice. Whenever we've wanted to get out of the car and wander around, it has been very nice outside (like now).
I'll go over some of the trip hightlights in little vingettes right now to get them recorded - some of the pictures in the albums may make more sense with some explaination.
Visiting the Coramandel peninsula and Hot Water Beach on a day trip from Auckland: this is a very cool thing. There is a lovely sandy beach where two rock promenatorys offer scalding hot water up from thermal springs below. When the tide is low an army of Kiwis armed with shovels and sunscreen invade the beach and dig little pools near the spring allowing the hot water to fill up the pool. It is really alchemy of a sort since there only seem to be a few pools that get the mixture just right. Many others are just an exercise in futility as huffing tourists attempt to dig deeper and deeper in their holes as the sides continually cave in. Others are so hot as to be unbearable. We lucked out after I started a conversation with an American woman named Keri (just the start of the coincidences) told me about quitting her job with a top American Law firm in Chicago to move out here. She sent a query email to the Kiwi firm and the IMMEDIATELY offered her a job. She likes it here but gets paid half the money she did in the US. Of course, she only bills 1200 hours a year here as opposed to the 2100 she did in the US. Here she has a life. She introduced her friend who had the primo spot in the whole waterworks - just the right place where the hot and cold balanced out perfectly. He was actually born in the same Holy Family Hospital that I was in New Delhi, India. They had staked out the spot way early, but were about to leave. We inherited their place and basked for some time. As it happened, Leon and Isabel, our second Auckland hosts, randomly came upon us and joined us for a soak. Very funny to bump into someone you 'know' on an obscure beach half way around the world.
Visiting KatiKati: One of the Servas people I wanted to connect with, who didn't have a place available for us to stay, was Bruce. He and I share a motorcycling passion and he seemed like a cool guy, so we took the time after our day trip to Tauranga, to visit him on his property, Amani. He lives in a verdant valley off of a dirt road down a long winding driveway. Has a garage full of motorcycles and lives with his girlfriend and her school age daughter, Rebecca. He wanted us to visit because of the recent arrival of several litters of piglets. To get to his livestock, we had to cross a slimy chicken wire covered log hung ten feet over a stream in a fern-choked gulley. Danielle was leery, but we all made it. The pigs all had lots of space in a beautiful setting and were very cute. After Bruce informed us that pigs don't see too well and that they have teeth and jaws designed to go through bone, Danielle decided to stay on the other side of the electric fence. It was great seeing pigs so well looked after and so NOT-smelly. They had one magnificent male Kunikuni pig that was very friendly, had huge tusk/teeth sticking out and would get up on his hind legs for a treat. Even Indigo gave him a tentative scratch on the back - though cute he was not. Bruce then took us to the little stream cutting through the property and showed us his other 'special' animals. With a few pieces of bread as an enticement, several huge wild freshwater eels appeared and allowed us to feed them by hand, pet them and pretty much HOLD them. It was a completely unique experience. What a treat. They are pretty thick and weighty and feel like wet velvet. Bruce and I will definitely connect in the future and get a proper motorcycle trip in.
Trick or treating: Suffice to say that Halloween is merely a curiosity in New Zealand, a holiday in its infancy fighting for survival. Indigo and I went on a hunt through the shed and garage of our hosts in Napier, Reuben and Ruth, to find suitable costuming material. We love Halloweena and didn't want Indigo to miss out, so we found an old colorful frock that they were throwing away and transformed it, a coat hanger, about a million safety pins and some Christmas decorations into a beautiful butterfly costume (pictured in album linked to below). We vainly searched for a decent neighborhood to trick or treat in. Most people either resented the intrusion of the corporate based holiday, but some loved seeing kids dressed up. Indigo collected a very modest bag of treats. The best part of the night was when we came across a band of kids led (appropriately) by a Canadian pirate.
Link to North Island Photos
Indigo has discovered the pleasure of using the digital camera. She wants to take pictures all the time now. Perhaps her own easy to use camera (not a high dollar unit) would be a good Xmas present for her. Hmmmmm.
It is incredibly windy out there right now and we've seen a ton of rain - though only when we're driving, which is nice. Whenever we've wanted to get out of the car and wander around, it has been very nice outside (like now).
I'll go over some of the trip hightlights in little vingettes right now to get them recorded - some of the pictures in the albums may make more sense with some explaination.
Visiting the Coramandel peninsula and Hot Water Beach on a day trip from Auckland: this is a very cool thing. There is a lovely sandy beach where two rock promenatorys offer scalding hot water up from thermal springs below. When the tide is low an army of Kiwis armed with shovels and sunscreen invade the beach and dig little pools near the spring allowing the hot water to fill up the pool. It is really alchemy of a sort since there only seem to be a few pools that get the mixture just right. Many others are just an exercise in futility as huffing tourists attempt to dig deeper and deeper in their holes as the sides continually cave in. Others are so hot as to be unbearable. We lucked out after I started a conversation with an American woman named Keri (just the start of the coincidences) told me about quitting her job with a top American Law firm in Chicago to move out here. She sent a query email to the Kiwi firm and the IMMEDIATELY offered her a job. She likes it here but gets paid half the money she did in the US. Of course, she only bills 1200 hours a year here as opposed to the 2100 she did in the US. Here she has a life. She introduced her friend who had the primo spot in the whole waterworks - just the right place where the hot and cold balanced out perfectly. He was actually born in the same Holy Family Hospital that I was in New Delhi, India. They had staked out the spot way early, but were about to leave. We inherited their place and basked for some time. As it happened, Leon and Isabel, our second Auckland hosts, randomly came upon us and joined us for a soak. Very funny to bump into someone you 'know' on an obscure beach half way around the world.
Visiting KatiKati: One of the Servas people I wanted to connect with, who didn't have a place available for us to stay, was Bruce. He and I share a motorcycling passion and he seemed like a cool guy, so we took the time after our day trip to Tauranga, to visit him on his property, Amani. He lives in a verdant valley off of a dirt road down a long winding driveway. Has a garage full of motorcycles and lives with his girlfriend and her school age daughter, Rebecca. He wanted us to visit because of the recent arrival of several litters of piglets. To get to his livestock, we had to cross a slimy chicken wire covered log hung ten feet over a stream in a fern-choked gulley. Danielle was leery, but we all made it. The pigs all had lots of space in a beautiful setting and were very cute. After Bruce informed us that pigs don't see too well and that they have teeth and jaws designed to go through bone, Danielle decided to stay on the other side of the electric fence. It was great seeing pigs so well looked after and so NOT-smelly. They had one magnificent male Kunikuni pig that was very friendly, had huge tusk/teeth sticking out and would get up on his hind legs for a treat. Even Indigo gave him a tentative scratch on the back - though cute he was not. Bruce then took us to the little stream cutting through the property and showed us his other 'special' animals. With a few pieces of bread as an enticement, several huge wild freshwater eels appeared and allowed us to feed them by hand, pet them and pretty much HOLD them. It was a completely unique experience. What a treat. They are pretty thick and weighty and feel like wet velvet. Bruce and I will definitely connect in the future and get a proper motorcycle trip in.
Trick or treating: Suffice to say that Halloween is merely a curiosity in New Zealand, a holiday in its infancy fighting for survival. Indigo and I went on a hunt through the shed and garage of our hosts in Napier, Reuben and Ruth, to find suitable costuming material. We love Halloweena and didn't want Indigo to miss out, so we found an old colorful frock that they were throwing away and transformed it, a coat hanger, about a million safety pins and some Christmas decorations into a beautiful butterfly costume (pictured in album linked to below). We vainly searched for a decent neighborhood to trick or treat in. Most people either resented the intrusion of the corporate based holiday, but some loved seeing kids dressed up. Indigo collected a very modest bag of treats. The best part of the night was when we came across a band of kids led (appropriately) by a Canadian pirate.
Link to North Island Photos
