I know I've been bad with my updating, but things are winding down in Wellington (I have one full day left here! :( ) and I've been rushing to get things done that I've been putting off and finishing finals. Elizabeth arrives tomorrow morning and then we leave for the South Island the following day in the afternoon. I don't know if I'll ever finish updating on what happened in Samoa, but that's okay because I wrote it all down in my journal so I can always just write it up on a much later date. However, I will finish the Abel Tasman trip in my next post, hopefully in as few words as possible, I know I go into minuet details sometimes. But first, a quick update on my happenings in Wellington - I can't remember the last time I wrote about my current life...
The last time I wrote was June 4th - which is ridiculous to me. How the time flies... Most of my days seem a blur, I've spent a lot of time just hanging out with Chris or hanging out on my own. When we got back from Abel Tasman, Chris had a paper due the 15th and a final on the 16th so most of us stayed in our own realms for a little, which was nice because we all got a little break from each other after having spent all that time in Abel Tasman together. I watched some movies and hung out with Stephen a couple times, but for the most part kept to myself. Chris would come over sometimes and I'd cook dinner. On the 16th, after Chris finished, we went to a "Deerhunter" concert, which we had bought about a month in advance. It was really great, although it solidified my view that Kiwis are really annoying at concerts.
The 18th or the 19th - I can't remember that well, Chris, Stephen and I went to Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as "Zealandia" (haha). Karori was one of the few places that we had not seen yet that was easily accesible from Wellington. It was merely a quick bus ride over to Karori and then maybe a 10 minute walk to the Sanctuary entrance. The past couple days had been surprisingly sunny and nice out, and we kept trying to go there but would lose motivation or realize we didn't have enough time, so when we finally got out there it felt like a great triumph and like we had finally seen it all in Wellington. The Sanctuary is mainly full of birds, obviously, and is very strict about keeping possums, cats and other invaders out of the park. It is lined with a huge white fence and they try very hard to keep visitors from letting any unwanted guests in. It's a beautiful place with lakes and easy footpaths to walk along. We had lunch and then started exploring. The first bird we saw was a kingfisher and it was so startling and strange looking that it was almost like an illusion because it flew away pretty quickly after it appeared. All around us as we walked down the path you could hear various bird calls (the Tui of course stands out the most). The highlights were seeing the "Kaka" at a feeder, seeing a "Saddleback", a New Zealand Falcon, hearing and seeing some "Shags", and seeing some Quails. I think one of the things I'll miss most about NZ will be the various birds I see on a daily basis. I was never one for birdwatching, but the birds here are so different looking that I constantly find myself looking out for them. The Tui, by far, is my favorite because of it's crazy call, along with the Fantail for it's silly antics.
On Friday, the 19th, Stephen hosted a party to celebrate some birthdays and also it was a going away party for some people.
The 20th we saw the All Blacks play, which was pretty amazing. It was a different game from the one played by the Hurricanes. They were much more aggressive and overall more skilled (obviously.) They played France and it was pouring rain the whole time with a bunch of French people screaming for the French time behind us. However, we all had a great time because the All Blacks were really dominating and it was a very entertaining game. At the beginning of it the french behind us somehow had smuggled a rooster painted blue, red and white for the French team into the stadium and threw it over Chris and my head onto the field. It was pretty funny watching the security guards chase it around. Later on someone else threw a black chicken in. We all wondered aloud how these people managed to sneak chickens in because they do bag checks before you enter the stadium. Just think about it, haha. Another cool thing about the game was the All Blacks preforming the "haka" at the beginning of the game. Afterward, Chris and I basically ran back to Stafford to warm up and dry off. Then a bunch of people went out to the bars to celebrate the All Blacks win. Chris and I ended up going to the Matterhorn and chilling with a couple of his friends who had studied up in Auckland and were down for the weekend. Then we went to "Good Luck" for a little and called it a night.
The next couple days were pretty low key because I had a test coming up on the 26th and Chris had one on the 29th. I don't think we did anything particularly remarkable during those days. Tuesday the 23rd we made plans for the South Island and Brian told us that he wouldn't be traveling with us - he decided to go Solo. Chris and I watched "Boogie Nights", which I had never seen. Wednesday the 24th Chris and I ate at Nandos and then went to Stafford for a little and then studied at Borders together. We had some tea with Brian, Stephen and Scott at the Matterhorn later that night. Thursday the 25th I spent the majority of the day on my own studying and the whole evening by myself studying.
My sociology test on the 26th went by pretty quickly and after Chris and I ate at Dixon St. Deli (french toast with bacon, bananas, syrup and fruit on the side with flat whites). We went to Borders for a little where both of us finished books we had been reading. I finished "Kafka on the Shore" by Murakami, which I loved. Then I went to Stafford for a nap and Chris finished another book. He came over after and we cooked chili together, which turned out delicious (it was all Chris's idea) and we enjoyed some Summit beers. It was Friday night so we wanted to do something but we ended up just going to Stephens for a little and then watched a crazy Japanese movie called "Akira".
The 27th, Chris and I met up with Stephen for lunch at Nandos. Then Chris went to do some studying while Stephen accompanied me while I went shopping for Chris and Elizabeth's birthday presents. Then I went home for a little, Chris came over and we tried to figure out what we wanted to do for dinner. We ended up deciding on "Hells Pizza" a place I had never been to, but it's quite popular. The restaurant was more of a bar scene than I expected and it was packed with diehard All Blacks fans watching a game of the All Blacks v. Italy. We ate pizza and watched the game and drank some beers. Once we finished we went to the Malthouse just to enjoy a Tuatara beer that Chris liked and hang out enjoying the night scene of Wellington for our last weekend here. We ended the night watching "Tim and Eric Awesome Show" and then part of "Waking Life."
Today, the 28th, Chris, Shannon and I went to watch the Wellington Marathon and cheer on our friends Brian, Greg, Becca and Stephen as they came up to the finish line. Brian, Greg and Becca all did the half-marathon and Stephen did the full. Everyone over estimated the time they thought they'd be arriving (expect Stephen, who over estimated) so we missed everyone but Stephen's arrival. Chris and I made a sign out of a cardboard box that said "American Gladiators" with everyones name under it. My roommate Milena (from Germany) was also running the half-marathon so we included her on our sign. Brian surprised us while we were waiting for someone to come along our part of the route. He finished way ahead of when we thought he was going to and he ended up staying with us until Stephen came up, around 11:50, way behind schedule. We cheered Stephen on the last leg and then met him at the end.
Stephen took a shuttle home because he was really tired and weak and the rest of us went back to Stafford and had some tea. Then we all parted ways for the day. I spent the greater part of the day cleaning the flat with Milena (we have inspection before I leave so that can give my deposit back) and then packing my room up and doing laundry. Our flat is spotless right now and my room is a cluttered mess, but squeaky clean in the places that matter. I got Burger Fuel with Chris and Stephen, which was the only other time I went outside today.
Tomorrow Elizabeth arrives, I have my room inspection and we all celebrate our last night together in Wellington before everyone goes their seperate ways. We plan on eating at the Matterhorn (we've only even had drinks there because the restaurant part of it is too fancy) and showing Elizabeth around the city that we're all going to miss so much.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Back from the South Island
I've been neglecting my blogging a lot recently. First, I need to get back into the swing of things in Wellington. Now that classes are over I feel a bit out of it and lost as to what my motivation will be for the last few weeks I have left in this wonderful city. I'm considering getting back into shape (running, trying to prevent at least some of the hurt that my body will feel once I start riding again), I've got some books I want to read and there are still corners of this city I have yet to explore. But it hard without some sort of concrete purpose. It's weird that even though I spend have my time procrastinating and bitching and moaning about how I don't want to do my homework or go to class, classes give me such structure and time consuming things to do and without them, I feel a little lost. I need a job or a project. Haha.
Anyway, a quick update.
(This picture I took from Shannon, it's of - I believe - Tonga Island on our way to our first camp site in Abel Tasman as the sun was just setting)
This past week, from June 6th to June 13th I was in the Abel Tasman and greater Golden Bay area with Chris, Brian, Stephen and Shannon. I took over 500 pictures and there is no more room left on my computer to upload them, so those will have to wait until I get an external hard drive.
The first day we all got up at the crack of dawn to catch a ferry leaving at 8am (we had to be there at 715 am). We were taking the "Bluebridge Ferry" across Cook Strait, through the Marlborough Sounds to Picton. There is another ferry service known as the "Interislander." The Interislander is a much nicer and slightly more expensive boat that caters more to passengers. Our boat, on the other hand, smelled a bit like a zoo in the lower decks and is pretty much a freight boat, transporting cars and trucks rather than people. Overall, I would call it the "ghetto" boat of the two.
We managed to find a nice seating area in an empty closed bar room where really no other people (of the few that were on board) were around. This area had access to both sides of the boat so we could run back and forth to see both views (because there were no passengers allowed in the front of the boat). As the boat set off the sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains surrounding The Hutt and it shone directly onto Wellington lighting it up. It was completely cloudless and clear out except a foggy mist that had settled around the water and mountains creating a very hazy beautiful view as we left the bay.
We were all so excited to be leaving and to be on the boat that we kept running back and forth between the two decks taking pictures. And the most spectacular thing was that just as we came out of the bay and started our way into Cook Strait you could see, clear as day, snow capped mountains off in the distance that belonged to the South Island. I gasped and cried out how amazing it was and it started another frenzy of picture taking. The boat ride was 3 hours and we must have spent 2 of them running around taking pictures.
(Taken by Stephen, us all excited leaving the Wellington Bay area)
As we got closer the mountains loomed larger and we began to see more of the South Island. Large birds were sitting in the water and I realized that they were albatrosses. Once we reached the South Island, we began the slow meandering through the Marlborough Sounds toward Picton. It's amazing that such a large boat can fit and move through the Sounds, which just shows how deep the water must go below. It seemed like these large mountains (no longer snow capped, those were further off) were pressing in on the boat on both sides. I scrambled to take as many pictures of them as possible but I'm afraid that a picture can not do the experience justice. It was windy and cold but we were giddy and excited and around every bend we took there were more things to gasp about.
Once we arrived, to show how ghetto Bluebridge really is...instead of walking off the boat into the boat terminal area, as the Interisland boat does right next to the docking site of the Bluebridge, we had to be shuttled over around a fence line and some unused trains to be dropped off maybe a 2 minute walk from where the boat had originally dropped us off except on the other side of the fence and right in front of where the Interislander passengers get off.
After being so kindly dropped off, and with our bags in tow, we went off to get our prebooked rental car. We were all a little nervous because we went a bit cheap and had opted to go for a smaller car for the 5 of us, yet seeing us all with our packs on we were worried that we wouldn't be able to fit us all into a small car and our stuff.
Our ride turned out to be a white Nissan "Sunny." It was rather small and it was a game of tetris putting our bags in and a moment of holding our breath as we slammed the trunk down, but it fit and we all jammed ourselves into the car (after getting applause from some nearby observers) and drove into the town of Picton (which was maybe 2 minutes away from where we picked the car up.)
We grabbed lunch at a restaurant called "The Dog & Frog", walked around the beach area and then set off towards Nelson, our first destination.
Although the trees and vegitation is all the same on the South Island it seems like everything is just larger and more daunting. The mountains reach higher, the roads are much windier and the towns much smaller and more desolate. Between Picton and Nelson is wine country. Marlborough is known for their good wines. Everywhere we looked were wineries flanked by huge mountains. We did not stop to check it out, but did on our return trip.
In Nelson we stopped at an Isite (tourist info) and booked camp sites in the Abel Tasman for 3 nights and a water taxi to take us to the trail head. We planned to start from the top of the trail and work our way down to the bottom where our car was parked, which is the reverse of what is typically done. People usually start at the bottom and work their way up, catching a water taxi or a bus shuttle back down to their cars. We preferred to get the water taxi over first because we figured that once we were done with the trek we'd be too tired to want to wait around for a bus or a taxi.
After Nelson we drove on to Richmond to get groceries (peanut butter and jelly, bread, trail mix, dried fruit, apples, breakfast bars, and candy - living the cheap life) and then onto Motueka and then Marahau, which was where we were to get picked up by the water taxi and taken to the trail head the following morning.
However, when we arrived in Marahau, we realized that it was a tiny town with most places closed and no where (that we could find) to stay. Of the two places we stopped at there were signs saying they were out visiting Grandma or something but the last places sign said that if we needed a place to stay, we could set up camp and just pay in the morning. Luckily this place also turned out to run the taxi service we were using. So we set up our tents (in the dark) and then had to figure out what we would do for dinner. There was no way we'd find food in Marahau so we drove back to Motueka and ate at a restaurant called "Hot Mamas" for dinner. It was rather good and ti seemed to be the hotspot for that small town.
After dinner we all crawled into our tents (so early, but we really had nothing else to do but sleep).
Saturday Chris and I woke up at 7:30, before everyone else and went and looked at the sun rise. It looked a bit overcast and cloudy and it had rained the night before so we were worried about the weather conditions.
We packed up camp, distributed the load of carrying the tents into all our bags, took our all the clothes we wouldn't be wearing on the hike and put them in the car along with any other unnecessary items like shampoo and books. Then we met at the office to find out about paying for the nights stay and also the water taxi. Somehow no one ever asked us to pay for the night in the campground and instead just instructed us over to where we would get our water taxi. It was pretty great.
The boat we took was sitting hitched up to a tractor and we all piled into the boat and then were driven and place into the water that way. Our driver was a funny older Kiwi who seemed to know a whole lot about the area. In the water it was immediately clear that it was going to be a choppy and bumpy ride. Our drive took us over to see "Split Apple Rock" which is a local hotspot. It's a large, very round, rock that had somehow been perfectly cleaved in half. He then took us on our way. There we several other people with us with different destinations. Our route was right along the coast and we could pretty much see the terrain that we would eventually hike across.
In Anchorage Bay our drive stopped to show us a dolphin he claimed was Abel Tasmans "tame" dolphin George. It was one of the best parts of the day and made us all forget briefly about how rocking and stomach dropping our boat ride was and we saw the dolphin dipping in and out from under the boat and then when our driver started up again the dolphin chased after us leaping out of the water, playing in the wake of the boat. We also were shown a bunch of sea lions that had drapped themselves on rocks around "Tonga" island.
We were dropped off at Totaranui trailhead. Getting off the boat was interesting. We had to take our shoes off (which was dreadful because it was pretty cold outside) and our drive anchors the boat right by the shore. We had to watch as the waves were pulled in and time it just right to jump off the boat with as little amount of water underneath us as possible. All of us faired pretty well although our feet were frozen and stiff.
After we put our shoes back on and got our direction figured out we headed off.
The trail itself was pretty painless, a very easy hike (although a little more difficult because of our heavy packs) along the coast with a lot of nice views of the ocean and various islands around the area.
(Taken by Stephen - some of the hike weaved through the mountains and jungle forests, but parts also went through the beaches and other terrain)
The interesting thing about Abel Tasman and the Golden Bay region is that the tides are HUGE. They pull in and out large amounts of water. So much that certain inlets are sucked almost dry of water. The Abel Tasman coastal track is set up in a way that you need to cross certain inlets when they are sucked dry like that. This means that all travellers must watch the tides or else you could be stuck waiting for low tide or having to trek on the alternate route that usually takes much longer.
We had thought we had figured the tides out pretty well. We planned to arrive to our first crossing, called "Awaroa Inlet" as it was just starting to go out, have some lunch and explore the area for a little and then cross. However, it took much longer for the water to drain out than we expected and we found ourselves waiting still around 1:30. Chris, Stephen and I got impatient and decided to try and snake our way through the pools and streams that still covered the crossing region.
(Taken by Stephen - This was when we first arrived, before the tide went out)
(Taken by Stephen - This was when we headed out attempting to cross, you can't really see it - as we also didn't - the rivers that we had to wade through eventually)
Chris and I faired pretty well because we both had waterproof hiking boots on but were stopped about two thirds fo the way there when we came ot a large stream we could not wade through without taking our boots off. Stephen on the other hand had sneakers on and took a different route than Chris and I. We watched in the distance as Stephen made the decision to take his shoes off and go barefoot. This was something we had been dreading doing because the ground we were walking on was almost entirely comprised of rough sand and dead seashells that crunched loudly under our feet. Also, although we weren't too cold, we knew the water and the ground would be freezing. We watched as Stephen waded through the stream that we would not and go on further to cross another stream that was much deeper (going up passed his knees) and make it to the other side. As we stood watching, Shannon and Brian had begun their walk over to us with a group fo 3 other hikers. The three others reached us first, took one look at the stream, saw Stephen without his shoes on and they immediately took off their shoes and crossed.
Chris and I groaned as we realized that this might be an inevitable thing. Once Shannon and Brian reached us we decided to wait until 3 (when low tide was supposed to be at its lowest). However, it was 2:30 when we decided this and as we sat there another hiker went ahead and took his shoes off and crossed. So we sucked it up and took our own boots off and crossed. It was really painfully cold and the shells, although they didn't break skin or anything, were sharp and painful to step on. At the very last "river" that we had to cross, the deep on, I watched Shannon cross and realized that there was no way I could roll my pants up that high to prevent them from gettting wet and ended up taking my pants off and crossing in my underwear. Hahaha. It came up passed my knees and splashed up cold onto my thighs and I was thankful that I had dry pants to climb into at the end of it. Brian followed my explain and crossed in his boxers whereas Chris braved it and came out dry in the end with his pants rolled up high.
When we reached Stephen (after having put our boots on) we set off once more with the hopes that walking would warm our frozen and battered feet.
Our campsite for the night was called "Tonga Quarry" and was unfortunately situated maybe 20 minutes AFTER another campsite called "Onetanuti Bay." When we reached Onetanuti we were all really exhausted and ready to set up camp before it got dark (it was about 5) but we realized that it wasn't our campsite and that instead we had a bit more to carry on. This did nothing for our moods or the morale of the group.
Once we arrived at Tonga we quickly set up camp before it got too dark and then ate in the dark, changed into PJS (long johns, pants, wool socks, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, jackets, and hats) and went to bed with the sound of crashing waves really close by.
THAT WAS A LOT. Haha. I know that I have a tendency to write in detail about my trips, but wow, that was a lot of writing. So I'll stop here for now and write more tomorrow, break up the travels a little so that my blog entries aren't a million years long and impossible to read.
Anyway, a quick update.
(This picture I took from Shannon, it's of - I believe - Tonga Island on our way to our first camp site in Abel Tasman as the sun was just setting)
This past week, from June 6th to June 13th I was in the Abel Tasman and greater Golden Bay area with Chris, Brian, Stephen and Shannon. I took over 500 pictures and there is no more room left on my computer to upload them, so those will have to wait until I get an external hard drive.
The first day we all got up at the crack of dawn to catch a ferry leaving at 8am (we had to be there at 715 am). We were taking the "Bluebridge Ferry" across Cook Strait, through the Marlborough Sounds to Picton. There is another ferry service known as the "Interislander." The Interislander is a much nicer and slightly more expensive boat that caters more to passengers. Our boat, on the other hand, smelled a bit like a zoo in the lower decks and is pretty much a freight boat, transporting cars and trucks rather than people. Overall, I would call it the "ghetto" boat of the two.
We managed to find a nice seating area in an empty closed bar room where really no other people (of the few that were on board) were around. This area had access to both sides of the boat so we could run back and forth to see both views (because there were no passengers allowed in the front of the boat). As the boat set off the sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains surrounding The Hutt and it shone directly onto Wellington lighting it up. It was completely cloudless and clear out except a foggy mist that had settled around the water and mountains creating a very hazy beautiful view as we left the bay.
We were all so excited to be leaving and to be on the boat that we kept running back and forth between the two decks taking pictures. And the most spectacular thing was that just as we came out of the bay and started our way into Cook Strait you could see, clear as day, snow capped mountains off in the distance that belonged to the South Island. I gasped and cried out how amazing it was and it started another frenzy of picture taking. The boat ride was 3 hours and we must have spent 2 of them running around taking pictures.
(Taken by Stephen, us all excited leaving the Wellington Bay area)
As we got closer the mountains loomed larger and we began to see more of the South Island. Large birds were sitting in the water and I realized that they were albatrosses. Once we reached the South Island, we began the slow meandering through the Marlborough Sounds toward Picton. It's amazing that such a large boat can fit and move through the Sounds, which just shows how deep the water must go below. It seemed like these large mountains (no longer snow capped, those were further off) were pressing in on the boat on both sides. I scrambled to take as many pictures of them as possible but I'm afraid that a picture can not do the experience justice. It was windy and cold but we were giddy and excited and around every bend we took there were more things to gasp about.
Once we arrived, to show how ghetto Bluebridge really is...instead of walking off the boat into the boat terminal area, as the Interisland boat does right next to the docking site of the Bluebridge, we had to be shuttled over around a fence line and some unused trains to be dropped off maybe a 2 minute walk from where the boat had originally dropped us off except on the other side of the fence and right in front of where the Interislander passengers get off.
After being so kindly dropped off, and with our bags in tow, we went off to get our prebooked rental car. We were all a little nervous because we went a bit cheap and had opted to go for a smaller car for the 5 of us, yet seeing us all with our packs on we were worried that we wouldn't be able to fit us all into a small car and our stuff.
Our ride turned out to be a white Nissan "Sunny." It was rather small and it was a game of tetris putting our bags in and a moment of holding our breath as we slammed the trunk down, but it fit and we all jammed ourselves into the car (after getting applause from some nearby observers) and drove into the town of Picton (which was maybe 2 minutes away from where we picked the car up.)
We grabbed lunch at a restaurant called "The Dog & Frog", walked around the beach area and then set off towards Nelson, our first destination.
Although the trees and vegitation is all the same on the South Island it seems like everything is just larger and more daunting. The mountains reach higher, the roads are much windier and the towns much smaller and more desolate. Between Picton and Nelson is wine country. Marlborough is known for their good wines. Everywhere we looked were wineries flanked by huge mountains. We did not stop to check it out, but did on our return trip.
In Nelson we stopped at an Isite (tourist info) and booked camp sites in the Abel Tasman for 3 nights and a water taxi to take us to the trail head. We planned to start from the top of the trail and work our way down to the bottom where our car was parked, which is the reverse of what is typically done. People usually start at the bottom and work their way up, catching a water taxi or a bus shuttle back down to their cars. We preferred to get the water taxi over first because we figured that once we were done with the trek we'd be too tired to want to wait around for a bus or a taxi.
After Nelson we drove on to Richmond to get groceries (peanut butter and jelly, bread, trail mix, dried fruit, apples, breakfast bars, and candy - living the cheap life) and then onto Motueka and then Marahau, which was where we were to get picked up by the water taxi and taken to the trail head the following morning.
However, when we arrived in Marahau, we realized that it was a tiny town with most places closed and no where (that we could find) to stay. Of the two places we stopped at there were signs saying they were out visiting Grandma or something but the last places sign said that if we needed a place to stay, we could set up camp and just pay in the morning. Luckily this place also turned out to run the taxi service we were using. So we set up our tents (in the dark) and then had to figure out what we would do for dinner. There was no way we'd find food in Marahau so we drove back to Motueka and ate at a restaurant called "Hot Mamas" for dinner. It was rather good and ti seemed to be the hotspot for that small town.
After dinner we all crawled into our tents (so early, but we really had nothing else to do but sleep).
Saturday Chris and I woke up at 7:30, before everyone else and went and looked at the sun rise. It looked a bit overcast and cloudy and it had rained the night before so we were worried about the weather conditions.
We packed up camp, distributed the load of carrying the tents into all our bags, took our all the clothes we wouldn't be wearing on the hike and put them in the car along with any other unnecessary items like shampoo and books. Then we met at the office to find out about paying for the nights stay and also the water taxi. Somehow no one ever asked us to pay for the night in the campground and instead just instructed us over to where we would get our water taxi. It was pretty great.
The boat we took was sitting hitched up to a tractor and we all piled into the boat and then were driven and place into the water that way. Our driver was a funny older Kiwi who seemed to know a whole lot about the area. In the water it was immediately clear that it was going to be a choppy and bumpy ride. Our drive took us over to see "Split Apple Rock" which is a local hotspot. It's a large, very round, rock that had somehow been perfectly cleaved in half. He then took us on our way. There we several other people with us with different destinations. Our route was right along the coast and we could pretty much see the terrain that we would eventually hike across.
In Anchorage Bay our drive stopped to show us a dolphin he claimed was Abel Tasmans "tame" dolphin George. It was one of the best parts of the day and made us all forget briefly about how rocking and stomach dropping our boat ride was and we saw the dolphin dipping in and out from under the boat and then when our driver started up again the dolphin chased after us leaping out of the water, playing in the wake of the boat. We also were shown a bunch of sea lions that had drapped themselves on rocks around "Tonga" island.
We were dropped off at Totaranui trailhead. Getting off the boat was interesting. We had to take our shoes off (which was dreadful because it was pretty cold outside) and our drive anchors the boat right by the shore. We had to watch as the waves were pulled in and time it just right to jump off the boat with as little amount of water underneath us as possible. All of us faired pretty well although our feet were frozen and stiff.
After we put our shoes back on and got our direction figured out we headed off.
The trail itself was pretty painless, a very easy hike (although a little more difficult because of our heavy packs) along the coast with a lot of nice views of the ocean and various islands around the area.
(Taken by Stephen - some of the hike weaved through the mountains and jungle forests, but parts also went through the beaches and other terrain)
The interesting thing about Abel Tasman and the Golden Bay region is that the tides are HUGE. They pull in and out large amounts of water. So much that certain inlets are sucked almost dry of water. The Abel Tasman coastal track is set up in a way that you need to cross certain inlets when they are sucked dry like that. This means that all travellers must watch the tides or else you could be stuck waiting for low tide or having to trek on the alternate route that usually takes much longer.
We had thought we had figured the tides out pretty well. We planned to arrive to our first crossing, called "Awaroa Inlet" as it was just starting to go out, have some lunch and explore the area for a little and then cross. However, it took much longer for the water to drain out than we expected and we found ourselves waiting still around 1:30. Chris, Stephen and I got impatient and decided to try and snake our way through the pools and streams that still covered the crossing region.
(Taken by Stephen - This was when we first arrived, before the tide went out)
(Taken by Stephen - This was when we headed out attempting to cross, you can't really see it - as we also didn't - the rivers that we had to wade through eventually)
Chris and I faired pretty well because we both had waterproof hiking boots on but were stopped about two thirds fo the way there when we came ot a large stream we could not wade through without taking our boots off. Stephen on the other hand had sneakers on and took a different route than Chris and I. We watched in the distance as Stephen made the decision to take his shoes off and go barefoot. This was something we had been dreading doing because the ground we were walking on was almost entirely comprised of rough sand and dead seashells that crunched loudly under our feet. Also, although we weren't too cold, we knew the water and the ground would be freezing. We watched as Stephen waded through the stream that we would not and go on further to cross another stream that was much deeper (going up passed his knees) and make it to the other side. As we stood watching, Shannon and Brian had begun their walk over to us with a group fo 3 other hikers. The three others reached us first, took one look at the stream, saw Stephen without his shoes on and they immediately took off their shoes and crossed.
Chris and I groaned as we realized that this might be an inevitable thing. Once Shannon and Brian reached us we decided to wait until 3 (when low tide was supposed to be at its lowest). However, it was 2:30 when we decided this and as we sat there another hiker went ahead and took his shoes off and crossed. So we sucked it up and took our own boots off and crossed. It was really painfully cold and the shells, although they didn't break skin or anything, were sharp and painful to step on. At the very last "river" that we had to cross, the deep on, I watched Shannon cross and realized that there was no way I could roll my pants up that high to prevent them from gettting wet and ended up taking my pants off and crossing in my underwear. Hahaha. It came up passed my knees and splashed up cold onto my thighs and I was thankful that I had dry pants to climb into at the end of it. Brian followed my explain and crossed in his boxers whereas Chris braved it and came out dry in the end with his pants rolled up high.
When we reached Stephen (after having put our boots on) we set off once more with the hopes that walking would warm our frozen and battered feet.
Our campsite for the night was called "Tonga Quarry" and was unfortunately situated maybe 20 minutes AFTER another campsite called "Onetanuti Bay." When we reached Onetanuti we were all really exhausted and ready to set up camp before it got dark (it was about 5) but we realized that it wasn't our campsite and that instead we had a bit more to carry on. This did nothing for our moods or the morale of the group.
Once we arrived at Tonga we quickly set up camp before it got too dark and then ate in the dark, changed into PJS (long johns, pants, wool socks, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, jackets, and hats) and went to bed with the sound of crashing waves really close by.
THAT WAS A LOT. Haha. I know that I have a tendency to write in detail about my trips, but wow, that was a lot of writing. So I'll stop here for now and write more tomorrow, break up the travels a little so that my blog entries aren't a million years long and impossible to read.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Samoa - Manase, Savaii - April 17th
Last time I updated on Samoa was on my birthday.
April 17th (wow, over a month ago) - Chris, Brian, Jon and I decided to go to the "Dwarfs Cave." After having breakfast and taking a swim in the ocean, we had a cab come and take up to the village Paia where the caves were located. Our cab was actually a fancy looking SUV driven by a very friendly Samoan. He gave us advice about payment for the cave and what to do when we got there. The village was in a very spread out area, in a clearing right by the edge of a jungle. When we pulled up we were met by an elderly gentleman who we paid 5 tala each and he set up a guide to come take us over to the caves.
Our guides name, funny enough, was Tala. He seemed a bit disgruntled to have to take us out to the cave and was very standoffish and suspicious of us. He brought a horse of his over who had a foal. His horse was really really underweight and had a horribly infected eye. Her foal didn't look too bad, but both of them were really skiddish and wouldn't let me come up and pet them. Most of the horses in Samoa are really skinny and look overworked. Horses are their main way of transporting things from plantations and they ride them or load them full of stuff to be brought back to the village. Really there isn't much I can do about that because the horses are their livelihood but I was distrubed none the less.
Our guide lead us on a 30 minute walk up a slow sloping path through the jungle that the village people of Paia use to get back and forth from their plantations. We saw a lot of people pass us carrying machetes and riding or driving horses. We all said "Talofa" to them and they all gave us friendly waves and stared at us.
Tala had a friend join us, who I think was his cousin. I never learned him name unforunately. We started joking around with them and talking and eventually they warmed up to us. They got really excited with our interest in their lifestyle and everyday work. We asked them how they harvest coconuts and they got really excited and insisted on showing us and cutting down some coconuts to give us. Tala's cousin pulled a rope around his feet and using that as a leverage (I can't really properly describe this) and climbed to the top of a coconut tree and hacked at the coconuts with his machete and cut down a huge amount of them.
While he was doing this Tala found a very large stick, cut it so that it had a large point at the end and stuck it into the ground. They used this "tool" to break the coconuts open and then peel away the green exterior to reveal the small nut inside that contains all the goodstuff. Then they used their machetes to cut off the top of the nut and reveal the water inside and handed out one to each of us.
The water was surprisingly cool and did not taste at all like the very concentrated form of coconut that I'm used to. In fact, I normally don't like coconut, but the taste so mild and had a sweet bitter taste to it that I was able to drink a good amount of it. They also cut open one of the coconuts enough to get the "meat" of the nut out. They cut the meat out using what they deemed a "samoan spoon" - which was just a piece of the exterior of the coconut cut very thinly.
After our coconut break we walked on (all of us sweating profusely) and finally came to the cave.
Located next to the cave, in the middle of the jungle, all alone was a cow. It was pretty terrified of us and Tala explained that it was his other cousins cow.
The mouth of the cave was hidden pretty well because it was pretty much just a hole in the ground. We climbed down, with Tala leading the way with the only one flashlight we had to guide us. It was nearly impossible to see and the way we moved through the slippery rocky cave was having Tala run ahead and then shine the flashlight on the footing he had just passed through so that the rest of us could catch up with him.
We saw fools gold and bats flying around the top of the cave. About 2 minutes into the cave was this huge naturally made shelf that they called the "Dwarfs Table." I can't really describe how this looked. It looked like a rock and mud huge shelf that ran along the side of the cave. Really bizzare. There were two ways to go down the cave. Tala explained that you could get easily lost if you didn't have a guide. We wandered down one way, jumping over puddles and ducking under low lying ceilings. We came to a drop into a large pool of water below. There was no other way of getting down to that part of the cave other than jumping into the pool of water. Lucky for us we had a guide book that warned us that we probably should not jump into any water in the cave because of the possibility of bat droppings and other gross things being in the water. However, Tala's cousins leaped into the water quite willingly and we all laughed and enjoyed watching him make his way back up the steep edge of the drop.
Then they took us back. It was a rather short exploration and a little disappointing but just hanging out with Tala and his cousin and getting a feel for the culture and life of these people so different from us was well worth it!
When we got back we managed to catch a bus back to Stevenson's. However we decided to get lunch at another resort called "Vacations" which was located across the stress from the gas station where we got all our water and snacks about a 5 minute walk from Stevenson's. At Vacations we enjoyed some really good Fish and Chips and this is where we met our soon to be friend Evan. He was very soft spoken and had a really sad sounding voice. He advised us on a tour around the island saying that most places over charge people but he thought he'd be able to hook us up with a cheap tour. We thanked him and promised we'd come back because we had enjoyed our meal so much.
When we got back to our fale we swam and watched the sun set and had dinner. We played uno in Brian and Jon's fale and tried to play another game that kind of failed. We stayed up late talking for a really long time. We shared a lot of stories about our lives and hometowns.
I need to get lunch, so I'll write more later and post pictures!
April 17th (wow, over a month ago) - Chris, Brian, Jon and I decided to go to the "Dwarfs Cave." After having breakfast and taking a swim in the ocean, we had a cab come and take up to the village Paia where the caves were located. Our cab was actually a fancy looking SUV driven by a very friendly Samoan. He gave us advice about payment for the cave and what to do when we got there. The village was in a very spread out area, in a clearing right by the edge of a jungle. When we pulled up we were met by an elderly gentleman who we paid 5 tala each and he set up a guide to come take us over to the caves.
Our guides name, funny enough, was Tala. He seemed a bit disgruntled to have to take us out to the cave and was very standoffish and suspicious of us. He brought a horse of his over who had a foal. His horse was really really underweight and had a horribly infected eye. Her foal didn't look too bad, but both of them were really skiddish and wouldn't let me come up and pet them. Most of the horses in Samoa are really skinny and look overworked. Horses are their main way of transporting things from plantations and they ride them or load them full of stuff to be brought back to the village. Really there isn't much I can do about that because the horses are their livelihood but I was distrubed none the less.
Our guide lead us on a 30 minute walk up a slow sloping path through the jungle that the village people of Paia use to get back and forth from their plantations. We saw a lot of people pass us carrying machetes and riding or driving horses. We all said "Talofa" to them and they all gave us friendly waves and stared at us.
Tala had a friend join us, who I think was his cousin. I never learned him name unforunately. We started joking around with them and talking and eventually they warmed up to us. They got really excited with our interest in their lifestyle and everyday work. We asked them how they harvest coconuts and they got really excited and insisted on showing us and cutting down some coconuts to give us. Tala's cousin pulled a rope around his feet and using that as a leverage (I can't really properly describe this) and climbed to the top of a coconut tree and hacked at the coconuts with his machete and cut down a huge amount of them.
While he was doing this Tala found a very large stick, cut it so that it had a large point at the end and stuck it into the ground. They used this "tool" to break the coconuts open and then peel away the green exterior to reveal the small nut inside that contains all the goodstuff. Then they used their machetes to cut off the top of the nut and reveal the water inside and handed out one to each of us.
The water was surprisingly cool and did not taste at all like the very concentrated form of coconut that I'm used to. In fact, I normally don't like coconut, but the taste so mild and had a sweet bitter taste to it that I was able to drink a good amount of it. They also cut open one of the coconuts enough to get the "meat" of the nut out. They cut the meat out using what they deemed a "samoan spoon" - which was just a piece of the exterior of the coconut cut very thinly.
After our coconut break we walked on (all of us sweating profusely) and finally came to the cave.
Located next to the cave, in the middle of the jungle, all alone was a cow. It was pretty terrified of us and Tala explained that it was his other cousins cow.
The mouth of the cave was hidden pretty well because it was pretty much just a hole in the ground. We climbed down, with Tala leading the way with the only one flashlight we had to guide us. It was nearly impossible to see and the way we moved through the slippery rocky cave was having Tala run ahead and then shine the flashlight on the footing he had just passed through so that the rest of us could catch up with him.
We saw fools gold and bats flying around the top of the cave. About 2 minutes into the cave was this huge naturally made shelf that they called the "Dwarfs Table." I can't really describe how this looked. It looked like a rock and mud huge shelf that ran along the side of the cave. Really bizzare. There were two ways to go down the cave. Tala explained that you could get easily lost if you didn't have a guide. We wandered down one way, jumping over puddles and ducking under low lying ceilings. We came to a drop into a large pool of water below. There was no other way of getting down to that part of the cave other than jumping into the pool of water. Lucky for us we had a guide book that warned us that we probably should not jump into any water in the cave because of the possibility of bat droppings and other gross things being in the water. However, Tala's cousins leaped into the water quite willingly and we all laughed and enjoyed watching him make his way back up the steep edge of the drop.
Then they took us back. It was a rather short exploration and a little disappointing but just hanging out with Tala and his cousin and getting a feel for the culture and life of these people so different from us was well worth it!
When we got back we managed to catch a bus back to Stevenson's. However we decided to get lunch at another resort called "Vacations" which was located across the stress from the gas station where we got all our water and snacks about a 5 minute walk from Stevenson's. At Vacations we enjoyed some really good Fish and Chips and this is where we met our soon to be friend Evan. He was very soft spoken and had a really sad sounding voice. He advised us on a tour around the island saying that most places over charge people but he thought he'd be able to hook us up with a cheap tour. We thanked him and promised we'd come back because we had enjoyed our meal so much.
When we got back to our fale we swam and watched the sun set and had dinner. We played uno in Brian and Jon's fale and tried to play another game that kind of failed. We stayed up late talking for a really long time. We shared a lot of stories about our lives and hometowns.
I need to get lunch, so I'll write more later and post pictures!
Another sunny day in Wellington!
Tuesday was another nice day in Wellington so Chris and I met up by the Civic Center and walked around the harbor. We ended up going over to Oriental Beach, somewhere I haven't been to in a long time because of the weather. We bought roasted nuts and sat on the dock watching the sun go down behind the mountains behind Wellington.
Afterward we got frozen cokes at McDonald's, got Indian takeaway with Stephen and ate it at Stephen's place. We ended up watching an episode of "Friends" and then decided to watch the famous and popular New Zealand movie "Once Were Warriors." It's one of the best NZ movies (all the kiwis say it's worth seeing) and they are all very proud of it. It's about a Maori and their struggles with violence, poverty and coming to terms with their heritage. It's extremely violent and disturbing to watch but very well made. I can understand why all the kiwis are proud of it because it really is a good movie, but I don't think that I would recommend this movie to people because of how intense it was to watch. It's something you sort of have to decide on your own to see, not something you'd seek out with friends.
After that we were all a little shaken up so we watched "Little Miss Sunshine" to calm our nerves.
Wednesday I spent the majority of the day (although it was also fairly nice out) inside working on homework. Chris suggested we see a movie as a study break so we saw "I love you, man" in theaters and then got pizza at a place called "Scopra." When I got home I spent the rest of the night writing my paper and then the better half of this morning writing and finishing it as well.
It's cloudless and wonderful outside right now so I'm meeting up with Chris for some lunch and then we'll see where the day takes me!
Check out those snow capped mountains!
Afterward we got frozen cokes at McDonald's, got Indian takeaway with Stephen and ate it at Stephen's place. We ended up watching an episode of "Friends" and then decided to watch the famous and popular New Zealand movie "Once Were Warriors." It's one of the best NZ movies (all the kiwis say it's worth seeing) and they are all very proud of it. It's about a Maori and their struggles with violence, poverty and coming to terms with their heritage. It's extremely violent and disturbing to watch but very well made. I can understand why all the kiwis are proud of it because it really is a good movie, but I don't think that I would recommend this movie to people because of how intense it was to watch. It's something you sort of have to decide on your own to see, not something you'd seek out with friends.
After that we were all a little shaken up so we watched "Little Miss Sunshine" to calm our nerves.
Wednesday I spent the majority of the day (although it was also fairly nice out) inside working on homework. Chris suggested we see a movie as a study break so we saw "I love you, man" in theaters and then got pizza at a place called "Scopra." When I got home I spent the rest of the night writing my paper and then the better half of this morning writing and finishing it as well.
It's cloudless and wonderful outside right now so I'm meeting up with Chris for some lunch and then we'll see where the day takes me!
Check out those snow capped mountains!
Monday, June 1, 2009
My flat
I realized that I've never posted pictures of my flat or my room, although I've taken photos of it. Here are some pictures from much earlier in the semester. I've rearranged my room recently and will post some pictures or a video possibly tomorrow and also some pictures of the outside of my building.
View from the front door. Our kitchen, dining room, and also laundry area, although the washing machine is cut off from this picture. The room with the door open is mine.
View from my room. You can now see the washing machine, and everything else. The bathroom is located to the right, the door is right next to the phone.
Bathroom
Sink and shower
My room. It's embarrassingly messy in this picture, but I mean really, who is surprised? This must have been on a day I did laundry. Our washing machine is also a dryer but the dryer is awful. It never fully dries clothes so I have to hang dry everything. I was too cheap to buy a drying rack so instead my shelves second as a drying rack. This means all my clean clothes will be on the floor for two days while my wet clothes dry. It's a sad life. Haha. Also note my bedsheets look like I bought them from limited too. This is because they were about 5 dollars from The Warehouse and from the kids section. Haha.
A shirt drying on my chair, my messy desk, my puppy dog calendar (haha), and a random assortment of things hanging off my bulletin board.
View from the front door. Our kitchen, dining room, and also laundry area, although the washing machine is cut off from this picture. The room with the door open is mine.
View from my room. You can now see the washing machine, and everything else. The bathroom is located to the right, the door is right next to the phone.
Bathroom
Sink and shower
My room. It's embarrassingly messy in this picture, but I mean really, who is surprised? This must have been on a day I did laundry. Our washing machine is also a dryer but the dryer is awful. It never fully dries clothes so I have to hang dry everything. I was too cheap to buy a drying rack so instead my shelves second as a drying rack. This means all my clean clothes will be on the floor for two days while my wet clothes dry. It's a sad life. Haha. Also note my bedsheets look like I bought them from limited too. This is because they were about 5 dollars from The Warehouse and from the kids section. Haha.
A shirt drying on my chair, my messy desk, my puppy dog calendar (haha), and a random assortment of things hanging off my bulletin board.
A long Wellington update
So Chris is on the mend, and things are coming to a close school wise. I took my test on Thursday and did fairly well. So now, although I have two papers due on Friday before Shannon, Chris, Brian, Stephen and I leave for Abel Tasman, I have some time to write a bit in my blog.
I haven't updated in a really long time, since the 20th of May, about what I've actually been doing aside from caring for Chris and preparing for a test.
On May 22nd Chris, Stephen, Shannon and I had been invited to and were attending a joint birthday party for our friend Derek and several other people with birthdays in the month of May. The party was to be held on a boat and was called "We're On a Boat" as a parody off the song. The dress attire was semi-formal and neither Chris or Stephen had anything close to formal wear. So Friday, after classes and after Chris finished and turned in 2 papers that he had been working on non-stop, Chris and I ate at Nandos and then went shopping for some formal looking pants. We went to Farmers (which is kind of like Macy's) but none of their pants really looked like they would fit Chris (too large) and none of them were really the color he was looking for. So we ended up going to The Warehouse, which is like Target or Walmart, and he got a pair of pants for pretty cheap and I bought some shower stuff I had run low on (because the Warehouse is soo cheap).
Then I hurried back to Stafford to get ready for the boat party. Boarding the boat started at 6 and it was leaving the dock at 6:30. I didn't start getting ready until 4:30pm. Shannon and Stephen showed up at my room around 5 and Chris didn't come till 5:30. We had a rushed "pre-game" and then headed out around 6:00. Shannon and I were both wearing heals and realized that we probably would be late if we walked the whole way, and it was really windy and cold, so we took a cab.
When we got there the party had just begun and it turned out that the boat was never going to leave the dock because it was way too windy out in the open water. This was a huge let down and although we had fun, and saw a lot of friends and explored the boat, we ended up only staying for 2 hours.
These pictures were taken by Stephen and Shannon:
This is the boat, "The Wellesley."
Stephen, Chris and my "we're on a boat" faces. Haha. It actually was rocking back and forth pretty substantially even though it was docked, that's how windy it was outside.
Jon, Shannon, Chris and I walking after leaving the party. You can see how windy it is because John and Shannon are literally leaning against the wind. haha.
That night was when Chris started to get sick. Saturday he felt pretty crappy all day but by Sunday night, after we had watched "Tommy Boy," he had a high fever and chills. I spent Monday buying him medicine, a thermometer, renting Lost and getting lunch. Then I had class and studying. Tuesday Chris had a really high temp of 102 and we thought he might need to go to the doctor so I went over to his place in the morning. The student health center ended up being no help so instead I bought lunch and we watched Lost together and then I went to class and had more studying to do. After class I came back to check on Chris and make dinner. We had some fish and pasta even though Chris's appetite was not really there at all. Then I went home to do more studying. Wednesday I didn't have class so I brought sandwiches over to Chris's and we watched the movie "Chungking Express." Then I went back to Stafford for the rest of the day to prepare for my test the next day. Thursday I was studying pretty much all day before my test which was at 4pm. Afterward I went to Chris's. He was feeling a little bit better so we went to Nando's with Stephen. Unfortunately it wasn't a very good idea because Chris ended up feeling sick again and took a cab home. :( I went home to Stafford and ended up hanging out with Brian, and my friends Hannah, Lizzie and Greg in Hannah's room looking at pictures of dogs and watching videos of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report.
Friday was one was the few sunny days we had all week so I took a lot of pictures. Chris woke up feeling better so I walked to meet him and get some coffee in Aro Valley.
Lambton Quay, packed with people. Everyone was trying to enjoy the nice weather. It's amazing how different the temperature feels when it's sunny to when it's cloudy.
It started to get a little overcast, but I didn't care as long as the sun was still shinning slightly. You can see the school library from this shot. It's the darker building in the background in the middle of the picture.
Ghuznee St! This leads down to the video store we rent movies from all the time and is also one of the routes to Stephens place.
Aro Valley Park. Lola the cat (one of my favorite kitties in Wellington - I know many, haha) reigns over this park and will come up to anyone who shows any interest in petting her.
This is Aro St. You can see Aro Coffee - one of my favorite places to get coffee, they make and brew their own coffee - and several other shops, including the video store which is considered one of the best in Wellington. This is pretty much the extent of the "town" part of Aro.
Walking toward Chris's. The grassy flat part is a dog park and above that is the Polehill Reserve hike that Chris and I took a while back together.
View from Chris's house.
More of the view from Chris's.
After getting coffee at Aro Coffee, we got Thai food down on Cuba St. and then went back to Chris's place and hung out for a little. I went home to Stafford to have a meeting with Shannon, Stephen, and Brian to talk about our Abel Tasman trip. It ended up being me, Shannon, Stephen, my friends Lizzie and Hannah hanging out for about 2 hours just talking and joking around. My night ended pretty early because I was really really tired from the whole week of running around checking up on Chris and studying.
Saturday, Shannon had a rugby game on Kelburn Campus at 11:30, so Stephen and I met up at the cable car and took it up to the field together to see the game. It was cloudy, misting with rain and cold, but it was fun to see some rugby and hang out, talking with Shannon, Stephen and Lenny. Shannon didn't get to play that much, only the last few minutes of the game and they lost but only by two points. The other team was comprised of some really big girls and some very fast little ones.
The beginning of the game. Shannon's team is in green.
A scrum.
Walking around to talk to Shannon who was on the sideline on the other side of the field. You can see the random fountain that I've never seen actually on and also in the far background, Mt.Victoria.
There's Kelburn Parade and Kelburn Campus. The bridge with glass windows is the bridge I referred to that connects Kirk (the building on the left) with Murphy (the red building on the right).
You can see the trolley that we took up to see Shannon play.
Shannon actually playing. She's the one in the back wearing black leggings and black shorts with white socks.
After the game Stephen and I (our feet were absolutely freezing) met up with Chris at a bar/restaurant called "Arizona" to watch the Lakers game. We ate some lunch and hung out until the Lakers won. Then Stephen went home to take a nap, Chris went to Borders to do some homework and I went home to take a nap.
Saturday evening Chris and I cooked dinner at Stafford (pasta and meat sauce). We saw Brian and Stephen briefly and heard a huge party happening next door but we ended up just going to Chris's for the night to watch the movie "Step Brothers."
Sunday Chris and I met up with Stephen and got Burger Fuel. Afterward Stephen went home and Chris and I went to Stafford. Chris took a 2 hour nap while I worked on my papers. I cooked some chicken parmesan with pasta (which semi-failed only because I made it with chicken with bones, oops).
Monday, today, was the Queen's Birthday - a holiday in NZ, so... NO SCHOOL!!! YAY!! Chris and I decided to make cookies in celebration. We ate at a bagel place called "Wholly Bagels" that claims to make their bagels like NYC bagels. They were pretty good, but not on par with bagels from home. We went to Chris's where I baked and he called and talked to his parents. Chris's kitchen is ALWAYS messy and the kitchenware is always dirty because 1, it was like that when he moved in and 2, his flatmates (aside from one who has all her own stuff that no one else is allowed to touch) are all pretty messy. I ended up cleaning, pretty extensively, a bunch of dishes and the countertop. I was really proud of myself and as I was waiting for the cookies to finish I took some pictures of the kitchen area and more of Chris's house:
Chris's back "porch." He has a little area all to himself. To the left are some stairs that lead up to the front door of the house. To the right is a little pathway that we use instead of having to walk all the way to the top of the driveway and down the stairs.
View from his porch.
The kitchen before I cleaned it.
More kitchen and the view from the kitchen.
Chris on the phone with his family.
Clean!
Clean!
Chris's upstairs porch, again.
The kitchen area and also the stairs leading to the basement (where Chris's room is located).
After the cookies were done we ate cookies, watched some Top Gear and Arrested Development and then I walked home and on the way bought some indian takeaway.
That was an amazingly detailed and long update. I really hope that I can finished with my Samoa updates before heading to Abel Tasman, otherwise I have no idea how I'll be able to complete all of that before I come home!
I haven't updated in a really long time, since the 20th of May, about what I've actually been doing aside from caring for Chris and preparing for a test.
On May 22nd Chris, Stephen, Shannon and I had been invited to and were attending a joint birthday party for our friend Derek and several other people with birthdays in the month of May. The party was to be held on a boat and was called "We're On a Boat" as a parody off the song. The dress attire was semi-formal and neither Chris or Stephen had anything close to formal wear. So Friday, after classes and after Chris finished and turned in 2 papers that he had been working on non-stop, Chris and I ate at Nandos and then went shopping for some formal looking pants. We went to Farmers (which is kind of like Macy's) but none of their pants really looked like they would fit Chris (too large) and none of them were really the color he was looking for. So we ended up going to The Warehouse, which is like Target or Walmart, and he got a pair of pants for pretty cheap and I bought some shower stuff I had run low on (because the Warehouse is soo cheap).
Then I hurried back to Stafford to get ready for the boat party. Boarding the boat started at 6 and it was leaving the dock at 6:30. I didn't start getting ready until 4:30pm. Shannon and Stephen showed up at my room around 5 and Chris didn't come till 5:30. We had a rushed "pre-game" and then headed out around 6:00. Shannon and I were both wearing heals and realized that we probably would be late if we walked the whole way, and it was really windy and cold, so we took a cab.
When we got there the party had just begun and it turned out that the boat was never going to leave the dock because it was way too windy out in the open water. This was a huge let down and although we had fun, and saw a lot of friends and explored the boat, we ended up only staying for 2 hours.
These pictures were taken by Stephen and Shannon:
This is the boat, "The Wellesley."
Stephen, Chris and my "we're on a boat" faces. Haha. It actually was rocking back and forth pretty substantially even though it was docked, that's how windy it was outside.
Jon, Shannon, Chris and I walking after leaving the party. You can see how windy it is because John and Shannon are literally leaning against the wind. haha.That night was when Chris started to get sick. Saturday he felt pretty crappy all day but by Sunday night, after we had watched "Tommy Boy," he had a high fever and chills. I spent Monday buying him medicine, a thermometer, renting Lost and getting lunch. Then I had class and studying. Tuesday Chris had a really high temp of 102 and we thought he might need to go to the doctor so I went over to his place in the morning. The student health center ended up being no help so instead I bought lunch and we watched Lost together and then I went to class and had more studying to do. After class I came back to check on Chris and make dinner. We had some fish and pasta even though Chris's appetite was not really there at all. Then I went home to do more studying. Wednesday I didn't have class so I brought sandwiches over to Chris's and we watched the movie "Chungking Express." Then I went back to Stafford for the rest of the day to prepare for my test the next day. Thursday I was studying pretty much all day before my test which was at 4pm. Afterward I went to Chris's. He was feeling a little bit better so we went to Nando's with Stephen. Unfortunately it wasn't a very good idea because Chris ended up feeling sick again and took a cab home. :( I went home to Stafford and ended up hanging out with Brian, and my friends Hannah, Lizzie and Greg in Hannah's room looking at pictures of dogs and watching videos of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report.
Friday was one was the few sunny days we had all week so I took a lot of pictures. Chris woke up feeling better so I walked to meet him and get some coffee in Aro Valley.
Lambton Quay, packed with people. Everyone was trying to enjoy the nice weather. It's amazing how different the temperature feels when it's sunny to when it's cloudy.
It started to get a little overcast, but I didn't care as long as the sun was still shinning slightly. You can see the school library from this shot. It's the darker building in the background in the middle of the picture.
Ghuznee St! This leads down to the video store we rent movies from all the time and is also one of the routes to Stephens place.
Aro Valley Park. Lola the cat (one of my favorite kitties in Wellington - I know many, haha) reigns over this park and will come up to anyone who shows any interest in petting her.
This is Aro St. You can see Aro Coffee - one of my favorite places to get coffee, they make and brew their own coffee - and several other shops, including the video store which is considered one of the best in Wellington. This is pretty much the extent of the "town" part of Aro.
Walking toward Chris's. The grassy flat part is a dog park and above that is the Polehill Reserve hike that Chris and I took a while back together.
View from Chris's house.
More of the view from Chris's.After getting coffee at Aro Coffee, we got Thai food down on Cuba St. and then went back to Chris's place and hung out for a little. I went home to Stafford to have a meeting with Shannon, Stephen, and Brian to talk about our Abel Tasman trip. It ended up being me, Shannon, Stephen, my friends Lizzie and Hannah hanging out for about 2 hours just talking and joking around. My night ended pretty early because I was really really tired from the whole week of running around checking up on Chris and studying.
Saturday, Shannon had a rugby game on Kelburn Campus at 11:30, so Stephen and I met up at the cable car and took it up to the field together to see the game. It was cloudy, misting with rain and cold, but it was fun to see some rugby and hang out, talking with Shannon, Stephen and Lenny. Shannon didn't get to play that much, only the last few minutes of the game and they lost but only by two points. The other team was comprised of some really big girls and some very fast little ones.
The beginning of the game. Shannon's team is in green.
A scrum.
Walking around to talk to Shannon who was on the sideline on the other side of the field. You can see the random fountain that I've never seen actually on and also in the far background, Mt.Victoria.
There's Kelburn Parade and Kelburn Campus. The bridge with glass windows is the bridge I referred to that connects Kirk (the building on the left) with Murphy (the red building on the right).
You can see the trolley that we took up to see Shannon play.
Shannon actually playing. She's the one in the back wearing black leggings and black shorts with white socks.
After the game Stephen and I (our feet were absolutely freezing) met up with Chris at a bar/restaurant called "Arizona" to watch the Lakers game. We ate some lunch and hung out until the Lakers won. Then Stephen went home to take a nap, Chris went to Borders to do some homework and I went home to take a nap.
Saturday evening Chris and I cooked dinner at Stafford (pasta and meat sauce). We saw Brian and Stephen briefly and heard a huge party happening next door but we ended up just going to Chris's for the night to watch the movie "Step Brothers."
Sunday Chris and I met up with Stephen and got Burger Fuel. Afterward Stephen went home and Chris and I went to Stafford. Chris took a 2 hour nap while I worked on my papers. I cooked some chicken parmesan with pasta (which semi-failed only because I made it with chicken with bones, oops).
Monday, today, was the Queen's Birthday - a holiday in NZ, so... NO SCHOOL!!! YAY!! Chris and I decided to make cookies in celebration. We ate at a bagel place called "Wholly Bagels" that claims to make their bagels like NYC bagels. They were pretty good, but not on par with bagels from home. We went to Chris's where I baked and he called and talked to his parents. Chris's kitchen is ALWAYS messy and the kitchenware is always dirty because 1, it was like that when he moved in and 2, his flatmates (aside from one who has all her own stuff that no one else is allowed to touch) are all pretty messy. I ended up cleaning, pretty extensively, a bunch of dishes and the countertop. I was really proud of myself and as I was waiting for the cookies to finish I took some pictures of the kitchen area and more of Chris's house:
Chris's back "porch." He has a little area all to himself. To the left are some stairs that lead up to the front door of the house. To the right is a little pathway that we use instead of having to walk all the way to the top of the driveway and down the stairs.
View from his porch.
The kitchen before I cleaned it.
More kitchen and the view from the kitchen.
Chris on the phone with his family.
Clean!
Clean!
Chris's upstairs porch, again.
The kitchen area and also the stairs leading to the basement (where Chris's room is located).After the cookies were done we ate cookies, watched some Top Gear and Arrested Development and then I walked home and on the way bought some indian takeaway.
That was an amazingly detailed and long update. I really hope that I can finished with my Samoa updates before heading to Abel Tasman, otherwise I have no idea how I'll be able to complete all of that before I come home!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
A new blog...
Since I've been in NZ I've been having really elaborate, crazy dreams. I've always had crazy and detailed dreams, but here it seems they've become a really prominent figure in my everyday life. I like to talk about them and think about them. However, the only person I've really talked to about them has been Chris and he doesn't really have the interest or patience to listen to my extremely long, detailed, and vivid recounts (which I completely understand because really only I can see and understand the complexity of the images and happening in my dreams). So, I've created a blog for my dreams. So here is the link: http://dreamsophiadean.blogspot.com/
If you're at all interested in dreams or even seeing how crazy I really am, check it out.
If you're at all interested in dreams or even seeing how crazy I really am, check it out.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Grades and campus life at Victoria
So I know I've written very little about school in my blog, and that's mostly because being here and experiencing things outside of school has been more important and more exciting for me. School, sadly was kind of a let down here. I expected to be focused a lot more on school and classes but I've found that those things just don't seem to interest me as much here because I'm surrounded by beautiful mountains and incredible people that distract me too much.
Now that's not to say that I haven't been doing my work and that school has been completely dropped out of my conscious thought. In fact, I've been doing quite well here. In my psychology class (a 300 level course, which is considered their hardest level for undergrads) I've received only A's. I'm not bragging, but instead making a point. Despite my best efforts to put school second, I've still managed to pull off fairly good grades.
Here are some little facts about the University that I have failed to mention up until now.
Victoria campuses are located all around the city, I believe there are three main ones. I go to Kelburn, which is the liberal arts campus and is a 15 minute "hike" up The Terrace (the street I live on) and then up a steep pathway located next to the main road that passes through campus called "Kelburn Parade." The Terrace, at least the section that I live in, is a busy street because it involves the rush hour commute for the business district (Parliament is literally down the street from my building) and also the commute for a lot of students. I make my way up the street passing lots of business men and a heavy line of traffic. I always feel bad for the people in cars because typically I move faster than they do and I probably get to my destination much faster than them. The Terrace is kind of like a funnel for the wind and it can get really frustrating to walk up when the wind is really strong and it is even worse when it's raining.
Campus is large, compared to Mt.Holyoke. There is a main quad that is centered between the library and two different buildings (Easterfield - where I have a lot of my classes - and Maclaurin). A lot of the buildings are interconnected, which means that often I don't even need to go outside to switch buildings (Easterfield has a pathway that connects to Kirk (I also have a class here), Kirk connects to Old Kirk, which connects to the Student Union Building... you get the picture). Some of the buildings are across Kelburn Parade, but no worries because they have a bridge that connects Kirk with Murphy so you don't have to get wet or go outside, ever.
Most of the lectures, for me, are large. They typically are comprised of 40 to as large as 100 people. All of my lectures are conducted with a Powerpoint and there is little professor/student interaction (meaning few questions directed at the class). They never take attendance and always post lecture powerpoint copies on Blackboard (the internet database every class has).
I believe I've mentioned this, but, all lectures are accompanied with a tutorial that you sign up for after the first day of class. Tutorials are used for students to get more dialogue about the course topics. However, my tutorials haven't really worked out like that. Tutorials are run by TA's, usually grad students in that particular area of study. They are roughly an hour long, although my psych tutorial was 2 hours. Tutorials split the large class up into different smaller sections so that people get more chances to talk but, still, I didn't really find that I got a more personal atmosphere in tutorial. They take attendance in tutorial and they also attempt to learn peoples names, but none of my tutors ever did. It is in tutorial that assignments are assigned and turned in. TA's are the ones who grade the work and give it back.
Because Victoria is such a large school, inbetween classes can be rather hectic. There is a lot of movement and noise because of the large amount of people moving throughout the halls (something that overwhelms me coming from such a smaller school). There are two cafes (that I know of) on campus and a convenience store that are always packed with people. There are also lots of random computers scattered about for people to quickly check emails and such (they are set up in such a way that you can only stand at them and you also can't print anything off of them). The actual computer lab (where you can sit and down work and print stuff) is in the library and is always full of people. It's horrible when you need to print something out because usually there is a long queue already formed full of other impatient people. And while you're waiting there (which can take as long as an hour) you can see some people browsing (stalking?) on facebook, wasting time that you could be using to print stuff out. This is a huge difference from Mt.Holyoke where typically there is always a computer free in the computer lab. And if not, all dorms have computers and printers available.
The library is ALWAYS packed here. I've never been in there without there being a good amount of people packed around the multiple amounts of tables, couches and comfy chairs. As far as I know the library goes up at least 10 floors, but I usually only make it up to the 6th because I don't really like waiting for the elevator. All the levels of the library have lots of tables set up on the perimeter of the floor next to huge windows. The inner part of the floor contains stacks of books and documents. Most tables are located next to a plug for people who want to use their laptops. The view from the library is pretty spectacular. You can see all of Wellington, the bay and Mt.Vic. It's hard to concentrate on work when you've got that view distracting you.
The grading system here is very different from the states. In the states grades roughly go like this: 100-90% (A), 89-80% (B), 79-70% (C), 69-60 (D), 59-0 (F). Here, grades go like this: 100-75% (A), 74-60% (B), 59-50 (C), and below that is D, E, F, and G. You don't want a G. Haha. So far I've recieved nothing below a 70, which was pretty shocking to see at first because my standards have always been that a 70 = bad. Instead now, it'll be weird going back to the states and realizing that I can't get 70's anymore and it'll be okay. Haha.
Anyway, I've wasted a lot of time writing this up, it's a method of procrastinating because I have a test tomorrow I should be studying for.
Chris is still sick, he definitely has the flu and I'm nervously waiting to see if I'm going to get it. I do feel a little sickly today, so I'm scared. But as long as I get through tomorrow and complete my test I won't really mind getting sick. Although Chris's flu has been really miserable and hard on him (running a 102 temp, chills, body aches, etc), so I won't really enjoy it if I do get sick.
Now that's not to say that I haven't been doing my work and that school has been completely dropped out of my conscious thought. In fact, I've been doing quite well here. In my psychology class (a 300 level course, which is considered their hardest level for undergrads) I've received only A's. I'm not bragging, but instead making a point. Despite my best efforts to put school second, I've still managed to pull off fairly good grades.
Here are some little facts about the University that I have failed to mention up until now.
Victoria campuses are located all around the city, I believe there are three main ones. I go to Kelburn, which is the liberal arts campus and is a 15 minute "hike" up The Terrace (the street I live on) and then up a steep pathway located next to the main road that passes through campus called "Kelburn Parade." The Terrace, at least the section that I live in, is a busy street because it involves the rush hour commute for the business district (Parliament is literally down the street from my building) and also the commute for a lot of students. I make my way up the street passing lots of business men and a heavy line of traffic. I always feel bad for the people in cars because typically I move faster than they do and I probably get to my destination much faster than them. The Terrace is kind of like a funnel for the wind and it can get really frustrating to walk up when the wind is really strong and it is even worse when it's raining.
Campus is large, compared to Mt.Holyoke. There is a main quad that is centered between the library and two different buildings (Easterfield - where I have a lot of my classes - and Maclaurin). A lot of the buildings are interconnected, which means that often I don't even need to go outside to switch buildings (Easterfield has a pathway that connects to Kirk (I also have a class here), Kirk connects to Old Kirk, which connects to the Student Union Building... you get the picture). Some of the buildings are across Kelburn Parade, but no worries because they have a bridge that connects Kirk with Murphy so you don't have to get wet or go outside, ever.
Most of the lectures, for me, are large. They typically are comprised of 40 to as large as 100 people. All of my lectures are conducted with a Powerpoint and there is little professor/student interaction (meaning few questions directed at the class). They never take attendance and always post lecture powerpoint copies on Blackboard (the internet database every class has).
I believe I've mentioned this, but, all lectures are accompanied with a tutorial that you sign up for after the first day of class. Tutorials are used for students to get more dialogue about the course topics. However, my tutorials haven't really worked out like that. Tutorials are run by TA's, usually grad students in that particular area of study. They are roughly an hour long, although my psych tutorial was 2 hours. Tutorials split the large class up into different smaller sections so that people get more chances to talk but, still, I didn't really find that I got a more personal atmosphere in tutorial. They take attendance in tutorial and they also attempt to learn peoples names, but none of my tutors ever did. It is in tutorial that assignments are assigned and turned in. TA's are the ones who grade the work and give it back.
Because Victoria is such a large school, inbetween classes can be rather hectic. There is a lot of movement and noise because of the large amount of people moving throughout the halls (something that overwhelms me coming from such a smaller school). There are two cafes (that I know of) on campus and a convenience store that are always packed with people. There are also lots of random computers scattered about for people to quickly check emails and such (they are set up in such a way that you can only stand at them and you also can't print anything off of them). The actual computer lab (where you can sit and down work and print stuff) is in the library and is always full of people. It's horrible when you need to print something out because usually there is a long queue already formed full of other impatient people. And while you're waiting there (which can take as long as an hour) you can see some people browsing (stalking?) on facebook, wasting time that you could be using to print stuff out. This is a huge difference from Mt.Holyoke where typically there is always a computer free in the computer lab. And if not, all dorms have computers and printers available.
The library is ALWAYS packed here. I've never been in there without there being a good amount of people packed around the multiple amounts of tables, couches and comfy chairs. As far as I know the library goes up at least 10 floors, but I usually only make it up to the 6th because I don't really like waiting for the elevator. All the levels of the library have lots of tables set up on the perimeter of the floor next to huge windows. The inner part of the floor contains stacks of books and documents. Most tables are located next to a plug for people who want to use their laptops. The view from the library is pretty spectacular. You can see all of Wellington, the bay and Mt.Vic. It's hard to concentrate on work when you've got that view distracting you.
The grading system here is very different from the states. In the states grades roughly go like this: 100-90% (A), 89-80% (B), 79-70% (C), 69-60 (D), 59-0 (F). Here, grades go like this: 100-75% (A), 74-60% (B), 59-50 (C), and below that is D, E, F, and G. You don't want a G. Haha. So far I've recieved nothing below a 70, which was pretty shocking to see at first because my standards have always been that a 70 = bad. Instead now, it'll be weird going back to the states and realizing that I can't get 70's anymore and it'll be okay. Haha.
Anyway, I've wasted a lot of time writing this up, it's a method of procrastinating because I have a test tomorrow I should be studying for.
Chris is still sick, he definitely has the flu and I'm nervously waiting to see if I'm going to get it. I do feel a little sickly today, so I'm scared. But as long as I get through tomorrow and complete my test I won't really mind getting sick. Although Chris's flu has been really miserable and hard on him (running a 102 temp, chills, body aches, etc), so I won't really enjoy it if I do get sick.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Videos by Brian: North Island to Samoa
These are videos that Brian took throughout our trip from Wellington to Samoa. Most of them are of us driving or are out the window shots of around Samoa. They're pretty short, but I think they're cool because it gives you a chance to see what we saw outside of a snapshot photograph. I hope you enjoy them!
The beginning of the trip: Me and Chris jamming to the Beach Boys on the first few minutes of our drive out of Wellington. We're heading out of Wellington toward Lower Hutt.
Me and Chris again from Taupo to Napier
Napier - Hawkes Bay, me running away from the water, which was freezing.
Driving, I think this may be from Napier to Rotorua, but I'm not sure. Be warned, this video is loud due to wind noise.
Craters of the Moon - In between Taupo and Rotorua. This video is also loud because of wind. Brian comments on the smell of the sulfur. Haha.
And that ends the New Zealand videos...
Samoa!
Funny thing is that these videos are of stuff that I have yet to write about in my blog, so bear with me, but I think you'll enjoy them none the less.
This is from the day after my birthday when we went to see the Dwarf Caves. We had two Samoan guides that gave us coconut to eat and drink right off the coconut tree. They gave us a tour of the caves and taught us some Samoan words. In this video, one of the guides finds Brian a fruit opens it and eats it.
This is at Stevenson's resort, every weekend we had a little performance. All the guys in the band are locals, living in Manase literally right next to Stevenson's. One of them worked at the BBQ place where we got lunch on my birthday.
This video is of two boys fishing. The fish they catch are very small and were the ones we saw most frequently because they would come right up to you and swim around in the areas away from the coral. The people eat these fish, but they mostly use them as bait for deep ocean fishing. We saw people all the time doing this along "our" beach. I don't remember what particular day this was, but we had all just taken a walk together up and down the beach and Brian had stopped to talk with the boys and take a video of them.
This is a video of the coast of Savaii. We took a day trip around the entire island. We paid 120 tala each (which is like nothing for us) for a man to drive us around and show us all the sights of the island. It gives you a pretty good idea of how small Samoa really is. Our driver told us, without stopping, it would only take him 4 hours to do the entire perimeter of the island (there's really only one main road you can drive on). It took us from about 9:30 am til roughly 5:00 pm. Which just shows how much we stopped and how much we saw.
More of the same day, driving around the island. This is a village, I'm not sure of the name.
On our adventure around the island we stopped at this thing called the "Canopy Walk." It's an enormous tree that has stairs built on it that spiral up to the top and you can get a good view of the surrounding jungle from uptop. It also has a scary plank, rope and wire bridge (I can't think of the appropriate name right now of course) that connects to another tree. It is this bridge that gives the tourist attraction it's name. I, for one, am pretty scared of heights and Brian got this video of me slowly making my way down the stairs after having climbed up and looked around. You can see me taking one step at a time. Haha. And Brian and Chris are joking about it the whole time. I obviously did not walk across the bridge because it looked dangerous and also like it would break really easily but Brian, Jon and Chris did it.
More driving around
We stopped at some blowholes. It would require too much effort to write in detail about them right now, but they're basically created by the ocean hitting rock and the water finding it's way through crevasses and exploding out with immense power. This particular blowhole is famous in Samoa because of it's size and also because the people like to throw coconut into the hole at precisely the right time and they come exploding back out. A tiny little old Samoan man, who we deemed "the coconut man", demonstrated this local tradition for us. Brian later went up and threw a few coconuts in himself. This video is particularly funny because Chris jokes that coconut man had to attend 3 years of school in order to get that timing just right.
This is the waterfall where we went cliff diving. We jumped from the side (not from the top of the water fall! - but apparently you can do that! ahh!). This is also where I hurt my knee jumping from the cliffs too close to the side of the cliff. I slammed down onto some rocks at the bottom of the water and scraped my knee. Overall, I was okay, my knee just had a bad cut and I was mostly just shaken up, but I now have a scar to prove it all happened.
This is us walking through some lava ruins. All the villages around Samoa (mostly in Savaii) try to have some sort of tourist attraction in their village because that happens to be a great source of income to the people there. Some things were as small as charging people 2 tala for a simple place to take pictures and others were much more substantial, such as these lava ruins. It was weird because lava crusts are meant to reproduce life of plants and nature around it after the flow destroys them, but these people were "weeding" the budding grasses and trees because they wanted to keep the lava flow are clear and "new" looking as possible. Which sort of seemed backwards to me, but that's their living. The whole villages women were out there cleaning the area, sweeping and weeding. Jon is in the light blue shorts, Chris is in the orange and I'm obviously in the pink. The white ground that we walk on in the beginning of the video is cement the village lay down in order for people to have an easier time walking to a certain spot - the virgins grave (which is a whole other story I'll write about later.)
This video isn't really of anything because it's so dark but you can hear our friend Evan talking. He was the manager of the neighboring resort called "Vacations" and was a good friend to us throughout our time in Samoa. Through him we experienced a lot of Samoan culture that I don't think we would have been able to experience if we hadn't met him. This video is of our kava bowl ceremony. Chris had bought some kava - a root that Samoans traditionally use as a welcome drink and make a huge ceremony out of it. It used to only be drunk by certain people but it is now sold at local stores. Chris bought it at the gas station we frequented in hopes of tasting some because it's so popular here. He had it with him when we went to Evan's (Vacations) on the last night that Jon was in Samoa. He suggested we have some and Evan got very excited and insisted that his cousin and cook, Apu, make it special and put it in a traditional special ceremonial kava bowl. We were also served in a very formal fashion. Kava has effects similar to alcohol. It makes you feel very relaxed and sleepy and a little out of sorts. This video is funny because Evan is talking about the next time we all come to Samoa (which probably won't happen for years) and he speculates that Chris and I (since it was apparent that we were dating) would have children. Haha. Although it's nice of Evan to believe that Chris and I will still be together years from now, it's really difficult to for us to imagine that, let alone having kids.
Finally, this is the last video - although Brian has several more on his youtube account and if you're really interested you can check them out. This is of the fish market in Apia. On our last day, after we took the ferry from Savaii back to Upolu, we went back to Apia because we had HOURS to kill before our flight. We ended up going to a fish and chips place that was right in the fish market and after eating Brian insisted on going back to take a video of it because he thought it was so cool.
I hope you enjoyed the videos. I will hopefully write up a long update about Samoa and also NZ life, but I've been really busy recently. I have a test on Thursday and papers all due June 5th. Other excuses that I have are that my internet got cut off (they charge by the bandwidth here and I used it all up really early on in the week trying to watch the season finale of Lost season 5) and then Chris started getting sick on Friday and on Sunday was in bad shape. So I spent Sunday and today taking care of him and making sure he was okay. Surprisingly, I'm not sick yet... but I feel like I may be speaking too soon and that in a couple of days I'll be just as sick. Hopefully, this won't be the case, but I'm not making any sort of predictions at this point.
The beginning of the trip: Me and Chris jamming to the Beach Boys on the first few minutes of our drive out of Wellington. We're heading out of Wellington toward Lower Hutt.
Me and Chris again from Taupo to Napier
Napier - Hawkes Bay, me running away from the water, which was freezing.
Driving, I think this may be from Napier to Rotorua, but I'm not sure. Be warned, this video is loud due to wind noise.
Craters of the Moon - In between Taupo and Rotorua. This video is also loud because of wind. Brian comments on the smell of the sulfur. Haha.
And that ends the New Zealand videos...
Samoa!
Funny thing is that these videos are of stuff that I have yet to write about in my blog, so bear with me, but I think you'll enjoy them none the less.
This is from the day after my birthday when we went to see the Dwarf Caves. We had two Samoan guides that gave us coconut to eat and drink right off the coconut tree. They gave us a tour of the caves and taught us some Samoan words. In this video, one of the guides finds Brian a fruit opens it and eats it.
This is at Stevenson's resort, every weekend we had a little performance. All the guys in the band are locals, living in Manase literally right next to Stevenson's. One of them worked at the BBQ place where we got lunch on my birthday.
This video is of two boys fishing. The fish they catch are very small and were the ones we saw most frequently because they would come right up to you and swim around in the areas away from the coral. The people eat these fish, but they mostly use them as bait for deep ocean fishing. We saw people all the time doing this along "our" beach. I don't remember what particular day this was, but we had all just taken a walk together up and down the beach and Brian had stopped to talk with the boys and take a video of them.
This is a video of the coast of Savaii. We took a day trip around the entire island. We paid 120 tala each (which is like nothing for us) for a man to drive us around and show us all the sights of the island. It gives you a pretty good idea of how small Samoa really is. Our driver told us, without stopping, it would only take him 4 hours to do the entire perimeter of the island (there's really only one main road you can drive on). It took us from about 9:30 am til roughly 5:00 pm. Which just shows how much we stopped and how much we saw.
More of the same day, driving around the island. This is a village, I'm not sure of the name.
On our adventure around the island we stopped at this thing called the "Canopy Walk." It's an enormous tree that has stairs built on it that spiral up to the top and you can get a good view of the surrounding jungle from uptop. It also has a scary plank, rope and wire bridge (I can't think of the appropriate name right now of course) that connects to another tree. It is this bridge that gives the tourist attraction it's name. I, for one, am pretty scared of heights and Brian got this video of me slowly making my way down the stairs after having climbed up and looked around. You can see me taking one step at a time. Haha. And Brian and Chris are joking about it the whole time. I obviously did not walk across the bridge because it looked dangerous and also like it would break really easily but Brian, Jon and Chris did it.
More driving around
We stopped at some blowholes. It would require too much effort to write in detail about them right now, but they're basically created by the ocean hitting rock and the water finding it's way through crevasses and exploding out with immense power. This particular blowhole is famous in Samoa because of it's size and also because the people like to throw coconut into the hole at precisely the right time and they come exploding back out. A tiny little old Samoan man, who we deemed "the coconut man", demonstrated this local tradition for us. Brian later went up and threw a few coconuts in himself. This video is particularly funny because Chris jokes that coconut man had to attend 3 years of school in order to get that timing just right.
This is the waterfall where we went cliff diving. We jumped from the side (not from the top of the water fall! - but apparently you can do that! ahh!). This is also where I hurt my knee jumping from the cliffs too close to the side of the cliff. I slammed down onto some rocks at the bottom of the water and scraped my knee. Overall, I was okay, my knee just had a bad cut and I was mostly just shaken up, but I now have a scar to prove it all happened.
This is us walking through some lava ruins. All the villages around Samoa (mostly in Savaii) try to have some sort of tourist attraction in their village because that happens to be a great source of income to the people there. Some things were as small as charging people 2 tala for a simple place to take pictures and others were much more substantial, such as these lava ruins. It was weird because lava crusts are meant to reproduce life of plants and nature around it after the flow destroys them, but these people were "weeding" the budding grasses and trees because they wanted to keep the lava flow are clear and "new" looking as possible. Which sort of seemed backwards to me, but that's their living. The whole villages women were out there cleaning the area, sweeping and weeding. Jon is in the light blue shorts, Chris is in the orange and I'm obviously in the pink. The white ground that we walk on in the beginning of the video is cement the village lay down in order for people to have an easier time walking to a certain spot - the virgins grave (which is a whole other story I'll write about later.)
This video isn't really of anything because it's so dark but you can hear our friend Evan talking. He was the manager of the neighboring resort called "Vacations" and was a good friend to us throughout our time in Samoa. Through him we experienced a lot of Samoan culture that I don't think we would have been able to experience if we hadn't met him. This video is of our kava bowl ceremony. Chris had bought some kava - a root that Samoans traditionally use as a welcome drink and make a huge ceremony out of it. It used to only be drunk by certain people but it is now sold at local stores. Chris bought it at the gas station we frequented in hopes of tasting some because it's so popular here. He had it with him when we went to Evan's (Vacations) on the last night that Jon was in Samoa. He suggested we have some and Evan got very excited and insisted that his cousin and cook, Apu, make it special and put it in a traditional special ceremonial kava bowl. We were also served in a very formal fashion. Kava has effects similar to alcohol. It makes you feel very relaxed and sleepy and a little out of sorts. This video is funny because Evan is talking about the next time we all come to Samoa (which probably won't happen for years) and he speculates that Chris and I (since it was apparent that we were dating) would have children. Haha. Although it's nice of Evan to believe that Chris and I will still be together years from now, it's really difficult to for us to imagine that, let alone having kids.
Finally, this is the last video - although Brian has several more on his youtube account and if you're really interested you can check them out. This is of the fish market in Apia. On our last day, after we took the ferry from Savaii back to Upolu, we went back to Apia because we had HOURS to kill before our flight. We ended up going to a fish and chips place that was right in the fish market and after eating Brian insisted on going back to take a video of it because he thought it was so cool.
I hope you enjoyed the videos. I will hopefully write up a long update about Samoa and also NZ life, but I've been really busy recently. I have a test on Thursday and papers all due June 5th. Other excuses that I have are that my internet got cut off (they charge by the bandwidth here and I used it all up really early on in the week trying to watch the season finale of Lost season 5) and then Chris started getting sick on Friday and on Sunday was in bad shape. So I spent Sunday and today taking care of him and making sure he was okay. Surprisingly, I'm not sick yet... but I feel like I may be speaking too soon and that in a couple of days I'll be just as sick. Hopefully, this won't be the case, but I'm not making any sort of predictions at this point.
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