Board in Gisborne (this post is about surfing. Puns are fun!)

I went surfing today, and many of you will be surprised to hear that I’m pretty good at it!

Ha!  Just kidding.  I’m terrible.  But I had fun nonetheless.

I casually mentioned wanting to go surfing to a girl in my room last night and she asked if she could come along to my lesson.  I was thrilled to have the company (even if she was loads better than me), and we had a blast. 

I do think the instructor from Blitz Surf Shop was rather disappointed that I wasn’t any better (to quote him, “you’re not the worst student I’ve ever had.” The subtext being, of course, that I’m up there).

I can't believe I'm posting this...

I did manage to stand up twice, but that was in the space of four hours.  I had expected as much else, frankly; I don’t snowboard, I’ve never skateboarded, and my core muscles and I are barely acquainted. 

This is about as good as it got, sadly.

I’m glad I kept at it though.  My surfing buddy and I stayed out in the waves from 10:45 until nearly 3:00.  I laughed, I sputtered, I swallowed sea water, and I banged up my knees pretty good in the process.

And now, I’m knackered.  My arms feel like wet noodles.  My head feels like it’s full of cotton balls.  My legs are wobbly.  My skin is tingly. 

I think I have an early night ahead of me…

While I have your attention, here are a few pics of Gisborne

A little further west from here this little finger of water (which, strangely is not named on the map I have) was litterally writhing with fish.

A totem pole that Canada presented to Gisborne to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Captain Cook's arrival on New Zealand's shores (he first landed in Gisborne, then got chased off by the Maori).  Cook later visited Canada's West coast, which is why this symbol was used. http://www.gdc.govt.nz/canadian-totem-pole/

Where the Taruheru And Waimata rivers meet.

Comfort zone? What comfort zone?

You’ll never guess what I’ve been up to.

I know the Five Families will be shocked to hear it, but I went camping the other night. 

Voluntarily!  On my own!  In the rain!

Granted, it wasn’t really camping;  I slept in my car, but that was only due to the aforementioned rain.  I’m happy to report that Gandalf the White is a decent, if not comfortable, place to rest one’s head for the night.

Along highway 2, halfway between Opotiki and Gisborne, there’s a Department of Conservation (affectionately known as D.O.C and pronounced “Doc”) campsite.  For the rock bottom price of $7 (which I dutifully placed in the provided envelope and slipped into the honesty box), I was able to set up camp, as it were, for the night. 

It required a fair bit of manoeuvring to make room for my bed, but I managed, and after a meal of crackers, cheese, pear, and chips, I settled in for the night.

When I woke up, it was bright and sunny so I took a bunch of pictures.  Let me show you some!

The stream next to the campsite.  That bridge in the background was part of the highway system until 1965.  It's off-limits now.

Gandalf the White in all his glory.

Pretty!

The road to Gisborne.

Don't worry.  I'm not actually moving at this point.

One of the many hills under which the campsite was nestled.

Wwoofing at Ohiwa Macadamias

My how the time has flown. I’ve been wwoofing here at Ohiwa Macadamias in Ohope Beach for ten days and I barely saw the time go by.

My energetic hosts Paul and Anne have been fantastic; They’ve made me, and the other wwoofers here, feel right at home.

Anne, Paul and I at the Jazz in the Park concert in Whakatane (pronounced Fah-kah-tah-nay).

And what a home it is.

This 30 acre lot nestled in some hills some 20 minutes outside of Whakatane and edged by a salt marsh is home to not only this lovely couple, but also to a menagerie of animals. Their two adorable dogs Smudgy and Lenny share the space with three cows, 17 sheep, some 30 odd chooks (chickens to us non-Kiwis), and – much to the chagrin of the human inhabitants – countless rabbits and possums.


One of the roosters.



Smudgey and Lenny.
(Sorry for the sideways photo. I hate blogger's photo settings)

The farm also boasts an impressive number and variety of fruit and nut trees. The place is literally dripping pears and plums at the moment, and at various times of the year lemons, limes, grapefruits, quinces, nashis, bananas, and chestnuts can be gathered on the property.

Lemon!

Pears!

Quinces! (whatever they are -- they weren't ripe, so I didn't try any.

Of course, the main event here at Ohiwa Macadamias are the macadamias themselves. These delicious morsels won’t be harvested for some months yet, so I didn’t get to participate in the picking side of the process. Instead, I spent a few mornings of my time here processing them.



The nuts on the tree.  These puppies should be ready for harvestig in a few months' time.



Jean-Marie and Agnes, the other Wwoofers, sort the nuts coming out of the mechanical cracker.

A few of the nuts post-cracking and sorting.

Basically, we took some nuts harvested last year, set them up in the drying room for about a week, then cracked and sorted them. The cracking is mostly done by a machine with some of the stragglers who somehow slipped through intact tackled into submission by the WonderCracker – a heavy-duty nut cracker of Paul’s own design which makes quick work of any nut you place in its mighty jaws.

The WonderCracker artfully displayed in front of some macadamia trees. Order yours today!

The sorting, however is all done by hand. It’s time consuming and meticulous work, but it was gratifying to see the pile of “premium” nuts grow and know that I was helping a small business in some small way.

Alas, my time at Ohiwa is done. I take with me fond memories, a recipe for a scrumptious banana cake, some delicious fruit, and a mild addiction to macadamia nuts. 

Thanks so much Anne and Paul. Your kindness and generosity will not soon be forgotten.

Damn you ground under Christchurch, stop moving

I feel sick. 

I’m writing this on the evening of February 22, some nine hours after the Earth did anything but stand still in Christchurch.  Since I'm staying at a place without Internet access, by the time I post this it’ll be likely days later.  (one day later, it turns out)

I’m glad I was able to send out a message yesterday letting people know where I am so they know I’m not anywhere near the earthquake or the devastation it has caused.

Thank goodness for that, cause it’s absolutely awful down there right now. 

I’ve been watching news coverage for about three hours now, and I’ve been physically affected by it all – my stomach is in knots; my heart is in my throat; my arms and legs are riddled with goose bumps; tears have threatened more than once. 

As far as I know, nobody I know is down there at the moment, but the images are still haunting:  buildings reduced to rubble, cars crushed beneath countless kilos of concrete, sobbing bloodied people stumbling around streets I’ve visited not so long ago (and marvelled at how well the city looked post-quake). 

I nearly cried when I saw what remains of the Cathedral and the Arts Building – two of my favourite in the entire country.  What a loss.

I know it may mean little, but Christchurch, my heart and prayers are with you.

in no-man's land...

I've been woofing just outside of Opohe in the Bay of Plenty for almost a week now.  It's very nice.  Unfortunately, Internet and cell phones are not exactly functional in the very rural property on which I'm staying.

I hope to get online tomorrow for a somewhat extended period of time, but there's no guarantee. 

Just wanted to check in and let those who care know I'm doing OK.

Oh.  Just dropped off Gandalf the White (the car) off at the garage for a check up.  Fingers crossed that he'll be OK.

N :)

Proof the Gardners did come to visit

See: I told you they were here.  This was taken from the ferry on our way to Davenport for lunch.

:)

Escaping Auckland to the Bay of Plenty

It’s official.  I’ve been back here a month, and I’ve finally, FINALLY managed to drag myself out of Auckland.  Nothing against Auckland – it’s a fine city.  I just never meant to stay there quite so long. 

And it’s not that I didn’t enjoy my time in Auckland either.  Quite the opposite: it was delightful.  I ended up having a gay old time at Fruit Vans thanks to some excellent people and the unexpected joys of communal living and cultural swapping.




Some of the excellent folk at Fruit Vans.

 

Fourteen of us piled into two vans to go have a picnic on the beach one night.

Leaving was bittersweet.

But leave I have.  I’m currently in beachy Mount Manganui in the Bay of Plenty.  You know how many countries have an area known as their Breadbasket?  Well, I think it’s safe to say that the Bay of Plenty is New Zealand’s fruit basket.  There’s beaucoup de fruits here. Seems I can’t escape fruit – I even stopped at a roadside fruitstand to buy plums on my way here. 

The reason I find myself here is that I am starting another WOOFing gig at a macadamia nut farm nearby on Wednesday, and with the forecast calling for sun and heat Monday and Tuesday, I was loath to stay in the city.  Instead I took Gandalf the White (which is what I've named my car in the hopes that, like the wizard for whom it is named, it will have a long life and will perform amazing feats in stunning locations) out on the open road for the first time.  Three hours later, I was on the east coast of the North Island enjoying the beach.  Ahhhhhhh.

And that's basically what I've been doing for the past two days -- lounging on the beach, reading magazines and books, and going for short hikes around or up Mount Manganui. 

As an added bonus, I was alone in my dorm room the past few nights.  The bliss!

On to some photos!

On Sunday I went to Shakespear Regional Park (which is a 30-40 minute drive from downtown Auckland) with Julia (the girl from my trip up North a few weeks ago) and another of her friends.  There was a cool dead tree on the beach that I decided to climb. 

A pukeko -- one of my favourite NZ birds. I saw a lot of these guys on my first trip here in 2004 and went six weeks without seeing one back in 2009.  On Sunday, there must have been 200 at Shakespear Regional Park.

The beach at Army Bay in Shakespear Regional Park.

You can't really see it in this photo, but you could see Auckland Harbour from here.  It was quite pretty.

A wee waterfall in the park.  What you can't tell from this teeny tiny photo is that I'm holding up a gas mask that was unexplicably lying on the ground next the falls.

Shadow play! That's me on the left.

My drive down to Mount Manganui brought me through Paeroa -- a town known almost exclusively as the birthplace of New Zealand's soft drink Lemon and Paeroa.  It's the nectar of the gods. I was going to buy a bottle there, but it was nearly $3, so I bought some Schwepps instead (it was on sale).  

One of the many awesome public toilets conveniently found around the country.  This one next to the big bottle in Paeroa was particularly great as it had a recording that greeted you as you opened the door, and played music for you while you did your business.

The view from the summit of Mount Manganui.

Shells on the beach at Mount Manganui.

Me on the top of Mount Manganui.  Luckily, you can't see how sweaty I am -- damn humidity.

The perils of being barefoot

I burnt my feet today.  Not the top of my feet.  No. They;re fine.  It's the soles of my feet that are tnder and sore.

A little taste of home

I have been exceedingly fortunate that twice since I have been in New Zealand I've had visits from people from home. As you may recall, back in October, Christina and Nick were here on a three-week trip, and I joined them for the first third of their journey.

Then on this past Wednesday, yet another couple from the 14th Concession in Tiny Township made an appearance on these fair shores.  Adrianne and Gord Gardner, currently at the tail end of a six-week cruise around Australia, Fiji and New Zealand were in Auckland for one short day, and I was thrilled to be able to meet up with them and show them a few of the sites.

We had a delightful afternoon, if I do say so myself.  We took the ferry out to Davenport (a mere 10-minutes away from downtown) where we enjoyed a nice lunch on a patio (they marvelled at the size of NZ mussels, I revelled in the taste of chicken after a week and a half of vegetarian cooking). Afterwards we went out to Mt Eden (where I had been back in September) and took in the views. 

Sadly, this cyber-cafe computer won't let me download pictures at the moment, so I can't show you anything.  Sigh.

In any case, I thouroughly enjoyed my visit with them and it was over far too quickly. Hopefully this won't be the last of the home-town visitors.

Come one, come all!

What selling fruit looks like.

Here's how I've been spending my days this past week -- selling fruit along the side of Tamaki drive in Auckland.  What you can't see in the pictures is that just across the street is a beach with views of Rangitoto island (which I visited back in November).  It's a pretty sweet spot.

This beauty of a van is called Weevol.  It's since been removed from the fleet due to technical problems. 

 

The rainbow wonder is known as Jazz.  It's a nice van cause it actually has a radio.  Fitting, given its name :)

Still alive and kicking (and selling fruit) in Auckland.

 
Hi, all.  Sorry for the neglect of late.  I've been kicking around Auckland for the past two weeks, and not doing much worth writing home about, so I haven't (written, that is). It also hasn’t helped that I haven’t had regular access to a computer, let alone to the Internet, lately.

Upon returning from Northland, I dropped my laptop off at the Sony repair centre, and within a week the wizards there have apparently replaced my wonky screen. Huzzah! I’m picking it up tomorrow, and I’m very excited.  I’ve missed having it more than I thought I would.

In some (somewhat) exciting news, I bought a car a little over a week ago. It’s my first ever set of wheels, so I was a little nervous about it. Sadly, I have no pictures of it yet, so I can't share its magnificence with you all. Suffice to say it’s a white 1993 Toyota Camry station wagon (sexy!). I also have yet to name it. Suggestions welcome.

After spending all that money, I started to stress about the state of my bank account, so my search for someway to stop the one-way cash flow was intensified.

On Sunday I began another WOOFing (willing workers on organic farms – though the “organic farm” definition is broad at best) gig in a ‘burb of Auckland. Basically, I’m selling fruit out of the back of a van at the side of the road in exchange for room and board in a shared house.  Living the life I tell ya!  

It’s so funny - When I was stressing about buying a car, I told myself I would make a point to avoid driving in the city, avoid driving when roads were busy, and avoid driving any kind of big vehicle.  Here I am now zipping around downtown Auckland in a van during rush hour driving on the left hand side of the road no less.  Nothing like trial by fire to get over your fears.

The house is something I’d never have thought I’d enjoy either.  It’s basically the love child of a hostel and a commune.  There are about twenty of us fruit sellers living under one roof. We share chores, meals, rooms, and all of two toilets.

All things considered, it’s OK. I am decidedly the eldest of the bunch, and at times I feel positively ancient (like when one girl came out wearing a pair of jean overall shorts – shudder – and I commented that I used to have a pair when I was in seventh grade, way back in 1990 or so. “you probably don’t remember much about that year,” I said. She replied that she hadn’t yet been born...ouch.)  But overall, I’m cool with it.  It’s only for another week or so, and I’ve got plans in the city tomorrow and the next day with a friend, so I have some reprieve from it.

Tomorrow I also have an official appointment in the form of a meeting with a recruitment agency that specializes in communications and advertising positions. I’m hoping that they’ll be able to help me find some short-term employment elsewhere than Auckland.

I’ll post again tomorrow to let you know how it went and hopefully I can share some pictures too!

Toodleloo!