Kiwi Crossings

Full circle

2010-01-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

The day I arrived in New Zealand, I had my head shaved by a very nice hairdresser in Auckland.

To come full circle, I went back to him the day I left New Zealand. I had been growing my hair out since April and so decided to get my hair blowdried that time. When I showed up, he recognized me! And as he blowdried my hair, we went over the past year in New Zealand. What a way to leave beautiful Aotearoa!

Cheers!

Paua...a follow-up

2010-01-22T12:47:00.000-08:00

I never showed you the inside of a paua shell. They use these in New Zealand for all sorts of things. First, to eat the flesh inside (refer to entry in Stewart Island), but then also for making jewelry, decorating furniture or walkways and for ashtrays (though that's kind of a shame because you hide its beauty.

I ate from this shell and kept it as a souvenir.

Stone, anyone?

2010-01-21T12:33:00.000-08:00

This may look like just a stone. Nothing interesting, perhaps. It is special, however. This stone comes from the bum of something like this!

When I went to the Otago Peninsula in August, our guide found this stone and asked who wanted it. A British woman immediately grabbed it. She was faster than I was. I expressed interest in finding another one and in her infinite kindness, the woman gave me hers instead.

It is a poop stone!

Sea lions swallow these stones to help them digest their food and then they poop them out all nice and smooth.

Lucky me to have possession of such a thing!

(refer back to entry on Otago Peninsula if you'd like to know a bit more about these giants!)

Taa Moko

2009-08-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to get a tattoo for a year now, but not just any tattoo. I didn't want to walk into a tattoo parlor and just pick any old design from a booklet. And because I've been learning a lot about New Zealand and its culture, I wanted something that was significant to my experience here; a symbol of my year here and the things I've learned in my life leading up to this point.

I did a lot of research, looking for someone who would give me a taa moko, a Maori tattoo. I wanted it done the traditional way, with a chisel, something organic and spiritual.

I found Rangi Kipa, a well-known and well-respected carver and tattoo artist. He, along with a few of his friends, brought about the resurgence of traditional chiseled taa moko 17 years ago.

Below are some of Rangi Kipa's carvings.

Whale tooth carvings

whale bone carving (unfinished)

After chatting for a while, Rangi being very patient and answering all my questions (and you know how much I can talk!) we started.

The chisels he made for the taa moko (they are made of whale tooth)

Close-up of uhi (chisels)

Rangi just started drawing on my shoulder, knowing what I wanted it to represent and then took a picture of it and waited for my okay.

Drawing of taa moko

Below: intro to the process

Below: The uhi at work

The end result!

I love it!

Me and Rangi Kipa post taa moko

To see more of what Rangi does, check out his website: http://www.rangikipa.com/

Herbs

2009-08-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

Cool video because they show Maori life here. These guys are a Maori reggae band. They're old school.

Dave Dobbyn

2009-08-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

This song is kind of a Kiwi classic, sung at cricket matches and other such crazy events.

Taranaki

2009-08-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Mount Taranaki

In Maori legend two mountains, Taranaki and Tongariro (the latter located in Taupo) both fell in love with Pihanga. They battled over her and Tongariro won the battle, sending Taranaki off and down to the Western coast of the north island where he now rests outside of New Plymouth.

I headed to this area in New Zealand, the last place I wanted to see before leaving this awesome country. Mount Taranaki greeted me with its majesty and I was compelled to stare at it for the hour it took to get from Hawera to New Plymouth.

I was picked up by family of friends I had made in Wellington. Katrina and her daughter Siena took me to Waitara where I was to stay for the next two nights. Katrina went above and beyond her role of host by showing me around New Plymouth, Waitara and Parihaka. I would never have been able to see nearly as much without her.

Waitara

Waitara is a suburb of New Plymouth, about 20 minutes away.

This marae is the only marae I have actually been to that is as carved as this one. Most marae are simpler, and the more detailed ones are often found in museums. We weren't able to go inside, but when we peeped through the window, we could see a lot more carvings gracing the walls.

Below, different shots of the marae.

Siena with warrior

Bell Block Beach

Bell Block is another suburb of new Plymouth.

New Plymouth

Len Lye was a Kiwi artist known for his kinetic sculptures. He made a few versions of what is called a wind wand. Wellington has a more rudimentary version, but New Plymouth invested in the final version. Though the plans for this wind wand were never realized in his lifetime, the 45-meter high wind wand in New Plymouth was built and installed a few years ago. Basically, the idea is that this wand bends with the wind, giving an indication of how strong the wind is.

Little wind

Stronger wind

The waterfront in New Plymouth has undergone serious work and is quite a beautiful walk on a nice day. A few minutes away from the center of the city is where the Sugar Loaf Islands are found. This is a gorgeous area and quite popular with the surfers.

Fur seals can be found in this area too.

Sugar Loaf Islands

The next day, I took a walk around town and went to St. Mary's Church, which is the oldest stone church in New Zealand. Though I didn't go inside, I was really charmed by the grounds. They have a nice grove of beeches that lent a really special atmosphere to the area.

Above St. Mary's Church is Marsland Hill, which has a nice view of New Plymouth.

Below: 360 degree view from Marsland Hill

Exposed Corillian

Later in the afternoon, Katrina came to pick me up and thought we should go back to Marsland Hill to see if we could see the mountain that time and it was as though the gods were listening because the clouds had parted and the view was exquisite.

Mount Taranaki

I would not be allowed to leave New Plymouth without going to Pukekura Park so we stopped in and took in the sights. From this view below, you can also see the mountain in the background (though not in this particular picture).

The next day I was to take the bus to Auckland, but we first headed over to Parihaka, a very important community for Maori people. Parihaka was the area where Maori people, led by the prophets Te Whiti and Tohu, staged a passive resistance against the Crown for the confiscation of their land. They were jailed, abused and killed, but the resistance continued. Today Parihaka is a symbol of resistance through peaceful means and is a greatly respected place.

Many families still live in this community and they still uphold the concepts of their predecessors. Te Whiti and Tohu's passive resistance strategy was used by Ghandi 60 years later.

It's a beautiful place, somewhere I'd like to go back to in the future and spend more time at.

Parihaka

Monument to Te Whiti

View of Mount Taranaki from Parihaka

Crowded House

2009-08-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

Many people think they are Australian, but they are Kiwi! Look it up if you don't believe me!

Fur Patrol

2009-08-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

Interesting name...

Some of What Makes NZ Interesting

2009-08-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

Sewage Drain

Someone's desperation

Te Puke's crowning jewel; it is the kiwifruit capital of New Zealand

Sticker found on the back of someone's car

Gotta love how apologetic they are! I've been asked for my ID about 90% of the time since I've been in New Zealand. Apparently I should be flattered!

Letter Boxes (found throughout the country)

2009-08-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

Hawke's Bay

Kaikoura

Nelson

Waitomo

Don't you just love Kiwi creativity?

Chris Knox

2009-08-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

More Homegrown

Kaikoura

2009-08-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

Kaikoura is Maori for "The Eating of Crayfish" and is considered the crayfish capital of New Zealand. It is also known for being the primary whalewatching area in the country as all kinds of whales can be found here year-round. In addition, you have the multitude of other sea life to spot here, including dolphins and seals.

Wooden sculptures

One of the things I loved about this small town is the fact that you have the ocean at your doorstep and yet can see snow-capped mountains just above. It's really beautiful.

A park lined with whale bone

I did have my share of koura at a little stand an hour's walk away from town called Seafood BBQ. But I was so greedy and hungry, that I ate it before remembering to take a picture! Sorry! It was delicious though and a fraction of what restaurants were asking.

I also missed out on a chance to go whale watching. I was on standby. In the end they had 6 seats open and I was the 7th person on standby! It was not to be this time around. Perhaps it is just another sign telling me that I need to come back to this beautiful country!

Christchurch

2009-08-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

I only spent a couple of days in Christchurch. It was cold and gloomy during that time, so I unfortunately didn't go to the park, which is considered one of the highlights of the city. Christchurch is okay, I've been charmed more by other cities in New Zealand. Here are some pictures of interesting buildings. I did enjoy the architecture, though not so much the layout of the city.

Along the river; this was my favorite part of the city

In Cathedral square

Shihad

2009-08-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Homegrown rock music

Bic Runga

2009-08-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

Bic Runga might not be a name you recognize, but this song is quite famous. I definitely heard it before coming to New Zealand. She is half Chinese half Maori. It's a cute pop song.

Street Art

2009-08-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Over the past year here, I've come across some pretty good street art, or graffiti, as some of you call it. Here are some of my favorites!

Wellington
Wellington

Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin

Dunedin

The Mutton Birds

2009-08-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

In addition to having had Muttonbird, Tim told me about the band The Mutton Birds! Enjoy!

Marama Farm - Scanning

2009-08-17T05:03:00.001-07:00

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Marama Farm - Introductions to sheep farming

2009-08-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Mother and babe

To show you a little how a working farm functions, check out the videos! It was a cool learning experience, a little practice before the big scanning day.

Below: Introductions to Marama Farm

Early morning sky

Below: Part 2 of introductions

Below: Shepherding them through

Below: Going in circles

Below: Getting through...finally!

Below: Red Tussock

Marama Farm - Day 1 (taking down an electric fence)

2009-08-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Before I tell you too much about Marama Farm (which will come in a later entry) I just wanted to show you what I did on my first day on a sheep and cattle farm.

We took down an electric fence. Happy, happy, joy, joy it was bloody cold (but a cool experience nonetheless)! And at the top of those hills, there is no mercy from the wind. No trees to protect you, just lots and lots of open space.

I wanted to experience what a working farm was like. I got to go to Marama Farm, an organic farm, and I got to stay there as a Wwoofer (Willing Workers on Organic Farms), an organization that started in New Zealand and is now world-wide. This system permits anyone to go on a farm and in exchange for between 4 and 6 hours work per day, you get free housing and board. I think it's a pretty good deal and you learn a lot!

Below: bootless foot

End result (this after both gumboots got stuck in the mud, my socks were worthless and sogging and cumbersome and Sonya and I had to pull a small trailer out of the very sticky mud. There was no option but to do it barefoot. After my muddy day pulling down a fence. I could have been rolling in the mud!

And because of my incredible intelligence in putting my feet in the cold and wet ground, I ended up with the joy of joys of living: chillblains. Brace yourself!

Definition of Chillblains taken from Wikipedia:

Chilblains (also known as pernio and perniosis^[1]^:25) is a medical condition that is often confused with frostbite and trench foot. Chilblains are acral ulcers (that is, ulcers affecting the extremities) that occur when a predisposed individual is exposed to cold and humidity. The cold exposure damages capillary beds in the skin, which in turn can cause redness, itching, blisters, and inflammation.

It's healing now. Most of the redness is gone and the pain and itching is also gone. Always on a new and unexpected adventure! Tune in for more adventures on the farm!

The Catlins

2009-08-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

Matai Falls

The day after arriving at Marama farm, I was invited to go on a day's outing to the Catlins, a corner of the country that many people have said was worth going to. I had decided to forego that trip earlier, knowing I was running out of time, but here was the offer, popping up out of nowhere! I decided to take it. So with Sonya (one of the girls living on the farm) and her friend Nadia, we headed off to see some of the sights.

Horseshoe Falls

Close to Jack's Blowhole

Jack's Blowhole

Below: a live visit of the blowhole

On the way to the lighthouse

Nugget Point Lighthouse

Nugget Point

Below: Nugget Point on a sweeping scale

All in all, a nice day's trip with some nice girls as well. It wasn't too cold that day and for all of these places, we had to walk a bit to get there. Fresh air and exercise! Thanks to the Catlins and Sonya!

Wildlife Adventures - Otago Peninsula

2009-08-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

I took a wildlife tour with Elm Wildlife Tours, a guided tour of the only albatross colony on land (inhabited land) a shag colony, a fur seal colony, a sea lion colony and a blue and yellow-eyed penguin colony. It was an afternoon of awesome sights!

Albatross are not easy birds to view, especially this time of year when most are out at sea. A real sea bird, albatross spend most of the year literally living out on the sea. They are the world's largest sea bird, with a wingspan of up to 3 meters! Very cool! We saw only a couple pretty far out with the aid of binoculars.

The spotted shag colony is quite cool because during breeding times their faces take on an iridescent green sheen. You can't really see that with the pictures I took, but I promise it was cool. As we were looking out to sea at one albatross that was sitting in the ocean, we saw the unmistakeable spouts of whales in the distance. It was really cool! But that was the extent of what we saw of the whales.

Shag Colony

Afterwards we went to a private sheep farm on the edge of the Otago Peninsula. This farmer has the distinct luck of having colonies of seals, sea lions and penguins on his land! He's agreed to allow people like me go out there and view these animals in their natural environment through the Elm Wildlife Tours company. It was really cool. Some pics!

Cute as!

Playing dead! I really thought it was dead for a while because of the awkward position it was in, until it finally moved. Thank God! I was getting worried! Apparently fur seals have really maleable bones and can be comfortable in the most awkward of positions.

Taken through the binoculars. Pretty cool, huh?

Yellow-eyed penguins are the rarest penguins in the world. They are also very shy and very private penguins. They nest up in the brush, quite different from other penguins.

Isn't it cute?

Then we encountered the sea lions! Wow! This one below was yawning. Too bad it didn't come out clearly but pretty impressive nonetheless!

Here he is posing (in fact he is going to the bathroom and we were subject to this "private" moment). Didn't seem to bother him too much!

I was less than 2 meters away from him!

Below: a little vid of this young sea lion.

Evening on the beach. Ahh....peaceful.

A yellow-eyed penguin coming home for the night

Below: coming home

All coming home

Below: a love match or a territorial dispute?

Dunedin

2009-08-08T15:40:00.001-07:00

Dunedin Train Station

I went to Dunedin on two separate occasions, but only did a bit of visiting the first time around. Some travelers had described it as nothing special, but I found it really charming, with pretty buildings and an interesting city center. The downtown area is called the Octagon and is actually shaped in that way, with two main streets forming an inner and an outer Octagon. Sitting at one of the many cafes in the Octagon is a good way to people watch and get a feel for the city.

I stayed at a backpackers called Hogwartz (obviously named after Harry Potter), only really worth noting because of its beautiful architecture and sense of isolation within its walls. Its located in a wooden area, but close enough to the center of the city as not to feel cut off. Dunedin, as many cities in New Zealand are, is quite hilly so expect to puff a bit. Good exercise though!

Hogwartz backpackers

One of tons of cathedrals in this city

The Otago Museum is a must see museum, rife with exhibits from around the world as well as some interesting facts about the Ngai Tahu Iwi of the South Island and extinct birds of New Zealand's past. I skipped over the stuff not directly related to New Zealand because I didn't have the energy to see every exhibit, but even the two exhibits I did see took me a couple of hours (and I didn't comb through every single thing as I usually do).

It was fascinating to learn about Moa, the largest flightless bird in the world, and other flightless birds that have become extinct since the arrival of Maoris. An interesting and somewhat unbelievable fact about New Zealand is that apart from the bat, New Zealand does not have any native mammals. This is why there was such a high concentration of flightless birds here. There were no natural predators so they thrived. Really cool exhibit!

Back in the Octagon is the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and they had an exhibit on Dunedin born Frances Hodgkins. I wanted to see what she was about. She was a watercolor painter who went and made it big in Europe in the early 1900s. There were quite a few things that I loved, but again I couldn't find most of them on the internet. Isn't that just a pain in the butt?

Hope you do like what you see below!

Oyster Catching

2009-08-06T21:05:00.001-07:00

After going to Ulva Island, I had enough time to get some food before walking over to the boat where Jack was waiting with a bigger crew than I expected. Here's our day!

Jack at the wheel and Mark (or dingo, as some call him since he's from Australia)

Below: Introduction to oystering

Jack's boat

Below: pulling in the net

Some collateral damage; we threw them back into the sea

Hermit crab

An oyster!

Mollymawk (in the albatross family)

Gotta love this picture and the flaunting of authoritative signs!

Below: And now for the piece de resistence!

Later on, Maria and I (a girl I had met at the backpackers) were invited to Abel's place for Paua (abalone).

Paua is prepared in a special way. After taking it out of it's shell, you must pulverize it by beating it with a hammer or something hard to tenderize it. Afterwards you can slice it like below.

Below: Cooking up Paua

All in all a wonderful day! I love food!

Ulva Island

2009-08-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Moody sky (I love days like this!)

Weka in natural setting

One of the reasons I went to Stewart Island was to see the bird life. Ulva Island, a small island just a few minutes away from Stewart Island by boat, is a bird sanctuary that is rife with bird life not found in other parts of the world. What's more, you can actually get pretty close to them here, though they are completely wild. I did my best to take pictures and videos, but as with the world of the wild, you never know where they'll go next or how the shot will turn out. In some of the videos, it's best to listen rather than look at the grainy scene.

Docking at Ulva Island

Tomtit

The bark on this tree has been stripped by kakas, a native New Zealand parrot (red and gray)

On the rocky shores

New Zealand wood pigeon, apparently the largest pigeon in the world

Tui

Below: Tui Singing (absolutely unique and inspiring)

Below: I believe this is a juvenile New Zealand Saddleback, not sure though!

Below: The inquisitive nature of the Stewart Island Robin

Below: The song of the bellbird

Stewart Island Bays and Pub Tours

2009-07-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

I decided to go to Stewart Island on a whim. Several people had suggested it, to which I said, "what's cool to do there?" I never really got a full answer, just that it was a cool place to go to. While in Bluff, I was very disappointed to here that I wouldn't find any Bluff oysters to speak of. Though the oystering season isn't over until the 31st of August, all the commercial fishermen have filled their quotas and so I could not find a one!

I hoped that Stewart Island would prove more fruitful and decided to transfer my goal in eating oysters to Stewart Island. After all, the fishermen from Bluff often fished in the same areas as those from Stewart Island.

So after a one-hour rollercoaster ride across the Foveaux Strait on a catamaran, I arrived on the anchor of New Zealand (will explain at a later date). It's a charming place. I went to my backpackers and settled in. It was very rainy so I didn't venture out much except to go to the one supermarket on the island and then the booking office where I wanted to ask about tours around the island and a trip to Ulva Island, a bird sanctuary a short boat ride away.

I asked the very nice people at the Stewart Island Experience office where I could find someone who would take me out oystering. I was duly pointed to the one and only pub/bar on the island, the South Sea Hotel. I was told to go there that night and ask around.

The South Sea Hotel -the southern most pub in New Zealand (I've now seen the northern most pub and the southern most pub in this country! see Kaitaia entry)

That evening I walked into the pub on my own and as I was getting myself a drink, I asked the bartender where I could find someone to go oystering with. She pointed me towards an inebriated man with silver-colored hair: Jack. I was immediately invited to join the group and we chatted, them asking me questions, me emboldened by their affability and asking whether an oystering expedition would be possible. I was answered with a vague "yes", which I took to be a good sign. I stayed several hours, talking to all sorts of people, getting the full effect of an island inhabited by 400 people who all meet at the pub at some point or another. A really close-knit community of people who love to laugh, drink and play. It was really a wonderful experience.

A sign put up in the bar about 20 years ago. I love it!

The next day I took the Bays and City Tour. I was the only one on the bus and the driver was a very nice man who stopped the bus whenever I wanted to take a picture. Here is what this beautiful island looks like.

Some cool sculptures made of wood
Baby seal

Crayfish pots

Lee Bay
Rimu Tree
They used to use this telephone (wind-up) to make urgent phone calls. Isn't it cute!

Below: Horseshoe Bay

It was a nice tour. I had a good time and the sky cleared up nicely enough for me to take some good pictures.

That night, I went back to the pub to get a more definitive affirmation on going oystering the next day. Jack was there again, everyone was inebriated but he remembered me and did agree to take me out the next day. I was to go to Ulva Island in the morning and would meet him at the dock in the afternoon to go oystering. Maria, one of the women at the backpackers decided to come along.

That night we met a group of guys from DOC (Department of Conservation) who were really cool. Andrew, a sort of newbie to the area (coming from the mainland) wanted us to try "paua guts", a local shot. Always up for new experience, I accepted.

Paua guts (made with Opal Nera and Baileys)

I'll explain about Paua soon. Much more to see and do in Stewart Island

Bluff and the Muttonbird

2009-07-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

When I was living in Wellington, I was told to go to Bluff, one of the southern most towns in New Zealand. I was told to have Bluff oysters (reportedly the best oysters in New Zealand) and muttonbird, a traditional Maori delicacy. It is the eating of the baby shearwater bird. We don't eat the adults. There is a season for muttonbird, but like with the whitebait, I hoped to find someone who could allow me to taste some.

From Queenstown, I booked my ticket to Bluff. The very nice woman helping me called a friend in Bluff who told her that it had been a terrible season for muttonbird and that there were very few in the area this year. I was told not to expect to find any unless a local would be willing to part with his or her precious few.

I was a bit disappointed, but figured if I can't have muttonbird, then at least I'll have Bluff oysters. When I got to the backpackers in Bluff, I was the only person staying there. I guess no one really wants to stay the night in such a sleepy little town. It was surprising how empty it seemed. As I walked along the main street, out of the 30 or so storefronts, only about 5 of them were occupied, the rest looked like a ghost town.

I went into a bar to enquire about muttonbird and oysters and was told that the season was so bad for muttonbird that one of the woman's friends had only gotten 12 buckets of them. It sounded like a lot to me, until she told me that last year he had gotten 80 buckets!

Anyway, I spoke to the owner of the backpackers about wanting to try those two things while I was down here. He revealed that he had some muttonbird in the freezer and would cook up some for dinner. I was so excited! I was finally going to taste the mysterious muttonbird!

Below: What it looks and tastes like

Below: Part two...tasting it

Milford Sound

2009-07-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

I went on a full day tour of Milford Sound last Monday, the 20th of July (wow, it feels like so long ago, so much has happened since!). I was told it was one of the most beautiful places in the world. In reality, part of what made it so beautiful was the actual drive up there. We had a cool driver who stopped several times on the road to let us out and take pictures. It was a wonderfully sunny day.

First we stopped at a bird sanctuary, but in truth we only saw pukekos and takahes. I had never seen a takahe before so I was a little shocked to see the one below.

Below: Video of Alpine the Takahe

It's only after seeing her that I saw the sign that accompanied her.

I don't know if it made me feel better or worse! In any case, it certainly made me laugh. The way she's described is precious and true!

It was a very cold day!

As we drove along, we stopped at the Mirror Lakes, obvious name!

Mirror Lakes

Mirror Lakes

Before heading through the tunnel and then going downhill amongst beautiful mountains greeting us with tons of little waterfalls from snow melts, we met some keas, the world's only alpine parrots. They have no fear!

Below: Meet the keas!

Afterwards, we stopped at the Chasm, a short walk into the gorgeous rainforest.

Below: Vid of Chasm

By the time we got to Milford Sound, I was already full of the beauty and nature I had seen around me. The cruise was more like icing on the cake.

Below: The start of the cruise

Multi-colored stone deposits

Reminiscent of the Crossing

There are hundreds of waterfalls like this in the Sound

There are only about 30 sunny days in the Sound per year, so though it was sunny before we went through the tunnel, it was overcast by the time we got to the Sound

Fur seal diving

Can you spot the rock called Lizard Rock?

Below: Crazy captain and his sadistic obsession with the waterfall (I'm complaining because I was the stupid one who stayed outside the whole time and subsequently got wet!)

Haunting images in the water
Heading back

Below: Surprise in the water!

Below: A final farewell to Milford Sound

Hope you liked the tour!

Waka - Che Fu

2009-07-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

Che Fu is a very successful hip-hop and R&B artist from good old Aotearoa! Enjoy. This vid dates back to 1998.

Queenstown

2009-07-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Moss-covered tree

On my way to Queenstown from Fox Glacier, we crossed over the Southern Alps. During our descent into the valley and region of Queenstown, I noticed for the first time the distinct "Lord of the Rings" feel permeating the air. Everywhere I looked had a dark, eerie and mysteriously beautiful quality to it.

Upon arriving in Queenstown, I was really unprepared for this bustling town choc-full of people dressed in snow gear carting around skis and snowboards. I felt like a fish out of water. I was probably the only person in the whole town who wasn't there for winter sports.

Most of the tourists were from Australia on a university ski trip. Other tourists were from North America or Europe and had come to New Zealand just for the skiing or snowboarding. It amazed me that they had been there for 2 months and had seen nothing else besides the mountains. To travel across the globe only to slide down a snow-covered mountain for 4 months is beyond my comprehension, but they loved it there, so I can only assume that it's good ski country. For those snow bunnies out there, Queenstown is a prime destination for you!

I stayed at a backpackers above Queenstown, giving us an unobstructed view of the mountains and the lake that dominate Queenstown. Unfortunately I didn't take the video when the weather was clear and you could see the Remarkables (chain of mountains called so because they are the only other chain of mountains besides the Rockies that point directly North/South), but it's still an awesome view.

Below: View from Scallywags Backpackers (I said Queensland instead of Queenstown in the video. Apologies!)

I've been in New Zealand for 11 months now (and time is running out!) and during that time I have never seen a live possum. They are considered very annoying pests here and are hunted and killed. All the possums I've seen have been crushed on the roads so imagine my joy in seeing Ollie, the resident possum at Scallywags (his family has been coming around for a few generations) come out for a feed (kiwiism) one night. He very politely let me take tons of pictures of him with a flash as well as a video (which was unfortunately too dark to post). How cute is he?

Ollie the Possum

Wish I had more pictures of Queenstown but the weather was so awful that I couldn't bring myself to walk out in the pouring cold rain and take pictures in those conditions. I guess laziness caught up with me.

Fox Glacier

2009-07-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

Afternoon sky in Fox Glacier village

I arrived at Fox Glacier on Wednesday the 15th of July. The air was fresh and you could finally see the snow-capped mountains close-by instead of far off in the distance. It was drizzling on and off, but surprisingly not really cold. The wind was down and the mist swirled around in a mysterious blanket.

Fox Glacier is one of just a few glaciers in the world that are still advancing, while most are retreating due to temperature changes and natural recessions. It has been advancing since 1985, at 10 times the rate of other valley glaciers around the world, to the rate of 1 meter a week. It is located in the Southern Alps of New Zealand and forms part of the South Westland World Heritage Area.

Fox Glacier was named by former Kiwi Prime Minister, Sir William Fox, in 1872. Not a very modest man! I was told by Kiwis and foreigners alike that of the two glaciers in this region, Fox and Franz Josef, Fox had smaller group tours and was a better glacier to go to.

So I decided to do the tour called Fox It Up, which is an 8-9 hour day trip up on the ice where you learn to do some ice climbing with crampons and ice picks and everything! Cliffhanger watch out! It was an amazing day! I'll stop with the writing and let you enjoy the pictures and videos. I highly recommend this!

Rock Flour turns this pool of water a powdery blue. This happens when the glacier's pressure on the rocks beneath grinds the rock into a powder. When light passes through the water, you get these brilliant colors.

Cliffs surrounding the glacier

There are tons of little waterfalls in the mountains surrounding the glacier. We had a rest and a drink at this one.

Fox Glacier behind me

Rock Fallout. It's quite dangerous around the glacier because without warning boulders will come tumbling down the mountains.

Glacier with Mount Tasman (I think!) in the background

Glacier valley. The glacier has advanced and retreated along this path for thousands of years.

Ice sculptures

Preparing for my first climb

Below: A video of me ice climbing for the first time. Ahh! Watch at your own discretion.

I made it!

Rappelling down

So, I was pretty surprised to find out how much climbing we would actually do! We did 4 climbs. I did the first and second ones, but on the second one, I almost didn't make it. My arms were cramped up into claws clutching the picks and I was not able to release my hold on them and grip them more lightly. As a result, I was in a lot of pain, but I did make it up. Denis, our guide, said it was a common thing for people to depend much more on their arms than their feet. Of course it it! I don't trust two little picks on the ends of each shoe to hold me up! No way man! Hence, the cramping.

As a result, I didn't do the third climb because my arms were still shaking and I was just getting them to stop cramping. The fourth climb was the hardest but I only did about half of it, high enough to do the show off pose! But I did struggle at times! Watch the vid below.

Below: last climb

Below: Setting up for the big pose

4th climb. Now I'm just showing off!

Ice-filled wonderland

Below: Ice cave vid

Double entrance ice cave. Aren't the striations just absolutely amazing?!

View from the cave looking out

A blue world

Below: Evening view of the glacier

Vanilla chocolate swirl ice cream in the foreground and bubble gum ice cream in the distance

What animal can you see in the ice?

Group picture as we're heading back

Evening view on the valley from the ice

p.s. On the night of the 15th of July, an earthquake registered at 7.8 shook up the South Island. The epicenter was at Dusky Sound at the southwestern tip of the island. People in Fox and Franz Josef glaciers felt it. Everyone, that is, except for me! Can't figure out where I was at that time! It was the biggest earthquake of the year worldwide and the biggest one in New Zealand in 80 years! No one was hurt, but the end of the South Island moved 12 inches (30 centimeters) closer to Australia. Interesting...

So True - The Black Seeds

2009-07-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

The Black Seeds is another reggae band from New Zealand. I guess it must be an island thing, this reggae vibe. Even if the island isn't tropical, we seem to all have that tendency towards the slow, easy movement that is reggae. I'm loving it!

Pounamu, Pounamu, Where For Art Thou Pounamu?

2009-07-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

Block of pounamu found in the Arahura River a few years ago. It's about the size of a tire. I don't think I would be able to lift it. Pounamu is extremely heavy!

When I went to the Te Papa Museum in Wellington, there was an exhibit there about the main Iwi of the South Island, the Ngai Tahu. The exhibit was very interesting and what caught my eye most of all was the pounamu or greenstone, which is only found in the South Island. The South Island is called in Maori - Te Wai Pounamu, which means The Land of Greenstone Water. Wai, meaning water and Te meaning the. I would directly translate it as the The Water Pounamu, or the Pounamu water (land of).

I found the name of the river which pounamu comes from, the Arahura River. I decided that I would try to find my way there and see if anyone would be willing to show me how to find pounamu.

I knew that the river was privately owned and was to find out that it was owned by Mawhera Incorporation, a Maori landowners trust. I went to the iSite in Westport to find out how to contact people to visit the Arahura. I was given the number to the company and was warned that I might not have much luck. I called regardless and was questioned by Mika Mason, a prominent character in the Maori community in the South Island. When I explained my reasons for wanting to visit the river, I was given the name of a woman, Jo Tootle, who would take me to the river bed and show me around.

I was really excited and recognized how blessed I was to be able to visit the Arahura.

The Arahura River Bed

Mountains above the Arahura

So on Tuesday I was picked up by Jo and we joined up with her cousin, Nathalie and another friend Marge, to go on a girls' outing up the Arahura. We had a great day!

To give you a little bit of background, I'd like to paraphrase the legend of Poutini. This tells us the story of why pounamu is found in this river.

Poutini is a protective spirit who swims up and down the West Coast of the South Island, protecting people and the essence of pounamu. One day, while hiding from his enemy Whatipu (the god of sandstone), he came upon a beautiful woman who was bathing in the sea. Her name was Waitaiki. He kidnapped her and took her from the North Island down to the Arahura River (west coast of the South Island). Along the way, he stopped in different regions, lighting fires to keep her warm (these sites are now known to have valuable stones such as obsidian, flint,basalt, argillite, bowenite jade (in the South Island) and "floater" stones...most of these stones were used as tools in Pre-European history in New Zealand).

In the meantime, Waitaiki's husband, Tamaahua discovered that she was missing and went in pursuit of them to get her back. When he got to the Arahura, the water was warm and he knew he was in the right place. Poutini, knowing that he could not beat Tamaahua in a battle, turned Waitaiki into his own essence, pounamu, at the top of the Arahura River. He figured, if he couldn't have her, no one would. He himself slipped downstream, past Tamaahua and out into the sea. Ever since Poutini resides along the coast, the guardian spirit of the land and its pounamu.

When Tamaahua found Waitaiki, she was a gray-green smooth greenstone (this type of greenstone is called inanga). He wept for her and named the mountains around her after his island home Tuhua and after himself, Tamaahua, so that she would know where she came from. He returned home, remarried and had lots of kids.

Since that time, every spring, pieces of pounamu break off from Waitaiki and flow down the river. These are her children, or uri. (This story I got from Jo, it was narrated by Tipene O'Regan; I have paraphrased it and written it up here)

So we went on the lookout for her children. I thought every green stone I found was pounamu, but I was wrong! Jo and Nathalie are very knowledgeable and could tell pounamu apart from other green stones. Below, our outing!

(I made a mistake while filming and said the river was owned by the Ngai Tahu, when in fact it's owned by Mawhera Incorporation).

Nathalie found a piece of pounamu

Below: The tikanga, or correct way of doing things

Below: On the hunt

Can you spot the pounamu?

In the summertime people actually walk in the water, it's easier to find pounamu when it's wet because the green is brighter. It was too cold to do that here, though my boots did get wet!

Below: Bed of...

Below: Say hello to the Weka!

After our outing, Jo invited me back to her place for dinner. We had smoked eel for dinner! (this was one of the dishes on my list of things to eat while in the South Island). As it was being cooked, the smell was very strong. I wondered whether I would like it. But when we sat down to eat, it was delicious! The only time time I had had eel before was in a sushi restaurant, but they always cooked it in a sweet sauce which I didn't like. This was yummy!

Smoked eel, or tuna, in Maori (pronounced Tuh-na)

Before dinner, I met Jo's husband, Bob, whom I found out is a pounamu carver! The day just got better and better! Didn't expect that bit of luck! Bob took me out to his workshop and showed me how pounamu is carved. Hope you enjoy the tour!

Below: a tour of the workshop

Below, some of the carvings Bob has made. Aren't they beautiful?!

Light passing through the pounamu

I was given the middle necklace as a gift. I love it! Now I have two necklaces, one from Shani for my birthday and one from Jo and Bob. I'm truly blessed. (In New Zealand it's considered bad luck to buy pounamu for yourself. You can only buy it for others or have it given to you)

In conclusion, I'd like to thank Mawhera Incorporation, Mika Mason, Jo, Marge, Nathalie and Bob for this very cool day. I learned a lot!

Punakaiki

2009-07-16T02:50:00.000-07:00

I left Westport on Monday, heading towards Hokitika. On the way, the bus stopped at Punakaiki, or the Pancake Rocks, for lunch. They are called the pancake rocks for the layered sedimentation in the rocks along this particular part of the coast. Take a tour!

Can you see any shapes here? Look closely at the rocks

Nikau Palm

Below: A live mermaid

Behold My Koolstyle - Dam Native

2009-07-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

I saw Dam Native live at the Cuba St. Carnival in Wellington back in February. They are quite political and very involved in representing Maori people and the clash or issues that exist between Maori and Pakeha people in New Zealand. They are interesting to listen to. It gives you a different perspective on things.

Goin' Trawlin'

2009-07-15T01:23:00.000-07:00

The Journey Man

I'm getting pretty pushy in my old age! Not only had Jack been kind enough to feed me whitebait, but I also convinced him to let me tag along with him when he went fishing on the Tasman Sea.

He kept warning me about getting seasick, but I can honestly say that I've never been seasick, and I've been on plenty of boats, yachts and ships over the years. The closest I got was a bit of queasiness on a cruise ship in 1997. But I overcame it.

Anyway...the type of fishing he does is called trawling. Trawling is basically putting out a large net several meters long and with the help of chains, having the net drag along the bottom of the ocean, pulling in bottom-feeding fish. After a few hours, the net is pulled in and you have a plethora of fish to sort through.

I'm not going to write you a novel, I'll let the videos and pictures do the talking. Enjoy the fishing!

A gorgeous sunny day

Below: A Tour of the The Journey Man

Below: A life-saver!

Below: Throwing out the line

Birds zoning in on the catch

Below: The first catch

When the guys pulled in the net, they found that they had caught some crayfish too! What luck! We only kept a few and threw the rest back in the ocean. The guys believed they were on the march because it's not crayfish season and yet there were a lot of them and they were all adults.

Below: Post-embarrassment video!

Below: The variety of flatfish

Red Cod in the foreground and gurnard in the background

A combination of different flatfish including brill, sole and turbot

Below: The Chiller

Evening pinks on the mountains

Floral Sunset on the Tasman Sea

Below: Electric Skate on the second run

Below: Who knew there was such a thing as sea lice?

We got back to Westport at 10:00p.m., having gone out at 11:00a.m. On the way back, Jack filleted a gurnard for me to cook up and also gave me one of the crayfish he picked up.

I was starving by the time I got back to the backpackers. Can you imagine how hungry? I had only had a piece of bread with butter in the morning and three cups of tea, two of which I had on the boat and subsequently threw up. So, now I can honestly say that I have been seasick and it wasn't so fun! Thankfully I only threw up tea, but I didn't want to push my luck and ingest anything while on the boat.

So I didn't eat anything until about 11p.m. that night and I had stir-fried vegetables with fresh gurnard and crayfish! Delicious! What a nice way to end the day! Thank you to Jack who was patient and kind enough to show me the world of commercial fishing. It was really cool!

Trippin' TripInn - Westport

2009-07-14T00:09:00.000-07:00

I was in Westport from Thursday to Monday morning. During that time, I stayed in a very cool backpackers called TripInn. The hosts, Donna and Jack Devine were really very friendly and helpful. The place was warm with coal burning stoves and the house was built in the mid 1800's, so a jewel of a place. I love old buildings!

Since Donna was out of town when I first arrived, I got a chance to speak to Jack and found out that he's also a fisherman! I told him about one of my goals for the South Island: eating whitebait.

I had been told several times about whitebait, a tiny fish that is eated in a kind of patty. I figured, if it's a typical Kiwi delicacy, I should try it! Jack just happened to have a bag of frozen whitebait in his freezer and invited me for lunch one day so I could see for myself what it was like. Below, you will see a bit how it's made.

Below: how to clean and prepare whitebait

You add an egg and stir the whitebait and the egg slowly, adding in some flour to make it more dense.

Below: cooking it

Cooked whitebait

It was absolutely delicious! I couldn't believe that it really tasted like fish, because as you could see, it didn't look like it would have the consistency or taste of fish, but it was fresh and awesome. We put some salt and pepper on it and a squeeze of lemon. Yummy! I'm now in love with whitebait and I understand why people were telling me to eat it! ....and I had frozen whitebait, imagine it fresh!

Abel Tasman National Park - Day 3

2009-07-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

I look like a big black burnt marshmallow in all that gear!

On day 3 I had a 4 hour walk from Anchorage Bay to Marahau, the start of the National Park. I was ready, feeling energetic. Earlier in the morning, it looked like it was going to be another beautiful day, but then we saw the clouds coming in, so I put my rain gear back on. Ready to sweat it out another day.

It did start raining as I headed up the mountains above Anchorage Bay. It was just a drizzle, though, not too bad.

Above Anchorage Bay...gorgeous view! Worth the drizzle.

Below: a vid of the Anchorage Bay valley

The paths were really well designated, so it was a really easy walk through the forests.

Below: one of the lookout points

One of many little waterfalls along the way. I believe New Zealand has one of the highest rates of rainfall/year in the world.

Some of those prehistoric ferns that dot New Zealand's whole landscape

In the distance, you can see snow-capped mountains. A reminder that it's winter, though as you can see, most of the native New Zealand trees are not deciduous.

Below: Silent video of the scenery

After stopping for lunch at Apple Tree Bay (by then the sky had cleared and the day was gorgeous once again), I headed back up the track and was suddenly stricken by incredible pain in my left Achilles tendon. I hadn't fallen or twisted anything, so I didn't understand where the pain was coming from. And to top that off, I had started having pain in my right hip. A sharp pain that started from the hip and radiated downward toward the knee. From the knee, the pain started from the back of the knee and continued down to the ankle. The last hour and 45 minutes of my walk out of the park was in immense pain. I never stopped, walking at a snail's pace, but doing so knowing that if I stopped, I wouldn't be able to continue. But even hobbling my way back, the walk took 4 hours, so it would have been much quicker in regular health. The third day was the easiest walk, with the fewest hills to climb. It was a beautiful walk.

View from Marahau back on the Abel Tasman National Park. I was finally done!

I highly recommend doing the walk in the Abel Tasman National Park. It is gorgeous and fresh. I don't recommend walking through it in the summer because thousands of people walk through it during that time. If you want to connect with nature, do this walk in the winter, where crossing people along the way is a rare occurence. You feel that much more connected with your surroundings.

So, I was supposed to spend the night in Motueka and head out to the beginning of the Heaphy track the next day. As soon as I got to Motueka, I called a massage place and asked for a massage. I wanted to be healthy for the Heaphy track (especially since I had already paid for the huts). The woman was about to close the shop for the night. I begged her to keep it open for me. I asked her to wait 30 minutes so that I could take a shower before going to see her (I hadn't showered in 3 days, no means to do that in the park). She kindly waited for me to shower and hobble over to her "office". It was supposed to be just an hour, but with all the pain I was feeling, we went over about 15 minutes and I only had to pay 5 more dollars. It was a very reasonable 60 dollars for all that work. During the massage I asked the woman if she knew someone who had a bathtub. I truly believed that with the combination of massage and bath, I would be well enough to do the Heaphy track the next day (the Heaphy track is a much more challenging track than the Abel Tasman). She had a friend who did have a tub and called her, asking her if I could have a bath in her house. So, I was accepted and the woman drove me over to her friend's house. I paid 5 dollars for the water and sunk into the bath full of bath salts. I soaked for about 30 minutes, massaging my thigh and tendons, hoping for the best.

As I got out of the bath and returned to the living room, Jan, the host, offered to feed me. She had made too much food and asked me to join her for dinner. I accepted, feeling really lucky to have had not only a massage and a wonderful bath, but also spaghetti for dinner! Afterwards, we watched a little TV and Terry, her husband, drove me back to the backpackers. This is New Zealand, guys, generosity that extends beyond the norm. There are so many beautiful people in this world!

The next day, I went out to get some last minute things for the trip and I realized that I could barely walk. All my best intentions would not allow me to do the Heaphy track in that much pain. So I canceled the transportation and decided to postpone my trip to the Heaphy track until next month. I have faith that I'll be healthy enough to do it then. So I stayed one more night in Motueka and then took the bus to Westport, on the west coast of the South Island. I've been here every since, trying to take it easy and recuperate. I'm feeling a bit better, but still in pain. I will stay here until Monday and then head further south and see what new experiences are in store for me.

Keep reading, I have some firsts in Westport too!

Abel Tasman National Park - Day 2

2009-07-10T17:27:00.001-07:00

On day 2, I left Bark Bay Hut and headed towards Anchorage Hut. I could choose the high tide route or the low tide route. I chose the low tide route as it would shave an hour off my walk. And, as you can imagine, I was not keen to add time to my walk when I was carrying such a heavy bag. So with the low tide, the walk was to be an easy 3 hour walk. It took me 2 1/2 hours, which was pretty cool. It was a beautiful day. I was rewarded for the exhausting trek the day before with gorgeous weather.

Below: Video of Bark Bay in the daylight!

Not too far away from Bark Bay was Falls River and its accompanying swing bridge.

Below: Falls River, though there's not much of the "falls" in Falls River!

About three quarters of the way through the walk, you get to the top of a ridge and on your way down a steep path, Torrent Bay Village reveals itself to you. It's a beautiful little village where people actually have holiday homes. It's actually private property in the middle of Abel Tasman National Park. I'm not sure how that works, but let me tell you...I would so love to know these people.The houses were beautiful. I believe the only to get there is by boat, so it's car free. Sweeeeeet!

Torrent Bay Village

Torrent Bay

Once you cross the low tide path (and again get your feet wet), it is about a 10 minute walk to Anchorage Hut. Below, Anchorage Bay.

Anchorage Bay
Anchorage Bay

Warden Hut

As you can see above, the warden's hut has electricity through the use of solar power. All the houses in the park can have electricity only through such alternative means. It would be too difficult to put in power lines in the middle of the park and an eyesore to boot! Of course, the huts we stayed in had no such ammenities, your source of light either came from flashlights (or torches as they say here) or candles. Very cozy!!!!

End of day 2! See you next time for day 3 and the start of drama and why I'm now blogging instead of walking through the Heaphy Track.

Longtime - Salmonella Dub

2009-07-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

These guys are pretty cool. Tiki Taane used to be part of the group. This particular song is more reggae influenced than dub, but they have other songs that are more heavily influenced by dub. Check out their other vids when you get a chance

Abel Tasman National Park - Day 1

2009-07-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I'm back in touch earlier than originally planned. Long story which I will get to. But first...Abel Tasman National Park.

I set off on Sunday the 5th of July. I took a water taxi from Kaiteriteri to Totoranui, about 3/4 of the way through the park. Unbeknownst to me, the water taxi ride was also a tour, so they stopped at a few places along the way before dropping me off. So I got to see some cool things before beginning my trek!

Firstly, we stopped at Split Apple Rock, a slab of granite that split in half millions of years ago (if I remember correctly!) No one really knows how it split, there are different theories, including it splitting in the Ice Age after some water froze in a small crack leading to this phenomenon. Who knows! It's cool, though!

Split Apple Rock

We went on to Anchorage Bay where George, a local resident dolphin, likes to rub his belly against the bottom of the catamaran we were on(if you ever want to see him, take the Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle, he likes that catamaran the best and will always approach it).

Below: a video of George!

After we saw George, we went on to see a colony of fur seals on an island just off of the mainland. This colony is local and stays there pretty much year-round.

A couple of fur seals resting on the rocks

Following, the pleasant and unexpected little tour, I was dropped off at Totoranui and I started my trek south. Basically, the water taxi took us up the coast and I walked back toward Kaiteriteri to Marahau over three days and two nights. Below, day 1.

Below: The beginning of the trip

Below: Why Golden Bay is called Golden Bay

Golden Bay beaches

Before I'm dead tired

I believe this is a cormorant

Below: golden ferns match Golden Bay beaches

Below: Crossing Awaroa Estuary

Looking down on Awaroa beach

After the second low tide crossing, I had to walk up Tonga Hill...it was really steep with my pack and I had to concentrate on man-made irrigation ditches built into the track. I had to tell myself to get to one and then once I got there, I had to tell myself to get to the next one. If I had looked all the way up, I would have been so discouraged! Every time I started heading downwards, I thought the hike was over and then I'd be faced with another uphill battle. In truth, it's not a hard walk, but I haven't been very active physically in a long time and with the 20kg backpack, it was really quite hard on me and my shoulders!

Below: my relief at thinking my trek had come to an end for the day

It was not to be! I had another 30 minutes of walking to do after I filmed that video, but I was greeted by a little friend and that helped me get through the rest of the walk in near darkness. The sun sets around 5pm and by 5:30 there is very little light left, let alone in the forest!

Below: a fantail greets me

Well, that's it for day one! Stayed tuned for days 2 and 3. Beautiful sights yet to be seen!

Love Letter- Katchafire

2009-07-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

I like Katchafire's easy reggae. A good band when you come home from work, sit down on your couch, have a glass of red wine and unwind.

Goin' Trekkin'!

2009-07-04T02:36:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow, July 5th, I'm going tramping (trekking in Kiwi verbiage).

I'm going on the Abel Tasman great walk. I will not be able to do it all because it's winter and transportation is hard to find and extremely expensive, so I will have to take a water taxi from Marahau to Totaranui and then I will walk south from there. It will take 3 days and 2 nights. Below is a map of the Abel Tasman track.

Afterwards, I will stay for a night in Motueka and on the 8th I will go on another great walk, The Heaphy track. That will take 4 days and 4 nights. I will then be picked up at Kohaihai shelter and driven to Westport where I will have my first shower in 4 days! Wish me luck! I should come back to you all with tons of gorgeous pictures. See you in 7 days!

Below, the Heaphy track map.

Nelson

2009-07-04T02:14:00.000-07:00

Some images and small impressions of Nelson.

Pretty berry-filled plant on the side of the road

Anglican Church

Front of Anglican Church; strange and interesting bell tower!

Puzzle me and some backpackers did at The Bug backpackers (it took us 2 days and 2 nights, though I wasn't there that often!)

Below: My impressions on Kiwi homes

The Crossing

2009-07-02T00:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I did the crossing. I took the Interislander ferry from Wellington to Picton, port city in the South Island. I'm back on the road! What a good feeling!

The morning started brilliantly and promised a good crossing.

View from Wellington harbor out towards Cook's Strait

It's a three-hour crossing,the Cook's Strait, and I was a bit surprised to see bits of land during the entire trip. There are tons of little uninhabited islands dotting the seascape. And just as I was starting to doze off, we entered Queen Charlotte Sound and the colors were magnificent. Unfortunately, the camera couldn't give you a really good idea of the color of the water, but it was a deep turquoise. You wouldn't think that it could be cold with such a wonderful landscape, but it was quite nippy.

Here are some more photos I took as we passed through the Sound. Enjoy!

Below: video as we entered Queen Charlotte Sound, though I mentioned that it was Cook's Strait. My mistake!

Entering Picton Harbor

Tangaroa - Tiki Taane

2009-07-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with Tiki Taane's music the first moment I heard it. He is quite a strange character with very different styles of music that he incorporates into his album Past, Present, Future. This video shows his Maori roots. It's haunting.

John Bevan Ford and Julia Morison

2009-06-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

Back in January, when I was exploring Tauranga, I went to the Tauranga Art Gallery and they had an exhibition on two well-known Kiwi artists. Again, as with other parts of the country, it was free entry with the option of a donation, which makes me want to pay because I like being given the choice.

It took me two days to get through the exhibitions. There were others of Samoan artists, but the ones that impressed me the most were the Kiwi works.

I absolutely fell in love with John Bevan Ford's work. He believed in the land and it's mana, or prestige. He used a lot of Maori symbolism in his work and most importantly (in my perspective) he "painted" with such incredible detail that I would stand in front of one of his paintings for a good 10 minutes, just looking at the detail. He specialized in using felt pen and pencil to draw tiny little lines, kind of like pointilism (I think that's the word, where tiny little dots create an image once you've stepped back to take a broader look at it). He did that with tiny little squiggly lines and it awed me. My favorite painting, "Flying Clouds", is huge and amazing but I couldn't find a representation of it on the net. Below are some of his works.

John Bevan Ford

Also on exhibit were works by artist Julia Morison. She's quite interesting. I believe she has a background in design and you can see the exactness of her lines and the almost sterility of her approach to the work. I didn't feel the passion, but the discipline? Yes, very much. The particular exhibit was called Myriorama which was a card game played during the Victorian period. The idea is being able to join different panels together in a multitude of ways and have the pieces still fit together. An interesting concept (hopefully I understood it correctly).

Below, some of her work, though not the exact works from that exhibition. Same style, though.

Julia Morison

Wellington Sightseeing

2009-06-23T01:10:00.000-07:00

View of Wellington harbor from the top of Mount Victoria

Wellington: the capital of New Zealand, the home of Parliament and home to the country's most prominent art scene. As you've seen in previous entries, Te Papa Museum is located here, as well as a multitude of little night clubs where live bands play 7 days a week. There are several theaters where plays, operas and musicals are shown year round. And best of all, it's a walking city.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've gone on little trips with the help of Tim, a friend from work. He's taken me to the places that are not easily reached by foot. He's become my unofficial guide, showing me some cool places.

Below: a 360 degree look of Wellington from Mount Victoria

On the same afternoon, we drove out along the Miramar coast and stopped along the way to see William Massey's Romanesque monument. He was a Prime Minister of New Zealand once upon a time and one of the universities in Wellington is named after him.

Massey Monument

Last weekend Tim and I went out again for another day of sightseeing. It was fun! We first went to the War Memorial.

Below: Video of the War Memorial with commentary from Tim (sorry it's sideways, I forgot again!)

One of the many plaques inside the memorial; I thought it was beautiful

I love the carvings here

A statue commemorating all the people who helped save soldiers riding on a donkey in Gallipolli (I found the donkey thing kind of funny, but apparently that's the way it was done back then)

Entrance to the War Memorial

After the memorial, we headed off to Old St. Paul's church. It's really quite small and quaint.

Old St. Paul's

I love the inside...it's so organic and cozy with all the wooden beams. It reminded me of European architecture with the flying buttresses (hope I got that right!).

Inside Old St. Paul's

Tim had told me about St. Paul's cathedral, the new one. I figured it would be worth seeing how they modernized the above cathedral.

What an eyesore, eh? Just a big block of concrete painted in that awful salmon.

But, as we walked inside, there was a man playing the organ and it vibrated through the enormous space decorated a la Art Deco on the ceiling with more pastel. At the far end of the church there was an amazing mosaic called the dossal. I thought it was made with ceramic, but upon questioning the very kind and helpful pastor, I learned that it was made out of fabric pieces. I was entranced. It is beautiful. As I stood there, looking at it, the sun came out from behind clouds and illuminated the dossal. I felt a strange sense of peace and amazement. It was a very special moment. I stood there for about 5 minutes, watching the sunlight wax and wane upon this mosaic. Spirituality can be found in all places and it was strange for me to have found it in a church, having never been religious nor ever wanting to be. But why not, as well? If we can find it in nature, so can we in the things humans make regardless of the location.

The dossal

Across the street from St. Paul's cathedral is the Parliamentary buildings. The picture below is my favorite building because of the beauty of the stone they used.

Parliamentary Building

Close-up of the stone...gorgeous.

Below: video of the Parliamentary grounds

On the grounds, we found some Pohutukawa trees.

Below: Tim gives us a lesson on the flora of New Zealand

Pohutukawa in bloom; rare at this time of year. They usually bloom in December, which is why they are often referred to as the Christmas tree here in New Zealand.

After the Parliament, we decided to go to the Botanical Gardens, which is one of Wellington's crowning jewels. To be honest, I didn't understand the hype. It's not so much a cultivated garden as a kind of park where there are many native plants and trees scattered upon a mountain overlooking Wellington. It's a great place to go to for a picnic or a peaceful walk, but not really that special otherwise. There is an observatory and a planetarium there but they were closed when we went. There is also a rose garden where a cafe is located, but since it's now winter, most of the roses were not in bloom and we arrived too late to warm ourselves up with a hot chocolate. Everything closes early in New Zealand in winter. The cafe closed at 4:00p.m.

But we did discover a cool and strange plant. Tim didn't know what it was either.

Strange bulbous flower

Strange bulbous flower on the plant. The color, that purple (though it looks blue in this picture) reminded me of Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Kinda cool, really.

Random shot of a neighborhood seen from behind the Planetarium. I love that row of houses, each one a different color. Like smiling jack-o-lanterns.

Gorgeous sunset with sculpture by English sculptor Henry Moore

Me and sculpture; as you walked around it, it took on different shapes. Quite interesting.

Below: a silent film of Kiwi clouds. Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand, means Land of the Long White Cloud. I've always loved clouds, their ability to transform and show you images beyond our expectations. I've never been in a country where the clouds move as fast as they do in New Zealand, I guess because of the thinness of New Zealand, wind can cross the island very quickly and the clouds respond accordingly. Below, the clouds are moving at regular speed, but the colors are so magnificent that I wanted to share them with you. Perhaps one of you could write a Haiku in honor of this Kiwi dusk.

Tangi and Whanau

2009-06-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have spoiled myself with Maori and other Kiwi books over the past few months, wanting to understand the perspective, see the writing styles and learn about Maori customs from a literary stance.

Witi Ihimaera

I have written about my strong emotional reaction to The Bone People, now one of my favorite books of all time. Tangi and Whanau, two novels written by another influential Kiwi writer, Witi Ihimaera, are a good starting point on Maori-themed literature.

Tangi (definition: tears/crying or funeral) and Whanau (definition: family) are connected. Tangi was published first and tells the story of a young man who's lost his father and is realizing the extent of his love for his father and how his passing will affect his life to come. It is an excellent way to be introduced in the world of the Maori people. You live through the emotion of the loss, the customs and traditions of a Tangi and the meaning of what it is to be family.

Though Whanau was published later on, it actually takes place before Tangi, using the same characters, focusing on a wider community rather than on one individual. It shows the trials and tribulations of a community of people, from the same Iwi, and their struggle between the traditional way of life and modern Pakeha (white) ways of living. How the young move away and stop working the land and how the old are holding on to what they know was a sustainable way of life. It is actually a novel that could take place in any land in the sense that indigenous peoples around the world are struggling with these same issues. It is a global dilemna that is often only appreciated after things have gone beyond help.

If you get a chance to read Tangi or Whanau before The Bone People, I think it would help give you a foundation for Maori culture. They are easy and well written reads.

Te Papa Museum

2009-06-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Shani and I went to Te Papa Museum, New Zealand's premier national museum. It boasts 4 floors and houses all kinds of exhibitions including geographic, space and other natural exhibits. We were interested in the Maori section and so focused on that here.

A waka (canoe)

Intricate carvings

Close-up of guardian (fertile!)
Inside the waka

As I mentioned in previous entries, a marae is a meeting place, where the community gets together. It is made up of a series of buildings, including the wharenui (big house), the store house, the wharekai (eating house) and other smaller buildings.

Powhiris are done in front of the wharenui.

The Wharenui

Entrance to the Wharenui

Inside the wharenui (not many wharenuis have so much carving inside. Some Iwi have more carvings in their wharenui than others; it all depends on the skill and number of carvers in each Iwi. Some Iwi are better known for their warriors, others for their carving skills, others for their waka constructions etc...)

Close-up of one of the carvings (with abalone or paua used for the eyes)

Carvings on the backside indicative of mokos (tattoos) (see entry on Mitai Maori Village in Rotorua to see a real moko on a chief's body)

More carvings inside the wharenui

The storehouse, where food was stored for the Iwi; this one was donated by the Te Arawa Iwi; the size of the storehouse showed the mana (prestige) of the Iwi; this is a large one, which indicates the wealth of the Iwi.

Close-up of carving by the storehouse

After looking at the wharenui and the storehouse, we went to the Marae, the main entrance to the complex of buildings. Things in the museums are not set up in exactly the way things would be set up normally, but it gives you an idea of the different buildings found in Maraes. The marae at Te Papa is quite unique. They opted for a modern version of the traditional structure.

Modern Marae

Close-up of Modern Marae

Below: a video of the Marae

Below: a video of the sound of a conch used in traditional music; note the difference with the way Haitians have used it

Below: a series of different traditional Maori instruments and what they sound like

Below: using gourdes as instruments

I highly recommend going to Te Papa when in Wellington. It's a beautifully made museum, very modern and free! This is the first time I've gone to a museum that was free. They accept donations, though, so donate freely. There are many other exhibits to see, so I hope to return and see some of the other ones before leaving Wellington. Hope you enjoyed the abridged tour.

Feijoa

2009-05-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

Cuba St. Carnival

2009-05-24T23:19:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Wellington on February 18th. It's crazy to think that I've been in one place for three months and that I've already spent almost 9 full months in New Zealand. Time really does fly by...

I stayed at a backpacker's for almost 3 weeks, going through the same shock that I had gone through in Hastings. I'm really not the backpacker type of person. For one or two days, fine, but not more than 3 weeks in any one place. It's just too much for me. Since then I've found an apartment in Newtown, a cool neighborhood not far from downtown Wellington. I live with two guys in a duplex. I'm currently working at the regional hospital, cleaning in the Neurosurgery ward. It's a trippy place and my favorite time is spent speaking to patients and their families. I'm learning a lot about the brain and getting lots of advice on where to visit in the South Island (I'll be heading there in July).

Anyway, on the weekend of my arrival in Wellington there was a Carnival happening called the Cuba St. Carnival. It's put on every other year. So it was just pure luck that I was there at the right time. I wanted to check out the Kiwi version of "Carnival". It was certainly really interesting! I had a great time just watching and listening to all kinds of music. I also watched the whole parade. I think it was the first time in my life that I saw a parade from start to finish. Yes, I was actually one of those sad people waiting at the barriers so that I good get a good view.

That night there was a Southerly wind blowing and though February is still technically summer, it felt like an early winter. It's funny, when in the Southern hemisphere, that you would be happy to get a Northerly rather than a Southerly, it just seems wrong somehow!

Enjoy the pics and vids below.

Actress promoting a play (Manners Mall)

Skeleton walking the streets (Courtney Place)

Graffiti artist painting a city bus (I have since seen this bus riding through the streets. It's really cool!)

Ecuadorian Native Americans putting on a show (did they wear this type of clothing in Ecuador? Hmmm....)

Body painting (all the women were topless and only had a thong underwear on. You wouldn't know!)

During the parade; a couple simulating a bathroom scene (not sure how this relates to Carnival, but whatever makes them happy!)

Below: an alien ship during the parade

Below: Caribbean and Korean Drummers

Below: Dam Native (Maori old-school band) concert

Below: A Reggae-ton band, The Jinteros

Below: Spandex-clad chicks doing a synchronized dance

Below: ballgowns and flowers

Hope you enjoyed the show!

Random Surprises - Eating Worm

2009-05-21T00:05:00.000-07:00

This really has nothing to do with New Zealand except for the fact that I experienced my first Tequila worm in New Zealand. Kia Ora!

p.s. It was crunchy because when we extracted the worms, we weren't quite ready to eat them and so put them in the fridge! Bloody amateurs!

My First Powhiri

2009-05-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

My reason for returning to Hastings before heading south, apart from seeing Shani again and catching up, was to attend my first powhiri. A powhiri is a traditional ceremony that can be performed in many different contexts. In this one, I was invited by Shani to a powhiri celebrating the beginning of the university session at EIT (Eastern Institute of Technology). As I may have mentioned, Shani is studying Maori Policy in Te Reo Maori (in the Maori language). Much of the study she's told me about is learning more detail about her people's past traditions and concepts of government etc...

I was thrilled when Shani invited me to this ceremony. I had wanted to experience something authentic and not "touristy". There is something to say for the touristic experiences. They show you what the locals think are important in impressing the audience and in showing the most inspiring aspects of their culture, and it provides you with a rough base on what things used to be like. I was happy to have seen the ceremonial stuff in Rotorua, but I was even more excited to see the real stuff...what is being done today; how the Modern-day Maori embraces his or her history and puts forth the spirit in a world that has become so technologically oriented.

So here's my little journey. I now belong to a Marae. The name is Te Ara o Tawhaki (The Path of Tawhaki). The picture above shows my marae.

To explain how this is, you have to know that when you have never come onto a marae, there is a process that must be respected. Traditionally, though I believe that different Iwi (tribal groups) might have slightly different ways of proceeding, there will be one woman or a group of women on the marae grounds that will sing to you. In this case, they started the ceremony with the blowing of the conch and then the women sang. Basically what they are singing is a karanga, a welcome to the visitors onto their marae. As they sing, the visitors start walking through the threshold of the marae grounds.

From the visitors' perspective, one woman is chosen to represent us and responds in song, thanking the hosts for inviting us on the grounds. Women always enter the marae first because their song opens up the spiritual pathways. The men follow.

Then, in this case and because it is a school, the students did a haka for us.

Below: the woman welcoming us again after our representative thanked her, followed by a haka

Once inside the grounds, the men sit in front of the women. They are the protectors of the women (who are the bringers of life and the strongest link to the spiritual world) and they also do the speaking during the meeting or "hui".

After all the talks, the visitors approach the hosts and we hongi or kiss, it's up to the host to determine what will be done. I was really nervous because I didn't know what to do when, especially because I was to find out that everyone had their own system! I did a hongi with most of the men and kissed the cheek of most of the women.

The hongi (which is basically joining the foreheads and noses and the breathing in of each other's breath) can be done in many ways, I was to find out. Some people closed their eyes, some looked at me until our noses touched (making me cross-eyed), some wrinkled their noses as they approached me (with a smile, it was quite cute, actually). It was so varied, but it was always, the holding out of the right hand for clasping, the other hand holding the right arm as a kind of steadying and then the foreheads touching followed by the noses touching.

I must have hongied at least 20 people. It was really exciting, a bit scary (because I didn't want to screw up), but mostly quietly spiritual. It was beautiful.

People giving each other the hongi or kissing

After the hongi, we were invited into a hall for refreshments. In case you haven't noticed yet, kai(food) is a huge part of the Maori traditional lifestyle and that suits me just fine! All ceremonies are followed by the breaking of bread, so to speak. It's a way of bringing everyone together.

So as we walked into the hall, we were greeted by a song from all the students encouraging us to eat.

They stopped singing and with my plate of food I approached Shani to tell her about my experience and she smiled at me and they all started singing again! It was a really funny thing because I didn't expect it at all. Me and my little faux-pas!

Below: the singing encouraging us to break bread. There's Shani on the far left in the black t-hirt!

You may have noticed that they were saying "Haere Mai" which means welcome.

That's it! After that we ate and chatted and we left. It was a very cool experience. You would have had to be there to get the full effect, I was so afraid of offending that I didn't record or take pictures of nearly as much as I saw or experienced. (I'm gonna need to get over that shyness someday, especially when I've been given the green light to shoot all I want!)

See you next time!

Tirau

2009-05-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

After traveling down from Northland by bus (this is back in February, sorry I'm so behind!), I arrived in Auckland. Shani and her niece were there to pick me up. We stayed at Amber's place for the night (a very sweet girl with a young daughter and partner)and left for Hastings the next morning.

As we traveled through the middle of the North Island, we passed by Tirau, a small town known for its corrugated-iron creations. Shani was kind enough to stop the car so I could take a few pictures. There are more creations throughout the town but it was not on our path so I'll just tease you with what I saw. Perhaps one day someone else will post pictures of other creations they will have seen.

This is the information site, how cute is that!