Salutations from the City-Most-Recently-Shook in the Shakey Isles,
That’s right, we’ve made it across the Southern Alps and onto the South Island’s east coast! The last two weeks have been spent cruising around in BAY339 and settling down at various campsites.
We spent a couple of nights (Feb 6, 7 & 8) at a campsite in Kahurangi National Park: probably the most spectacular views yet (although the campsite at Aurther’s Pass gives it a run for it’s money…). The campsite was located in Cobb River Valley which has a river/lake/reservoir running through the middle of it and 360 views of mountain peaks. We had a few friendly neighbors but mostly we spend the days relaxing in the tent (sitting outside was basically offering yourself up as a sacrifice to the sandflies) and exploring the valley and the ridgeline above on foot.
The next stop was Marble Hill campsite at Spring Junction where we spent Stu’s 23rd birthday!! I can’t say that the day was anything super special as we spent most of it driving around looking for pottery studios that all happened to be closed! Although we didn’t find any pottery, we did find a second hand store in Murchison where we were able to find some indestructible cutlery! Back story: We started our travels with 2 plastic REI sporks and a wooden spoon that Stu carved out of drift wood we found on the beach. Over the course of about a week, I managed to snap both sporks in half while trying to get peanut butter out of the jar. That’s right, I broke our only 2 eating utensils in the exact same way on two separate occasions. To celebrate the new cutlery and Stu’s 23rd year of life…We made a pretty amazing burrito dinner (no utensils necessary). We also splurged on some BEER, which is actually a pretty big deal for us in these times of camping, but you only turn 23 once! Marble Hill wasn’t really anything special, especially after the gorgeous campsite we just left, but we had a nice evening and slept pretty well.
After a breakfast of apple crumble (we were too full to eat Stu’s birthday dessert after those burritos, so we saved it for breakfast the next morning…it’s kind of like oatmeal with fruit!) we packed up the car and headed off to Greymouth. We were having a bit of car trouble at the time….not anything major just a few incidents of the car acting funny when we had put a lot of stress on the vehicle (driving for 3+ hrs, driving up a large hill). Anyway, we weren’t TOO worried but we wanted to get it checked before crossing the Southern Alps. The garage where we took it seemed to think the problem was that the fuel filter needed to be cleaned…so we did that and since then no trouble at all! (touch wood) While waiting for the car to get fixed we had a nice walk around the city and went on a tour of Monteith’s Brewery! Greymouth was a nice enough town, though it felt a bit patchy: industrial in places right next to the main, touristy downtown. We did catch it on a beautiful day though. We also met our first North Carolina family….long story there but we hope to meet up with the UNC undergrad now living in Dunedin once we get there!
After a lovely night in a real bed (Feb 10), we woke up refreshed and ready to take on the West Coast highways. This section of Highway 6 really is as beautiful as everyone says it is: amazing views of the ocean to the west including incredible rock formations among the crashing waves and beautiful hills and agricultural landscapes to the east. That day (Feb 11) we drove up to Punakaiki (pancake rocks and blowholes). I wanted to walk around and take pictures with maple syrup and forks and knives but…after some resistance from Stuart we decided just to talk the trail with just our camera. We were there at lowtide so we didn’t really get to see the blowholes going off but the rock formations were pretty cool. Plus the drive along was worth it…that night we camped at a more typical campsite called Lake Mahinapua. It was full of motor homes and old people but incredibly and wonderfully devoid of sandflies. That and the bounty of short, easy walking trails made for an easy decision to stay two nights (Feb 11 & 12). It was so lovely just to actually be able to sit out in our camping chairs after dinner or in the afternoon sunshine and really enjoy being still in the fresh air.
On Feb 13, we woke up to a grey and rainy day, which can actually be quite nice from time to time but not so much when you are packing up gear. Luckily the rain tapered off to just heavy cloud cover around midmorning and we used with window of relative dryness to explore a town very near to our campsite: Hokitika. This place is supposed to be one of the centers of pounamu (greenstone) carvings so we walked around town looking at different galleries and shops full of pendants and jewelry and other crafts. No purchases yet…we still have at least 6 months to try and find a bit of greenstone to take with us.
From Hokitika the course was eastward and upward and we climbed up through the Southern Alps. I’m quite sure we drove past some really incredible views but the clouds were so thick around the mountains that you couldn’t see much apart from the road. The heavy rain did have one advantage though: it awoke and enlivened a thousand little roadside waterfalls that sung to us and cheered us on as we climbed and climbed. Finally we reached the highest point of the pass and after winding through a number of little villages we came to our campsite for the night: Andrew’s Shelter. As we drove the 5ks or so down a little gravel road off the main highway we passed hundreds and hundreds of sheep…were it not for the DOC sign directing us I would have thought we had driven onto someone’s farm by accident! This area is definitely in the running for #1 best south island campsite (from our experiences): the views were incredible, walking trails abound, plenty of sheep everywhere to scare as you try to take photos of them…over all a really amazing sight and a place I was happy to spend two nights! (Feb 13 & 14).
As you may notice, we stayed at this campsite for the day and night of Februrary 14., which is of course Valentines Day. As I said in a recent email to my dad when he enquired about Valentine’s Day: “Stu and I were actually camping near Arthur's Pass (one of three passes through the South Alps on NZ's South Island) and we both completely forgot that it was Valentine's Day! We were so deeply absorbed in the moment (camping, hiking, relaxing, taking in the amazing views, enjoying each other's company) that we didn't even take note of the date! I guess I can't complain though: what more could you ask for than being immersed in nature's beauty in the company of your significant other, enjoying yourselves to the point of forgetting what day it is?”
Next stop after Arthur’s Pass was Christchurch or CHCH as Alice has taught me. I can’t believe we’ve spent 5 days here…it doesn’t feel like that long! It’s been a nice break from camping—I love being able to go for a run and shower afterwards or enjoy the benefits of refrigeration! We have spent quite a lot of time just relaxing and catching up on emails and planning our time with upcoming visitors (the Curme family, April Kirby, Michael Johnston!) but we’ve also spent a lot of time just wandering around the city in the botanical gardens, art center, and art museum. Besides hanging out with Alice and her roomies, we also met up with some Scottish friends we met in Napier and their kiwi friends, which was really great! We had lunch in town one day and then did a bit of surfing out in Sumner. Their friend Riley is a real surfer and managed to get together enough gear for the five of us to have a lovely afternoon/evening of playing around in the waves. We also met up with Helen Thomas (GV 08) and her beaux Craig from drinks and rugby watching (though we didn’t really watch much rugby…) at a pub near Alice’s house last night—it was great to catch up and laugh and meet her new man! Alice and her roommates has been VERY kind to house us for so long (we’ve been here all weekend and Alice isn’t even here!) and I’m sure they’ll be relieved to have their house to back to normal as we say goodbye and head even further south today with three in the car! Michael Johnston flew in yesterday and we are taking him along for a week of touring the SE corner of the south island!
So farewell Chch….looking forward to meeting you Dunedin!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Abel Tasman: what a beauty!
Hello from sunny and WARM Takaka!!
I write to you today from a cafe in little artsy/hippie town west of Abel Tasman park. Stu is off in search of potters and pottery while I am doing all our communicating with the outside world and enjoying a lovely cup of coffee.
We have spent the last 5 days in Abel Tasman park doing quite a bit of hiking. For those who care/know the track we started at Totaranui and went towards the inland track up Gibbs Hill (which felt like a mountain) and then curved around to follow the inland track all the way back to Marahua. The terrain was surprisingly hilly for a costal track (especially at the northern end) but BEAUTIFUL. The views were incredible and every day we passed 2 or 3 beautiful bays with incredible views of the ocean, the sky, and the marine wildlife. This was Stu's first big backpacking trip (4 nights is quite a big leap from car camping) but he did amazingly well and even came to enjoy himself towards the end of it. ;-) Each night on either end of the park we slept at a beautiful valley campsite called Old MacDonald's farm, just 1km from the park's entrance where we had lots of space and showers and flushing toilets.
I could write for hours about all the amazing things we saw and did (we saw a pod of dolphins jumping out of the water off the coast of our campsite; we saw a little penguin swimming about in a bay; we saw a seal colonies; we saw incredible tidal changes and even walked across whole bays and inlets which were covered by water just minutes before we walked on the bare sand; we saw beautiful sunsets every night from the campsites.....) and in fact I have written it all in my own personal journal but unfortunately I don't have very much time left on the internet!
After Stu finishes up his pottery tour we are on the road again for a little campsite called Cobb River and then...who knows! The plan is always changing but we hope to spend lots of time camping and swimming and hiking and a little bit of time driving around to new places, cities, campsites. Only 4 weeks left until the Curme family arrives in Queenstown!!
We'll post again when we can. Don't worry we are happy and safe and living it up! Take care everyone! To all our friends in the US: watch out for that snow!
I write to you today from a cafe in little artsy/hippie town west of Abel Tasman park. Stu is off in search of potters and pottery while I am doing all our communicating with the outside world and enjoying a lovely cup of coffee.
We have spent the last 5 days in Abel Tasman park doing quite a bit of hiking. For those who care/know the track we started at Totaranui and went towards the inland track up Gibbs Hill (which felt like a mountain) and then curved around to follow the inland track all the way back to Marahua. The terrain was surprisingly hilly for a costal track (especially at the northern end) but BEAUTIFUL. The views were incredible and every day we passed 2 or 3 beautiful bays with incredible views of the ocean, the sky, and the marine wildlife. This was Stu's first big backpacking trip (4 nights is quite a big leap from car camping) but he did amazingly well and even came to enjoy himself towards the end of it. ;-) Each night on either end of the park we slept at a beautiful valley campsite called Old MacDonald's farm, just 1km from the park's entrance where we had lots of space and showers and flushing toilets.
I could write for hours about all the amazing things we saw and did (we saw a pod of dolphins jumping out of the water off the coast of our campsite; we saw a little penguin swimming about in a bay; we saw a seal colonies; we saw incredible tidal changes and even walked across whole bays and inlets which were covered by water just minutes before we walked on the bare sand; we saw beautiful sunsets every night from the campsites.....) and in fact I have written it all in my own personal journal but unfortunately I don't have very much time left on the internet!
After Stu finishes up his pottery tour we are on the road again for a little campsite called Cobb River and then...who knows! The plan is always changing but we hope to spend lots of time camping and swimming and hiking and a little bit of time driving around to new places, cities, campsites. Only 4 weeks left until the Curme family arrives in Queenstown!!
We'll post again when we can. Don't worry we are happy and safe and living it up! Take care everyone! To all our friends in the US: watch out for that snow!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Windy Welly & Goodbye Wally!
Greetings from the Southern-most city in NZ’s North Island!
That’s right, Stu and I have finally made it out of Napier!! We enjoyed three very pleasant months in Hawke’s Bay but 13 weeks just seemed like TOO MANY so we packed up and hit the road, with an Italian in tow (at least for the first leg of the journey).
To wrap up stories of our life in Napier: January was much like December. Stu and I both worked heaps and rarely saw each other because of opposite work schedules (he worked days at the kiwi orchard while I worked mostly nights at the restaurant). BUT we did manage to enjoy the free time that we (independently) had with all the friends we made at Wally’s. Again: lots of beach time, lots of waterfall time, lots of birthdays & birthday celebrations, lots of adult beverages, lots of good reading. Stu also spent lots of time at the studio where we has teaching a wheel throwing workshop and getting things organized for a big wood-fire kiln he’s going back to help fire at the end of March. I also got to spend a lot of time speaking Spanish with the six Argentines who arrived at Wally’s on Christmas Day.
Which brings us to Tuesday January 25, 2011, a day of great progress for Maggie and Stuart. On this sunny day we packed up our little station wagon with all our belongings and those of our friend Alessandro and we drove down the NZ 2 in search of urban life in the form of WELLINGTON. For how many people live in the city (I think it’s less than 200,000 in the proper Wellington city limits) this city feels super urban. When we walk out of our hostel and down the hill to Willis St. we are smack in the middle of a swarm of fast moving, well dressed people who walk quickly past shops, cafes (so many cafes!), restaurants, government buildings, museums…you name it, they have it in Wellington. So far I think we have done pretty well for taking advantage of all that the city has to offer. We have been up to see the botanical gardens (on foot! Not by cable car). We have been to Te Papa (actually as amazing as people say it is—and free). Stu also went to the Wellington City & Sea Museum (not as good as Te Papa—I opted to go on a photo walking tour instead). We have been to the Beehive and on a tour of Parliament. We have been out to eat Malaysian food (a first for me). I have had some pretty delicious coffee (probably enough for me and Stu both). Throw in a lot of walking around, some eating and sleeping and you pretty much understand what we’ve been up to in Wellington.
OH! We also ran into some Wally’s folks, not more than 20 minutes after arriving in the city. They were passing through on their way to a festival in Nelson and we caught them on our one afternoon of overlap in Wellington. As I keep telling everyone in my goodbyes: “it is a small country!”
Well that’s all for now. We only have a little more time left here in Wellington and I want to go enjoy it! Tomorrow morning, we head onto the ferry and across the Cook Strait!! Here’s hoping for calm seas and no seasickness… We (I) will try to do blog updates frequently from the South Island as I am thinking (hoping) that our life will be a little more exciting on the road. BUT Stu and I will be spending most of the next six weeks in campgrounds and National Parks so the regularity with which we have internet access may not be so….regular. If you don’t hear from us DON’T WORRY we’re just off hiking in the mountains or relaxing at the beach somewhere. We will tell you all about it eventually.
That’s right, Stu and I have finally made it out of Napier!! We enjoyed three very pleasant months in Hawke’s Bay but 13 weeks just seemed like TOO MANY so we packed up and hit the road, with an Italian in tow (at least for the first leg of the journey).
To wrap up stories of our life in Napier: January was much like December. Stu and I both worked heaps and rarely saw each other because of opposite work schedules (he worked days at the kiwi orchard while I worked mostly nights at the restaurant). BUT we did manage to enjoy the free time that we (independently) had with all the friends we made at Wally’s. Again: lots of beach time, lots of waterfall time, lots of birthdays & birthday celebrations, lots of adult beverages, lots of good reading. Stu also spent lots of time at the studio where we has teaching a wheel throwing workshop and getting things organized for a big wood-fire kiln he’s going back to help fire at the end of March. I also got to spend a lot of time speaking Spanish with the six Argentines who arrived at Wally’s on Christmas Day.
Which brings us to Tuesday January 25, 2011, a day of great progress for Maggie and Stuart. On this sunny day we packed up our little station wagon with all our belongings and those of our friend Alessandro and we drove down the NZ 2 in search of urban life in the form of WELLINGTON. For how many people live in the city (I think it’s less than 200,000 in the proper Wellington city limits) this city feels super urban. When we walk out of our hostel and down the hill to Willis St. we are smack in the middle of a swarm of fast moving, well dressed people who walk quickly past shops, cafes (so many cafes!), restaurants, government buildings, museums…you name it, they have it in Wellington. So far I think we have done pretty well for taking advantage of all that the city has to offer. We have been up to see the botanical gardens (on foot! Not by cable car). We have been to Te Papa (actually as amazing as people say it is—and free). Stu also went to the Wellington City & Sea Museum (not as good as Te Papa—I opted to go on a photo walking tour instead). We have been to the Beehive and on a tour of Parliament. We have been out to eat Malaysian food (a first for me). I have had some pretty delicious coffee (probably enough for me and Stu both). Throw in a lot of walking around, some eating and sleeping and you pretty much understand what we’ve been up to in Wellington.
OH! We also ran into some Wally’s folks, not more than 20 minutes after arriving in the city. They were passing through on their way to a festival in Nelson and we caught them on our one afternoon of overlap in Wellington. As I keep telling everyone in my goodbyes: “it is a small country!”
Well that’s all for now. We only have a little more time left here in Wellington and I want to go enjoy it! Tomorrow morning, we head onto the ferry and across the Cook Strait!! Here’s hoping for calm seas and no seasickness… We (I) will try to do blog updates frequently from the South Island as I am thinking (hoping) that our life will be a little more exciting on the road. BUT Stu and I will be spending most of the next six weeks in campgrounds and National Parks so the regularity with which we have internet access may not be so….regular. If you don’t hear from us DON’T WORRY we’re just off hiking in the mountains or relaxing at the beach somewhere. We will tell you all about it eventually.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Finding adventure in everyday life
I want to start this blog post with a little ramble that attempts to capture a feeling I’ve been struggling with over the month of December. With so much left to see in NZ and lots of our hostel friends moving on in the last few weeks…I’ve been feeling a bit restless lately. I sometimes feel like this trip isn’t THE BIG ADVENTURE that I thought it should be. But this truth is…that it IS. Everyday’s little adventures plus some big events really do add up to a BIG ADVENTURE. The trouble lies in taking note of all the little things that add up to something big…. I always forget how quickly time can pass if you forget to pay attention to life’s beautiful details, so carefully hidden in mundane occurrences of everyday life. For example, while walking, biking or driving to work at Milk & Honey it is so easy to let the sea, ever present on my path, go unnoticed. I had a week or two in early December where I did just this…everyday I would walk with my headphones on, occasionally glancing at the ocean but not really taking it in. I was not really appreciating the gorgeous shades of blue and green or listening to the rhythmic sounds of the waves or the melody of the wind. I think I was distracted by being tired after a long shift or in anticipation of the shift to come. Of course, the feelings of homesickness and worrying about whether or not I should just be back in the states…you know taking a more traditional post-college path...didn’t help either. It was especially hard during Bill’s time of sickness and his quick decline. Or perhaps it was just the restless feelings. The little voice in my head was saying: hell if I’m here I should be off skydiving and bungee jumping or seeing new towns and new parks everyday. But then I had a wake up call. One day in December (actually the same day as Bill’s funeral) I was on my to work when I saw a pod of orca whales (maybe 4 or 5) swimming along the beach in front of Milk & Honey. I had never seen anything like that before and it reminded me that even though Stu and I have settled for a little while in Napier—a not-too-exciting town, far away from all that we have known prior to Sept 2010-- it doesn’t mean that noteworthy occurrences and adventures have to be a thing of the past. You just have to be willing to notice these things and let yourself get caught up in the daily opportunities for adventure. There are endless things to see and do and experience in any given place, and as long as you use your leisure time toget out there and see new things you will find it’s “worth it” to be wherever you are.
Adventures in December include: a wine tour (for Maggie) with Jo, day hikes with new friends, lots of surfing (for Stu) with Justin, LOTS of trips to the waterfalls near Ocean Beach, lots of trips to the beach (Waiputiki and OceanBeach), culinary experiments (Christmas cookies, broccoli soup), going to the Thirsty Whale…and just walking around Napier. Just seeing the flowers bloom and the waves roll in and the gorgeous birds that are everywhere around here. EVERY DAY is an adventure if you will just let it be.In other news: Christma 
s happened. It felt like someone was playing a joke on us because the weather was HOT and SUNNY and it felt like summer. (Actually..it is summer). I did make Christmas cookies with a German friend in an effort to get in the “Christmas spirit” but ultimately we all decided not to try and recreate something that would feel empty and forced….instead everyone at the hostel celebrated in their own way. Stu & I started with a big breakfast (NZ style—complete with their weird Canadian-ham-type bacon and bakes beans on top). Next, a stop at the waterfalls where we both jumped heaps and Stu did a back flip off the waterfall bit in a santa hat!!! Check out facebook for more photos of this. Next stop was Ocean Beach where we napped and snacked and made snowmen out of sand. It was so funny to see little Christmas trees and santa hats all over the beach….We finished up the day with some sausages on the grill (complete with German style fried onions on top) and salad and guacamole on the side. Probably not a day that we’ll ever be able to recreate and not what I would have imagined for a Christmas celebration but an AWESOME day nonetheless. 
s happened. It felt like someone was playing a joke on us because the weather was HOT and SUNNY and it felt like summer. (Actually..it is summer). I did make Christmas cookies with a German friend in an effort to get in the “Christmas spirit” but ultimately we all decided not to try and recreate something that would feel empty and forced….instead everyone at the hostel celebrated in their own way. Stu & I started with a big breakfast (NZ style—complete with their weird Canadian-ham-type bacon and bakes beans on top). Next, a stop at the waterfalls where we both jumped heaps and Stu did a back flip off the waterfall bit in a santa hat!!! Check out facebook for more photos of this. Next stop was Ocean Beach where we napped and snacked and made snowmen out of sand. It was so funny to see little Christmas trees and santa hats all over the beach….We finished up the day with some sausages on the grill (complete with German style fried onions on top) and salad and guacamole on the side. Probably not a day that we’ll ever be able to recreate and not what I would have imagined for a Christmas celebration but an AWESOME day nonetheless.
For now I am working lots at Milk & Honey as things just keep getting busier there. Stu is on a bit of a break from the kiwis and is using the time to get back into the swing of things at the pottery studio. He is teaching a wheel throwing workshop (!!!) there in January so he’s focusing on that for the time being. And of course in all the time that we’re not at work, we’re busying getting caught up in adventures.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Gobble Gobble
I should start this blog post by saying that Thanksgiving is absolutely my favorite holiday, so I was a little intimidated by my own expectations for recreating this amazing day in New Zealand. BUT it turned out to be the absolute best foreign Thanksgiving I could ask for. All us Americans know Thanksgiving is about three things: food, people and being thankful for both so I have dedicated all of the below words to explaining how I had an amazing day complete with excellent food, excellent people, and a whole lot of gratitude.
I’ll start with the food…It took one full day of cooking plus a day of shopping and prep but IT WAS NOT IN VAIN! Stu and I with the help of our friends Laura, Rhian, and especially Jo, made a really freakin’ delicious meal for24 happy travelers. There was enough food for everyone to be properly (over)full (1 big plate plus seconds for most). It was a pretty traditional meal with all the standard dishes but everything was just right, despite some stretches to find ingredient substitutes.
MEAT: We cooked both a turkey & chicken for our main meats. We did both cooked in the oven (with oven bags—thanks to June's advice!) with a few veggies floating around and salt/pepper/olive oil for seasoning. The turkey and the chicken were actually both about the same size (3 kilos or 6ish pounds) and they took 2 hours and 45 min to cook. At the last minute we bought 2 pre-cooked (little) chickens from the grocery store to supplement…which ended up being a good idea. We also had gravy made from the pan juices AND cranberry sauce which our German friend Laura found at the grocery store! We spent ages looking for fresh cranberries and had sort of given up on the idea of making cranberry sauce but on the day of the feast Laura found some jars of it in the international section at Pack’n Save. The cranberry sauce definitely madethe meal complete.
SIDES: For sides we had two different kids of stuffing (one was a Stu’s mom’s pork sausage and cornbread stuffing recipe) and the other was a variation of a recipe got from Sarah Helinek (bread, chicken stock, celery, onion…+ the turkey giblets…that was my Brittish friend Jo’s addition and it was actually really tasty). We also had mashed potatoes that used sour cream, cream cheese, milk, butter, cheddar cheese, chives, and garlic—sort of an amalgamation of recipes (my brother Jon and Stu’s mom). Then we had sweet potato casserole complete with marshmallows on top (epicurous). The next casserole was a green bean casserole with a cornflake/cheese topping (epicurous + creative input). And of course, to round it all out: rolls and salad (apples, cheddar cheese and Mikaela’s salad dressing which I love on the salad). OH and of course we had asparagus. Stu and Kong and Heho had done some asparagus harvesting just that morning and Kong was kind enough to cook us all that they brought home with an Asian sauce and bacon. Though not a traditional Thanksgiving dish, it was definitely fitting given how much asparagus has been part of our life here in Napier.
DESSERTS: For dessert we had pumpkin pie (four of them, each nicely divided into 6 slices) and a BIG cranberry-apple crumble (or casserole depending on if it’s served as a side or a dessert). Stu’s familynormally serves it as a side dish but we ran out of oven space for the main meal…regardless of it’s order of appearance in the meal it was AMAZING and the dried cranberries we used turned out to be just as delicious as fresh ones. Oh and we had vanilla ice cream to go with thedesserts. It was pretty funny to watch everyone eat at this point because everyone was already full (as they should be) but also couldn't let the dessert on their plate go to waste....I heard about 15 different people say "there's no way I can eat this" and then proceed to all but lick the plate clean.
Now onto the people. I should start by saying that we live in a hostel with about 75 people. Obviously, it is impossible to cook for 75 and I have to say it was difficult to narrow things down to 24. Anyway, that aside, it was a wonderful group complete with all the nationalities I’ve mentioned before. I think we had 2 Mexicans, 6 Germans, 2 Americans, 2 Scottish, 1 Malaysian, 1 Korean, 1 Czech, and perhaps 9 Brits? Definitely a disproportionate number of Brittish people…Everyone who ate with us was a long term traveler, so someone we've known for at least a month now and who we will continue to live with through Christmas or the end of January. Out of all those people only 1 had ever eaten a Thanksgiving dinner before (1 of the Mex
ican guys lived in America for a few years with his family) so being able to share a first Thanksgiving with 21 new friends was a pretty cool experience.
As for appreciating both of these things… I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am. Stu gave a really nice speech at the beginning of the meal. I can’t remember exactly what he said but he talked about being grateful for all that we have and he asked everyone to take a minute of silence to recognized how lucky all of us were to be in a foreign country so far from home, but in each other’s company. I know that the biological family that you grow up with is perhaps the only constant family, but it seems to me that if you are open and honest you can find family almost anywhere you go. I am so lucky to be apart of so many families at this point in my life. I have my Curme family, my Bowles family, my Craft family, my Howe family, my Georgetown family, my Gwynn Valley family…and now Stu and I are a part of this Napier family that is forming. It is made up of travelers so I perhaps this family will not be as permanent as the others, but however transient it may be, it was our family for Thanksgiving 2010 and I am grateful to have shared it with them.
I’ll start with the food…It took one full day of cooking plus a day of shopping and prep but IT WAS NOT IN VAIN! Stu and I with the help of our friends Laura, Rhian, and especially Jo, made a really freakin’ delicious meal for24 happy travelers. There was enough food for everyone to be properly (over)full (1 big plate plus seconds for most). It was a pretty traditional meal with all the standard dishes but everything was just right, despite some stretches to find ingredient substitutes.
MEAT: We cooked both a turkey & chicken for our main meats. We did both cooked in the oven (with oven bags—thanks to June's advice!) with a few veggies floating around and salt/pepper/olive oil for seasoning. The turkey and the chicken were actually both about the same size (3 kilos or 6ish pounds) and they took 2 hours and 45 min to cook. At the last minute we bought 2 pre-cooked (little) chickens from the grocery store to supplement…which ended up being a good idea. We also had gravy made from the pan juices AND cranberry sauce which our German friend Laura found at the grocery store! We spent ages looking for fresh cranberries and had sort of given up on the idea of making cranberry sauce but on the day of the feast Laura found some jars of it in the international section at Pack’n Save. The cranberry sauce definitely madethe meal complete.
SIDES: For sides we had two different kids of stuffing (one was a Stu’s mom’s pork sausage and cornbread stuffing recipe) and the other was a variation of a recipe got from Sarah Helinek (bread, chicken stock, celery, onion…+ the turkey giblets…that was my Brittish friend Jo’s addition and it was actually really tasty). We also had mashed potatoes that used sour cream, cream cheese, milk, butter, cheddar cheese, chives, and garlic—sort of an amalgamation of recipes (my brother Jon and Stu’s mom). Then we had sweet potato casserole complete with marshmallows on top (epicurous). The next casserole was a green bean casserole with a cornflake/cheese topping (epicurous + creative input). And of course, to round it all out: rolls and salad (apples, cheddar cheese and Mikaela’s salad dressing which I love on the salad). OH and of course we had asparagus. Stu and Kong and Heho had done some asparagus harvesting just that morning and Kong was kind enough to cook us all that they brought home with an Asian sauce and bacon. Though not a traditional Thanksgiving dish, it was definitely fitting given how much asparagus has been part of our life here in Napier.
DESSERTS: For dessert we had pumpkin pie (four of them, each nicely divided into 6 slices) and a BIG cranberry-apple crumble (or casserole depending on if it’s served as a side or a dessert). Stu’s familynormally serves it as a side dish but we ran out of oven space for the main meal…regardless of it’s order of appearance in the meal it was AMAZING and the dried cranberries we used turned out to be just as delicious as fresh ones. Oh and we had vanilla ice cream to go with thedesserts. It was pretty funny to watch everyone eat at this point because everyone was already full (as they should be) but also couldn't let the dessert on their plate go to waste....I heard about 15 different people say "there's no way I can eat this" and then proceed to all but lick the plate clean.
Now onto the people. I should start by saying that we live in a hostel with about 75 people. Obviously, it is impossible to cook for 75 and I have to say it was difficult to narrow things down to 24. Anyway, that aside, it was a wonderful group complete with all the nationalities I’ve mentioned before. I think we had 2 Mexicans, 6 Germans, 2 Americans, 2 Scottish, 1 Malaysian, 1 Korean, 1 Czech, and perhaps 9 Brits? Definitely a disproportionate number of Brittish people…Everyone who ate with us was a long term traveler, so someone we've known for at least a month now and who we will continue to live with through Christmas or the end of January. Out of all those people only 1 had ever eaten a Thanksgiving dinner before (1 of the Mex
ican guys lived in America for a few years with his family) so being able to share a first Thanksgiving with 21 new friends was a pretty cool experience.
As for appreciating both of these things… I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am. Stu gave a really nice speech at the beginning of the meal. I can’t remember exactly what he said but he talked about being grateful for all that we have and he asked everyone to take a minute of silence to recognized how lucky all of us were to be in a foreign country so far from home, but in each other’s company. I know that the biological family that you grow up with is perhaps the only constant family, but it seems to me that if you are open and honest you can find family almost anywhere you go. I am so lucky to be apart of so many families at this point in my life. I have my Curme family, my Bowles family, my Craft family, my Howe family, my Georgetown family, my Gwynn Valley family…and now Stu and I are a part of this Napier family that is forming. It is made up of travelers so I perhaps this family will not be as permanent as the others, but however transient it may be, it was our family for Thanksgiving 2010 and I am grateful to have shared it with them.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
spargel, espárrago, asparago (ASPARAGUS!)
I’m writing to you again from Napier, and I don’t think it will be the last post from here either! Stu and I are starting to find a rhythm to the life here and it’s starting to feel more comfortable every day.
Job updates: Right now we are both harvesting asparagus 3-4 mornings each week with 4 other people from our hostel (2 Mexicans, 1 Korean, 1 Malaysian). This is something at least, but barely enough to cover rent so we’ve been looking for other things too. So far Stu has found pottery (obviously no income yet, but there is a good chance of selling things in the shop attached to his studio) and I have found a job at a café called Milk & Honey. It is a very cool café-independently owned and sort of eco-themed and pretty upscale, right on the beach. I think I will get on there pretty well. In general, things are pretty slow here in Napier on the job front….the restaurant business has not yet picked up for the summer rush and all the rain we’ve been getting has pushed back the start dates for a lot of the orchard work. We’re hoping that I’ll get lots of hours at the café (and if not perhaps a night time bar tender/waitress job to supplement) and that Stu will pick up either a full time orchard job or a restaurant job sometime in the next week or 2. Work is obviously good for the money but it’s also nice for meeting people and having a sense of purpose and structure to our time here. (Look at me, always trying to structure things…)
Life update: Life outside jobs is pretty awesome. It seems everyone (okay…most of the people) staying at our hostel are pretty cool. Like I said before we’ve got people from lots of different countries (Mexico, France, Malaysia, Korea, Germany, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada…) though Germany clearly dominates. Even as I write this, I am listening to a French guy try to explain to a Mexican guy about how to kill and cook a pig (something he did recently on a WWOOFing experience), both of them using a language that is not native to them (English). I love hostels. Most people staying here are above average cooks (with a couple full-fledged chefs!) so there is lots of cooking and meal sharing, which I love. Just today I made my own bread (an Italian recipe that I got by way of my German friend, Laura) and made asparagus soup for a few friends (I have eaten so much asparagus these last 2 weeks, I fear I may turn into one). I’m planning on doing a big Thanksgiving feast as well…if any Americans reading this have recipe ideas please send them along!! When we are not working or cooking, we go to the beach or watch movies in the big TV room (I have officially watched all three Lord of the Rings movies while in NZ) or sit around in the courtyard and enjoy adult beverages. It’s a pretty good life really.
Although it seems crazy, I have sort of enjoyed waking up at 5:45am to go to work. I like the feeling of waking up while the rest of the world stays sleeping. Plus when you leave the house by 6:30am you catch the sunrise and the gorgeous early morning light as you drive by the beach and all the orchards and vineyards….I don’t know it just feels nice to be a part of the early bird crew. Plus on days when you don’t have to work, sleeping in past 8am feels miraculous.
Well, that’s all for now. While we are here (in Napier) internet communication might be sporadic. Connection at the hostel is terrible and expensive so we have to go down to the internet café in town…so if you don’t hear from us for a few days you know why!
Job updates: Right now we are both harvesting asparagus 3-4 mornings each week with 4 other people from our hostel (2 Mexicans, 1 Korean, 1 Malaysian). This is something at least, but barely enough to cover rent so we’ve been looking for other things too. So far Stu has found pottery (obviously no income yet, but there is a good chance of selling things in the shop attached to his studio) and I have found a job at a café called Milk & Honey. It is a very cool café-independently owned and sort of eco-themed and pretty upscale, right on the beach. I think I will get on there pretty well. In general, things are pretty slow here in Napier on the job front….the restaurant business has not yet picked up for the summer rush and all the rain we’ve been getting has pushed back the start dates for a lot of the orchard work. We’re hoping that I’ll get lots of hours at the café (and if not perhaps a night time bar tender/waitress job to supplement) and that Stu will pick up either a full time orchard job or a restaurant job sometime in the next week or 2. Work is obviously good for the money but it’s also nice for meeting people and having a sense of purpose and structure to our time here. (Look at me, always trying to structure things…)
Life update: Life outside jobs is pretty awesome. It seems everyone (okay…most of the people) staying at our hostel are pretty cool. Like I said before we’ve got people from lots of different countries (Mexico, France, Malaysia, Korea, Germany, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada…) though Germany clearly dominates. Even as I write this, I am listening to a French guy try to explain to a Mexican guy about how to kill and cook a pig (something he did recently on a WWOOFing experience), both of them using a language that is not native to them (English). I love hostels. Most people staying here are above average cooks (with a couple full-fledged chefs!) so there is lots of cooking and meal sharing, which I love. Just today I made my own bread (an Italian recipe that I got by way of my German friend, Laura) and made asparagus soup for a few friends (I have eaten so much asparagus these last 2 weeks, I fear I may turn into one). I’m planning on doing a big Thanksgiving feast as well…if any Americans reading this have recipe ideas please send them along!! When we are not working or cooking, we go to the beach or watch movies in the big TV room (I have officially watched all three Lord of the Rings movies while in NZ) or sit around in the courtyard and enjoy adult beverages. It’s a pretty good life really.
Although it seems crazy, I have sort of enjoyed waking up at 5:45am to go to work. I like the feeling of waking up while the rest of the world stays sleeping. Plus when you leave the house by 6:30am you catch the sunrise and the gorgeous early morning light as you drive by the beach and all the orchards and vineyards….I don’t know it just feels nice to be a part of the early bird crew. Plus on days when you don’t have to work, sleeping in past 8am feels miraculous.
Well, that’s all for now. While we are here (in Napier) internet communication might be sporadic. Connection at the hostel is terrible and expensive so we have to go down to the internet café in town…so if you don’t hear from us for a few days you know why!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Waiting Game
Greetings from sunny(ish) Napier!
We’ve been doing a little traveling since the last entry, making a number of stops as we worked our way south to this lovely beach town. Arron’s return to NZ meant we got to see another familiar face (yay!) but it also meant that our days of Stella watching and free housing were up. Moreover, I was also getting a little antsy to get out of the city and see some new places, so off we went! Oh, did I mention we bought a car?? Our mode of transportation these days is a 1995 blue Mitsubishi station wagon. It only has 115,000kms on it and it’s in pretty good shape and, most importantly, it is OURS.
Our first stop was the Franks. Okay so we didn’t make it too far—not even out of Auckland-- but the Franks’ is at least an hour south of Arron’s so I count this as a stop. It seems crazy that we’ve only spent maybe 10 nights there, but it already feels like our NZ home. As a thank you for all their hospitality and as a celebration for Paul’s completion of the initial fire fighter’s entrance exam we made another round of pumpkin pies. Personally I thought round 2 was better than the first go round. Side note: I can’t wait to cook a Thanksgiving feast here. We spent our last Auckland evening running and playing ultimate frisbee in Cornwall Park with Paul and Dave and Sarah and lots of their friends, many of which we’ve already met! It’s nice to remember people and feel the beginnings of a social network taking shape. Three hours of running around was all it took for me to fall in love with the area—I’ve decided when we go back to Auckland I want to live near Cornwall Park. Frisbee was followed by one last fish & chips takeaway (what else would we eat on our last night in Auckland??) and then back to the Franks to pack up, finish making our insulation-based car bed, and get on the road the next morning!
Stop #2 was Rotorua. The lovely Jodi (07) really took care of us and showed us some of the perks of Rotorua! She even let us sleep on her fabulous airbed for freezies, which is always a perk. Highlights of the weekend include walking around a downtown park full of bubbling mud, sampling beer and chips at the Corner Pub, Jodi’s hilarious roommates and cute cats, yum pizza, the Saturday morning crafts fair, a picnic lunch at one of the lakes near town, meeting a Leprechaun at a headpiece party, and walking through the red wood forest (who would have thought that I would see my first California Redwood tree in NZ??). Unfortunately we didn’t make it to the Zorbing place, but I feel confident that I’ll get back there as “rolling down a hill in a giant hamster ball” is now #1 on my sister’s list of things to do when she comes to visit in March. Also, for the record, Rotorua really does smell. I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised since everyone told me it would, but there really is a distinct smell of sulfur in the area.
Stop #3 was Taupo, where we stayed with Toni, Corban (08) and little Roman (future camper)!!! We also go to see Judy and Alan who were in town for the long weekend (Labour Day). The GV hospitality continued here as we stayed in Toni & Corban’s guest bedroom (one day I will be a real person and my house will have a guest bedroom…) and they showed us around town! Well, mostly it was Corban showing us around as Toni had some big school assignments due at the end of the week plus a 10 month old to take care of. Highlights include: amazing views on the drive into town, yum food, drinks at the Irish pub (Redland beer? my new favorite), the sunny & tidy little guest room in T&C’s real people house, Huka falls (such a crazy shade of blue for a river and SO much water rushing through), picnic out at Lake Taupo with friends of T&C, Roman, Roman, Roman, swimming in Lake Taupo (NOT the coldest swim we’ve had), skipping stones, meeting Corban’s mum and learning more about Maori culture/history, playing with Roman some more, and some nighttime lounging at “the hotspot” (a natural hot spring where you can sit in the pools free of charge).
So now here we are at our final stop for a while: Napier. We came down early Tuesday to try and get started on the job hunt. There were nearly 20 of us that first morning driving to Hastings (next town over—maybe a 20 min drive). Some of them left town to look for employment elsewhere but of those that remain we are all still unemployed. At the moment fruit picking jobs (the kind we were expecting to get here) are a few and far between. Or, at least, there are more seasonal workers than jobs at the moment. An exceptionally rainy winter/spring has pushed back a lot of the work so where seasonal work would usually take off last week and this week, things are starting a little bit slower. In the meantime Stu and I are applying to a whole heap of jobs (mostly café jobs for me, though a few random ones too and mostly random jobs for Stu), exploring the area, and making friends at the hostel. We are confident that the jobs will come—we’ve been promised a job starting Nov 21 at the latest so worst cast scenario we hang out until then but hopefully we’ll work odd jobs until then or land something outside the agricultural sector.
Mostly, we want to try living somewhere outside Auckland and we really like the area so we’re willing to stick it out for a while. The beach is rocky but it goes on forever and there is a grassy area that hugs the beach and is perfect for running or playing soccer (where Stu is right now) There are lots of cool restaurants, neat bars (we’ve already found trivia nights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays!), and cafes. There are some good hikes in the area as well—we’re pretty close to the largest national park in NZ so I’m hoping to do some walks there as we can. We’ve only done one hike so far—16kms of beach walking from Clifton (a town) to Cape Kidnappers, which had some beautiful views from the cliffs at the end and a huge gannet (bird) colony. Plus Hawke’s Bay (Napier is a town, Hawke’s Bay is the larger region) is “the fruit bowl of NZ” so if we are going to work on some farms this is as good a place as any. Plus (and this might be the biggest plus), Stu has found a studio and pottery community that he really likes. We found it totally by chance; we just saw some pots in a crafty looking shop on the way to Hastings so we went to check it out. As it turns out, the land behind the shop is owned and run by a community of artists who share the workspace and sell their pieces in the store. Primarily the community is made up of potters, felt workers, wood carvers, and painters, but there is some space that any artist could rent out to make whatever they like. There is also a community center where some of the artists teach their trade to “at risk” youth (and just some regular youth too) in the community—Stu’s hoping to help out with some of the summer pottery lessons if we’re still here when that’s going on.
Well, that’s all for now. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for a job (preferably two)! I have about a million pictures to put up at the moment so I’m working on sorting through those….look for them on facebook in the next couple of days.
We’ve been doing a little traveling since the last entry, making a number of stops as we worked our way south to this lovely beach town. Arron’s return to NZ meant we got to see another familiar face (yay!) but it also meant that our days of Stella watching and free housing were up. Moreover, I was also getting a little antsy to get out of the city and see some new places, so off we went! Oh, did I mention we bought a car?? Our mode of transportation these days is a 1995 blue Mitsubishi station wagon. It only has 115,000kms on it and it’s in pretty good shape and, most importantly, it is OURS.
Our first stop was the Franks. Okay so we didn’t make it too far—not even out of Auckland-- but the Franks’ is at least an hour south of Arron’s so I count this as a stop. It seems crazy that we’ve only spent maybe 10 nights there, but it already feels like our NZ home. As a thank you for all their hospitality and as a celebration for Paul’s completion of the initial fire fighter’s entrance exam we made another round of pumpkin pies. Personally I thought round 2 was better than the first go round. Side note: I can’t wait to cook a Thanksgiving feast here. We spent our last Auckland evening running and playing ultimate frisbee in Cornwall Park with Paul and Dave and Sarah and lots of their friends, many of which we’ve already met! It’s nice to remember people and feel the beginnings of a social network taking shape. Three hours of running around was all it took for me to fall in love with the area—I’ve decided when we go back to Auckland I want to live near Cornwall Park. Frisbee was followed by one last fish & chips takeaway (what else would we eat on our last night in Auckland??) and then back to the Franks to pack up, finish making our insulation-based car bed, and get on the road the next morning!
Stop #2 was Rotorua. The lovely Jodi (07) really took care of us and showed us some of the perks of Rotorua! She even let us sleep on her fabulous airbed for freezies, which is always a perk. Highlights of the weekend include walking around a downtown park full of bubbling mud, sampling beer and chips at the Corner Pub, Jodi’s hilarious roommates and cute cats, yum pizza, the Saturday morning crafts fair, a picnic lunch at one of the lakes near town, meeting a Leprechaun at a headpiece party, and walking through the red wood forest (who would have thought that I would see my first California Redwood tree in NZ??). Unfortunately we didn’t make it to the Zorbing place, but I feel confident that I’ll get back there as “rolling down a hill in a giant hamster ball” is now #1 on my sister’s list of things to do when she comes to visit in March. Also, for the record, Rotorua really does smell. I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised since everyone told me it would, but there really is a distinct smell of sulfur in the area.
Stop #3 was Taupo, where we stayed with Toni, Corban (08) and little Roman (future camper)!!! We also go to see Judy and Alan who were in town for the long weekend (Labour Day). The GV hospitality continued here as we stayed in Toni & Corban’s guest bedroom (one day I will be a real person and my house will have a guest bedroom…) and they showed us around town! Well, mostly it was Corban showing us around as Toni had some big school assignments due at the end of the week plus a 10 month old to take care of. Highlights include: amazing views on the drive into town, yum food, drinks at the Irish pub (Redland beer? my new favorite), the sunny & tidy little guest room in T&C’s real people house, Huka falls (such a crazy shade of blue for a river and SO much water rushing through), picnic out at Lake Taupo with friends of T&C, Roman, Roman, Roman, swimming in Lake Taupo (NOT the coldest swim we’ve had), skipping stones, meeting Corban’s mum and learning more about Maori culture/history, playing with Roman some more, and some nighttime lounging at “the hotspot” (a natural hot spring where you can sit in the pools free of charge).
So now here we are at our final stop for a while: Napier. We came down early Tuesday to try and get started on the job hunt. There were nearly 20 of us that first morning driving to Hastings (next town over—maybe a 20 min drive). Some of them left town to look for employment elsewhere but of those that remain we are all still unemployed. At the moment fruit picking jobs (the kind we were expecting to get here) are a few and far between. Or, at least, there are more seasonal workers than jobs at the moment. An exceptionally rainy winter/spring has pushed back a lot of the work so where seasonal work would usually take off last week and this week, things are starting a little bit slower. In the meantime Stu and I are applying to a whole heap of jobs (mostly café jobs for me, though a few random ones too and mostly random jobs for Stu), exploring the area, and making friends at the hostel. We are confident that the jobs will come—we’ve been promised a job starting Nov 21 at the latest so worst cast scenario we hang out until then but hopefully we’ll work odd jobs until then or land something outside the agricultural sector.
Mostly, we want to try living somewhere outside Auckland and we really like the area so we’re willing to stick it out for a while. The beach is rocky but it goes on forever and there is a grassy area that hugs the beach and is perfect for running or playing soccer (where Stu is right now) There are lots of cool restaurants, neat bars (we’ve already found trivia nights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays!), and cafes. There are some good hikes in the area as well—we’re pretty close to the largest national park in NZ so I’m hoping to do some walks there as we can. We’ve only done one hike so far—16kms of beach walking from Clifton (a town) to Cape Kidnappers, which had some beautiful views from the cliffs at the end and a huge gannet (bird) colony. Plus Hawke’s Bay (Napier is a town, Hawke’s Bay is the larger region) is “the fruit bowl of NZ” so if we are going to work on some farms this is as good a place as any. Plus (and this might be the biggest plus), Stu has found a studio and pottery community that he really likes. We found it totally by chance; we just saw some pots in a crafty looking shop on the way to Hastings so we went to check it out. As it turns out, the land behind the shop is owned and run by a community of artists who share the workspace and sell their pieces in the store. Primarily the community is made up of potters, felt workers, wood carvers, and painters, but there is some space that any artist could rent out to make whatever they like. There is also a community center where some of the artists teach their trade to “at risk” youth (and just some regular youth too) in the community—Stu’s hoping to help out with some of the summer pottery lessons if we’re still here when that’s going on.
Well, that’s all for now. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for a job (preferably two)! I have about a million pictures to put up at the moment so I’m working on sorting through those….look for them on facebook in the next couple of days.
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