Updates

Ok, looks like there are new posts for the 30th,29,19,17,16, and perhaps the 9th. I think that's all… I think

love,

n

Me and Grandaddy Smith. At least I drive with my eyes open now mostly

New Place in Palmy

bedroom

living room/kitchen seating

kitchen

backyard/garden

front

Ug shopping

POO-Soft touch. Some jokes you just don't out grow

Today was learning the bus stop, trying to find my way around town in general, setting up PO boxes, ect. Very busy, kind of dull. I managed to find a few things like the "Family Store" and "the Warehouse" which is kind of like their version of walmart but like everything else here shopping wise for the home it is grossly overpriced and poorly organized. Disappointing. I would really love to have access to an IKEA store but they are not putting one in NZ under the guise that it would be so popular that it would cause major traffic problems. After looking around these past few weeks I would have to agree since the furniture and anything else for your home selection here is HORRIBLE and very overpriced. Of course I have now joined the petition to get IKEA in Auckland. Most people believe, and I agree with them, that the real reason there isn't IKEA is that it would destroy all it's competitors. Would it not cut down on traffic to have one larger store instead of driving around town twice to 5 little stores to accomplish the same task? ah well, I will make do. It is not the end of the world.

Major Updating

:D

Over the next few days I'll be doing another major update adding left out posts and adding comments to photos (there has been an upgrade on the posting server that allows more editing to the HTML of the page via blogger). There will be new postings to my first trip to Palmerston North and CouchSurfing, the River House, Paihia, the new place, and things I am discovering here.

Thank you everyone for your emails and continued support, love, and prayers. I miss you all and hope to get to see you soon in some form or fashion.

love,
n

This is for Cindy

Hugs and Kisses, Hope this makes you feel better!

New Place in Palmy

Today I left hopefully my last hostel for a while. I grow weary of living out of my pack. It will be nice to have a kitchen to cook from and a good place to hang my clothes after the wash. Oh and my own room again. I've been bunking with other girls since the dorms are cheaper than solitary. I moved into this nice little house with a cute garden and have already decked out my room as best as I could with the whole 2 personal items I brought. 

This man on a bike delivers papers. Quaint! 

Worked on figuring out the bus system today which has a learning curve but I'm getting the hang of it for the most part. Still have to run to the other side of the street on occasion. My roommates are quite and for the most part leave me alone which is perfect for me. I'll chat with you later but not too much. I like my alone time after a long day too.

Luck

The luck of this fire rabbit is still holding as God sees me out of the corner of his eye. I found the cutest little house at the end of a cul-de-sac less then 5 min to the bus stop that will take me directly to the door of my work place and the grocery store. Plus the don't require a huge down payment and I can move in tomorrow. The roommates are two Christian girls, one professional one in uni for nursing so that's awesome. Move in tomorrow! Yea!! Oh and it's furnished, double yea. Only foreseeable downside is that the bus doesn't run late so it will be hard if i want to take a dance class or be at the gym late but that's ok. I'll figure something out...

Apartment hunting

I really don't like apartment hunting on a deadline and apartment hunting isn't much fun anyhow. House hunting is fun because all the info, pricing, virtual tours, ect are online and you can browse it a dozen different ways. Apartment hunting is a complete mess of websites with broken links filled with useless information and letting fees. In any case, I have managed to find 3 plus one absolute backup if all fails. Apt 1 is out of town central but close to the bus stop, wont require a huge down payment ( I think) and is some older Christian girls. Hope to talk to them tonight. Apt2&3 are in city central (walk to work) but require larger down payments, letting fees and seem ok. I'll see those tomorrow am and hopefully can make a decision before then. I would love to not do another international money transfer but will make plans to do so anyhow. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

Ug dud

who backpacks with this makeup shop??

Last night/ this am was a complete dud. I stayed at a new hostel and while it a nice place and very convenient I probably would have gotten just as much sleep in the intersection of the street below. I think there may have been some sporting event win somewhere judging by the partying below my window. Plus all the girls were long term stays and out partying too. Who backpacks with lipstick and heels?? I don't know bit at 6:00am the party was still on as I packed my bags for the bus stop. On top of the noise it's also daylight savings time. Usually in september I get an hour but since the seasons are opposite I loose one. Plus my bus is at 7:25 and not 8. Today will be long.

Back in Auckland

Back in Auckland just for the night and am staying at a new hostel closer to the bus stop. Saves me that hour walk uphill in the morning and seems all right. Managed to find a Mexican cantina of sorts that at least serves chips. Menu is kind of sad and the margaritas weak but it's the best I'm gonna get so I'm enjoying it while I can.
Daylight savings goes into effect in the am which they were kind enough to post on the walls of the hostel or I would have arrived an hour early to the bus stop. No bueno. Next stop Palmerston north!

Leaving paihia

Steam boat on the river

Today I am leaving paihia for Auckland as well as leaving my traveling buddy sylvia. Woke up not much earlier than usual since I have a late bus today. Normally I catch the 8am but I didn't want to be rushed today. Since the 10am was booked I'm catching the 1pm which should deliver me to Auckland some time close to 4:30 or 5. To kill time I've been walking around the town discovering hidy-holes and such. One thing I like about this sleepy little town on the bay is how dog friendly it is. People take their dogs everywhere even to work and the beach. Right now I'm camped out in the sun down by the wharf watching some strangely shaped bird dive in and out of the water looking for fish.
It's going to be a nice day

A year of discovery

book exchange: Harry Potter in German

It amazes me on this journey how many people I've met are from small towns across the world. Mostly from small towns in Europe too, specifically Germany. After just graduating their version of high school, young people of Europe are encouraged to backpack for a year and see the world or at least one other country. It gives them a chance to find themselves I think. To realize who they are and what they want to do and get out of their lives instead of jumping right into Uni (college) and wasting time and money doing it there. At least this way they get a greater world view and learn more about self-sufficiency than most of the freshmen i have met back home. Since the majority of them work their way across the trip it saves dear ole mom and dad some coin too. Why aren't we encouraged to do that in America? Why are we, were we pushed into college if we were not prepared , if we didn't know what we wanted?

Centabay Lodge- best hostel yet

kitchen and common area 

little out door court yard. so nice 

bedroom

Best hostel yet by far. Free kayaks, can walk everywhere, cheapest, super awesome people there, free movies to watch, hot tub, and lots of sun.

Girls night out

Izzy, two nice girls from Peru and Sky

I won a few :D  Thanks for teaching me the english Wolf

Girls from the Centabay and myself all went out to shoot some pool, excuse me billiards. The party included me, a Canadian (Sky) , two Germans (Sylvia and Izzy), two Peruvians from Lima and a guy from New Hampshire who just came along for kicks. I was a super nice place with good tables and no smoking. Double bonus you didn't have to pay for your time at the table or per game which of course encourages you to spend money on drinks which they can make more money from anyhow.

Paihia -Waterfall trail who's name I can't pronounce much less spell

pretty fern

the spikey things are the root systems of the tree- weirdly cool

me at falls

At Centebay-which is awesome

Only French men would have steak, salad,cheese, and wine for dinner in a hostel 

Hostel's kitty! made my day <3

Leaving the River House for Paihiai

This little bridge lead from the car park to the park. The name of these trees translates to "trees that grow in the dark" since they grow all over the place like they don't know where they are going

Me at the Bay of Islands

Map of Paihia and surrounding areas, most of which I walked

Today started at 6:30 at full speed. Pack pajamas, zip up pack, tote everything up the muddy hill to the car, crap I forgot my ipod (since i packed it and then James borrowed it, he is official addicted to 'Abram and Sarah') so run back down and up again. 7:30 in Kamo to mail off my extra bags to myself so i don't have to carry them. Should have done that ages ago. Post office opens at 8:30 so an hour at McDonalds sitting out of the cold wind eating sandwiches from the bakery next door with Sylvia. Quick trip to the dairy (quick mart) for camera batteries. Ok, shipped luggage commence hitch hiking.

Yep I said hitch hiking.

Something in my right mind I would never do at home and thought I would never do in a strange country, with a german I met less than a week previous to get to a little town I never heard of. The guy that gave us a lift took us most of the way, up to Kawakawa where we managed to grab a ride with an art restaurateur woman who was very nice for the next 10 min up to Paihia. No worries mom.

We managed to find a great little hostel less than 5 min walk from the Bay of Islands. The rent here is the cheapest I've had so far plus there are free kayaks and bikes you can take out during the day for fun. There is a nice sized kitchen and good common area, much less stuffy than the ones in the cities. I suppose because this one is more like a house than an refurbished hotel. Very comfy so I may stay a while. I think Sylvia is thinking the same since the area is nice, accommodations cheep, and everything is in walking distance. If we decide to stay for a week then we can work for accommodations and save money that way too which may be a win. I know she wants to continue the journey north all the way up to Cap Reinga but I have to return to Palmerston North by the 3rd of October so I'll probably leave Paihia or some other North Land town by the first since I'll have to stay in Auckland a night because of bus scheduling.

We have already walked to the grocery store and stocked up for the next few days at least. I hope tomorrow we can take the kayaks out to one of the islands and have a little lunch which I think will be nice. The two other girls in our dorm are German too so it's nice I guess for Sylvia to have someone to talk to in German but she just seems annoyed to my amusement. "ach, i did not com to New Zealand to speak Geerman, I came to see and speak to New Zealand". hehehe. I guess if I kept running into Americans I would be ill too.

About Sylvia:

Sylvia and James when we went to the beach for the afternoon. So cold.

I met Sylvia at The River House as a unexpected guest; James apparently picked up to hitchhikers a french girl and Sylvia and invited them to do woofing at his house. It was a more than welcome surprise since being trapped in the house all day and only having James to talk to at night was a bit wearing. Sylvia has come for Germany to do her one year post graduation country tour. Apparently it is common in Europe to spend one year after graduation backpacking a country or two and it seems especially common for Germans to come to NZ since I have seen so many of them at every hostel. She will be spending a few months on the north island, a few months on the south and then a few weeks in australia before heading home. Sylvia has an older sister (by 10 years) and lives with her parents which are sending her money every month to help fund the trip although she did save a lot before coming. She also has a boyfriend of two years named Tobias and they work together as lifeguards at the local pool. They love to surf together in the Baltic but he'll go out when it's freezing and she'll just make sandcastles on the beach. Her English is not very strong (i'm impressed by how much she understands!) so she is working on that while she is here as well as figuring out what she would like to study at Uni (university) back home.Yesterday I taught her a new word: drown. That combined with the crazy look on her face was hilarious. It's great to travel with her since I get to learn about Germany and share things with her that we see for the first time together. It's more fun to travel with someone if only for a while. Always nice to have someone to share things with.

Woofing

We have been working in the garden for the past few days on a number of things with the digger and wheel barrows. The first day of gardening with the 3 of us (James, Sylvia, and myself) began early on Friday morning when a dump truck brought what appeared to be a small forrest of mulch to the front garden close to a little alcove of trees. The rest of the afternoon was spent loading the wheel barrows with the digger and dispersing it around the alcove which was about 25 -30 feet in circumference. Perhaps more judging by how many steps it took me to cross it and how small my steps are. The work was not too hard, just tiring. It is not nearly as tiring and doing any sort of gardening in the south with the blistering heat and humidity. Here it was a pleasant 18 or so with a nice breeze so it was chilly if you stood still but very good to work in.

By the end of the day my arms were dragging from loading, dumping, spreading, and loading again. What was worse was that we didn't even get to go out and do anything fun that night at all not that we had the energy to do so in any case. I think it was harder on Sylvia than on me. The next day included more spreading but not as much since we had the added help of James 2 kids (really just one since the other, Tom, is lazy) and Jacob a strong young welch man. The next two days were fairly the same. We repotted Nicko Palms into larger containers which was much lighter work for us girls overall. The only downside is the massive amount of bites i acquired from sand fly and a few cuts from the plastic bags used for the plants. The huge plants where then put in the alcove since it is protected from the wind but still gets good light and there is no grass thanks to our mulching efforts. The first day of that we did 32 and the second day we did 45. Each one of these plants when done weigh more than my pack which is 60lbs and poor Jacob had to move them.By the end of that second day though my arms are burring all over from shoveling and packing topsoil into their bags and my back and thighs burn from the exertion as well. No wonder James is so blasted skinny.

Day at the Beach

Jacob at beach 

shells on rope from trees on beach

fire on beach

Jacob and James getting mussels for lunch. too cold for me

Silvia, Jacob,&  James all getting mussels for lunch. They taste like chewy ocean

Delay

Sorry for the delay in posts but this weeks Internet has been spotty at best. I will leave the river house Tuesday and head up north. Once I get a place with decent Internet massive posting will ensue as well as some earlier posts that were never published. I basically need a whole day to catch up from a week.
I was planning to stay here longer but there is nothing to do here and it's not worth the time and effort wasted. The only upside is my newest friend sylvia who is from Germany and we shall be going north together. The only thing we really seem to have in common is travel but since that's what we are doing it seems to work. Cheers

Save the Sand Spit

The local sand spit is under threat of development for crappy houses in tiny lots for vacation homes, save the sand spit for beach parties, surfers, children's home made play grounds , and wild life :D

About Tom

Lucy and Tom showing us the way to the sand spit. Tide is out so we are walking on the river bed.

Tom is James's youngest son who is about 9-10 years old and is a little bit of a brat. Of course that may just be around James since it could not be more obvious that Tom is his fathers favorite. He likes trucks and spending time with his dad in general. He doesn't wear shoes to school which apparently is pretty common around here.

About Lucy:

Silvia, Myself ,and Lucy

Is a nice little cookie who is bright, a good listener, and very mature for her age. I think that has something to do with her being the older sibling. I like her, she's fun. Her dad is rather harsh on her, Tom is obviously his favorite in all things. Again it may just be the older sibling in me but it just stings me to see the youngest wine, get preferential treatment, and the older one get scolded for breathing in the wrong direction.  I'm glad she got to hang out with us girls.

Landscape by the sea

New Zealand is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. The images that we see in photographs are no more filling or realistic than a reflection in a mirror and show only half truths. The grass here is long and lush and when the sun hits it thru a break in the clouds it becomes the most vivid , shimmering shade of green one can possibly imagine. The hills are covered in it and they seem to just roll on and on into the distant horizon. The grass makes them seem just like the ocean with waves by the wind as the grass-sea ripples in the sun. The wind is strong here, almost constant from some ocean side but it never smells of the sea or fish; only of the grass.
The hills roll right to the edge of the water which ebbs out in the morning and evening with the tides. Little gulls hunt for crabs and sea creatures in the morning and the water is so low to your feet when you stand in the sea it looks like you are standing on sheet of glass for ages in an direction. In the afternoon the sea comes back and the glass is gone and the rocks are smaller and the gulls have flown. It's cold, bitter cold and clear as the morning dew. It's always quite, still, even at midday as it was in the morning. enchanting an empty like a memory too full to hold one more thought or think one more idea.

The River House

View from the back deck

Living room in morning light

View from my bed is the river

End of the second full day at the river house and not much to tell. The house itself is beautiful, filled with good north light all day since most of the north walls are huge sliding glass doors. When I find a proper Internet connection I'll post some pictures. Im here mostly because
It's a free place to stay, food and all, in exchange for house cleaning, cooking and gardening. The first two are not bad at all but the gardening is a little ruff. The temp is perfect for it, 65 and sunny with a nice wind but the plants are something else. This subtropic climate has the weirdest things so I go very slow. I can just see myself being sent home from some crazy bug bite. Also, little fun fact, when they say ' lookout for worms ' they don't mean worms at all. They mean snakes. The birds here make strange humming noises too so when I'm bent over in some enormous plant that looks like it should be on ' Jurassic park' I'm a little less than amused with the local wildlife.

About James

Boat ride

James it the owner of the River House and of his own concrete business. I don't believe I ever saw a man not sit still for so long. He is always bouncing around doing this and doing that, loosing stuff, and is the most frustrating controlling scatterbrain I think I have ever spent so much time around. A perfectionist and manager to the T who is not always good at delegating. My main irritation is when he sakes for your opinion or for you to do something your way and then argue and correct you the whole time you do it.
On the other hand he looks out for his mates, neighbors, and the environment. He loves music,photography , and the arts so his house is filled with light and a few nice pieces of work. He also seems to take time for his kids who live with his ex-partner across the river. I have found in NZ that people do not refer to spouse as 'my husband' or ''my wife' but as a 'partner' which I find curious. He loves being outside and working in the garden and is mad as a cut snake. just saying.

Leaving Auckland

Last day in Auckland for a bit or at least two weeks. For some reason i thought there was more time left in September but apparently not. Seems I'll only be staying in North Land about two weeks. That works out ok for me though. Enough time to refresh myself on a few things and rest up a bit. Went down to the KiwiPost today and my mail box and tax information will be there waiting for me when I get down there the first of October. Perfect timing actually, just enough time to get everything set up.

The KiwiPost is amazing. Unlike our post office which only does mail, Kiwi Post also has a bank, you can get your tax id number, pay bills,renew your drivers license ect. all in one place. Very nifty. However at the same time it can make the lines tremendous if some one like me for example goes in and wants a tax id , po box, and mailing info all at once and it takes 30 min. Makes it even longer when there are 3 groups of people trying to do that (which there were).

I'm really excited about the prospect of a new apartment too. I miss having my own place. I think at first I'll get an apartment with roommates. Firstly It's obviously much cheeper than a place by myself and secondly since I only know 5 people in Palmerston North it'll be nice to have people to talk to. If the job works out (which I really hope it does) I'll probably get my own place off by myself. Perhaps get a cat. Or plant. Big fan of plants.

Base Auckland

View from my bedroom of the city. This is Queen St. aka the main drag

Sketch

This van is probably completely legit, operating under the assumption that a free coach can run with advertising. Problem, city bus is already free. Sketch

Food

Food in New Zealand is an experience all to it's own.

Today i went out on a limb , went to the food court where there are about 25 restaurants all of them some form of asian food. This idea of so much asian food is fantastic for about 30 seconds when you realize there is no longer a safe default like pizza. further more, asian food here i suppose is 'real asian food'. The same way mexican food we get is tex mex or americanized. Here it is suspiciously still moving or funny colours.
So I tried something lemon chicken on rice which was ok until my gag reflex started reacting to the greese or gristle. Then I was done. No more experiments today.


Snack food/junk food here is ridiculously expensive. For example, $2 reese's cups, $5 pringles, $2.50 Can of Dr. Pepper (when you can find it). Nothing says diet more than a $10 run to the dairy (quick mart). I suppose it stems from the whole "we are importing this to the other side of the planet" + quick mart prices.

Hopefully once i get settled in ie in Palmerston North, the pack 'n save will keep me from becoming a stick. Plus fruit here is super cheap so I guess it's healthy living for me!