There are “heaps” of expressions used here that are not common where I come from. I’ve been trying to remember to write them down as I think of them in order to share them here. These are based on expressions I've found interesting or for which my Canadian version has been the target of ridicule. I’ve decided to insert the Canadian translation so you might understand. ;)
Kiwi: sweet as ------------------- CDN: sweet
Kiwi: cheap as ------------------- CDN: cheap/inexpensive
Kiwi: cheap as chips ------------------- CDN: cheap/inexpensive
Kiwi: heaps ------------------- CDN: lots/loads/a lot
Kiwi: rubbish ------------------- CDN: garbage
Kiwi: I reckon ------------------- CDN: I think
Kiwi: cruisey ------------------- CDN: easy/easy going
Kiwi: gutted ------------------- CDN: disappointed/bummed out
Kiwi: your shout ------------------- CDN: your treat
Kiwi: flat white ------------------- CDN: latte (coffee)
Kiwi: long black ------------------- CDN: Americano (coffee)
Kiwi: how you going? ---------------- CDN: how’s it going/how are you?
Kiwi: flat ------------------- CDN: apartment
Kiwi: flatmate ------------------- CDN: roommate
Kiwi: toilet ------------------- CDN: washroom
Kiwi: tissue ------------------- CDN: Kleenex
Kiwi: straight away ------------------- CDN: right away
Kiwi: EFTPOS ------------------- CDN: debit/Interac
Kiwi: capsicum ----------- CDN: bell pepper (red, green, etc)
Kiwi: courgette ------------------ CDN: zuchinni
Kiwi: kumara --------- CDN: sweet potato (they have 3 varieties here)
Kiwi: ring me ----------------- CDN: call me/phone
Kiwi: post ----------------------- CDN: mail (also used as a verb)
Kiwi: lolly ------------------------- CDN: candy
Kiwi: catch up on all the goss -------- CDN: catch up on all the gossip/news
Kiwi: brilliant! ---------------------------CDN: awesome/great!
I also wanted to point out that the kiwi pronunciation of the letter ‘e’ is very unlike our own. I’ve had numerous funny experiences figuring out what was meant when words like: tent, deck, dead. The ‘e’ is pronounced with more of an ‘i’ sound – like eei. Try saying tent like: teee-int. That’s what the lady at customs asked me when I arrived: if I’d brought a teee-int. Luckily she also showed me what she meant with her hands. You can imagine the laughter when my kiwi friend, Lauren, asked if I thought the way they said dee-ick was funny – she had to explain that she meant, “like a patio”. Lauren introduced me to the show Flight of the Conchords (also their band name) – two kiwi guys living in NYC trying to make a go of it as musicians there. Apparently this show is very popular in North America. Considering how much TV I watch, I didn't know about it. It was really funny! You can imagine my laughter when they captured exactly the pronunciation of the letter 'e' (or 'ea') in this episode that we watched (just a quick clip of it here):
These two guys apparently met while studying at Victoria U – right down the street from where I’m living now. Cool. Check it out.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Riding in Wellington
Now that I’ve settled into Wellington for a couple of weeks I’ve had a chance to get a really good chunk of cycling in. As I alluded to in an earlier post, Wello is mainly built into some pretty big, steep hills that border the southern coastline of the north island. Unless you have a genetic gift, I’ve come to believe that climbing hills on a bike takes a lot of years to get really good at. I’ve only been riding seriously for nearly 5 seasons now. Hopefully as I spend time here climbing more hills than I typically do back home, I’ll see continued improvement in my abilities. I’ve been getting comfortable with the roads and finding my way around certain parts of the city since I built my bike. It’s funny how people will say to you: “You know there are much better rides than around the bays”. But they’ve been living and riding here for years. Can you imagine a nicer way to spend a day than riding your bike along the road that follows the coastline, watching the sailboats, windsurfers, ferries (which I’ve seen on every single ride)? Not really. Back home we have some great roads for riding, but they certainly don’t offer a view of beautiful green hills rising out of an aquamarine pacific ocean, waves crashing in on the rocks, lighthouses, little beaches, and signs warning you to watch for penguins crossing. So I’ll endure the hardship of it all as I continue to become acquainted with the area and feel more comfortable venturing out onto new routes. ;) The only thing I really need to do on an upcoming ride is to capture some of it for you with my camera. As I also mentioned earlier, the roads in the city are winding and steep. I’ve found more than one way back to the flat now, but none are easy going. As with about 85% of the population here: I live on a hill. While some live on the side of one, I live on the top, which is actually a good thing – at least I don’t have to try to come to a stop and enter my flat on a 17% grade or something. I have, however, been climbing some hills that are anywhere between 12-17% grade to get home. This is very good practice, particularly on the windy days when you get to climb those hills in a headwind. It almost seems sadistic doesn’t it? If these can become routine and ‘easier’, the Gats will be a breeze for me when I get home.I went on my first ladies group ride this week. They call it “bunch” riding. It was really good. The group really focuses on learning new skills and on the flats they ride in a proper echelon which is really cool. I got to practice the smooth transition of the echelon for the first time since I took the learn to race clinic back home this summer. Since it was so windy (we’d had a really bad storm that morning and the winds were only starting to ease up to 50-some odd kph that evening, instead of the 120 kph gusts we'd had earlier) we really stuck together to shelter each other from it as it comes at you from different directions on each bay. Sometimes a headwind, sometimes a crazy crosswind that nearly knocks you off the bike! And nobody was really able to surge ahead too much and cause that elastic band effect. It was a good effort and smooth echelon. Fun stuff! I hope to keep riding with that group each week and see wha
t other new things I can learn and practice.I have another little project that I want to undertake so I can try to show you the city. Wello is a really cool place, in that, with everything built into the hills, there are little secret, or not-so-secret but sometimes hard to find, pedestrian accessways so you can find shortcuts up and down the hills into the neighbourhoods that make up the city. I mostly travel by foot here, as the place is very compact, but to make it effective you need to find these little paths and stairs. Stairs, stairs, stairs. They are everywhere! It’s a really different thing. You won’t have seen anything like it back home. I haven’t. So stay tuned and I’ll try to get some photos and commentary together to share the experience with you.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The "P" Word
Do you remember when you were a kid, how your parents were always telling you to appreciate that time in your life? That one day you would have a job and a life and responsibilities. When you’d complain about a school project or having to work part-time at the grocery store, they’d try to communicate perspective to you. Perspective, unfortunately or fortunately – take your pick – really must be learned first hand. It cannot be communicated or taught to someone by another, unless maybe by example, but even that has its limits. I’m not that old yet (haha), but I’ve been looking back on things in my life over the past few years. This is what I’ve come to conclude so far (bearing in mind that I am acutely aware at this stage in life that our ideas about our own lives changes with time and experience)…
So far life seems to progress in a building block kind of fashion. You are young and your sole purpose is to eat and poop and sleep. Then when you’re old enough your sole purpose is to play with your friends and learn how to eat with a fork and use the toilet. ;) Then you go to school and you can add on to the previous purposes: learning. Learning keeps building. As you learn one thing you are ready to learn more and continue building on what you’ve learned. You also start building life experience – another type of knowledge other than just what you’ve read in a book. Then you go to university and for most it seems this life experience starts to grow exponentially, at the same time you’re learning academically at your highest level so far. Then you finish and you start working. At work you start learning in a whole different way, as well as continuing to take courses and learning from books. More life experience gets thrown in there for the hell of it – both in and out of work. And then one day you’ve been doing your job for a while and you’re actually pretty good at it and you’re almost starting to become an expert in your field. Most people start the next stuff at the same time: getting married, having kids, buying houses, etc. Building, building, building. Life keeps building on itself. Now - if you’ve got kids you probably won’t get the chance to do the next thing (or you may have done it before you got a job or a kid, which gives you a very different perspective, not better or worse, just different from what I’m about to describe).
Imagine at this point just stopping it all. Quitting your job, moving away, and doing something different. Obviously that’s what I just did. And the really nice part is that since I’ve met several people here who’ve done the same thing I know I’m not alone in doing it. What I’m getting at here is that in doing so, my perspective has changed – and will likely continue to. I’ve kind of changed my course of thinking – in fact I’ve changed the course of my life thus far. It’s been really weird to just up and quit my job to be honest. The first couple of weeks here were like being on vacation, which it was, for all intents and purposes. Then by the fourth week it was sinking in that I’m not going back to work right now. Wow! Then I felt a bit lazy. I’ve been working, I realize, since I was 14!!!! I’ve never not had a job since then! And I’ve always been a hard worker, so not working has definitely felt weird the past couple of weeks, but at the same time I’ve got enough life experience to tell me that I need to enjoy this particular experience, as it’s likely not going to come around again anytime soon if ever. So that’s what I’ve been doing. And I really know now what my parents meant when they told me to enjoy having such little responsibility as a teenager when I felt like I had oh-so-much of it. I was a pretty responsible kid and I took things seriously, so even after growing out of the teenage angst years I still didn’t think I had that little responsibility at that time. Now I can see clearly that, as much as I may have had more responsibility than some, I had far less than an adult. I feel like today I’m almost living that teenage life again but I’m a lot older and more mature and better acquainted with who I am. So in essence, I’m enjoying it far more than I ever could have before. And I’m appreciating it like crazy! And really - how many of us get the chance (and then take it!) to press the pause button, or reset button, or whatever it might be - stop the constant building to the next stage of life and just enjoy where they’ve gotten themselves thus far and ruminate? It’s a real blessing. So… Just so you all know. Yes, I know where I’m at. I’ve got the responsibility of a teenager right now. And I’m loving it! I won’t complain about having to work part-time and do my school project. Ah, teenagers. What do they know?? ;)
So far life seems to progress in a building block kind of fashion. You are young and your sole purpose is to eat and poop and sleep. Then when you’re old enough your sole purpose is to play with your friends and learn how to eat with a fork and use the toilet. ;) Then you go to school and you can add on to the previous purposes: learning. Learning keeps building. As you learn one thing you are ready to learn more and continue building on what you’ve learned. You also start building life experience – another type of knowledge other than just what you’ve read in a book. Then you go to university and for most it seems this life experience starts to grow exponentially, at the same time you’re learning academically at your highest level so far. Then you finish and you start working. At work you start learning in a whole different way, as well as continuing to take courses and learning from books. More life experience gets thrown in there for the hell of it – both in and out of work. And then one day you’ve been doing your job for a while and you’re actually pretty good at it and you’re almost starting to become an expert in your field. Most people start the next stuff at the same time: getting married, having kids, buying houses, etc. Building, building, building. Life keeps building on itself. Now - if you’ve got kids you probably won’t get the chance to do the next thing (or you may have done it before you got a job or a kid, which gives you a very different perspective, not better or worse, just different from what I’m about to describe).
Imagine at this point just stopping it all. Quitting your job, moving away, and doing something different. Obviously that’s what I just did. And the really nice part is that since I’ve met several people here who’ve done the same thing I know I’m not alone in doing it. What I’m getting at here is that in doing so, my perspective has changed – and will likely continue to. I’ve kind of changed my course of thinking – in fact I’ve changed the course of my life thus far. It’s been really weird to just up and quit my job to be honest. The first couple of weeks here were like being on vacation, which it was, for all intents and purposes. Then by the fourth week it was sinking in that I’m not going back to work right now. Wow! Then I felt a bit lazy. I’ve been working, I realize, since I was 14!!!! I’ve never not had a job since then! And I’ve always been a hard worker, so not working has definitely felt weird the past couple of weeks, but at the same time I’ve got enough life experience to tell me that I need to enjoy this particular experience, as it’s likely not going to come around again anytime soon if ever. So that’s what I’ve been doing. And I really know now what my parents meant when they told me to enjoy having such little responsibility as a teenager when I felt like I had oh-so-much of it. I was a pretty responsible kid and I took things seriously, so even after growing out of the teenage angst years I still didn’t think I had that little responsibility at that time. Now I can see clearly that, as much as I may have had more responsibility than some, I had far less than an adult. I feel like today I’m almost living that teenage life again but I’m a lot older and more mature and better acquainted with who I am. So in essence, I’m enjoying it far more than I ever could have before. And I’m appreciating it like crazy! And really - how many of us get the chance (and then take it!) to press the pause button, or reset button, or whatever it might be - stop the constant building to the next stage of life and just enjoy where they’ve gotten themselves thus far and ruminate? It’s a real blessing. So… Just so you all know. Yes, I know where I’m at. I’ve got the responsibility of a teenager right now. And I’m loving it! I won’t complain about having to work part-time and do my school project. Ah, teenagers. What do they know?? ;)
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Kiwiana - #1
There are heaps (an expression used here a lot) of roadside attractions here like the giant kiwifruit in Te Puke that the little towns erect to make themselves stand out and attract tourists. These roadside attractions are one example of kiwiana, although the term itself means anything distinctly kiwi. I hope to capture as many as I can, as I have a few friends who love the roadside attractions. ;) I guess this is something that Kiwis and Canadians have in common.
First I’ll tell you about the housing here. They like to build houses into hills – not just in Wellington, although I’d say it’s one of the more distinctive examples. So there are all kinds of crazy walkways and stairs and driveways in the most unusual spots that you’d never see back home. Or if you did it would be a place of interest and everyone would know about it and go check it out. Most houses here are quite old and were not built with much insulation, nor heating. None – zero, absolutely no heating whatsoever. No furnace, no radiators, no electric baseboards. Nadda. And it’s not warm here. I have to admit – I could not live here during the winter. Spring is quite enough of a taste of it for me thanks. I know, it’s funny to hear that from someone who lives with minus 30 Celsius winters – but we insulate and heat our houses. It’s a damp cold here. at least in Wello it is. Up north wasn't quite as chilly as here, but it still did get down close to single digits at night. I believe it’s quite similar to England. So, to stay warm everyone dresses in layers, and wear shoes in the house, and have little portable electric radiator-looking heater things that you can plug into the wall to heat that one space, and hot water bottles in bed at night, or electric blankets. Yep. That’s how to stay warm here. Considering the drafts that come into the house I believe that this country is not very energy efficient. Now, all this to say, newer houses, I have been told, are better insulated and have central heating. I haven’t been in one though. They really depend on the sun to warm the houses here, so places that are in valleys that lie in the shadows of the hills are not as sought after in which to live. In all the ads and when I visited places in person, everyone would emphasize how much and which rooms got sun. My room gets morning sun which is nice, but I also realize that the rest of the flat will be cold when I open my bedroom door so I’m not that anxious to get out of bed in the morning. Or should I say: get out of air mattress.
The roads in Wellington are narrow and winding. Well, it is a city built into hills after all. I was a little nervous heading out on the bike for the first time. I’m glad I didn’t wear my HR monitor that time, as I’m sure it was elevated just from stress. It went well though, and I think I will get comfortable with it. Most drivers here are quite familiar with cyclists. There are lots of them here. As many people seem to commute by bike as by bus or on foot. There are some cycling lanes and lots of signs telling motorists to watch out for cyclists. Parking is at a premium in town. Many residents park their cars on the street, as it’s not always easy to build a driveway into a hill or up one. So while cycling you have to be really careful of all the parked cars. There aren’t a plethora of roads, so you really must ride in the city to get out of it, but once you do there is great riding to be had! I rode partway around the bays on my last two rides and it was fantastic!!! I saw heaps of cyclists out as well.
More kiwiana next time…
First I’ll tell you about the housing here. They like to build houses into hills – not just in Wellington, although I’d say it’s one of the more distinctive examples. So there are all kinds of crazy walkways and stairs and driveways in the most unusual spots that you’d never see back home. Or if you did it would be a place of interest and everyone would know about it and go check it out. Most houses here are quite old and were not built with much insulation, nor heating. None – zero, absolutely no heating whatsoever. No furnace, no radiators, no electric baseboards. Nadda. And it’s not warm here. I have to admit – I could not live here during the winter. Spring is quite enough of a taste of it for me thanks. I know, it’s funny to hear that from someone who lives with minus 30 Celsius winters – but we insulate and heat our houses. It’s a damp cold here. at least in Wello it is. Up north wasn't quite as chilly as here, but it still did get down close to single digits at night. I believe it’s quite similar to England. So, to stay warm everyone dresses in layers, and wear shoes in the house, and have little portable electric radiator-looking heater things that you can plug into the wall to heat that one space, and hot water bottles in bed at night, or electric blankets. Yep. That’s how to stay warm here. Considering the drafts that come into the house I believe that this country is not very energy efficient. Now, all this to say, newer houses, I have been told, are better insulated and have central heating. I haven’t been in one though. They really depend on the sun to warm the houses here, so places that are in valleys that lie in the shadows of the hills are not as sought after in which to live. In all the ads and when I visited places in person, everyone would emphasize how much and which rooms got sun. My room gets morning sun which is nice, but I also realize that the rest of the flat will be cold when I open my bedroom door so I’m not that anxious to get out of bed in the morning. Or should I say: get out of air mattress.
The roads in Wellington are narrow and winding. Well, it is a city built into hills after all. I was a little nervous heading out on the bike for the first time. I’m glad I didn’t wear my HR monitor that time, as I’m sure it was elevated just from stress. It went well though, and I think I will get comfortable with it. Most drivers here are quite familiar with cyclists. There are lots of them here. As many people seem to commute by bike as by bus or on foot. There are some cycling lanes and lots of signs telling motorists to watch out for cyclists. Parking is at a premium in town. Many residents park their cars on the street, as it’s not always easy to build a driveway into a hill or up one. So while cycling you have to be really careful of all the parked cars. There aren’t a plethora of roads, so you really must ride in the city to get out of it, but once you do there is great riding to be had! I rode partway around the bays on my last two rides and it was fantastic!!! I saw heaps of cyclists out as well.
More kiwiana next time…
Friday, November 07, 2008
No Longer a Tourist
I’ve been searching for work now that I’ve gotten settled into my new flat. Looking for work has not been as easy as I’d anticipated, but I’m sure something will happen when it’s supposed to. Timing is everything. I also built my bike on the first day in the flat. It was a busy day: unpacked my suitcase, inflated my air mattress (need to get a bed) and built my bike. I rode down to the bike shop that sells Colnago and had them take a quick look to be sure I put her back together correctly and that my rear derailleur wasn’t out of whack. Aside from one little, slightly critical part that I hadn’t tightened (oops – I’m pretty lucky, having ridden down there), I did a good job! J Woo-hoo! So I went out for a ride. It was a nice day, although a storm was to come in that evening and the wind was picking up. They have lots of gusty wind here. At one point I was rounding a corner on the bay and nearly got blown over! You have to watch out for that here. Then I climbed back up to the flat… ugh. I have to say, months of that and I WILL be a hill climber. Geez! There are three main hills back to my flat, the first one being the hardest. At least you get it over with first. I messed up the computer and hadn’t started it so really none of my ride had been recorded, but going up this hill it was on and I looked down to see 12% grade – for somewhere in the range of 750 m – 1 km. The last few meters you get a break when it levels off to 10%. Ouch! Considering it’s been a good month off the bike I felt that one.
I’ve been walking everywhere here. Wellington is a very compact, walkable city. But if you live up on one of the hills, which is likely, you just have to climb back home, that’s all. There are little stairs built in the hills all over, so I need to explore a bit more to find the short-cuts home. It’s a funny little place in that way. It’s still pretty chilly here. I can’t wait til it really warms up. Jan and Feb are supposed to be the warmest. Looking forward to it. For now I have a hot water bottle in bed with me at night and fuzzy socks and a hoodie. But I’ll have to post more about the kiwi-life in the next post.
I’ve been walking everywhere here. Wellington is a very compact, walkable city. But if you live up on one of the hills, which is likely, you just have to climb back home, that’s all. There are little stairs built in the hills all over, so I need to explore a bit more to find the short-cuts home. It’s a funny little place in that way. It’s still pretty chilly here. I can’t wait til it really warms up. Jan and Feb are supposed to be the warmest. Looking forward to it. For now I have a hot water bottle in bed with me at night and fuzzy socks and a hoodie. But I’ll have to post more about the kiwi-life in the next post.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Turangi and beyond...
This will be my last post on travels for a little while, as I am now in the midst of setting up some semblance of a routine, living and working in NZ, instead of being a constant tourist. Can you believe it’s been 3 weeks since I left for the other side of the world? Time really does fly and I’m sure I will be home sooner than I’d almost like, but I will make the best of my time here. In the next few posts I’ll try to gather some of my thoughts for you on life here: from driving on the left side of the road, to un-insulated houses. I’ll give you a taste of the kiwi way of life and how it’s different from home.
Since I left Wellington and headed back to Auckland, I have been making my way back down to the south end of the north island. I stayed in Auckland for one night and then picked up a car (as they say here: I ‘hired’ a car) and finally picked up my bike which was being stored for me. It’s been so long since I’ve been riding! I think I might forget how!! I got a cute little rental and stuffed it full with my backpack, bike in box, and my suitcase (which had also been stored – it has mostly bike stuff in it along with a small sampling of work clothes). I hit the road. I almost went back to Raglan for a couple of days, as people I’d met there were still there hangin’ out and I liked the place so much, but I also wanted to see a bit more of the country so in the end I decided not to. For now I’ve skipped the tourist trap that is Rotorua. I think I will go see it at some point, as the acidic pools of water there are supposed to be quite the sight, but this time around I decided to take it easy. I made my way down to Turangi, at the bottom of Lake Taupo.
A side note on Taupo: I never thought to check it out as a potential place to live, even though they have a major cycling event there every November. It’s a road race around the lake: 160 km. Needless to say, when I went through the town I saw quite a few cyclists. I doubt, however, that Taupo would be the best choice of place to live, as I think I would run out of cycling routes and it’s not the best jumping off spot for more touring around NZ or abroad.
Turangi, at the bottom of Lake Taupo, is the place to stay when embarking on the Tongariro Crossing. This is a famous hike across the volcano in the national park of the same name. There are three peaks in the park: Tongariro, Ruapehu, and Ngauruhoe. The latter being the most conical, hence used as Mount Doom in the famous LOTR movies. I stayed at a great backpackers and just chilled out – in fact, I was offered a two-week job there running the place while the owner goes on vacation. I was tempted, but at the same time without a vehicle it would be quite isolating and I really wanted to get back to Wellington and get settled and on to the main purpose of my OE. I didn’t do the crossing this time, but I intend to go back to do it as it’s supposed to be really great! One afternoon I took in the geothermal pools in Turangi - very nice and super affordable ($8)! I drove out of the park on Saturday and made my way down to Plimmerton – a little town about 25 km outside of Wellington.
Saturday we ended up having a major storm system come through a good part of the north island. The crossing was inaccessible that day, as it was snowing in the mountains, and as I drove into the Rangipo Desert I listened to the radio warnings regarding driving on the highway that day, as there was a strong windstorm. I’ve never driven in a windstorm through a desert before – sand everywhere! As I continued down toward the western coast it got greyer and colder. I was wearing Capri pants when I left (even though it probably wasn’t really warm enough for it) and caved in and changed into my jeans in the car at a vegetable stand on the side of the highway. J I bought some veggies too! As the highway straddled the coast, I could see the waves crashing like mad into the shoreline. I was almost in the greater Wellington area when I found a radio station that was reporting gale-force winds and gusts of up to 140 kph. I held tightly onto the car door when I opened it upon my arrival at the backpackers in Plimmerton – didn’t want to lose the door to the wind!
The place I’ve been staying at here is beautiful! It faces a road that skirts the bay. On Sunday morning I sat in the lounge (that’s what they call the living room here) and watched the weekly sailboat race as I answered emails from some of you. Oh yes, and as the weather had changed from gale-force winds and rain to warm and sunny, I enviously watched the cyclists ride down the road and back out to Wellington, thinking that I will do that soon too. I spent some time looking at a few more flats Sunday afternoon and dropped my bike off at Lauren’s for safekeeping until I can move into my own flat. The two flats we saw weren’t right for me, both for different reasons. I thought I’d be staying at the YHA and continuing my search for the remainder of the week when I received a text from the people whose flat I visited last week with the good news that I could rent the room there if I’d like! This flat is in a great location and with two young professionals around my age. I’m stoked! I should be moving in there this week… will keep you posted on the move and, like I said, life in NZ.
Since I left Wellington and headed back to Auckland, I have been making my way back down to the south end of the north island. I stayed in Auckland for one night and then picked up a car (as they say here: I ‘hired’ a car) and finally picked up my bike which was being stored for me. It’s been so long since I’ve been riding! I think I might forget how!! I got a cute little rental and stuffed it full with my backpack, bike in box, and my suitcase (which had also been stored – it has mostly bike stuff in it along with a small sampling of work clothes). I hit the road. I almost went back to Raglan for a couple of days, as people I’d met there were still there hangin’ out and I liked the place so much, but I also wanted to see a bit more of the country so in the end I decided not to. For now I’ve skipped the tourist trap that is Rotorua. I think I will go see it at some point, as the acidic pools of water there are supposed to be quite the sight, but this time around I decided to take it easy. I made my way down to Turangi, at the bottom of Lake Taupo.
A side note on Taupo: I never thought to check it out as a potential place to live, even though they have a major cycling event there every November. It’s a road race around the lake: 160 km. Needless to say, when I went through the town I saw quite a few cyclists. I doubt, however, that Taupo would be the best choice of place to live, as I think I would run out of cycling routes and it’s not the best jumping off spot for more touring around NZ or abroad.
Turangi, at the bottom of Lake Taupo, is the place to stay when embarking on the Tongariro Crossing. This is a famous hike across the volcano in the national park of the same name. There are three peaks in the park: Tongariro, Ruapehu, and Ngauruhoe. The latter being the most conical, hence used as Mount Doom in the famous LOTR movies. I stayed at a great backpackers and just chilled out – in fact, I was offered a two-week job there running the place while the owner goes on vacation. I was tempted, but at the same time without a vehicle it would be quite isolating and I really wanted to get back to Wellington and get settled and on to the main purpose of my OE. I didn’t do the crossing this time, but I intend to go back to do it as it’s supposed to be really great! One afternoon I took in the geothermal pools in Turangi - very nice and super affordable ($8)! I drove out of the park on Saturday and made my way down to Plimmerton – a little town about 25 km outside of Wellington.
Saturday we ended up having a major storm system come through a good part of the north island. The crossing was inaccessible that day, as it was snowing in the mountains, and as I drove into the Rangipo Desert I listened to the radio warnings regarding driving on the highway that day, as there was a strong windstorm. I’ve never driven in a windstorm through a desert before – sand everywhere! As I continued down toward the western coast it got greyer and colder. I was wearing Capri pants when I left (even though it probably wasn’t really warm enough for it) and caved in and changed into my jeans in the car at a vegetable stand on the side of the highway. J I bought some veggies too! As the highway straddled the coast, I could see the waves crashing like mad into the shoreline. I was almost in the greater Wellington area when I found a radio station that was reporting gale-force winds and gusts of up to 140 kph. I held tightly onto the car door when I opened it upon my arrival at the backpackers in Plimmerton – didn’t want to lose the door to the wind!
The place I’ve been staying at here is beautiful! It faces a road that skirts the bay. On Sunday morning I sat in the lounge (that’s what they call the living room here) and watched the weekly sailboat race as I answered emails from some of you. Oh yes, and as the weather had changed from gale-force winds and rain to warm and sunny, I enviously watched the cyclists ride down the road and back out to Wellington, thinking that I will do that soon too. I spent some time looking at a few more flats Sunday afternoon and dropped my bike off at Lauren’s for safekeeping until I can move into my own flat. The two flats we saw weren’t right for me, both for different reasons. I thought I’d be staying at the YHA and continuing my search for the remainder of the week when I received a text from the people whose flat I visited last week with the good news that I could rent the room there if I’d like! This flat is in a great location and with two young professionals around my age. I’m stoked! I should be moving in there this week… will keep you posted on the move and, like I said, life in NZ.
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