Just keep going.
That's all I have been able to focus on really for the past seven months.
That and hoping every day I wake up and reality changes.
With the death of my father back in July, my reality is now and forever altered.
Every day is a struggle, but I know it is for everyone in my family. I was yanked out of my 'happy go lucky' travel adventure, to the harsh reality that life is unpredictable and never fair. Work has become my only life, and I am getting tired of feeling sorry for myself and not doing anything about it. So following once again in my older sister's foot steps, I have decided that I am going to start blogging and writing again. It will at least make me accountable for continuing to live, even if it is only small things to begin with. I need to find joy in life again, and productive ways to express myself.
So I will just end this with a thank you to everyone for the support over the last year, and with a little hope that it get's better.
"Dory: Hey, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down you know what you've gotta do?
Marlin: I don’t want to know.
Dory: [singing] Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim." - 'Finding Nemo' Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Oh Sunny Days
Yeah not really. The first few days in Sydney were actually quite nice. But yeah, the past few have been excessively wet and rainy.
Day 1: I arrived and Martha met me at the airport. We took a bus into the city. I got to see where she lived, and we went exploring. Walked around UNSW campus and I met like two dozen people who Martha is either friends with or worked/studied with while she has been in Oz. Walked down to Coogee beach and wrote a happy fathers day message in the sand for our dad (Happy Dad Day again dad). Did a little bit of grocery shopping and made Yael and Andy dinner. Early night to bed (8:30pm) since I had been up for getting close to 20hours. Then the day of why both Martha and I were in Sydney arrived. GRADUATION DAY! It was a great day. People *coughJohnElhamcough* thought it was a cold day, but I thought it was awesome. Met like another 2-3 dozen of Martha's friends and got the giggles in the middle of the ceremony. Oh funny names. It was a good day though, and lots more proper laughs followed. Australia played Iraq in the qualifiers for the Men's FIFA World Cup, and won in the last minutes of the game. So everyone was super stoked about the grad and the win.
And the excitement and fun just continued throughout the rest of the week.
Zoo day! Martha, Yael, Tom, Anna, and John showed me around and got to see a few new things there. We went to the Tasmanian devil feeding which was cool. While at the feeding we learned that the tassie devil is quickly dying off due to a really rare cancer. They have started a breeding program to make sure they have a good gene pool to draw from to continue the existence of the tassie and also to help find a way to make a cure. Currently the cancer is 100% fatal. We also went to the bird show which was probably the most amazing thing about the zoo trip. The abilities and training that they have nurtured and developed was spectacular. We also saw the seal show which was more informative and less tricks but still very neat. And to top it off, while we walked past the male elephant section, the keepers were playing with the one elephant. It was setting up a soccer ball and kicking it, and drop kicking a rugby ball. It was a very awe inspiring day, but also very sombering. To think that human's have destroyed so much nature that some animals only know the life of a cage since there are so few left, let's just say by the end of the day I was feeling very reflective. After the zoo, they introduced me to a hot chocolate place that I doubt could be equaled anywhere other than maybe somewhere in Europe. Max Brenners. Yael, Martha, and I have decided that Max Brenners should replace Starbucks in Canada, and Tim Hortons should replace Starbucks in Australia. It is an out of this world choco experience. After the amazing drink you would think the rest of the trip would be a flop right?
Wrong!
Art museum. Very randomly set up, but super interesting pieces. And I of course pulled a blonde moment. We were looking at some china from China that is like 600 years old, and I thought "Wow, these are really beautiful, they should be in a museum" which made me start laughing to myself, since right after thinking that I was like "Um, they are." Martha asked what was so funny, so I told her and we both had a good laugh at my moment. That day was also Martha's birthday! So dinner out with a bunch of her friends and a really good dumpling place, and a cake/roll thing that Yael and I made back at their house. Friday was our "down day". Which saw us eat lunch with more new people for me, and then we headed over to the family that Martha used to babysit/house sit for. Then back home to have another yummy dinner of kangaroo, which I have now had basically everyday being here. Saturday was another exciting day. I went swimming for the first time in the ocean at Clovelly. John, Martha and I then walked in the rain to Bondi beach. It was a wet day, and when I had my warm shower after walking around for 5 hours my hands felt like they were burning. Guess it was colder than I wanted to admit, at least the air was, the water was warmish. That night I got to meet a couple girls from Martha's soccer team. Very nice people. And the third Alex I have met on this trip. We had some good Chinese food, and then probably the coolest desert ever. Liquid nitrogen gelato! I had the strawberry blonde geisha (green tea gelato with flirty strawberry bits - their description), Martha got the we are the champions (maple and smoked bacon), Nat got popcorn, and Alex got dark chocolate and sea salt. We have come to the conclusion that mine was the best, and Martha's was overpowered by the bacon.
SUNDAY! Started with an awesome pancake brekkie made by Yael, and the maple syrup provided by our neighbours in Waterloo. Then off to a Persian wedding luncheon for Elham and Iman. Elham looked beautiful, but we had to dash. After a half hour with them, we hopped on to the bus and headed for the Sydney Opera House to see Peter and the wolf performed by the symphony featuring the Aussie icon Dame Edna. It was great music and a funny performance by the Dame. After that we hopped onto another bus, and headed to Maroubra junction to get our GoT on. Alex (another Alex) and Sarah had us over to meet their little Henry, and play Game of Thrones the board game. I chose to play as the Strak's and kept saying 'Winter is coming'. It was a lot of fun. Martha won. But it was fun. John showed up for dessert and gave us a ride home. I have found that all of Martha's friends are super nice.
Last day! Yael, Martha and I went out to Maroubra beach - also known in local terminology as the bra - where we watched surfers do their thing, while enjoying a simple but good breakfast. Came back, started writing this blog, then left to grab a cuppa at Max Brenners with soccer girls. Alex and Ro, very cool people and yummy hot chocolate. Came back home again, packed, and now the blog is updated!
"Don't shoot! Seriously, I don't even like working here. They are so weird!"- Mandarin guard 'Iron Man 3'
Day 1: I arrived and Martha met me at the airport. We took a bus into the city. I got to see where she lived, and we went exploring. Walked around UNSW campus and I met like two dozen people who Martha is either friends with or worked/studied with while she has been in Oz. Walked down to Coogee beach and wrote a happy fathers day message in the sand for our dad (Happy Dad Day again dad). Did a little bit of grocery shopping and made Yael and Andy dinner. Early night to bed (8:30pm) since I had been up for getting close to 20hours. Then the day of why both Martha and I were in Sydney arrived. GRADUATION DAY! It was a great day. People *coughJohnElhamcough* thought it was a cold day, but I thought it was awesome. Met like another 2-3 dozen of Martha's friends and got the giggles in the middle of the ceremony. Oh funny names. It was a good day though, and lots more proper laughs followed. Australia played Iraq in the qualifiers for the Men's FIFA World Cup, and won in the last minutes of the game. So everyone was super stoked about the grad and the win.
And the excitement and fun just continued throughout the rest of the week.
Zoo day! Martha, Yael, Tom, Anna, and John showed me around and got to see a few new things there. We went to the Tasmanian devil feeding which was cool. While at the feeding we learned that the tassie devil is quickly dying off due to a really rare cancer. They have started a breeding program to make sure they have a good gene pool to draw from to continue the existence of the tassie and also to help find a way to make a cure. Currently the cancer is 100% fatal. We also went to the bird show which was probably the most amazing thing about the zoo trip. The abilities and training that they have nurtured and developed was spectacular. We also saw the seal show which was more informative and less tricks but still very neat. And to top it off, while we walked past the male elephant section, the keepers were playing with the one elephant. It was setting up a soccer ball and kicking it, and drop kicking a rugby ball. It was a very awe inspiring day, but also very sombering. To think that human's have destroyed so much nature that some animals only know the life of a cage since there are so few left, let's just say by the end of the day I was feeling very reflective. After the zoo, they introduced me to a hot chocolate place that I doubt could be equaled anywhere other than maybe somewhere in Europe. Max Brenners. Yael, Martha, and I have decided that Max Brenners should replace Starbucks in Canada, and Tim Hortons should replace Starbucks in Australia. It is an out of this world choco experience. After the amazing drink you would think the rest of the trip would be a flop right?
Wrong!
Art museum. Very randomly set up, but super interesting pieces. And I of course pulled a blonde moment. We were looking at some china from China that is like 600 years old, and I thought "Wow, these are really beautiful, they should be in a museum" which made me start laughing to myself, since right after thinking that I was like "Um, they are." Martha asked what was so funny, so I told her and we both had a good laugh at my moment. That day was also Martha's birthday! So dinner out with a bunch of her friends and a really good dumpling place, and a cake/roll thing that Yael and I made back at their house. Friday was our "down day". Which saw us eat lunch with more new people for me, and then we headed over to the family that Martha used to babysit/house sit for. Then back home to have another yummy dinner of kangaroo, which I have now had basically everyday being here. Saturday was another exciting day. I went swimming for the first time in the ocean at Clovelly. John, Martha and I then walked in the rain to Bondi beach. It was a wet day, and when I had my warm shower after walking around for 5 hours my hands felt like they were burning. Guess it was colder than I wanted to admit, at least the air was, the water was warmish. That night I got to meet a couple girls from Martha's soccer team. Very nice people. And the third Alex I have met on this trip. We had some good Chinese food, and then probably the coolest desert ever. Liquid nitrogen gelato! I had the strawberry blonde geisha (green tea gelato with flirty strawberry bits - their description), Martha got the we are the champions (maple and smoked bacon), Nat got popcorn, and Alex got dark chocolate and sea salt. We have come to the conclusion that mine was the best, and Martha's was overpowered by the bacon.
SUNDAY! Started with an awesome pancake brekkie made by Yael, and the maple syrup provided by our neighbours in Waterloo. Then off to a Persian wedding luncheon for Elham and Iman. Elham looked beautiful, but we had to dash. After a half hour with them, we hopped on to the bus and headed for the Sydney Opera House to see Peter and the wolf performed by the symphony featuring the Aussie icon Dame Edna. It was great music and a funny performance by the Dame. After that we hopped onto another bus, and headed to Maroubra junction to get our GoT on. Alex (another Alex) and Sarah had us over to meet their little Henry, and play Game of Thrones the board game. I chose to play as the Strak's and kept saying 'Winter is coming'. It was a lot of fun. Martha won. But it was fun. John showed up for dessert and gave us a ride home. I have found that all of Martha's friends are super nice.
Last day! Yael, Martha and I went out to Maroubra beach - also known in local terminology as the bra - where we watched surfers do their thing, while enjoying a simple but good breakfast. Came back, started writing this blog, then left to grab a cuppa at Max Brenners with soccer girls. Alex and Ro, very cool people and yummy hot chocolate. Came back home again, packed, and now the blog is updated!
"Don't shoot! Seriously, I don't even like working here. They are so weird!"- Mandarin guard 'Iron Man 3'
Thursday, 13 June 2013
I'm Back!
I have been given instructions from a very important person that my blog was in need of an update, so here it goes.
I am back in Christchurch right now, but this time I am not ill! So the visit has already started on the right foot. I am staying with the same fabulous family from my last visit and yes Mom I am trying to help around the house with little things like dishes and folding laundry. p.s. Mom the kids love the shirts :)
I just reread my last post, so the following little tales should all be new.
Queenstown - it was definitely a lifestyle change from Kinloch. Since it is a tourist town everything is expensive, and extreme, so in my down time I was quite boring. I read a lot, and hung out with a few friends I made. I went to some meditation nights, and watched saw some movies. 'Star Trek' I went to the midnight opening showing of, and by golly was it good. Also saw 'Idenity Theif' which was okay, and 'Iron Man 3' which I absolutely loved. Pepper Potts kicked some ass, and a woman kicking ass is always a plus in my books. So that was Queenstown in a nut shell. Well, okay, not quite. Fat Badgers and World Bar went up in flames. I had a cold at the time so had spent the day in bed, and didn't know about it until my friend Holly texted me if I was okay. And if anyone is confused, Fat Badgers was a pizza place below World Bar and is where the fire started which caused them both to go up in smoke. My stay in Queenstown last 5 weeks, and then I moved back out into the middle of nowhere.
Glenorchy/Kinloch - Next on the list of "What to Do" was working on a farm between Glenorchy and Kinloch. I don't actually know which town/village it falls into, but does it really matter when you are travelling to make these small little definitions? nope. So I worked on a cow farm for Al's friend Thomas. It was different once again to either of the other jobs. The first day I was there it was time for the cows to be scanned. Now this isn't a dairy farm, it's a beef farm with a lot of female cows who need to get preggers so the calfs can be sold. So scanning the cows was to check if they were preggers or not. And most were. I think only a handful or so weren't, and thats out of nearly 300 cows, so good job bulls lol. I also painted a hallway and a mudroom while I was there. Helped feed the chucks and cows, and clean out the chuck houses. Planted the spring bulbs, and helped sort out some stuff from a spare room and the garage. I really enjoyed it. Thomas and Karen also had a dog, which I love! Her name is Xena and she is a mouse killer, not quite as cool as a warrior princess, but still a very cool dog. I left the farm this past Tuesday, and rejoined Stray Bus. Once again I had another driver. This time it was Spoons. He was covering for another driver who had hurt their arm, so he didn't have a mic to talk to us about the places we passed. But it was okay. Most of us just slept on the bus. So I saw Mt. Cook again. This time I went for a walk and got back before it was dark. Others had gone on a longer walk, and ended up having to use their cell phones and one persons flash light to make their ways back. The next day we went to Lake Tekapo where a bunch of us went ice skating. It was a lot of fun, and I realised two things; 1-I need to get my skates at home sharpened, and 2-I skate like how people ski lol. That night we stayed in Rangitata, and watched some episodes of 'Flight of the Concords' and then since most of us had never seen it, Spoons had us watch 'Top Gun' which yes has a great soundtrack, but no is not that great of a movie. Now I am in Christchurch, and just relaxing for a few days before my next big adventure. I am on my way to Oz...do I follow the yellow brick road?
"Glad to meet you kid, you're a real horses ass."- Henry Gondorf 'The Sting'
I am back in Christchurch right now, but this time I am not ill! So the visit has already started on the right foot. I am staying with the same fabulous family from my last visit and yes Mom I am trying to help around the house with little things like dishes and folding laundry. p.s. Mom the kids love the shirts :)
I just reread my last post, so the following little tales should all be new.
Queenstown - it was definitely a lifestyle change from Kinloch. Since it is a tourist town everything is expensive, and extreme, so in my down time I was quite boring. I read a lot, and hung out with a few friends I made. I went to some meditation nights, and watched saw some movies. 'Star Trek' I went to the midnight opening showing of, and by golly was it good. Also saw 'Idenity Theif' which was okay, and 'Iron Man 3' which I absolutely loved. Pepper Potts kicked some ass, and a woman kicking ass is always a plus in my books. So that was Queenstown in a nut shell. Well, okay, not quite. Fat Badgers and World Bar went up in flames. I had a cold at the time so had spent the day in bed, and didn't know about it until my friend Holly texted me if I was okay. And if anyone is confused, Fat Badgers was a pizza place below World Bar and is where the fire started which caused them both to go up in smoke. My stay in Queenstown last 5 weeks, and then I moved back out into the middle of nowhere.
Glenorchy/Kinloch - Next on the list of "What to Do" was working on a farm between Glenorchy and Kinloch. I don't actually know which town/village it falls into, but does it really matter when you are travelling to make these small little definitions? nope. So I worked on a cow farm for Al's friend Thomas. It was different once again to either of the other jobs. The first day I was there it was time for the cows to be scanned. Now this isn't a dairy farm, it's a beef farm with a lot of female cows who need to get preggers so the calfs can be sold. So scanning the cows was to check if they were preggers or not. And most were. I think only a handful or so weren't, and thats out of nearly 300 cows, so good job bulls lol. I also painted a hallway and a mudroom while I was there. Helped feed the chucks and cows, and clean out the chuck houses. Planted the spring bulbs, and helped sort out some stuff from a spare room and the garage. I really enjoyed it. Thomas and Karen also had a dog, which I love! Her name is Xena and she is a mouse killer, not quite as cool as a warrior princess, but still a very cool dog. I left the farm this past Tuesday, and rejoined Stray Bus. Once again I had another driver. This time it was Spoons. He was covering for another driver who had hurt their arm, so he didn't have a mic to talk to us about the places we passed. But it was okay. Most of us just slept on the bus. So I saw Mt. Cook again. This time I went for a walk and got back before it was dark. Others had gone on a longer walk, and ended up having to use their cell phones and one persons flash light to make their ways back. The next day we went to Lake Tekapo where a bunch of us went ice skating. It was a lot of fun, and I realised two things; 1-I need to get my skates at home sharpened, and 2-I skate like how people ski lol. That night we stayed in Rangitata, and watched some episodes of 'Flight of the Concords' and then since most of us had never seen it, Spoons had us watch 'Top Gun' which yes has a great soundtrack, but no is not that great of a movie. Now I am in Christchurch, and just relaxing for a few days before my next big adventure. I am on my way to Oz...do I follow the yellow brick road?
"Glad to meet you kid, you're a real horses ass."- Henry Gondorf 'The Sting'
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Life continues!
Okay once again haven't posted in a really long time. And this time I am not going to apologize :D
Since the last time I posted I have been to Dunedin and stayed at Hogwartz. A very good hostel and I recommend it to people if they ever are in need of one in Dunedin. I also stayed with my mom's friend there in her cute little house, with her and her significant other. They were wonderful hosts, and vegan. So guess who ate vegan for a week? ME! It was really good food, and I think I will be trying out some recipes when I get back to Canada where the cost of food isn't as crazy.
After Dunedin I moved to Kinloch and lived in a converted bus for a month. And it has been the best month I think yet. I loved having a fire at night to keep me warm, and living in the middle of nowhere basically. Working in Kinloch I learned a bit about car's, and mechanic work, but mostly just how much brute force goes into country living. The first day I chopped wood for 2 hrs straight basically, and got some pretty good blisters on both hands. I also washed out a killing hut. Other things I did over my month in Kinloch, learned how to drive a digger (the big yellow caterpillar kind of things) and use it to move logs and such. Went deer hunting, but didn't get anything. Got good at removing seats from vans and at putting them back in. Pulled a lot of weeds, and cut trees down to size. Decluttered movies on a rainy day. Jumped in the lake on April 20th with some snow already on the peaks of the mountains. Had some pretty epic fires that kept burning for a couple days - all very safe of course. Took an engine out of a car, and have now gotten used to having oil and dirt almost always under my nails. I also knitted a little ghost doll toy thing. It didn't turn out all that good, but it was fast and easy to make. I am going to have to try it again eventually. I think my nephews would like it.
So that was Kinloch. I have since moved to Queenstown. I have been here just under 2 weeks now, and it has had some extremes. I am working in a bike rental shop, and since it is fall, it has been raining on and off and getting colder. So not a lot of people wanting to rent bikes. But I have been making a few friends, and been able to focus a little bit on what comes next. Which is AUSTRALIA! My sister's graduation is next month and I am going to fly to Sydney to attend her grad, and then a few days later it is her birthday so we shall celebrate in style! I am super excited to be able to go to her grad and witness her accepting something she has most definitely earned and more so deserves. So proud of my big sister.
And that's life in a nut shell right now. Oh I forgot to mention I got to shoot a shotgun and a .22 rifle. So I guess I should really say that's life in a shotgun shell.
"No life, without wife"- Bride and Prejudice
Since the last time I posted I have been to Dunedin and stayed at Hogwartz. A very good hostel and I recommend it to people if they ever are in need of one in Dunedin. I also stayed with my mom's friend there in her cute little house, with her and her significant other. They were wonderful hosts, and vegan. So guess who ate vegan for a week? ME! It was really good food, and I think I will be trying out some recipes when I get back to Canada where the cost of food isn't as crazy.
After Dunedin I moved to Kinloch and lived in a converted bus for a month. And it has been the best month I think yet. I loved having a fire at night to keep me warm, and living in the middle of nowhere basically. Working in Kinloch I learned a bit about car's, and mechanic work, but mostly just how much brute force goes into country living. The first day I chopped wood for 2 hrs straight basically, and got some pretty good blisters on both hands. I also washed out a killing hut. Other things I did over my month in Kinloch, learned how to drive a digger (the big yellow caterpillar kind of things) and use it to move logs and such. Went deer hunting, but didn't get anything. Got good at removing seats from vans and at putting them back in. Pulled a lot of weeds, and cut trees down to size. Decluttered movies on a rainy day. Jumped in the lake on April 20th with some snow already on the peaks of the mountains. Had some pretty epic fires that kept burning for a couple days - all very safe of course. Took an engine out of a car, and have now gotten used to having oil and dirt almost always under my nails. I also knitted a little ghost doll toy thing. It didn't turn out all that good, but it was fast and easy to make. I am going to have to try it again eventually. I think my nephews would like it.
So that was Kinloch. I have since moved to Queenstown. I have been here just under 2 weeks now, and it has had some extremes. I am working in a bike rental shop, and since it is fall, it has been raining on and off and getting colder. So not a lot of people wanting to rent bikes. But I have been making a few friends, and been able to focus a little bit on what comes next. Which is AUSTRALIA! My sister's graduation is next month and I am going to fly to Sydney to attend her grad, and then a few days later it is her birthday so we shall celebrate in style! I am super excited to be able to go to her grad and witness her accepting something she has most definitely earned and more so deserves. So proud of my big sister.
And that's life in a nut shell right now. Oh I forgot to mention I got to shoot a shotgun and a .22 rifle. So I guess I should really say that's life in a shotgun shell.
"No life, without wife"- Bride and Prejudice
Monday, 1 April 2013
Apologies
I should start with saying sorry I haven't posted a blog in almost a month. It was bad manners for me to make it seem as if I didn't want you all knowing what I have been up too. So a recap of the end of my Stray journey. I think the last time I posted was when I was in Invercargill. Well the place we stayed was called Tuatara and was quite nice. The cafe that was part of it gave discounts to people who stayed at the hostel so I bought breakfast there and Thrift shop was playing. Made me so happy to hear that song since it made me feel like Martha was there with me a bit. So we left late that day and went to a bluff area and saw roughly a dozen sea lions which was pretty cool. Then it was back to Queenstown. Altitude the Base hostel bar where I had previously sung karaoke was having a backlight UV paint type night. It was pretty funny seeing how painted people were getting and yes I had some put on my face as well. No pictures though. Lots of people who had hopped off the bus previously were now in Queenstown so it was cool seeing people that you didn't think you would see again.
Next stop, Aoraki or in other words Mount Cook. It was a nice place. I started getting a fever here so didn't do much other then watch a video about how Aoraki and the mountains got there names. Aoraki is also known as cloud piercer. Headed out next to Rangitata. I went horse back riding here. And I thought the horse I got had the perfect name. Bobby. Lol. For those of you reading this who don't really know me or my family my brother is named Bobby. So I just thought it was fitting how little things along my trip have connected me back to my family. The ride was really nice. Our guide picked wild black berries for us and so we had a bit of a treat on our ride. The place we stayed was really nice. Rustic cabin type place. I was still not feeling great with a fever and stuff. We had a good group meal that night and watched some movies.
Christchurch up next and my last stop with Stray. I stayed with friends of my moms cousin in Christchurch, but before I met them I napped in the semi famous gardens in the central area of town. It was good, but it didn't help me get better. After the first night with Jill and Lucy (yes we have the same name) I got worse. My fever just kept going up. It eventually hit around the 40'C mark when I started to puke. My head was also pounding and my ears hurt like crazy. Went to the doctors the next day and as I thought I had ear infections in both ears and as she put it a touch of the flu. I puked a couple more times that day and didn't get any better even with the prescriptions she gave me. So the next day, it was time to go to the clinic. This clinic was probably the nicest hospital doctor type place I have ever been too. I got blood work done, and had to have an IV drip since I was crazy dehydrated. They also gave me really good anti nauseant medication. And what ever they did it worked. I barely had a headache, my temperature was back to normal, I ate for the first time in 3 days, my ears still hurt but I had antibiotics for that. It was amazing to feel like I wasn't burning to a crisp slowly. I didn't do much the rest of the week. Just wanted to get my strength back and not rush my body. I did some small walks and tried to help out as much as possible at Jill and Lucys. They were two of the nicest people I have met. And there family is just so nice as well. There friends Paul and Jane were headed down to Dunedin on the friday and let me tag along with them. They were also super nice and even dropped me off at my hostel in Dunedin.
Dunedin. I started out staying at Hogwartz. It was a cool hostel. I didn't do much. Just started looking for jobs and writing. On Tuesday I hung out at the library all day and then got picked up by my moms friend Clarissa. I an currently staying with her and her boyfriend. They are really nice people and are vegan, so I have been eating vegan for the past week basically. That first night I went with Clarissa to her Maori class. It was cool. I applied for a bunch of different work opportunities the next day and that night finally met Marcelo her boyfriend. He is very nice and interesting. We talked about a lot of different topics while they made vegan blue cheese buffalo wing pizza. So instead of blue cheese it was tofu and some spices and stuff. And instead of buffalo wings it was cauliflower with wheat stuff and BBQ sauce. Also home made crust. It was really good. They went away for Easter weekend so I got to be home alone for a few days which I basically read and chilled out over. Yesterday they took me to Sandfly beach. It was a nice place. Big sand dunes and the ocean. Saw a couple of sea lions there as well. Now I am just waiting for responses to my applications for work. So that is basically my last month in a nut shell.
"Attitude reflects leadership, captain."- Julius 'Remember the Titans'
Next stop, Aoraki or in other words Mount Cook. It was a nice place. I started getting a fever here so didn't do much other then watch a video about how Aoraki and the mountains got there names. Aoraki is also known as cloud piercer. Headed out next to Rangitata. I went horse back riding here. And I thought the horse I got had the perfect name. Bobby. Lol. For those of you reading this who don't really know me or my family my brother is named Bobby. So I just thought it was fitting how little things along my trip have connected me back to my family. The ride was really nice. Our guide picked wild black berries for us and so we had a bit of a treat on our ride. The place we stayed was really nice. Rustic cabin type place. I was still not feeling great with a fever and stuff. We had a good group meal that night and watched some movies.
Christchurch up next and my last stop with Stray. I stayed with friends of my moms cousin in Christchurch, but before I met them I napped in the semi famous gardens in the central area of town. It was good, but it didn't help me get better. After the first night with Jill and Lucy (yes we have the same name) I got worse. My fever just kept going up. It eventually hit around the 40'C mark when I started to puke. My head was also pounding and my ears hurt like crazy. Went to the doctors the next day and as I thought I had ear infections in both ears and as she put it a touch of the flu. I puked a couple more times that day and didn't get any better even with the prescriptions she gave me. So the next day, it was time to go to the clinic. This clinic was probably the nicest hospital doctor type place I have ever been too. I got blood work done, and had to have an IV drip since I was crazy dehydrated. They also gave me really good anti nauseant medication. And what ever they did it worked. I barely had a headache, my temperature was back to normal, I ate for the first time in 3 days, my ears still hurt but I had antibiotics for that. It was amazing to feel like I wasn't burning to a crisp slowly. I didn't do much the rest of the week. Just wanted to get my strength back and not rush my body. I did some small walks and tried to help out as much as possible at Jill and Lucys. They were two of the nicest people I have met. And there family is just so nice as well. There friends Paul and Jane were headed down to Dunedin on the friday and let me tag along with them. They were also super nice and even dropped me off at my hostel in Dunedin.
Dunedin. I started out staying at Hogwartz. It was a cool hostel. I didn't do much. Just started looking for jobs and writing. On Tuesday I hung out at the library all day and then got picked up by my moms friend Clarissa. I an currently staying with her and her boyfriend. They are really nice people and are vegan, so I have been eating vegan for the past week basically. That first night I went with Clarissa to her Maori class. It was cool. I applied for a bunch of different work opportunities the next day and that night finally met Marcelo her boyfriend. He is very nice and interesting. We talked about a lot of different topics while they made vegan blue cheese buffalo wing pizza. So instead of blue cheese it was tofu and some spices and stuff. And instead of buffalo wings it was cauliflower with wheat stuff and BBQ sauce. Also home made crust. It was really good. They went away for Easter weekend so I got to be home alone for a few days which I basically read and chilled out over. Yesterday they took me to Sandfly beach. It was a nice place. Big sand dunes and the ocean. Saw a couple of sea lions there as well. Now I am just waiting for responses to my applications for work. So that is basically my last month in a nut shell.
"Attitude reflects leadership, captain."- Julius 'Remember the Titans'
Thursday, 7 March 2013
South Island
My last post was from the blue bridge ferry. This time it's from Tuatara Backpackers in Invercargill. So once again an unlikely place for free wifi.
Let's recap from after the ferry ride. We got off in Picton and got another bus. This one didn't have air con or a proper sound system and the windshields were very cracked along the one edge. We had two bus loads though since there were about 65 of us. So a new driver! I am not sure if I have mentioned my driver. Ms P aka Ms Perfect. The drivers get there names from their trainer when they do the loop of the islands. Ms P did a perfect loop hence her name. She was pretty cool. Easy going and really likes regee. So I had her for the entire north island and then from Picton to Abel Tasman, which was our first stop on the south island. Abel Tasman was a cool place. I didn't do any of the activities here but still had a good time. We glamped here. Which in other terms is glamourous camping. So basically we slept on regular beds but in tents. Which has obviously made this my fave place to stay. It was called The Barn for anyone who plans to visit Abel Tasman or those who just want to google where I stayed. We were there for two nights and I had the best sleeps so far. We had a birthday party for one of the girls from England which saw me making the outdoor fire for the night. Ended watching LOTR 1&2 instead of joining the party. Too many sandflies for my liking.
New bus driver time! His name was Aerial. The story for his name shall not be revealed. I felt bad for him since not even ten minutes after we left driving up the side of the mountain our bus breaks down. Turns out we just didn't have any clutch fluid so he couldn't shift into the proper gears. So after about an hour we got it fixed and were on the road again heading for Blackball. Blackball is an old mining town. We stopped at the pancake rocks which are called that due to the way they have eroded over the years. My camera was dead unfortunately since they didn't really have that many outlets in Abel Tasman. Blackball was a lot of more fun then I was expecting. There was a costume contest and a story competition to go along with it. And then there was a game of sexual positions. Guess which one I won. The rest of the night Phil the bar keep and partial owner let me basically play dj and pick the music that was played. Yay!
Next stop Franz Josef. We drove a lot that day. So I didn't do too much when we got there. But we stayed two nights, so I did the free glacier walk. Basically you walk an hour out of town to the carpark where you do about a twenty minute walk to the glacier. You can't get overly close since there are rock slides and stuff happening all the time. It was a nice walk. On the way back though it started to rain so I needed a hot shower when I got back to warm up. We went to Wanaka next which was awesome. Very relaxing for me. I didn't stay with the rest of my bus group but in a different hostel. Turns out it had like 5-6 other Canadians there so really nice. AJ from London and Steve from Ottawa/Calgary were the two that helped me pick a hostel for Queenstown and with info on places they liked the best so far in New Zealand. We three went swimming in Lake Wanaka. It was so nice. That night we watched 'the life of Brian' so a good night all in all.
Queenstown. What can I say other than it was a place of firsts. Monday night I did karaoke for the first time. Sang Tiny Dancer by Elton John. People seemed to like it. I was actually recognized the next two days in Queenstown and called tiny dancer. Pretty cool feeling. I didn't win since they just drew names from a girls shirt. But I think I will have to definitely do it again. Tuesday I did the ledge swing. Omfg so just mind blowingly beautiful. I have posted the video of Facebook so those of you I have on Facebook should be able to view it. Wednesday night I went to the Altitude bar again (where I sang karaoke) and played in their nightly pool game for getting your bar tab paid for by them. I didn't win but was signed up as tiny dancer by the dj from the previous night when I told him my name. My friend Amanda on the bus who is from Canada, showed up later that night and told me she reemed out the dj for not judging the karaoke on talent which would have made me the winner. I think some of the friends I have made will last. And are the kind of friends everyone should have at least one of.
Yesterday we went to Milford sound and did a cruise type thing around the fiords. Saw some seals. And it was very pretty. We stayed in Gunns Camp last night. In cabins from the 1930's which was pretty cool. We had a fire going the minute we got into the little three room hut. And it kept it toasty. Holly my friend I have made from Surrey, didn't know how to play go fish or crazy eights so Amanda and I taught her. The power shut off around ten ish since the camp is run on generators. So we finished our card games by headlamp light. Today we are Invercargilland tomorrow we head back up to Queenstown. So a very busy little tour. But it's almost time for me to get a job and I kind of can't wait to have money going back in to my bank account and not just out of it.
"Spam I hate spam"-Monty python flying circus
Let's recap from after the ferry ride. We got off in Picton and got another bus. This one didn't have air con or a proper sound system and the windshields were very cracked along the one edge. We had two bus loads though since there were about 65 of us. So a new driver! I am not sure if I have mentioned my driver. Ms P aka Ms Perfect. The drivers get there names from their trainer when they do the loop of the islands. Ms P did a perfect loop hence her name. She was pretty cool. Easy going and really likes regee. So I had her for the entire north island and then from Picton to Abel Tasman, which was our first stop on the south island. Abel Tasman was a cool place. I didn't do any of the activities here but still had a good time. We glamped here. Which in other terms is glamourous camping. So basically we slept on regular beds but in tents. Which has obviously made this my fave place to stay. It was called The Barn for anyone who plans to visit Abel Tasman or those who just want to google where I stayed. We were there for two nights and I had the best sleeps so far. We had a birthday party for one of the girls from England which saw me making the outdoor fire for the night. Ended watching LOTR 1&2 instead of joining the party. Too many sandflies for my liking.
New bus driver time! His name was Aerial. The story for his name shall not be revealed. I felt bad for him since not even ten minutes after we left driving up the side of the mountain our bus breaks down. Turns out we just didn't have any clutch fluid so he couldn't shift into the proper gears. So after about an hour we got it fixed and were on the road again heading for Blackball. Blackball is an old mining town. We stopped at the pancake rocks which are called that due to the way they have eroded over the years. My camera was dead unfortunately since they didn't really have that many outlets in Abel Tasman. Blackball was a lot of more fun then I was expecting. There was a costume contest and a story competition to go along with it. And then there was a game of sexual positions. Guess which one I won. The rest of the night Phil the bar keep and partial owner let me basically play dj and pick the music that was played. Yay!
Next stop Franz Josef. We drove a lot that day. So I didn't do too much when we got there. But we stayed two nights, so I did the free glacier walk. Basically you walk an hour out of town to the carpark where you do about a twenty minute walk to the glacier. You can't get overly close since there are rock slides and stuff happening all the time. It was a nice walk. On the way back though it started to rain so I needed a hot shower when I got back to warm up. We went to Wanaka next which was awesome. Very relaxing for me. I didn't stay with the rest of my bus group but in a different hostel. Turns out it had like 5-6 other Canadians there so really nice. AJ from London and Steve from Ottawa/Calgary were the two that helped me pick a hostel for Queenstown and with info on places they liked the best so far in New Zealand. We three went swimming in Lake Wanaka. It was so nice. That night we watched 'the life of Brian' so a good night all in all.
Queenstown. What can I say other than it was a place of firsts. Monday night I did karaoke for the first time. Sang Tiny Dancer by Elton John. People seemed to like it. I was actually recognized the next two days in Queenstown and called tiny dancer. Pretty cool feeling. I didn't win since they just drew names from a girls shirt. But I think I will have to definitely do it again. Tuesday I did the ledge swing. Omfg so just mind blowingly beautiful. I have posted the video of Facebook so those of you I have on Facebook should be able to view it. Wednesday night I went to the Altitude bar again (where I sang karaoke) and played in their nightly pool game for getting your bar tab paid for by them. I didn't win but was signed up as tiny dancer by the dj from the previous night when I told him my name. My friend Amanda on the bus who is from Canada, showed up later that night and told me she reemed out the dj for not judging the karaoke on talent which would have made me the winner. I think some of the friends I have made will last. And are the kind of friends everyone should have at least one of.
Yesterday we went to Milford sound and did a cruise type thing around the fiords. Saw some seals. And it was very pretty. We stayed in Gunns Camp last night. In cabins from the 1930's which was pretty cool. We had a fire going the minute we got into the little three room hut. And it kept it toasty. Holly my friend I have made from Surrey, didn't know how to play go fish or crazy eights so Amanda and I taught her. The power shut off around ten ish since the camp is run on generators. So we finished our card games by headlamp light. Today we are Invercargilland tomorrow we head back up to Queenstown. So a very busy little tour. But it's almost time for me to get a job and I kind of can't wait to have money going back in to my bank account and not just out of it.
"Spam I hate spam"-Monty python flying circus
Monday, 25 February 2013
A-Stray
As I think I have mentioned before Internet access for free is extremely rare here in New Zealand. But luckily the ferry has free wifi of all places.
I shall now try to summarize my past week of travels.
We started in Hahei. It was a nice beach town. I didn't swim in the ocean. Only rolled my pant legs up and got my legs wet. It was so hot and sunny and I kept thinking of the movie 'Goonies'. I don't know why. I just did. We had a group BBQ that night and I made potato salad for everyone. They seemed to enjoy it. The next day we headed to Raglan. It was kind of in the bush where we stayed. Very pretty place. All green and like a camp. They had glow worms along there drive living in the thick underbrush. Very cool to see at night.
The next day we headed out again. This time to Waitomo. That is where we went blackwater tubing. Fun day. The guides we had in the caves told us they had gps. But it doesn't stand for what you think. It stands for glowworm positioning system. The reason for that is that the ceiling of the cave was covered with glowworms. So where they were you knew where the water travelled. Sam our one guide kept on telling us if we feel anything touching our legs or backs it was just the eels. People were actually scared which I found funny. That night we stayed at a Mourea which is a Maori meeting house. They welcomed us in a traditional ceremony and later taught us all the haka. Very fun.
We went to Rotorua and Taupo the following day. Basically didn't do anything. Hung out with Holly, a girl I have become friends with from Surrey England. Her brothers friend was in Taupo as well so we hung out with him. And I made pancakes from memory and they were okay. They didn't have maple syrup but we did have caramel topping for them.
So the next place was Whakahoro, but pronounced fukawhoreo. Wh makes a 'f'sound in Maori. This was probably the highlight of my trip so far. We stayed at a place called Blue Duck Lodge. So beautiful there that I cried during hike I did when I reached one of the look out points. Niels, a guy on the bus from Denmark, ran the hike trail that took me 3hrs and he did it in 43 minutes. Didn't beat the record of 35 mintues though. I got the meal option there for dinner which was goat curry. If you have time you should google Blue Duck Lodge and take a look at what it does. A very impressive place.
After that we headed to Tongariro National Park. Almost everyone did the mountain hike up mount Tongariro. I didn't but I will try to do a winter crossing in August. Instead of the hike, the few of us who stayed behind washed the bus which was actually pretty fun. I also read 'digital fortress' by Dan Brown (da Vinci code author). It was a pretty good book. I have caught a cold now. Not too bad of one yet so when we were in Wellington yesterday I didn't do anything. Slept alright but had a super early start today. Actually writing this post on the Bluebridge ferry on my way to the south island. So today is going to be pretty boring since it's just traveling by boat and then by bus to our destination. But tomorrow is a day off from traveling. We are staying in Abel Tasman tonight and tomorrow. Should be pretty. It's another national park.
That's about all I can think of for what I have been up to. Looking forward to not being on the bus at all tomorrow. Oh and I called this post 'a-stray' since the bus tour I am on is Stray.
"hey you guys!"-sloth 'goonies'
I shall now try to summarize my past week of travels.
We started in Hahei. It was a nice beach town. I didn't swim in the ocean. Only rolled my pant legs up and got my legs wet. It was so hot and sunny and I kept thinking of the movie 'Goonies'. I don't know why. I just did. We had a group BBQ that night and I made potato salad for everyone. They seemed to enjoy it. The next day we headed to Raglan. It was kind of in the bush where we stayed. Very pretty place. All green and like a camp. They had glow worms along there drive living in the thick underbrush. Very cool to see at night.
The next day we headed out again. This time to Waitomo. That is where we went blackwater tubing. Fun day. The guides we had in the caves told us they had gps. But it doesn't stand for what you think. It stands for glowworm positioning system. The reason for that is that the ceiling of the cave was covered with glowworms. So where they were you knew where the water travelled. Sam our one guide kept on telling us if we feel anything touching our legs or backs it was just the eels. People were actually scared which I found funny. That night we stayed at a Mourea which is a Maori meeting house. They welcomed us in a traditional ceremony and later taught us all the haka. Very fun.
We went to Rotorua and Taupo the following day. Basically didn't do anything. Hung out with Holly, a girl I have become friends with from Surrey England. Her brothers friend was in Taupo as well so we hung out with him. And I made pancakes from memory and they were okay. They didn't have maple syrup but we did have caramel topping for them.
So the next place was Whakahoro, but pronounced fukawhoreo. Wh makes a 'f'sound in Maori. This was probably the highlight of my trip so far. We stayed at a place called Blue Duck Lodge. So beautiful there that I cried during hike I did when I reached one of the look out points. Niels, a guy on the bus from Denmark, ran the hike trail that took me 3hrs and he did it in 43 minutes. Didn't beat the record of 35 mintues though. I got the meal option there for dinner which was goat curry. If you have time you should google Blue Duck Lodge and take a look at what it does. A very impressive place.
After that we headed to Tongariro National Park. Almost everyone did the mountain hike up mount Tongariro. I didn't but I will try to do a winter crossing in August. Instead of the hike, the few of us who stayed behind washed the bus which was actually pretty fun. I also read 'digital fortress' by Dan Brown (da Vinci code author). It was a pretty good book. I have caught a cold now. Not too bad of one yet so when we were in Wellington yesterday I didn't do anything. Slept alright but had a super early start today. Actually writing this post on the Bluebridge ferry on my way to the south island. So today is going to be pretty boring since it's just traveling by boat and then by bus to our destination. But tomorrow is a day off from traveling. We are staying in Abel Tasman tonight and tomorrow. Should be pretty. It's another national park.
That's about all I can think of for what I have been up to. Looking forward to not being on the bus at all tomorrow. Oh and I called this post 'a-stray' since the bus tour I am on is Stray.
"hey you guys!"-sloth 'goonies'
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