The North Island

Yesterday Josie and I went mountain climbing. We hiked the Tongariro Crossing. Well, part of it. Had we wanted to do the whole trek we would have needed to pay a guide and rent gear and stuff. We like to go our own way. And not pay $150 each to climb a mountain when we could do it partway for free.

We started at the "end" of the trail instead of the beginning. The trail started out in a forested area, and ascended very quickly. We made a good number of rest stops along the way. After about an hour the forest abruptly ended and we entered sort of a bushy area. We could see really far from here. After another hour of hiking we reached a hut where we had peanut butter sandwiches and fresh, cold, potable water.

The trail itself got very twisty when we left the hut. It was basically impossible to see where the trail went past the next turn. The trail was never that steep, but zigzagged up the hills, so the ascent was very slow.

After a while we started encountering snow. We were not equipped to walk in the snow, and I wasn't about to risk slipping on the snow and sledding all the way down the mountain. So we turned back. We did not get to see the Emerald Lakes, but we did get six hours of really good exercise.

Today we are in Rotorua. This whole town smells like sulphur pretty much all the time because of the heavy volcanic activity. We got a hot tip from a security guard to go to a little hot springs along a side road, instead of paying $25 to go to one of the tourist trap springs that are all around this area. It was super cool. The water actually wasn't that hot, but it was definitely warm.

This afternoon we're just resting and recovering from yesterday (ouch, my sore muscles!) Take a look at my photos!

From On the road

From Tongariro Crossing

From Rotorua and Thermal Explorers

Te Mata pictures

I've been writing lots of stuff for the blog, but I haven't had internet access until today. Here's a link to my pictures.

From 2009 Bike ride to Havelock North

MOBILE BROADBAND INTERNET! And planning.

Finally got mobile internet from Vodafone. It's not cheap, but I am SO glad that I now have internet access whenever I want it. Go technology.

Josie and I got together with her friend Bex yesterday to plan our trip. We have a tentative itinerary worked out. I'm sure our trip won't be exactly like we discussed, but it will be somewhat similar. We're going north from Hastings toward Rotorua and the Coromandel peninsula. Then we'll be winding our way counterclockwise around the north island, ending up in Wellington for a couple of days. Then on to the south island, where we have several contacts, and places to stay. Everything is tentative for now. The only specific plan we have is that we want to go to the winter festival in Queenstown over the July 4th weekend.

The top five things I must do in New Zealand:

1. Bathe in a hot springs

2. Go hiking (we're planning to at least hike the Tongariro Alpine crossing).

3. Visit a sheep farm. Preferably work on a sheep farm, learn how to shear a sheep, and spin my own wool into yarn.

4. See a glacier. We're planning to go to Fox Glacier.

5. Visit the fiords. We're planning to take a fiord tour at Milford Sound.

The Grocery

I haven't gotten out much yet, because I don't have a car. But I have been to the grocery store several times. I haven't taken any pictures because I wasn't sure that would be appropriate. But there are several things that I've noticed.

I think there's tax on everything. However, I can't tell. Because all prices include tax. I recall hearing that the tax is 12.5% maybe? But you wouldn't know because it's not itemized out. This is convenient though because you can actually calculate what your final bill will be at the counter.

There are no pennies. Ten cents is the smallest coin denomination. So if you're paying with cash, they round up or down to the nearest ten cents. If you're paying with "EFTPOS" (credit card or check card) they don't round the prices.

They have one- and two-dollar coins here. So you can actually have a lot of money and not know it. I keep a change purse, and I probably have fifteen dollars in there.

They sell wine and beer in the grocery store. Of course. Like every other place but Minnesota.

"Yoghurt" comes in square paper milk cartons. You can also buy just-add-water powdered yogurt.

Almost all of the milk at the store is whole milk. There's a small section devoted to low-fat milks. You can buy refrigerated milk packaged in opaque plastic bags.

Butter comes in 500 g bricks, not sticks.

They don't refrigerate eggs. At all. They're just on the shelf next to the flour. I know from a food safety standpoint that you don't need to refrigerate eggs, but it just feels wrong to me!

Half of the cereal aisle is devoted to granola and mueslix. Apparently Kiwis love their mueslix.

Nestle makes Cheerios here.

About 50% of the candy sold here is made by Cadbury. The rest is Nestle.

Nutrition content, or "energy" is measured in kilojoules, not calories. So I have no idea how much I'm eating. I can't be bothered to divide the kj content by 4 to get the approximate calorie content.

They sell pancakes by the stack in plastic bags next to the English muffins. Which are called "split muffins."

Also I made a hat.

From 2009 I Made This

The Food

From 2009 I Made This

The produce here in Hastings is amazing. They grow local grapes, apples, citrus, nuts, and olives, to name a very few. Last weekend we made fajitas, and I got to go into the back yard and pluck a couple limes from the tree to put into the guacamole (made with fresh avocados from the farmer's market, naturally). There's a grapefruit tree next to the sidewalk on the way from Josie's place to the center of town. It's all I can do to keep from stealing a couple.

Josie had a bunch of vegetables that she bought at the farmer's market. This week I was tasked with trying to use all of them up. We made an Indian-inspired dish with cauliflower and potatoes, and a pasta dish with onions and green peppers. We also made Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and sauteed cabbage. The one thing we had not yet cooked was the squash, some overripe pears, and some walnuts. Therefore, squash soup. It was a fabulous dinner for a cold autumn night.

Squash soup with pears

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, cut lengthwise and seeded
1 med buttercup squash, cut lengthwise and seeded
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
2 very ripe pears, peeled and cored
3-4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp. nutmeg
toasted walnuts (garnish)

Directions:

Roast the squashes and onion by lightly coating with vegetable oil and placing cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until soft. Toast the walnuts in the oven for about 5 minutes while the veggies are cooking. When the vegetables are done, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Scrape the meaty part out of the squash into a blender. Throw the onion and pears into the blender. Cover with chicken stock and blend until smooth, in multiple batches if necessary. Pour into a saucepan and add the cream and nutmeg. Heat until hot.

Serve the soup garnished with a drizzle of cream and toasted walnuts.

Brrr!

It's cold and windy today, though still sunny. Hawke's Bay has amazingly good weather in comparison to the rest of the country. The forecast was rain and/or snow for the rest of the country yesterday, and the worst we got here was a few gray clouds.

Today is Josie's last day of work, so we have decided to start our expedition on Monday. We'll spend this weekend making plans and figuring out where we're going to be staying. And I'm going to try to get some more driving practice.

Yesterday I took Josie's bike out to Havelock North, a little town about 3km away. Havelock North is at the foot of Te Mata peak, which rises 400 meters above the ocean and provides a stunning view of Hawke's Bay. After reaching the town, I started up Te Mata Road, just to see where it led. Apparently there are some nice hiking trails up there. After about the third uphill bend, I found a nice scenic spot, and took some pictures. And decided that was about enough strenuous exercise for one day. No need to overdo it. Maybe Jos and I can drive up there this weekend.

I'll get the pictures up soon.

Pictures

I uploaded some pictures to Picasa Web. You can view them by clicking on the "2009 First days in NZ" link below.

The New Zealand scenery is as beautiful as I imagined.

From 2009 First days in NZ

Greetings from the FUTURE!

Hey there, superfans. I haven't been able to get on the computer much in the past few days. New Zealand has a shocking, shocking lack of wifi. I haven't found any hotspots so far. It's all internet cafes (like the one I'm at now). This particular cafe has got the same Dell computers that I used when I started working at the law firm FIVE years ago. But they do have Skype, which is nice. But not Adobe Acrobat Reader--I had to take 20 minutes to download the program yesterday so that I could print a one-page PDF file.

Speaking of telephonic communications, I have a mobile phone now. Email me if you want the number!

It's lovely here, but I'm still disoriented. It's fall, and it gets dark at about 5:30 (boo!). The weather has been nice. The sun here is blinding, and I'm thinking of buying a darker pair of sunglasses. And it's strange--the sun in the morning here, the way it casts light, feels like it should be an afternoon sun. Is it because I'm south of the equator? Or just my imagination?

The hostel I'm staying at is worth every penny of the US$50/week I'm spending to stay there. I haven't worn shower sandals in years. Probably not since college. But I went out yesterday to the K-Mart (yes, they have one here), and invested in a pair of flip-flops. I feel better stepping into the shower now. The beds are adequate and the paper-thin carpeting isn't that dirty. A room may become available in my sister's flat, and if it does, I'll be moving there in a heartbeat. But at any rate, we'll be leaving to travel around in a couple of weeks, so it soon won't be an issue.

The coffee here is pretty bad, which is unfortunate. I'm going to try to get used to drinking tea. I miss coffee.

I'm not used to the accents yet. When people ask me questions, I sometimes answer the question I think they asked, then realize three seconds later that I said the completely wrong thing. Ordering food is somewhat difficult when they start offering me different options. "Greevy? What? Oh, no gravy, thanks." My favorite number here is "seeven."

I'll get some pictures up when I figure out how to upload them from my SD card onto a computer. Since I can't use my computer, I don't have a way to get the data out of the SD card.

G'day!

Aisle seat/Keyless exit

I'm on the plane to LA. I was assigned seat 16C, an aisle seat. Northwest wouldn't let me change my seat assignment unless I paid $25. Even if I had wanted to choose a worse seat! Crazy. I'm a window seat person. I thought maybe I could deal with an aisle for a short flight. But I'm really not enjoying this.

I passed off my car keys to my sister at the airport. It's her car now. Gave back the apartment keys on Wednesday. I officially don't have anything that locks. Aside from a combination padlock, but that's for locking things at some indeterminate time in the future.

I kept my wallet though. I still need someplace to put my credit card and cash. I refuse to wear a stupid security pouch on my waist or around my neck. I'm not going to be a tourist. I'm not one of those travellers who can go around the world with two pairs of pants and three shirts. Screw that, I need a wardrobe to survive.

In other words, thank goodness for wheeled suitcases.

I'm in New Zealand!!!

Eating French toast with Josie. Delicious. Here are some pictures. The next post was written on the plane.

From 2009 Flight to New Zealand 5-14-09

Moving day

It felt for so long that this day would never come. Time has been passing slowly for me. I have this strange sense of time with this trip. As though everything will stop when I get on the plane. My world will freeze at 5 PM tonight, as I enter a liminal period, across many time zones, in which time is meaningless. And 22 hours later, time starts again, in a new continent, a new hemisphere, a new season.

I'm trying to figure out how to get a jar of pickles into New Zealand. For my sister, the pickle addict. Apparently there are no kosher dills there. I'm bringing a bottle of Cholulua hot sauce for myself. They don't have that there, either. In fact, I hear that there is no Mexican food at all.

At first, I thought I'd just bring a jar with me on the plane. But then I remembered the 3-oz rule. (Stupid 3-oz rule.) I could pack it in my checked bag, but if the jar broke, all of my clothes would smell like pickles. Not appealing. Then I thought maybe I would just take some pickles for her in a ziplock bag, minus the juice. But customs might take it away from me at the border, because they're strict about food products coming into the country. This seems like the best option though. And it's not like I'm going to get in big trouble, even if they take it away.

Back to my last-minute preparations.

Packing day

Blogging while I should be packing. I'm still new at this blogging thing. I haven't yet figured out how best to add pictures to the posts. Apparently I both post directly from Picasa on my computer, or add a link from Picasa web. I'll keep experimenting to see if I can get the layout to look like I want it to.

I didn't know how much effort it would take to blog. Coming up with ideas is easy, but actually finding time to sit down and type them into a computer is difficult. Of course, I'm running around trying to get everything in order before I leave, so it's not like I have a lot of time.

I've got two days left. I'm flying out of Minneapolis on Thursday afternoon. (EEEK!) My total travel time will be 22 hours and 30 minutes. An entire day of my life gone. Four hours from MSP to LAX, 14 hours from LAX to Auckland, and a mere hour from Auckland to Napier/Hastings.

I'm researching how best to avoid jet lag. I've settled on these principles:
1. Get a good night's sleep the night before.
2. Decrease stress. Have everything ready to go the night before so I'm not scrambling to get things done at the last minute.
3. Exercise the morning of the trip.
4. No coffee or alcohol for 24 hours before, or during the trip.
5. Drink water. Hydration good.
6. NO sleeping drugs. I've tried it. I'd rather be regular tired than feel like a zombie.

Back to packing.

Going away

 
I had my last day of work on Thursday. Ack! It was the first real job I'd ever had. I couldn't help but think as I walked out the door, "what will they do without me?" I had to remind myself that they will be fine. They're professionals.

The going-away party on Saturday was an absolute blast. Unfortunately, it was kind of short notice, so I didn't get to see everyone I would have liked to have seen. But we had a great time.

From 2009 My Going Away Party

I didn't realize how hard the goodbyes would be. Picking up everything and moving from the only home I've ever known to a foreign land? Meh, no big deal. It's a vacation. Saying goodbye to the people I love? Perhaps "heart-breaking" is too strong a word, but it's been really hard. When I told Dylan I was leaving, she asked, "will you be home by Christmas, Katy Boyle?"

Yeah, Dylan. I'll be home by Christmas. And I will see you all then.

Books I bought tonight

Rosanne Knorr, author of The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, suggests that one must have a plan for what to do after you've run away. I have several short-term and long-term goals in mind. First and foremost, I have some knitting to do. I'm about halfway through my first-ever sweater. I'll be working on that on the plane. After that, I need to knit myself a hat. My old pink hat, sadly, was lost somewhere between the bus and the YMCA a few months back.

My second goal is to start reading more. I received a Barnes and Noble gift card as a going-away present from my thoughtful co-workers. (Well, they asked me what I wanted.) I spent a very enjoyable hour and a half at the bookstore tonight, looking through hundreds of different titles. In the end I bought four books, carefully selected to cover a variety of styles and topics.

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
I really like reading about finance. I like thinking about finance. I enjoy amending my W-4 withholdings to match my estimated tax amount for the following year. I like receiving my W-2. I like rebalancing my 401(k). I'm excited to roll over my retirement account to one or more Vanguard index funds. This one I've been meaning to read for a while. I'd like to know what Kiyosaki thinks rich people tell their kids.

Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose
I scanned the essays section at the bookstore to find a book about writing. I chose this one because I thought the title neatly summed up the reason I wanted to buy a book about writing. Also it had a splashy seal declaring it a "Notable Book of the Year" by the New York Times Book Review.

Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story by Tony and Maureen Wheeler
I wanted to buy a travelogue. This caught my eye because the Wheelers also picked up and traveled abroad for a year. Their journey ultimately led them to create "the world's largest independent travel publishing company." I can only assume that reading this book will inspire me to become fabulously successful. Coincidentally, I had already purchased the Lonely Planet New Zealand guide.

Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life by Len Fisher
I read A Beautiful Mind several years ago after the movie came out. I was interested in Nash's game theory, but I never followed up and learned about it. I like math.

That ought to keep me busy for a while. I weighed them. Together they're only 4 lb 9 oz, which is light enough to not be a burden in my suitcase.

Shoot, I really, really like my digital scale. I wonder how much it weighs, and if I could bring it with me. The one thing a scale cannot weigh is itself. How ironic.