Tuesday 27 December 2011

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

My gift from the hostel

This has been the best Christmas in summertime ever!
Christmas Eve was spent shopping in town and avoiding the buying frenzy. Once we bought our groceries and Santa hats, it finally started feeling like Christmas! Back at the hostel, there was a bottomless supply of grilled sausages starting from 4pm until late. Free meat & beer! Everybody at the hostel gathered around the BBQ and had drinks and good cheer. The festivities kept on going through the evening, until people started crashing in various places. With the exception of a dance party in the lounge, most of us retired to bed around midnight, since we had all been celebrating from mid-afternoon.

Christmas day! I can honestly say that not only was it the best day I've had in NZ and the best Christmas ever, but from beginning to end it was also one of the best days I've had in awhile. The five of us (me, Marcie, Diede, Dugan, Elias) brought Christmas to us - and we did it proud. It wasn't a white Christmas, but a very sunny one indeed. In the morning, We all groggily congregated and made a brunch feast fit for champions: Kiwi Toast, BBQ'd bacon (amazing), fruit and mimosas (champagne & OJ). We also opened our gifts from the hostel: gingerbread cookie and a lotto ticket. I won $10. Score!

 
Brunch: Kiwi Toast & Bacon, Le Fruity Crocodile and me in PJs

In the afternoon, we all headed to the nearby hot springs 30 minutes out of town and got our soak on. It was blazing hot, but we all managed to sit in the thermal pool for a good while. Luckily it was a mix of hot and cool, so our shoulders were scalding hot while our bottom halves got some respite from the heat.
Post-soak, we headed back to the hostel to make the mother of all Christmas dinners. Everybody was cooking at the hostel, but with 5 people doing their own jobs everything was prepared in a flash. I was happy because we had gone with lamb rack (a Liu family tradition). Except this time, it was BBQ all the way. The dinner menu went: grilled lamb rack, mashed potatoes, mashed yams, grilled veggies and salad. Between that and dessert (TWO -chocolate cream mousse and apple pie) we did our gift exchange game and got silly over mulled wine. I got a pack of small plastic ninjas, water balloons and chocolate wafers. And everyone got a moostache (European pronunciation)! Our packed day concluded with the viewing of Love Actually in said moostaches, making it a very itchy movie. All in all, what a fantastic day!

Finally, some dessert pie! A la Joey

 
Good company


Of course, I can't forget that I need to recap the glory of being in Mordor last Friday, aka the Tongariro Crossing. It's a 20km hike that goes through different volcanic landscapes and includes the famous Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. We got picked up at 5:30am on Friday by a shuttle and dropped off at the start of the hike. Because it's 20km one way, the shuttle goes to the finish line for pick up. At 7:15am we set out. I was pretty intimidated in the beginning based on the info sheet they gave us about the difficulty levels, but I think NZ hiking standards are a bit more exaggerated than Canada. The first bit was easy, and even the so-called 'Devil's Staircase' wasn't too bad. The landscape was impressive, with volcanic mountains and solid lava flows surrounding us on all sides.

Sleepy yet hopeful faces before the hike

After two hours, we got to the optional but most important part of the hike: Mt Doom, actually known as Mt Ngauruhoe. From the base, it's an intimidating looking fella. Also, the path is nonexistent, although since there were lots of hikers around, you can just follow people's steps. The mountain was basically all loose rocks and dirt, so you really have to plant your feet in properly. It wasn't as steep as I had thought, but it was still a good hour and a half to the summit. But once we got there, what a rush of triumph! The view was amazing with the Emerald Lakes in the distance, plus you can look down into the crater of the volcano. No lava or hobbits to be found, though. The hardest part for me was going down; it took me a long time to keep my balance in the loose sand and falling rocks. My feet and knees were already getting tired. And to make things worse, since that was the optional part of the crossing, we still had the real hike (3 more hours) to go! The hike went through the Red Crater Ridge down to the blue green sulphuric pools of the Emerald Lakes, another hour to the Ketetahi Hut and finally 2 hours down to the car park, a downhill but tedious walk down through the mountains and a forest. The rest of my tramping party (tramping = hiking in NZ, hehe) zoomed through the last 6km. I managed to keep their pace for awhile but at some point with 3km to go my legs gave up and I decided to enjoy the scenery instead and catch the later bus.
Sadly, our hostel doesn't have a hot tub, but a hot shower was enough to suffice. Although the dirt came off, the smell of glory over Mt Doom lingered far into the night. Trust me, that stuff does not wash off easy.

 
 
Mt Doom conquered!
        
 

I almost wanted to stay another night in Taupo, since I didn't see anything because of Christmas. But it was time to move on. Boxing Day morning, it took me and Diede forever to hitchhike to Napier. We ended up walking to 4 different spots with a multitude of Kiwis giving us their well-intentioned but contradictory 2 cents on where to stand. I probably won't hitchhike out of a big town again. Finally, an hour and a half later, we ended back at the same area we started with and got picked up by a woman and her young son. She told us that the only reason she stopped was because her son saw our sign to Napier said, "Those girls can't walk all the way there." So bless him and our post-Christmas miracle!

Napier's all about the wine and art deco buildings that were built after a big earthquake in 1931. There are nice cafes and boutiques, purple flowered trees like Mexico, plus a rocky beach, but not much beyond that. Looking forward to New Year's in windy Wellington.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday. Talk to you in 2012!

Saturday 24 December 2011

The Kindness of Strangers

[A disclaimer to Joey's Chinese parents: Yes, your youngest daughter did some hitchhiking. This post talks about hitchhiking around the Coromandel peninsula. But don't have a heart attack, because she's not planning to make it a regular thing.
And to everyone else: I've changed the blog so anyone can leave comments now!]


Earlier this week I finished my short stint at John and Trish's plant nursery, which concluded with an all-day rainfest and a potluck on Sunday. John's part of the rotary club in Thames, and they hosted around 30 people for a pre-Christmas BBQ and potluck at the house. Schmoozing with Thames' elderly-ish locals what up! My favourite old man brought the jello and marshmallows. I didn't blend into the background too well, being Asian/non-Kiwi and 30 years younger than everyone else. Half the people were assigned to bring pudding (aka dessert)..... so I went to town and ate about 4-5 different kinds of sweets. And the best part is, everyone brings their own plates/cutlery, so there's barely any cleanup, and seeing as they're older, everything was tidy and quiet by 10pm!

 
John and Trish's backyard (more or less)

Trish drove me to the edge of town on Monday, and that's where the hitchhiking adventure begins. I waited thirty minutes until I got a ride from a retired golf fanatic named Jim. We arrived in Coromandel Town via the beautiful coastal highway, which is always a welcome sight when you're curving in and out of the windy roads.

So Jim drives me to Tui Lodge, which happens to be 95% full of Germans. In the evening I played Wizard and Bullshit (card games) with fellow backpackers and forced them to speak English. Oh yeah, and you better believe that I regressed on eating out as soon as I started traveling on my own again. First day of freedom, and I had lunch and dinner out. I biked up to Driving Creek Cafe and had an awesome veg lunch in this hippy garden/used bookstore/wwoof location that had a Sunshine Coast vibe. And later that night I had an equally tasty dinner, pizza with chicken, kumara (sweet potato) and mushrooms. YUM! (In my defense, it was cloudy and rainy, so there really was nothing else to do but eat).

 
Lunch at Driving Creek and dinner at Umu

Day number two of hitchhiking started out even better. The road to Whitianga was right outside the hostel, so all I did was cross the street and stick my thumb out for 30 seconds, and car #2 stops. I wasn't even standing in position yet! The driver (let's call him Willy because I didn't get his name), was a commercial fisherman originally from Ireland. That ended up being a pleasant ride too, and I was promptly dropped off at the i-site in Whitianga.

However, the rest of the way to Hahei, where I was to spend the night, ended up being much trickier. The route isn't direct on the highway or coming off a ferry and on another road. I opted for the latter because I thought I could get a ride from a car on the ferry. What I didn't know was that it was just a tiny boat for passengers. Worse, it crossed over to a quiet residential neighborhood - not exactly the traffic I had hoped for. Nothing doing for about a half hour, so I stopped a couple who were out on a sporty walk for advice. After chatting for a bit, they decided to take matters into their own hands and offered me a ride to Hahei themselves! I happily waited while they walked back to their house and got the car. Turns out Kate and Tom were on Chrismas vacation and staying in town with family. They have a son who's traveling in India, so they wanted to make sure I was safe in the same way they wanted someone else looking after their kid.

From the viewpoint with Kate and Tom

The best things about hitchhiking, especially with locals? They know exactly where they're going, they give you commentary on the surrounding nature and local history along the way and offer to pull over so you can take pictures (Tom and Kate actually parked at a viewpoint and walked up with me), they drive through town to orient you, and then they drive you straight to your hostel. First class service! And the nice thing about hitchhiking during the holiday season? More do-gooders with the ride-giving holiday spirit!

Hahei

Tatahi Lodge in Hahei was fantastic, almost comparable to Endless Summer Lodge in Ahipara that I had raved about. Nearby was the famous Cathedral Cove, which was part of a beautiful marine reserve that included a walk to a number of bays. The landscape was part tropical, part Jurassic park, part Hobbiton. The cove itself was a little secluded beach spot facing funky rock formations that jutted out of the emerald blue waters.

 
 
 

After the sun disappeared behind the hill I headed back to the hostel to see if anyone was driving to the Hot Water Beach. Nobody was, so armed with a borrowed spade I braved it on my own and tried to hitch. The streets were dead, and I had to walk about 2km out of town. Suddenly, a car zooms by, stops, and a bunch of Germans peer out the windows at me and politely demand that I get in the car. They're the first tourists to give me a ride, 2 girls and 2 guys. They drive me to the beach and we check it out together.

What a bizarre scene! The beach was quite big, but the hot water part of it was only about 15-20m wide, so there were a bunch of people clumped together trying to dig their own sandy hot tubs. The tide wasn't quite right yet and there were way too many people for the amount of space available, plus I was alone in my efforts, so I just stuck my feet in the hot sand and called it a day. The Germans were nice and gave me a ride back into town before going back to Whitianga. I made them drop me off at a restaurant I had eyed before, which turned out to be a romantic date type of place. In I went, my shorts soggy, feet sandy, spade (which was really a small shovel) in hand, and got a table for 1. I didn't feel too bad though, because the girl at the next table was wearing pyjama pants.
 

I had success hitching into Waihi the next day too, with an electrician named Rob. Because the way down the west side of the peninsula is broken up by a bunch of small towns, I thought I would have to get multiple rides, but he ended up driving me the whole way (only I had to hang out a bit because he stopped in a couple towns to do some jobs). But I finally managed to meet up with Katie, an ex-coworker from teaching who's been living in NZ for the past year and has a husband named George and a baby named Georgie. Cute, eh? Those guys have a small house in the country outside of Waihi and the beginnings of an awesome garden. Should've wwoofed for them :) We went to the beach for a bit with the baby and George cooked an amazing 2 entree dinner, and that night I crashed in their purple van outside.

Are you sick of picture after picture of water yet?

The day after was the most dramatic travel day I've had in New Zealand. Katie and George graciously offered to take a daytrip driving me the 4 hours to Taupo, with some stops along the way at a hot springs and scenic viewpoints. George, being Kiwi, had this whole itinerary planned out. Well, things don't always happen the way you want them to... about 40 minutes out of town, the car makes a funny noise and doesn't start up again. We get stranded on the side of the highway for about 2 hours without hope, with the exception of two guys who happen to know about cars stopping to help and then driving off to get car tools, never to return. Then me and Katie and the baby end up chilling out with plants at the garden center down the road for another 2 hours, while George hitches back to get his uncle's car.
5 hours after our departure time, we're back on the road! Unfortunately, this time there's no room for leisure and I have a hot lap full of fish and chips. But nevertheless, we make it! I stumble into Blackcurrant Backpackers dazed and confused, while they stop by at a friend's house in town and drive the 3 hours back. (Thanks again you guys!)

Anyway, now I'm in Taupo in an amazingly social hostel and I'm stuffed with ice cream and bangers in the mouth (Christmas Eve linner). But that'll have to wait until the next post. For now, Feliz Navidad!

[Coming Soon: MOUNT DOOM....and CHRISTMAS IN SUMMER!]

Friday 16 December 2011

The Long and Winding Road

Matapouri Bay

Roadtripping and camping were splendidly awesome, because it reminded me a little bit of being back home - only with less bears and a helluva lot more beaches. Driving down the east coast from Paihia to Auckland, me, Luisa and Diede traveled the long winding roads (Luisa insisted on playing that Beatles song at one point) and stopped along the way to marvel at the sandy bays and beaches that New Zealand has to offer. The first day, our favorite stop was definitely Matapouri Beach, which had blue-green waters so vibrant that we thought we were on a tropical beach. No wonder nobody here cares about not having a white Christmas!

 

We stayed in a holiday park that night in Tutukaka (hilarious name, it's also the town where I went snorkeling awhile ago), and I roomed with Diede in her 1.5 person tent. It wasn't the tight squeeze that woke me up at 6am, though. It was the cold and my flimsy sleeping bag - not surprising since it was the same sleeping bag that kept me up the whole night 2 years ago in Italy, homeless in the Dolomite Mountains and shivering on top of a picnic bench. Didn't keep a blog for that one (but I should've, since that was the first Shabadoo's Blabadoo ..sorry Ken). Anyway, I ended up reading some girly book in the lounge to escape the cold (holiday parks have kitchens and lounges, so you get what you pay more for) until everyone woke up.

The two sleeping options

The next day, we passed through Whangarei (where I went back when I left the first farm) and checked out Abbey Caves, which was great because I had missed out on it the first time. More Lord of the Rings-ness! There were 3 separate cave entrances, and the fields in between had giant rock formations that have been weathered over what I imagine are thousands of years by water and wind, rendering them extremely statuesque. We avoided the cave that reportedly has water rising up to your chest, and did the other two where the water barely hit our knees. Super cool! It was a bit tricky climbing down rocks in bare feet, but Diede our climbing expert led us through safely. The glowworms were all housed on the cave ceilings, and luckily they charmed us enough when we turned off our flashlights that we didn't notice we were 3 girls in a very dark and wet cave. After the caves, we walked into the rock forest, with more giant weathered rocks and also trees that were statuesque in their own right.

 
I can see the light!

Nearby, our campsite awaited us, but more importantly the beach that was right in front of it. Uretiti Beach (giggle) is the name, and it was perfect for those classified ads people that love long walks on the beach.

Best picture ever:


 

That night of camping was more rugged since we just set up shop on some grass and cooked couscous in front of the bathroom, but actually we had an even better time than Tutukaka. Afer dinner, instead of knocking on the doors of RVs with satellite dishes and begging them to share their TV, we walked the 50m over a little dune and had full access to the magnificence of moonlight on beach action. (why would you bring your TV out camping, anyway?) I was mildly bummed that we couldn't watch the sunset as we were facing the east coast, but we did manage to see some colors on the bushy horizon behind us, and ended up getting the best of both worlds. This time I opted to sleep with Luisa in the back of her car, which was definitely warmer but more cramped (fine with me).

 
 
A truly romantic evening

The last day involved a scorching morning tanning session on the beach (I think I've already hit my sun quota in this ozoneless country) and then driving back into the city, something I dreaded after witnessing so much awesome nature. The only good thing was getting groceries, since our lunch had been crackers with all the various condiments we had. Auckland again was nothing special to me, just a home base until the next destination. I was at a nice social hostel though, plus one of sister's high school friends and her boyfriend took me out for wine and seafood. Woot for getting slightly buzzed in the middle of the day and sleeping it off on my dorm bed! Oh and lots of Christmas lights on Franklin St! It still feels weird to hear Christmas songs playing in the supermarket while I have shorts and a tshirt on.

Evidently Santa has the same idea

Just before going to the next farm, I stayed one night in Thames (6km away from the farm). It was another cloudy Sunday, so hard to judge the town when it's dead quiet and grey. But I think Thames is small and quaint. I did have a memorable meal at a tapas restaurant, and tried smoked eel and black (ie. blood) pudding. Tempted to try their grilled kangaroo... but besides the moral dilemna of eating my namesake, I think I'll save that culinary adventure for Australia. The waitress ended up being the owner and a very nice lady who gave me a ride home back to the hostel after closing the restaurant, which was unecessary but very appreciated.

 
Black pudding on Crostini & Smoked Eel in Filo Pastry

This week, I am all too glad to be enduring the wind and rain in the comfort of someone's lovely home (but dang, isn't this partly why I left Vancouver? At least it's warm). John and Trish of Peppertree Nursery have taken me in, along with their new hyper dog Roxy and a black cat Lancer. Their house is very cool - windows for walls, fish-filled ponds lining the walkway, and a view of their landscaped gardens out back that's sometimes open to the public. I made the mistake in thinking that they also had vegetables to farm....'growing plants' doesn't equal farming! So it's been gardening, ie. sweeping leaves, weeding pots, potting. Roxy the dog gets into everything unless you tie her up - she also hasn't gotten over the habit of jumping and play-biting, which she attemps wholeheartedly with me. It's hilarious when she tries to jump at me but gets yanked back by her leash and ends up doing a karate flip. That and watching her trying to conquer the tall soil hill where we pot plants and sliding down very comically (and repeat).

Peppertree Nursery


Corned beef hash (me); Strawberry Trifle (Trish)!

Today is a rainy day in, perfect time to curl up and read... except for the fact that the other day I realized that The Rainmaker, which I got from a book exchange, is missing the last 10-20 pages. GAH! So I've been watching How I Met Your Mother. And later we're going to decorate the Christmas tree!
Also, Trish brought back the trifle half-eaten from their dinner party, so I've been sneaking bites from the fridge all day. Lord help me!