recent adventures - dedicated to Laura, Pete and FINLEY!

This post is dedicated to my dearest friend Laura and her husband Pete who just welcomed into the world their wonderful son Finley. I hear Laura is looking for posts here while she is on Mat leave, and so I submit the following thrown together post as I nurse my cold and prepare to fly to Twizel for Rowing Nationals.

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Last weekend was Sevens weekend in Wellington. People dress up to attend the rugby matches. Anything goes, the only rule is to get a bunch of mates together and wear matching outfits. Always entertaining!I spent the weekend up in Wanganuni, about 3 hours north of here along the west coast of the North Island. It is a charming town, although it seems like most of the stores are always closed and I had the worst meal ever here the night before I left. It was nearly $20 for an all you can eat Mongonlian Grill... and well I couldn't even eat and just walked out. Oh well, live and learn.

I was there to row not eat anyways. And row we did. My fours team took 1st place and our eight didn't have a chance to race due to poor water conditions each afternoon.
Actually, I think we did more watching and sunburning than we did rowing...


As is our informal tradition, we stayed in a school hall near the river. I kept looking for the basketball hoops, but I guess basketball and school hall aren't as linked here.

I thoroughly enjoyed my new Christmas present from Traveler to pass the down time. Podcasts from NPR are a godsend when spending hours on end listening to teenagers verbally process life. I find both fascinating, but like to have a chance to alternate between the two forms. Kind of like I like switching between cooked and raw food throughout a meal.

And of course we went grocery shopping where I snapped this photo at Pak N Sav, park of their 'we save you money' campaign. Trolleys are shopping carts. Some use the word trundler as well for this thing. I just miss the bar to rest your foot on that are on American ones.
On the drive home I saw a llama on the back of a truck.. you know, as one does.

The next day I was flying back up the coastline for work. The plan was to fly over Wanganui up to New Plymouth. Unfortunately New Plymouth was covered in fog ALL DAY. So we landed in Wanganui and then were bused north. I was so glad to see this the following day because it meant the ceiling was plenty high enough for me to fly out.

Blue Lakes

I just spent a four day weekend near Rotorua for a rowing regata, but first a few words about New Zealand versus America differences. I know its been awhile, but I noticed a few more of differences this weekend.

I think I'll just focus today on how the McDonalds are rather 'flash' here (i.e., fancy).

They have a normal section and a cafe section (see counter above). Today I ordered a very lovely chicken wrap from this deli display along with a tasty iced coffee.
They make espressos and everything. It is common to see a couple mums ordering at the cafe and one of their 10 year olds begging for money so he can go to the other counter to get a box of chips (i.e., fries). Even the bathrooms are a step up from any Mackers (as it is called here) experience back stateside.I also think it is funny that the kids I row with call Rotorua Rotovegas as in it is the 'Vegas' of NZ. I guess it does host a few conferences and have some attractions like bungee jumping, sky diving and such. But it smells like rotten egg, hotels often have bathtubs that fill with steaming hot spring water, and there are polls of bubbling mud. Oh and there is a lake and it is not a desert and there are no huge casinos. But I guess there are similarities to be found.

But 10 minutes out of town is Blue Lake, which is partially heated by hot springs. A feature that is very nice when you are rowing in these conditions:
even more appreciated is when these conditions return:
There were heaps of people there, and Petone did fairly well.
We have room to improve for sure, but it was the very first time in an atheletic event I can remember where we had a very good chance to win and we just went out and did that very thing. No interpersonal dramas, no doubting ourselves, we just went out and did it.

Here are the boys team pulling away to take the lead.

We did the same thing in our fours race. We also placed 1st in our novice 8th final and came in second in the B final for the Club four race. Here is my team of fine people who are teaching me heaps about what it means to be a teenager in New Zealand. Yes, they were all born while I was in high school, but they are becoming some of my favourite people. And really what can be better than rocking out and singing along to ipods on a 6 hour road trip with 15 year olds who think you are almost cool. Nothing takes my mind off work this well. Plus I am doing way better this time around at being mates with 15 year olds than I did when I actually was that age myself.

Scenes from the road trip to and from the regatta:

Please note that these petrol prices are in Litres not gallons. Also, here petrol = gasoline, gasoline = propane, deisel is well deisel - but the rental van folks alway really check that I know what deisel is, cuz I'm a girl, even though the real risk is an American not knowing how to buy propane.

Cormandel 1 - train ride

I've been letting everyday life (and a really nasty cold) keep me from the blog lately. However my mother informs me that she is ready to look at something other than peach cobbler in my last post a month ago. Granted, soon enough it will be peach season in Oregon.. Yum! 

Well back here in New Zealand I went for a mini road trip with some friends last weekend. We were in Auckland for a conference and decided to make a weekend of it.  It's the off season so there are few people or cars. It made for a very lovely weekend.  


I also feel in love with the Impreza we were driving.  Although I considered trying to buy it from the rental car company (its as though any thing is for sale here, you just have to ask), I'm now looking for one around here - too bad its a 'boy racer' car here which makes it frequently stolen and hard to insure... silly because normally I'm more into practical cars, but suddenly I want one of these!

We then decided to go for a tourist trap. A really lovely one that I highly recommend.  Its a train ride on private property that also is a pottery studio / native bush reserve.
 











and below is a photo that reveals the hike we took after the train ride.  If you click on the photo, you should be able to see black dots that mark our path from the car park up a hill and then down to the bay flats.

Cormandel 2 - hiking around Coromandel Town

After the train ride, we went for a walk, starting in this very damp parking lot.   I was yearning for my rubber boots, because a puddle like this is just too tempting. My trip mates though I was crazy I think as I eyed this mud puddle....



At the start of the trail you could some of wind damage from the recent storm that passed through a few days before our arrival.  I am always impressed with how trails in New Zealand often start near development with a path between houses, fences, or yards that connects the bush trail with the road/parking lot. It is very nice to see that one built house doesn't block everyone from being able to access a nature reserve.



This view is looking back towards the train area and the town of Cormandel


and these views are looking west /northwest.



After we reached the top, we walked down to the harbour side.  The tide was out, but I couldn't help being confused by these trees submerged in silt. I don't know if it was related to the storm or if its just the way they grow. Please comment if you know, I'm curoius!

 

Then at the end of the day, we enjoyed meals of cheese, cheese and more cheese.  The little town has an amazing shop with fruit rollups/leathers, cheese, salami's etc.

The cheeses on the plate include cumin gouda and a basil cheese that was intense but good.  

I still am cracking up about my purchase of fruit leather.  People were stopping me in the street to ask what it was!  I explained that it is fruit pulp that you dry in a deyhrator.  People were very curious about how you eat it, think that it must be spread with something or eaten with crackers... I even had people wanting samples of this crazy exotic thing I was eating.  I thought it was hillarious, particularly because I had bought the stuff just up the street and was something I just grew up with!

Corrmandel 3 - driving to Hahei

After Cormandel, we drove over the hill to make our way towards Hahei.  Here is the view looking east:


Earlier in the year, several locals had told me that the Cormandel had changed a lot since I was there in 1999. They spoke of huge mansions, million dollar bachs, and ugliness. I was very worried.

I was relieved to see that my worst fears weren't not realized.  Then we drove to Buffulo Beach, while not my worst fears, I suspect this is what the people were talking about.  It is a very odd place now.  Lots of big fancy houses, at least by kiwi standards, that sort of reminded me of a less tasteful Sunriver.  The point of the Cormandel is a place to get away from it all - its about 3 hours from Auckland and unlike Sunriver, the golf thing here just seems really odd to me.  My car trip mates also made similar comments.  It is like a suburb--- for vacations.  yuck!



That said, the beach was really pretty and I enjoyed walking in the surprisingly warm water!