Taranaki

Weekend of October 13-14

Sarah, Carsten, Erik and I took a weekend trip up to New Plymouth/Taranaki a couple weekends ago. We skipped out of work a little bit early on Friday to try to beat some of the traffic... (Taranaki is a 4-5 hour drive northwest of Wellington, on the west coast)

On the way up, we stopped for dinner in Wanganui (pop. 43,000). There weren't many restaurants near the highway, so we opted for one of the first places we saw - the local RSA (Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association), which is very much like our VFW. It was a huge open hall with lots of tables, average food, and cheap beer! I don't have any pictures of our dinner or the place (didn't feel right), but it was a good dose of rural NZ. I ordered steak and potatoes. It was a great change up from city life in Wellington and the more touristy areas we've seen.

We arrived relatively late on Friday, so the evening was pretty low key.

Saturday started with Erik and Carsten getting up early to watch rugby, but discovering it wasn't on until the next morning (bummer, huh guys?). After breakfast we took a trip through "downtown" New Plymouth. We spent a couple hours at Pukekura Park and Brooklands Park. Pukekura is regarded as the best urban park in New Zealand. It definitely felt like we were far from civilization. This park also hosts the annual rhododendron festival in late October. We just missed the festival (which was nice since the hotels in the area are booked while it is happening), but we did get to see lots of plants in bloom. Unfortunately it rained a bit while we were walking around, but it wasn't too bad.

A picture from Pukekura Park -
My favorite part of the park was the children's zoo. It was free and they had all kinds of animals wandering around in their pens.

No, this is not a very exciting picture, but these little chicks were darling, so I included the photo...

We spent the day driving around Taranaki (its Maori name) aka Mt Egmont (its English name) - both are official names. We used the vaguest map possible (the one from the Lonely Planet guide book), but we managed just fine. It was pretty entertaining to try to figure out where we were on a map that was lacking things such as road names, and roads for that matter. It was nice to just drive with no real destination and take in the scenery.

Unlike the other areas of NZ we have been too, Taranaki is extremely green farmland, with just a few rolling hills. It is also the dairy capital of NZ - there were black & white cows everywhere! I swear no matter what time of day it was, they were always lining up to be milked.

Once the morning rain moved out, the sky was quite clear everywhere except at the mountain top... fortunately the clouds parted just long enough for me to take this picture. We had literally 2 minutes of clarity at the mountain top during the entire day!
During our drive around we stopped in Egmont Nat'l Park for a brief visit to Dawson's Falls, which was about a 5 minute walk from where we parked. It was kind of strange to be rewarded with a beautiful sight after such little effort on our part...

On Saturday night we checked out New Plymouth and its culinary offerings. We settled on El Condor, which billed itself as an Argentinian restaurant, however they served entrees such as blue cheese ravioli and a meat lover's pizza... but it was BYO wine, so we let that go! The food was delicious - especially the empanadas we had for an appetizer (pretty much the only Argentinian item on the entire menu).

After dinner we went to a couple bars, and ended up spending most of our time at a Celtic pub... they had a ton of Guinness coasters on hand, and one way or another, we ended up playing Guinness coaster memory... random, I know, but we weren't about to give up our seats on GUINNESS couches, by the fire mind you. It was very, very entertaining.

Here is a picture of Sarah taking a picture of Carsten with a pair of seals he had just matched - laughable!
On Sunday morning we went to KFC for breakfast - it's not as good as KFC back home though - and then were more or less on our way back to Wellington. However before we left, Erik and I decided that we wanted to check out Paritutu, which means 'rising precipice' - see below (154 meters tall) - and is just outside of New Plymouth on the waterfront:


I am not sure that the picture above does the "hill" justice, but it was incredibly steep and a lot of fun scrambling to the top. We happened to time it just right - a few minutes before we began it was raining, and a few minutes after we finished, it started to rain again...

Here is a picture of the path - again, it was incredibly steep... naturally this was fine on the way up, but when we were coming down I was getting quite nervous - it completely drops off over the edge to the right - add in the wind and you have quite the adrenaline rush...
[The cable in this picture is to help you pull your way up - it was quite vertical at this part]

The views from the top were magnificent. Looking out over the ocean we could see the Sugar Loaf Islands, which are eroded volcanic remnants (which is also what Paritutu is). Here is a picture of where I should have been able to see Mt. Taranaki in the distance. As you can see from this picture, the volcano is in the middle of nowhere. It's amazing how flat the area is, and then all of the sudden, there it is...
This is a picture looking South from the top. As you can tell from the water, it was a really, really windy day. It was actually a bit scary up there because if you weren't paying attention, the wind could really blow you around. We took some video while we were up there as well - hopefully I will be able to post that some time soon.

That's about it from Taranaki - it was a fun-filled weekend. It's amazing how much the landscape changes here from place to place...

Next post - my first visit to the South Island - Christchurch to be specific.

Keep in touch everyone!

New Zealand observations…

(below are a few things I've noticed or just wanted to mention)

It’s common practice to sit in the front seat of cabs here – even if it’s just you or if you could all fit in the back.

Central heat is not the norm. Households use propane heaters, standing wall units, or small electric units. Given that Wellington is a very damp area, the house is often very, very cold. Fortunately things are warming up and this is less of an issue. (But the propane heater does work wonders.)

Speaking of dampness, our flat is so damp that the ceiling “rains” after you shower – that is, the water condensation on the ceiling starts to drip if you are in there too long. And let me tell you, that water is cold! To improve circulation, we leave the bathroom window open all the time, even when it is 45 degrees out there! (Fortunately it’s not so bad anymore)

Kiwi meteorologists have a way with words. Since NZ is a pretty small country, the weather report is national… one evening the broadcaster stated, “And we are just waving the ugly stick all over the south island this weekend…” Comical.

Filtered (drip) coffee is rather hard to find. It is rarely on the menu, and even if it is on the menu, a lot of times it is actually instant coffee that dissolves in hot water. Not surprisingly a lot of people drink tea. If they do drink “coffee,” they order things such as a long black (espresso with hot water), a flat white (a long black with a dollop of milk) or a short black (between an espresso and a long black). At work I mostly drink tea, but if I am out and about, I like to get a flat white:

The workweek here is generally 37.5 hours. That is because most people take a tea break in the morning. For me, that means going down to the ground floor café with some of the other women in the finance department.

The grocery stores are similar to the ones back home (like Kroger or Dominick’s) - except you do not have to wear shoes! While 98% of customers wear shoes, you will see people shopping barefoot from time to time. It’s not so strange when you see a kid running around barefoot, but when it’s an adult, it’s a little weird. That being said, I have promised myself that I will grocery shop barefoot at least once before I head back. Another thing about the grocery store is that checkout aisles without any candy are labeled "confectionary free." I assume this is for parents who are shopping with kids... a nice touch.

NZ has one traffic law that will take some getting used to… while everyone drives on the left side of the road here, I will explain this one as if they drove on the “right” side like we do at home. Without getting too bogged down in the details and or the supposed reasoning behind this law, if you are turning right (such as in a non-stop sign situation), you must yield to the person coming from the other direction if they are turning left (so basically, you let them cut in front of you). This totally freaked me out the first time we “cut” someone off… most people think this law is pretty nonsensical, but so it goes. You just have to hope that everyone at the intersection knows the law (there are a lot of tourists here) and that the person behind you is paying attention if you have to give way to someone else!

About the food – it isn’t that different from back home, although the lamb, kiwi fruit, and fish & chips are really good. Of course the seafood is quite fresh, but so far, our favorite uniquely kiwi food is onion dip! It’s just a packet of onion soup mix, a can of reduced cream, and a TB of vinegar (then refrigerate for 30 min), but let me tell you, it is awesome! I have been told that they only sell this special kind of onion soup here, but I bet you could find a very similar spice packet in the US… (or perhaps some of you already make this yourselves, but even the seasoning packet calls it a kiwi favorite)
There is not a standard length for phone numbers. My cell phone number is 11 digits, Erik’s cell phone number is 10 digits, and older cell numbers are only 9 digits. Land lines and fax numbers vary as well.

Many smokers roll their own cigarettes. Since smoking is not permitted in any buildings, people are often outside not only battling the elements just by being outside, but also trying to measure out the tobacco while the wind is swirling around them…

All pens are clicker pens here – no joke. I rarely see any pens with caps, only clickers. Random observation, but an observation none the less. Even the cheap ones from work are clickers.

There are no pennies or nickels and notes are made of plastic!!! Merchandise is priced to the penny, and then rounded when you check out. As for the plastic money – it is a polymer banknote. You cannot tear it unless you use scissors or a knife and it absolutely survives the washing machine. They were developed in Australia.

Speaking of money – prostitution is legal here…

New Zealand is a very “green” country. There is a significant push here from the government to create a sustainable economy. Therefore the government often leads they way. For example, take a look at my desk –
That’s all I have for my “rubbish.” There is one, and I mean ONE, garbage can on the entire floor – in the kitchen. It is also next to two other pull out drawers for recycling and composting. Therefore, we all recycle/compost. Those of you that know me well know that I don’t mind this one bit, I just think it’s really funny that I only get these two little cubes to collect my rubbish before I have to take it to the kitchen to sort. (And believe it or not, that garbage can is rarely full). I read an article about the recycling efforts at the Ministry, and the building waste was reduced by 86%!! I’d say that was pretty effective.

Another things about conservation – most toilets have two buttons – one is a half flush and the other is a full flush. I’ll leave it at that.

And my last, observation for this post (believe it or not, I have plenty more), security here is unlike anything we have at home.

Here is a picture of parliament (there are no fences and generally there is only one guard outside):
And I walk through the alley of these two buildings to get to my office (same building as what is above, just the other end of it):
And here is a picture of the lock on the Prime Minister’s house (which is just down the street, I pass it on the way to the Botanic Garden):
And here is a picture of the US Embassy, literally, the most fortified building in all of New Zealand! (please note the car barrier flower pots and high fences... there are also two guard stations with 2-3 guards/attendants in each at all times)

Up next: Our weekend trips to Taranaki and Christchurch...

Winding roads, Windy days, & Wineries

Hello everyone!

It's been a little while since my last post – sorry about that!

Two weekends ago (Sept 29-30) we took a quick jaunt up to Hawke's Bay (HB). HB is a 4-5 hour drive from Wellington and is located on the east coast of the North Island. It is one of the primary wine regions on the NI. We had a fabulous time - here are a few highlights from the weekend.

The mountain drive...
In order to get out of Wellington, we drove on a two lane road through the Rimatakas. I give Erik an A on his driving; as for myself, I think I earned about a C+ as the passenger. The road was one of the curviest I have been on, and every other turn it felt like we were about to slide right off... I was very stressed. I decided to close my eyes most of the way to keep from distracting Erik while he was driving by trying to use the imaginary brake pedal on my side. Since I closed my eyes, Erik asked if I was tired, to which I responded, "No, just stressed.” Then I scolded myself for acting like my Mom! (Sorry Mom, but you know what I am talking about!) I did open my eyes a few times, and the views were spectacular. Once we were through the mountains, we pulled over so I could unpack the Advil. From that point on it was smooth sailing!

Spending a couple nights in prison.
I don't know what it is with us going to all these converted places (remember the sewer system that was converted into an aquarium in Auckland?), but it seems to be a bit of a trend. The Napier Prison is the oldest in NZ. The building has served as a quarantine facility, an army barracks, an insane asylum, and served as lockup from 1862 – 1993. We stayed in the psych unit – which was really creepy. Figuratively because of who may have spent time in that room and literally because of the cockroach that crawled along the wall one night. I was thrilled about that.

Here is the entrance - (for the observant ones out there, this entrance was part of a prison addition, which explains the 1906 on here compared to the dates I just gave you).

The door to our cell -
The yard -
Bike D’Vine
We decided to change it up and rent bikes for our wine tour. It works exactly how it sounds – you rent the bikes and, depending on which route you want to take, you get dropped off near the first winery and work your way back. We chose Route 2 – which was 5 wineries, 1 chocolate factory, and 1 cider house/tap room (beer garden). You may be thinking that that sounds like a lot of drinking for bike riding, but I assure you pedaling your way through the countryside, straight into headwinds (I swear the wind was never at our back), and up a monster hill keeps you pretty grounded.

We had a perfect day for biking and the scenery was gorgeous. It was a nice mix of farms, small subdivisions, and of course, vineyards. Here are a few pictures from our day out – unfortunately it was quite early in the season so the vines were quite bare.

This is the bottle that I wanted, but in the end I decided it might be more than I bargained for - especially since I would have had to haul it around on the bike. Can you imagine?

A delicious cheese plate!
At the entrance Mission Estate Winery – the oldest vineyard in New Zealand. This ended up being my favorite...
Overlooking the Mission Estate Vineyards
On the way to Bike D’Vine (which is actually run out of someone’s garage) – I never thought I would see so many palm trees in NZ!
The Filter Room (this picture is actually from Sunday - we liked this place so much we decided to go back for another round)
Napier
Napier is one of the small towns in the HB region. It was destroyed by a massive earthquake in 1931 – at the time it was rebuilt, Art Deco was extremely popular. As such, most of the buildings are Art Deco. At times it felt like a bit of time capsule. I can’t say that I was a huge fan of the buildings, but there was a nice pavilion along the ocean… (I actually am not 100% that this is Art Deco, but it looked a bit different to me)

Picture looking south - towards Napier

More time in the Ford Focus!
Now that I was used to “driving” on the wrong side of the road (I put that in quotations since I actually did not drive at all), it was much easier to relax and take in more of the scenery. We consulted our maps and decided to check out Tukituki Road – a scenic drive marked on our map. This road, like many roads in this country, was relatively unmarked, narrow, and curvy. The road more or less followed the Tukituki River. It was a very rural that seemed to be very popular with some of the well-heeled kiwis. The houses along this drive were beautiful. Some looked like they were straight out of the Greek islands, while others looked like they were from Lake Como. Here are a few pictures from the drive:

A view of the Tukituki River
Like I said, quite rural – this cow just cracked me up! (I don’t understand how these cows can climb all these hills!) It's hard to tell from this picture, but the cow was right by the road/the car... It was really funny for some reason - it felt like I was having a staring contest with it.

Some pasture with a hillock backdrop
Te Mata Peak
Also marked on our map was the Te Mata Lookout. We figured we might as well check it out while we wer e in the area. As we entered the lookout park, there was a prominent sign about entering at your own risk – I wondered what this meant, and once we were into the climb, I figured the sign was talking about yet another narrow, curvy road…. Not quite. It was in reference to the actual lookout point. I later learned from one of my coworkers who grew up in the area (Havelock North), that for many years there was no fence at the top – just wide open.

This lookout was definitely worth the stop. Since we were using a variety of maps, we had no idea that the lookout we were driving up to see was actually the top of the hillock I had just taken a picture of 20 minutes earlier. If you look carefully (I think you can click on these), you can see Tukituki Rd/River. (By the way, Te Mata Peak is 400 meters tall.)
One of the craziest things about this place was the paragliding platform. Can you imagine what it would be like to paraglide off of this thing?? (We did not climb around the fence in this area since it was so steep – but other people were!) These pictures do not do the dropoff justice... the foreground is in the way here, but once that platform ends, it is straight down...
Same platform, different angle - there were two jumping points at the lookout. This was rather scary - it was crazy windy up there!

There she is - the Ford Focus...

The ride back…
Our ride home was relatively uneventful. Since it was dark for much of our drive to Hawke’s Bay, much of the scenery was new. Two of my favorite parts were the Akatarawa mountains and the windmill farm. The mountains were snow-covered and beautifully lit by a few bits of sun sneaking through the clouds. I wish I had a picture to share, but my camera battery had died. The windmill farm was surprisingly picturesque. It was rather hypnotic watching them from a distance (they were the huge white ones with three narrow arms – obviously not like Don Quixote). I will touch more on the eco-friendly push here in NZ another time….

Wrap up –
It was a really fun weekend… this past weekend we stayed here in Wellington and spent some time exploring some of the scenic trails through the surrounding hills. Next weekend (as in a few days), we are going to drive up to Taranaki , one of the volcanoes on the west coast. Take care everyone and keep in touch!