jan 7th was stephanie's birthday, so i took her to do the most exciting thing there is to do in this town: we went to hamilton airport to watch the planes land.
okay, i kid. but we did go to hamilton airport. our purpose was to check out a plane being built from scratch by a friend of ian honey's (and fellow university of waikato faculty member) named bruce. for the reason why, here's a bit of back story.
a while back, when i was still living in the states, i was down visiting in DC one weekend and the sursis and i went to the national air and space museum's udvar-hazy center out near dulles airport (which, btw, is awesome and if you're ever in DC, you should go see it. and by 'it', i mean the udvar-hazy center, not dulles airport. ambiguity. the devil's volleyball). anyway, while we were there looking at all the really impressive planes, we came across a couple that were 'kit planes', meaning you could buy a kit and make them yourself and they would (presumably) fly. we were like (eyes wide and rapid intake of air) "you mean you can do that??? that's so cool!".
fast forward to a few months ago when i was talking to ian when he casually mentioned that a friend of his was building his own plane. i asked if he thought the guy would mind showing it off and he found out that he'd be happy to let us come see it. so as a surprise for stephanie for her birthday, i took her out to see the plane.
let me tell you, there are few things more inspiring than seeing the cold hard results of someone about to realize his childhood dream. bruce (who is a hell of a nice guy even if i can't remember his last name at the moment) told us that, since he was a kid, he's wanted to do this. so he started off making the first part by hand about 7-8 years ago and it just continued from there. he has spent, by his own admission, pretty much all his free time since then working on it. just before we went to see it, he'd moved it out of his home workshop to the airport hanger to finish it off and he's actually gotten it to the point where it's just about ready to be certified by the NZ equivalent of the FAA. he has a checklist and pictures of all the parts that are now inaccessible and all he has to do is put a few more pieces in and he's done.
so, two things: first, i was correct in my assumption (though, admittedly, it wasn't much of a stretch) that the kind of guy who has spent 8 years building a plane from scratch is also probably the kind of guy who would love the opportunity to show it off and answer questions. and boy, did we have questions. we'd actually come up with an extensive list on our way over and had lots more when we actually saw it in front of us. i'm sure we came off like two annoying little kids, but it was just so damn cool. bruce was great, answering everything very candidly and with lots of patience.
the second thing is (and it sounds a bit silly to say, but just go with me here)...it looks like a real damn plane. like, professional. if i didn't know that it was handmade and if the last few components were in place, i would have assumed that it had been made by a manufacturer. it looks awesome. you can see the pride he takes in his work.
in a way, the hell of it for bruce is that he's so close to getting airborne, but this last part (the certification) is something over which he has little control. still, what he has done so far is truly inspiring and just strengthens the dream born way back at the udvar-hazy center when stephanie and i saw the kit planes and said "okay, we just have to do this." because realistically, how could you not?
after the airport and still talking excitedly like 10 year-olds about the plane, we headed off to hamilton gardens. sadly, some of the flowers (notably the roses) weren't blooming as much as they'd been a month previously, but it was all still stunning. we had a fantastic picnic lunch overlooking the italian renaissance garden because hey, italians have the best ambiance.
after an afternoon relaxing (i still wasn't 100% from the previous day), we went out for a birthday dinner at hell pizza (woo hoo!). still the best pizza in town and that's still not really saying anything. i brought a cake with us. two lit candles and 4 unlit ones properly arranged and voila! thirty-six in binary. inventive and geeky at the same time. i got the pizza maker guy and the girl behind the counter to help me sing happy birthday, to someone's great embarrassment. we had considered going out for a night on the town, but discretion being the greater part of being exhausted, we decided against it, came back and crashed.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
a break from your regularly scheduled programming
a note on yesterday before returning to the account of stephanie's visit:
yesterday morning, i got up at 5:30am new zealand time to watch barack obama's inauguration ceremony on a tv i borrowed from greg jacobson (thanks, greg). the ceremony was carried live in new zealand and the coverage was basically okay except for one glaring fault:
they didn't show the performance of "air and simple gifts". they showed the filing in of all the notables and aretha franklin and her hat ("uh, yes, ms. queen of soul? we need to have a talk with your milliner"), but instead of leaving unmolested a performance of FOUR OF THE FINEST FUCKING CLASSICAL MUSICIANS OF THIS OR ANY OTHER GENERATION AS THEY PLAYED A PIECE COMPOSED AND ARRANGED BY ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED COMPOSERS AND DIRECTORS EVER, we in new zealand were treated to 'analysis' of what to expect in the speech by a kiwi reporter who had been to 3 previous US presidential inaugurations (but was, suspiciously, not at this one) while the glimpses of the foursome danced tantalizingly in the background.
but, at least they showed the rest of it (well, not the parade and everything, but at least the swearing-ins and speeches and so forth). i thought obama's speech was excellent and i'm glad that there were a few pointed remarks in it directed at the outgoing president sitting a few feet from him saying 'yeah, all that crap you've been pulling for eight years now? yeah, that shit's gonna stop' (i paraphrase, of course, but you get the picture).
after the benediction (which was awesome) and they cut away to local news, i called peter and stephanie, who pointed their webcam at the tv so i could watch bush take off on marine 1 and leave DC for good. mom told me later that a bunch of kids were chanting "na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye" to him as he left, a taunt usually reserved for the visiting team's power forward who just fouled out.
it was a strange thing to watch the inauguration from here. i was alone at home with the sunrise coming through the windows. it was warm and pleasant and summer, which was completely incongruous with how all the poor folks in attendance on the mall were dressed. but it was a hard thing to be here and not be home. it wasn't right that i wasn't home. i believe this to have been one of the most important events in my country in the last several years, and i spent my day among people for whom it was kind of a curiosity, if it even registered. listening to the speech, i felt like my country, which i love, is finally back on the right course after 8 years of insanity and i won't have to say "yeah, well..." when people here talk about the stupid embarrassing shit that my president is saying and/or doing.
i just should have been home, surrounded by people who care about it all as much as i do.
yesterday morning, i got up at 5:30am new zealand time to watch barack obama's inauguration ceremony on a tv i borrowed from greg jacobson (thanks, greg). the ceremony was carried live in new zealand and the coverage was basically okay except for one glaring fault:
they didn't show the performance of "air and simple gifts". they showed the filing in of all the notables and aretha franklin and her hat ("uh, yes, ms. queen of soul? we need to have a talk with your milliner"), but instead of leaving unmolested a performance of FOUR OF THE FINEST FUCKING CLASSICAL MUSICIANS OF THIS OR ANY OTHER GENERATION AS THEY PLAYED A PIECE COMPOSED AND ARRANGED BY ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED COMPOSERS AND DIRECTORS EVER, we in new zealand were treated to 'analysis' of what to expect in the speech by a kiwi reporter who had been to 3 previous US presidential inaugurations (but was, suspiciously, not at this one) while the glimpses of the foursome danced tantalizingly in the background.
but, at least they showed the rest of it (well, not the parade and everything, but at least the swearing-ins and speeches and so forth). i thought obama's speech was excellent and i'm glad that there were a few pointed remarks in it directed at the outgoing president sitting a few feet from him saying 'yeah, all that crap you've been pulling for eight years now? yeah, that shit's gonna stop' (i paraphrase, of course, but you get the picture).
after the benediction (which was awesome) and they cut away to local news, i called peter and stephanie, who pointed their webcam at the tv so i could watch bush take off on marine 1 and leave DC for good. mom told me later that a bunch of kids were chanting "na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye" to him as he left, a taunt usually reserved for the visiting team's power forward who just fouled out.
it was a strange thing to watch the inauguration from here. i was alone at home with the sunrise coming through the windows. it was warm and pleasant and summer, which was completely incongruous with how all the poor folks in attendance on the mall were dressed. but it was a hard thing to be here and not be home. it wasn't right that i wasn't home. i believe this to have been one of the most important events in my country in the last several years, and i spent my day among people for whom it was kind of a curiosity, if it even registered. listening to the speech, i felt like my country, which i love, is finally back on the right course after 8 years of insanity and i won't have to say "yeah, well..." when people here talk about the stupid embarrassing shit that my president is saying and/or doing.
i just should have been home, surrounded by people who care about it all as much as i do.
back in hamilton
let me tell you how much less unpleasant it is to be sick when you have a friend to take care of you than it is to be sick alone.
not sure what exactly happened, but i spent most of the day on the 6th either preparing to throw up, throwing up, or recovering from throwing up. i felt bad, because i wanted to be able to show stephanie around hamilton. we went to the university and got to meet a few people, then went to a yarn store so stephanie could get her fill of the reason for sheeps' existence (and get some for katy as well). all i can say is that i'm glad the yarn store has 1) a chair, however uncomfortable, 2) a nice lady who will bring you a glass of water and 3) a bathroom. i'm also glad that i have a friend who is adventurous enough to learn to drive on the other side of the road so i didn't have to sound like my grandfather ("fat, i think one of the headlights is out..."). i tried to take a nap and did wake up feeling slightly better, so we went ahead with our plans to have dinner at jan and mark's. dinner was great and it was a lovely evening, at least until my dinner made an (un?)expected return visit, after which i was so chilled my teeth were chattering. stephanie drove home and took care of me until i finally fell asleep. ugh.
thank you, stephanie. thank you very very much.
not sure what exactly happened, but i spent most of the day on the 6th either preparing to throw up, throwing up, or recovering from throwing up. i felt bad, because i wanted to be able to show stephanie around hamilton. we went to the university and got to meet a few people, then went to a yarn store so stephanie could get her fill of the reason for sheeps' existence (and get some for katy as well). all i can say is that i'm glad the yarn store has 1) a chair, however uncomfortable, 2) a nice lady who will bring you a glass of water and 3) a bathroom. i'm also glad that i have a friend who is adventurous enough to learn to drive on the other side of the road so i didn't have to sound like my grandfather ("fat, i think one of the headlights is out..."). i tried to take a nap and did wake up feeling slightly better, so we went ahead with our plans to have dinner at jan and mark's. dinner was great and it was a lovely evening, at least until my dinner made an (un?)expected return visit, after which i was so chilled my teeth were chattering. stephanie drove home and took care of me until i finally fell asleep. ugh.
thank you, stephanie. thank you very very much.
Monday, January 19, 2009
like a bond villain’s secret base…
white island: active marine volcano. awww yeah….
on january 5th, stephanie and i got up early to be at the boat headed for white island at 9am. as stated, white island is an active marine volcano, although not terribly active (on a scale from 0 (dormant) to 5 (run for your life/kiss your ass goodbye), white island ranks a 1). it sits about 30 miles off the coast of the bay of plenty, which translates to about a 45 minute boat ride. you could take a helicopter, but it’s expensive enough taking the boat.
white island is important in new zealand’s economic history because of the sulphur mine that was there in the early part of the 20th century. however, a series of accidents, combined with low yield from the mine spelled the end of the mining venture. during the time the mine was in operation, though, working on the island was a wholly unpleasant experience.
for example, the day we were there, it was hot as balls. i’m going out on a limb here and assuming that the weather patterns on white island haven’t changed significantly in 100 years. and there was zero shade. the sulphur in the ground and the fumaroles (vents of sulphurous steam) lead to an extremely acidic environment in which almost nothing grows (the almost is key, as there are some inch high plants on the rocks that have adapted to the environment by storing all the acid off in one part of the plant while the rest is able to grow). the whole place has a moon-scape kind of quality. if the moon were mostly orange rock and hot as anything and smelled like rotten eggs and stung your eyes and…well, you get the picture. the acid in the environment apparently is hell on cotton clothing, eating through it very quickly. so the miners had to wear wool. in the heat. and the dust. it must have sucked. additionally, we had to wear hard hats and we had gas masks for when the wind blew the steam into our faces. and we were fucking TOURISTS. the miners likely didn’t have it so good. also, after hours, there was nothing to do. at all. you’re on a relatively small island 30 miles from shore and the boat came around once a week or so to drop off more food and water. oh yeah, no fresh water on the island. and, oh yeah, the water was delivered in drums that had previously contained kerosene and the taste of it never quite came out of them. now, there’s a very high mountain ringing the whole mine area. this mountain separates the mine from the rest of the island. after the first few accidents, the miners decided to move from living near the mine to part of ‘the rest of the island’, meaning that they had to take the boat around to the mine every day, which isn’t so bad unless the seas were too rough to land and everyone had to climb a goat track over the mountain to the mine instead. in the heat wearing wool clothes with no shade and…you get the picture.
it sounds like being a miner sucked. hard. one guy disappeared near the crater lake and later they only found his boots. another time the men at the camp were killed and when a boat finally care around to investigate, the only thing alive they found was the cat. it was all so bad that apparently, one guy back in the day was promised a job on “an island paradise” and when they got close to white island, he tied himself to the mast and refused to come down until the ship went back to shore. i believe this man was what is known as “wise”. but as bad as it was, during the depression, there were men lined up to take jobs on the island, because you’d get two shillings a day (or week, can’t remember which—stephanie? do you remember?), which was, like, a lot.
anyway, back to our adventure. so, we get to the island and take a zodiac to the pier left there by the miners. after our group safely made it onto the island, our intrepid tour guides started taking us around for our ~1hr tour. it was amazing. the sights and smells were unlike anything I’d seen since…well, the last volcano i went to, but that was back in high school. this place puts rotorua and all the thermal wonderlands to shame. we’re talking major steam vents everywhere. lots of bubbling mud pools. the most impressive feature is the crater lake, which has a pH of about 0.1.
the end of the tour takes you to the ruins of the mine works. all the iron there is in a more advanced state of rust and decay than you’d normally expect (because of the acidic envrionment). we were shown a few of the enclosed canisters that were used to boil the mined material until they blew up under the pressure, killing a few people. you’d think after the first time….
anyway, it’s just awesome. even with the heat and the no shade and the occasional need for gas masks, i wish we could have done more. i would have loved to have climbed up to the top of the ridge and look out over the whole island. even though we didn’t get to do as much on the island as i would have liked, it’s still one of the best things i’ve done in new Zealand. i first read about it after i’d been here a month. i told stephanie about it and she made me promise to save it for when she came. i think she made an excellent choice.
after the tour of the island, the boat stayed parked there and everyone who wanted could go for a swim. even though the water was a little chilly, we didn’t care. it was glorious. while we were splashing around in the greenish-blue water, stephanie said “you know, i have to say that swimming off the coast of a volcanic island in the south pacific on a beautiful day is pretty damn good”. i have to agree.
they gave us lunch and then did a circuit of the island so we could see the gannet colonies that nest there. other than the tourists and the gannets, the only people who go to white island are the volcanologists, who have some serious monitoring equipment stationed there to track changes and try to predict when the island might erupt. volcanology. now that’s some good dangerous science.
after returning to whakatane, we grabbed some doner kebabs and headed back to Hamilton. along the way, we stopped in tirau (the corrugated iron capital of new Zealand) so that could finally take a picture of the killer eye in corrugated metal. stephanie was a good enough sport to pose for the obligatory “pretty co-ed too absorbed in her book to notice the killer eye advancing up from behind” picture. those who have seen the movie will understand. that night, we got home and Stephanie cooked a fantastic steak dinner. meat and high temperatures. a fitting end for a day involving volcanoes.
a few additional comments: we both thought this was really cool. i mean, like, REALLY cool. we’d wander around with the group, trying to take it all in, then look at each other and shake our heads in amazement. i didn’t actually get to go inside the other volcano i’d been to in costa rica and we certainly didn’t get to see it this close up or with such good guides. there are a number of things in new zealand that are really cool and you should do if you come here. but this one is like going to milford sound. Yes, there are other places in the world to see something like this. but there are very, very few of them and and you have to go really fucking far to get to the next one.
on january 5th, stephanie and i got up early to be at the boat headed for white island at 9am. as stated, white island is an active marine volcano, although not terribly active (on a scale from 0 (dormant) to 5 (run for your life/kiss your ass goodbye), white island ranks a 1). it sits about 30 miles off the coast of the bay of plenty, which translates to about a 45 minute boat ride. you could take a helicopter, but it’s expensive enough taking the boat.
white island is important in new zealand’s economic history because of the sulphur mine that was there in the early part of the 20th century. however, a series of accidents, combined with low yield from the mine spelled the end of the mining venture. during the time the mine was in operation, though, working on the island was a wholly unpleasant experience.
for example, the day we were there, it was hot as balls. i’m going out on a limb here and assuming that the weather patterns on white island haven’t changed significantly in 100 years. and there was zero shade. the sulphur in the ground and the fumaroles (vents of sulphurous steam) lead to an extremely acidic environment in which almost nothing grows (the almost is key, as there are some inch high plants on the rocks that have adapted to the environment by storing all the acid off in one part of the plant while the rest is able to grow). the whole place has a moon-scape kind of quality. if the moon were mostly orange rock and hot as anything and smelled like rotten eggs and stung your eyes and…well, you get the picture. the acid in the environment apparently is hell on cotton clothing, eating through it very quickly. so the miners had to wear wool. in the heat. and the dust. it must have sucked. additionally, we had to wear hard hats and we had gas masks for when the wind blew the steam into our faces. and we were fucking TOURISTS. the miners likely didn’t have it so good. also, after hours, there was nothing to do. at all. you’re on a relatively small island 30 miles from shore and the boat came around once a week or so to drop off more food and water. oh yeah, no fresh water on the island. and, oh yeah, the water was delivered in drums that had previously contained kerosene and the taste of it never quite came out of them. now, there’s a very high mountain ringing the whole mine area. this mountain separates the mine from the rest of the island. after the first few accidents, the miners decided to move from living near the mine to part of ‘the rest of the island’, meaning that they had to take the boat around to the mine every day, which isn’t so bad unless the seas were too rough to land and everyone had to climb a goat track over the mountain to the mine instead. in the heat wearing wool clothes with no shade and…you get the picture.
it sounds like being a miner sucked. hard. one guy disappeared near the crater lake and later they only found his boots. another time the men at the camp were killed and when a boat finally care around to investigate, the only thing alive they found was the cat. it was all so bad that apparently, one guy back in the day was promised a job on “an island paradise” and when they got close to white island, he tied himself to the mast and refused to come down until the ship went back to shore. i believe this man was what is known as “wise”. but as bad as it was, during the depression, there were men lined up to take jobs on the island, because you’d get two shillings a day (or week, can’t remember which—stephanie? do you remember?), which was, like, a lot.
anyway, back to our adventure. so, we get to the island and take a zodiac to the pier left there by the miners. after our group safely made it onto the island, our intrepid tour guides started taking us around for our ~1hr tour. it was amazing. the sights and smells were unlike anything I’d seen since…well, the last volcano i went to, but that was back in high school. this place puts rotorua and all the thermal wonderlands to shame. we’re talking major steam vents everywhere. lots of bubbling mud pools. the most impressive feature is the crater lake, which has a pH of about 0.1.
the end of the tour takes you to the ruins of the mine works. all the iron there is in a more advanced state of rust and decay than you’d normally expect (because of the acidic envrionment). we were shown a few of the enclosed canisters that were used to boil the mined material until they blew up under the pressure, killing a few people. you’d think after the first time….
anyway, it’s just awesome. even with the heat and the no shade and the occasional need for gas masks, i wish we could have done more. i would have loved to have climbed up to the top of the ridge and look out over the whole island. even though we didn’t get to do as much on the island as i would have liked, it’s still one of the best things i’ve done in new Zealand. i first read about it after i’d been here a month. i told stephanie about it and she made me promise to save it for when she came. i think she made an excellent choice.
after the tour of the island, the boat stayed parked there and everyone who wanted could go for a swim. even though the water was a little chilly, we didn’t care. it was glorious. while we were splashing around in the greenish-blue water, stephanie said “you know, i have to say that swimming off the coast of a volcanic island in the south pacific on a beautiful day is pretty damn good”. i have to agree.
they gave us lunch and then did a circuit of the island so we could see the gannet colonies that nest there. other than the tourists and the gannets, the only people who go to white island are the volcanologists, who have some serious monitoring equipment stationed there to track changes and try to predict when the island might erupt. volcanology. now that’s some good dangerous science.
after returning to whakatane, we grabbed some doner kebabs and headed back to Hamilton. along the way, we stopped in tirau (the corrugated iron capital of new Zealand) so that could finally take a picture of the killer eye in corrugated metal. stephanie was a good enough sport to pose for the obligatory “pretty co-ed too absorbed in her book to notice the killer eye advancing up from behind” picture. those who have seen the movie will understand. that night, we got home and Stephanie cooked a fantastic steak dinner. meat and high temperatures. a fitting end for a day involving volcanoes.
a few additional comments: we both thought this was really cool. i mean, like, REALLY cool. we’d wander around with the group, trying to take it all in, then look at each other and shake our heads in amazement. i didn’t actually get to go inside the other volcano i’d been to in costa rica and we certainly didn’t get to see it this close up or with such good guides. there are a number of things in new zealand that are really cool and you should do if you come here. but this one is like going to milford sound. Yes, there are other places in the world to see something like this. but there are very, very few of them and and you have to go really fucking far to get to the next one.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
on the road again
the great thing about being with your closest friends is that it makes even a seven hour car ride just as much of a blast as doing all the adventure stuff.
we left the little earth lodge early (resisting the siren call of return of the king -- "okay, lemme just watch until eowyn kills the nazgul"). we went south to auckland, then cut east through paeroa to mount maunganui. we stopped at several places along the way, including lunch at the pukeko cafe which is....somewhere, paeroa for the obligatory picture with the giant L&P bottle and owharai falls outside the karangahake gorge. we finally made it to mount maunganui in the mid afternoon. we parked on the beach and walked out along a peninsula where you could look back onto the beach and the mount itself. as an aside, the weather this time was a significant improvement on the maelstrom they had the last time i was there. out on the peninsula, we just hung out and talked. it was perfect. we'd been going pretty full on for the last few days, so it was good to kick back, relax and catch up. plus, kids were all around playing on the beach, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. this is what 'christmas vacation in new zealand' is really all about.
we had dinner at 37 degrees south in mount maunganui (part of the chain of restaurants from yesterday) and i had what was now the second best meal i've had in new zealand (that poor italian place in te anau just keeps getting pushed further back). afterwards we continued driving on to whakatane and stayed at lloyd's lodge, so we'd be in town for the early morning departure to white island.
new zealand is a long way from anywhere. i recognize how fortunate i am that i have people in my life who care enough about me to spend a lot of money and a lot of time coming all this way just to visit. i said the same thing after mom and carrie came, but it's still true. it's hard being on the other side of the world, even if it is in a 'paradise'. all of you out there make it easier for me until i come home. you know who you are.
thank you.
we left the little earth lodge early (resisting the siren call of return of the king -- "okay, lemme just watch until eowyn kills the nazgul"). we went south to auckland, then cut east through paeroa to mount maunganui. we stopped at several places along the way, including lunch at the pukeko cafe which is....somewhere, paeroa for the obligatory picture with the giant L&P bottle and owharai falls outside the karangahake gorge. we finally made it to mount maunganui in the mid afternoon. we parked on the beach and walked out along a peninsula where you could look back onto the beach and the mount itself. as an aside, the weather this time was a significant improvement on the maelstrom they had the last time i was there. out on the peninsula, we just hung out and talked. it was perfect. we'd been going pretty full on for the last few days, so it was good to kick back, relax and catch up. plus, kids were all around playing on the beach, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. this is what 'christmas vacation in new zealand' is really all about.
we had dinner at 37 degrees south in mount maunganui (part of the chain of restaurants from yesterday) and i had what was now the second best meal i've had in new zealand (that poor italian place in te anau just keeps getting pushed further back). afterwards we continued driving on to whakatane and stayed at lloyd's lodge, so we'd be in town for the early morning departure to white island.
new zealand is a long way from anywhere. i recognize how fortunate i am that i have people in my life who care enough about me to spend a lot of money and a lot of time coming all this way just to visit. i said the same thing after mom and carrie came, but it's still true. it's hard being on the other side of the world, even if it is in a 'paradise'. all of you out there make it easier for me until i come home. you know who you are.
thank you.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
waitangi and the bay of islands
two of new zealand's most significant places are literally minutes from one another: the waitangi treaty grounds and the bay of islands.
we got up early and headed over to the treaty grounds first. for those of you too cool for school, the waitangi treaty ground is where the treaty of waitangi (the founding document of new zealand) was signed by representatives of the crown and hundreds of maori chiefs. the treaty has been the subject of debate over the years, with maori feeling that the crown didn't hold up it's side in maintaining maori ownership of land in new zealand. the original maori version didn't exactly translate into the english version as well, which further adds to the problems. also, not nearly all the chiefs on the island were present at the original signing, so copies of the document (surprisingly, they don't all match up, either) were carried around the country for others to sign. now, i knew all of this going in, because of the 'intro to the treaty of waitangi' session peter and i got to go to back in november. so i was interested to see how everything would be presented at the place where the deed was originally done.
stephanie and i got to the treaty grounds and our first bit of good news was that NZ residents get in free (woo hoo!), which apparently didn't sit well with the british guy ahead of us in line. with a quick flash of the university ID card and 20 bucks for stephanie, we were on our way. we first saw a short greeting and kapa haka show, provided by a group of maori twentysomethings from the local tribe. it was very good. next was a 20 minute movie on the history of the treaty, which surprisingly, had some gaping holes in it. afterwards, we wandered the treaty grounds, which are spacious, in search of new zealand history.
i realize now upon reflection that this is the first time i've ever been to this kind of place in a foreign country. i have, of course, been to lots of places of historical relevance/importance to the founding of the country in the US (which was kind of easy, having lived in boston and DC), so it was interesting to see things from the other side. the first thing that struck me is how few people were there and how few people i've asked subsequently have been there. it's kind of upsetting, actually. i mean, it's not really centrally located or anything, but you'd think new zealanders would have been as part of school trips or something. anything. but i was fascinated with it. they have a restored home that was where the treaty was actually signed and debated, a large waka (war canoe), lots of nature walks, etc. but the history of it is the part that was the most meaningful to me. new zealand is a young country, even younger than the US, and historical places here are few and far between. i was really glad to see something of importance that wasn't a natural geological formation or an artistically rendered toilet.
sadly, we were in a hurry to get to our next destination, a boat tour of the bay of islands, with optional additional swimming with the dolphins (dolphin behavior permitting). the bay of islands is #3 on the kiwi 101 must-do's and is in the 1,000 places to see before you die. so it was with high expectations that stephanie and i boarded the boat for an afternoon cruise.
the bay of islands did not disappoint. the dolphins were found and were cool, but wouldn't slow down enough for us to swim with them (they told us that unless your last name is "phelps", you don't have a chance keeping up with them). alas. but the islands were awesome. there are hundreds of them and everywhere are little hidden coves with some really rich guy's summer mansion that's only accessible by boat. the weather was great and the afternoon was just...perfect. we had a blast. i'll get to swim with dolphins some other time, but if you're going to be in an area in which you fail to do so, the bay of islands is about as spectacular as you could hope for.
back to paihia for the best dinner i've had in new zealand, hands down, at a place called 35 degrees south. before the italian place in te anau, that wouldn't be saying much. but this place kicks ass. some of the best seafood i've ever had, served up at a table out on the dock. we loved it. the entire dinner consisted of "oh, shit, you gotta try this! no, YOU gotta try THIS!". mussels and calamari and deer shank, oh my (between here and the next night's dinner, stephanie isn't sure why i bitch about food here so much).
we had a long drive the next day, so we went about an hour south to whangarei to get a jump on the trip and stayed at a VERY nice backpackers called 'little earth lodge'. it didn't feel like a backpackers at all. another end to another great day.
we got up early and headed over to the treaty grounds first. for those of you too cool for school, the waitangi treaty ground is where the treaty of waitangi (the founding document of new zealand) was signed by representatives of the crown and hundreds of maori chiefs. the treaty has been the subject of debate over the years, with maori feeling that the crown didn't hold up it's side in maintaining maori ownership of land in new zealand. the original maori version didn't exactly translate into the english version as well, which further adds to the problems. also, not nearly all the chiefs on the island were present at the original signing, so copies of the document (surprisingly, they don't all match up, either) were carried around the country for others to sign. now, i knew all of this going in, because of the 'intro to the treaty of waitangi' session peter and i got to go to back in november. so i was interested to see how everything would be presented at the place where the deed was originally done.
stephanie and i got to the treaty grounds and our first bit of good news was that NZ residents get in free (woo hoo!), which apparently didn't sit well with the british guy ahead of us in line. with a quick flash of the university ID card and 20 bucks for stephanie, we were on our way. we first saw a short greeting and kapa haka show, provided by a group of maori twentysomethings from the local tribe. it was very good. next was a 20 minute movie on the history of the treaty, which surprisingly, had some gaping holes in it. afterwards, we wandered the treaty grounds, which are spacious, in search of new zealand history.
i realize now upon reflection that this is the first time i've ever been to this kind of place in a foreign country. i have, of course, been to lots of places of historical relevance/importance to the founding of the country in the US (which was kind of easy, having lived in boston and DC), so it was interesting to see things from the other side. the first thing that struck me is how few people were there and how few people i've asked subsequently have been there. it's kind of upsetting, actually. i mean, it's not really centrally located or anything, but you'd think new zealanders would have been as part of school trips or something. anything. but i was fascinated with it. they have a restored home that was where the treaty was actually signed and debated, a large waka (war canoe), lots of nature walks, etc. but the history of it is the part that was the most meaningful to me. new zealand is a young country, even younger than the US, and historical places here are few and far between. i was really glad to see something of importance that wasn't a natural geological formation or an artistically rendered toilet.
sadly, we were in a hurry to get to our next destination, a boat tour of the bay of islands, with optional additional swimming with the dolphins (dolphin behavior permitting). the bay of islands is #3 on the kiwi 101 must-do's and is in the 1,000 places to see before you die. so it was with high expectations that stephanie and i boarded the boat for an afternoon cruise.
the bay of islands did not disappoint. the dolphins were found and were cool, but wouldn't slow down enough for us to swim with them (they told us that unless your last name is "phelps", you don't have a chance keeping up with them). alas. but the islands were awesome. there are hundreds of them and everywhere are little hidden coves with some really rich guy's summer mansion that's only accessible by boat. the weather was great and the afternoon was just...perfect. we had a blast. i'll get to swim with dolphins some other time, but if you're going to be in an area in which you fail to do so, the bay of islands is about as spectacular as you could hope for.
back to paihia for the best dinner i've had in new zealand, hands down, at a place called 35 degrees south. before the italian place in te anau, that wouldn't be saying much. but this place kicks ass. some of the best seafood i've ever had, served up at a table out on the dock. we loved it. the entire dinner consisted of "oh, shit, you gotta try this! no, YOU gotta try THIS!". mussels and calamari and deer shank, oh my (between here and the next night's dinner, stephanie isn't sure why i bitch about food here so much).
we had a long drive the next day, so we went about an hour south to whangarei to get a jump on the trip and stayed at a VERY nice backpackers called 'little earth lodge'. it didn't feel like a backpackers at all. another end to another great day.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
poor knights island
the morning of the 2nd, fortified with a breakfast of leftover macaroni with clams (aww, yeah) we set out for snorkeling at poor knights island. it was with great expectations that we did so, as poor knights was described by jacques "le homme" cousteau as one of the ten best dive sites in the world ("but...it's jacques cousteau! he's a friend of the earth!!").
neither stephanie nor i had the money or time to get dive certified, but i had been led to understand that poor knights could still be thoroughly enjoyed by snorkeling and i am pleased to report that i had not been led down the proverbial garden path. the snorkeling there was awesome. we boarded the dive tutukaka boat (great outfit, btw, had a really good experience and would recommend them) at 11am and set off for...well, charted waters, but still exciting nonetheless, dammit. we were fitted for wetsuits (carrie and stephanie feel the same pain) and once we'd arrived at the spot, jumped in and stared exploring. now, certain readers will be glad to hear that i brought along my new fancy schmancy waterproof camera. i also cleverly attached it to my epilepsy foundation bracelet and was all set to take pictures of underwater goodness. initially, the sights below were good, not great, with mostly urchins, some not-colorful fish and seaweed.
things really picked up when we caught a quick trip on the zodiac over to an enormous sea arch (stephanie was ultimately awarded a special t-shirt for "most graceless entry into a zodiac"). the underwater life there was fucking amazing. the bottom was probably about 20 meters down and there were divers mucking around at that depth with their flashlights. everything was in slow motion. i looked down at one point to see an enormous sting ray coming up from under me then silently gliding over some rocks and disappearing. everything was incredible. there were hundreds of blue maumau (papa blue maumau, papa blue maumaumau) and all sorts of other fish whose names i'd never heard until that day.
back on board, they gave us lunch and we sailed around to see a bit more of the islands before we headed back to port. the entire area, both on land and around in the waters, is a designated nature preserve. we got friendly with our captain (and noticed that steering a large ship with one's feet seems to be standard) and got to learn a lot about the area.
back in tutukaka, we had an early dinner (in which i got a surprisingly good ropa vieja, of all things) and headed north to paihia. of note was our stop in kawakawa, which continues in the kiwi tradition of "town that has done something odd to be put on the map as a tourist destination or at least gets people to stop through on their way somewhere else". and kawakawa's claim to fame: the hundertwasser toilets. that's right, folks. something to challenge cambridge's superloo. the toilets in kawakawa are certainly the most colorful and artistically interesting toilets that i have ever had the personal pleasure to sully. for those who want more info, click here.
afterwards, it was a short drive to make it to the holiday park in paihia (where, in what seems like a not very forward thinking way, the toilets actually close for the night), setting ourselves up for the waitangi treaty grounds and bay of islands the following day.
oh, and btw: for those who didn't click the toilets link, they are on the list of 101 kiwi must-do's. no shit (ha ha).
neither stephanie nor i had the money or time to get dive certified, but i had been led to understand that poor knights could still be thoroughly enjoyed by snorkeling and i am pleased to report that i had not been led down the proverbial garden path. the snorkeling there was awesome. we boarded the dive tutukaka boat (great outfit, btw, had a really good experience and would recommend them) at 11am and set off for...well, charted waters, but still exciting nonetheless, dammit. we were fitted for wetsuits (carrie and stephanie feel the same pain) and once we'd arrived at the spot, jumped in and stared exploring. now, certain readers will be glad to hear that i brought along my new fancy schmancy waterproof camera. i also cleverly attached it to my epilepsy foundation bracelet and was all set to take pictures of underwater goodness. initially, the sights below were good, not great, with mostly urchins, some not-colorful fish and seaweed.
things really picked up when we caught a quick trip on the zodiac over to an enormous sea arch (stephanie was ultimately awarded a special t-shirt for "most graceless entry into a zodiac"). the underwater life there was fucking amazing. the bottom was probably about 20 meters down and there were divers mucking around at that depth with their flashlights. everything was in slow motion. i looked down at one point to see an enormous sting ray coming up from under me then silently gliding over some rocks and disappearing. everything was incredible. there were hundreds of blue maumau (papa blue maumau, papa blue maumaumau) and all sorts of other fish whose names i'd never heard until that day.
back on board, they gave us lunch and we sailed around to see a bit more of the islands before we headed back to port. the entire area, both on land and around in the waters, is a designated nature preserve. we got friendly with our captain (and noticed that steering a large ship with one's feet seems to be standard) and got to learn a lot about the area.
back in tutukaka, we had an early dinner (in which i got a surprisingly good ropa vieja, of all things) and headed north to paihia. of note was our stop in kawakawa, which continues in the kiwi tradition of "town that has done something odd to be put on the map as a tourist destination or at least gets people to stop through on their way somewhere else". and kawakawa's claim to fame: the hundertwasser toilets. that's right, folks. something to challenge cambridge's superloo. the toilets in kawakawa are certainly the most colorful and artistically interesting toilets that i have ever had the personal pleasure to sully. for those who want more info, click here.
afterwards, it was a short drive to make it to the holiday park in paihia (where, in what seems like a not very forward thinking way, the toilets actually close for the night), setting ourselves up for the waitangi treaty grounds and bay of islands the following day.
oh, and btw: for those who didn't click the toilets link, they are on the list of 101 kiwi must-do's. no shit (ha ha).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)