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exumenius

170 Blog Entries
2 Trips
477 Photos

Trips:

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Kiwis and Kangaroos

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Nydia Track, Day 1 - Night 85

Havelock, New Zealand


Kaiuma Creek
The water taxi for Shag Point, our drop off location, left at 10am. There was only one other hiker with me today, a 40 year old woman from Wellington named Teresa. On board the boat was an elderly couple with their grandkids headed for a holiday home somewhere in the Sounds, as well as a young couple doing some camping in one of the inlets. We were the first ones off. Our stop was little more than a gravel bar along a cliff. The captain pulled up as close as he could and we jumped off the bow (that’s the front) onto land. I cleared the nearly 4 foot gap, Teresa didn’t, but luckily her waterproof boots held and she didn’t have to start the hike with wet feet.


Nydia Bay from the Saddle

The Nydia Track doesn’t actually start until deep in Kaiuma Bay, so we had to hike it 5 kilometers along a gravel road just to get to the start of the track. After that it was up and over a small 700 foot hill, down into the valley and then back up to the Kaiuma Saddle at just over 1,000 feet of elevation.


Te Mahoerangi Resort
It wasn’t an overly difficult climb, but the sun beat down on us – aided by the low growth of the gorse forest – and temperatures hovered about 30 (low 80s) without a hint of wind. We stopped at the saddle for lunch and were met by an elderly couple who had come up from the Te Mahoerangi Backpackers, our intended destination, for a day hike. A few stream crossings, some cattle sightings and two hours later we arrived at Te Mahoerangi.

As we walked into the yard it reminded me of the scene from the movie The Beach where Richard and Co. waltz into the island village. Random people were scattered about the grounds doing odd chores, fixing grounded boats, or inspecting fishing reels. And surprisingly, young people too…though the only one who had the looks for Hollywood was the new manager’s wife, a blond darling of about 30. The buildings were all constructed of pine and by the looks of it fairly well built. Te Mahoerangi is off the grid so all power at the moment comes from a diesel generator; a solar unit is scheduled for installation later this year. The place is fairly new, the grand idea of a hippy couple who started the project, let it fester and now have moved onto to a new scheme on d’Urville Island. In the mean time they’ve hired a young, more business minded couple from Wellington to run it. They’ve upped prices and taken away a few of the perks, we were told by some guests who had been here before, but, overall, they’ve greatly improved the place and have turned it into a profitable business venture (Note: it is still a non-profit which donates all proceeds to environmental causes). I guess progress comes with a price.

A needed nap in the books, I spent the evening touring the bay and reading through their huge collection of old National Geographics. For dinner, the lodge kitchen offered a pumpkin something soup and salad for $35. I enjoyed my own tuna alfredo. At 10pm the generator was shut down, so it was light’s out and bed time for all.

What I Learned Today: Lying down to take my afternoon nap I was completely exhausted. I fell asleep immediately, although it was a strange sleep in that I knew I was sleeping but yet I was partly conscious. I felt as though I could control my dream in a way. It only lasted twenty minutes or so, but I awoke completely reinvigorated and of amazingly clear mind. Perhaps this was a strange sort of fatigue-induced meditation session…I don’t know, but I know this isn’t the first time it has happened to me and it is always caused by a good day of hard work, immediately followed by a nap.


permalink written by  exumenius on January 3, 2008 from Havelock, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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On to Havelock - Night 84

Havelock, New Zealand

I awoke refreshed and took a short morning jog around the Picton Harbor. Though only 6:30, the docks were busy as guide boats, diving rigs, and fishing trawlers prepared for the day. It has always seemed to me that people in the marine industry are early risers…perhaps I have a future in such work. I spent the remainder of the morning reading and relaxing in the hammock back at the hostel. At 11:30 I packed my bags and wandered down to the ferry terminal to catch my bus arriving at 12:15.


The Villa in Picton

The ride to Havelock was a short one, less than an hour. I was the only person stopping in the small town, the rest carried on to Nelson for the night. Havelock, the gateway to my Nydia Track hike, is located on one of the farthest south inlets of the Marlborough Sounds. A resorty place, it reminded me of Cecil, WI, but with towering mountains and a faint whiff of sea salt. The YHA where I was staying is an old school building that has been converted into a hostel. Family owned, it has a very calm feel to it, aided by the fact that there were probably only a dozen of us staying the night. I took a tour of town (20 min), stopped at a museum fundraising yard sale, and gathered some supplies and groceries for the hike. If you are looking for excitement and other people between 18 and 30, Havelock is not the place for you. It has the same sort of youth vacuum that is seen in so many small towns throughout the world.

What I Learned Today: Ferry terminals, airports, train stations all seem to radiate a certain sense of kinetic energy that never fails to bring a smile to my face.


permalink written by  exumenius on January 2, 2008 from Havelock, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Across Cook Strait - Night 83

Havelock, New Zealand

I awoke sharply at 6:30 full of piss and vinegar,

Back of the Ferry
ready to meet the new year head on - regardless of the fact that I finally crawled into bed around 3am without a modicum of sobriety. My body’s internal clock functions precisely in spite of imbibation and/or exhaustion…or maybe because of it. I finished packing, cleaned my room and headed up the stairs of Kowhai House one last time. Jake, Shirley and I were all booked on the 1pm ferry to Picton, so I had some time to kill, wisely enjoying the last few hours of free internet I’ll likely see on this trip. Around 10 with stuffed rucksacks in tow, our triad slowly descended the Normadale grade for the last time. Surely life in general has its first and last times for everything, however, sometimes it seems as if travels is nothing but.


The Marlborough Sound
We arrived at the Bluebridge Ferry terminal plenty early, even in spite of the strange “who’s on first” encounter between an elderly asian female and the bus driver at one of the stops. Frustrated, he finally just charged her two dollars and agreed to drop her off wherever she wanted, provided it was along his route. Boarding for foot passengers began at 12:30, however vehicles were let on earlier, so by the time we got up to the deck all the outside seating had been taken, which was a real shame considering it was a perfectly sunny day with temperatures around 80 and little to no wind. As such the crossing was very smooth and quite scenic once we entered the Marlborough Sound.

The City of Picton is located at the terminus


The City of Picton
of one of the long arms of the Marlborough Sound. Surrounded on all sides by towering green mountains that plunge directly into the sea, Picton is blessed with natural beauty that rivals its strategic economic position as the main entry point to the South Island. A nice little downtown area surrounded by hostels, hotels, and a large marina make it a pleasant place to spend a lovely summer day.

Being a public holiday, the bay was filled with sailboats, kayakers, and the occasional jet ski. Think a slightly toned down Lake Union or Shawano Lake on any given summer weekend. I checked into The Villa, a quirky little hostel around 5 pm. The place had been highly recommended on Hostelworld and didn’t disappoint. A large backyard complete with tree house-like lounge, a hot tub, and a clean kitchen. One of the best places I’ve stayed here in the South Pacific.

I had enough daylight for a hike, so I took off down the Snout Trail which runs along the bay for a few miles then heads down into the neighboring town of Waikiau and loops back to Picton. I returned around 7:30 and on my way to the grocery store ran into Jake and Shirley. They were staying at the YHA just down the street, however, unfortunately they will be doing the South Island in a clockwise direction in two weeks, while I’m taking a month in the opposite direction. That is the great part about the South Island, with the Alps running down the spine, there are essentially on two ways to see the place, clockwise or counterclockwise. We bid adieu and will hopefully cross paths again in Greymouth on the 9th. After some dinner and reading in the tree house, it was an early night as I was running on just over 3 hours of sleep from the night before.

What I Learned Today: Along with being New Year’s Day today is also the first day of the second, more exciting portion of my travels, as well as the half way point of my whole trip. Though I’ve learned through time that resolutions and other large life changes generally do not work for me, (slow, gradual alterations are superior in both short and long term results) today has offered me a completely clean slate with which to pursue life. A bright blue sky, a new island to explore, nothing at all that I ‘must’ do, a perfect empty space of life that I can fill with whatever I please.



permalink written by  exumenius on January 1, 2008 from Havelock, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Farewell to Belmont - Night 81

Wellington, New Zealand

The second nice day in a row. To celebrate I took my final hike to Belmont Park. I’ve been there so often it has begun to feel like my backyard, yet the place is so big I’ve never done the same hike twice. I will definitely miss the prickly gorse forests and dogging sheep shit with every step.

In the afternoon I lounged on our underused


All Packed and Ready to Go
deck and reread Tim Flannery’s opus on climate change, The Weathermakers. We all sat down to a good family dinner of Lasagna and played some cards in the evening. Just another day of hiking and reading.

What I Learned Today: The strange thing about all our supposed technological advances in the energy sector is that 90% or more of all our energy generated is done using 19th century technology, namely, boiling water to create steam to turn turbines. Coal, natural gas, and even nuclear plants still use this archaic and inefficient method of power generation….the second law of thermodynamics is a bitch.


permalink written by  exumenius on December 30, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Winding Down - Night 80

Wellington, New Zealand

Tying up loose ends. That is how I would describe my day. Fighting to understand the receptionist at the Rutherford YHA ( I think I have two nights and transportation to and from the Nydia track booked), paying one last shopping visit to the Queensgate mall, cleaning my room, washing my clothes, reducing my domestic situation (setting aside unneeded items –work shirts -- for donation) and relaxing in the sun. It appears as if summer has finally started as the blue sky lasted all day and night.

Time is a strange thing. It seems like a long time ago and yet it also seems like just yesterday that I arrived in Wellington. Travel can upset your rhythms regarding the passage of time, for better or worse.

What I Learned Today: The damned British put sugar instead of salt on their popcorn….yes, it does taste as disgusting as it sounds.


permalink written by  exumenius on December 29, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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All Hands on Deck - Night 79

Wellington, New Zealand

The inter holiday period is a tough time to arrange volunteer projects as most of the coordinators of the local projects are unavailable. As such, our calendar was again blank for this cold and windy Friday. Once the rain cleared, Terry took us out on the Sentinel for an afternoon sail around the Harbor. With only four of us along this time (five, counting Ray) we weren’t allowed the luxury of shift changes and it was literally ‘all hands on deck.’ Maneuvering south out of the Harbor wasn’t easy as we met with a stiff 18-22 knot headwind. Even with the engine on half throttle we were only hitting 4 knots an hour. As we approached the mouth of the Harbor the swells grew to 2-3 meters in size, tossing our small boat about. It was my first time on seas anything even remotely resembling rough. Terry explained that the ‘short swells’ as they are know (short for the wavelength, not the amplitude—the two of which maintain an inverse relationship) are caused by the sudden decrease in water depth in this part of the Harbor resulting in a set of ‘bunched up’ swells which are more dramatic than they should be. When we crashed down into the troughs or hit a swell wrong, water splashed up over the bow. Although a bit of a struggle to retain your balance it was very enjoyable as we were never really in any danger of capsizing. After making little progress on our SE bearing to the cape, we decided to turn back and cruise with the wind all the way back into Harbor.

Our days here at the Kowhai House are number, so meals have been consisting of cleaning out the freezer. Today this meant another barbecue of marinated Cajun chicken strips, Honey Soy lamb chops and steaks. I wish I could get paid to grill out.

What I Learned Today: Amidst all the thrashing and the swells my stomach remained strong, thus, I am happy to report that this is one landlubber who, apparently, does not suffer from sea sickness.


permalink written by  exumenius on December 28, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Back to Work at Eastbourne - Night 78

Wellington, New Zealand

If, in a fit of literary flair, I were to assign some decidedly anthropomorphic qualities to the weather in Wellington, I would have to say she was a woman…and a difficult one at that. She changes moods so frequently here that between taking off and putting back on of coats, applying and reapplying sunscreen, and ducking out of the wind and scurrying to find sunshine, often little of the day is left for the task at hand. True, that last statement contained a certain degree of hyperbole, but the fact remains that Wellington in December is tricky place to plan a picnic.


Eastbourne Beach
We left the house amidst thick clouds around 9:30 -- sailing having been postponed again for another day -- and arrived at Eastbourne beach covered in sunlight and cooled with a light breeze. Almost immediately the clouds poured down from the range coating us with a brief downpour. The rain was whisked away by a fierce northwestern wind that blew across the harbor pelting us with cold, salty air. Through this ebb and flow of pleasureful sun and painful rain, we conducted a beach clean up operation. Armed with garbage bags, gloves, and steadfast miens, the GVN volunteers managed to comb over a mile of beachfront. The take of the day belonged to Ben, who found a nearly intact, two-foot tall Hindu statue of Lord Krishna and his sacred bovine. Among the other finds were an eclectic pair of pink sunglasses, 17 socks, a multitude of bottles and caps, a buried brick wall, Amatamilophin tablets and a dead sheep. Yes, I said a dead sheep. The best I could do was a half burned economics notebook and a Puff the Magic Dragon toy.

For lunch, Ray treated us to fish, chips, and


Kiwi Black Jack
a few games of cards at her witchlike castle on Eastbourne Bay (see Dec 10th for photo). In the afternoon we resumed our dune-weeding project from a few weeks ago. The drought conditions of November and early December had nearly pushed the spineflex to a breaking point, but with the last two weeks’ rain, much of it was coming back as strong as ever. Unfortunately, so were the weeds. Our local liaison, Marvin (or something like that) invited us back to his place for drinks after the work was done. His aged wife was shocked when I told her that I don’t ‘take’ tea or coffee. I’ve been in these ex-British colonies for nearly three months now and I am still amazed at the high regard with which the Queen’s loyal subjects hold their blessed tea times. It is as if they think the earth itself should stop rotating so they can sip a bit of scalding hot, poor tasting brown water every two to three hours.

What I Learned Today: All jokes and carrion aside, the sheer volume of plastic, in forms of straws, bottle caps and other unidentified pieces found lying on the beach is absolutely appalling. The worst part of it all is that, as Weisman points out in his book, The World Without Us, plastics don’t really decay as much as they break down into smaller and smaller pieces (as opposed to traditional chemical decay in which the molecules actually change composition), that are then consumed further on down the tropic cycle and thus contaminating all forms of life. It seems as if we are destined to poison ourselves to extinction, but instead of an instantaneous, massive nuclear holocaust, it’ll likely be through a small, elongated plasticized one.


permalink written by  exumenius on December 27, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Boxing Day - Night 77

Wellington, New Zealand

Today was Boxing, a National Holiday, so once again we had the day off from volunteering. I spent the sunny morning hiking the Hutt River Trail, a flat walk along the levees. Around noon the weather turned sour again, to the point of even bringing a bit of hail in the afternoon. The remainder of the day was spent updating my journal and trying to upload photos to Flickr and Facebook. The internet here on the island is incredibly slow, especially when trying to move large photo files.

PS. As you can probably tell by the decreasing length of my journal entries that I have become a bit bored in the last week or so. My time here at the volunteer house has been great, however, we are stuck out in the suburbs with no easy transportation into the city, thus it isn’t hard to run out of things to do on free days. In the end, I think a month on any one volunteer project is probably about the proper amount of time to spend. It’ll be a change to go back to living out of a bag next Tuesday, but it should be a nice change from my current sedentary existence.

What I Learned Today: Boxing Day originated in Victorian England when the rich would box up their unwanted presents and give them to the poor on the day after Christmas.


permalink written by  exumenius on December 26, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Christmas in Kiwiland - Night 76

Wellington, New Zealand

Christmas morning brought an absolute downpour. After everyone awoke and shook off their hangovers, we continued to open the remaining presents. Our Christmas morning movie was The Shawshank Redemption, an interesting choice for the day. The rain continued unabated and threatened to cancel our Christmas Day barbecue. In a bit of swamp engineering, I threw a few piece of loose plywood over the open porch and created for us the perfect locale to grill. For such action I was anointed the grillmaster and gladly took the job. Our feast included burgers, brats, hot dogs, shrimp kabobs, veggie sausages and burgers, and potatoes in tin foil.

The sun finally cleared in the afternoon and


Christmas Eve Dinner
gave us a nice Christmas afternoon. Without the cold weather and snow it just doesn’t seem like Christmas.

What I Learned Today: When it comes to holidays there are two kinds of people; 1) those who are very steeped in tradition and must recreate the experiences they had as children and 2) those of us who are happy with just a meal and tree.


permalink written by  exumenius on December 25, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Will the Real Cape Palliser Please Stand Up - Night 75

Wellington, New Zealand

The windy, rainy weather doomed our sailing

A Wary Seal
plans for the day. To compensate for our cancelled plans, we drove the two hours out to Cape Palliser to perform another seal count. At this point, I must confess to you, dear reader, that I have lied. Last week I errantly stated that we had done a seal count at Cape Palliser when in fact it was a much lesser known cape that we were on. The real Cape Palliser is a much longer drive through windy mountain roads and is also quite a bit more spectacular as far as scenery is concerned. I doubt this is not the first factual error I have made and likely will not be the last.


Cape Palliser

Quite surprisingly, upon arrival the rain stopped and the sun came out. The wind, however, refused to abate. Cape Palliser is recognized as the main home for the seal colony in this part of New Zealand. Our count of 257 seals verified this. Huge males sunning themselves on rocks, smaller females watching the pups play in the water, seals were in abundance. The whole kilometer long stretch of rocks stank foully of seal urine.


Cape Palliser looking South
Most of the pups and females would hurry to water once we approached, but the larger males barely raised their heads to acknowledge our presence. Their fear of man has been minimalized.

Being Christmas Eve, we prepared a large traditional New Zealand meal of lamb chops, mashed potatoes with a shrimp cocktail appetizer and tiramisu dessert. A feast in all senses of the word. Drinking of red wine began at the meal and continued well into the night. Around 9pm we opened the gifts that Lauren, the house advisor, had given to us. Later in the evening we engaged in a few games of drunken Clue

What I Learned Today: The New Zealanders call their Clue game Cluedo.


permalink written by  exumenius on December 24, 2007 from Wellington, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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