Well, I am home now.
We took a few days before leaving NZ to roadtrip to Nelson and Picton (the locations of our first roadtrip) where we did some last minute shopping and general relaxing.
We got back to the vineyard Monday. We spent Tuesday packing and returning books to the library in town. We had a farewell feast of lambchops, mashed potatoes and veggie stir fry.
Wednesday we packed our sleeping bags and crammed everything into our bags. We took down the tent where we'd been sleeping, tidied up Tadeu's room where we spent the last 2 nights because it was quite cold and windy and loud. We had some grilled cheese for lunch and then hit the road for the airport.
Our first flight was from Blenheim to Auckland. It was a little longer than an hour long. We flew over Picton and the Marlborough Sounds and along the west coast of the North Island. In Auckland we had a 3 hour layover which we spent in duty free and gift shops.
We left Auckland at 6pm and had an 11 hour flight to LA. There were heaps of movies on demand that we wanted to watch, we worried that we wouldn't be able to sleep! However, the movies didn't work for the first 3 hours of the flight so we only had time for one during dinner, before we fell asleep. We watched a Czech film called I Served the King of England. I slept really well for about 5 hours and woke up when my breakfast arrived.
Our layover in LA was a comfortable 3 hours. We had to do all the customs stuff and get our baggage and recheck it but we still had plenty of time before our fligth to St. Louis. On the flight we flew right into some thick dark clouds and it was a bit turbulent. But the flight was not too long and Brian's family was waiting for us at the end of it, which was definitely something to look forward to!
We spent a few days in St. Louis with Brian's family and going through all our stuff, dividing it up. Friday morning we left for Galesburg. The interstate was so straight and flat! It was so strange! We met Quinn at Green Oaks, he showed us around and then he came with us into Galesburg to get my car. Brian and I had lunch with Laura and then I had to start driving home in order to get there in time for dinner and Caitlin's play.
I had to pull over at the I-80 truckstop (the largest truckstop, maybe in the world) because the rain was coming down so hard that I couldn't see. I called my mom and found out that I was in the midst of a tornado warning. I stayed there for 40 minutes or so and then started for home again. I made it to the school 6 minutes after the overature started, with a few minutes to spare before the actual play began. I was surprised I made it... though I drove pretty fast.
Finally! I saw my mom, my dad and my grandparents. And then I surprised my sister, she didn't think I would make it for the show. So good to be home!
On Saturday I unpacked my bags and then went through all the clothes I left at home... there are so many! I think that today I will go through them and get rid of some while I am used to not having many choices.
It is always strange and difficult to end an extensive trip like this one has been. I can't really do much reflecting on it at this point, its too strange still.
Well, this is the end of this blog for now. Thanks for reading it.
Cheers!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
HARVEST!
Well... we finished the apple business, got into the sea kayaking and national park hiking business for a few days and then headed back to Blenheim for the grape HARVEST! Sea kayaking was amazing, one of many newly aquired tastes to take home (to Iowa?!). We saw a penguin swimming around, that was awesome! We had perfect weather and had so much fun in our kayak built for two.
We arrived back in Blenheim on Easter Sunday, in time to help cook a yummy feast with our friends. I made apple pie... this has been a running theme ever since! On Monday some friends we met in Motueka-- Dave, Marty and Thomas stopped in on their way back to Motueka from a whirlwind tour of the South Island. We did some wine tastings and made pizza and they camped here at the vineyard and hit the road on Tuesday.
Brian, Marj and I worked on ridding the West block Sauvignon Blanc of botritus... a rot that can be good but mostly is not good. We snipped and flicked rotten berries and bunches for a few hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. Marj took us to the neighbor's block to see a machine harvester driving down the rows, shaking the vines violently and collecting the grapes. It was crazy.
On Thursday morning Brian caught a bus to Christchurch to practice with his ultimate frisbee team for the the National tournament in Wellington a week later. At 10 that morning a crew arrived at the vineyard to start distributing bins down the rows. The Sauvignon Blanc Vintage 2008 had begun! Hooray!
In Brian's absence I was the official photographer. I got to use Brian's camera which is bigger and fancier than mine (even if I just used the Auto setting) and made me feel professional and important. I walked around taking pictures. When there was a truck load of grapes ready to go to the winery, Marj rode along to check the tonnage. I stayed watch at the yurt/containers and pretended to be official. Murray arrived just before the first truck load and estimated the 6 big bins would equal 3 tons. He was right! I rode along to the winery when the last truck load went. Mike, the manager of the pickers and the truck driver, took me up to the vats of Pinot Noir that were being kept cool until they were all ready to start the fermentation. There was a guy with a big flat metal disc on a pole (I think it was more mechanical, hooked up to wires and stuff, but anyway) squashing around the bottom of the vats to get some more of the color out of the skins. This is essentially stomping I suppose.
After Day One of the Carpe Vinum Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Vintage: 54 rows picked, 10.5 tons!
On Friday, March 28, 2008 (Day 2): Marj and I walked the rows picked the day before looking for bunches left behind. There were some, but not too many. It is hard to see the green grapes behind all the leaves. Today the pickers finished the West Block Sauvi as well as the Top Block and moved on to the top of the East Block.
After 2 Days of the Carpe Vinum Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Vinatge: 27 tons!
Saturday morning the pickers arrived but no bins were set out for them and the supervisors had not arrived. It was a cloudy morning and the weekend forecast was RAIN. By 10am the pickers had not picked anything because they were waiting for word from the winery. Rain at the winery and on the way to the vineyard meant the bins would get too watery which is no good for wine. So by 10:30 we were off to Picton for lunch at Le Cafe! It didn't rain at the vineyard until 2pm... perhaps plenty of time to finish!
It rained all day Sunday so Marj and Bob were afraid they would not come to pick for a few days since it was still so wet in the vineyard... however...
Monday morning the pickers were back and ready to go! They moved really quickly through the East Block and were done picking and leaving at 1pm. Hooray!
Carpe Vinum Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Vintage: 37 Tons! An excellent turnout. More than was expected!
There was more rain, I finished reading all my books, did some crosswords, baked some pies and even spent 15 minutes at the library collecting some more books one day. Marj and I also did some Pinot Noir botritus patrol a few days.
On Friday morning Marj dropped off the van to be checked and we picked up Aulikki (a friend we met in Christchurch who joined us in Motueka for a while and then came to Blenheim to pick grapes for a week) in the loaner car (which was pink) and drove to the beach in Rarangi where Marj and Bob rented a house a few years ago. We sat by the beach for a while, walked along the shore, went in a cave and saw 2 glow worms and then proceded to drive the long way to Picton where Aulikki and I were catching a ferry to Wellington. We had breakfast at Le Cafe, sititng at the best table with the best view of course. Then Marj headed back to Blenheim and Aulikki and I walked around Picton and visited some shops before going to the ferry terminal.
The wind picked up just before we were supposed to go and all the boats in Picton harbor were going in wild in the rolling waves... but the ferry was so big it didn't move much. It was the roughest ferry crossing I had experienced but was not really rough at all. It was lovely spending the time talking with Aulikki, reading my book and enjoying the scenery.
Brian was waiting for us at the ferry station in Wellingon. Aulikki had a shuttle to her hostel, and we took the city bus. Our hostel was just down the street from Aulikki's so we met later that evening and planned to meet again Saturday. Brian and I got Thai takeaways and ate outside at the hostel. Then we went to bed pretty early since Brian had to get up for a long day of ultimate. We got a ride from some frisbee girls staying up the road. The rain held off until we got in the car. I stayed at the fields long enough to watch one game, then gave up and went to a cafe for chai and then into the city for shopping. It was still raining throughout the day so I just went back to the hostel and slept for a few hours. When Brian got back he showered, we watched The Simpsons and then met some of Brian's teammates for dinner of kebabs and headed to the party.
Sunday brought clearer weather. I got up with Brian and went to the neighborhood convenience store for breakfast foods and then read at the hostel until it was time for me to check in at the hostel up the street (where Aulikki was staying) for the night. We didn't really like the first hostel and it was quite crowded. We also had to get up at 4:30 the next morning to catch a 6am flight back to Blenheim and didn't want to stay in a crowded room and disturb everyone. After I moved our things to our new room, I took the bus to the fields to watch some more frisbee! I got to see the end of one game and then the battle for 5th place game, which Christchurch won... hooray! Then we watched the women's final game (Christchurch women won it all!) and the men's final game... which a team from Aussie won... weird. After awards, Brian bid his new friends farewell and we got a ride back to the hostel for hot showers. As soon as I arrived at the field the lovely, mostly sunny day turned cloudy and windy. Boo. But hot showers took care off all the chill and then we got nice hot pizza for dinner (what a treat to stay at hostels and go out to eat every night!) We watched a movie in the lounge, talked to Aulikki and bid her our final farewell for NZ and then went to bed.
Monday we got up at 4:30, flew to Blenheim at 6, arrived in Blenheim at 6:20 and had a bit of breakfast at the vineyard and were out ready to work at 7:30. Brian, Marj, Tadeu and I hit the Pinot Noir botritus hard! It had rained in the weekend and had been several days since the last spray so the botritus we had taken out last week had been replaced and multiplied! It was pretty heartbreaking but it was very necessary! Bob sprayed after we picked and then all we could do was wait, and hope that they would come and pick the grapes before they were lost to rot and raisindom. And alas!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 was Pinot Noir Vintage 2008! The crews arrived at 7:15 and started picking! Brian was the official photographer of this vintage so I held down the fort and also made 2 batches of Thank You brownies for the crew and pickers. They were much appreciated. Brian, Tadeu and I joined Marj for the weighing of the final truckload. By 4:15 all was picked and weighed and.....
Carpe Vinum Pinot Noir Vintage 2008: 15.7 tons (which is basically "16 Tons" and Marj's favorite song!)
It took a few days for Marj to relax even after the grapes were gone and we didn't have to worry about botritus anymore. Murray has been to visit and has told us of the horrors some other vineyards are going through... thousands of tons being abandoned because they have too much botritus and aren't even ripe enough. It was certainly lucky to get the grapes off because there have been several days of rain since the harvest was over here.
Tadeu leaves to go home on Friday morning and we follow just a few days later. As of today we have one week to go! Brian and I are doing a few hours of work in the vineyard when its not raining or too wet and muddy. It is really nice to have some time outside roaming the vineyard before we have to leave it.
Yesterday I made blueberry pie. While I was mixing it up I looked out the window over the counter and was looking out into the vineyard and there was a lone cow standing in the horizon on top of the far hill. It was such a lovely picture to see out the kitchen window. I was a little sad to think I won't see that while making pie in the future... unless I make a lot of pie in the next week!
That is enough for now, check out the photo website, I have a few of my random pictures from the last few months up. I will put up harvest photos soon. They will also be available on Marj and Bob's photo site.
It is really strange to be making plans for NEXT WEEK! to see all the people I have been missing these past 10 months.
See you soon!
Cheers
We arrived back in Blenheim on Easter Sunday, in time to help cook a yummy feast with our friends. I made apple pie... this has been a running theme ever since! On Monday some friends we met in Motueka-- Dave, Marty and Thomas stopped in on their way back to Motueka from a whirlwind tour of the South Island. We did some wine tastings and made pizza and they camped here at the vineyard and hit the road on Tuesday.
Brian, Marj and I worked on ridding the West block Sauvignon Blanc of botritus... a rot that can be good but mostly is not good. We snipped and flicked rotten berries and bunches for a few hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. Marj took us to the neighbor's block to see a machine harvester driving down the rows, shaking the vines violently and collecting the grapes. It was crazy.
On Thursday morning Brian caught a bus to Christchurch to practice with his ultimate frisbee team for the the National tournament in Wellington a week later. At 10 that morning a crew arrived at the vineyard to start distributing bins down the rows. The Sauvignon Blanc Vintage 2008 had begun! Hooray!
In Brian's absence I was the official photographer. I got to use Brian's camera which is bigger and fancier than mine (even if I just used the Auto setting) and made me feel professional and important. I walked around taking pictures. When there was a truck load of grapes ready to go to the winery, Marj rode along to check the tonnage. I stayed watch at the yurt/containers and pretended to be official. Murray arrived just before the first truck load and estimated the 6 big bins would equal 3 tons. He was right! I rode along to the winery when the last truck load went. Mike, the manager of the pickers and the truck driver, took me up to the vats of Pinot Noir that were being kept cool until they were all ready to start the fermentation. There was a guy with a big flat metal disc on a pole (I think it was more mechanical, hooked up to wires and stuff, but anyway) squashing around the bottom of the vats to get some more of the color out of the skins. This is essentially stomping I suppose.
After Day One of the Carpe Vinum Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Vintage: 54 rows picked, 10.5 tons!
On Friday, March 28, 2008 (Day 2): Marj and I walked the rows picked the day before looking for bunches left behind. There were some, but not too many. It is hard to see the green grapes behind all the leaves. Today the pickers finished the West Block Sauvi as well as the Top Block and moved on to the top of the East Block.
After 2 Days of the Carpe Vinum Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Vinatge: 27 tons!
Saturday morning the pickers arrived but no bins were set out for them and the supervisors had not arrived. It was a cloudy morning and the weekend forecast was RAIN. By 10am the pickers had not picked anything because they were waiting for word from the winery. Rain at the winery and on the way to the vineyard meant the bins would get too watery which is no good for wine. So by 10:30 we were off to Picton for lunch at Le Cafe! It didn't rain at the vineyard until 2pm... perhaps plenty of time to finish!
It rained all day Sunday so Marj and Bob were afraid they would not come to pick for a few days since it was still so wet in the vineyard... however...
Monday morning the pickers were back and ready to go! They moved really quickly through the East Block and were done picking and leaving at 1pm. Hooray!
Carpe Vinum Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Vintage: 37 Tons! An excellent turnout. More than was expected!
There was more rain, I finished reading all my books, did some crosswords, baked some pies and even spent 15 minutes at the library collecting some more books one day. Marj and I also did some Pinot Noir botritus patrol a few days.
On Friday morning Marj dropped off the van to be checked and we picked up Aulikki (a friend we met in Christchurch who joined us in Motueka for a while and then came to Blenheim to pick grapes for a week) in the loaner car (which was pink) and drove to the beach in Rarangi where Marj and Bob rented a house a few years ago. We sat by the beach for a while, walked along the shore, went in a cave and saw 2 glow worms and then proceded to drive the long way to Picton where Aulikki and I were catching a ferry to Wellington. We had breakfast at Le Cafe, sititng at the best table with the best view of course. Then Marj headed back to Blenheim and Aulikki and I walked around Picton and visited some shops before going to the ferry terminal.
The wind picked up just before we were supposed to go and all the boats in Picton harbor were going in wild in the rolling waves... but the ferry was so big it didn't move much. It was the roughest ferry crossing I had experienced but was not really rough at all. It was lovely spending the time talking with Aulikki, reading my book and enjoying the scenery.
Brian was waiting for us at the ferry station in Wellingon. Aulikki had a shuttle to her hostel, and we took the city bus. Our hostel was just down the street from Aulikki's so we met later that evening and planned to meet again Saturday. Brian and I got Thai takeaways and ate outside at the hostel. Then we went to bed pretty early since Brian had to get up for a long day of ultimate. We got a ride from some frisbee girls staying up the road. The rain held off until we got in the car. I stayed at the fields long enough to watch one game, then gave up and went to a cafe for chai and then into the city for shopping. It was still raining throughout the day so I just went back to the hostel and slept for a few hours. When Brian got back he showered, we watched The Simpsons and then met some of Brian's teammates for dinner of kebabs and headed to the party.
Sunday brought clearer weather. I got up with Brian and went to the neighborhood convenience store for breakfast foods and then read at the hostel until it was time for me to check in at the hostel up the street (where Aulikki was staying) for the night. We didn't really like the first hostel and it was quite crowded. We also had to get up at 4:30 the next morning to catch a 6am flight back to Blenheim and didn't want to stay in a crowded room and disturb everyone. After I moved our things to our new room, I took the bus to the fields to watch some more frisbee! I got to see the end of one game and then the battle for 5th place game, which Christchurch won... hooray! Then we watched the women's final game (Christchurch women won it all!) and the men's final game... which a team from Aussie won... weird. After awards, Brian bid his new friends farewell and we got a ride back to the hostel for hot showers. As soon as I arrived at the field the lovely, mostly sunny day turned cloudy and windy. Boo. But hot showers took care off all the chill and then we got nice hot pizza for dinner (what a treat to stay at hostels and go out to eat every night!) We watched a movie in the lounge, talked to Aulikki and bid her our final farewell for NZ and then went to bed.
Monday we got up at 4:30, flew to Blenheim at 6, arrived in Blenheim at 6:20 and had a bit of breakfast at the vineyard and were out ready to work at 7:30. Brian, Marj, Tadeu and I hit the Pinot Noir botritus hard! It had rained in the weekend and had been several days since the last spray so the botritus we had taken out last week had been replaced and multiplied! It was pretty heartbreaking but it was very necessary! Bob sprayed after we picked and then all we could do was wait, and hope that they would come and pick the grapes before they were lost to rot and raisindom. And alas!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 was Pinot Noir Vintage 2008! The crews arrived at 7:15 and started picking! Brian was the official photographer of this vintage so I held down the fort and also made 2 batches of Thank You brownies for the crew and pickers. They were much appreciated. Brian, Tadeu and I joined Marj for the weighing of the final truckload. By 4:15 all was picked and weighed and.....
Carpe Vinum Pinot Noir Vintage 2008: 15.7 tons (which is basically "16 Tons" and Marj's favorite song!)
It took a few days for Marj to relax even after the grapes were gone and we didn't have to worry about botritus anymore. Murray has been to visit and has told us of the horrors some other vineyards are going through... thousands of tons being abandoned because they have too much botritus and aren't even ripe enough. It was certainly lucky to get the grapes off because there have been several days of rain since the harvest was over here.
Tadeu leaves to go home on Friday morning and we follow just a few days later. As of today we have one week to go! Brian and I are doing a few hours of work in the vineyard when its not raining or too wet and muddy. It is really nice to have some time outside roaming the vineyard before we have to leave it.
Yesterday I made blueberry pie. While I was mixing it up I looked out the window over the counter and was looking out into the vineyard and there was a lone cow standing in the horizon on top of the far hill. It was such a lovely picture to see out the kitchen window. I was a little sad to think I won't see that while making pie in the future... unless I make a lot of pie in the next week!
That is enough for now, check out the photo website, I have a few of my random pictures from the last few months up. I will put up harvest photos soon. They will also be available on Marj and Bob's photo site.
It is really strange to be making plans for NEXT WEEK! to see all the people I have been missing these past 10 months.
See you soon!
Cheers
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Sunburn, Warts, Bee Stings and Immigration....
Well folks its another rainy Saturday in Motueka; which means that, again, my first day off from being inside the pack house on 5 beautiful sunny days in a row, will be spent indoors. Boo.
No worries though, the internet cafe has endless filter coffee for 2 bucks and so life is good.
Immigration police showed up at the hostel a few nights ago, checking passports and work permits and asking people if they were being paid fairly at their jobs. Apparently I didn't look foreign enough to be asked, so it wasn't as exciting as it could have been. We have only had good experiences with immigration so far-- hopefully with 2 months to go we can maintain that good luck!
As far as work goes: I really kinda like grading apples. I am the only new girl at the pack house, everyone else has been there for at least one year, most of them for many years. The owner is Scottish and I have decided that the Scottish accent is probably my favorite to hear my name in. Standing inside all day in the same spot is a little tiring. There are little stool/kneeler things we can use. It is nice to use it for just an hour or so in the early afternoon-- it helps make the rest of the day a bit more bearable.
Grading apples involves watching a conveyor belt of rollers roll a bunch of apples by in a pretty constant stream. We have to then pluck out the defective ones and throw them in the rubbish trough in front of us. Defects in the apples include: size (if they are too small they jam the machine), bruises, stem punctures in the flesh, rotten bits, russet (yellow marks or rough scarring) in degrees, sunburn (orange tints in the skin, it makes the skin more sensitive), bee stings, and warts (yellow bumps). The first variety of apples we did was Cox Orange Pippin. There were tons of "bad apples" to be turned into juice. Now we are doing Royal Gala apples and they are big and beautiful and have much few defects in general.
I keep busy by thinking about stuff, singing songs, and trying not to look at my watch to find out when the next coffee break is.
I hope you enjoyed your extra day in February! And that the weather there starts to turn around... at least in 2 months when we return.
Cheers!
No worries though, the internet cafe has endless filter coffee for 2 bucks and so life is good.
Immigration police showed up at the hostel a few nights ago, checking passports and work permits and asking people if they were being paid fairly at their jobs. Apparently I didn't look foreign enough to be asked, so it wasn't as exciting as it could have been. We have only had good experiences with immigration so far-- hopefully with 2 months to go we can maintain that good luck!
As far as work goes: I really kinda like grading apples. I am the only new girl at the pack house, everyone else has been there for at least one year, most of them for many years. The owner is Scottish and I have decided that the Scottish accent is probably my favorite to hear my name in. Standing inside all day in the same spot is a little tiring. There are little stool/kneeler things we can use. It is nice to use it for just an hour or so in the early afternoon-- it helps make the rest of the day a bit more bearable.
Grading apples involves watching a conveyor belt of rollers roll a bunch of apples by in a pretty constant stream. We have to then pluck out the defective ones and throw them in the rubbish trough in front of us. Defects in the apples include: size (if they are too small they jam the machine), bruises, stem punctures in the flesh, rotten bits, russet (yellow marks or rough scarring) in degrees, sunburn (orange tints in the skin, it makes the skin more sensitive), bee stings, and warts (yellow bumps). The first variety of apples we did was Cox Orange Pippin. There were tons of "bad apples" to be turned into juice. Now we are doing Royal Gala apples and they are big and beautiful and have much few defects in general.
I keep busy by thinking about stuff, singing songs, and trying not to look at my watch to find out when the next coffee break is.
I hope you enjoyed your extra day in February! And that the weather there starts to turn around... at least in 2 months when we return.
Cheers!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Photos up
Brian and I have both posted photos (he hasn't posted nearly as many as my 500ish... but his are chosen with more care or something!) so check them out. If my internet bill isn't too huge I will even post links to my new albums on the left side there... but if not, just click on one of the old albums and then go to the public gallery and look for 3 new albums of my adventures from Auckland down to the deep south of the South Island and up through our bungy jumping (some good pictures!) and glacier watching.
Enjoy!
Don't strain your eyes.
Enjoy!
Don't strain your eyes.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Expensive Taste
Farewell Cherries!
We worked for 2 weeks at an orchard-- Brian picked the cherries and I working inside the packhouse sorting them to be exported, sold to the locals or turned into jam (or basically thrown away). I think Brian enjoyed his time outside in the trees and he made decent money when the trees were good and there were full work days to be had...
I, on the other hand, HATED grading cherries. The packhouse was basically a refridgerator in order to keep the fruit from getting too soft before it was shipped away. So I was cold. Also, I couldn't seem to get the knack of contract work (i.e. speed and not caring about quality in order to attain said speed) so I made less than minimum wage every day but 2-- my first two days of training. So cherry grading was not such a lucrative endeavour for me. Oh well.
We made some really great friends: 4 Americans (Suzie, Erin, Rashida and Charles!) who are studying in Sydney and who came to NZ on summer vacation and worked in the packhouse with me, and Ignacio, a Chilean guy who worked with Brian picking and who we joined on the road after we left cherryland.
We left Alexandra on Monday and headed straight for Queenstown where Brian and I blew most of our paychecks on BUNGY JUMPING! It was the greatest thing ever, ever, EVER! I would do it everyday. It solves all your problems. There was quite an old guy who jumped before us, that was inspiring. Brian jumped before me-- I didn't watch. Ignacio stood on a platform below and got tons of really good pictures of our jumps-- and all the bounces of the rope. Those will be up on my photo site one of these days along with other photos. Anyway:
My jump: They told me if I jumped way out from the platform I'd miss the water and if I jumped straight down my hair would get wet. So I should try to find a happy medium. I don't know where I jumped (they say 3-2-1 and you just forget what you are doing and jump) but before I knew it I was waist deep in the river... with half of the water up my nose. IT WAS SO GREAT!
Then 2 guys in a little raft row out and hand you a pole to grab, I missed the pole but one of the guys put out his had and I caught that and they pulled me into the raft. Then you have to look at your feet while they unharness you... also it probably helps get your brain back in place. It was so cool to see my cute little shoes and the big fat bungy line and the platform from which I jumped 43 meters above me... I got out and walked up the stairs to where Brian was waiting and said "Let's do it again!" But we didn't. Damn.
Oh well, then we drove up the west coast stopping 2 nights on 2 different lakes to camp. I was eaten alive on a late night trip to the toilet-- or rather the nearest tree. I am still suffering.
We spent a night at the best backpackers in Greymouth. It is awesome. It makes me want to run a backpackers. Someday.
Now we are Motueka which is near Nelson which is where Brian and I took our first mini trip in NZ in July or August. Brian and Ignacio started picking apples today. I should be starting in an apple packhouse on Wednesday (for hourly wages... none of that contract work for me thanks!).
We have just over 2 months left in NZ and it kinda scary. The real world is lurking and getting bigger everyday! But I am really quite excited about meeting it. I have had the opportunity to think about what I want to do with my life a lot lately (what else is there to do while looking at cherries?) and I think this trip has definitely changed me more than any other of my travels have. That is surprising to be because of the shock value of my El Salvador experiences and the grandeur of Europe... but because I have been here so long and because I have Brian to talk to and to encourage me and enable me to do things here I might not have done otherwise-- WWOOFing and hitchhking specifically. I sense the endless possibilities for adventures ahead of me and my desire to do them all is growing stronger everyday. I just hope that when I get home I don't turn lame.
CHEERS!
We worked for 2 weeks at an orchard-- Brian picked the cherries and I working inside the packhouse sorting them to be exported, sold to the locals or turned into jam (or basically thrown away). I think Brian enjoyed his time outside in the trees and he made decent money when the trees were good and there were full work days to be had...
I, on the other hand, HATED grading cherries. The packhouse was basically a refridgerator in order to keep the fruit from getting too soft before it was shipped away. So I was cold. Also, I couldn't seem to get the knack of contract work (i.e. speed and not caring about quality in order to attain said speed) so I made less than minimum wage every day but 2-- my first two days of training. So cherry grading was not such a lucrative endeavour for me. Oh well.
We made some really great friends: 4 Americans (Suzie, Erin, Rashida and Charles!) who are studying in Sydney and who came to NZ on summer vacation and worked in the packhouse with me, and Ignacio, a Chilean guy who worked with Brian picking and who we joined on the road after we left cherryland.
We left Alexandra on Monday and headed straight for Queenstown where Brian and I blew most of our paychecks on BUNGY JUMPING! It was the greatest thing ever, ever, EVER! I would do it everyday. It solves all your problems. There was quite an old guy who jumped before us, that was inspiring. Brian jumped before me-- I didn't watch. Ignacio stood on a platform below and got tons of really good pictures of our jumps-- and all the bounces of the rope. Those will be up on my photo site one of these days along with other photos. Anyway:
My jump: They told me if I jumped way out from the platform I'd miss the water and if I jumped straight down my hair would get wet. So I should try to find a happy medium. I don't know where I jumped (they say 3-2-1 and you just forget what you are doing and jump) but before I knew it I was waist deep in the river... with half of the water up my nose. IT WAS SO GREAT!
Then 2 guys in a little raft row out and hand you a pole to grab, I missed the pole but one of the guys put out his had and I caught that and they pulled me into the raft. Then you have to look at your feet while they unharness you... also it probably helps get your brain back in place. It was so cool to see my cute little shoes and the big fat bungy line and the platform from which I jumped 43 meters above me... I got out and walked up the stairs to where Brian was waiting and said "Let's do it again!" But we didn't. Damn.
Oh well, then we drove up the west coast stopping 2 nights on 2 different lakes to camp. I was eaten alive on a late night trip to the toilet-- or rather the nearest tree. I am still suffering.
We spent a night at the best backpackers in Greymouth. It is awesome. It makes me want to run a backpackers. Someday.
Now we are Motueka which is near Nelson which is where Brian and I took our first mini trip in NZ in July or August. Brian and Ignacio started picking apples today. I should be starting in an apple packhouse on Wednesday (for hourly wages... none of that contract work for me thanks!).
We have just over 2 months left in NZ and it kinda scary. The real world is lurking and getting bigger everyday! But I am really quite excited about meeting it. I have had the opportunity to think about what I want to do with my life a lot lately (what else is there to do while looking at cherries?) and I think this trip has definitely changed me more than any other of my travels have. That is surprising to be because of the shock value of my El Salvador experiences and the grandeur of Europe... but because I have been here so long and because I have Brian to talk to and to encourage me and enable me to do things here I might not have done otherwise-- WWOOFing and hitchhking specifically. I sense the endless possibilities for adventures ahead of me and my desire to do them all is growing stronger everyday. I just hope that when I get home I don't turn lame.
CHEERS!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Deep South
Well it has been an amazing couple of weeks...
We went from the internet cafe in Dunedin to the Otago Peninsula where we stayed at a holiday park in our tent and watched the season (last season presumably) finale of Brothers and Sisters. We also saw some seals, one really close, and tried to see some albatross but you had to pay big bucks to walk close enough to see them. We are pretty sure we saw one circling as we were driving up though. The weather improved the next day and we drove along a high road to see the sea. Then we continued on south and stayed at a Wildlife and Fisheries pond where there were sheep grazing and some duck hunters... or at least their shotgun shells. We were surrounded by tall grass and apparently there are allergens in NZ too... so I was a bit sniffly to say the least.
In the morning we hit the road toward Nugget Point where we saw some seals from far away. We did get to see some swimming which was cool. Cannibal Bay was next and there we saw a few seals pretty close, and one even swam right out in front of the rock upon which we were standing. Brian, Anja and Philip went for a swim but I found the water too cold to attempt it... not worth it! We visited a waterfall in the afternoon and stayed on a DOC (Dept of Conservation) campsite on a beach. There was a beautiful sunset and two enormous sea lions on the beach, one of which charged and attacked the other (but lost and returned to his spot in the sand a few meters away). It rained the next morning and our tent got pretty soaked. But....
We stayed at a backpackers in Curio Bay (though the backpackers was situated on Porpoise Bay) and it was such a windy afternoon that we stood outside with our tent, tarp and rain fly and it was all dry in 10 or 15 minutes. We saw a few hectors dolphins in the bay earlier in the day and visited a petrified forest on the coast before retiring to the backpackers to relax with our books in a beautiful and cozy room. In the evening we went back to the petrified forest to watch for the yellow eyed dolphins to come in from sea. We got a good look at one-- they are big!-- as he hopped along the rocks, preening, standing still doing nothing, calling to the other penguins in the bush, and then hopping off to join them. It was pretty cool.
In the morning we enjoyed some toast (when we are tent camping we just eat PBJ sandwiches at a backpackers we get to have PBJ toast and its a real treat!) and tea and noticed some dolphins swimming in the surf just off the beach 100 meters from the dining room window. So we put on our suits and ran to the water... it was COLD but once I got in and submerged and just sort of swam and floated around it was not so bad, or I was just numb. The dolphins swam away when we first got in but after a few minutes of us just swimming in one spot they got a bit closer and were within probably 20 meters or less of us surfing on the waves. Two of the little guys were even jumping out of the water over one another. It was so cool! We got cold and they swam farther away so we got out and took advantage of hot showers at the backpackers before Philip and Anja arrived to pick us up. When they arrived we watched dolphins for a while longer and got some good photos of them swimming really close to some other lucky people. We made our way to Invercargil and then on to Riverton where we collected some sea shells on the beach and then the van broke down (something about a wheel and attaching it...) but a lovely woman saw us on the side of the road and told us she owned a backpackers and we could camp there for free and just pay for the shower. The car was fixed the next afternoon but we stayed another night, since the rate was so good!
We headed into Fiordland the next morning and stayed at a DOC campsite on a lake where the water was clear and gorgeous (as it is pretty much everywhere in this country) and the sandflies were vicious! A little German boy-Jonas- was camping down the hill from us and he joined us for some games of catch with his Nerf football and for a campfire. He was quite entertaining.
We woke up late and ran to the lake, dodging sandflies, for a morning swim. It didn't last long but it was good to freshen up after all the bug spray (which was reapplied immediately after exiting the water). We thought about staying another night but the sandflies drove us away. We stopped at Lake Manapouri-- where some of the overnight Milford Sounds cruises depart-- for an afternoon at the beach. We found a little spot out of the way and camped. It rained all night and our tent was again quite wet.
We proceded to Te Anau the last town before the Milford Road where Brian and I stayed a backpackers, did laundry and dried our stuff on the windy clothes line. The weather improved the next day and we camped at an in town holiday park where we learned about Heath Ledger's death... RIP. Philip and Anja had the car looked at again and discovered that the brake pads needed replacing and there was a leak in the brake fluid line... or something. They got it fixed the next morning while Brian and I went on a walk from Te Anau to Brod Bay. It was a 3.5 hour round trip walk with a few breaks for some snacks and even a longer stop to read our books on a beach. We returned to town and met Philip and Anja and a repaired van! So we stocked up on provisions and hit the Milford Road for a few nights.
Our first night we drove to the last DOC campsite before Milford. It was pretty crowded and on a lake. We saw 2 eels swimming by the side of the lake where we were camping. We got up early and arrived in Milford in plenty of time for our CRUISE! We took the small boat crusie (cheapest!) with about 20 people and cruised from Milford to the Ocean where we could almost see Australia in the distance (not really but it was out there somewhere). We saw a few seals, tons of waterfalls, a big fault line in the mountains, and oh yeah, some bottlenose dolphins swam right under the boat... heaps of them, babies too! It was a gorgeous day! Great weather, not too much wind. Perfect! We drove back down the road and went on a 3 hour walk to the Key Summit with views of tons of the mountains around Fiordland. We stayed on a DOC site next to a river.
We slept in til 10 and had a relaxing morning at the site before heading back to Te Anau to refuel, restock and hit the road Queenstown bound. We camped at a picnic ground 20 km outside of Queenstown or so and were invited to a party by some locals... but it was quite a drive to get to the party, so we passed. The best part of the picnic site was the noticable lack of sandflies. We could stay outside without being covered in repellant!
We parted ways with Philip and Anja in Queenstown the next morning and hitched our way to Cromwell where we stayed one night, did a gin tasting, ate fresh fruite ice cream, and tried to stay cool. It was 30 degrees C in the area... so in the 80sish F.
This morning we hitched into Alexandra and got jobs at a cherry orchard. Brian will be picking and I will be packing. We have work for the next 10-14 days and have accomodation arranged with the orchard. So we are set for a few weeks at least. Phew... and I have 30 seconds to go!
Peace!
We went from the internet cafe in Dunedin to the Otago Peninsula where we stayed at a holiday park in our tent and watched the season (last season presumably) finale of Brothers and Sisters. We also saw some seals, one really close, and tried to see some albatross but you had to pay big bucks to walk close enough to see them. We are pretty sure we saw one circling as we were driving up though. The weather improved the next day and we drove along a high road to see the sea. Then we continued on south and stayed at a Wildlife and Fisheries pond where there were sheep grazing and some duck hunters... or at least their shotgun shells. We were surrounded by tall grass and apparently there are allergens in NZ too... so I was a bit sniffly to say the least.
In the morning we hit the road toward Nugget Point where we saw some seals from far away. We did get to see some swimming which was cool. Cannibal Bay was next and there we saw a few seals pretty close, and one even swam right out in front of the rock upon which we were standing. Brian, Anja and Philip went for a swim but I found the water too cold to attempt it... not worth it! We visited a waterfall in the afternoon and stayed on a DOC (Dept of Conservation) campsite on a beach. There was a beautiful sunset and two enormous sea lions on the beach, one of which charged and attacked the other (but lost and returned to his spot in the sand a few meters away). It rained the next morning and our tent got pretty soaked. But....
We stayed at a backpackers in Curio Bay (though the backpackers was situated on Porpoise Bay) and it was such a windy afternoon that we stood outside with our tent, tarp and rain fly and it was all dry in 10 or 15 minutes. We saw a few hectors dolphins in the bay earlier in the day and visited a petrified forest on the coast before retiring to the backpackers to relax with our books in a beautiful and cozy room. In the evening we went back to the petrified forest to watch for the yellow eyed dolphins to come in from sea. We got a good look at one-- they are big!-- as he hopped along the rocks, preening, standing still doing nothing, calling to the other penguins in the bush, and then hopping off to join them. It was pretty cool.
In the morning we enjoyed some toast (when we are tent camping we just eat PBJ sandwiches at a backpackers we get to have PBJ toast and its a real treat!) and tea and noticed some dolphins swimming in the surf just off the beach 100 meters from the dining room window. So we put on our suits and ran to the water... it was COLD but once I got in and submerged and just sort of swam and floated around it was not so bad, or I was just numb. The dolphins swam away when we first got in but after a few minutes of us just swimming in one spot they got a bit closer and were within probably 20 meters or less of us surfing on the waves. Two of the little guys were even jumping out of the water over one another. It was so cool! We got cold and they swam farther away so we got out and took advantage of hot showers at the backpackers before Philip and Anja arrived to pick us up. When they arrived we watched dolphins for a while longer and got some good photos of them swimming really close to some other lucky people. We made our way to Invercargil and then on to Riverton where we collected some sea shells on the beach and then the van broke down (something about a wheel and attaching it...) but a lovely woman saw us on the side of the road and told us she owned a backpackers and we could camp there for free and just pay for the shower. The car was fixed the next afternoon but we stayed another night, since the rate was so good!
We headed into Fiordland the next morning and stayed at a DOC campsite on a lake where the water was clear and gorgeous (as it is pretty much everywhere in this country) and the sandflies were vicious! A little German boy-Jonas- was camping down the hill from us and he joined us for some games of catch with his Nerf football and for a campfire. He was quite entertaining.
We woke up late and ran to the lake, dodging sandflies, for a morning swim. It didn't last long but it was good to freshen up after all the bug spray (which was reapplied immediately after exiting the water). We thought about staying another night but the sandflies drove us away. We stopped at Lake Manapouri-- where some of the overnight Milford Sounds cruises depart-- for an afternoon at the beach. We found a little spot out of the way and camped. It rained all night and our tent was again quite wet.
We proceded to Te Anau the last town before the Milford Road where Brian and I stayed a backpackers, did laundry and dried our stuff on the windy clothes line. The weather improved the next day and we camped at an in town holiday park where we learned about Heath Ledger's death... RIP. Philip and Anja had the car looked at again and discovered that the brake pads needed replacing and there was a leak in the brake fluid line... or something. They got it fixed the next morning while Brian and I went on a walk from Te Anau to Brod Bay. It was a 3.5 hour round trip walk with a few breaks for some snacks and even a longer stop to read our books on a beach. We returned to town and met Philip and Anja and a repaired van! So we stocked up on provisions and hit the Milford Road for a few nights.
Our first night we drove to the last DOC campsite before Milford. It was pretty crowded and on a lake. We saw 2 eels swimming by the side of the lake where we were camping. We got up early and arrived in Milford in plenty of time for our CRUISE! We took the small boat crusie (cheapest!) with about 20 people and cruised from Milford to the Ocean where we could almost see Australia in the distance (not really but it was out there somewhere). We saw a few seals, tons of waterfalls, a big fault line in the mountains, and oh yeah, some bottlenose dolphins swam right under the boat... heaps of them, babies too! It was a gorgeous day! Great weather, not too much wind. Perfect! We drove back down the road and went on a 3 hour walk to the Key Summit with views of tons of the mountains around Fiordland. We stayed on a DOC site next to a river.
We slept in til 10 and had a relaxing morning at the site before heading back to Te Anau to refuel, restock and hit the road Queenstown bound. We camped at a picnic ground 20 km outside of Queenstown or so and were invited to a party by some locals... but it was quite a drive to get to the party, so we passed. The best part of the picnic site was the noticable lack of sandflies. We could stay outside without being covered in repellant!
We parted ways with Philip and Anja in Queenstown the next morning and hitched our way to Cromwell where we stayed one night, did a gin tasting, ate fresh fruite ice cream, and tried to stay cool. It was 30 degrees C in the area... so in the 80sish F.
This morning we hitched into Alexandra and got jobs at a cherry orchard. Brian will be picking and I will be packing. We have work for the next 10-14 days and have accomodation arranged with the orchard. So we are set for a few weeks at least. Phew... and I have 30 seconds to go!
Peace!
Monday, January 14, 2008
North to South
Our North Island tour is over. We saw some really old Kauri trees-- one is estimated to be around 2000 years old, it was HUGE-- and we saw a museum about the kauri trees and their place in NZ history which is substantial since they are old as! We camped on the same awesome beach as my last post on our last night of traveling before heading down to Auckland. There was a produce stand beside the highway and we bought some watermelon and pretended it was Iowa in July, or at least I did.
It was rainy in Auckland for our last 3 days in the city but we managed to do some laundry, figure out some stuff on the computer, make travel arrangements (our flight back to the US is officially booked and we will be home to STL on April 23rd), and rest after all that traveling. We also hit the city for a browse through the museum, a stop at some bookstores, and to visit Matt's 11th floor office which has a balcony overlooking the harbour. SO COOL! We flew out of Auckland on Thursday last week and arrived in Christchurch where we returned to the backpackers we cleaned for a month to find it much less clean! But it was not too crowded and we only stayed one night before packing up and taking a bus to the highway and hitching our way to the deep south!
Our first ride was an Adventist minister who Brian enjoyed chatting with. Our second ride was with a man who was going to be the pit crew for his nephew's drag racing event for the weekend. Our third ride was with Ben, a cement truck driver. Our final ride was with a guy not too much older than us who is a vet in a small town near where Ben dropped us off.
We stayed in Oamaru in a holiday park and booked a penguin tour. We saw the yellow eyed penquin and the blue penguin at two different places. It was really cool. The yellow penguins are super-protected so we were far away and only saw a few at quite a distance. But the blue penguins were just across the fence from us and would come to shore in groups of ten and then waddle and hop their way up the rocks, across the road and to their man-made burrows in the hills. Some went into the parking lot and ventured away from the burrows, getting quite close to us. Penguins are pretty much the cutest little creatures ever.
We are now in Dunedin, traveling with a young German couple with a campervan. We are lucky to met some friends with wheels! We are looking forward to seeing more of the south island in the next few weeks before we have to start working again!
Peace!
It was rainy in Auckland for our last 3 days in the city but we managed to do some laundry, figure out some stuff on the computer, make travel arrangements (our flight back to the US is officially booked and we will be home to STL on April 23rd), and rest after all that traveling. We also hit the city for a browse through the museum, a stop at some bookstores, and to visit Matt's 11th floor office which has a balcony overlooking the harbour. SO COOL! We flew out of Auckland on Thursday last week and arrived in Christchurch where we returned to the backpackers we cleaned for a month to find it much less clean! But it was not too crowded and we only stayed one night before packing up and taking a bus to the highway and hitching our way to the deep south!
Our first ride was an Adventist minister who Brian enjoyed chatting with. Our second ride was with a man who was going to be the pit crew for his nephew's drag racing event for the weekend. Our third ride was with Ben, a cement truck driver. Our final ride was with a guy not too much older than us who is a vet in a small town near where Ben dropped us off.
We stayed in Oamaru in a holiday park and booked a penguin tour. We saw the yellow eyed penquin and the blue penguin at two different places. It was really cool. The yellow penguins are super-protected so we were far away and only saw a few at quite a distance. But the blue penguins were just across the fence from us and would come to shore in groups of ten and then waddle and hop their way up the rocks, across the road and to their man-made burrows in the hills. Some went into the parking lot and ventured away from the burrows, getting quite close to us. Penguins are pretty much the cutest little creatures ever.
We are now in Dunedin, traveling with a young German couple with a campervan. We are lucky to met some friends with wheels! We are looking forward to seeing more of the south island in the next few weeks before we have to start working again!
Peace!
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