First Day

I don’t remember too much from my first day of work. I think it was just so overwhelming to be in a familiar environment, and yet have everything different from what I’m used to. Most of the day passed in a blur with new information bombarding me at all angles. What I do remember is getting up extremely early just in case I got lost finding the rehabilitation department or there happened to be some morning traffic. I ended up having to wait in my car for 40 minutes until 8:00 rolled around. I have since learned that what constitutes “traffic” here is 3-5 cars in line at the round-a-bout.
One of the first things I noticed about the hospital is that nobody wears scrubs. Every department is assigned a uniform. At first, the thought of wearing a uniform seemed appealing. It would cut down on my morning preparation time. However, after getting a good look at the rehab uniforms, I would gladly get up a few minutes earlier if it meant I didn’t have to wear such a hideous outfit. The uniform consists of teal colored slacks (or should I call them high waters) and a navy blue polo shirt. Who ever thought that teal and navy would be a good color combo? To make it even worse the sizes come in large or extra large. You do have the choice of mixing it up a little and wearing a teal skirt or teal shorts instead of the pants. I decided straight away that I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the shorts, so I ordered three pairs of pants. I was warned I may change my mind when summer comes along, however, I seriously doubt it. I’ve posted lots of pictures on this blog, but you will never see one of me in my working gear! (Well, maybe if you pay me, but it would have to be big money!)

It's my Birthday

Yeah, it’s my birthday! It’s my last day of vacation before I start my new job. My birthday breakfast was well, not good. We had only gotten back to Hawke’s Bay last night, so no time for grocery shopping. We managed to find some eggs, some moldy cheese and some toast. The hot chocolate was too weak. But we made up for it later that morning by going wine tasting at Creggy Range Winery. Later that day, Lisa, Lori and Parag hijacked my car to “run some errands.” They surprised me later with some beautiful flowers (thanks Mike!) and groceries! Later that night we went to Pipi's, a pink pizza joint in Havelock North. When we got back home I was given a brownie cake with caramella ice cream, yum! Thanks guys, I’m glad I wasn’t by myself for my big 27! I’ve now joined the ranks of late-twenties instead of mid-twenties.

Glow-worms 'n things

Hamilton is the largest inland city in the North Island. We stopped there for one night on our way to Waitomo. Through Lisa’s connections, we met up with some of the Hamilton locals for dinner. The next morning we went to their coffee roasting shop, Rocket Roasters, and learned what coffee beans look like before they are roasted. After some amazing mochachinos, we took off for Waitomo for some black water rafting!

Waitomo is the home of the glow-worm caves, as well as extreme adventures such as caving, abseiling, tubing and rock climbing. We decided it was best to try all of these activities. Rap, Raft n Rock offered it all in one five hour trip; plus some hot soup at the end. What a deal! Our group consisted of the four of us plus two chaps from Britain, George and Fred. The first extreme adventure was riding in the van to our starting point. From the looks of the broken “oh s_ _t!” handles, many people before us had endured the same windy, bumpy, rocky and steep trail they called a road. We survived the suicidal driving only to find out that we had to don purple stretchy pants over our wet suits. We were never quite sure what the function of the purple pants were. I have a sneaking suspicion it was so the guides could have a good laugh at our expense! Our outfit was complete with white gumboots, mine of which had large holes in them, and a helmet with a battery pack and headlight attached.

We had a quick lesson on abseiling (repelling) before descending down the 30 meter opening of the cave, where there was a river at the bottom. We tramped up the river, carrying our inner tubes. At one point we were instructed to turn our lights off and hang onto each other as we followed our leader in complete darkness. Over our heads were thousands of tiny glow-worms that looked like stars in the sky. At the very end of the cave, we turned around and used our inner tubes to float back down the river. At one point I stopped being able to feel my feet the water was so cold. Half way through we stopped for some hot drinks and a chocolate bar which tasted wonderful, before heading back to the opening of the cave. It was getting dark by this time and we still had to rock climb out of the cave. I was very hesitant about climbing 30 meters in the dark with gumboots on while not being able to feel my feet, but I made it. The soup, waiting for us at the end, made the whole trip worth it!

Spa by the Ocean

Burning my bum at Hot Water Beach happened to be a highlight of my stay while in Matarangi. Close to the town of Hahei, visitors can dig their own spas in the sand and relax in the hot thermal water that seeps up from just below the surface. It’s imperative to find just the right spot for the hot water pool. Sitting in our hot tub built for four, we watched as people hunted for the perfect spot and dug their hot tubs only to find that the water actually started boiling! One Japanese tourist found some mussels in the ocean that he cooked and proceeded to eat. Not my idea of a snack, but he seemed to enjoy it.

Chillin' in Matarangi

Our 5 day stay in Matarangi included sleeping in late, eating, walking on the beach, hiking-not too strenuous of course, and generally just relaxing. We had excellent weather with the exception of one day, in which we just stayed home and did whatever we felt like doing. The big outing our first day was to venture into the town of Whitianga for some groceries. Matarangi boasts a post office, real estate office, Laundromat and dairy. Anything not found in those buildings must be found elsewhere. Whitianga happened to be the closed village with a real grocery store and so that’s where we went. After doing our shopping and a lunch of fish ‘n chips at Snapper Jack’s we headed back home.
The second day consisted of a hike to Opito Bay. It was a beautiful day, and the view from the top of the ridge was amazing. We did have to climb several hundred stairs next to an electric fence, but it was worth it! Lori’s big find was Estrella, a starfish who looked like it has seen better days. We thought Lori was going to try and smuggle the starfish back to the U.S. with the rest of her shells, but after awhile, Estrella was released back to her home.
Another day we spent exploring Cathedral Cove. I think between the four of us, we probably took every conceivable picture there is to take!

Drive to Matarangi

After the rugby game it was time to move on to the Coromandel area. Our next stop was the small village of Matarangi. Sharon, a colleague of Lisa’s from Loma Linda, let us stay at her vacation home. This was a four hour drive from Hamilton on a two lane road in the middle of the night. Actually, all the roads here are two lane roads, with the exception of Auckland. It was a little shocking to see 4 lanes altogether when we were there! They don’t have freeways here, they are called motorways, but we were definitely not on a motorway on the way to Matarangi. It was a windy road with hairpin turns. The drive seemed to go on forever. I was getting carsick and I was the one driving! We finally made it to Matarangi at 2:00 in the morning. By this time, everyone was a little bit, no actually quite a bit grumpy, which did not help any in finding the correct house to stay in. Nothing is open 24/7 here, so there was no place to ask for directions. We finally narrowed down our options to two houses, and thankfully the first house we tried the key in worked! We were exhausted and went straight to bed. The next morning we woke up to a beautiful house with a beautiful view of the ocean.

The Surprise

Before we picked up Lisa and Parag, Lori and I informed them of a surprise we had planned. We refused to tell them anything except that they needed to dress warmly. We made our way down to the town of Hamilton where we found a Thai restaurant to dine in. All the while Lisa and Parag tried to guess what the surprise was. I have to admit they came up with some interesting guesses: whale watching, hunting, caving, all good guess, but not even close. Despite our best efforts, the Thai lady ruined our surprise. When Lori and I went across the street to ask for directions, the waitress asked Lisa and Parag if they were in town for the Big Game. That clued them in on the All Blacks rugby game that we had gotten tickets for.
However, they did do a good job of acting surprised while we walked the 8 blocks to the stadium (we had gotten some wrong directions), and the whole game experience turned out to be awesome. Canada tried to put up a good fight, but they were no match for the All Blacks. I think it might have had something to do with the Haka Dance performed before the game. It definitely sent chills down my spine when I heard it. I’m pretty sure everyone around us in the stands figured out we were Americans, partly because we had no clue what the rules were, and because we started booing the Canadians when they scored (their one and only touchdown, or whatever they call it in rubgy!) Apparently you clap for the opposing team here, or maybe they were just clapping out of pity. The All Blacks beat Canada 64 to 13.

The City of Sails

Lisa is now with us! She arrived in Auckland at 6:30 in the morning looking just a little bit sleep deprived. We found a French café downtown to eat breakfast, and then took Lisa to get some sunglasses. One thing Lori and I found out is that the New Zealand sun is brutal. Sunglasses and sunscreen are a necessity! The rest of the morning was spent at the Auckland Bridge, watching the sailboat races. Lisa kept making fun of the “toy” sailboats, until we were told they were the quadriplegic boats. Oops!

We didn’t spend much time in Auckland. Around 2 in the afternoon it was time to pick up Parag. He is the last addition to our little travel group. Lisa used her sweet packing skills and managed to get all our stuff into the trunk (“boot” is the correct term here!) and we didn’t even have to store any bags on our laps. My car did start to make some strange noises due to all the extra weight, but when it gets going fast enough you don’t hear it- so we tended to ignore them.

On to Auckland

We had good intentions of getting up early to get to New Plymouth, however, we didin’t get on the road until 10:00 in the morning. We wanted to catch a tour on Happy Chaddy’s Charters to see the Sugar Loaf Islands. As it turned out, we needn’t have worried about missing the boat; we were the only ones on it besides the captain-Chaddy. He took us on a personal tour of the islands which were supposed to be full of hundreds of seals. We saw about 10 seals all together (Lonely Planet was wrong about that one!) But it was worth it to hear Chaddy’s stories about the old Maori whale hunters and the Maori legends. It was a really choppy day out on the sea, and we were freezing by the end of the tour. Chaddy recommended a fish and chips place for lunch where we had crumped wharhow. I think it was the best fish I’ve ever eaten.

Ngaruawahia
On our way to Auckland we stopped in the little village of Ngaruawahia. By accident we found a buffet that looked like it would be a good place for dinner. When we asked for a table, the waiter said that since we didn’t have any bookings (we took that to mean reservations) we would have to share a table with someone else. Lori and I were starving so we agreed. We found ourselves seated at a table with two other ladies. They were both locals of Ngaruawahia and delighted in teaching us how to pronounce some of the towns that we’d driven though. We still can’t say this one, though! One of the ladies was a teacher and was very well-spoken and articulate. The other lady did not seem to possess those qualities. We could only understand half of what she said and she ended each sentence in the form of a question.

Quiz Time!

Guess the Mountain-
Can anyone name the movies in which these mountains are featured? I'll give you some hints:

1) Peter Jackson is the director of one of the movies.

2)One of these mountains is actually featured as Mt. Fuji in the movie.

Forgotten World Highway

After two 20 minute hikes in Tongoriro Natinal Park, Lori and I headed west towards New Plymouth. One suggested way to get there is via the Forgotten World Highway. This is the long scenic route which is a windy two lane road through rolling green hills and sheep pastures. When I pictured New Zealand in my mind, this is exactly how I imagined it would look like. We chose a good day for the Forgotten World Highway; the sun on the green hills was magnificent. Apparently, it’s not a commonly used road, and we saw, on average, one car per hour. However, we did have to stop twice for wondering livestock on the road.

Damper Falls was an attraction along the way. We had to get off the main road and travel about 14 kilometers on a gravel road. Since I had been driving all day, I decided to let Lori take over for awhile, thinking that I would be able to get a little break. However, Lori was behind the wheel less than five minutes before she started fish-tailing the car in the gravel! We did get to Damper Falls in one piece; however, I didn’t get much of a relaxing ride. Lori has not been allowed to drive since then. Her role is solely navigator now.

Along the Forgotten World Highway, way we came to the village of Whangamomona. Apparently, this town had some disagreements with the local council, so they declared themselves an independent republic. This republic boasts a hotel/pub, an outdoor toilet and it’s own beer. At one time it had a goat as it’s president. Lori and I made sure we would get there by dinnertime so we could eat at the famous Whangamomona Hotel, but we found out they stopped serving food at 2:00 PM. The waitress grudgingly warmed up some frozen pies (savory meat pies) for us, and then we carried on our journey. By this time it was dark and it took us several hours on the windy road to get to the end of the Forgotten World Highway. By this time Lori and I were tired and hungry and needed a place to stay, so we stopped at the first town we came to, Stratford. Lori sent me into the motel to bargain on some room prices (which I didn't do, who bargains prices at motels?) and then we went looking for food at the nearest pizza place. Here, we found out miniature gherkins on pizza is not our favorite topping!

Road Trip

We started our road trip at 7AM on Thursday morning. It was cold and rainy. I found out my little car does not do too well when it’s cold. It didn’t seem to be moving up the hills quite as fast as it did before. I had to “reboot” the car at one point by turning off the engine and restarting it. After that I think it warmed up and has had no problems.
Lori and I drove past Lake Taupo, which is the biggest lake in the North Island. We read that it’s the skydiving capital of the world. We might have to make a stop there on the way back down to Hawke’s Bay! We then drove down to Tongoriro National Park. Our guide book suggested a 6 hour hike through the Tongoriro Crossing which was said to be spectacular. When we got there, a big sign said, “Pick axe and crampons required!” We decided to do that another day and instead opted for the alternative- a 20 minute walk to Tawhai Falls, which required no additional gear!

The Movies!

Havelock North has one movie theater which is one of the only buildings in town open after 8:00 PM. I’m happy to report that current movies are being played with the exception of a few older ones. I was afraid they would be months behind, but I’m relieved to find out I will be up to date with my movies! Lori and I were getting comfortable in our seats, ready to watch “Becoming Jane” when we noticed that everyone sitting around us was sipping on wine. We then realized that instead of cup holders, each seat has a pull-out wine bottle holder. Apparently, movie going here is not quite the soda drinking, popcorn eating experience that we’re used to. I guess people will be sure to enjoy the movie whether it’s a good one or not.

Super Loo

Lori did bring better weather! The day was sunny with no sight of rain. I found the Napier/Hastings airport with no difficulty. I think it may be one of the smallest airports that I’ve ever been in. After Lori landed, we spent some time looking for the baggage carousel, however, there is none. Eventually, the truck carrying all the luggage drives around and everyone picks up their own bags.

Public toilet Experience:
Lori and I decided to explore Havelock North, which is a small town to the East of Hastings. We found a little café to eat at, which overlooked the information center and public toilets. These public toilets stated they were self-cleaning, so we decided to give them a try. Giving them a try involved lots of buttons and recorded instructions. I had to push a button to open the door and when I stepped inside the restroom, a voice told me to close and lock the door. Once the door was locked voice informed me, “Your maximum allotted time is 10 minutes.” Meanwhile, “What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love” started playing. I had to push another button for the toilet paper and I waited patiently for my 10 squares. As you can see in one of the photos the Kiwis are keen on hygiene and hand washing. After my hands were clean, one last button was pushed and I was let out.

*to see the rest of the pictures, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/shilaj/SuperLoo

First Impressions

I’m staying in the Omahu Motor Lodge on Hereteraunga Street, which is the main Street in the town of Hastings. When I drove into Hastings for the first time, I realized that I am more of a big city girl than I thought. I’m not sure exactly what I expected, but Hastings seems very small to me. Apparently it has a population of about 53,000 people, but I guess it just appears like a little town because there are no high-rises anywhere to be seen. When I drove past the hospital that I will be working at, and looked at the old, institutional-looking building, I wondered “What in the world have I gotten myself into?” Also, everything closes down around here at 8pm every night. I’ll have to find out what the locals do for entertainment! (Please don't let if be sheep-shearing!)

Napier is the next biggest city, which is about 10 minutes away. It is on the coast and supposedly a tourist attraction because of the Art Deco buildings. I haven’t been able to see too much of either city because it’s been raining for two days straight! I’m getting tired of it. My friend Lori will be flying in tomorrow morning and I hope she brings better weather!

Left Lane Driving!

After multiple reminders from Aunt Ruth to “Absolutely not pick up any hitchhikers!” I set off on my first solo drive to Hawke’s Bay. I followed Uncle Les out of the city for about 30 minutes, so he could point me in the right direction, and then I was on my own. My drive to Hastings was about 4 hours, and I have to admit that I was pretty freaked out about driving on the “wrong” side of the road. By the end of the trip my arms and shoulders were sore from gripping the steering wheel! Each time I successfully navigated through a round-a-bout, I counted it a personal victory! Needless to say, I didn’t see much of the countryside on my trip down, but I’m sure it was beautiful.

Mt. Maunganui

Tauranga is dominated by Mt. Maunganui, which is a 232 meter hill that is situated on the shoreline of town. It is mostly surrounded by water and has beautiful hiking trails up and around the mountain. Here is where I saw my first New Zealand sheep dotting the hillside! Uncle Les took me on a trail around the base of the mountain which provided some excellent picture opportunites. To see all of them, go to the Tauranga photo album on the right.

Goodbye Rapid Rav, Hello Fastra!

I’m now the proud (or maybe not so proud!) new owner of a 1996 Holden Astra. I have to admit that I’m still mourning the loss of my RAV4, but I was assured that the Holden, produced in Australia, is an excellent vehicle that will get me around NZ with no worries. My main concern right now is driving on the left side of the road. I took a few practice runs with Aunt Ruth coaching me around the round-a-bouts and the turns. If you don’t know the whole round-a-bout system, it can be a frightening experience. Also some of the signs take some getting used to. For example: Give Way=Yield, Zip=Merge (Merge like a zipper)

I will take my first solo trip on Saturday, when I head down to Hawke’s Bay. Hopefully I will have mastered the left-sided driving by then!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

It still hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m on a flight headed to Auckland to start my new adventure in New Zealand. I’m still dazed and overwhelmed with all the packing, the planning and goodbyes. I had a little scare with my visa when I first checked in at the LAX airport. The attendant could find no record of my working holiday visa that had been approved of 6 months ago. She called up NZ immigration, who confirmed that that I was definitely not in their system; despite my having called to make sure that I was approved. After a few panicked minutes, she said that she could issue a visa for me right there, but that I would have to go to immigration as soon as I got to New Zealand. Apparently, I’m pretty lucky, because their policy for giving out NZ visas is changing after tonight!

I left at 10:30 pm on May 31, 2007, and because of the International Date Line, I didn’t get to Auckland until June 2 at 6:15 in the morning. The flight was not too bad. I got my own TV, and I had a variety of movies to choose from. Half the time the 12 year old kid next to me was lying on my shoulder, but I think I did end up getting some sleep!

They let me into the country! Auckland immigration was quick and efficient; however, I had less then one hour to get to my connecting flight to Tauranga. I had to pick up my two checked pieces of luggage (marked “HEAVY” with bright orange tags by the airport staff), and find the shuttle to the domestic terminal, then stand in line for an agonizing 20-30 minutes to re-check my bags. But I did make it to the gate with 5 minutes to spare! I followed the rest of the Tauranga flight passengers onto the tarmac to board my next flight. I had no idea that the next plane was going to be so small. There were no overhead bins to store my carry-on bags, so I ended up carrying my backpack on my lap, because it was too big to fit under the seat in front of me, and the other, the captain stored on an empty seat. I’m surprised they let me on the plane! There was no flight attendant, and the crew consisted of the pilot and co-pilot, who was the one who made sure everyone had their seatbelts on.

As we left the Auckland coastline behind, and the tiny plane climbed above the clouds, it finally sunk in. I realized I was in a foreign country with no car, no NZ dollars (I hadn’t had time to exchange any money in Auckland) and having a difficult time understanding the English spoken here. Up to this point, moving to NZ was just planning and thinking, but it was now starting to become very real to me! However, I was also starting to get excited! My flight lasted 45 minutes and I was happy to see Uncle Les and Aunt Ruth, good family friends from Zimbabwe, waiting for me at the airport. My plan is to stay in Tauranga with the Yeatmans long enough to get a car so I can drive down to Hawke’s Bay, the region where my new home will be.

That first day in NZ was one of the longest of my life. The day seemed to go on forever. All I could think about was going to bed, but I was firmly advised by Aunt Ruth to stay up as long as I could. I made it to 8:00 pm despite my best efforts! Aunt Ruth sent me to bed with a hot water bottle and a tea tray in case I woke up on the middle of the night.

That first evening I was introduced to my first game of Rugby on the tele. The famous All Blacks played against France. I was shocked at how brutal the game is. I’m sure every one of those players has a head injury! I have to admit, though, it was more interesting to watch than American football. I’d describe it as a mix between football, hockey and soccer. The players are extremely athletic and quite fierce and intimating when they do the famous haka dance before the game. I wouldn’t want to be their opponent!