From Rodents to Ants with glowworms in between

This is a pre-written blog. It is a LONG one - due to my being too social to update my blog and then out of internet accessability. Sorry - no pictures, I doubt the library connection could handle it :(

Sunday 20 July, 2008 (rain, rain, rain)

I am sitting at the kitchen table of Elizabeth and Harry Warren. I met them last month at the Maori planting (see many blogs back). I had planned on walking into their Auckland suburb of Onehunga, but I am not glad I didn’t – it is POURING outside. I’m waiting for a break in the rain so I can run out into my car for a few things to keep entertained (a book, DVDs to burn pics too, etc). This is my 2nd full day here at the Warren’s. I called Elizabeth Friday afternoon before arriving in Auckland. I figured I’d let her know I was in town and see if she still wanted to meet for dinner or something. Well, she told me that her house was full of students but that I was welcome to sleep in the lounge. Of course I told her I wasn’t expecting accommodations, but since she wanted me I couldn’t pass up a free home. They have been nothing but helpful and kind since I got here.

Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day. Chatted with Elizabeth and Harry in the morning and then talked with my parents for a bit in the afternoon – they called to see what I was doing since I hadn’t written a blog or e-mail in a bit. Mom would feel better if I would just settle down and get a job, but while I’m traveling about she worries a bit. It was really nice talking with them both. I got an idea of when mom might come to visit, which is really, really nice. After getting detailed driving directions from Harry, I set off to do some comparison shopping for cameras and tents. To get an exact replacement for my camera (Canon Powershot) would cost near $500. For that price I could upgrade and get a camera with 12 or even 18 times optical zoom. However, I don’t want to spend that much. I found a Fujifilm Finepix for less than $300. The only real downside to it is that it takes 4 AA batteries instead of 2. I really should have invested in some rechargeable batteries while I was in the states. EVERYTHING is cheaper in the states. An MSR Hubba Hubba tent at a local store here is NZ$899, while it is only US$299 in the states. I’m still not sure what I’ll do about the tent. An American couple I met a few days ago told me it is cheaper to have my parents ship a tent, but that seems a bit of a hassle. I think I’ll look around online a bit more before deciding.

The rest of my week, since my last blog, has been much more interesting.

Walking:
Monday (14/7/08)I did a nice walk through Whangarei and up to Whangarei falls, followed by a steep climb up Mount Manaia – from the top I had an excellent view of Whangarei harbor and the oil refinery in which my host, Karen, worked. I waved to her from the top, but she was looking the other way :) The next (Tuesday 15/7/08) day I went to Coronation Park and did some more hiking. I had a lovely time walking through the bush and looking over Whangarei. I took a somewhat overgrown trail (how could I pass up “Mad Woman Trail”?) and headed towards Whau valley dam. I had no idea how long the trail was, but I had given myself a time (2pm) at which to turn around for the return trip. I wanted to get back to my car in time to do some shopping for the dinner I had planned to cook (something to go with the quinoa I picked up at the bulk store). I hiked until 2, had my lunch, and then headed back. I was literally 2 minutes from my car when I realized that I was missing the BSU jacket I had stuck through my pack strap!!! Argh. I headed back up the trail as fast as I could (though I was already tired from the days walk) hoping I dropped it somewhere nearby. No such luck. I spent the next hour retracing my steps to the Quarry Garden connection point of the trail. I was tired and it was getting late. I decided that someone had already picked up my jacket, or it was up the trail farther – and who knew how far. So I took the track down to the quarry gardens in order to walk the road back to my car (figured it would be faster, and far less tiring, than taking the up and down mountainous track). I spoke with a garden worker and told him about my loss. He took my number in case he heard about it.

After reaching my car, I drove to the grocery store and picked up a few things to contribute to dinner. I had talked with Colin and we were going to have more people for dinner than pizza and beer would allow (since I was a bit too tired to think of cooking). When I arrived home, I recounted my adventures, took a shower to rid myself of the cobwebs and spiders, and met the new couchsurfers staying with the Walkers – Tiff and Chris from the US. The Kiwis were outnumbered by the Americans! Tiff and I had a good time talking and cooking up a curry, while Karen, Colin, and Chris chatted by the fire.

Caving and Glowworms!
The next day (Wednesday 16/7/08) I got up early enough to see Karen and Colin before they went to work (which is a first for a couchsurfer that isn’t catching a ride into town with them). I did my yoga and had breakfast, then spent part of the morning chatting with Tiff and Chris. We made plans to try to meet up in the middle of the day and then I headed out to try to find my jacket. I started to go back up the trail from the beginning, but then realized that while I was tired last night, I was not likely to have missed a blazing blue lump of cotton sitting in the middle of the trail. I drove to the quarry gardens and went up to where I had left off. On my way, I chatted a bit with a couple of volunteers that were removing the gorse that had overgrown the small native trees. Literally 5 minutes up the trail where I had left off, I started up the small side trail towards my “mad woman track” and what did I find? Lying on the steps, under the trees, was my jacket! I was SO happy. I could deal with my ruining my camera (even if the reason was so stupid as not making sure the case was secure), but I would have been really bummed to have lost my hometown spirit. I went back down to the gardens the way I had come up – I wanted to let the volunteers know of my success. We chatted a bit more and then I walked around the cool arid plants.

I found my jacket with plenty of time left over for meeting Tiff and Chris. They, however, had to rush from the house to not be late! How opposite of what I had expected to happen. So, we met up and piled into my car (there car was loaded with clothes, books, boogie boards, and misc other gear – and topped off with a kayak on the roof!). Chris was my navigator and we headed to Abbey Caves. It was totally awesome! We walked the trail to the first cave (Organ, which was closed) and then headed to the next – Abbey? There was quite a bit of water in the bottom, so Tiff and Chris just got their sneakers wet. I wasn’t ready for that, so I took my boots and socks off and carried them. We saw glowworms and crayfish. We made it to the end of the cave, but there wasn’t a really good way out, so we headed back the way we came. We took the track to the next cave – Ivy? This was a crazy fun cave. There was water in it too, but not as deep. I managed to put one foot in, but not enough to get completely soaked. We eventually came to a section that would require near full emersion in the water. No thanks. So, we headed up. Now – anybody who knows me might recall that I am a bit claustrophobic, particularly when rock and earth are involved. So, I was quite proud to keep the one or two claustrophobic attacks in check. I would never have gone as far as I did if I wasn’t with Tiff and Chris. I felt SO comfortable with them. Pretty soon, we were crawling over and between rocks so far above the water that you couldn’t even hear it running anymore. A far difference from the loud rush we heard upon first entering the cave. We ended up doing a loop around the cave and decided to exit where we saw daylight. So, here we are – 3 rugged and outdoorsy Americans emerging from the ground to be a fence away from a pasture of cows. We walk the fence line, only to find ourselves back where we began! We’re stuck in our own little paddock, electric fence on 3 sides :-0 We hop a fence or two, wonder around a bit, and finally hear the rushing water of the cave opening and use it to get us back to the track.

It was a GREAT time. The glowworms were awesome! It’s like looking at the universe, but being close enough to touch it. Depending on where you stand, you can see different patterns made by the worms. It’s really an indescribable experience. They sparkle and glow and give you a very unearthly feeling.

In the end, I am so glad I lost my jacket. If I hadn’t needed to go retrieve it, I would have only met Tiff and Chris for dinner before leaving. Instead, I got to explore caves I would have missed with people I really like. We all headed back to town and picked up beer and pizza (since everyone agreed it sounded so good the night before). We had a nice evening with Karen and Colin, chatting and sharing pictures. Tiff, Chris, and I said goodbye to Colin that night – since he would be at work when we all left.

Night of the Ants:
Thursday (17/7/08) Karen had the day off (she has every other Thursday off) so we all hung out during the morning – breakfast, route planning, packing, and I made a batch of no bake cookies. They were supposed to be a “thank you for letting me stay so long” gift. They weren’t as good as I remember, but they weren’t bad either. Must have been the NZ butter or milk ;) We all said our goodbyes, and then I drove out of the driveway first and we went our separate ways. I put on my music so I wouldn’t have to think about the fact that I may not see these lovely people again. I get sad everytime I stay somewhere and make friends and then leave. I get lonely all over again and start to miss my family. But, I plan on making it up north again before I leave (after all I need to take a mass amount of pictures of the Hokianga area). So, I should see Karen and Colin again before I leave and hopefully I’ll be in Tiff and Chris’s neck of the US at some point in life.

I drove off with a vague idea of a trail to hike. When I tried to find that trail? Well, lets just say I didn’t mind the gravel roads, but I didn’t like backtracking without finding my destination. Before I went all the way back to the main road I saw a sign for the Waipu caves and walkway. That was where I wanted to head, so I took the road. After driving on more gravel back roads, I passed a parking area with a sign. I realized I’d just passed the caves. I parked, ate some food, and then walked the track. It took about an hour (as the sign said) to get to a road, at which point I turned around and came back. The Waipu walkway was what a person would imagine walking through NZ to be. Green pastureland, stepping over fences, great views of sharp ridged mountains, good view of the ocean and Whangarei in the distance, and cows lowing in the background. I scared up some paradise shelducks; boy where they angry – kept flying big loops to see if I’d gone, making lots of noise the whole time. It was a good day for a walk – drizzled a bit, but was generally warm too. At the end of the track, near the parking lot, I played in the massive boulders for a bit, checking things out and wishing I had a camera.
I had wanted to spend the day hiking and save Waipu caves for the next day – so I wouldn’t wish Tiff and Chris were there so much. But, since I missed the trail and since I was here, I found the cave entrance and entered. It was way bigger than any of the Abby caves, the entrance must be 20 feet wide with lots of headroom. You can go quite a ways in and still see daylight. There was no way to go far without stepping through water, so I took my shoes off. I really didn’t want wet shoes now that I didn’t have a fire to go home to (and I refused to go back to Karen and Colin’s house – they wouldn’t have minded, but they would have laughed and laughed. I’m sure they half expected me to come back as it was – since I kept extending my stay one more night). Turns out, the water wasn’t as deep as I expected, and the rocks were much sharper than Abby cave. So, I gingerly made may way around a bend in the cave until I couldn’t see anymore daylight. The glowworms here really were more spectacular than in Abby. They were everywhere! Just amazing. Around the bend in the cave I could go further only by getting wet and going under a rock or by squeezing through some rocks. I didn’t have any traction with my bare feet on the mud and I was beginning to miss having company in the caves (other than the cave spiders that is). The noise of the water running through the caves began playing tricks on me – first sounding like people talking and then sounding like a normal bubbling brook. I was freaking myself out, so I took one last look at the glowworms, turned on my headlamp, and headed back towards daylight. If I had been with Tiff and Chris, I probably would have followed them all over the cave – I wouldn’t have felt alone or been scared to get lost and I would have had someone to go through the spider webs first!

I was glad I left the cave when I did. It was getting late and I wanted to get to a campsite before dark. I had found one on the map, but wasn’t sure if it was still there or what conditions to expect. I found Uretiti beach campground with no problem. I was glad I was camping there, since it was cheap ($7) and secure (gated and locked at night). It was just a bonus that a nice sandy beach was just a 1 minute walk past the sand dunes. I was kind of excited to be sleeping in my car for the first time. I would have preferred a tent, but it was neat to feel self sufficient. However, I soon found that while the seats lay flat, they still have hard spots right where the hips go. I used a blanket to smooth things out a bit, but I really should have just gotten my sleeping pad out too. After making up my bed and deciding that while I could use a shower I didn’t want to bother with one, I went for a stroll down the beach. I had missed any sunset colors, but the blue/grey sky and the mist hanging over the islands and shore were quite pretty. The waves were soothing and the shells were beautiful (I kept 2 small ones). I met a nice guy on the beach and we talked for a bit. I found out that Uretiti beach is one of the few “clothing optional” beaches in NZ. Good to know!

I decided to head back to my car and relax with a book. I was able to lay back quite comfortably and was enjoying my reading, when I noticed an ant on my book. Maybe I should mention that my car seems to have few ants here and there inside. It seems to have quite a few on the outside, but I was pretty sure they really couldn’t get in. However, after flicking the ant off my book I decided to take a quick peak in the front of the car and see what was going on. HOLY ANTS GONE WILD!!!

I had eaten an apple for lunch and had not encountered a trash bin, so I put it in a bag on the floor of my passenger seat. When I investigated my car I found this bag swarming with ants!! I was quite surprised, as I thought my car seals were keeping them out. Apparently not! There was a neat little line of them to the bag from the passenger door. So I figured it didn’t really matter, as long as they were occupied with the apple I would probably be safe. However, I looked around a bit more. I saw some ants on the dashboard, I saw some ants on the arm console between the seats, and I saw itty bitty movements around the driver seat. I looked on the floor behind the driver seat (just below my sleeping bag ensconced feet). There were ants all over a bag down there too! Eww, what if the ants climbed onto my sleeping bag? Would they make a line for my face? Is that how they got on my book? What about all the food I had just purchased and was storing in the back of car – where my head was going to be? Was it safe? Would it be swarming with ants too? Well, I tried going back to reading my book and not worrying, but those questions just kept rattling around. It wasn’t raining outside, so I got out of my bag, put on my shoes and put a plastic bag over my hand. I went around to the passenger side of my car, opened the front door, and saw the mass of ants that were both on the outside and inside of the floorboards. I used my plastic encased hand to smash the crap out them all. For the ants on the carpet, I smashed my hand down and then rubbed the carpet hard. I made sure to watch for ants that survived and crawled around on the bag and onto my arm.
After the ant massacre, I shoved the used bag into a corner where ants would still be and tried not to worry about it. I didn’t have a tent and it was too late to try to find a hostel. I read for a bit longer and then went to bed. I didn’t sleep that well, more because the car was uncomfortable than because of the ants – but I did try to keep my feet from getting to close to the back of the driver seat (I didn’t want them crawling up the sleeping bag). I have no idea how many ants I may have eaten that night, but I felt pretty confident that they weren’t in my ears, as I had tight fitting night cap on. Boy what a night!

On my way to Auckland
Friday (18/7/08) morning I got up fairly early, but later than most times at the Walker’s. I considered doing some yoga on the beach, but decided to pack up and get going. I wanted to try to find a car wash and see if I could rid myself of some of the ant colony. I left the beach around 9:30am. I stopped at an information center to find a car wash and then didn’t stop again until I saw a sign for the Wenderholm reserve. It was a very nice day, not a drop out of the sky all morning. I parked and took only my water bottle (no jacket to lose). I walked a lovely loop trail through the bush and past great views of a river entrance. There were informative signs along the way too, which is always nice. When I got back to my car, I called Elizabeth and ended up with a place to stay. I stopped at a car wash in Orewa (where the Information center had sent me), but was very disappointed. I don’t think any water even went under my car, let alone at a high pressure! So, I arrived in Auckland an hour or so later and with a big ant colony. I stopped at the grocery store on my way to the Warren’s, picked up some food, wine, and ant bait. I set 3 plastic wells out filled with ant poison, drove to the Warren’s, and had a nice chat. It was dark when I got bags out of the car, but when I checked the next morning – holy moly, the ants were swarming 2 of the disks! It was quite gross really, I think some of the ants had drowned already! Funny thing, the disk on the floor of the front passenger seat – where the largest area of the massacre happened – hasn’t been touched. It’s like the ants are scared of it now or something. Weird.

Back to the present – Sunday.
So, that pretty much takes us back to today. Since I started this long account the rain has come and gone several times, I’ve helped Harry sort out his MP4 player, and I’ve walked into town with Harry and one of their students. I was going to buy the FujiFilm camera – but then saw that it takes an XD memory card instead of an SD memory card (which I have two 1GB cards for, plus a card reader). A 1GB XD cards ups the price by $70 (it’s $17 for a 1GB SD card). So, I came home to think about it some more. Oh, it’s raining again!

Oh – I should explain the students huh? Elizabeth and Harry host foreign exchange students for short periods of time. They currently have a 10 and a 15 year old boy from Taiwan and a 17 year old boy from France staying here. They go to school 6 days a week to learn English. They have lessons most days, but also go out and do fun things to – tours around town, swimming, etc. It’s been interesting talking with them.

Tuesday, 22 July.
If your still reading this - good on ya. You have more patience then I do! I can't even get around to reading it for errors or cool things to link :) Just thought I'd update those really curious people about my last few days ---- warning, the next few paragraphs are boring, humour is rare and details are many. You cannot get your time back after reading them ;-)

I spent Monday shopping and spending LOADS of money.
1. I bought a camera: FujiFilm FinePix S8000 - 18x optical zoom!!!! It was on sale for $100 cheaper than Saturday's pricing, wich made it only $70 more expensive then the cheap camera I was going to buy - after purchasing the 1GB memory card.
2. I bought a tent: After deciding I would save money by buying in the US and having one shipped (to cover the extra money of the camera). I did some internet cafe searching and found the Marmot Early Light to be availabe here in NZ and relatively cheap in the US. When I went to Living Simple (one of the companies that carried the tent) I asked if they were going to be having a winter sale soon (pretty much every store is having blowouts here). He gave me 20% off the price of the tent that day, instead of making me wait until August! I save $80 there! PLUS, I have it NOW. So I can go camping on the Coromandel Peninsula soon! (probably head up on Thursday after the forecasted showers have mostly passed).
3. I bought camping gear: I had store credit at Kathmandu (a pretty pricy store, but they have awesome deals on clearance - I live in my $30 pants!) So, I bought a set of 2 cook pots plus a stove to cook on! Kathmandu was having crazy 40-70% off deals on everything, so I still have half my store credit there! (from returning some boots that just didn't work - store credit is NOT the same as getting your money back, but it makes me feel less guilty about buying stuff; since it feels almost free :)

Today - Tuesday 22 July
After yesterday's massive buying frenzy, I'm trying not to spend to much. Caught a bus into town, in the soaking rain, this morning. Have done some business stuff, checked out the other Kathmandu store (a backpack that folds into a pocket!!! hmm), but haven't bought anything. I do have to get a new camera case eventually - so I checked out several places for those. I think I'll probably chill here at the library for several hours rather than catching the bus back into Onehunga. I have to be back in town at 8 to meet a friend anyway - Bobbie, from my skydiving adventures. Yay, a familiar face and more of my mail!