Pictures

I have added pictures to this and my previous blog - click on them to make them ridiculously big.

Also, I have changed my comments to all users (apparently I hadn't before), so there shouldn't be a need to register.

I woke up early this morning and used my brand new yoga mat! (Now I just need to continue to use it.) After finishing my downward dogs and various warrior poses, I opened one of the curtains and enjoyed the view of the valley. The dark green mountain peaks were skirted by light green paddocks, which rose out of a lake of white fog. The view from Karen and Colin Walker’s home keeps amazing me. My arrival here was just before sunset on a sunny day. The colors over valley they overlook were beautiful.

Karen and Colin aren’t WWOOF hosts, they are Couchsurfing (CS) hosts. They are my first CS hosts. I was nervous and not sure what to expect, but my stay has been great. I brought beer and macadamia nuts for the first night – though we ended up drinking 2 bottle of wine, we did use the nuts in a stir fry. Karen and I did some shopping yesterday during the first half of Colin’s football game (European style = soccer). The store we went to was basically a NZ version of Wal-Mart – The Warehouse. While I visited the Warehouse in Auckland earlier, I did not purchase any of the Chinese products they sell. However, I wanted a cheap pair of gumboots (no more pinched toes) as well as a cheap yoga mat. I was surprised to find this store also sold food. Just like Wal-Mart, produce and all. I picked up the ingredients for the dinner I was cooking (vegetarian shepard's pie), along with a few other things to minimize my use of the house food. I did decide against the non-organic bananas though, after thinking about all the chemicals I’d read about – they looked SO delicious though.

It turned out that the Warehouse was the best place to develop my roll of film too. I decided against getting any prints done up and just had them put on a CD. While the pictures taken in dark conditions ended up grainy, the rest are absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, they are all pictures taken from the land. I forgot to take the camera diving with me!!!! Yep – I went diving!!! I arrived at Karen and Colin’s Wed. night, took Thurs to enjoy their home, do laundry, find job ads, and to book my dive. Friday morning I headed off towards town before light, catching a ride with my hosts on their way to work. I was picked up by Dive Tutukaka and chatted with my driver during the ride (I was the only pickup). I mentioned my underwater camera and then realized I had forgotten to bring the extra roll of film!! Ugh. Oh well, I still had 10 pictures left.

While the trip was definitely a splurge on my savings (though slightly cheaper than skydiving), the roller coaster ride that was our journey out to the islands was well worth the money. The sea swells were only 1.5 meters (3 feet), but they were pretty close together (and I swear there was a 5 footer or two in the too). While I was smiling in enjoyment of the stomach lurching crashes of the boat, others were hiding their heads in sick bags – while others just held their bags for comfort. Despite that fact that water was dripping from the roof and all over me, I stayed quite warm in all my fleece.

Once we arrived it was time for the neoprene. I was very glad I paid the extra money to take the refresher course. I had a one on one chance to test my memory and refresh my skills, including everything from putting my gear together to going through an “out of air” experience underwater. My instructor was really nice, and kept telling me that I remembered a lot. However, I still managed to have feelings of claustrophobia and slight panic the first time I went underwater for my buoyancy test. The water was very cold – though WAY warmer than Alaska (where I got certified). I didn’t have a dry suit, so I felt every bit of chilly water contact my skin through the wetsuit. This coldness did not help me relax into the experience! I passed my underwater skills tests and then we went about exploring “Jan’s Tunnel” of the Poor Knight’s Island. Having a guide that knew where we were and what to look for was extremely useful. Dawn pointed out hidden shrimp that I would never have found on my own.

After my first dive, we had lunch and motored to the next site. I wasn’t real sure that I wanted to get back into the cold water after warming up with coffees and hot chocolates, but obviously I didn’t have much of a choice (I’m not that big a pansy!). Unfortunately, somewhere between getting my camera out of my bag and having a 2^nd hot drink, I completely forgot to get my camera over to my dive gear. I set up my equipment, put on my weight belt, strapped into my tank, and slipped my flippers. I stepped off the boat and grouped up with Dawn and 2 other divers. We were going to explore "Dutch Cove". Just as we were descending into the deep, I realized I had forgotten my camera! Bummer. However, there wasn’t really that much I missed out on. During my first dive I was pretty glad not to have my camera. I had so many other things to think about – buoyancy control, breathing, enjoying myself – that having a camera would have been a distraction. On the second dive, there just wasn’t as much to see. Dawn pointed out fewer nudibranchs (sea slugs) and there weren’t as many snapper hanging out. We did see a carpet shark though, apparently it’s pretty rare to see these guys swimming around – they are usually sleeping on the floor.

The Poor Knights are supposedly world renowned for diving. The EAC (East Australian Current – ring any bells from “Finding Nemo”) flows around the northland and straight into these islands. This means that many tropical fish larva ride this current to the subtropical area of this marine reserve. I saw lots of colorful wrasse, but not sure that I saw anything definitely tropical. Apparently, during the summer, string rays come to the islands to breed and manta rays occasionally stop by too. Right now (winter) the sting rays are in the harbors and estuaries, being chased occasionally by orca whales. There were some NZ fur seals on the rocks of the second sight, but none in the water. I was out of the water (used my air to fast by going a few meters deeper) and missed a “swim by” from a dolphin (though one of the diver’s in the water missed it too – there is a lot to pay attention to). One of the cool things I saw was a ton of moray eels.

So – all in all, the trip was great. It was nice to not feel pressured while relearning my skills and the entire crew was really nice. The ride back was less choppy and wet since we were going with the swells. I look forward to coming back again!

Poor Knights Islands














Shells embedded in rock, Hokianga Coast




Me at Wairere Boulders