Down Time

Well – it’s kind of late here, but I figure I should make use of my last night of free high speed internet….. So I’ll try to make this entertaining and short (as if I can write a short blog! Ha ha ha )

Let’s see. I haven’t gotten any comments on my last blog – so people must not be outraged that I was hitching. My parents know I have no intention of making it a habit, so they were surprisingly okay with it! Yeah – I talked to my folks. It was really nice; had been ages since we’d talked. I got caught up on most all the news, but my phone died before we wrapped everything up. It would have been nice to continue talking to them about pointless things though (especially since it was on their dime!).

So – my last adventure ended when I got dropped off at my car after the Waikaremoana track. From there I headed to Wairoa. As soon as I had cell reception I sent a few text messages. One was to a friend back in Thames, letting him know that I had made it out of the track safe and sound and there was no need to worry about me (it’s always good to let at least one person know when to contact the search and rescue team!). The other text was to my friend in Mahia Beach, checking to see if I could buy her dinner and beer in exchange for a much needed shower. After a nice sunny picnic near the river and a text telling me to head right over, I returned to Mahia Beach (about 3 weeks after I had first visited).

When I’m travelling, I pretty much eat a vegetarian diet. I generally try to avoid buying takeaway meals (where I probably would buy the meat version of a meal) and meat just doesn’t travel well (since all I have for “refrigeration” is a chiller bag with 2 blue, plastic ice blocks – which only get frozen when I stay at hostels with freezers!). Actually, I think there has been only 1 time where I purchased meat to cook – and that was back in Auckland (during my 2nd week in NZ!). However, after nearly 4 straight weeks of a vegetarian diet (1 week travel since Tauranga restaurants, 2 weeks with Rob, and then almost a week of tramping where my only flesh product was canned tuna (mmmm, mercury – tasty and filling ;-)) I pretty much had visions of steak dancing in my head. For some reason, Tracey was thinking the same thing. When we got the pub menu that night (Thursday, 4 Sept), both our eyes went straight for the steak meal. We split the deliciousness of cow smothered in sautéed mushrooms and onions. Oh so tasty…... A few nights later, on my last night in town (Saturday, 6 Sept) we went to the pub again – and again we split the steak. Yep, it was that good! Only Saturday night we also split an entrée (which means appetizer here in NZ) of fried scallops….. Oh Man, my mouth is watering just thinking of their melty goodness……

The rest of my time in Mahia was pretty uneventful. Tracey and I had planned on checking out some beaches and taking pictures of “the rolling stones” – a bunch of big round rocks that get rolled back and forth up/down the beach with the waves and tides. However, the weather turned to absolute crap shortly after I arrived – high winds and decent rains. Friday morning (5 Sept) wouldn’t have been to bad a time to go out and about, but the tide wasn’t going to be low until 3! By that time, the rains had set in. I was perfectly happy to be in a dry, warm beach house. I had an excellent view of the ocean and was able to appreciate the pelting rain without actually being in it. I was so happy to not be camping, let alone tramping! I can’t believe how well the timing of my track and the weather was!!! I think we spent Friday drinking beer and grazing on yummy cheeses, dips, and crackers. We also started exchanging music and pictures. Tracey had been really happy with the pictures I had taken last time I was in town, so she wanted to see more of my images. She loves her screensaver pictures and was really wanting to add more images; so I let her pilfer my archives. I thought it was funny that she chose some of my Owyhee Mountain pictures ,from Idaho! She also picked up some of my mushroom, butterfly, and bug pics (see the very, very bottom of my blog (the entire blog) for a cool caterpillar image).

Saturday morning (6 Sept) was grey and windy again – really pretty to see from a warm house! I got myself all packed up, as I had expected to drive to a dog sitting gig that night, but a phone call from Maureen informed me that I could arrive Sunday afternoon. Sweet – that gave Tracey and me more time to geek out on music and pictures; which we did until going to the pub for the aforementioned scallops and steak. Sunday (7 Sept) was still windy, but the rain had stopped enough for me to take Fred to the beach before heading towards Hastings.

The drive to Hastings was fun! Lots and lots of curves with a mountain on one side and a drop down to a river on the other; reminded me a bit of driving to Mores Creek summit or maybe that really curvy section of highway 55 after Horseshoe Bend, but before McCall. I made it to Maureen’s hostel (AJ’s Backpackers Lodge) around 1pm. After she showed me around the hostel (where only 3 long term guests were staying) and introducing me to Max, the Pekinese I would be dog sitting, we had a simple pasta lunch. We sat around talking while we waited for Rob (yep, my old WWOOF host) to pick Maureen up. Visiting his place in the mountains was going to be a vacation for her.

There really isn’t much to tell about my time here in Hastings either! I arrived Sunday (7 sept). Maureen left with Rob at around 4:30 and I had a quite night of geeking on the internet (Maureen hooked me up on her wireless network) and tried to get myself to write my blog. Monday (8 Sept.) wasn’t terribly bad weather, so I took the dog and headed up to Te Mata peak (both Rob and Maureen had mentioned it as a good place to go). I managed not to get lost on the short trip. The road goes all the way to the top, so there was no need for me to stop at any of the “nature trail” parking lots. I really would have loved to have taken the trails and hiked to the top of the peak, but Pekinese dogs are not exactly built for hiking. They were, apparently, bred to be dogs in the imperial courts of China. They have super short legs, a nose that is so squished they have to pant and wheeze when they get excited or exert themselves, and long, ground-skimming fur that picks up sticks, seed pods, and various other debris. I had tried taking Max for a walk around the block the previous evening – I think he walked half the block! The other half required him being tucked (a bit like a football maybe) under my arm! I was impressed that the little guy followed me all over the top of the peak! He was panting like he was going to die, but he had a big grin on his face and got all excited to check everything out. On the way down from the peak, my parents called. So I found one of the nature trail parking lots and stopped. I took Max a little bit up the trail and let him run around for the hour or more that I chatted. He had a ball!

The need to charge my phone, and the droplets of rain on my windshield, kept me from driving to Ocean Beach after Te Mata peak. I went home instead and completed my blog – which was a load off my mind. The next day, Tuesday (9 Sept), was a SUPER lazy day. The weather was pretty crap so I just stayed inside all day. I resized images and posted my blog. Then I messed with the look of my blog (you may have noticed?). Ha ha, I also found out how to be notified, by e-mail, when someone leaves a comment! I don’t know if it works, since all you slackers out there haven’t left me any comments lately :-p (yeah – there’s no reason to comment on my whiny blogs; except to tell me to quit my bitchin and cowboy up!)

So after accomplishing pretty much nothing subsantial all day, I was pretty stoked to find the sky clearing and the sun shining – even if only in patches - in the evening. I took the opportunity to take my first wander around Hastings. Wow – I cannot believe how much I enjoy walking around cities. I always forget how goofy happy I get! I know - it sounds crazy, but for some reason I just get a smile on my face when I walk down sidewalks looking at houses, flowers, shops, trees, and the sky. It really only happens when I’m wandering around aimlessly. If I have a destination or goal, I don’t really think about much; but when I’m just exploring, the corners of my mouth turn up and my heart feels lighter. Funny……

So after such a good end to my Tuesday, I was determined to make use of the nice weather I woke up to on Wednesday (10 Sept). Despite arriving in Napier before noon, I really didn’t spend much time there. I parked in a 2 hour slot on the “Marine Parade” (the downtown section of ocean front road) and wandered the town from there. As I walked up the steps towards the houses on the hill (how like Juneau it felt) my smile returned and I was happy. I wandered the hillside neighborhood and returned down a steep street to the main city. Napier is famous for rebuilding in the art deco fashion popular at the time of a devastating earthquake in 1931. I must admit, I was expecting garish and tacky buildings – but really, I didn’t find the art deco to be that “in your face”. I’m not generally one to play the tourist (taking pictures in the middle of the street), but I knew I was going to have to have at least one picture of art deco Napier! I thought this image of an Office Max sign juxtapositioned on the elegant building was worth people thinking I was another tourist (though I had the courtesy to not stand in the middle of the road!). I had to drive around a block to park after passing this tobacco company building! I did take several other pictures; but having just now read the Wikipedia entry on Napier (yeah, I had to find out what year the earthquake happened – man I love having internet access when I write these blogs – even if I have been lax on adding links lately) it turns out that I totally missed even noticing “one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country, a statue on Marine Parade called Pania of the Reef”. Ha ha – I am SUCH a bad tourist! Not only did I miss the statue, I also didn’t stop at the earthquake museum! By the time I made it back to the marine parade, my parking time was up. Sure, I could have moved my car and parked for another 2 hours – but museums just really don’t interest me that much. I have really poor retention for facts lately and I’d rather just not bother boring myself with images and trivia. I know – I just said I was a bad tourist didn’t I? J

So, shortening this up – I headed back towards Hastings after Napier. Picked up Max and headed to Ocean Beach. Arrived just in time for the rain, which was fine – I had my rain jacket. It was funny to see Max’s fur blowing in the strong wind – I was a little worried he would blow away though! I got some pretty decent pictures of the rain and clouds over the ocean and tiny village. Definitely worth the drive out – probably cooler to see the dark clouds and far off rain than to have the glare of the sun on the water (yeah, I still need to buy another pair of sunglasses – really, really need to do that). The rain lightened up and then quit by the time I got back towards civilization, so I took the short detour up to Te Mata peak again. I really should have killed more time before heading up to the peak. It was still quite a ways from sunset and the view of the weather clouds wasn’t as spectacular as I’d hoped. (Actually – the clouds were so low that a lot of my pics are kind of claustraphobic!) I really wish I had been on the peak when the sun caused the underside of the heavy, low clouds to glow orange. However, I did see some snow on the distant mountains when I was on the peak! I’m really not sure if it was fresh from all the rain we had in the city, but I like to think so. And Max had fun, so that was good.

That brings us up to today – Thursday (9/11). I don’t think I would have realized that it was 9/11, if I hadn’t heard it mentioned on the radio. Funny, this morning was the first time I listened to the radio instead of my computer music! It was also weird being in another country and hearing about something so monumental to the United States. No one thinks twice about a bombing in Palestine or Israel, but as soon as the all-mighty US is attacked the entire world takes notice and marks the date. It’s a little strange to me, but understandable – as the US pretty much stands for security and safety. If something so tragic can happen in the US, who is to say that every other country isn’t susceptible. Anyway – the radio played various sound bites from that day. It was a little strange.

I spent today (which was sunny and cloudy, warm and breezy, and then gusty and rainy) getting everything cleaned up for Maureen’s return. Changed the bed linens, mopped the floors, etc, etc. Max was extremely happy to see his mum, and Maureen was happy to be home again. I drove her to the supermarket (as she has no car - hence Rob picking her up and then bussing home) where she bought supplies for the next week. She also purchased the makings for a steak dinner (as a thank you to me). When we got home, we set up the cheese, pickles, crackers, and broke open a bottle of wine. Just as she was getting ready to pour – the phone rang. She was offered a job at the hospital!! So, with something to celebrate – we started drinking, talking, and snacking. Somewhere in our 2nd bottle of wine, we decided dinner should definitely get made! Ha ha ha, after only 4 days of Rob’s vegetarian diet, Maureen was really happy to enjoy a steak!

Well – that pretty much brings us to now! It’s almost 2am on Friday (12 Sept). Tomorrow I’ll head towards Taupo, where I’ll meet up with Andy (remember him from my Coromandel adventures?). I’m hoping the weather is nice enough to hit a trail or two. It doesn’t look like there are many of them on the drive between Napier and Taupo, but there are a couple before and after the Taupo turn off. I might go out of my way to hit them – since I haven’t done a decent walk since I left Waikaremoana! It sounds like Andy and I will be hitting the pubs pretty hard tomorrow night, so I’m not sure what the plan will be for Saturday. I am hoping to convince him to do the snowboard thing again (he’s been twice), but if that doesn’t work, I’ll just go up on Monday or Tuesday. Andy got a job in Taupo a few weeks ago. I’m super lucky that he’s already got a place to stay; his housemates are cool with me crashing there! So, my nearly 3 week run of free housing keeps going ( I’ve only paid for the hut and 2 tent sites on the trail)!

Anyhow, after partying and exploring with Andy, I’ll bum around for a couple days before meeting up with Bobbie (remember her from Auckland and my skydiving adventures?). We are going to go zorbing! We are both super stoked. Basically we’ll be strapping ourselves into oversized hamster balls and rolling down a big hill. I can’t wait!!! Pretty much as soon as I see Bobbie off on the bus I’ll be meeting up with Dave (remember him from Thames and Tauranaga?). We’re going to bum around Rotorua checking out the boiling mud pits and various hot springs. Dang – no wonder I’ve had no motivation to explore Napier/Hastings – I’ve just been getting my fill of being boring and alone! Ha Ha Ha

Well - *Yawn* - I better get a little bit of sleep before all these adventures start!!! Oh Man – I still have photos to resize and a quick proofread to do (yes, I think I will try re-reading this for errors – at 2am I just can’t trust my off-the-cuff judgment).