Foghat

Ah well...the Hurricanes did their best, considering they were on Crusaders territory. And, oh yeah, considering the FOG!!!

'Christchurch fog turned the Rebel Sport Super 14 final into a farce on Saturday night with players, fans and a massive television audience unable to see passages of play because of the weather. By 6.35pm, an hour before kick-off, a thick fog descended on Jade Stadium threatening the match.
Conditions improved slightly before kick-off but the fog thickened again as the match wore on. Some of the 35,000 fans in the top tiers of the stands were left peering into a white blanket of fog and having to watch the game on the large video screens at the ground.
High kicks disappeared into the mist. They frequently landed in space as defenders struggled to get under them. Others were knocked on as the players had to use split second reflexes to try to catch the ball.
The Crusaders eventually triumphed 19-12 to win the first Super 14 final and their sixth Super rugby title after five previous triumphs in the old Super 12.'

Bastards.

WETA!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen...I've seen my first giant tree weta.
The weta is an insect only found in New Zealand, and is older than dinosaurs! It's huge and freaky looking, and it's most recent claim to fame is being what Peter Jackson named his Weta Workshop after.
So last night, my flatmate Gerard and found one underneath a rocking chair he and his partner Jo bought at a second-hand shop.
Ick!

Eeeek

OK, if anyone reads this blog, PLEASE say a prayer for the Hurricanes on Saturday. They're playing in the finals against...gulp...the Crusaders, who are a tough act to beat. If that's not enough, the game is in Crusader territory: Christchurch.
Let's keep our fingers crossed...

GO HURRICANES!

Rock You Like a Hurricane

This past Friday, the Wellington Hurricanes played against the Waratahs (from New South Wales, Australia) at Wellington’s Westpac stadium. Rugby in New Zealand is of fanatical proportions, and the Hurricanes to Wellington are like…well…like the Yankees to the Bronx.

Add to that this being the semi-final round of the Super-14 tournament, and Friday night was quite an exciting one.
I didn’t go to the game properly (am trying to save my first live rugby game for an All-Blacks game against South Africa in July), so I decided to watch it on the telly (yeah, see, I didn’t even say that intentionally. I think I’ve turned a linguistic corner!).
One of the coolest discoveries that I made was how close I am to the stadium. Not too close, of course, but I can see the lights of the night games from my back deck. At one point at the beginning of the game, when the Hurricanes made their entrance, a massive fireworks display was set off…I realized that I could actually hear the fireworks from my living room. I ran out to the deck just in time to miss it all…but to also see the glowing stadium with the firework smoke hovering over it. It was pretty cool to feel all of the excitement emanating from the stadium, and I’m now determined to try to catch the next set of fireworks at the next game.
It was a great nail-biter of a game, and the Hurricanes won 16-14, which means that they’ve now advanced to the finals. Needless to say all of Wellington was celebrating that night.

My personal MVPs:

Tana Umaga (recently-retired captain of the All-Blacks, and one of the most esteemed rugby players in NZ)

Jerry Collins


Lome Fa’atau

Melbourne or bust

Hi folks...
No more earthquakes to report, knock wood. Although it's only been a couple of days since the last one, so hopefully I haven't jinxed anything.
An update on my upcoming holiday plans. Although Fiji, the Cook Islands (saw your comment Toni, and still want to try the Cooks after Survivor), and Samoa didn't work out, we found a cheap deal on flights to Melbourne (SE Australia) and went ahead and booked them. After a couple of days in Melbourne, we plan on renting a car and driving the Great Ocean Road, which looks incredible:

http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/

We're planning on going late-June, early-July for about 12 days. Can't wait!!!

Also, my new flatmate Steven and his partner will be in NYC in early July if anyone's around and wants to show him some real New York culture. He's awesome, and I'd love to give a little NY hospitality in return for all the Kiwi hospitality I've received. Let me know if you're around and have some time to give him a warm welcome!

Love,
C.

Quakes

Apparently there's a lot of shifting going on...
On Monday morning at 5:30 I was awakened by an earthquake. It was brief, but jolting enough for me to wake up and still feel it going.

"Wellington - A magnitude five earthquake hit central New Zealand early on Monday, shaking the nation's capital, Wellington, and waking many residents, police said.There were no immediate reports of injury or damage from the moderate quake, which struck at 5.32am local time (17h32 GMT on Sunday).The tremblor was centred 40km north-west of the capital and 60km below the earth's surface, GNS Science, the nation's geological agency, said in a statement.The earthquake was felt throughout the Wellington region.New Zealand sits above an area of the earth's crust where two tectonic plates are colliding and records more than 14 000 earthquakes a year - but only about 150 are felt by residents."
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw1147641493715R131


Last night around 10:40 pm another one hit, and this one was a loooong one. Not very tumultuous, but a consistent rolling for at least 20-30 seconds. If you've ever felt an earthquake, you know that's a long time. We're all fine, nothing to worry about, just weird to have them occur so frequently:

"WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurred deep under the South Pacific late Tuesday near an uninhabited chain of islands north of New Zealand, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a bulletin saying the quake had not generated a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami but warned it could spawn a small tsunami within 100 kilometres of its epicentre.
The USGS said the quake hit at 10:39 p.m. about 148 kilometres below the seabed and some 290 kilometres south-southwest of Raoul Island. The island is 1,140 kilometres northeast of New Zealand's largest city, Auckland."
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/060516/w051616.html

Fiji or not Fiji

Hey all
Been a while, I apologize.
I move tomorrow and have been in the throes of arranging all of that, trying to get all my work done, and planning some sort of vacation at the end of June during our next break.
Originally the plan was to go to Fiji (yes, it does exist) but when my travel buddies Caroline and Britta and I tried pursuing it, it turns out this is the peak season to go and it is WAY expensive.
Our next idea was the Cook Islands, but that was nixed due to the fact that they're filming Survivor there at the moment (shhhh, apparently it's some big secret) so all of the islands that make up the Cook Islands are booked up. Huh.
Our next idea was Samoa, which we found some interesting packages for, but considering the amount of money, and the decrease in the amount of time we get for that money, that idea was nixed.
I know, I can't even believe I'm talking about going to these places. They don't even seem real.

Now we're thinking of visiting somewhere on the Sunshine Coast of Australia, perhaps...
Who knows.

Anyway, hope you're all well. wish me luck with the move tomorrow!

Love,
Claire

Tsunami

Hi folks, I'm fine. Thanks for all of your emails. I woke up this morning only to hear the tail end of the story that an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale had hit Tonga, which is very close to Fiji and NZ.
Shortly after the earthquake hit, apparently, a tsunami warning went out to Fiji and NZ, and Australia was put on alert as well. Sadly, the same warning DID NOT get through to Tonga itself, as the earthquake had knocked out the power feed to the warning system. Yikes. Luckily no one was hurt and there turned out to be no tsunami threat.
Interestingly, the town of Gisborne, which is one of the places I visited recently on my trip through the East Cape (see the photos of surfers), got mixed messages from Radio NZ and others that a tsunami was headed straight for them and self-evacuated:

'Gisborne residents head for the hills' http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3657260a10,00.html

We're all fine, though, and carrying on as normal...:)

Love,
Claire

East As II

Whangara. This is where Whale Rider was filmed and took place. Becasue the village of Whangara is so small, and a lot of where they filmed is sacred (the marae, etc), visiting it as a tourist is pretty off-limits. apparently, after the film was released, tourists came and were walking all over their sacred grounds as if they were film sets, and that sent the villagers into quite a tizzy. Rightly so. So we had to take any photos from a hill above the village:

the top of the Marae, upon which sits at statue of Paikea and the whale on which he rode from the mythical island of Hawaiki to Aotearoa (New Zealand)

The house in which Paikea and her grandparents live in Whale Rider.

View of Whangara from hilltop.

Waka (war canoe) in which Paikea and co. sit during Whale Rider.

view of Whangara

Maori statue from top of hill in Whangara

After Whangara, we drove further east, and hit went to the East cape Lighthouse. This is the easternmost point in Aotearoa, and you must climb 754 steps to get to the top. Once you're there, though, it's well worth the climb:

Steps 735-742 on the way up...

Caroline in front of the lighthouse

East Island (view from lighthouse)

Caro and I in front of lighthouse

Our next stop after climbing all the way back down to earth is Ma's 'hood': the bay fromwhich he and his family and ancestors came. He took us to the church where much of his family is buried, and which he said was where they shot the GnR video for November Rain. However, we randomly happened to catch the video a couple of nights ago in a bar in Wellington and that ain't it. we did have to whip out our cameras to make sure, as it does look very similar, but it still ain't it.

What it does have, however, is a family of baby penguins living under the baptismal bowl, and the sweetest sign on the door of the church telling us about it:

Come ON!
Again, eat them right up...

From there Ma took us to view his whanau's marae, which is the meeting house and centre of each iwi (or tribe's) sacred space. from there, it was a couple of hours to our final destination and stopover: Te Kaha.

Te Kaha is a homestay run by Paul O'Brien (heretofore known as "Chay") and his family. Paul greets everyone as if he's known you forever, affectionately referring to everyone as chay (hence the nickname) and making you feel at home.

Our first point of business once we reached Te Kaha (after reating all the free scones and tea that we could get our hands on) was to get into our togs and hit the hot tub that is situated out front of the house and overlooks the rocks and the ocean beyond. We got there just in time to grab a beer, get into the tub, and watch the sun set. (Sorry, I don't have any photos yet of the sunset from the tub, but should hopefully get some from some friends). here's the tub:

By the time the sun set and we were slightly cooked, dinner was ready, which was a big roast meal of chicken, beef and rice, potatoes, kumara, and salad, followed by the biggest plate of chocolate cake, hot fudge and sweet cream. YUM!

Paul (Chay), who had been out up until then, rolled up with some of the other guests at the homestay (all a few sheets to the wind) and proceeded to greet us with hongi's (the traditional Maori pressing of noses, which symbolizes the sharing of breath and life force) and now it was time for songs.

Traditionally, when guests visit a Maori home or marae, a song must be sung by each side (guest and host) in order to clear the air of any ill will. Ma had prepared us for this, and we had been given enough time to learn two songs: one was written by Dennis and sung to the tune of 'It's a Small world After All':

We are one small group from the East As bus
Life is way too short to be in a rush
We are here to enjoy and not to destroy
It's a small world after all...

And yes, this was stuck in our heads for the next week...

The other song was a traditional Maori tune that was really amazing to learn and sing. The onyl way we could remember the words, however, was if we all took a photo of them:

It was awesome to finally feel like I was not only observing Maori culture, but participating in it, even if only in a limited way.

Following our songs, Chay and his group sunga song to the tune of the "Shut up, Just Shut up, Shut up" song by the Black-eyed Peas, but rewritten, of course.

We wound it up with some group songs, music, drinks, and fun well into the night:

Ma

Singing along with Chay

Frome left: Jo from Wales (with her back to us), Anne from Denmark, Rafael from Brazil, me, Martina from Germany, and Caroline

This time with FEELING!

Went to bed late that night, and woke up next morning feeling grand (really!). Had a big breakfast laid out for us, and we all just hung around and took in the incredible view until we had to leave:

Bruiser

Parting shot of Paul

Group photo

me, Kasper, Martina

view from Te Kaha window

Back on the road

Kiwi Traffic Jam

It's worth mentioning that I took this same trip when I was here last year, although they've reversed the route. I had a wonderful time the first time I did it, and am so glad I did it this way again. It's a tremendous experience with a small group of people, and you really get a clear idea of the beauty of this land, its people, and particularly the Maori culture.

East As, Part I

Here's part One of my vacation last week:

18/4: Arrive in Taupo after a 6-hour bus ride. @ 4:00. Check in to the Taupo Urban Retreat (which looks awesome from the outside). Slowly begin to realize that this is one of the lower-end hostels in Taupo, despite the excitement of the $10 BBQ dinner (including two glasses of wine) that night. Caroline (my friend from Uni) and I decide that, in spite of the rain, we’d like to stretch our legs after the massive bus trip, so we grab our rainjackets and decide to hike up to the “Honey Hive”, which has, among other things, FREE fruit-wine tastings! By the time we hike up to the very wet lookout, which is not far from the Honey Hive, we realize that it’s already 5:00, which is when it closes. Oh well! Try to take panoramic photos of Lake Taupo from there, but the clouds and rain keep the shots from being really pretty. Got a couple of shots of a rainbow, but it looked better in person.

We returned to Urban Retreat completely soaked, and found our 6-person room STINKY!!! The combination of the rain, no ventilation, and 3 obnoxious German backpackers who lay their wet clothes out all over the place made the room smell like an armpit.
when Caro and I finally decided to go to bed (after waiting an hour for our BBQ and drowning our sorrows in cheap red wine from a box), the German kids come bounding in, turn the light on, and then proceed to talk in full voice for-EVER. No concept of there being enyone else in the room who may be trying to sleep.
This repeated in the morning after their alarm woke us all up at 7:00 am. Great way to start the day!
19/4: We met the Kiwi bus, and our driver Marama (nicknamed Ma, since apparently North Americans have trouble pronouncing it properly -- myself excluded!), and thus began our ride from Taupo, thru Napier (an art deco town) and finally to Gisborne that evening.

We went straight to the grocery store and bought wine and fixings for a BBQ that night (notice a trend?) prepared by Ma and another Kiwi bus driver on holiday called Dennis. Had a great time sitting out on the deck of our hostel (Surf Chalet) and watched a video of Whale Rider after dinner.

20/4: another 7:00 am wake-up, this time thanks to the two Dutch girls travelling with us who happily and loudly took phone calls at the crack of dawn. Is this a European thing?
Went outside and chatted with a Brazilian girl who worked at the hostel and had been in NZ for 1 year and 2 months...just working, hanging out, and surfing. Ah, the life!
After breakfast, Caro and I went for a walk along the beach and ran into some surfers:

Headed back for a 10:00 am departure, which was actually pretty prompt for Ma and his "ish" time.

Molly, the Chalet's dog, moping on Ma's car seat because we had to leave.

On the way to our next destination (Rangitukia, for a farmstay) we stopped off at Tolaga Bay, which has the second longest wharf in the southern hemisphere. The wharf itself is pretty pointless and not being used at all anymore (since it's use was primarily to load goods and supplies before roads were built), but it still makes some cool photos:

Under the wharf

Claire and Caro next to the wharf at Tolaga Bay

Our next destination was Rangitukia, and the Eastender Farmstay:

The 'farm' of the farmstay is not actually a functionaing farm anymore, although at the time it was a sheep farm, and we stayed in what were formerly the sheep-shearers quarters. While a bunch of folks went for a harseride (I did it last year and my butt's still sore) Caro and I decided to try to find our way through the hills and pigs and cows to the beach:

Awwww...eat them right up.

The cows here just stop everything they're doing and stare at you. It's a bit threatening, actually.

See? (This one we affectionately named 'The Evil Cow' as it looked like it would snap any minute and attack us.)

Not so cute are they, folks?

Jackpot! (wait, now we have to go back around the cows again...)

We returned to the farm to do some bonecarving. Some of you have seen the ones I did last year. As well as greenstone (or pounamou or jade) Maoris carve amulets out of cow and whale bone and wear them around their necks. The person who makes them is to put sweat and energy into the carving, then wear them around their necks and close to their hearts. Then, when returning home, you give the amulet to a loved one. It's quite a nice thought, actually.

Halfway through our bonecarving, we had dinner which was a traditional hangi meal. This is a meal made up of meat (usu. chicken and lamb), potatoes, kumara (NZ sweet potato), stuffing, and cabbage, and cooked in the ground. It comes out kind of casserole-like and veeeeeery hearty.
We wrapped up the evening with table tennis in the barn, and beers around the fire.
The next morning, a bunch of people woke up at 5:45 to walk to the top of a nearby hill to see the sunrise. Rangitukia is the first place on the East Cape to see the sunrise. I stayed in bed.
Later in the morning, however, I took a walk up the same hill, but obviously at a decent hour:

on the way up, i ran into this fella

view from the hill to the farm (that's it in the distance)

me on the hill

That's it for today...look for East As Part II tomorrow!

Ode to a flatmate

She's mad. MAD, I TELL YOU!
I think I've finally figured it out. She keeps blaming our differences on me being a student, but won't explain what that means. I think this is what she meant: She had this romanticized idea of me stepping off the streets of NYC (via a Sex and the City episode) and expected me to fix her life for her: go out drinking and dancing, introduce her to men, etc.
Since I couldn't give two shits about her and her sad life, she decided she would make mine miserable.
So there. Only two months in and I've already made my first enemy!
:)

ANZAC Day

Hi all,
Had a wonderful vacation around the East Cape, only to return to find my broadband connection gone (I cancelled it before I left and forgot). So I can't upload any of the grand photos I took for another few weeks or so. They'll be worth it, I promise.

On another note, today is ANZAC Day here in NZ. It's much like Memorial Day in the States, except it commemorates NZ and Aussie soldiers:

"Anzac Day in New Zealand is held on 25 April each year to commemorate New Zealanders killed in war and to honour returned servicemen and women. The day has similar importance in Australia, New Zealand's partner in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli. The ceremony itself has been continually adapted to the times, but has also steadily acquired extra layers of symbolism and meaning.
The Dawn Service
A typical commemoration begins with a march by returned service personnel before dawn to the local war memorial. Military personnel and returned service-men and -women form up about the memorial, joined by other members of the community, with pride of place going to the war veterans. A short service follows with a prayer, hymns (including Kipling's 'Recessional' or 'Lest We Forget'), and a dedication which concludes with the fourth verse of Laurence Binyon's 'For the Fallen':
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun and in the morningWe will remember them.
The Last Post is then played, followed by a minute's silence and Reveille. A brief address follows, after which the hymn 'Recessional' is sung. The service concludes with a closing prayer and the singing of the National Anthem. "
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/anzacday

Everyone's off from work today and it's raining, which seems fitting.

Love you,
claire