Our Quote

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Kiwi Flag

Kiwi Flag

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Best TV EVER!

I used to watch TV alot...Only because I have the attention span of a gerbil sometimes so if you show me something remotely interesting, I'll be hooked.
My husband gets mad at me because I used to fill up his precious TiVO space with random cooking shows, shows on HGTV, ignorant dating shows and the worst...REALITY SHOWS!!! (perish the thought!!)

I have to admit, that TV in NZ is not as bad as what some people led me to believe.
Most importantly:
1) NZ is up to date with episodes of Grey's Anatomy...I even saw the AWESOME season finale again last week!
2) Most of my other American 'staples' are on: the Mentalist, Modern Family, CSI
3) Rugby is on almost everyday...I love my violent, NFL substitute!!!!

The shows are varied and funny and it seems that censorship hasn't taken hold over here yet. For any of my friends coming to visit with little ones, you may want to restrict their TV time...
The other day, I was in the kitchen cooking, went to stir a pot...The TV was on...From the other room I hear...

Man's voice: Are you serious? You've got to F*#@ing kidding me?!
Man #2 voice: Sweet As!

I stopped stirring...we don't have cable....OMG!!! You can curse on regular TV! :)
Makes me giggle like I'm in 5th grade! Makes watching regular TV that much more interesting...

I turned another channel and ended up watching the Maori language channel (Te Reo)  for hours...I don't speak Maori (yet:)) but I couldn't take my eyes of the most interesting news program ever...
So I'm sitting there, watching the Maori newspeople deliver the daily news..I'm trying to pick up words, figure out context. I was deep into the program (of which I don't understand a LICK of what they are saying) and I see this:
I can't read it but it looks interesting...but then a panel of news people come on...I was about to change the channel when I see this....

You had me at hello...

How awesome is the Maori News Channel!!! Goodbye CNN and BBC!!!!
Anytime your TV anchor has amazing traditional full face tattoos...I'm watching!!!


Tuesday, July 20, 2010

No Death Sticks for Me

I was preparing for a weekend of just hanging out around town..nothing special. Then a new friend of mine, Caroline, thought it would be fun if I came up to Queenstown to ski with her and her family. I don't ski...that is one thing that I am terrified of. I can go down in 100 feet of water with sharks but for some reason strapping on two sticks and shooting downhill with no brakes seems like a bad idea...that's just me. I know that it is exhilarating and fun but I'm not a big fan of death...

Anyway, I had been meaning to go up to Queenstown because everyone I have talked to about New Zealand tells me that the prettiest places are all on the South Island. It is the start place of two of the Great Walks, the Southern Alps and beautiful stretches of lakefront beaches. I have to admit, I don't think I've ever been on a mountain so I was up for the challenge.
Like anywhere in New Zealand, the drive was amazing. I left Invercargill which is relatively flat and hill free and within 30 minutes I was in beautifully hilly countryside.

First glimpse of moutains

 Thirty minutes later, I started seeing the vast range of mountains, covered in snow at their peaks. It is amazing how fast the weather changed. When I left home it was foggy (rolls in from the ocean) and dreary but 30 minutes into the drive I was blinded by sun reflected by the snow. I kept stopping to take pictures of the scenery. It looked like a Budweiser commercial!


About 1.5hours away from home I came upon a little town called Kingston. Its a tiny little place, cute and picturesque but the reason why I remember it is because that was where I saw the Lake. Now, I've seen lakes before, I've seen the Great Lakes in the United States (which are impressive in size) but this lake was amazing! Lake Wakatipu starts over 50 miles away from Queenstown proper. It meanders through valleys but what makes it impressive is the sheer size. Over 112 square miles in area and 1,300 feet deep in its deepest area it was amazing. I think the back drop of the mountains also made it even more impressive.
This is the biggest thing and why the Great Lakes in the US are just OK compared to this lake...The water was so amazingly clean I was shocked! You could actually see to the bottom a couple feet off of the shore. Looking across the lake all you saw was water, in every shade of blue-green that you can imagine. It was stunning.



Arriving in Queenstown a short 2 hours from my doorstep was an out of body experience. When I left it was the typical winter day...about 40-50F degrees (8 degrees celcius) as a high temp...in Queenstown it was FREEZING! I had checked the weather and saw that it was going to be hovering at freezing. I know me..i'm ALWAYS cold so I planned on dressing warm. I put on long johns under my pants and had on a long sleeved shirt and a sweater on. On top of that I had a fleecce jacket and my windbreaker, hat, gloves, a pair of quick dry socks and a pair of thick wool hiking socks on top of that plus my big hiking boots! I was ready!!! I think that is probably the best outfit EVER!! I was soo warm! No matter which way the wind blew, I was perfectly warm. The sun was out and it was crystal clear. I decided to ditch my car and to walk around town. I walked from one end to the other, stopping by the Wharf at Queenstown bay to have a glass of wine while looking at the moutains. It was so beautiful. I also decided that the day was so nice that I should walk through the park around the lake. It seemed like everyone was out enjoying the day.

Downtown Queenstown

View from the Wharf in Queenstown

View of the city from the Skyline Gondola

I hung around Queenstown for most of the day with the intention of joining my friend, Caroline on the ski slopes about an hour before they closed. I figured that was the best way of avoiding having to put on some "death sticks" and flying down a hill with her.
Coronet Peak Ski park is about 20 minutes outside of Queenstown. I had never been on a moutain before, let alone to ski. I wasn't about to try skiing today. After driving 30 minutes up a snowy mountain road (#349 of the "Dumb-Things-I-Should-Never-Have-Done") in my Hyundai Getz (so NOT equipped for snowy driving) I reached the top. A smart person would have abandoned the drive up after seeing the "Snow Chains fitting" spots on the road...but nooo...I had to keep going. I was seeing glimpses of the mountain peak and I just had to see what it looked like from up top. Thankfully, I made it up without an issue except for the people behind me throughly annoyed by my slowness. (sorry!:))

Coronet Peak Ski Park

Coronet Peak was beautiful and it offered views of the valley below and of the other ski areas around Queenstown including the "Remarkables". A funny thing happened when I started walking around the Ski park. There was music blaring and people everywhere and everyone seemed to be having a good time...I wandered downstairs and picked up a brochure about beginners ski lessons. I was getting excited and actually thinking about putting on some skis and giving it a try on the bunny slopes. Caroline was not the voice of reason and suggested that I try it. I was headed back to get some rental gear when I saw the first one...a bandaged arm on a atheletic looking 20ish boy...hmm...he was probably showing off. Then I saw a girl, cradling her hand in a fresh cast...uh...then I saw a woman on crutches with her lower leg in a fresh cast...THREE people all with obvious fractures of some very needed bone!!! As I started to watch people flying down the hill and a couple of them wiping out, I realized why I thought this was a bad idea in the first place. I promptly took my class schedule back to the rental counter. The girl asked me if I was ready to pick out my gear. "No death sticks for me", I told her and smiled and walked off...with full use of both of my legs.

me, just watching...

My friend Caroline, stayed upright..the guy behind her...not so much


I decided that I had enough alpine air and snow for one day and headed back down to my final destination of the weekend, Arrowtown

Main street in Arrowtown


Arrowtown is a tiny little town know in its heyday as the sight of one of the biggest gold rushes in New Zealand history. Seems like you could just put a pan in the river and gold would just fall into it. Of course, it eventually got all mined out and the town is now just a cute reminder of days past. The biggest reason for the town actually surviving and thriving is its proximity to the best skiing in the country. It is now the site of multiple small B&B's and private hotels. It is a very cute little town. After a full day of sightseeing, walking and watching other people take their lives for granted by flying down a mountain with sticks on their feet and no brakes, we ended the night drinking at a little pub in town.
I have to say, it was a good weekend!


Queenstown Gardens


To see all the pictures from Queenstown and Arrowtown click here

Sunday, July 18, 2010

You Gotta Love It

Another week in on my Kiwi Adventure and I have found some truly great things:

1) Chips (Not "chips" like potato chips but French Fries)-I don't know WHAT the kiwi's use to make these but they have to be the best French Fries I have EVER tasted! They are like those big, gigantic thick cut fries that you get at fancy restauraunts...so GOOD!

2) "Sweet As"..has to be one of the cutest sayings ever...I haven't figured out when you say it but I've heard Kiwi's use it pretty much anywhere in a sentence..Sweet As!

3) "Cheers"!-Yet another cool Kiwi saying. Pretty much used as "hello", "goodbye", or "You're welcome"
I can't quite bring my self to say it without giggling. I sound like a cheap imitation of a Kiwi!

4) Walmart-not really. Kiwi's have the Warehouse! A big ol Red building that houses all of the goodies!! Whoo-hoo! One stop shopping!

5) Rugby-How can you not love a sport like American football, played WITHOUT pads? And how can you NOT get the chills when you see the All Blacks perform the Haka?! It has to be the most intimidating way to start a match!!!
Please, whatever you do..go on you tube and watch!


Another Hilarious Kiwi fact:
Rugby Team....The All-Blacks
Field Hockey Team...The Black Sticks
Ice Hockey Team...The Ice Blacks
Soccer Team...The All Whites
And the Basketball Team....The Tall Blacks!
Gotta Love Em!
CHEERS!



Wednesday, July 14, 2010

We are "Other" People

Thinking about which race you identify with is not something we have to do in the United States. Our history, sometimes painful, is rich because of the different influences we have in our country. Growing up in the United States, you never have to think about how you catagorize yourself. You have to choose one.  Even my friends and family members who are mixed race have been trained to "pick one".  You either choose by closest affiliation or by default. In other cases, its chosen for you.

Today, when filling out the paperwork for my new job in New Zealand, I had to pause. I looked at the paper, studied it hard. I couldn't find me! After moments of serious deliberation and consternation, I chose "Other".


Fun to know that in the eyes of my Kiwi friends, i'm just another Other!
I love it here!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Look what I found!

I got off of work a little early today and while there was still sunlight, I decided to explore my town a little more. Invercargill is truly at the end of the world...it is the southernmost city in New Zealand. It also boasts the southernmost Starbucks in the world (whoopie...did I mention i'm NOT a fan of Starbucks?)

This scourage must be stopped...

I decided to venture out and find out what was across the bay from my house. I drove through a beautiful suburb called Otatara which looks a lot like a suburb that I lived in when I was in Atlanta. I continued to drive because my map indicated that I would run out of land and end up on a beach...and boy, DID I!

Sign at the end of the road...next stop, Stewart Island then Antarctica!

I continued driving and the suburban landscape gave way to pasture land which gave way to coastal wetlands...then I noticed sand dunes and then the street ended...at Oreti Beach.

My little Hyundai Getz on the beach

Now, had I really done the research I would have known that this is a famous beach. Not because it is 26kilometers of beautiful empty sand but it is the spot where Invercargill great, Burt Munro  practiced and went on to set the world motorcycle land speed record back in 1967. His record still stands to this day. Some people remember him played as Anthony Hopkins in "The World's Fastest Indian". Today, locals still race cars and motorcycles on the beach.

You can go as fast as you want....No one around...


deserted beach


The beach isn't at all like the Carribbean or the Pacific Islands but what makes it amazing and beautiful is to notice how big it is and how deserted it is! It is amazing to know that in this day and age you can go somewhere and not be accosted by crowds and hoards of people and just enjoy the beauty of the day. I suspect that even if the entire town of Invercargill and its surrounds all got up and decided to go to the beach today, it would have still been plenty of room for us all...

The grass covered sand dunes at Oreti Beach...see the rainbow?


The End of the Road

Another amazing thought: This is the end...the next thing out there, past Stewart Island and a couple thousand miles of Southern Ocean is a big, giant hunk of land...the seventh continent...Antarctica!!! It boggles the mind to think that only hours to the east is the warm tropics of the South Pacific but hours to the south and west is the coldest place on earth!? You would think that we'd be freezing right now (its the dead of winter) but the weather is similar to North Carolina in the winter!... It is truly amazing how currents and wind patterns can influence the weather. (I know, I sound like a science nerd...but I AM!)

All I know is that if I can get off of work, drive 15 minutes and end up somewhere like this:
Count me IN!!!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

This is my second weekend in Dunedin and I wanted to use each day to its fullest. Its hard considering it is winter here and the days are pretty short and secondly, I'm recovering from a wonderful cold. I've gotten a lot of recommendations from locals about "must do" activities while in Dunedin. I wanted to cram everything into one weekend and so far, I've succeeded!

This morning, I woke up to do a 5k run/death march around the Dunedin Harbor basin. Its a popular running/biking track which goes around the harbor basin with awesome views of the city hills and surrounds.

Sunrise at the Harbor Basin Trail

 I call it a death march because I was told that it was flat but these people have NO idea what flat means. I lived in Phoenix for the past 5 years, a city which is flat as a pancake. This running trail around the harbor is not flat. I felt the burn which is why it was only a 5K run instead of my usual 10K! I felt bad on not running my "normal" amount of time so to make up for the lack of running I decided to walk to the botanical gardens from my hotel.

The walk seemed simple enough. It was a beautiful route through the University of Otago, across a small river bridge and then into the gardens onto a trail. The university was beautiful and it reminded me of my good ol college days so long ago. I don't know what it is about universities around the world but they all have the same features: big, old imposing stone buildings, a clock tower and pretty grounds perfect for lazy days lounging about. University of Otago was no different.


Main Square at University of Otago

After wandering around the campus, I started into the Botanical Gardens of Dunedin. I am not a garden-y type of girl. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE trees and grass and plants but I have never made a deliberate stop into a botanical garden. I don't really look at the tags in front of plants nor do I wonder about their species and classification. This botanical garden blew me away! I originally planned on going through it just because it had a walking track through it and I figured I'd get some extra exercise but I ended up meadering through for hours. It was so beautiful! Just the sheer number of trees and plants was amazing. I won't bore you with the details of all the cool things that I learned but I will say that I saw my first Giant California Redwood Tree and Giant Sequoia in Dunedin, New Zealand!!! Its embarassing to say that I had to travel half way around the world to see trees indigenous to my country and only hours away from where I lived for the last 5 years!!!!

Giant California Redwood

Rock Garden in the Botanical Gardens

Frosty day at the Gardens


Anyway, my "extra exercise time" ended up being a 2 hour walk. At the end, the little birds were starting to look like tasty appetizers so I figured it was time to head back in. I was cold, hungry and tired but it was a beautiful day in my neigborhood!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Dinner, Kiwi Style

Today, I made my first kiwi meal. Its winter time here so I wanted something nice and warm. I made a beautiful Pumpkin and Kumara soup with coconut milk. Sounds exotic? Its not! Kumara is just a kiwi term for sweet potato. Just like being at home! I just threw a bunch of diced kumara, pumpkin, onions, parsely, chicken stock and coconut milk in a sauce pan and VIOLA! Kiwi winter meal!

My soup!!!

Don't forget the most important part of the meal!!!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Natural Me

Today was the perfect winter day. Cool, crisp and super sunny. Thank God the people at my job realized that days like this shouldn't be wasted! My wonderful colleague suggested that I go out and enjoy the sunshine and that's exactly what I did! I rushed home, changed into my hiking gear, grabbed water and some granola bars and headed out to do one the the legendary Otago Peninsula tracks. One thing that I appreciate about Kiwi's is their love of nature and the outdoors. There are tracks ranging from a short 5-10 minutes to 1.5 hours all over the peninsula. I wanted to see if I could sqeeze in two long walks into the afternoon.

Going on a walk in New Zealand is not like walking other places. First and most importantly, New Zealand does not have anything that could kill you in the woods (I'm not counting people :). No indigenous large animals, no snakes and most importantly, no big bugs!!! So naturally, I'm going to be hanging out in the woods a lot!!!
Secondly, these walks are not for the faint of heart. On my last walk today, I really could have used an escalator. Both walks had some very steep portions and believe me, I felt the burn!!!! I stopped several times to "take pictures" but really I had to catch my breath and hope that the burning in my legs would subside!
My mother can attest that being outside used to be one of my favorite pastimes as a child. My sister and I loved going into the woods, hiding and camping (or pretending to camp). There was nothing better than being outside. And now, 30+ years later, I am getting back to the outside!

After doing some research on the walks around the peninsula, I decided on the Buskin Track on the Otago Peninsula. It was about a 45 minute one way walk and it goes through native forest, farmland and then down to the beach. This is why I love New Zealand! How is it humanly possible to walk just 45 minutes through three different habitats? I was intrigued. I started the drive to the Otago Peninsula from my hotel, passing by the Dunedin Harbor:
View of the Harbor


Leaving the city

The Otago Peninsula

View of the bay

View of the city of Dunedin from the Otago Peninsula



My planned route...down farmland through some woods and down to the beach!

Entry to the Buskin Track



Down the track, through farm land. Thanks to the sheep, the path was nicely fertilized :)

View of the beach

On the track


On the track, headed into the woods. At first, it looked pretty scary and dark in there but the forest itself had lots of beautiful view points where you could see panoramic views of the pastureland and the ocean:

View of the beach from the forest

The road on the Otago Peninsula

My next track was to head to Sandfly beach. This is a famous beach in that it is natural habitat for the yellow-eyed penguins and sea lions. It is also home of the largest sand dunes in New Zealand. The biggest rise 100m above the beach!

View of Sandfly beach on the Pacific Ocean


Beautifully deserted!!!

Sandfly beach

The cliffs above Sandfly beach...i had to walk down from waay up there down to the beach....

low tide at the beach

Its amazing to see the contrast in the land...Up in the distance, you can see lush pasture lands with animals grazing. Then it transitions into sand dunes and coastal land. This creek started way up in the hills and is running towards the Ocean...I was trying so hard to figure a way across without getting my feet too wet when I almost ran into:

Sea Lions!

Walking back, I heard something make an awful noise, I noticed up on a dune, several LARGE sea lions, including this big male bull. By this point, I'm worried because I didn't realize that sea lions could get that high up on a beach and that was VERY near my way off the beach and to my car!

I made it back safely and headed back to the city. It was a perfect afternoon in New Zealand! I'm planning on doing more exploring on tomorrow! Supposed to be a beatiful weekend! Will keep you posted!

If you would like to see all of the pictures that I took on my walk around the Otago Peninsula and more pictures of Dunedin click here