Benjamin and Emily, in uniform, head to high school.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Working on the Posts/The Car
Howdy. Been a busy work week. Coming soon: our trip to a vineyard cafe last Saturday and another tramp about Waiheke Island last Sunday. Lucy has a weekend planned, so we're starting to fall behind. Work is the curse of the hiking class!
We've just tucked in at StonyRidge Winery and the car looked good, grazing on the grass parking lot.
A Broadcast Monitor Systems sounds much more exciting than...
...television.
We've just tucked in at StonyRidge Winery and the car looked good, grazing on the grass parking lot.
A Broadcast Monitor Systems sounds much more exciting than...
...television.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sleek Black Beauty
Today I drove to work. Well, only as far as the ferry wharf. Whatever happened to those amphibious cars? It felt strange to pass the folks at the bus stops; I wouldn’t get to say hello today or chat about the time they got lost on Route 66. I wouldn’t met a guy and learn that the police in New Mexico kept checking his children’s passports as his English wife took their kids around the U.S. He’s Samoan, she’s English. The police thought she might be smuggling brown kids from Mexico and selling them.
Felt a bit of a traitor, I did.
I still have a nice walk to the ferry. Before I walked to the bus stop and the bus put me right at the ferry building. Now, I drive from the house to the free parking lot and talk a good walk to the ferry building.
It was good that we took this long to find a car. The bus rides taught me the streets—I still don’t know their names—and the right way to get about. I always sat behind the driver; it helped me adjust to being on the wrong side. In addition, I learned the bus and rail system. I still need that to get about Auckland.
I won’t drive every day. Lucy gets the car when she needs it. But today, our sleek black beauty awaits to take me home after a lovely walk from the wharf.
Felt a bit of a traitor, I did.
I still have a nice walk to the ferry. Before I walked to the bus stop and the bus put me right at the ferry building. Now, I drive from the house to the free parking lot and talk a good walk to the ferry building.
It was good that we took this long to find a car. The bus rides taught me the streets—I still don’t know their names—and the right way to get about. I always sat behind the driver; it helped me adjust to being on the wrong side. In addition, I learned the bus and rail system. I still need that to get about Auckland.
I won’t drive every day. Lucy gets the car when she needs it. But today, our sleek black beauty awaits to take me home after a lovely walk from the wharf.
Street Music
Street musicians are here too. A couple in their sixties, he plays banjo and they sing together. The guy on acoustic guitar—with an overloud amp. Today I saw someone new.
Drumsticks in hand, he thrashed out an incredible solo. Beyond kinetic, it was pyrotechnic. One explosive drumbeat after another. Eyes closed, he was totally in his personal space; no one else existed. He moved from one stirring piece to another without hesitation or misstep.
He had no drums.
Then I saw “Not annoying you by actually playing a drum” scrawled on cardboard. “Please give.”
I gave $2.
Drumsticks in hand, he thrashed out an incredible solo. Beyond kinetic, it was pyrotechnic. One explosive drumbeat after another. Eyes closed, he was totally in his personal space; no one else existed. He moved from one stirring piece to another without hesitation or misstep.
He had no drums.
Then I saw “Not annoying you by actually playing a drum” scrawled on cardboard. “Please give.”
I gave $2.
Accent
Emily filed this report from Waiheke High.
During a long chat with other girls during morning tea, one girl—in her fine New Zealand accent—said “Emily, you’ve helped me decide. I simply must go abroad for a year and come back with an accent.”
During a long chat with other girls during morning tea, one girl—in her fine New Zealand accent—said “Emily, you’ve helped me decide. I simply must go abroad for a year and come back with an accent.”
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
A Drive About Waiheke
Our funds transfer worked and we picked up our 1993 Honda Ascot.
(This is someone else's 1993 Honda Ascot, but ours looks like this, but without the new paint job. Or the alloy wheels. Ours is intended for backpacking.)
I took the bus to the ferry and walked to the auto rental centre where the seller kept the car.
Strange thing here. When you buy a car, folks just give you their bank account number and you transfer the cash via internet. Then you go to the post office and register the car in your name. All you need is the license plate number and $9. The seller signs nothing--I suppose there is a good penalty for randomly registering cars in your name.
I drove the car back, moved some cash from the ATM to the bank. "Oh, you're Ms. S's friend, Terry, aren't you?" the teller said as she made the deposit.
After lunch, Lucy and I took a spin and went to Waiheke's far end. No bus goes there. On the way we took a scenic ridge road--where I was lost when I rented a car weeks ago--and bought $20 petrol, which is 1/4 tank. I'll have to figure the $/gallon someday. Or not.
When we parked the car in the driveway, I finally looked at the dash and instruments. There are two sockets labeled Audio and Video. Video?
"Try it," said Lucy and I pressed the Open/Close button. A box extended from the dash. When I tilted the box on its pivots, the LCD panel switched on. A television set. Wow. Wait, 1993, rats, it's analog!
(This is someone else's 1993 Honda Ascot, but ours looks like this, but without the new paint job. Or the alloy wheels. Ours is intended for backpacking.)
I took the bus to the ferry and walked to the auto rental centre where the seller kept the car.
Strange thing here. When you buy a car, folks just give you their bank account number and you transfer the cash via internet. Then you go to the post office and register the car in your name. All you need is the license plate number and $9. The seller signs nothing--I suppose there is a good penalty for randomly registering cars in your name.
I drove the car back, moved some cash from the ATM to the bank. "Oh, you're Ms. S's friend, Terry, aren't you?" the teller said as she made the deposit.
After lunch, Lucy and I took a spin and went to Waiheke's far end. No bus goes there. On the way we took a scenic ridge road--where I was lost when I rented a car weeks ago--and bought $20 petrol, which is 1/4 tank. I'll have to figure the $/gallon someday. Or not.
When we parked the car in the driveway, I finally looked at the dash and instruments. There are two sockets labeled Audio and Video. Video?
"Try it," said Lucy and I pressed the Open/Close button. A box extended from the dash. When I tilted the box on its pivots, the LCD panel switched on. A television set. Wow. Wait, 1993, rats, it's analog!
The Car
Lucy gave me a full report on the car test. The local mechanic put the car through its paces on the road and on the rack. He OK’d buying it. We made an offer—a bit lower than asking price because we have to get a new tyre*—and the seller said yes. That led to our banking crisis.
Our credit union is too small to join the international banking system. That is an advantage if you stay in Centrally Located, Texas; no one in NZ can get money from your account.
If you leave the U.S., you have a problem—the group ‘no one’ includes YOU.
We could not direct transfer money from CU to bank. We could not wire money to ourselves—the CU told us we could, but they were wrong.
Our NZ bank told us to write a check to ourselves. They forgot that they cannot take foreign checks until our account is open for six months. They returned the check. Oops. Good thing we lost the auction on the first car.
Solution: We go to our local bank, pull cash from the ATM machine, walk inside, and deposit the cash. The staff on Waiheke is small and they have been wonderful. Ms. S. was so concerned that we weren’t getting money that she took our phone number with her during her holiday. She checked with the bank and phoned us with status reports. We are on a first name basis now.
As every attempt to fund this venture and pay our bills kept failing, they stood with us and tried everything possible to keep us solvent. We failed, but as a hard-working team of can-do money movers. Well, as ‘almost-but-not-quite-can-do money movers.’ The ATM is our lifeline.
Because I was hitting the daily limit repeatedly, they told me to “use our ATM. If it thinks you’re trying fraud and keeps your card, we’ll just dig it out and give it back.” Try that for service!
When I get off the bus, the bank staff sees me, and they wave hello. They know that I will withdraw some cash and then walk in to deposit it. We have a nice chat, and, their workload is a lot smaller since we have stopped trying to get to our funds by other methods. Our first month’s account fee--$3 US—has given us our money’s worth.
It took two days to harvest enough money for the car. On the second day, I was at the ATM thirty minutes early—it was not 24 hours after my previous withdrawal. I crossed Ocean View Road, entered the Lazy Lounge**, and had a flat-white with a New Zealand Herald slice*** on the side.
Deadline passed, I collected the bills and entered the bank. “Hello Terry!” said Ms. S with a smile. “Glad to see you’re keeping yourself funded. How much will you deposit today?”
We get the car tomorrow.
*I had a tough time finding a tire store here. Luckily, tyres are curiously similar to tires and are available in the same size, so we have an acceptable substitute.
**Fabulous name—the service is anything but lazy—and a gorgeous place to let time pass. Ocean view is available wherever you sit, indoors our outdoors.
***I took the front section. ‘Petrol-Sniffer Catches Fire when Tasered by Police.’ Bracing reading, really.
Our credit union is too small to join the international banking system. That is an advantage if you stay in Centrally Located, Texas; no one in NZ can get money from your account.
If you leave the U.S., you have a problem—the group ‘no one’ includes YOU.
We could not direct transfer money from CU to bank. We could not wire money to ourselves—the CU told us we could, but they were wrong.
Our NZ bank told us to write a check to ourselves. They forgot that they cannot take foreign checks until our account is open for six months. They returned the check. Oops. Good thing we lost the auction on the first car.
Solution: We go to our local bank, pull cash from the ATM machine, walk inside, and deposit the cash. The staff on Waiheke is small and they have been wonderful. Ms. S. was so concerned that we weren’t getting money that she took our phone number with her during her holiday. She checked with the bank and phoned us with status reports. We are on a first name basis now.
As every attempt to fund this venture and pay our bills kept failing, they stood with us and tried everything possible to keep us solvent. We failed, but as a hard-working team of can-do money movers. Well, as ‘almost-but-not-quite-can-do money movers.’ The ATM is our lifeline.
Because I was hitting the daily limit repeatedly, they told me to “use our ATM. If it thinks you’re trying fraud and keeps your card, we’ll just dig it out and give it back.” Try that for service!
When I get off the bus, the bank staff sees me, and they wave hello. They know that I will withdraw some cash and then walk in to deposit it. We have a nice chat, and, their workload is a lot smaller since we have stopped trying to get to our funds by other methods. Our first month’s account fee--$3 US—has given us our money’s worth.
It took two days to harvest enough money for the car. On the second day, I was at the ATM thirty minutes early—it was not 24 hours after my previous withdrawal. I crossed Ocean View Road, entered the Lazy Lounge**, and had a flat-white with a New Zealand Herald slice*** on the side.
Deadline passed, I collected the bills and entered the bank. “Hello Terry!” said Ms. S with a smile. “Glad to see you’re keeping yourself funded. How much will you deposit today?”
We get the car tomorrow.
*I had a tough time finding a tire store here. Luckily, tyres are curiously similar to tires and are available in the same size, so we have an acceptable substitute.
**Fabulous name—the service is anything but lazy—and a gorgeous place to let time pass. Ocean view is available wherever you sit, indoors our outdoors.
***I took the front section. ‘Petrol-Sniffer Catches Fire when Tasered by Police.’ Bracing reading, really.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Dolphins
The ferry left the Waiheke wharf and—just as it should jet up to high speed—slowed. Frequent travelers who were away from the windows stood and looked out. I was sitting on the port side, at a freshly cleaned window. First I saw two sailboats, well heeled in the strong wind. Then I saw what the others were watching.
A pod of dolphins, a large group, were swimming right to my window. They slowed as they approached the ferry and the shipmaster had us moving forward, but at low speed to avoid a mishap. The pod passed behind us and swam on. The ferry accelerated to cruising speed. Nice way to start the day.
A pod of dolphins, a large group, were swimming right to my window. They slowed as they approached the ferry and the shipmaster had us moving forward, but at low speed to avoid a mishap. The pod passed behind us and swam on. The ferry accelerated to cruising speed. Nice way to start the day.
The Chosen One
Benjamin had a great first day at school. Emily liked it too. She is happy with her art/graphics class. That is good news.
Lucy’s Day Off
Not a total break mind you. Lucy had an appointment with an island mechanic who we hired to inspect a car. Luckily, that was set for midday and Lucy had time to explore the paths before and after that.
She saw new sites that we are sure to share with a weekend tramp on Saturday.
She saw new sites that we are sure to share with a weekend tramp on Saturday.
The New Term
The kids went to school today. They looked great in their uniforms and Lucy and I walked them close to the school bus stop. We did not quite go all the way—not cool, very uncool for the M&P to walk the kiddos to the stop. We said our goodbyes at the corner and beat it before the bus arrived. The clustered Waiheke High and primary school students had grown to a large flock. All in uniform, so we knew the kids were in the right place.
Today the beach bus stop was crowded, but the ferry was not. Several folks took luggage on the bus. Perhaps with school holidays over they must return home. Alternatively, it is just the normal variation in bus/ferry traffic. Nothing has become normal yet. I am sure it will.
We have been here for 20 days and it seems like months. It is amazing how we go into autopilot when we are doing our day-to-day thing. The routine drive to work, the walk from car to office is all so similar that our brains stop recording in. Therefore, a year shoots by and we wonder where it has gone. Do something new and our brains get busy remembering the new patterns. My hypothesis anyway, perhaps it is a corollary to Harris Carter’s time-compression hypothesis. That is, the years seem to go faster as we age because we add a decreasing percentage to our life-experience. Therefore, a good trip is the thing to jolt our brain and stretch time out again.
Today is Lucy’s first day without us. Poor dear, how will she cope? She got a book, Birds of New Zealand, at the Border’s CBD Auckland. She will have a lot to do on this nice, sunny, semi-warm day. I wager she will jog along the beach and then tramp about the bird sanctuaries.
Maybe she will post some photos.
P.S. The bird book is easy to carry and each bird gets its own page. Another example showing the island’s size.
Today the beach bus stop was crowded, but the ferry was not. Several folks took luggage on the bus. Perhaps with school holidays over they must return home. Alternatively, it is just the normal variation in bus/ferry traffic. Nothing has become normal yet. I am sure it will.
We have been here for 20 days and it seems like months. It is amazing how we go into autopilot when we are doing our day-to-day thing. The routine drive to work, the walk from car to office is all so similar that our brains stop recording in. Therefore, a year shoots by and we wonder where it has gone. Do something new and our brains get busy remembering the new patterns. My hypothesis anyway, perhaps it is a corollary to Harris Carter’s time-compression hypothesis. That is, the years seem to go faster as we age because we add a decreasing percentage to our life-experience. Therefore, a good trip is the thing to jolt our brain and stretch time out again.
Today is Lucy’s first day without us. Poor dear, how will she cope? She got a book, Birds of New Zealand, at the Border’s CBD Auckland. She will have a lot to do on this nice, sunny, semi-warm day. I wager she will jog along the beach and then tramp about the bird sanctuaries.
Maybe she will post some photos.
P.S. The bird book is easy to carry and each bird gets its own page. Another example showing the island’s size.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
How Far did We go?
I forgot to look at the maps to see how far we traveled on North Island. This google map shows the drive from Auckland to Rotorua.
Friday, July 17, 2009
This Blog will Settle Down and Behave Itself
Monday starts the new semester at Waiheke High and at University of Auckland. The kids and I are going back to work. Blogging will be light to non-existant until the kids get some midsemester breaks. We'll have an occasional weekend outing, but homework tends to limit our options.
Lucy has made all the exciting reservations for the September/October break and the December break. Because we'll be in the wild for days, we'll post the first outing during late October. The second outing will have to wait until we get to Texas--we'll be off line right up to flight time.
Lucy has made all the exciting reservations for the September/October break and the December break. Because we'll be in the wild for days, we'll post the first outing during late October. The second outing will have to wait until we get to Texas--we'll be off line right up to flight time.
Not so Mad MAXX
All the transit systems here have a central web site that let's you find a way to get from where you are to where you want to be.
When I wanted to find another way to travel between home or the city campus and the composites centre, I used MAXX to set my starting and ending points.
MAXX will show several options, and you can click for return route information. Because I entered a train station, the system only shows the 5th leg as a train. When I used the centre's address, the system showed some bus options. Yes, my commute is 2 hours or more each way. However, I get 30-40 minutes walking each way, so it isn't so bad. I would hate to be sitting in a single car for 2 hours--I once did that in Los Angeles--but this isn't so bad. I can work my laptop computer on the ferry and jot notes on my PDA on the bus and train. And the return ferry has a cooler full of Speight's Golden Ale and Lion Red Lager!
MAXX provides a complete map. You can click on any point and see exactly where you should walk to change from, for example, ferry to train.
This map shows my commute from Onetangi Road, Waiheke Island to the Composites Centre, Tamaki Campus.
We planned to take the ferry to Auckland and see the new Potter film today. The rain is hard and cold so we'll go tomorrow instead. We should have some sun.
When I wanted to find another way to travel between home or the city campus and the composites centre, I used MAXX to set my starting and ending points.
MAXX will show several options, and you can click for return route information. Because I entered a train station, the system only shows the 5th leg as a train. When I used the centre's address, the system showed some bus options. Yes, my commute is 2 hours or more each way. However, I get 30-40 minutes walking each way, so it isn't so bad. I would hate to be sitting in a single car for 2 hours--I once did that in Los Angeles--but this isn't so bad. I can work my laptop computer on the ferry and jot notes on my PDA on the bus and train. And the return ferry has a cooler full of Speight's Golden Ale and Lion Red Lager!
MAXX provides a complete map. You can click on any point and see exactly where you should walk to change from, for example, ferry to train.
This map shows my commute from Onetangi Road, Waiheke Island to the Composites Centre, Tamaki Campus.
We planned to take the ferry to Auckland and see the new Potter film today. The rain is hard and cold so we'll go tomorrow instead. We should have some sun.
Our Blog -- Now with Flickr
You might notice that hovering your mouse over the images shows a title and clicking the image takes you to Flickr. My Flickr site is creasyts. You can see the big images there if you want to see the big images.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
To the Composites Centre by Train
My commute to the city campus is walk/bus/ferry/walk/bus/walk. If I need to get to the composites centre at Tamaki campus, I either take a 40 minute shuttle van, which can get stuck in traffic, or take the train from the Britomart. At the ferry I can either take the bus to campus or take the train to the centre. From either place it is a 10 minute walk to the train, so I'll avoid the shuttle van whenever possible. Usually, I'll be in one place or the other all day.
The Britomart entrance on Queen Street leads to
the street level lobby. Across the lobby
you find the tickets booth for all the train lines.
A quick trip below street level leads to the
train platforms.
There are skylights along the platforms. The first is under a fountain water flows over the glass.
The other skylights let in daylight or spread electric light. The electric light shines up to the sphere. The polished sphere distributes the light.
In 15 minutes I am at the Glen Innes station and starting my 10 minute walk to the centre.
The Britomart entrance on Queen Street leads to
the street level lobby. Across the lobby
you find the tickets booth for all the train lines.
A quick trip below street level leads to the
train platforms.
There are skylights along the platforms. The first is under a fountain water flows over the glass.
The other skylights let in daylight or spread electric light. The electric light shines up to the sphere. The polished sphere distributes the light.
In 15 minutes I am at the Glen Innes station and starting my 10 minute walk to the centre.
The 15 Story Death Elevator
...is not in this photo. I snapped this one after my escape. Albert Park is at my back, I am looking toward Queen Street, which takes me to the ferry dock.
I worked until 5:45 p.m., packed my things, and tried to take the elevator from the 9th to the 4th floor. The 4th floor is street level at Symonds Road. The elevator opened when I pressed the button. I stepped inside and the doors closed. Then the buttons did nothing.
The building has a nighttime system that requires a key card to authorize passage from place to place. I have a card, but it is new and it takes a few days to get authorized. I waved the card, got a green light, pressed either the 3rd or 4th floor button and nothing happened.
I was about to press the open button--I hope that would work--when the elevator started to move down. Whew, I was saved by a professor with a working card. He summoned the elevator to the 4th floor and I got out.
I understand having a elevator that will not let you in. However, it seems pretty dangerous to have an elevator that will not let you out. This tower has no rest rooms for hiding. I could not squirrel myself away until after 5:30 p.m.
Well, I was free by 6 p.m. and my walk got me to the ferry by 6:15 p.m.
The ferry building looks great at night. Especially after an escape from the 15-story death elevator. Beer please.
Rubbish and Television
We put our rubbish in these bags and set them out on Monday mornings. Our recycling trash goes in a standard trash bag or grocery store bag. We pay for the rubbish bags, they have a 15 kg weight limit, and that fee pays for the trash collection.
The island must lack mammals; we would never put the rubbish out without a bin at home. Some creature would tear into the bag and have a feast. Here the bags sit undisturbed for as long as a week. The prior tenants put out a bag when they checked out on a Tuesday and it survived the week until rubbish day.
The satellite dishes caught my eye right away. They are pointed north and directed almost horizontal. If there is a tall building or trees between you and the satellite, too bad for you.
The Big Earthquake
So far the news from South Island is good. Lots shaken, little damage. Hopefully no one was seriously injured or killed.
At the elevator today I noticed that the emergency response chart listed 'what to do' during fire, bomb threat, earthquake, and volcanic eruption.
Volcanic eruption?
At the elevator today I noticed that the emergency response chart listed 'what to do' during fire, bomb threat, earthquake, and volcanic eruption.
Volcanic eruption?
Hobbiton -- At Last
We arrived at beautiful downtown Hobbiton (Matamata) by 9 a.m. We could join the 9:30 a.m. tour. Hooray! If we missed that one, we would be sad travelers.
This is the new Hobbiton sign. Some LoTR (Lord of the Rings) fanatic stole the first sign. Our tour guide, Teresa, said she did not really like the original sign.
Gollum's statue in the square.
We did not ride to the movie set in Gandalf--that is a good thing. Our group was small enough to fit in Merry, the minivan.
The tour is worthwhile just to see a working sheep ranch. This is the Alexander sheep ranch. When we drove through the area earlier, we could see this as a perfect Hobbit terrain. No sharp peaks. Every hill is naturally rounded and very friendly looking. Lucy thinks the livestock look very contented here. Not too hot, not too cold, green hills.
All the remaining Hobbit holes are here and there.
Another view
Sheep under the party tree at the lake.
Emily getting Hobbitually acclimated to Bag End, the key Hobbit hole. This was Bilbo's and then Frodo's home.
Benjamin said he could adjust to living in this small house.
Emily though he might have gone too far with his adjustment.
This isn't photoshop; our tour guide showed us where the place the kids and she took the photo.
This view from Bag-End shows the Party Tree and lake.
The Alexanders added a sheep show. We fed lambs and saw another sheep sheared.
Our lunch stop gave us two new signatures: one for coffee, and
another for hot chocolate.
We made a mad motorway dash to the rent-a-car office, took the ferry home, and ordered pizza for supper.
We made it! Tuesday, I started working at my temporary office at the university city campus.
Waitomo Worms and The Polynesian Spa
Thank goodness the last post and this one are short. We're almost to the next weekend and I haven't blogged the last.
Tonight I escaped from the 15 story death elevator--Houdini couldn't solve that one--and it'll be two days before I get to blog it. Someone tell Bill Bailey to watch for it--for professional reasons.
We have many photos and videos that we could never post, but the Waitomo glow worms cannot be photographed. Here is the temporary entrance to the cave.
A big thank you to Ms. A. C. for suggesting this cave tour. The life cycle for these cave-dwelling glow worms is definitely a head-scratcher. Is their nine-months feeding the build up to a single reproductive moment? Or is that single moment a small price paid for nine months of great fishing? Depends on whether you prefer fishing or reproducing, I guess.
The worms let down lines, capture prey, and reel them in. Good eatin, yummy.
Speaking of yummy, we ate at Relish on Saturday night. The food was good, but hard to photograph. Our Sunday lunch between the Waitomo worm cave and the Polynesian Spa was a little lunch cafe somewhere in between. We stopped so I could recaffeinate with a flat-white and the food looked too good to miss.
This was my spinach/pine nut/egg tart--like a tiny queche--with a berry sauce on the side and a light salad next door.
Real men don't eat queche--let alone spell it correctly--but they do eat spinach/pine nut/egg tarts!
We spent more than an hour in the healing waters at the Polynesian spa. We chose the family room as the low cost option--splurge for the real spa with the lake view and multiple hot pools. You won't regret it.
We slept, but had to rise early on Monday. The ferry-adjacent auto rental agencies close at 5 p.m. and they do not have a night drop. We had to see Hobbiton on our return to Auckland.
Tonight I escaped from the 15 story death elevator--Houdini couldn't solve that one--and it'll be two days before I get to blog it. Someone tell Bill Bailey to watch for it--for professional reasons.
We have many photos and videos that we could never post, but the Waitomo glow worms cannot be photographed. Here is the temporary entrance to the cave.
A big thank you to Ms. A. C. for suggesting this cave tour. The life cycle for these cave-dwelling glow worms is definitely a head-scratcher. Is their nine-months feeding the build up to a single reproductive moment? Or is that single moment a small price paid for nine months of great fishing? Depends on whether you prefer fishing or reproducing, I guess.
The worms let down lines, capture prey, and reel them in. Good eatin, yummy.
Speaking of yummy, we ate at Relish on Saturday night. The food was good, but hard to photograph. Our Sunday lunch between the Waitomo worm cave and the Polynesian Spa was a little lunch cafe somewhere in between. We stopped so I could recaffeinate with a flat-white and the food looked too good to miss.
This was my spinach/pine nut/egg tart--like a tiny queche--with a berry sauce on the side and a light salad next door.
Real men don't eat queche--let alone spell it correctly--but they do eat spinach/pine nut/egg tarts!
We spent more than an hour in the healing waters at the Polynesian spa. We chose the family room as the low cost option--splurge for the real spa with the lake view and multiple hot pools. You won't regret it.
We slept, but had to rise early on Monday. The ferry-adjacent auto rental agencies close at 5 p.m. and they do not have a night drop. We had to see Hobbiton on our return to Auckland.
Agrodome/Zorb
Wai-O-Tapu was the morning trip; for Saturday afternoon we drove to the Agrodome for the world's best live sheep show. Emily videotaped the whole show, but you'll have to fly down and see it for yourself.
Near the end, with all sheep on stage and sheepdogs standing on two of them, they gave kids milk bottles and let them feed black lambs.
A sheep was sheared--live!--and low grade wool
was passed about. They kept the high grade stuff
on stage.
Before the show, Benjamin posed with 1/2 the sheep waiting for the show. They were so still we first thought they were models.
The Agrodome show ended with a live sheepdog demonstration. On our way to the hotel we stopped to see if anyone was Zorbing. Someone was. She appeared to be 12 or so years old. Zorbers get inside the inner sphere, the crew adds warm water, and you roll down a big hill. That's $50NZD well spent.
We brought our suits, but it was really, really cold out.
We rushed to Rotorua for an early meal and a good night sleeping in the warm, warm, hotel rooms.
New Zealand is the source for new adrenaline-producing thrills. Bungee jumping started here. There's Zorb. Our rent-a-car agent tried to talk us into white water rafting over a 7 meter waterfall. That's a 23 foot drop! "It's the only commercial outfit in the world that'll let ya go over a waterfall like that!" I bet you cannot sue for injuries here.
Near the end, with all sheep on stage and sheepdogs standing on two of them, they gave kids milk bottles and let them feed black lambs.
A sheep was sheared--live!--and low grade wool
was passed about. They kept the high grade stuff
on stage.
Before the show, Benjamin posed with 1/2 the sheep waiting for the show. They were so still we first thought they were models.
The Agrodome show ended with a live sheepdog demonstration. On our way to the hotel we stopped to see if anyone was Zorbing. Someone was. She appeared to be 12 or so years old. Zorbers get inside the inner sphere, the crew adds warm water, and you roll down a big hill. That's $50NZD well spent.
We brought our suits, but it was really, really cold out.
We rushed to Rotorua for an early meal and a good night sleeping in the warm, warm, hotel rooms.
New Zealand is the source for new adrenaline-producing thrills. Bungee jumping started here. There's Zorb. Our rent-a-car agent tried to talk us into white water rafting over a 7 meter waterfall. That's a 23 foot drop! "It's the only commercial outfit in the world that'll let ya go over a waterfall like that!" I bet you cannot sue for injuries here.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Rainwater, Yummy
This photo shows our neighbor's home water collection system. Our house has one like it. The roof is pitched to shed leaves and debris. The gutters have shields to keep debris out. The gutters drain into the cistern for later use.
The first gush fills a small tank and the system throws that water out--that gush is supposed to wash the roof. When full, the small tank opens a valve and lets the rain flow into the cistern.
The new water goes in gently above the settling layer. When we open a faucet, the pumps draw water from near the surface. The pump supply floats just under the surface so it does not get water from the settling layer.
If there is more rain than the cistern can hold, the incoming water pushes out the settling layer.
It is winter--its raining again as I write this--and we know that we have a cistern full of fresh rainwater. In the summer the quality is less certain and sometimes the cistern runs dry and folks have to buy water.
I met a woman at the bus stop this morning and she said that running out of water in summer is a double cost. First, you have to pay for a truck to bring some; second, the water comes from wells--it is very hard and has a poor taste.
So we enjoy all this rain--it keeps our washing and drinking supply topped off and fresh.
Frugal
Every wall outlet has a switch. Before we go tramping, we turn every outlet off. Now those little black boxes cannot waste energy if we leave them plugged in while we are not using the device.
Wai-O-Tapu: Geothermal Wonderland
Howdy!
I say howdy and folks here immediately think I'm from the USA. Strange.
The ferry rides are too short for
any serious laptop computer work,
but the rides are great for blogging
offline.
On Tuesday I edited the photos and videos
from our weekend trip and I posted the
Rotorua images from last Friday.
Tonight, I missed the 530 p.m. ferry by
seven minutes and I'm at the dock waiting
for the 630 p.m. sailing. More time
for blogging about our Saturday at
Wai-O-Tapu, geothermal miracle place.
The geothermal action was so intense--thermally
and odiforously--that our return to Rotorua left
us thinking that the town didn't smell so bad
after all.
After the hotel breakfast, we drove on over peaks and
across valleys and came to the visitor center where
we saw this sign:
How does that sign apply to this place?
There is smoke everywhere! It's not burning of course, and
the sulphur deposits and plants make it the least acceptable
place to have a smoko--check your Australian dictionary for that one.
The colors here show the deposits near the vents include sulphur--yellow--and iron oxide--red--and other compounds. Benjamin and I agreed that the place reminded us of Star Trek episode 18, Arena, where Kirk has to kill the Gorn by harvesting sulphur deposits and making gunpowder. Yeah, that was a good one.
What's that dear? Oh, yea--Lucy told me to get back to our story, sorry.
Most things here have Devil in the name--if not the details. These
boiling mud ponds are called the Devil's Ink Pots.
Staying on path is a great idea. The land is active and changing. The areas off path can collapse at any time. Several structures changed over the last decade. One had a natural arch over a deep pit. The arch wasn't any fun at all--it fell into the pit one day.
We started our tour at the Lady Knox geyser. She starts to spray at 1015 a.m. every day. Luckily, she sprays for a good 45 minutes. We were late and we had to deal with the outflowing traffic from those who saw the spray start and then found it too repetitive to stay through all 45 minutes.
Two hour break
I was dockside blogging when the ferry pulled in at 615 p.m. However, the large boat--the SomethingFlyte--is away for three-weeks trials and they sent us in the Jet Raider. A smaller boat with close seating. Enough room to drink a Speight's Golden Ale, not enough room to blog.
Back to our story ...
Emily near the Devil's Bath. That Devil uses all these things. Although it was a cloudy day, this pool had a Mountain Dew color that was amazing. The camera didn't catch it in the dim light, but it looked like everyone at last night's rave broke open their glow stick and poured it into the pool. The pamphlet says the color changes from yellow to green as the sun moves across the sky--when there is bright sun.
Dad in greenery. There are some green areas between the geothermal vents. One is a man-made forest and the other has native plants.
Yes, we needed those parkas. We were farther south--that's nearer the pole here--and at higher altitude.
The Champagne pool--a video appears far below--stays 74C year round and sections have colors from the minerals and oxides that collect there.
We took every loop path--there are three--and saw the whole area. The third is the most intense. Here Lucy photographs us and we photograph her across a hot flat area on our way to the Frying Pan Flat.
At trail's end, Emily poses by the waterfall that takes the water into the ...
large lake beyond. Benjamin thought that NZ is the right place for filming LoTR. This huge, strangle colored lake is scary. Emily looked at the horizon, set the zoom to maximum and shot
this distant peak. Are those the gates to Mordor?
Next Post: The Agrodome Sheep Show. My favorite!
Emily's video showing the Champagne pool.
I say howdy and folks here immediately think I'm from the USA. Strange.
The ferry rides are too short for
any serious laptop computer work,
but the rides are great for blogging
offline.
On Tuesday I edited the photos and videos
from our weekend trip and I posted the
Rotorua images from last Friday.
Tonight, I missed the 530 p.m. ferry by
seven minutes and I'm at the dock waiting
for the 630 p.m. sailing. More time
for blogging about our Saturday at
Wai-O-Tapu, geothermal miracle place.
The geothermal action was so intense--thermally
and odiforously--that our return to Rotorua left
us thinking that the town didn't smell so bad
after all.
After the hotel breakfast, we drove on over peaks and
across valleys and came to the visitor center where
we saw this sign:
How does that sign apply to this place?
There is smoke everywhere! It's not burning of course, and
the sulphur deposits and plants make it the least acceptable
place to have a smoko--check your Australian dictionary for that one.
The colors here show the deposits near the vents include sulphur--yellow--and iron oxide--red--and other compounds. Benjamin and I agreed that the place reminded us of Star Trek episode 18, Arena, where Kirk has to kill the Gorn by harvesting sulphur deposits and making gunpowder. Yeah, that was a good one.
What's that dear? Oh, yea--Lucy told me to get back to our story, sorry.
Most things here have Devil in the name--if not the details. These
boiling mud ponds are called the Devil's Ink Pots.
Staying on path is a great idea. The land is active and changing. The areas off path can collapse at any time. Several structures changed over the last decade. One had a natural arch over a deep pit. The arch wasn't any fun at all--it fell into the pit one day.
We started our tour at the Lady Knox geyser. She starts to spray at 1015 a.m. every day. Luckily, she sprays for a good 45 minutes. We were late and we had to deal with the outflowing traffic from those who saw the spray start and then found it too repetitive to stay through all 45 minutes.
Two hour break
I was dockside blogging when the ferry pulled in at 615 p.m. However, the large boat--the SomethingFlyte--is away for three-weeks trials and they sent us in the Jet Raider. A smaller boat with close seating. Enough room to drink a Speight's Golden Ale, not enough room to blog.
Back to our story ...
Emily near the Devil's Bath. That Devil uses all these things. Although it was a cloudy day, this pool had a Mountain Dew color that was amazing. The camera didn't catch it in the dim light, but it looked like everyone at last night's rave broke open their glow stick and poured it into the pool. The pamphlet says the color changes from yellow to green as the sun moves across the sky--when there is bright sun.
Dad in greenery. There are some green areas between the geothermal vents. One is a man-made forest and the other has native plants.
Yes, we needed those parkas. We were farther south--that's nearer the pole here--and at higher altitude.
The Champagne pool--a video appears far below--stays 74C year round and sections have colors from the minerals and oxides that collect there.
We took every loop path--there are three--and saw the whole area. The third is the most intense. Here Lucy photographs us and we photograph her across a hot flat area on our way to the Frying Pan Flat.
At trail's end, Emily poses by the waterfall that takes the water into the ...
large lake beyond. Benjamin thought that NZ is the right place for filming LoTR. This huge, strangle colored lake is scary. Emily looked at the horizon, set the zoom to maximum and shot
this distant peak. Are those the gates to Mordor?
Next Post: The Agrodome Sheep Show. My favorite!
Emily's video showing the Champagne pool.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)