Back to Tauranga

After the bustle of Wellington, we wanted to see a bit more of the sunny north island. We decided to go back to Tauranga for a week to see the sights that we missed the last time around, not to mention the every-day life of the city. Tauranga is the fastest growing city in NZ, after all, so there might be job opportunities here and a progressive style of living. Why not stay for a while to get a feel for the place?

All it all it's been a good layover for us. We had a chance to get caught up on paperwork that we've been putting off up to this point. I applied for a few jobs here, and Peter's been applying for jobs via the internet. We've also had some very fun days on the beaches, another a walk on the mount, checked out a jujitsu dojo, and did some grocery shopping (always fun in another country). We even had our first encounter with The Warehouse, NZs version of WalMart (dun dun DUN!). Not exactly the most exciting week, but well worth it. I think we've seen more of what it's like to live like a kiwi here than on any other other part of our trip.

After a week we've come to the conclusion that Tauranga is a bit sleepy for us. It's definitely a nice place to visit, what with the beautiful scenery and all, but it's beginning to feel like there are two Taurangas. There's the tourist spots that are full of cool cafes, surf shops,kiwifruit orchards, and wineries, and then there's the sprawling shopping and residential areas that are nearly impossible to navigate if you don't have a car. It feels a lot like any other tourist town at this point: nice to visit and equally nice to leave be after a while. We're still drawn to Wellington (for some reason we haven't pinned down yet-call it a predisposition?), so we'll fly down there on Monday to start our next wave of job hunting.

Oh, and this last picture is for Jen. I know you were wanting to see me hugging a tree or some such hippie nonsense, but this was the best we could do for the day. After all, one of us has to be able to dip into the ocean without getting stung by jelly fish.

Good 'ol Welly

We haven't been here in Wellington for long, but we're starting to get a feel for the place already. We've met a number of people who have given us a glimpse into what it's like to live here, and it seems like it's a very livable city once you get used to it. It felt very imposing when we first pulled in, we'll admit. But after a day or two of wandering around on foot we're learning where things are, how to get around, and what kind of people make Wellington their home.

So far our impressions of Wellington are mostly positive. The landscape is breathtaking, as the pictures will attest. It has a decidedly metropolitan feel to it and there's a vibrant and artsy feel to the place. The central business district (CBD) is full of professionals wearing suits and game faces, and the skyscrapers and cafes lend it a very urban pace. It can seem a bit sterile during business hours, but on the weekends and evenings it's like any other scenic district.

Not far away is the shopping district, the waterfront park, the national museum Te Papa, and the sloping residential areas. There are little gems of art all over the city. There is a Writer's Walk that features New Zealand wordsmiths, kids play areas, sculptures, and parks. All of these areas sit nestled among the skyscrapers so you're never far from anywhere, really.

It feels as though all of these different areas of the city are all sliding down the hillsides and mashing together on the shores of Wellington Harbour, but they've managed to do it without stepping on a single toe. That being said, we haven't been here long and we've only seen a small portion of the city, but from what we can tell it's a fairly representative sample of the larger community.

We're staying at the Annaday Homestay. For those of you who have never done a homestay before, it's like renting out a bedroom in a fully functioning family home. We have a cosy bedroom and share the bathroom with another couple that is staying here for the month. Breakfast is served every morning in the family dining room, and we get panoramic views in a quiet neighbourhood. Our hosts Ann and Dave are amazingly open and friendly people. They've been very generous with their time and advice, and we've had a number of good conversations in the halls on our way in or out. Their house is of the typical Victorian style of the neighbourhood, high ceilings, wood trim and all. We get the impression that they live in one of the wealthier areas of town because of the size of the houses and the harbour views. These pictures show lots of houses on lush and steep hillsides, and the streets wind their ways like snakes through the trees. It's a good thing they don't get snow here, because getting up and down these hills would be a massive pain in the arse if it did.

This last photo was taken outside of a the Curry Village restaurant. Why the big Luigi statue outside of an Indian restaraunt? The world may never know.

Driving South

A lot has happened since we've given a geographical update on our travels. We left Tauranga on Sunday the 9th for Wellington. We rented a car, bought ourselves a good map, and headed south toward our hoped-for promise land. A travel specific entry is soon to follow, so all of you interested in the whole driving-on-the-LEFT-side-of-the-road thing should stay tuned! (Note I said LEFT side of the road and not WRONG side of the road; the Americans we've run into thus far who have said that have come across as a little ethnocentric.)

We didn't stop to take pictures and are now kicking ourselves for it. The geographical- and bio-diversity of this country are astounding. After an overnight stop in Palmerston North we finally reached Wellington, or Welly as the kiwis call it.
A small note on Palmerston North. Most importantly, it's Missoula's sister city! As a funky university town with ties to home, we wish we had dedicated more time to it. We stayed at a truly excellent B&B run by quite possibly the nicest lady on the planet. We had our own newly re-modeled loft with a lounging nook and a wide breakfast spread. When we booked over the phone, the proprietor asked me if I had a partner with me or if I was alone.

"Yes, I have a partner with me."

She then asked my name, so I told her and the booking was complete. As we arrived she had just put some freshly baked muffins in our room and written this greeting on a board outside our entrance. I would definitely recommend Nikau Loft (www.nikauloft.co.nz) to anyone wanting to stay in Palmerston North. Sue definitely takes care of her guests there.

We finished the drive to Wellington the next day. It was a great day for driving, and we pulled into the capital city without incident. More on Wellington later.

Mount Maunganui

We woke today with high hopes for a full day of new things. We had made the decision to go sailing with one of Tim’s friends in the afternoon, so we decided to take a hike through a mountain trail/garden in the morning. After a leisurely breakfast that went longer than we expected, we ended up simply going back to Tim’s apartment for a walk to the beach. It was low tide, and we had a great time looking around it the tide pools. And then it started raining.

Needless to say it proceeded to rain pretty heavily for the next three hours, the very same three hours we had scheduled to be on the water. Damnit! But there’s a silver lining that comes free of charge with every rain cloud, so we took the opportunity to buy Peter a kickin’ rain jacket.

After lunch we hiked up Mount Maunganui to catch the view of the Bay of Plenty from above. It was breathtaking! Rainbows over the ocean, the sun casting patches of light on lush and rocky cliffs, long stretches of beach and surf. It’s a little hard to believe that we’re really here. During our hour and a half long hike we came across grazing sheep (they graze them everywhere, even on large mountains in the middle of urban areas), a handful of new-to-us birds, and more unfamiliar plants than I can count. I want to get a field guide so we can start learning the names of these little guys that we’re seeing on a daily basis.

Going Mobile

As much as we wanted to take the day to sight see, we decided to take care of communications details today. We got a mobile phone with a prepaid number for immediate needs and scoped out the wireless access situation in downtown Auckland. Evidently coffee shops here in NZ aren’t keen on offering free access to patrons, so most internet access is found in businesses specialising in computer related activities like web access or gaming. We hear Wellington businesses are a bit more prone to offer general wifi access, so we’re looking forward to checking that out.

We’d made plans to meet with our friend Tim the weekend after we landed, and he surprised us by pulling into town on Friday afternoon. He recommended a sushi bar downtown, so we hopped on a bus and headed back into the bustle. Sushi on a conveyor belt--oh yea! At this little bar you just grab a plate of sushi or sashimi as it goes by and stack the empty plates next to you. Each plate has a design on it that marks the value of the food, so you can eat whatever you fancy and the plates are counted up at the end of the meal. It was the best (and cheapest) sushi I’ve ever had.

After dinner we walked to the pier to look at the boats docks. Most of them were for sale, and we were able to plug Tim for info on sailing. He’s pretty handy if you want an explanation about boat related topics.

This particular boat was designed by a Kiwi to do two revolutionary things: pierce waves instead of going over them, and break the world circumnavigation record while powering its motor with biodiesel. The Maori designs painted on the hull draw on the cultural heritage of NZ and their attention to the environment. Its been in the works for a while and is close to starting its trip. Very slick.

After a few beers here and there to get out of the rain (surprise surprise, the rains tend to soak here) we took a lovely walk home under the stars.

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed down to Tim’s home in Tauranga. It was a gorgeous 2 1/2 hour drive down to the Bay of Plenty (on the east coast of the North Island). They call it the Bay of Plenty because you can basically bury any plant in the dirt and it’ll grow. Personally, I get the feeling that this is the case in a lot of areas of NZ. Once we left the Auckland suburbs we got to see what most of NZ looks like: rolling green hills with patches of trees and livestock. It looks a lot like Bavaria, actually, in that tracts of land are relatively small and each pasture or field is hemmed by a fence of trees or long grass. Of course the big difference between NZ and Germany is the subtropical plant life. There are fern and palm trees blanketing the ground under huge stands of evergreens. I get the feeling that if every human were to leave the island, the plants would simply grow over the buildings and reclaim the area as its own.

Once in Tauranga, we dropped our things off at Tim’s place then headed out to see a bit of the city. Tauranga is the fastest growing city it NZ and has a pop. of a little over 100,000. It sits on a natural harbour and has a great funky small town feel to it. The main beach sits down by Mount Maunganui and attracts surfers and sunbathers. Since it’s fall right now there weren’t that many people on the sand, but there were quite a few surfers taking advantage of waves. We spent most of today getting a rundown of the city from Tim. There’s definitely a cafe culture going on here, so we’ve been eating ridiculously well here. The night life here is pretty much the same as in Montana: all the stores close down and locals go out to eat, drink, and generally be social. We went out for Indian food and a movie. When in Rome...

Ah, the life of a beagle...

Here we sit, safe and sound in Auckland. I must say that the trip from Montana to NZ was much more pleasant than we expected. I thought we would have to roll ourselves out of the plane and drink coffee all day to stay awake, but we felt energetic enough upon finding a B&B to hike up Mt. Eden (more on this in another posting).

The actual flight from the US to NZ was fantastic! At twelve and a half hours the flight was much shorter than we expected. Not that we would have minded a few extra hours. Each seat had its own TV screen with a full menu of movies, TV shows, and video games. It was pretty nice to have the option of watching a few episodes of The Simpsons instead of the latest Legally Blonde nightmare. The seats were even nice enough to afford both Peter and I a good 7 hours of sleep. I only hope that future Air New Zealand flights will go as smoothly.

I must say that the customs folks in NZ are much more pleasant to deal with. Of course they’re picky about environmental protection, but they were all very amiable and easy to work with. I mean, who would mind having their bag sniffed by a beagle? How about a friendly black lab? One of the dogs was lucky enough to find a bag with beef jerky in it (which you can’t bring into the country) so the customs people gave him a bite before carting it away. Ah, the life of a security dog.

All in all we’ve felt very welcomed and appreciated here so far. People are glad to answer the silly questions we yanks ask, like Are we supposed to tip wait staff? and Will this bus take us back to the Mt. Eden neighbourhood? They’ve gone out of their way to make sure we feel comfortable with the new customs (it’ll take us a while before we feel ok with the whole no-tipping thing). I like being able to ask questions without feeling silly about it.

Kiwi language lesson #1: A cell phone is called a mobile (pronounced mo-bile), while a gas station is called a mobile (pronounced mo-bl). I guess it’s all in the accent. More language lessons to follow for all you linguaphiles out there.