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Published: February 5th 2011
Mt. Hobson
View from the top of Mt. Hobson, you can see the entire Great Barrier Island and surrounding islandsDEC 25
So this is Christmas... It's astonishing how much can change in three months; in September I was working a job that I considered montonous, making really good money; now I have no income and my prospects of future travel are changing all the time. I definitely miss my family today; it's the first holiday season I won't be seeing any relatives or friends. It's odd being in the summer season during a holiday that's always been during winter for me; they still play songs about snowmen and winter wonderlands, even though it's hot and sunny. Ages have passed since my last upload; I've left Kerry's and currently am WWOOFing in Whakatane and on the Great Barrier Island, northeast of Auckland. I still haven't gotten my visa, but I've done everything I can at this point, so it's just a matter of time whether I get it.
I had still been going back and forth with immigration about my visa, and determined (in spite of their ambiguous, convoluted information) that I was going to be required to get my medical exam, chest Xray and blood test in order to get my visa; no way around it. Again, Kerry was more than eager to assist me however he could; his help has proved to be invaluable. On the day that he took me to Auckland, Dec 7, we stopped at the medical center and I had my physical and chest Xray. It was expensive, but probably not as much as it'd be in the states, and didn't take long. There was nothing on the immigration form about needing to fast (thanks assfaces), and I had eaten breakfast, so they refused to take my blood. So I waited until later that evening, after having no food for about 10 hours, to get my blood taken at a lab in Auckland. The whole thing was a rather large pain in the balls, but now I've done everything I can, so I can't fault myself for not trying. In hindsight, I should've lied about already being in the country (the reason I had to have almost $400 in medical tests done), and about having had a DUI (the reason I had to have an FBI records request, which I'm still waiting on). These two things are what caused the most inconvenience. I also stopped by the immigration office in Auckland to see if I could accomplish anything more easily in person; I couldn't.
Wednesday was a shit day; I evidently missed the bus, even though I was there on time. I emailed them and they claim the bus left on time; I still don't know what happened. I was frustrated and a little lost. I was due to be in Whakatane that day to meet my WWOOF hosts, and wasn't going to make it; I had invested even more in my visa, and still may not get it; nothing seemed to be going right. I called my future hosts and told them that it'd be another day, bought another ticket online, and checked into another hostel. I boughtand sent mug to Mom, went down by the pier again, stopped by a happy hour and relaxed watching the boats and doing internets. I went to bed pretty early and slept all night, I was stressing myself out too much.
I woke up early and made the bus in plenty of time the next day and made the four-hour trip east to Rotorua, at their instruction, about an hour from their home (called Moutohora Estate, slightly west of Whakatane, in a rural district on the Bay of Plenty) to meet Gerrit at an evening market, where they sell their homemade olive oil and honey. He and his wife, Wil, are Dutch, and they've lived in NZ for 26 years; they have an olive grove and a couple bee colonies (they used to have a few hundred before Gerrit 'retired'; he still works harder than I do when I'm employed). I had some time when the bus arrived, so I checked out the town and Lake Rotorua. It's a small, rather touristy town, littered with thermal activity. There are hot bubbling mud pools in one of the parks, some natural spas, and some of town tends to smell like sulfur (unwiped butt crack). There are also several spots outside of town a few miles that have hot pools, geysers and the like. I met Gerrit at 4 pm and immediately helped him set up the stand for selling. I was pure serendipity that I saw my three friends from Fruit Vans who I'd gone to Bethell's Beach with -Helena, Jasmine and Elton- appear while I was working at the stand. They just happened to be in Rotorua, what a small world.
After such an eventful day, I was exhausted when we arrived back at their house. I met Wil briefly and was shown my cottage. Yes, I had my own separate building to stay in for the first time in NZ. One thing that the houses I've seen in NZ have in common, is that they have nothing in common; they've all been custom built with unique shapes and features to compliment the surrounding land; however I've only been at WWOOFing houses. Theirs has large windows and a deck surrounded by cacti and other native trees and plants. The next morning, I finally saw the incredible view they had; they call their place Moutohora (Maori for 'whale island') Estate. Moutohora is the most prominent island visible from their house, a towering monstrosity that hardly looks real; I guess it resembles a whale. Other islands are also visible, and the beach is about 500m from their house. When it's clear, White Island is also visible, an active volcano a few hours offshore, and smoke can usually be seen billowing out.
I was only at Moutohora Estate for a week and a half; we hadn't discussed the duration of my stay, and I was a little surprised that it was going to be so brief; but like many people they had holiday plans, which were due to begin on the 19th, so this was my day to leave. This would be the first time during my trip that I wouldn't have a real plan, a thrilling prospect. The first day I was there, I walked down to the beach after working, an indirect meander through various paddocks and over electric fences; the beach is pristine, with no public access nearby, and there wasn't a soul in sight.
The work here included mowing around the olive trees, clearing and transporting chopped wood, repairing and burying irrigation lines, and most of all, going to the markets with Gerrit. A big part of their activities is selling at these markets; there are several in their vicinity, and they often start very early (one morning I woke up at 4, an experience no human should have to endure). I found working at the markets to be very perfunctory; there's not much selling going on, mostly just setting up and taking down the gazebo and display and then waiting around for people to show up, taste test and ask questions. I would bet that they rarely turn a profit, considering the cost of pressing olive oil, purifying honey, gas to get to the market, etc. I don't think this matters to them though; it's more of a lifestyle than a means to make money.
They eat a lot of vegetables, almost exclusively from their own garden, a lot of cabbage salads; and they eat meat, which I've truly learned to appreciate. We ate dinner outside one night on their beautiful back deck with the view of the islands in the evening light, had homemade Dutch-style pizza one night, and another night they had a couple over and made a huge spread including pesto salad and a Spanish omelette. Wil is much easier for me to understand than Gerrit; she is an oncologist and was working a lot of the time. She likes to talk, and we had conversations about her patients and how people handle death.
We went back to Rotorua in a public park for a morning market one day, and set up right next to some bubbling mud pools. A couple friends/roomates from Fruit Vans, Caroline and Hannah, stopped by to see me and we discussed our plans and our experiences; it's very refreshing to see familiar faces when travelling alone. At another market in Whakatane, I walked around the neighborhood depositing flyers into mailboxes (side note: NEVER eat at KFC in NZ, it's stupidly overpriced and you're charged for packets of sauce; they can go to hell).
On Sunday the 12th, Wil went to Whakatane to run errands, and dropped me off to wander the town. It's a small town with tall rocks looming over it; I picked up a bottle of Scotch, walked to the top and had a drink while enjoying the amazing view (see pictures). I also tried to schedule a dive to White Island; it's supposed to be some of the best diving in the world, with unique species that live around the thermal vents underwater. When the diving day arrived however, rain came and ruined my plans; it was one of the biggest disappointments of my trip, as I probably won't return.
It was delightful to have my own living quarters, but I did get a bit lonely; there were no other WWOOFers the whole time, and I spent most of my free time alone. I had the same semi-trapped feeling I occasionally did at Kerry's, which I've decided is probably a part of WWOOFing in general, especially without a means of transportation. My lonliness was punctuated with sporadic social interaction (if you can call it that), however; I sipped whiskey and talked (Google Talk; totally free; splendiferous) with a special someone on the night of the 15th, while listening to, downloading and talking about music. I also of course talk to my wonderful mother every few days, when it's not too late in Ohio. I have no idea how people functioned before the information age.
The weather became rainy and shitty the last few days there (the reason my goddamn dive was cancelled; bitter? never) which continued for a few days after I left. I decided I'd stay a few days in Rotorua after leaving there; it was on their way out of town, I'm probably not going to return to the area, and I wanted to see some of the hot, stinky, earthy basins that are in the vicinity. Gerrit and Wil dropped me off at a hostel in town. The Lava Bar next door had a $10 beer and dinner deal. Afterwards, two of my roomates and I went to Rainbow Springs just outside of town to see Kiwi birds; it was a bit like a small zoo for birds, lizards and fish. Kiwis are noctural and we caught a glimpse of a few of the peculiar creatures, scuttling around, grunting and looking for food.
I spent three nights in Rotorua to relax, take a break from working, and plan the next leg of my trip. I dropped off some clothes and a few other things at the thrift store to lighten my load. I met Emilie (France) on Monday; she had spent a few months in Australia and painted a very attractive picture of travelling there; she is into herbal healing and had a book full of pressed herbs and flowers and their properties, which she had collected in Australia. We caught a shuttle to Wai O Tapu, a 'Thermal Wonderland,' on Tuesday; it's a large outdoor area with paths and boardwalks, covered in hot springs and thermal pools. The mineral deposits create a beautiful variety of colors. We also saw the Lady Knox Geyser, which is activated by dropping in a bar of soap. We went back to the Lava Bar later on for a 'free bbq' where you get to eat all you want for just one drink purchase. Awesome.
I had received an email from a WWOOF host on the Great Barrier Island and, after a few days' deliberation, decided to go with it; I had to do something and this seemed like an unusual and remote place to spend some time. I booked a bus to Auckland for Wednesday (even in NZ there are annoying families with loud dick-headed children who ruin bus trips) and went back to the Choice Hostel that I'd stayed at before. We had a full room; some of the people in my room were from Israel, France, Korea and Chile. There was one guy who snored horrendously and ruined any chance of sleeping. Even though it's not his fault, I kinda wanted to choke him.
My new hosts had booked a ferry ride for me to the island, and I made about a mile walk to the harbor only to discover that there had been a miscomunication, and there was no afternoon ferry ride; I'd have to wait another day to leave. So I trekked back to the central business district and tried another hostel called the Cozy Kiwi; they're all about the same price. I walked a few miles east to Mission Bay, the nearest swimming beach, catching excellent views of the Hauraki Gulf and Auckland city. I took a dip in the water, called mom, got a bite to eat, then bussed it back to town. I got up at 5:30 the next day to make the morning ferry ride, which took about 4.5 hours.
JAN 9
Being on the island has been an exhiliration. My hosts are American, very composed, easy-going and level-headed; (coincidence?). They pick up WWOOFers at Tryphena Wharf in their van; I immediately felt welcome when they greeted me. Two French guys, Axel and Dany, also arrived the same day, and an American girl, Laura, was already there. The island is it's own microcosm; there's no power grid and no public water supply. Most of the ~700 residents use solar and wind power to generate electricity, with gas generators for backup. Dave and Pat have a solar array, with an inverter and a room full of batteries for storage; the generator is hardly ever used. They use wood stoves for cooking and heating water (when we run out of hot water, we build a fire in the outdoor stove), and get water from the stream that runs through their property. The source is a few hundred meters upstream, so gravity replaces the need for a pump. Their house is right on the water, a place called Schooner Bay. They own 60 acres of land, most of it covered in bush, a couple orchards, gardens, and several fruit and nut trees are scattered around the paths Dave has created. The main drawbacks on the island are technological: dial up internet and very limited phone reception. I had to toy with the limits of GSM reception; a matter of a few feet out on the beach toward the mainland can make or break a call.
After doing just a few hours of work the first day, Dave encouraged us to borrow his windsurf boards (sans sail) and paddles to take out into the bay; it's similar to kayaking. The landscapes are superb, and being able to experience the island like this is an opportunity to die for. The four of us WWOOFers played monopoly together and had a fire in the wood-burning stove in the cottage on Christmas Eve. We get weekends off, so arriving on a Friday worked out in my favor. Christmas Day, we helped as Pat cooked a huge feast for all of us: stuffed pumpkin, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, etc. Sunday, we hitched up to a trail that leads to a natural hot spring. We walked the trail and relaxed in the natural hot water pools for awhile, then walked down to Whangaparapara (all the names start to sound the same) Harbor afterward for another swim. Hitch hiking on the island is ridiculously easy, we never waited more than 15 minutes for a ride. There's a pervasive sense of community here, and the majority of the people we rode with who were residents of the island know Dave and Pat.
My work here has been composed of planting trees (olive, citrus, apple, macadamia nut, more), mixing the soil with lime and ash, and fertilizing with seaweed and seamoss, and of course, lots of weeding. More recently, we've been doing a lot of clearing of land; Dave cuts down Manuka trees (aka Tea Tree, the same tree the previous WWOOF place used to make honey) and we move the cut pieces in the utility truck down to the wood pile to season. We have a tea break every day at about 11 with snacks, usually including homemade cinnamon rolls, sometimes outdoors. Each night, Pat gives us food for dinner and for breakfast the next day; when we're lucky she cooks the dinner for us at the house. The dinner is mainly squash and beans, sometimes other vegetables; we don't have many resources in the cottage: mainly just salt, pepper and oil, but we make do. The breakfast is homemade scones and jam with oatmeal. One night I made French fries for me and the two French guys. Ironic isn't it? Almost everything we eat is grown here. My favorite dishes of hers were the homemade fritters, with some of almost everything in the garden in it, fried squash, and thick homemade pancakes with homemade plum syrup.
The water in the bay and everywhere around the island is beautifully clear and turquoise. We snorkel and swim in the bay frequently. There are little clear jellyfish with tiny colored lights that scroll down the side like a marquee; I'd seen them in the Boston aquarium, but never in nature; they look totally alien. One day during lunch, we saw a pod of dolphins in the bay from the dining table; we ran down to get the snorkel gear and swam around with them in the bay. It was incredible, they came in all sizes, there were 30-40 total, and at times I was totally surrounded.
I finally had a chance to scuba dive while on the island. The neighbor, John, took me and the two French guys out on his little boat. He had an air tank and weights for me to borrow, and would only accept $20 for the trip. The water was about 63 F, and even with Dave's short wetsuit, my toes were numb by the time I was done. Diving without a buddy isn't generally recommended, but I felt comfortable enough and had an awesome dive. They all fished while I was under and continued after I was finished. Axel caught three snapper that we had for dinner that night. John is a real character; he loves to drink beer and curse a lot, so we got along great.
Dave let us try windsurfing one day; it was my first attempt, balancing is difficult and the wind was irregular, so I didn't do much moving. It was exerting and I'd love to try again someday. In spite of being on a small sparsely-populated island, we found some activity on New Year's Eve. We went down to the Irish pub in Tryphena where we drank and danced; nothing too crazy. The other two left early and I meandered my way home late that night in the dark, using my cell phone to illuminate the road signs.
JAN 17
Just like a dream, it only feels like one once you wake up. Now that I'm back in Auckland looking at my pictures, I feel like my three weeks on the island were a hiatus from reality.
My last weekend on the island, we hitched back around to the east side and hiked up Mt. Hobson, a 621-m peak (fortunately didn't have to start at sea level) in the middle of the island from which you can see the entire island and surrounding islands. It was a hot and steep hike, but not terribly long. The reward at the top of the mountain was magnificent (see pictures), a gorgeous 360 panorama of green mountains and islands. We hiked down the other side of the mountain to Port Fitzroy, where I had planned on camping for the night; I hadn't used my tent yet and really wanted to, even if only for a night. The others hitched back and I went down to Musselfest, an annual festival in the town, but by the time I arrived around 7 pm, was reduced (or enhanced perhaps) to drinking and live music; unfortunately all the mussel booths were closed by then. I couldn't camp in a campground without a booking, so I just hiked up one of the nearby trails and pitched my tent by a stream. Not exactly legal, but I wasn't bothering anyone. When staying in hostels and cottages with other people all the time, it was cathartic to spend the night under the stars alone; I had very bizarre dreams and was woken up by light rain in the night. Axel lent me his stove and some pasta that I heated for breakfast, then I made the long hitch back, stopping briefly at Medlands beach on the east side. Yet annother immaculate, perfectly green and turquoise blue landscape. I can't emphasize enough how willing the island residents are to give rides to travelers; their island is a paradise, their roads are steep and windy, and they don't mind sharing the wealth.
Things changed up a bit my last week on Great Barrier; we got one more, then two more, then finally three more WWOOFers, making us nine by the 9th. Their were two sisters from the US, two sisters from Wellington (the first Kiwi WWOOFers I'd met), a girl from Switzerland, and a guy from the US, Chris. He and I got along great; he immediately described his previous travels Israel and Palestine where he worked with and helped farmers there develop sustainable systems for growing food. I got to play with an Ipad for the first time, which makes my netbook look like the UNIVAC. On Tuesday, we walked down the store in Tryphena, got chocolate, summer sausage, and Scotch, sat on the sandy beach there, and consumed like gluttons. The next day was Chris's birthday, and my last full day, so the four of us Yanks walked back to town and had dinner at the bar & grille; we were so delighted to have a hot meaty food that we all got two meals. And a few beers of course.
I've been worrying myself entirely too much since I've been back in Auckland. I feel like I've got no direction in the immediate or long term future. I did finally get my flight cancelled, but it was a load of trouble. On Friday, I found a helpful person at immigration downtown; he told me my status is 'protected' while my visa is being approved, so I can stay past the expiration of my visitor visa (Jan 24, 3 months after arrival) until I hear the results. It would've been nice to know this, say, three months ago. Then dealing with AirNZ was a pain, I had to call them probably about ten times. Having the ticket cancelled is a weight off my mind though. I stayed at the Cozy Kiwi hostel again; it's a great place to stay, many of the guests are there long term, working in the hostel and elsewhere; I actually ended up in the same bed with one of the same roommates as before (Jack - Ireland). I've been very lazy during my five days here, periodically using the free internet at the library and the mall, drinking with the other guests, watching tv, etc. I did learn a couple new card games in the past few days, while spending time on the outdoor deck. I also checked out another one of the amazing city parks with my two Israeli roommates yesterday.
JAN 18
I sucked it up yesterday and booked a bus to Paihia and a few nights camping in a tent at a hostel. Paihia is in the Bay of Islands, with great diving, the main reason for my choice to come here. I got up early today and caught the Naked Bus again; the weather became windy and rainy during the bus trip. The weather always seems to turn when I want to dive. I scheduled a dive for tomorrow immediately upon arrival, but whether or not it goes out will be up to fate.
JAN 24
Staying in Paihia at the Pickled Parrot has been a gas, despite a few days of butt-soaking rain. I stayed in my tent for the first five days, slightly cheaper than a dorm and more private. I've gone on two dive trips (four dives) with Paihia Dive, one on Wed and one on Sat, and met many more people. The sense of community is present in all aspects of life with fellow travellers, especially at smaller hostels. I let an Austrian guy borrow my Ubuntu boot drive to load onto his laptop to replace his lousy Linpus distribution and helped him get it partially working; I was surprised Saturday evening with free dinner: authentic Irish beef stew from an Irish couple.
My first dive on Wednesday was at the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace vessel that had been sunk by the French in the 80's to stop them from protesting nuclear tests. The ocean swell was formidable and the visibility at the bottom was terrible, only about 1.5 m. Despite not seeing much, it was an adventurous learning experience, trying to keep track of the group and find our way up and down the ship; I had never experienced such lack of visibilty. After stopping and eating lunch on a small island, the skipper found a nearby reef with better visibility for the second dive; there's an abundance of moray eels in this area. The pontoon we were on was equipped with a 250 hp motor, the skipper drove it at full throttle, flying off waves and almost throwing some of us overboard periodically; pretty intense. My second dive day had terrible weather, but much better underwater visibility. There was hardly any swell, but plenty of wind waves from the torrential rainy weather. Once we got under the water, it was blue and calm with about 20-25 m of visibility. We dove first on the HMS Canterbury, a former military vessel over 100 m in length. It had colorful coral and plants all over it; there were gun turrets and rooms that we were able to swim in. The skipper looked for a comfortable place (as away from the wind as possible) for us to do a second dive, not too far from the wreck, along a reef wall next to one of the 144 islands in the bay. We saw several more mosaic and green moray eels, a large porcupine fish, and much much more gorgeous plant and coral life.
Wednesday after my first dive, I hung out with Olaf (Germany), got some beer and went to the beach, met some Malaysian people studying in Wellington, and came back for spaghetti. After getting pretty blasted, we went down to the beach with a few others for the full moon, absolutely gorgeous over the bay. I went for a walk along a track the next day by myself to a lookout point over the bay with a gorgeous view. It was rainy Friday through Sunday, the only result of which is being lazy and drinking beer. On Sunday, my tent and a lot of my stuff had become wet, so I decided to pay a few more dollars and get a dorm room and dry everything out. I got pizza and beer with Franco, (Argentina) and drank with the other hostel members in the rain.
The weather finally improved today. I hung out with Antonio (Scotland) and Connel and Leona (Ireland). We met up on the beach, decided to rent kayaks and paddled to the nearby mangrove forests and then stopped briefly on a small island to enjoy the view, and got burgers and ice cream afterward. I booked a bus ticket to Whangarei tomorrow to dive Poor Knights Island, supposedly one of the best diving spots in the world. I hope it lives up to its reputation.
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baron
non-member comment
HEY COCK BREATH!!
what the fuck dude, nothing since January???