Kailah goes to New Zealand!

For our last day in Sydney we decided to check out Bondi  beach. It is a huge beach a bus ride away from the hostel we were staying at (we actually had to move hostels because the YHA had filled up so we went to one literally next door which kind of sucked, but we got upgraded to our own room which was sweet). The beach was huge and beautiful and apparently clothing optional. Clearly because we’re huge tourists me and Ally both got really bad and painful sunburns. Also to round out the beach experience we got really delicious fish and chips! We also took a stroll along the coast to see these huge dripping rock formations and really spectacular views. We took our sunburned bodies back into the city and clearly needed gelato (mmm blood orange) to sooth the burn. We had a delicious salad (again) and then went to see Quantum of Solace (so good!) that night.

The next morning we honed our jet setting image by flying into Byron Bay. Once we arrived at the airport which was simply one terminal we knew we would like it much better here than in Sydney. We are staying at the most adorable hostel ever called The Arts Factory. It is ripped out of HAIR and the 1960s. We are staying in a giant tee pee! There is also a pool, beach volleyball, a cafe, restaurant, cinema, spa and a didge pit where we learned to play didgeedoo this morning (actually not that hard, but hard to make it sound really good). The town is equally as cute filled with vegan restaurants and stores selling hippie clothing. For lunch we went to why not cafe and I thought, why not, I’ll try the kangaroo burger. The extremely friendly waitress told me it would taste a bit gamier than lamb, but I thought it tasted pretty much like beef. Served on really good bread with chips and a blueberry honey smoothie it was delicious! Sine we were in Australia we clearly had to keep shopping, but made our way slowly down to the beach. The beach had the softest sand I think I’ve ever experienced and it was made even better when I found twenty dollars in it!

Our hostel put on a quiz night last night were we got roped into being on a team with an English bloke and an Aussie on holiday. We actually fared quite well and managed to avoid another humiliating defeat as we did at the Hell’s pizza quiz in Welly. I love putting useless information to use, like the name of a B52’s song that’s also a food. (Rock Lobster). We also met some really cool travelers like a guy that’s been traveling for two years throughout the world, and an Israeli girl who participated in Taglit as a soldier and is traveling alone. Everyone here is very laid back and friendly and it’s so cool to be around people who just want to see the world and aren’t obsessed with getting degrees and jobs  and careers. Not to say these people don’t have ambitions and goals and dreams, they often have really cool ones, it’s just not the same American attitude of getting ahead at all costs.

In conclusion, Byron Bay is awesome. Everyone we meet here is really suprised that we’ll only be in Australia for 10 days and I’m starting to understand why. This place is huge and you really need a bunch more time to even explore the touristy places properly. It seems this is becoming somewhere I can see myself coming back to. Maybe.

So yesterday Ally and I discovered that it dose indeed rain in Australia. Our perceptions of a hot and dry continent were drenched with drizzle. Even though we were a bit damp our spirits were not, because we were the ultimate tourists and went to the Sydney Opera house, don’t worry I have about a million pictures to prove it. Then we found a cute shopping center called The Rocks were we strolled, dined, shopped, and went to the Museum of Contemporary Art which had an exhibit on Yinka Shonibare which was really good. In the afternoon the sun came out and we went through the Botanic gardens which we discovered were filled with bats! Seriously shrieking bats. It was a bit scary and also really cool. Our first encounter with scary Aussie animals! Afterwords we went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales were we saw Australian art, and a really good photo exhibit of Black Australia, which focused on aboridginals. On our walk home we strolled through a soapbox row which was quite interesting and an African festival. After dinner we pretended to be in a hot climate by visiting the YHA Sauana and pool then saw a terrible and culturally insensitive movie called the Tattooist. Do not see this movie. I promise. But it was free and there was free popcorn and pillows so that somewhat made up for it. Afterwords we tried to explore the Sydney nightlife but realized that Australian beer is literally undrinkable and we settled for ice cream instead!

Yesterday was one of the longest days of my life. Ally and I woke up at 4am in Christchurch New Zealand, after very little sleep and me having dreams about being late for our airport shuttle. Our shuttle driver was playing some ming dynasty style chinese melodic music which gave our drive a nice epic feeling. We navigated our way through the airport where I bought a snuggle travel pillow — yes it have snuggle in the name, so clearly it was mine. Our flight went well, although we had to turn our clocks two hours back making it an even longer day. Looking out the windows on the descent I started to get the sense that we were flying onto another continent. The ocean and clouds seemed to look bigger, and somehow different. Navigating our way through the Australian airport, going through customs and changing money (which is also cool and colorful, but the smaller denomination coins are larger which is really counter intuitive) it was already clear that this is a much larger country, and people are clearly not going to be as nice and cute. We took a subway type train from the airport which droppedus right by our hostel. It sort of had the feeling of a New York train, with the cleanliness of DC, but it was a double decker which was cool. After some logistical challenges at our hostel, and again realizing that people here are not as nice, and we will have to pay for a lot of things we take for granted in New Zealand(like storing luggage, getting around by train/bus because it’s so much bigger). After we munched down some takeaways in a little park infested with pigeons and these really weird looking birds with long beaks, we decided that we should shop. We went to Paddy’s a really overwhelming shopping complex. The ground floor was half farmers market, which provided the ingredients to make a delicious and HUGE salad for dinner, half flea market selling random crap (a whole booth of hair extensions) and touristy stuff. On top of this huge twisty turny market is a real mall. We tried on a bunch of dresses and each bought some stuff with out new colorful money. It was at this point that it really hit me how much I had gotten used to New Zealand and how comfortable I felt there. Even traveling to new places there I felt comfortable and safe, while Australia feels a lot bigger, more debaucherous and overwhelming. It’s sort of like comparing Cambridge to New York. There were some nice smaller town touches we saw such as some cools street musicians: a beatboxerand a guy playing a little drum set withhanging beer cans filled with water. However, bigger can sometimes be better. The YHAwe are staying with is huge and really really nice. It has it’s own cafe, bar, cinema, pool and sauna! The dinning room has a chandeleerand plush red booths, and there is a plant lounge withhammocks, tons of TV lounges and computers. For the rest of the day we explored our surrounding area which we discovered is saturated withshopping opportunities and seriously lacking cafes. The one we did go to just confirmed what I’ve been told that Australians do not take their coffee as seriously as kiwis, something I”m really missing.  We then went down to Darling harbour where we saw more street performers, including a really clever advertising campaign for Alberta, Canada (I know, random) where they had Albertans in cages, and little blurbs about them. It was pretty surreal and hilarious. The views were huge and included lots and lots of skyline, huge buildings were everywhere but the sky was also beautiful and dramatic. After dinner we decided to take a catnap so we could check out the nightlife. However our two hour nap turned into a twelve hour slumber, clearly much needed. That leaves us waking up early with another long day ahead of us to explore Sydney!

On a logistical note, my New Zealand cell phone does not work in Australia so you won’t be able to reach me on it until December 4th (New Zealand time). I am trying to get a calling card (to call home) but it is much easier for me to get online, so email is probably the best way to keep in touch with me.

It was with much sadness that I left The Food Farm yesterday. I had such an amazing time there and it is very hard to let go. But, I wrote down a bunch of the hilarious things that were said in my 16 day stay and thought I would share some here.

Me: Ruby, is pink your favorite color? [Ruby is wearing a pink headband with white polka dots, a white shirt with pink trim, a jean jumper with red and purple hearts, pink and white striped tights, and pink shoes and a pink sparkly sweater.] Because you’re wearing a lot of pink.

Ruby: No I”m not!

Nick: What I think she means is she could be wearing a lot more pink.

Angela: Life is short. You could die tomorrow. Would you really want the last bottle of wine you drank to be a six dollar Chardonnay from South Australia that tasted like shit?

Me [seeing Marmite in the pantry]: So you guys eat Marmite?

Nick: The girls do. I’m Australian so I eat vegemite.

Me: I think her daiper’s full.

Angela’s friend: We have nappiesin New Zealand!

Angela: Ok, I”m almost ready to go, someone just needs to cuddle baby Flynn for five minutes.

Me: You can say shit on TV here?

Angela: Ya, we just can’t go to war with other countries.

Me: I think Flynn might have gone to the bathroom.

Angela: No, he’s been sitting on your lap the whole time.

[The correct New Zealand term is "wet his nappy"]

Angela: Now, what’s the most important thing about planting?

Me: SOIL CONTACT!

Angela: If you take one thing away from this have it be that you need 500 strawberry plants for 3 children.

Nick [when saying goodbye]: Now go plant some vegetables!

I arrived at The Food Farm just minutes before Barack Obama was declared the President Elect of the United States. After both me and my hosts had reassured ourselves that we all supported Obama we toasted with champagne. I offered a toast to “my country not ruining your country” while they offered a toast to Change; far more classy. But it is such a relief to know Obama will be running the country, it makes it so much easier to come back to. I am truely proud to have voted for him (twice: primary and election) and proud that now maybe not everyone will hate us!

But apart from the US, I could not be more in love with my host WWOOFing family. They comprise Angela, the mother who works as a wine marketer, Nick, the dad, an Australian who also works as a farmer for the same wine company, Ruby, age four who likes to continually repeat: “What? Put your head in a tea pot?” (in a kiwi accent “what” is pronounced “wot” so it rhymes), Matilda aka Beatle, aged two who shows her excitement by biting and Baby Flynn, three months old. In addition to humans they have a golden retriever, ducks, geese, baby geese, chicken (called chooks) and sheep, of course. Everyone in the family is extremely outgoing, friendly, talkative and silly. I’ve felt so welcomed into the family that now I really feel one of them. They feed me amazing amazing food (highlights include asparagus soup, lamb chops, stir fry, and lots of home made cheese, yogurt and ice cream!). They try to eat locally and from their garden as much as they can so everything is fresh and delicious. I am staying in the bach, a little house right next to theirs with a huge room, a queen sized bed and my own heater! Clearly living in the lap of luxury! Then again, anything seems nice after the disgusting flat of Everton Hall.

On a typically day I work in the morning mostly in the garden, I feed the animals, water the plants, then weed or plant typically. Then I get fed a huge lunch and have the rest of the afternoon to relax, read, take a walk and ussually play with the kids. After the kids go to bed we ussually watch TV, eat delicious dinners and drink really good quality wine. They all take amazing care of me and make sure I’m always well fed! The way to my heart is clearly through my stomach.

As many now I have a slight obsession with children so it’s been really fun to get to be a surgote parent to three! Nick and Angela are really great parents and I’m in awe of their life style. They both have jobs, work a farm and have three kids that they have to cook for and clean up after. It is a TON of work and I have a newfound appreciation for housewives. But I’m loving getting to be part of a kiwi family, and really getting to know another side of this country.

As expected leaving Wellington was quite emotional and very very sad. I already miss the city I really did come to think of as another home. But off I went to spend a day on my own in Christchurch on my way to my first WWOOFing stay. Traveling alone was a bit nerve wracking, but it actually turned out really nicely. Flying in to Christchurch alone was reassuring just because flying within New Zealand is so easy, the extent of any security I went through was being asked if I had any flamabale objects in my checked bag. I went through no metal detectors and didn’t even have to show ID. It was a lovely day in Christchurch and after a bite to eat I decided to go see a movie. I’ve never been to a movie theater alone in the states, but I found a very cute art house theater that actually made the experience quite pleasant. I saw Helen Hunt’s directoral debut And Then She Found Me which I highly recomend. The theater was in a small brick building and sold food and wine, and had a lounge with magazines to wait in until the theater opened. The theater was a room of about thirty plush blue seats in an ornate red room. The theater was opened by a real person and the movie started right after we were let in; no annoying comercials. I then went back to the backpackers I was staying at where I met a really cool med student from London who had been working in Melbourne Australia and is now traveling NZ, Japan and Edgypt. We talked about the impending election and Obama, it’s always interesting to hear an outside perspective on US politics, and in New Zealand in the US election greatly overshadowed the NZ election which took place just several days later.

The next morning I got a chance to go to the huge cathedral in Christchurch which I missed the first time. I’m ussually pretty skeptical about large churches but I actually found this oen quite moving and inspirational. The art work was beautiful and I was filled with a very  nice calm while I was there. After I went into some art galleries. It’s very nice being alone and being able to go at my own pace. I also got the chance to realize that the pit of doom I had felt in my stomach wasn’t really about traveling on my own, but more about leaving Wellington. I started to feel much more optimistic and excited about the next period of travel!

I finished exams on Friday but school already feels a million miles away. I leave my Wellington flat tomorrow to embark on a journey throughout New Zealand and Australia. I’ll be living out of my suitcase for the next six weeks which is both exciting and terrifying! I have done so many fun things in the last few days but have also started to say goodbye to people I may very well never see again.

Friday was Halloween here in New Zealand and although I didn’t get my act together in time to whip up a costume I had a blast going into town and seeing other people dressed up. Saturday was incredibly stormy and I had a lazy day indoors, but Saturday night I went to see Tiki Tane live in concert. I am probably going to force everyone to listen to him when I get home because he is so amazing and was great live. Some highlights include him blowing a conch shell, and his dad coming on stage to sing a haka. It was truly unreal and so much fun to dress up and go see a big New Zealand Artist here in Wellington.

Sunday was a beautiful and very sunny day (I got really sunburned on my shoulders without even realizing it). I went to a French Expo with  my friend Emily who is going to Paris next semester and then soaked up the sun down by the harbour. It was so nice out that Ally, Emily and I all decided to jump into the harbour off a nifty diving board they have set up. It was pretty scary but an amazing thrill. The water was way colder than I expected and for some reason I didn’t foresee that it would be salty so that was a bit shocking. We met some really nice Irish guys who are traveling Australia, New Zealand and the US for a year who were also jumping in. We then walked home in our soaking wet clothes. Saturday night we had a really fun and corny girls night slumber party complete with pizza, tim tam slams, the breakfast club and lots of quality cuddling and girl talk. It was some much needed quality time.

Today, I went to Matiu/Sommes Island which is in Wellington harbour. It was another amazing day and we took full advantage of the weather, and the beautiful views. Matiu/Sommes has been used as a strategic military base, quarantine for livestock and people (leprosy, tb etc.) and was also used as internment camps for Germans during both world wars. When we got off the boat we had to check our bag for rats because it is a predator free island. Luckily none of us had any. On the island we saw lots of birds including green parrots, tons of seagulls, we also saw sheep (duh, but never seem to lose their appeal), geese with cute fluffy little babies, and blue penguins! The view was surreal as always and we took a ton of cheesy yet awesome touristy pictures of us in jumping in mid air. We then stopped by Day’s Bay on the way home and walked along the beach and went to a cafe (also duh, but again, doesn’t get old).

So tomorrow I leave and without a permanent address I feel much more like a tourist than a resident. I’m thrilled, nervous and overwhelmed, and I promise to keep in touch as much as possible but am not sure how much internet access I’ll have over the next six weeks.