Where in the World: Places where inclement weather heightens the adventure, like New Zealand.
The Inspiration: A cold front that came in right with the beginning of autumn in Pittsburgh. Now, truthfully, I love cool weather, and the world outside is oh-so-tempting to me and my dog right now. The air is becoming crisp, and some of the leaves have yellow edges, and the world is all kinds of lovely. However, the furnace in my house has not been active since last spring, and the new one has been being installed in complicated ways for the past two weeks (I'm learning a lot about it all, though: pipes needed to be replaced, valves needed to be located in walls, the old furnace had to be removed in pieces and cut apart with a torch, fittings didn't fit, etc.). What this means in simple terms is that I'm writing while huddled next to this miracle of a space heater, and last night I baked just to heat up the kitchen.
I was starting to pout way too much about this, but then, something wonderful happened:
I remembered that in much of New Zealand and Australia, homes don't have any sort of central heating because it's not cold for enough of the year for the systems to be worthwhile. Many homes and hostels will have a sort of permanent space heater in common rooms (like you'd find under the window in an average hotel room) and maybe a smaller one on a timer in the bedrooms. Every bathroom I encountered in NZ was flat-out freezing, and for some mysterious reason also had a window cracked just enough for them to feel damp from the winter rain, too.
I noticed all this at the time, but none of it really bothered me. Certainly, I'm spoiled at home with radiators in every room and remember bundling in many, many layers on that trip, but when I was with the Kiwis the cool air was an invitation to toughen up and live in a way that was aware of the seasons and the land. So despite the fact that I'm procrastinating on an important paper in Pittsburgh today, mentally, I'm going to New Zealand, where adrenaline alleviates the chill.
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Going Visiting
Where in the World: to the Traveling Friends
Inspiration: a variant on the same nostalgia. When I was in Australia, I toured the Melbourne Cricket Grounds and pretended I knew a little bit about the sports they play there. I wouldn't have gone on my own, but B described the MCG as "the Fenway of the Southern Hemisphere," we found it and took the tour. The tour guide was very good, a member of the cricket club, but he assumed that we knew about cricket and Aussie rules football because we were interested in seeing the arena, which wasn't true at all. My knowledge of cricket mostly came from Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country," in which he talks about how little sense there is in the game, and incorporates things like unicorns into his descriptions.
Our group was small, and I asked a couple little questions which the guide clearly found juvenile, but especially because I was the only woman on our tour I didn't want to be *that* girl, I mostly walked around perplexed. When the guide was showing us a practice area that resembled a batting cage but talking about rotating bowlers and wickets I whispered to another visitor, "What does that mean?" and he replied in an Irish accent, "I have no idea. I'm here for the football." Hooray! B and I weren't the only ones who didn't know a thing! Newly empowered by my touring peer's lack of knowledge, I asked a few more questions, and laughed more openly at my ignorance.
The fun part of this anecdote is the original point of today's post; the Irish man, C, chatted with B and me through the rest of the tour, and then we all went for a coffee afterward. He was in Melbourne visiting his sister, and playing in international Gaelic-rules football tournaments, and was glad for the company; my brother and I were glad for variety in our conversation. After that little encounter, we started emailing, and C has now been a reliable pen-pal for two years.
It's the friends like him who I'd like to visit today, the people you meet who are just fun to hang out with, and with whom it would be nice to just have a bit more time. There's the Australian woman who we met on the plane to Singapore, and then had dinner with in London, the Kiwi family who hosted us for a night in Christchurch, the owners of the hostel in the Aran Islands who practiced genuine hosptiality and occasionally traded beds for work, my friend's sister who made the Sydney suburbs exciting. There's a whole subculture of travel where people say, "You know so-and so? Well then of course you can sleep on my couch for a few days! What would you like for dinner?" There are now the couch surfing sites etc., but I'm not sure I'm that open to complete strangers. It's the people I've met on the way who I'd like to see again, whose company is today's dream destination for me.
Inspiration: a variant on the same nostalgia. When I was in Australia, I toured the Melbourne Cricket Grounds and pretended I knew a little bit about the sports they play there. I wouldn't have gone on my own, but B described the MCG as "the Fenway of the Southern Hemisphere," we found it and took the tour. The tour guide was very good, a member of the cricket club, but he assumed that we knew about cricket and Aussie rules football because we were interested in seeing the arena, which wasn't true at all. My knowledge of cricket mostly came from Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country," in which he talks about how little sense there is in the game, and incorporates things like unicorns into his descriptions.
Our group was small, and I asked a couple little questions which the guide clearly found juvenile, but especially because I was the only woman on our tour I didn't want to be *that* girl, I mostly walked around perplexed. When the guide was showing us a practice area that resembled a batting cage but talking about rotating bowlers and wickets I whispered to another visitor, "What does that mean?" and he replied in an Irish accent, "I have no idea. I'm here for the football." Hooray! B and I weren't the only ones who didn't know a thing! Newly empowered by my touring peer's lack of knowledge, I asked a few more questions, and laughed more openly at my ignorance.
The fun part of this anecdote is the original point of today's post; the Irish man, C, chatted with B and me through the rest of the tour, and then we all went for a coffee afterward. He was in Melbourne visiting his sister, and playing in international Gaelic-rules football tournaments, and was glad for the company; my brother and I were glad for variety in our conversation. After that little encounter, we started emailing, and C has now been a reliable pen-pal for two years.
It's the friends like him who I'd like to visit today, the people you meet who are just fun to hang out with, and with whom it would be nice to just have a bit more time. There's the Australian woman who we met on the plane to Singapore, and then had dinner with in London, the Kiwi family who hosted us for a night in Christchurch, the owners of the hostel in the Aran Islands who practiced genuine hosptiality and occasionally traded beds for work, my friend's sister who made the Sydney suburbs exciting. There's a whole subculture of travel where people say, "You know so-and so? Well then of course you can sleep on my couch for a few days! What would you like for dinner?" There are now the couch surfing sites etc., but I'm not sure I'm that open to complete strangers. It's the people I've met on the way who I'd like to see again, whose company is today's dream destination for me.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
"Excuse me, is this the town?"
Where in the World: The tiny towns along New Zealand routes 1, 6, and 7 between Kaikoura and Franz Josef.
The Inspiration: Nostalgia etc.; I did warn you. Once upon at time exactly two years ago, I stopped at an intersection near Victoria Forest Park, New Zealand. We got out of the car, and I approached a man walking down the side of the road, and said, "Excuse me, is this the town?" It was a reasonable question. Other than the "T" intersection of the highways that matched the map, there were only three buildings to indicate any sort of town-ness. The man laughed, and told me it actually was Springs Junction, and asked me what I had been expecting. At the puzzling advice of the woman from whom we tried to rent a motel room, we pressed on to Reefton for food and shelter that night. The next day we drove to Punakaiki, and then south down the coast to Franz Josef. Since I'm all misty-eyed over it, and I'm not sure you actually exist, lovely reader, I'm going to show off some more of the photos that are inspiring me. It's also worth noting that neither words or photos could ever adequately capture the beauty of that landscape.
This was on the "highway" across central New Zealand.
The plains run right up to the mountains, and make the geology lessons about the power of glaciers make sense.
This drive was unbelievable
As we got closer to the coast, the snow on the mountains vanished and was replaced by vegitation that looked delightfully prehistoric.
Here's me at the Pancake Rocks, which are amazing rock formations on the west coast. It was freezing cold, and raining, and I was so happy to be there.
The Maori name for New Zealand translates to "Land of the Long White Cloud," so when the views were obscured by fog I felt like I was at least having an authentic Kiwi experience. It actually added to the landscape, and gave it a sort of mythical property. This is one of my favorite photos.
The Inspiration: Nostalgia etc.; I did warn you. Once upon at time exactly two years ago, I stopped at an intersection near Victoria Forest Park, New Zealand. We got out of the car, and I approached a man walking down the side of the road, and said, "Excuse me, is this the town?" It was a reasonable question. Other than the "T" intersection of the highways that matched the map, there were only three buildings to indicate any sort of town-ness. The man laughed, and told me it actually was Springs Junction, and asked me what I had been expecting. At the puzzling advice of the woman from whom we tried to rent a motel room, we pressed on to Reefton for food and shelter that night. The next day we drove to Punakaiki, and then south down the coast to Franz Josef. Since I'm all misty-eyed over it, and I'm not sure you actually exist, lovely reader, I'm going to show off some more of the photos that are inspiring me. It's also worth noting that neither words or photos could ever adequately capture the beauty of that landscape.
This was on the "highway" across central New Zealand.
The plains run right up to the mountains, and make the geology lessons about the power of glaciers make sense.
This drive was unbelievable
As we got closer to the coast, the snow on the mountains vanished and was replaced by vegitation that looked delightfully prehistoric.
Here's me at the Pancake Rocks, which are amazing rock formations on the west coast. It was freezing cold, and raining, and I was so happy to be there.
The Maori name for New Zealand translates to "Land of the Long White Cloud," so when the views were obscured by fog I felt like I was at least having an authentic Kiwi experience. It actually added to the landscape, and gave it a sort of mythical property. This is one of my favorite photos.
Friday, June 26, 2009
New Zealand
Where in the World: New ZealandThe Inspiration: Nostalgia, and the fact that I didn't really want to leave the first time I was there. Two years ago, I left LA on a flight around 11pm on June 25, and 15 hours later I arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, around 7:30am on June 27. That's not a typo, the first part of my trip to New Zealand actually involved time travel, and I think that's crazy cool.* Of course, that's just the beginning. My trip lasted a total of 40 days, and so for the next 40 days I'm predicting that I'll be daydreaming about revisiting most of the places that I went to on that adventure. With that in mind, it's only fair to share a bit of what I saw on my first day in NZ.
I met up with my brother in Auckland, and we flew together to Christchurch. This is what NZ looks like from the air.
We rented a car, and drove from Christchurch to Kaikoura. We had to stop a few times on the way there, because it was simply too beautiful to just drive by.
Kaikoura is in an area with several marine sancutaries. We went directly to the beach to see the seals. I was just a little excited.
We then went for a walk along the cliffs. I was thrilled to be looking east towards the Pacific Ocean, and the scenery just took my breath away.
I may have chased these sheep a little bit, and then decided it was proof of my natural shepherding skills, and that I could live there forever.
This photo doesn't do justice to the colors we saw there; it was unspeakably beautiful. That's why I need to go back to see it again. =)
*You know what else isn't a typo? The spelling of "New Zealand". The spell checker keeps underlining it like it's wrong, which I think is pretty irksome. It's a country, for goodness sake! It's not like I'm using the Maori name, Aotearoa.
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