Category: New Zealand

I’m enjoying my long weekend – too much so, probably, as I haven’t been working on my assignments as I should. Yesterday I showed a German/Australian traveller who’d contacted me on Couchsurfing around Wellington, and in the evening I convinced him and my flatmate Jessica to go dancing at the San Francisco Bathhouse, one of the few places that stayed open until after midnight. (Easter is one of the few holidays where most shops are actually closed, as are most bars and clubs, because they’re not allowed to serve alcohol.) I’d been dying to go, as it was an indie party, playing a lot of the kind of music that I enjoy rocking out to in my room sometimes. It was fun – there was a really diverse mix of people there, and the fact that New Zealand has a smoking ban in all public places made it even more enjoyable.

This morning I got up, had a nice breakfast with a brioche and an NZ-style ‘Hot Cross Bun’ (with cinammon and raisins, quite yummy), and then went to church. It was a really good Easter service and I really enjoyed it. It also reminded me of one of the few Bible verses I actually know by heart, and I looked it up in English:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

On that note, enjoy your long weekend! 🙂

I’m a bit sick. I’ve been feeling under the weather for several days, just a bit feverish and generally uncomfortable. It wasn’t bad enough not to go to uni, but today my head’s feeling really stuffy and I can’t concentrate on all the uni stuff I should be doing. So I’m drinking a lot of tea, watching ‘Gilmore Girls’ on DVD and potter around the internet. Pity, as the weather is really gorgeous – the perfect summer day.

Btw, we’re now three again in the flat. Rathy (originally from Singapore) arrived Wednesday night. She’s really nice, very social, and I think I’ll enjoy living with her and Jessica.

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Listening to: Fall Out Boy – Grand Theft Autumn – (remix)
via FoxyTunes

I’ve been planning to get another tattoo while I’m here for a long time – my friend Sandi (who’s an illustrator and really good at it) drew an image I’d had in my mind for years and two friends recommended a tattoo artist here in Wellington. Turns out Roger’s is right down the street from my place, which is quite convenient, as arranging everything takes a bit of doing, because he’s very popular (you can find a link to his website on the left). Now I’ll finally be able to talk to him personally about my ideas and then we can hopefully arrange a date to get it done.

Other than that it’s been a quiet week since Anna left. I’m supposed to write my first assignment this weekend – luckily it’s only a short one. However, as my mom pointed out to me on the phone on Thursday, I haven’t shared my schedule for this semester yet, so here it is:

HRIR 305 – Recruitment & Selection: Tuesday, 2.40-4.30pm / Friday, 2.40-3.30pm
HRIR 307 – Training & Development: Wednesday 4.40-6.30pm / Friday 4.40-5.30pm
HRIR 302 – Employment Agreements: Thursday 10.30am-12.20pm / Friday 10.30-11.20am

In all three papers I have to do 2 or 3 assignments, which will keep me quite busy through the semester, plus final exams in June. After that I’ll have fulfilled all requirements for my Diploma – so all I have to do is stay on the ball and not fail… 🙂

Home in Wellington, obviously. 🙂

Friday night, after a windy day which we ended with yummy Thai food in Whitianga, the weather got really bad, so we weren’t too sad to leave. Anna and I drove down from Coromandel in two days, stopping the night at Taupo. The highlight definitely was a stop at Kerosene Creek near Rotorua, where we luxuriated in the natural hot water. One of the most wonderfully relaxing experiences ever – and completely free!

Now we’re at my place, where Anna’s going to stay for a few days before traveling on to the South Island. For me, uni will start on Tuesday. Hopefully I’ll find a good rhythm soon. I’ll also post my photos from the trip soonish – I just have to sort through them and delete some of the dozens of dolphin pictures I took in Paihia… *g*

The second part of my trip is almost over by now – and the Coromandel Peninsula lived up to its reputation with stunning coastal sights. The weather’s been a bit mixed, but I did get to swim in the ocean several times and lay on the gorgeous beach of Cathedral Cove yesterday. That was a great day out – we were seven girls from Switzerland, Germany and Austria to drive to Whitianga from Coromandel Town in two cars.

As mentioned, Cathedral Cove lived up to the hype, but we were a bit disappointed by the famous Hot Water Beach, where the water was barely lukewarm. Still, it’s so beautiful here, I’m so glad I got the chance to see it. It’s been a blessing to have a car, as several of the excursions we did would otherwise have been very complicated and expensive – most notably the beautiful Coastal Walk we did from Coromandel Town, which would have been $85 on a tour. Plus, it’s great to have company! 🙂

Today it’s Anna’s birthday, so we’re taking it easy and will go out for dinner tonight. Tomorrow we’ll start heading South, to be back in Wellington on Sunday. Anna will be staying with me for the few days that she’s in Wellington – I’m quite excited to have my first guest! 🙂

The daytrip up to Cape Reinga (pronounced ‘Ree-enga’) yesterday was great. We got an early start and made lots of stops at different interesting points, like a kauri forest (kauris are the second biggest trees in the world) and of course the famous ‘Ninety Mile Beach’ (which is only 64 miles long, but still very impressive to drive along – on the actual sand, as our bus had four-wheel-drive). We also had the chance to sandboard down a dune before reaching the Cape.

Cape Reinga is one of the most tapu (‘sacred’) places in the country, as the Maori believe that their souls leave the earth from the branches of a tree that grows there. It’s also a very pretty spot with impressive views of where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet. Afterwards we had lunch at the beautiful Teputaputa bay. I only wish we’d have had more time there, as I didn’t have the chance to go into the water. (That was the only drawback of this bus tour, the strict timetable.)

Because the tides were in our favour, we were then able to make our way back down Ninety Mile Beach. Our last stops were at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom (where they make beautiful things out of 40 000 yearl old kauri wood, including a staircase inside a gigantic kauri trunk) and a fish and chips place on Monganui Bay.

I do hope my photos from this day will turn out okay – unfortunately I had forgotten to charge my batteries, so I had to buy two disposable cameras and take ‘old school’ pictures for most of the day.

In the evening I saw that Anna (the Swiss girl who’d been in my dorm before) had surprisingly come back, and we met two other Swiss women and enjoyed a nice chat in Swiss German.

Later today I’m going to catch the bus back to Auckland, where I’ll have to spend the night before catching the ferry over to Coromandel. But before that I’m hoping that the sun will come out, as I was planning on going over to the town of Russell with its pretty beach.

The dolphin tour happened, and while it did rain for a while at the beginning, it turned out a really awesome day. We saw several schools of dolphins playing together – an incredible experience. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to go into the water with them, as they had a calf (born only that morning) with them, but it was breathtaking to see them so close and in freedom. Then the tour took us out to the famous ‘Hole in the Rock’, after which we had a lunch break on a nice beach. I even went for a swim in the ocean, my first time since arriving in New Zealand.

In the evening, Charlotte, myself and Anna (a Swiss girl in my dorm room) went out – for Swiss food! There seems to be a Swiss family living in Paihia, as we can see a chalet, complete with Swiss flag, from the hostel! 🙂

Today I went for a lovely hike through Opua forest and then back along the coastal path. I enjoyed some breathtaking views and didn’t even mind the rain so much, as it never got as strong as it was on Thursday. Back in Paihia, I spent some time sitting on the beach (sunny but a bit windy), talking to Roos, a Dutch girl from the hostel, who’ll be studying in Auckland.

Sadly Charlotte and Anna (who I’ll meet again, either in Coromandel next week or the week after that back in Wellington) have both left, but I’m sure I’ll be able to keep myself entertained – tomorrow with a daytrip to Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of New Zealand. It’s going to be a long day, but well worth it, I think.