Avoiding mental countdown

So my firstest blog ever was 10 days before leaving for New Zealand...
And now it occurs to me (as it has more frequently as of late), that I will be boarding a plane home to the states one week from manana~

Oh insanity. As my mom has phrased it, twill be a bittersweet return. On one hand, I totally grin at the thought of seeing all you super rad folks back in Ptown, pedaling the Smurfcycle or the Gremlin (these are my two fave cruisers for those of you who have not seen my garage...), snugglin with Tula (koolest kitty on this planet...don't know about the other ones of course!), and even being back at work...a little ;)

On the other hand (probably we're talkin lefty here), it would be impossible not to miss the amazing people, country, and freedom of life and thought that i've experienced over the last 2.75 months-ish. There's nothing like forgetting what time and day it is (AND NOT CARING) and letting the wind take you (but not off the side of the mountain); because, as an amazing friend of mine says, "You can't plan yer fun." ...but you'll sure as hell have a shit-ton of it if you let yourself!

Highly unlikely that i could leave EnZed without slight pangs of homesickness (because it really has been my home for a bit and has become entirely endeared to my heart...or mee hairt as the Scottish would say ;) But that's cool, luckily i left plenty of it to draw me back. The 'to-do' list that i don't have is racked with sites left unseen and adventures un-had...perfecto!

And i must say (or type, geez guyz....can you hear my lisp:) that although i've completely enjoyed every hike and backpack trip i've done and have seen some amazingly awe-imposing country....
it's really the fuckin rad people i've met and experienced that have landmarked my trip with pure and utter amazingnessosity...tee hee.

Total non-sequitor: the word "lisp" is so mean! Not only can someone with a true lisp not say it without lisping, but it's also the word "lips" ...only totally fucked with. whoa to the spelling wizards who created this harsh word! whoa i say.

Okee dokee, so now that i've made some sweeping generalizations and completely condensed wordage of my mind-thought via the keyboard, i'll let y'all in on my current adventures! READ ON.... if you dare....

So, following KiwiBurn (likely the country's bestest festivus) I headed south to Wellington with the cactus crew and have been there/here ever since! Wellington is quite like Portland in many regards, and having spent a bit more time here this visit, it has grown on me ;) But not like that, it's NOT a TUMA! Mostly i've spent my days wanderin the city, going for adventure runs along Wellington's awesome trail system, pondering anything and everything in the botanical garden (so of course coincidingly i've gotten to whiff many a rose...mmm. tasty) and hanging out with all from KiwiBurn...with even the re-emergence of Fin, who went travellin after the burn!

Although there have been many mini-adventures, think i'll choose just one recent one to report on...oh dear i'm grinning just thinking abaout it ;)

So.

I had planned on walking the Mt Holds-something-Mt Jumbo Circuit, located in the Wairarapa about an hour and a half outside of Wellington and was discussing it with the Cactus Crew over dinner. During this discussion, Aron (with whom I've been staying---CC insert additional phrase as needed) commented that he's like to come along.
And so I then remarked (quite jokingly) that the only possibility for that would be to hike the entire thing at night...

Please note, in saying this i had not adequately surmised just how crazy Aron actually is...but now i know for certain!

And so it was on (like donkey kong!). We left for the hills and began our walk around 8pm amidst waning bits of daylight and low clouds. The first section was up, up, and then after that a bit of straight the fuck up. Oh the joy of headlamps (torches kiwis, torches).

Once we were up above the clouds, the sky was spectacular! Some of the best stars, most abundant shooting stars (including one that was so close and intense you could see its firey tail trail), and a harvest moon rise that i shall never forget! With light reflecting off the ocean horizon and then later the clouds that were sitting in the surrounding valleys below us....oh sigh, the sites to behold were uncomparable to others mine eyes have previously beheld.

And so, the ridge walking section was probably the most visually overwhelming...and also the SKETCHY-EST! The wind was howling (as it does on mountain ridges ;) and we rejoiced every time we spotted a trail marker pole with our headtorches!

So once off the ridge, we headed down (down as in 'oy my knees!' down) through the beech forest with the sillouhettes of trees overhead backdropped by starry night sky! We basically ran/jumped down this section...basically. Aron and his super spry feet trail sleuthed this part and i was glad because it allowed me to keep my eyes on my personal spotlight of trail in order to even PRETEND to keep up with him on the descent!

So what an adventure, after stopping briefly to coyote cry/howl at some sleeping teenagers' tents (which must have been quite confusing since neither of these mammals exist in NZ), we arrived back at the car at 4:50 AM...just enough time to drive back to Wellington via sunrise and get Aron to work (crazy bastard). All in all, we hiked 24km...rated as a 12 hour walk...at night...in about 9 hours.

What, dear lord, compelled us to do this? Yeah i really don't know either, but it was a grand adventure and i wouldn't trade it...not even for a sour gummy worm ;)

MORE VISUAL DEPICTIONS HURRAH!

Some of the crazies....
The temple
Green Fairy Camp
and Polly Put the Kettle On Camp

KiwiBurn...may the flames engulf me indefinitely

Holy cow, KiwiBurn was superfly totally rad.
Ok, mini rewind.
KiwiBurn is New Zealand's miniature re-creation of the Burning Man festival held in Nevada each year (please google for further explanation). It was the only thing listed on the 'itinerary' that i did not have for this trip. And seriously stoked that i didn't miss out on this one ;)

It all began with Anja AKA Fin (a previous friend from Kaikoura land o seals) picking me up in Turangi and truckin up north towards the KiwiBurn with enough food and water, 2 sparkly blue hats, and mindset of 'who knows what the fuck we'll find!'

And cheers to Fin for going along with me without a clue as to what she was getting in to! There's a true sense of adventure ;)

Upon arrival, we were initiated into the Burn through the future tunnel (the theme this year was future history...not bad, you could go places with this theme...not that we did). After meeting...some 'of the locals'....we set up camp in the shade and began testing out our gift to other Burners. Our camp was the "ANTI-ATTACHMENT BODY ART INSTALLATION" camp. So basically we gifted others (and ourselves) with beautiful (I'd say) body art, that although amazing and spectacular to behold, need not last forever but could be enjoyed for however long it did last...which was entirely up to the Sharpei in question and how often the person had a swim during the burn ;)

Snapper, my first body art installation was for you ;)

And while i'm thinkin on it, for a few amazing depictions of the KiwiBurn, check out this fantastic link that i am entirely pirating from Empress Heidi (thanks senorita!)

http://s545.photobucket.com/albums/hh368/heidi_coppard/Kiwiburn%2009/

As Fin and I went for our first wander to begin adventuring and meeting fellow burners, we encountered magical moving cubes, crazies on little bikes (so i felt like i was totally home...zoobombers forever!), and the funnest (yes i said FUNNNNEST) crew in the whole of kiwiworld i'm thinking, El Lucios Mexicanas camp. What can i say, the cactus was entriguing and the crew within even more captivating ...or maybe it was the tequila....KNOT! (insert laughing Lou here and eye rolling from basically everyone else at the Burn)

So, I find it nigh impossible to describe the magic of the four days that ensued. However, it was dotted by:

.... wonderful swims in the lake, including seaweed fashion and daily forays across the lake with Flipper AKA Aaron...who could easily swim cirlces around me at warp speed...with 2 broken arms...and no legs.

.... Amounts of laughter that are illegal in most countries, provided by little bikes with big people, amazing costumes, EXCLAMATORY SPANISH!!!! (audible to all although only eminating from a few particular sets of lungs), and the creatively saracastic wit of everyone at KiwiBurn mostly!

....Nights of lying in the grass with heads downhill, dancing at the Empire, fireside anything...firespinners included!, star gazing during the gap after the moon doth set but before the mist rolled in, shadow puppets in the fog

....Yoga or Tai CHi first thing in the morning...feel the burn, if you're not shaking, yo'ure not doing it right, good on ya Sam, your JELLO legs were an inspiration to alllll!

....Eating fruit as a mission...no hands...gravity assisted !

Oh how i could go on, but won't...just yet.

I think the most amazing element of KiwiBurn was watching as people gradually came out of their shells and learned to discard their societal training of how they should act and REACT to others and within social settings..."appropriately"

Cheers to that and the biggest words of appreciativenessosity to all at the KiwiBurn.
Mangakino (where?) will never be the same and neither will we ;) Burn on folks!
Much love. Muchos amor mis amigos!

I will never hear the word 'urethra' again without thinking....GO!

preview a few photos of the kiwi burn

WAAAAAAY more to follow :)

Voracious Volcanic Virtues...right...

So.
Taupo, lake Taupo.
Well it's a small world folks, my totally rad friend Miss Kara (formerly known as Davis, now Mrs. Jason's last name) sent me an email that a friend of hers from good old Bellingham had just sailed into New Zealand (try to hide your anguish Greggers!) and was travelling around...and guess who was in the exact locale that i was slated to go trekkin in.
3 guesses....

So that is how i met Jason Rose, mr sailor extraordinaire and former bellinghamster himself! Along with another hostelite (John from Ireland), we hiked the Tongariro Crossing, one of the most famous day treks in allllll of New Zealand. And let me tell you, there's a reason for it ;)
Twas spectacular! Mid walk, John and I hiked/climbed (seriously i was using all fours most of the time, total monkey style...as usual right?) up to the top of Mt. Ngaurahoe (also know as MOUNT DOOOOM from Lord o the rings) Such a flippin uphill slog, but well worth the amazing view and peak into the crater from the top! ONce up, stood in the steam vent and felt the ground, which was piping hot (shocking i know from a volcano ;) Anyhow, the way down was heaps of fun as well basically skiied down the loose scree all the way. Although walking up took a solid hour...plus...the way down was, oh, say...15 minutes max! The rest of the journey showed off spectacular reds and greens as the ions and minerals from the volcanic explosions have oxidized and such to create surreal displays. After a hell of a walk down down down (till the ends of my toes were tired of being bashed into the front of my shoes), we caught a shuttle back to town and celebrated with BBQ and beers (hooray for good food when your buggered!)

The next day was a bit of rest and Jason and I decided to check out the annual Medieval Festival which was taking place in taupo...yeah really i just wanted to check out all the local D&D boys. I had high hopes of something like the Renessaince Fair my fam attended when i was a wee lasss. Anyhow, the jousting was lack luster and it was so hot one of the horses actually fell over (no good), but otherwise it was smashingly entertaining (shayna i tried to find you a ribbon wand just like the old days but they were not to be found!)

The next morning, Jason headed south towards Windy Welly and I toward Whakapapa Village to complete the Round the Mountain Track which circles Mt. Ruapehu. What a flippin adventure. I would not, repeat NOT, recommend this backpacking trip to anyone with any knees problems. I don't even see how fantastically phenomenally healthy people could complete this trek without creating patellofemoral syndrome! So lots of up and lots of down, steep, loose rock. Amazingly because it circled a volcano, the first day i found myself in the rainshadow and hiking through total desert! This includes wind storms, with which for the first few hours i was enthralled and laughing at how strong and spectacular the wind was...and then as the sun was setting and i was still hiking with dust and dirt in my eyes, nose and any other orifice that dared peak towards the pink hews of sunset...then i was kinda over the whole desert storm element. And at 8:30pm ish when i finally, FINALLY came to a hut...i almost cried! i have never been so glad to see 4 man made walls in the middle of nature. After 30 km in a dust storm with a full pack, I was happy to sleep in an enclosed space, which i luckily had to myself!

The next morning i awoke to decreased wind and a bit of clouds...nice. While sitting outside, I started to hear low rumbles. Seriously thought i was imagining it at first, but then they increased in frequency and tone. Ummm, fuck me, the volcano is going to erupt (last time it did was 1996 i think). You better believe I packed my shit up fast and looked at every topo map in the hut to see where the high points and safety zones were. Luckily, i think...it was a nearby military training camp. but oy.

anyways my internet money is about to run out, as if my typing energy. So, i'll tell the story later. for now, i'm heading to the KiwiBurn yall with my friend Anja! Cheers!

Seeds of Thought Grow Well when Watered

oh me oh my, it's been a while.
here's what i'm thinkin: abbreviated version of the past few weeks and then maybe, maybe i'll be mostly caught up! this whole bloggin thing is fantastic but terribly time consuming and requiring of that crazy internet dealy bobber!

so, a recap of ahunui farm (means 'sacred mound'...quite nice eh?)
while melissa and francesca left for a horse riding competition (and someone at TAI please tell Gary that yes, dressage is the main type of riding here...and i hope Tucker is minding his manners ;) I stayed at the farm and took care of the animals and plant life (as previously noted). Lucky for me, Burton was around much of the time as well. And so, I had most excellent company and a tour guide to the area's most fantastic offerrings! And what might these include i'm certain you're asking yourself in this moment...

For starters, we toured (with another couple) the valley's local glow worm caves. The best i can describe them is to say it was like staring at your ceiling at the age of 8 or 9 after randomly sticking glow in the dark stars all over the place...only they were a blue hue (not glow in the dark green). It actually reminded me tons of walking back from campfire the last night of the week at Kitaki and seeing the forest plants painting with ...let's just say magic (b/c magic is way more environmentally friendly that whatever the hell they actually used).

Also, we walked through the river up the limestone chasm and explored little crevices and saw amazing rock formations include stalagtites and mites and Andy Goldsworthy formations (google that one as well ;) During the course of the walk I was also chased by a river eel, which bared its gnarly teeth at me. But I was brave and shreiked like a little pansy girl...and that seemed to frighten it a bit!

Also (yeah again i'm gonna use the word), Burton and I got to discussing some of his books and writing and symbolism in relationships which was quite fun! When i'm back, ask me about some of the 'little tests' he's created, they can be quite telling and interesting.

Ok, cutting myself off, moving on. So the girls arrived back and with smashing success! Frankie won 6th in one division and her entire group did superbly! Good on ya mate! That week was full of good fun and hard work and swimmin in da riva!

And, fantastically, for my birthday, Melissa took me vino tasting at Ata Rangi winery and we very daintily sipped from lovely glasses and played the posh role ;) flippin fantastico! And that evening we made a lovely dinner with the new WOOFers who had arrived, quite memorable. thanks melissa, couldn't have been better (granted i could have won the lottery, but i gotta save something for next year right?)

Anyhow, since the gals were headed north for another horsey competition in taupo and i was headin north toward tongariro national park, I hitched a ride with them! perfecto~
We spent the morning...whole day...speaking with our 'o-so-practiced' italian accents and listening to the radio speak of the 'gloomy' economic situation and how it is "engulfing the world"
That's right yall, engulfing! Run for your lives, the economic black hole consumes all!
Anyhow, it was a great trip north and an amazing WOOFing experience once again. What can I say, I am damn near the luckiest person i know...(touch wood!)

Ok, so that was not a bad synopsis but hang on folks, there's more...but first, some tea ;)

Farm Livin is the Life for Me!

Once in Martinborough, I met "the ladies" of my current family at the Pony Club area, where Francesca (15 y/o) was having a jumping lesson. Before we had even arrived home, knew i had lucked out once again! One of the first good signs was that we stopped for ice cream and by the time we'd been in the car 10 minutes, Melissa and I were already engaged in some kind of real conversation. Love it!

As we drove further from town and closer to the gals' home, the land became more often dotted with pine trees and bush and the valley grew deeper as we followed the river to the spot where i have been for the past week-plus-ish. Later that night, I met Burton (the other piece of this fantastic family puzzle) and we all shared an amazing dinner (brought to us by Head chef Melissa) with friends of the family. interesting how not only engaging with people, but also meeting their friends, and observing their interaction with them can tell you so much! In any case, i was easily convinced by the end of the evening that i had found a stellar group of folks.

Day One began with some slightly unconventional herding techniques as we needed to move some cows and rearrange some sheeps ;) With Melissa in the truck, Francesca on horseback, and me on a bike (yeah go figure) we managed to steer the cows in the right direction...mostly. Next order of business was separating the yews from the more mature sheeps and bring them back to a closer paddock (pasture). Quite impressed i was at Melissa's sheep wrassling ability, i can only aspire to one day do so well :) Lastly Francesca and I attempted to herd a different cow back toward home, however this little bastard of a cow was less accepting of its new locational fate and gave us quite a run (literally) for our money, even nigh attempting suicide at a cliff's edge! Eventually, Olive (the family milk cow and day's savior) was used to lead the young cow homeward.

Day Dos was entirely different. I was sent of with Burton to Wharekauhau, a beautiful spot on the coast where he is establishing the world's first golf cross course (google it yall). Spent the day finishing the goals, talking about creative elements of life, and eating lemons fresh off a tree. delish.

The next day was a scorcher and it was spent (as is customary) feeding hungry creatures and watering things; but also the gals packed up to ship off for a riding competition, so chaos prevailed! Somewhere in there i snuck down to the river for my first swim. The deepest spot is at a bend in the river beneath a tall slab engrained with lines/layers of shells and bone from different geological times, so rad! At one point i suddenly heard a group of voices come over the adjoining hill, a group of trail riders from next door. Doubt they saw me enjoying the cool waters, but if they did then we'll just call it part of their 'scenic' tour... because there's only one good way to swim in a river (back me up here Greg) ...atleast they got their money's worth, eh?

A general description of the farm and its inhabitants (not including the mammals who are bipedal): 4 cows (one Jersey cow for milking named Olive who has become quite fond of being scratched behind the ears and who has endeared herself to me), sheep...of some number greater than 15 raised for eatin' since wool is not terribly profitable unless in humungoid quantities or of the merino type (those are the fancy-pants sheep and they require quite specific climate...picky picky), 16 chooks plus one larger than life rooster (i have grown quite fond of these ridiculous birds whose bodies it seems are far too large for their brains, so funny to watch them run towards me each time i get within shouting distance with the possible expectation of food, but also they just look so ridiculous when they run...simply imagine a human with WAAAAYyyy too long and spindly of legs, kinda a chunky body, and no arms. there you have it), 2 horses, and last but certainly not least Jasper the kitty who is, while slightly wild and crazy, a total rockstar and excellent hang out buddy.

On the elements of life without heartbeats: orchards with many different species of plums, apples, apricots, nectarines, cherries, peaches, olives, lemons, and feijoas (feijoas Amy, feijoas!) The veggie gardens include beans, sugar snap peas (oh delight!), zuchinnis (which are courgettes here), squash, corn, carrots, potatoes, artichokes, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce for africa....yeah.

So just like silly parents say to children with food left on their plate, "finish that, don't you know there are starving children in china!" here when something is in excess, well, they give it to Africa instead.

The sun is bright, the hills are dry, the river is cool but not freeze yer toes off cold, and the people are lovely.

I quite like it here, it's a-nice, very nice ;)