Green

Have you ever thought about how strange the word ‘green’ is? It has a weird spelling; it even sounds strange as it rolls off your tongue. Gre-een. Green. We have been immersed in a green world, where everything is coated in alien green.

On Saturday we walked the Manawatu Gorge track. I had thought that it would be an easy walk, for to me the word gorge implied that we would be walking down into a scenic valley. In this alien Kiwi world, gorge means steep mountain overlooking the enticing valley below. The scenic reserve is everything that it claims. I recommend every traveller doing a bush walk to buy a leather fedora and bull whip like Indiana Jones’. The jungle we traversed was different than anything I’ve ever seen.

Every rock, trunk and branch was covered in green moss or lichen, over which green vines climbed, sprouting delicate green leaves. The forest itself was a disorienting collage of green hues as layers of leaves from the canopy to the floor competed for sunlight. Leafy tendrils reached out over our heads and palm trees were interspersed among tall nursery trees with ferns growing out of the trunks and branches. Birds made cheeky calls and flitted about in the periphery of our vision.

We ascended and descended time and again and finally emerged at the Te Apiti lookout. There before us was the Tararua wind farm, the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere, and beyond it Palmerston North and the friendly market we had left hours earlier.

Quite by accident, we stumbled upon the Over the Bridge Café. Its delightful farmhouse appeal was nearly masked by the leather-clad bikers having luncheon on the front porch. Kristine and I steeled ourselves and braved the stares of ZZ Top’s six brothers. We were rewarded with a delightful experience and a steaming bowl of cappuccino that translated Kristine into a state of elation.

Saturday evening, Rangiwahia showed up in full at the community hall for a “welcome new residents” do. The locals were treated to a taste of Canada with Kristine’s marvellous butter tart squares. We have been heartily welcomed!

The Sheep Go Marching One By One

Rangiwahia is in dire need of a bowling alley. Think about it: where do you always end up when you cannot think of anything to do? You end up wearing plaid pants and a wrist guard at the local lanes, sitting beside a guy whose shirt is emblazoned “Steve”.

There is no place in Rangi to rumble a ball down a hardwood alley, so the denizens never reach a destination. Instead, they roam the landscape as zombies, ever-searching never-finding. Kristine and I enjoy our evening roaming, but the hills that look so inviting are terrible for walking on. Just ask Kristine, who is in dire need of gumboots.

Sheep and cattle go marching round and round the towering hills, creating well-trodden rain-sodden paths. So industrious are these trampling machines that you cannot walk even the steepest grade without following some sheep trail. The entire face of the earth is pulped by tens of thousands of tiny hooves. It is a wonder that all the dwellings of this region are not made of adobe. I could rebuild the pyramids of Egypt in a fort-night, without slaves, if you gave me the herds to trample grassy pastures into muddy slop.

Going to Lake Taupo, we’ve got $300

Howdy High-rollers!

We decided to take a trip to Lake Taupo, a resort destination, and live the good life this past weekend. We took along a massive $300 to drop. We got up at an ungodly 6:30am on the weekend to get an early start. We hit Taupo at 10am and began our adventure at the Taupo Museum and Gallery.

Entry: $12
Wallet: $288

The museum contained a fascinating Maori meeting house, adorned with traditional and elaborate carvings. We also boned up on more recent local lore of how Taupo became the trout capital of New Zealand. Entrepreneurial European settlers dropped trout into the largely-fishless volcanic Lake Taupo and discovered that they quickly became monsters. It was not uncommon to pull out a rainbow trout of almost 20 lbs! Our second stop was the Honey Hive, New Zealand’s largest showcase of honey products.

Entry: free
Wallet: $288

After reading up on worker bees and drones, we searched endlessly for the queen in the busy glass enclosed hives. She was missing in action, but she works hard and deserves a break. We sampled honey, mead, liqueurs and fruit wines. At this point, errybody in the club gettin tipsy so we made the solid decision to walk it off above the full flow of the Waikato River, New Zealand’s most voluminous and longest, plunging over an eleven-metre shelf.

Entry: free (risk of life and limb)
Wallet: $288

We made our way to Huka Falls, meaning great body of spray. The power of some four hundred tonnes of water per second makes it an awesome sight. We decided to walk the 14 km round trip from Huka Falls to Aratiatia Dam, which holds back the Waikato immediately above the Aratiatia Rapids. We missed seeing the rapids in their full glory, but Huka Falls made up for that! Sadly, we opted to leave our water bottle behind as 14 km is a mere jaunt. One of our party did not see the delicious irony of being parched beside New Zealand’s largest river and muttered, “Stupid!” every few minutes. Very thirsty and hungry, we looked for accommodation before dinner.

Cost: $125
Wallet: $163

We stayed at the charming chalet named The Cottage Mews right on the shores of Lake Taupo. The friendly proprietor, Julie, offered us the two-storey spa suite with a lake view for the same rate as the much smaller bach. Upon discovering that we were Canadian, she offered us a further discount. Sweet!

Refund for being Canadian: $10
Wallet: $173

Feeling much refreshed after a hot shower with city-pressure, we headed to Jolly Good Fellows British Pub for some delicious and well deserved fare!

Cost: $48
Wallet: $125

The bar boasted bills from all over the world. We waited at the bar while families cleared out, trying to find a Canadian bill. Cheeky signs adorned the walls, the best of which was: Shoes & Shirt Required – Bra & Panties, Optional.
I’ve never been so undecided on a menu, so at the waitresses advice, I had Bangers & Mash. Yum! Joseph had a traditional kiwi burger with a fried egg and beet root, making it impossible to fit into ones mouth all at once. The real reward for the day was a decadent piece of chocolate mousse cake. True to his vows, Joseph allowed me the last bite. We’re determined to eat this cake again, perhaps on our next voyage through Taupo. Double YUM!

The following day, we headed to Craters of the Moon, an other-worldly geothermal area that sprung up in the 1950’s.

Entry: $12
Wallet: $113

The power station lowered underground water levels, reducing the pressure of the heated water and causing more vigorous boiling and steam. The belching steam, bubbling mud and hissing are just a taste of what Rotorua offers. Enjoyable nonetheless! We couldn’t possibly visit Taupo without also having a soak in Debrett’s Hot Springs. Our high-roller coupon allowed us the option of a private mineral pool, which come in a range of temperatures – very nice!

Entry: $24
Wallet: $89

After soaking in plus 40, we caught some natural light in the public pool before heading to Acacia Bay. We had heard of LÁrte, a café and gallery like none other!

Lunch and latte: $26
Wallet: $63

The café and gallery are both set in the magical garden complete with an outside mosaic living room! Our mushroom soup was a delight, as was the cappuccino with a heart on top. We missed a walk along the lakefront to Five Mile Bay, but there needs to be something, besides decadent chocolate cake, to bring about a return visit!

Petrol: $63
Wallet: $0

Who knows where our crazy high-rolling will take us next!

Haka Hongi Hangi Hell'vgoodtime

Our second week in Rangiwahia has been very exciting!

Sunday was a Fire Brigade Meeting at the fire hall, right next door to us. In a village the size of Rangi the fire brigade is a social convention more than a emergency service - they have 13 full time members in a town of 20ish people! They invited us over for fish and chips, a Tui beer, and to 'get a good look at us'. Kristine was ecstatic to meet Marianne, the only Dane in the region. They connected immediately over Danish things the rest of us would never understand... The fire brigade even sent us home with leftovers!

Tuesday, Kristine was right crooked (sick) and she dreamed lavish thoughts of apple juice, ginger ale, and chicken noodle soup. I say dreamed because those things are difficult to procure in a village with no shops. When we did get to Fielding, we found that the ginger ale was more like ginger beer!

Kristine visited our neighbours Jim and Bridgette who were creating decorations for the Wearable Art Show in Fielding. Jim and Bridgette are enterprising artisans who use recycled materials to create art in their Junk and Disorderly business.

Thursday was a Maori cultural day at Kimbolton school. All of the country schools banded together for a hangi or traditional feast and a day of cultural activities. The day began with a welcome ceremony where our hosts sung us a welcome song. We practiced a Maori song for the last two weeks to reply the welcome song.

When I say 'welcome song', I mean welcoming like a gang fight in Harlem. They sang and we had two Maori chaps shout back challenges. The Maori culture treasures its warrior roots. It was all very orchestrated with men and boys around the outside of the women and girls. I followed along at the back trying to look inconspicuous and ended up entering the school last.

They must have figured I was representing Rangiwahia school because they put me in the front with the rather impressive Maori guys who were doing the shouting earlier. They made their introductory speeches in Maori, and as it went down the line I realized that when I opened my mouth they might figure out that my Te Reo (Maori) had a slight Canadian accent. They might also notice that I didn't have any facial tattoos and then one of us would be embarassed. Luckily they finished the speeches two people before me.

Everyone in the honor section with me stood up so I stood. Like a good Canadian I just did what the person in front of me was doing. That was the hongi. The hongi is a Maori greeting where you get really personal and rub your noses together, like Eskimo kisses. I haven't been that close to a stranger since my last eye exam. I was honored and slightly intimidated to be facing down some people on their own home turf.

The hangi is a traditional meal cooked in an underground oven. They make a firepit, heat stones and place foliage over it to create a steam oven. They lowered 2 muttons, 42 chickens, and sacks of pumpkin, potatoes, stuffing, and even steamed puddings in big tins. It was an amazing meal!

Kristine and I went to the Barista cafe on Saturday and had a flat white (latte) and a bowl of pesto and bacon soup to die for! We also visited Te Manawa, an art gallery/science centre/museum. They had a really entertaining sheep shearing exibit where you could practise shearing with a bar code scanner on a stuffed sheep. It scores points for shearing quickly and completely. Kristine scored much higher than I did (she was much quicker) but she lost a couple points when she re-sheared the sheep's bum and made it bleed.

We also visited the Victorian Esplanade, an amazing garden and aviary. The gardens were out of season, but we look forward to many return visits. We hope to be here still when some of the 100+ rose varieties are in bloom. We especially loved the garden for the blind, a bouquet of fragrant plants along a quiet path.

After church on Sunday, our new friends Jean and Vivian had us over for lunch. We were very pleased to have a lunch date and see their son Ben tear through their house in a chips and ice-cream fueled frenzy. Jean is a chef so the meal was delicious. Bon appetit!

Warm Feet, Happy Wife

Campfires; we all love them. The smell of wood burning, the sound of crackling and popping; it all conjures up memories of roasting marshmallows, star gazing and simpler times. The wood-stove fireplace may be our main source of heat, but you won’t find us sitting around our living room singing Kumbaya. Surely there must be some way to have this fire continue burning throughout the night. Our considerations at this point are to:

a) Set the alarm for every 2 hours, in order to regularly stoke the fire.
b) Move the master bed into the living room.

Both seem equally undesirable and inconvenient; therefore Kristine has embraced her hot water bottle, a sure-fire way for feet to stay warm. You know what they say: “Warm feet, happy wife; happy wife, happy husband.”

In a new and ever constant mission to stay warm – Our breakfast staple: piping porridge, eaten while shivering (sticks to your ribs?!). Our supper staple: Peasant Soup, eaten while slightly shivering. Yes, this winter cottage living means a certain amount of shivering. Goosebumps are a new appendage, especially while enjoying a hot and steamy shower.

But enough about how we wish we were more like the early settlers! We are starting to feel quite at home here. Kristine has booked a coffee date, a walking date and an after church lunch date; all quite exciting! We enjoyed a Sunday night Fish & Chips party at the fire hall; a good opportunity to match names with faces. The best part of the night for Kristine; meeting a local Dane! Marianne and her German husband, Peter, live just across the road and we share much in common.

A ’95 Toyota Camry is our new travel companion! After forming a two car convoy, (in order to drop of the car on loan), and driving through Palmerston North, the two of us were badly in need of a massage. The tendency to turn into right-hand oncoming traffic is remarkably strong! A simple honk and we were back on track – foreigners! Next thing on our list of to do’s; car insurance!

Rangiwahia – Gaining New Appreciation for the Early Settlers

On Sunday, August 1, Ben and Darlene took us to the Wellington market. Fantastic fruit and veg! We bought some of Pic's Really Good Peanut Butter (which is just ground peanuts) and a huge bag of kiwi fruit.

The road to Rangiwahia was designed by Dr. Suess. It perches atop steep sloped sheep-covered hills and winds and turns enough to confuse a compass. The sheep appear to lean against the hillside and graze in a semi-reclined state.

We have found ourselves in the quaint little community of Rangiwahia. Our cottage is directly across from the fire hall on Maungawharariki Road; where every Wednesday evening at 7:30 sharp, they test the sirens.

We run the risk of being invaded by possums. However, with enough skins, we could apparently run a very decent side business. A torch is recommended should one find themselves out past 6 o’clock, as it becomes utterly impossible to navigate without one. Rosemary, mint and chives grow rampant in the backyard, despite winter temperatures and dreariness.

Kristine has taken to drinking instant coffee, preparing hoki-fish and keeping the fire fully stoked. She is also in the business of drying laundry, a seemingly endless task without the luxury of electric clothes dryer. Joseph awakes early in the morning to start the fire, making it tolerable for Kristine to awake and prepare piping porridge, the breakfast of champions.

The residents of Rangiwahia have been more than generous. They constantly ask how we are settling in and offer any extra house furnishings they have. Clarissa, the primary teacher, arranged for us to borrow a car. Tonight, we had our first driving experience on the left hand side as we threaded the streets of Palmerston North. We were very excited to see shops and restaurants like Pompeii Pizza, where we devoured a Colossus!!! Rrrorrrrwww!