Adventure Activities

Earlier this month Corey and I journeyed to Rotorua, a city known for adventure activities. As many of you know we have have had bungy jumping and sky diving experiences before, so we were looking for something different, something uniquely New Zealand. In the morning we were up early to join the fine folks at RaftAbout who run both white water rafting and sledging trips down the Kaituna River. Sledging is where you are actually IN the water, kept afloat by a boogie-board-like contraption with handles. With a helmet and fins, you manuever your way down the river punching through the rapids as they swallow you....it was fantastic! Below are some pictures from our sledging experience.

After sledging we continued the adrenaline rush with Zorbing. Diving head first into a rubber sphere padded with air, they throw in a bucket of water in with you and then and launch you tumbling down the hill. Think washing machine cycle and rollercoaster put together.

It was great fun! Ask us later and we'll have to tell you more stories.

Here's Janwyn coming down a rapid:

Corey and Janwyn in the Kaituna River:

Corey and Janwyn trying to "surf" the rapid side-by-side:

Corey doing his best against the current to stand on his sledge board:

Video from on top of the Pinnacles!

Warning! It was apparently quite windy when I shot this, but you can't argue with the view!

Trusty is up for sale!

Here's a picture of the nicely cleaned up "Trusty" the Nissan Sunny. We cleaned, washed, and waxed her up yesterday. And today Corey took her down to the Backpacker Car Market in downtown Auckland in hopes that we'll get a decent return on her. The folks at the market said she should sell in 3 days...let's hope so!

Tongariro Crossing

Hello all!
Attached are some pictures of us on the Tongariro Crossing, which is regarded as one of the best one-day hikes in New Zealand. We actually completed this hike a couple weeks ago after our 5-day canoe journey down the Whanganui River (pictures still to come). We actually passed on hiking the crossing when we were here during our first trip to New Zealand (March 2008); mostly because we felt we weren't equipped with the right equipment, shoes, etc. But this time we had hiking boots, which I was glad for.

To make the 19km crossing you have to arrange transport to the beginning of the track and from the end. Hundreds of people do the crossing everyday and are rewarded with stunning views of Mount Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro. The 3 volcanoes make up the Tongariro National Park, which has been named a World Heritage Site.

The only thing that was sort of a turn off about the crossing is the number of people doing it. You are constantly passing people, and people are passing you. We constantly had to pull over for the last 2-3 hours of the hike when my knee started giving me trouble again. Unfortunately the last part of the track is well laid with stairs...of which I could only step down one at a time. Corey was very patient with me and I had to take it slow in order to get down the mountain...but I made it! Again, we were amazed at what people wore on this hike. The elevation was pretty high (don't ask me how high...that's a question for Corey) and at the top we were pretty exposed to some strong winds. I was glad for my rain jacket to shield me from the brutal wind and my beanie. But we saw peoplewalking in slip on canvas shoes (Vans) and jeans!

Anyways, enjoy the slideshow below or click here.


P.S. gotta go pick up Corey now...he's probably done surfing.

Chook Plucking!

Lyn, our WWOOF host at Gardenstone was pleased to hear we were willing to give plucking a try: "I need three plucked and the heck if I'm doing it myself!" she said. Apparently some wwoofers are squeamish about plucking 3000 or so feathers off of a freshly killed, still warm, chicken carcass. Who knew?

Watch the slideshow below or click here.

Pictures from Dannevirke

Just a few pictures of our time in Dannevirke. We shared a cookies and cream cheesecake at Yummy Mummy's Cheesecakes. It was okay. And we're not sure if this dog had a name. But he was sure starved of some loving attention!

Gardenstone

We are WWOOFing at Gardenstone, a 180 acre farm in Dannevirke on the North Island this week. It's such a lovely place to be. Most of the land is devoted to a dairy farm with about 250 cows. A tanker truck comes each day to haul away the milk to be processed into milk powder, cheese, and other milk products.

A B&B house and cottage, gardens, and an event hall (designed for weddings and other outdoor events) takes up about 10 acres. This area is working to keep the farm self-sustainable. The garden is huge with every vegetable that you can think of. Yesterday I was weeding around the corn, asparagus, chives, and strawberries. I cut back the grape vines and Corey dug up the broccoli plants. Next to the garden is the chook (or chicken) house/pen. We have fresh eggs everyday and tomorrow we are killing and plucking 3 roosters (Mike is doing the killing, Lyn, Corey, and I are doing the plucking). And next to the chook house is the pig pens. The day we arrived at Gardenstone, Lyn had one of the pigs slaughtered and was working all day to butcher the meat. So we've been having fresh pork and bacon! And next to the pigs are the donkeys. Not sure how they come into play with the self-sustainability, but they are fun to watch!

The event area is beautiful! A large wooden covered stage area was decked out for a wedding that took place the day before we arrived. The place is wonderfully landscaped with fruit trees everywhere. It brought back memories of my family's old Fremont house when we picked plums right from the tree to eat! There is even a labyrinth grass area that is fun to work your mind at. And there is even a bush walk that you can explore! It's amazing and just a magical place.

Harvest Hawke's Bay

Greetings to all from The Hawke's Bay, New Zealand Wine Country!

This weekend Janwyn and I drove up from Paekakariki to Napier, New Zealand's Art Deco city, to take part in Harvest Hawke's Bay wine tours. For more info check out this link:

http://www.harvesthawkesbay.co.nz/

Saturday was a hot one in Hawke's Bay, almost topping 40 degrees. We toured around 5 wineries, many of which featured live music and lots of shade. To end the day we stopped off at The Filter Room, a cider house and micro brewery. And dispite our taste buds being warn out on wine, we enjoyed all of the beer/cider tasters we tried.

Next we're headed South a bit back to Dannivirke, where we'll stay at Gardenstone on our fourth WWOOF.

Pictures at long last: Christchurch to Kaikoura

Updates

Some thoughts and observations for the day...

• I love living by the beach.
• 20 minute naps are heavenly.
• I think I could live with eating less meat.
• I can't wait for Corey to get his haircut on Thursday.
• Oil changes are expensive here -- $100 NZ.
• Congrats to our friend Mercedes who just landed a new job.
• Congrats to Jenn and Kevin on their new adventures.
• I miss Yin way too much.
• I'm currently reading Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
• It's peaceful here in Paekakariki.
• I was recently introduced to the book, Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. And it is an eye-opening story. View the web gallery here.
• I love soup....except pumpkin or kumara soup...or any variation of pumpkin and kumara soup.
• I am sorry I won't be there for my brother's and Xong's hmong wedding celebration on Feb 21st.
• Looking forward to homemade pizzas tonight!