Summer of adventure

Monday morning I checked out before the hostel before woke up. I had a drive ahead of me to get to Waitomo in time for a caving tour I had booked. Even though I was not short on time I must have rushed out of the door, because I can't remember seeing my cap since then.

Waitomo Caves

In Waitomo I met up with 5 others and our guide, Tom. We had a quick introduction and then I was in the air. Rappelling down 30 meters to the cave floor. Immersed into the cave. Cool feeling. Nice view.  Terrible photo.

We walked upstream first. Deep in the cave we were met with an impressive sight. Thousands of glow worms covered the ceiling. We turned off our flashlights and in the darkness it looked like a sky full of stars. Then we got up close and saw how ugly they really are. And we met a cave weta too. Not scary. Not even nasty. Kinda cool in his own way.

The light comes from the body of the worm

Still without lights we sat down on rubber rings and floated back down the cave. We passed through the entrance and continued onwards into the depths of the cave. The darkness got more intense, but the glow worms and the current kept leading us further in to the cave.

We stopped at a conveniently placed dam. Right next to a small picnic spot. A hot drink and a chocolate bar made it feel much less dark and damp for a minute. Then we pushed on through some tight squeezes. I almost got stuck, but that's the point, right?

We finished the tour by climbing out of the hole. It wasn't the hardest of climbs, but I'm glad we had the safety line. Slippery rocks and a long fall. Real sense of achievement.

Glow worms are beautiful from this distance

Rotorua
Hours later, wearing a Kiwi Cave Rafting t-shirt, I drove to Rotorua. It was a long drive and I was tired, so I stopped to have a pie. Twice. The drive really wasn't that long, but the pies were good.

I didn't know what to do once I got to Rotorua at all. My plans didn't extend that far. Should probably have booked a hostel already. Everything was booked up. When I asked, the receptionist remembered an extra bed in one of the dorms, so I got that one.

Not sleeping in my car today. Good choice.

The place was smelly I thought, until I realized it wasn't the hostel, but the city itself. Or more precisely the sulphur below the city. It smells like rotten eggs. Charming.

The next morning I went to Rainbow Springs to see a Kiwi for the first time! Awesomeness. Kiwis are hatched there to improve their survival rates. In the wild their awful parents put so much effort into the laying and incubation of the egg that they can't be bothered to do any more when the chick is hatched. But the chick is cool as. Self raised from day 1. Independent like a New Zealander.

Whakatane
I made a plan to go to Rythm and Vines for New Years. To get there without too much of a drive in one day, I went to Whakatane first. I didn't know what was there, but the town looked big enough to not be boring.

My low expectations were put to shame when I arrived and found my favorite city of the summer so far. The tourism is not so intense there, but there is still plenty to do. Especially on a beautiful summer day, when all you want is to be by the sea.

I got on a tour to Moutohora (whale island). It was an incredible nature experience. We saw lots of saddlebacks, parakeets and fur seals. A couple of things made the experience complete: "finding" a wild Kiwi egg, swimming in a bay next to a mini hot water beach and our passionate (and hot) guide, Gaia.

How many fur seals do you see

Gisborne
Right now I am sitting on a beach in Gisborne. I've spent the night here, because I finally got what I had coming. Of course I should have booked ahead, but I'm not sure how much better that would have been. This view is priceless, toilets are close by and my car is pretty comfortable when you lay down the back seats and use the trunk for the feet. Beats last night's thin, short mattress that's for sure.

Ok, I'm off for a morning bath in the sea.

Summer holidays

Christmas was yesterday. Today it is summer. Tomorrow it will be New Year's Eve. Or at least that's how it feels.

Christmas was great. The office party started at noon on our last day of work and lasted until a little after midnight. Such fun. 

On Christmas Eve I didn't do much - the important day is Christmas Day. That's when you unwrap the presents and have a family party. Of course my family is back in Denmark, but I was kindly invited by Leon, a flatmate, to share the celebration with his family. We shared a Christmas lunch with way too much good food and chocolate fudge. Later we played a hilarious game of Cards Against Humanity. You have to know the game to get just how funny that is to play when you have three generations at the table.

The time difference allowed me to Skype with my family when we all opened our presents at the appropriate time (Christmas Eve in Denmark). That was really nice. Can't wait to see them in a months time.

Now I'm in Raglan. A very summerly town. There is almost nothing here except surf hire shops and hostels. The place I'm staying tonight is both.

New flatmates!

I've been so busy this month. It feels like we have been celebrating every day since our new flatmates moved in. Bruno from Quebec, Jordan from New Zealand, and Yadira from Mexico all arrived two weeks ago.

Bruno is a couchsurfing engineer, who gets to take very long vacations during the Canadian winter. We helped him buy a motorbike so he can start travelling New Zealand.

Happy as
Bruno with his new bike

Jordan is a Maori who will be living with us for three months. He is teaching us the real way to pronounce the names of the places. A lot of places have Maori names and most often English pronunciation is so wrong.

Yadira is a fun, energetic girl. She has already made Mexican food for us twice, taken us to dance salsa and made sure we know how tequila is supposed to taste.

We're getting sushi while Bruno negotiates the price of the bike

West coast fascination

Perhaps I've talked too much about the West Coast of New Zealand already, so I'll just show you the pictures.

Gannet colony at Muriwai
Gannets need upwinds to fly, because they are fat birds

Santa

Tomorrow I'll be playing Santa at the office. I have been told, that it involves me handing out the presents from our secret Santa game and also that people will have their pictures taken while sitting on my lap. It sounds kinda weird to me, but I'm sure it will be fun and not awkward...

Christmas in summer

Christmas will come to New Zealand. Even if the snow won't.

Summer Christmas feels strange to me. The traditions are almost the same as back home. They just don't really fit. Santa wears a heavy, red robe and large boots. Little children sit on his lap wearing jandals, shorts and t-shirts. Houses are decorated with beautiful lights, that you can see clearly when the sun sets late in the evening. That's all right though. You can take a late night walk and see the Christmas lights. It'll still be above 15 degrees at midnight.

Christmas spirit from home
I am blessed with an amazing family. All the way from Denmark, they have sent me Christmas presents, advent gifts and decorations that remind me of childhood. Every day in December, they send me pictures of life and preparations for Christmas at home.

Snowflake from Denmark

Packing presents to send back the other way

No more mussels for me
I hate to admit it, but I might be allergic to green lip mussels. I'm going to have to stay away from them at least until I get an allergy test. Pretty much lost another day due to them this weekend.

Sooo tasty :(

Surfing at Muriwai

A very wet street festival
We always have drinks on the last Friday of the month. This time, we went to a street festival after that. Had an oyster, a burger and an overpriced beer. It was cool, but I didn't stay long. It wasn't just raining. It was pouring down. Flooding the streets.

Rain over Auckland

Couchsurfers
Sin Jat is back in the flat and suddenly it's a lot more lively here. This last week, he invited couchsurfers from Germany, The Netherlands and France. It's cool that he has both the space and kindness to do that.

Bon appetit, Enjoy, Eet Smakelijk, 吃好, velbekomme

Surfing at Muriwai
Sunday I learned to surf. Jenni, James and I had a surf lesson at Muriwai together. Great fun. We had a real surfer dude teach us too. Dylan. Cool as.

I've been wanting to go surfing for a long time, so it was great to have it finally happen. Thanks to Phil for organising it, even though he couldn't surf himself. It definitely won't be my last time. Perhaps I have found another hobby?

It's essential to practice your surfing technique before heading to a European winter 🏄 @jakobbjerreknudsen

A photo posted by Jenni Anderson (@jennirebekah4) on Nov 28, 2015 at 8:18pm PST

Jenni is off to Europe soon (I'll be skip that winter, thank you very much). Travel safe, Jenni. Have a great time!

The ones I miss

Sometimes I miss home.

This morning I spoke with my parents on Skype. They have just sent off a box for me. I don't know what they put in it, but in my mind it contains a hug. A hug sent to the other side of the world to show me that they are not far away. And it's true. They are not far away. In February they will be here to visit me. I look forward to that.

Friends
When I think about my friends, my thoughts travel far. They live and travel in many countries around the world. It's cool to know, that there are many places I could go and know someone there. But it's lonely, because they are not here. Right now, my thoughts go to Marie and Ross, who lived here with me until a few weeks ago.

Ross is in Australia now, and by looks he is enjoying every minute of an early summer at the Gold Coast. Marie is back home in France. I hope she is well.

The sea
When I feel this way, I like to go to the sea. There, I find a place with no time. Only the moment. And in every moment there is a wave crashing onto the shore, never to be seen again. It makes me feel empty and it fills me up.

In my favourite song, the artist sings about this feeling. I like having him describe it to me.

Nephew, "Hjertestarter"

Karekare beach
So I went to Karekare. Perfectly west coast. Stormy. Rough.

"The watchman" is the cliff on the right

Karekare beach

Cliffs frame the sides of Union Bay

"The watchman" has quite the view

Heartrate-quickening, on-the-edge photo

Goat Island snorkeling

This weekend I went snorkeling at Goat Island with Eri and Rob from work. It was extraordinary.

There were colourful fish everywhere. So many that I have never seen before. The largest ones were the snappers. One was almost as long as my arm (seriously, not fisherman's talk). And they are not shy. I touched one and was just as surprised as the fish was.

Caves
We swam around on the leeward side of the island were the waters were most calm. Here there were some caves which begged exploring. Unfortunately I didn't bring a flashlight and the caves were completely dark. Completely. Imagine complete darkness and you in the water. I was done exploring real soon.

Photo credit: Jessicaoneil

A ray and some eggs

At one point I found a cluster of squid eggs. I whirled them up from the sand and a large snapper came by and ate one. That happened between my hands.

Later an eagle ray came by. The way it glides is so graceful. We were reverent. Rays are out of this world. Also, we didn't know if it was a stingray, so we kept a respectful distance as it passed.

The magic of Goat Island is found below the surface

I love driving in New Zealand, its scenic everywhere
Photo by Eri

Did anyone say paradise?
Photo by Eri

I had such a great time. I feel like I should thank the guy we rented equipment from. He had everything we needed. For a fair price we all got suited up and I even got myself a weight belt so I could dive freely. Thanks Octopus Hideaway.

Weekend away

This Friday we went to Waiheke for our much anticipated weekend away. Everyone has been preparing for weeks. Organising, planning events and getting or making their costumes.
 

We met at the ferry Friday morning

Not a cloud in the sky. Perfect island weather.

So ready!

A bus took us to The Venue in Onetangi. Everything was by the beach. Fantastic.

There were orcas playing in the bay, but that didn't seem to scare the Kiwis. We had a nice swim.

Challenges
The events planned by the teams were all fun. We had planned a sandcastle challenge for the other teams. This one is my favourite.

The next team made us dance and perform a play. Our Titanic play was so much fun. Everyone jumped when the iceberg hit.

The final challenge of the day was an engineering challenge. We were given an egg and asked to transport it across a 10 meter gap in a creative way. Ours sailed across with a kite made of paper. Yes, it was marvellous.

The next morning we were a bit worse for wear. It had been a long night of costume partying and midnight swimming. Nevertheless, we completed one final challenge. We created an animal model and performed a haka to honour it. The best one was clearly the shark team. Their massive, sharp toothed mouth chomped to the rythm of their haka.

It's a wingsuit
I was flying all night

Art at the vineyard
To round off the weekend, a few of us stayed on the island. We went to Cable Bay Vineyard to share a bottle of wine in the sun. It was my first vineyard experience in New Zealand, but I have feeling it was not a typical vineyard visit.

I had expected a vineyard to look like an old farm, so I was very surprised, when I first saw Cable Bay. It looks like an art gallery. It almost is an art gallery. I saw two magnificent sculptures there and I am sure there were many more.

From our spot in the sun we had a perfect view of the sculpture "Ratyte" against the backdrop of Matiatia Bay. I instantly recognised the style. I bet there is only one artist in the world who makes sculptures like that. I've been a fan without knowing his name since 2011, when he exhibited Morpheus in my home town Aarhus. Now I know. Phil Price, from New Zealand. I hope I'll see more of his work.

The elegance is in its balanced, ever changing movements
its natural fluidity seems to defy the hard material it is made of

Perhaps if you watch a video you can appreciate it more.
Video of how it moves in the wind

All Blacks parade
This Wednesday we spent our lunch break in a very crowded Victoria park. The welcome parade for the national heroes, The All Blacks, was cool to be a part of.

 

At 2:00 Richie McCaw walks past us with the cup

Maria, our MD, touched the cup and her son got
autographs from 14 of the players
You should have seen her smile when she showed us this photo

A night to remember

I just had the most incredible weekend. And I'm not the only one. I think everyone in Auckland must have had an incredible weekend. This weekend had something for everybody. Party goers celebrated halloween, rugby fans watched the All Blacks make history and runners crossed the Auckland harbour bridge in an epic city marathon.

But who says you have to choose? In one epic night I celebrated halloween, watched the game in a rowdy crowd and ... didn't run a marathon.

Getting a costume
The day begun with errands, like any other weekend day. In the morning, I went to a car mechanic and got my windscreen repaired. When it was done, I started my search for a costume. I had a plan, carefully crafted the night before. I would dress up in the most classic of all halloween costumes. The vampire. But not just any vampire. I would go as Edward, the puritan, teenage dream of a vampire.

I thought I was being really smart. Edward doesn't have wings or fangs and he wears regular clothes. He glimmers in sunlight, but guess what, halloween is at night. How hard could it be? All I would need was a yellow glow in my eyes, fancy hair and an incredibly handsome, pale face.

I'm already very handsome so that part was easy. It was much harder to get the eyes right. I went to Look Sharp in Albany first. It had everything for any costume or party. The only problem was that everyone knows that. It was like Christmas day shopping. Impossible to move. And yellow contacts were sold out.

Next door there was a pharmacy, where they also sold coloured lenses. Here there was no crowd, but crazy lenses were sold out anyway. Undeterred I visited another Look Sharp store and 4 more pharmacies before I found a pair of honey glamour lenses. They would have to do. I also bought some cheap black and white facepaint to get some of that paleness going for me.

Finally got my Halloween costume

Hi Jenni
When I got home, I packed a bag with my new costume and my outfit for the game later. Then I waited for Jenni to come and pick me up. She's a cool girl, that I recently met at a Research Association function. This whole day happened because of her and her man Nic. When I said, that I had no one to watch the game with they invited me not just to the game, but to an entire epic night.

At four, she picked me up and took me to West Auckland, to watch a game of netball. It's the first game of netball I have ever watched. Netball is huge here. So big, that nobody knows what basketball is. The two games are very similar, when you are just watching. Two teams throwing a ball around and trying to shoot it through the hoop of the other team. But from a players perspective I imagine it will feel very different. Basketball feels fast and physical, netball is about technique and tactics.

Well played Jenni

Jenni's team won a crushing victory. Meanwhile, I was being entertained so much by my fellow spectators that I must have missed at least a third of the game. On my right two cheery Maori were telling me all about the game and the players and on my right a flamboyant gay was joking with me. Hilarious.



Dress up
Back at Jenni's place we changed into our costumes. I tried for an hour to apply the facepaint in an even, unnaturally cold blooded way. It didn't work. Jenni succeeded in applying her makeup, but I gave up on the white. But I did get the contrast right. I think some dark shading around the eyes and black eyebrows go a long way to make you look paler. I'll let you be the judge of that.

Yes, it's too subtle and the eyes look almost natural
I should get points for effort though - applying makeup is not easy

The game
After two great Halloween parties, we changed once again. This time into All Blacks fan wear. I felt awesome in my new All Blacks jersey. I borrowed a New Zealand flag from Jenni to wear as a cape and later we put on temporary tattoos as well.

It was a great game. An overpowering performance by the All Blacks. I couldn't have wished for a better game. But I do wish I had been less tired. My eyelids were so heavy during the halftime break I almost fell asleep on my feet. It had been a long day. And night. So all in all, I fancied taking a cap home to my bed more than joining the marathon runners. They were running in the streets as the sun rose over Auckland.

Racing Playbuoy

This week I gathered up my courage and was rewarded in the best possible way. I went to the harbour Wednesday after work and introduced myself to the first sailor I met. He wasn't able to help, but I kept looking and the next one was.

He invited me on board Playbuoy, even though they already had a full crew of 8. I was introduced as a "pier-find" and welcomed kindly. Playbuoy is a Stuart 34 with a deceptive appearance. For the untrained eye she might not seem like much of a racing model. Even I would probably have doubted her, if it wasn't for the look of the crew and the rigging.

The crew spans 3 generations, from owner and living legend, Roy, who is past 80, to a couple of young guys like myself. The core crew are all highly experienced sailors, perhaps in their 50's. Once we got racing, I learned that Roy, even at his age, can still compete with the best of them (knees permitting). I love my sport for making that possible.

The rigging is not new, but nothing is old either. It looks cared for and trusty. The fittings are made for racing. There are enough options to trim and an absence of family friendly solutions. That extends to the interior as well; The boat is empty inside, except for spare sails and navigation equipment.

The race was too intense for me to take any pictures,
so here is one from when we got back to shore

I enjoyed the race immensely. I was on the main, so I was working hard in the gusty conditions. We had everything from 5 to 20 knots of wind and some tactically interesting shifts as well. Our downwind start had perfect timing and speed, but we couldn't find a clear track, so everyone else caught up to us. On the upwind Playbuoy impressed with a boat speed of 6.8 to 7.2, but some our tactical choices didn't pay off, so in the end our result was mediocre.

Being back on the water after almost a year without sailing feels great. So I've joined the crew.

Early weekend
This weekend is a long one, because today is Labour day. For me it has been even longer, because I unexpectedly got half of Friday off. Our servers were down and we had no internet connection, so there was absolutely nothing we could do. We went home and enjoyed a nicely extended weekend.

Deserted office at noon

Chinese duck
Since both Ross and Marie will be leaving soon, we are making the most of our last days together in NZ. Sunday night we had a memorable meal of Chinese roast duck with plum sauce. A very tasty dish, that I hope to be able to serve for a special occasion some day.

With a heavy, sharp cleaver and decisive cuts,
Sin Yat expertly prepares the duck

The first time I saw Sin Yat use that cleaver I was shocked. Since then I have learned so much about Chinese food culture. It now seems to me like the only right way to make the cut. How else would you cut a duck into pieces fit for eating with chopsticks without being wasteful? Of course you must not cut away the bones, because your guests like to chew on them and savour the duck taste.

The crispy skin and the fatty meat go perfectly together with the sweet plum sauce and the intensity of a good pinot noir. Highly recommended.