Ok I know it has been FOREVER since my last update! I should be able to update more now. The reason for no update for so long was because after we moved into our new place the internet was down to dial up speed! In NZ if you download more than 10GB they either make you pay for the additional downloads or switch you to the super slow speed that takes 30 minutes to bring up a page...surfing the net is practically impossible and uploading pictures not possible. But our new month started yesterday so now we have fast internet again!
So our new place is pretty sweet! Its alot closer to our work and we dont really have to take the bus or train to get d.jpg)
owntown now, we just walk everywhere. We have 4 other flatmates, Jeremy who is from Christchurch, Cornelius from Germany, Tanya also from Germany, and Guido who is from Italy. Everyone is super nice and easy to get along with. Cornelius is really tall and towers over us all. Our house is a town house with five bedrooms. Nate and I have the master bedroom since we share. Our room is awesome...you walk in and there is a huge two storey window which we can just see the sky tower from. Our closet and storage is on this floor...then you walk up the stairs to our little loft where we sleep, its sweet. And when we moved in I started calling it the tree house. The reason for this is because you have to walk down alot of stairs to get from street level to our place, and it has a huge garden. So many pretty flowers. And our bedroom is technically on the third floor, above our other flatties.
So our new place is pretty sweet! Its alot closer to our work and we dont really have to take the bus or train to get d
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owntown now, we just walk everywhere. We have 4 other flatmates, Jeremy who is from Christchurch, Cornelius from Germany, Tanya also from Germany, and Guido who is from Italy. Everyone is super nice and easy to get along with. Cornelius is really tall and towers over us all. Our house is a town house with five bedrooms. Nate and I have the master bedroom since we share. Our room is awesome...you walk in and there is a huge two storey window which we can just see the sky tower from. Our closet and storage is on this floor...then you walk up the stairs to our little loft where we sleep, its sweet. And when we moved in I started calling it the tree house. The reason for this is because you have to walk down alot of stairs to get from street level to our place, and it has a huge garden. So many pretty flowers. And our bedroom is technically on the third floor, above our other flatties.Soon after we moved in we took another trip out to Piha beach and Bethels beach (very near Piha). We spent the day on the opposite side of Piha beach this time and had a whole+(1024x768).jpg)
new view of it. I wandered around and took some pics while the guys played catch. They went swimming without me and Cornelius went outside the flagged swimming area...a lifegaurd had to go get him cuz he didnt hear them calling him ha ha! We suntanned for a bit then went swimming. The rip this day was very strong and we had to be careful not to go to far out because the sand under you seemed to drop right off at one point and the waves would just engulf you. After swimming for a while we decided we had enough. As we left the water we noticed a comotion, a teenage boy was dragged fr+(1024x768).jpg)
om the water unconscious. The lifegaurds did CPR on him for what seemed like ages. Finaly an ambulance showed up and it looked liked he was awake and alright. The ambulance got stuck in the sand on the way back and all the lifegaurds had to help push it out. Now everyone is probably worried about me swimming...well we are very careful, we swim only in designated areas and we dont go very far out and we all stick together, no one swims alone! After the beach we drove to another spot and went on some hiking trails. We found some really great views and got great pictures of the coast and some other beaches and cliffs. We had our very first bbq that night with all our flatties back at the flat. it was very good. We had steak and sausage, corn on the cob, some salads and garlic bread. We went to Bethels beach on the sunday, it was much prettier than Piha, which Nate and I both thought was breath taking when we first saw it. Bethels has less parking it seems and way more beach areas. There is a freshwater stream that flows to the ocean which was very warm. There were a few houses scattered amongst the hills around and I thought how great it would be to have that view every morning when you awoke! We found a really cool cave at this beach and I found the largest sand dollar I have ever seen! And yes I kept it :) On our way back we were trying to find a short cut home and asked directions. A+(1024x768).jpg)
local told us that we should check out these sand dunes not far from us, we had nothing else to do and decided to go check it out. So glad we did! The pictures dont do it justice you really had to be there! We walked along a little river that lead to the dunes, then on to a fresh water lake called Wainamu. As soon as we reached the dunes Jeremy and Nate found some cardboard and decided they were going to sand board. It didnt work out so well...the sand was to fine and not packed enough but it was funny to watch them. After the sand boarding we walked about half an hour to this lake. It was really beautiful and worth the walk that seemed to go on forever and ever. The guys all went in but I didnt have my bathing suit on anymore so didnt. Jeremy and Nate covered themselves in sand and did some canon balls into the water. They said it was much warmer than the ocean, which always seems so cold. That night Jeremy made us mussels and linguini...my first time eating mussels...not sure I like them that much.
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new view of it. I wandered around and took some pics while the guys played catch. They went swimming without me and Cornelius went outside the flagged swimming area...a lifegaurd had to go get him cuz he didnt hear them calling him ha ha! We suntanned for a bit then went swimming. The rip this day was very strong and we had to be careful not to go to far out because the sand under you seemed to drop right off at one point and the waves would just engulf you. After swimming for a while we decided we had enough. As we left the water we noticed a comotion, a teenage boy was dragged fr+(1024x768).jpg)
om the water unconscious. The lifegaurds did CPR on him for what seemed like ages. Finaly an ambulance showed up and it looked liked he was awake and alright. The ambulance got stuck in the sand on the way back and all the lifegaurds had to help push it out. Now everyone is probably worried about me swimming...well we are very careful, we swim only in designated areas and we dont go very far out and we all stick together, no one swims alone! After the beach we drove to another spot and went on some hiking trails. We found some really great views and got great pictures of the coast and some other beaches and cliffs. We had our very first bbq that night with all our flatties back at the flat. it was very good. We had steak and sausage, corn on the cob, some salads and garlic bread. We went to Bethels beach on the sunday, it was much prettier than Piha, which Nate and I both thought was breath taking when we first saw it. Bethels has less parking it seems and way more beach areas. There is a freshwater stream that flows to the ocean which was very warm. There were a few houses scattered amongst the hills around and I thought how great it would be to have that view every morning when you awoke! We found a really cool cave at this beach and I found the largest sand dollar I have ever seen! And yes I kept it :) On our way back we were trying to find a short cut home and asked directions. A+(1024x768).jpg)
local told us that we should check out these sand dunes not far from us, we had nothing else to do and decided to go check it out. So glad we did! The pictures dont do it justice you really had to be there! We walked along a little river that lead to the dunes, then on to a fresh water lake called Wainamu. As soon as we reached the dunes Jeremy and Nate found some cardboard and decided they were going to sand board. It didnt work out so well...the sand was to fine and not packed enough but it was funny to watch them. After the sand boarding we walked about half an hour to this lake. It was really beautiful and worth the walk that seemed to go on forever and ever. The guys all went in but I didnt have my bathing suit on anymore so didnt. Jeremy and Nate covered themselves in sand and did some canon balls into the water. They said it was much warmer than the ocean, which always seems so cold. That night Jeremy made us mussels and linguini...my first time eating mussels...not sure I like them that much.So I am still working at Degree Bar and getting crap hours. I feel like I always work and never see Nate cuz he works days and I work nights. I talked to the managers and they said they will try to give me more day shifts but it seems whenever they do its a split shift so I work 12-4 and then 6-10 or I end up working all fricken day...the other day I was there for over 9 hours! My feet were killing me! I have been applying for other jobs but have not got any call backs. The other thing that sucks is that I make no tips....some travellers still tip so I may go home with $20 but NZ'landers dont really tip. At home I was rolling in the dough, probably bringing at least $100 a night! So serving here really has no perks. Plus I dont make overtime! I worked for 10 hours and 45 minutes last night and I wont make anything extra...I am looking into whether this is illegal or not. My flat mate Jeremy thinks that you have to be full time and have more than 40 hours before they pay you overtime! I'm looking for a new job...have dropped off resumes...but I relized today that the number I have as my contact (cell number) is backwards! Frick all the resumes I have dropped off have the wrong friggin number! What a waste of time! So I will have to backtrack and drop off my resumes again :(.
A few weeks ago we went camping with some friends to whananaki....thats pronounced fananaki....any word with a wh is pronounced with an f or ph...its strange. So anyways our campsite was really awesome. We were only about 20 metres from the sea! The f.jpg)
irst day Nate and I burned. We both wore sunscreen but 15 is not strong enough over here because there is no ozone. So we bought some 30 but were still burnt for the rest of the trip. We pretty much suntanned and swam for the whole trip which was awesome. On the first day we were playing Bocci Ball...they call it Patong I think, or some other wierd name...anyways its the game where there is one small ball and each person gets 2 large balls, the person who throws their ball the closest to the small one wins. Well It was Nate's turn to throw the small ball, he threw it and it went a little far...all the way to where some sea gulls were hanging out. Well they snatched the ball! Must have thought it was food or something lol! Nate started running down the beach after it ha ha ha! The gull ended up dropping it a few yards from where Nate threw it but on a bunch of rocks. There were four of us scouring the rocks for about half an hour and Patrick found it! It was the most hilarious thing ever that a gull stole our tiny bocci ball and we actually found it! We got to finish the game and.jpg)
I won :) and Nate in a close second, Go Canada!!! At the end of the day Nate and I went for a hike. We found a really cool beach and ended up spending our next 2 days there. on the first beach there was really no shade, but this beach had tons of trees so we could keep our sunburns out of the sun. We dragged everyone over to this beach the next day, which was a little bit of a climb to get to but very worth it. We played cricket, where Nate tried to lose another ball. This one got stuck up in a tree. Luckily Shayne (one of the guys we were with) is a monkey and a pro at tree climbing. He got up real high and spotted the ball and shook the tree till the ball fell. That night some people that live on the campground lent us two boogie boards and we all took turns on them. On the last day we packed everyting up and had a last swim, then headed back to Tiana and Ryans house for a bbq. We needed to finish some of the meat we still had. It was a great end to a perfect weekend.
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irst day Nate and I burned. We both wore sunscreen but 15 is not strong enough over here because there is no ozone. So we bought some 30 but were still burnt for the rest of the trip. We pretty much suntanned and swam for the whole trip which was awesome. On the first day we were playing Bocci Ball...they call it Patong I think, or some other wierd name...anyways its the game where there is one small ball and each person gets 2 large balls, the person who throws their ball the closest to the small one wins. Well It was Nate's turn to throw the small ball, he threw it and it went a little far...all the way to where some sea gulls were hanging out. Well they snatched the ball! Must have thought it was food or something lol! Nate started running down the beach after it ha ha ha! The gull ended up dropping it a few yards from where Nate threw it but on a bunch of rocks. There were four of us scouring the rocks for about half an hour and Patrick found it! It was the most hilarious thing ever that a gull stole our tiny bocci ball and we actually found it! We got to finish the game and.jpg)
I won :) and Nate in a close second, Go Canada!!! At the end of the day Nate and I went for a hike. We found a really cool beach and ended up spending our next 2 days there. on the first beach there was really no shade, but this beach had tons of trees so we could keep our sunburns out of the sun. We dragged everyone over to this beach the next day, which was a little bit of a climb to get to but very worth it. We played cricket, where Nate tried to lose another ball. This one got stuck up in a tree. Luckily Shayne (one of the guys we were with) is a monkey and a pro at tree climbing. He got up real high and spotted the ball and shook the tree till the ball fell. That night some people that live on the campground lent us two boogie boards and we all took turns on them. On the last day we packed everyting up and had a last swim, then headed back to Tiana and Ryans house for a bbq. We needed to finish some of the meat we still had. It was a great end to a perfect weekend.On friday Nate got tickets to le Grande Cirque, which is like Circus Ole. I had to work on saturday which was Valentines day so we celebrated on friday instead. It .jpg)
was really good! My favorites were probably when this balerina balanced on her toes from a dudes shoulder and then the top of his forehead! And a clown who was the host really got the audience involved in everything. He had one guy juggling hankerchiefs, and tried to get another to blow up a gigantic balloon. Also there was a dude somehow climbing a ladder that wasnt propped up or held by anyone, I was so sure he would fall...then he added two girls on his shoulders and still climbed it! Afterwards we went to a bar and had some beers. Then on to a place called Burger fuel for some of NZ best burgers. It was actually pretty tasty but the burgers were gigantic and I was glad that I was sharing with Nate.
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was really good! My favorites were probably when this balerina balanced on her toes from a dudes shoulder and then the top of his forehead! And a clown who was the host really got the audience involved in everything. He had one guy juggling hankerchiefs, and tried to get another to blow up a gigantic balloon. Also there was a dude somehow climbing a ladder that wasnt propped up or held by anyone, I was so sure he would fall...then he added two girls on his shoulders and still climbed it! Afterwards we went to a bar and had some beers. Then on to a place called Burger fuel for some of NZ best burgers. It was actually pretty tasty but the burgers were gigantic and I was glad that I was sharing with Nate.This weekend I have work off so I am trying to convince Nate to go to Coramandel, which is supposed to be one of the best beaches in NZ. There is a huge archway there that is supposedly on the second Narnia movie...and I'm not certain but this spot might also be in the Lord of the Rings. We have invited a few friends but no one seems to be interested so might just rent a car and go on our own. Crossed fingers...
So since I noted a few things last time that I thought were interesting, I thought I would add a few more. Everyone says "sweet as bro". or "wow thats far as!" or "i'm tired as". Lots of ppl here also say Mate alot, like "you alright mate?" and friends are called your mates. Bar age is 18 and kids can be in the bar until 10pm as long as they are accompanied by an adult. Flash lights are called torches. peppers are called capsicums. reciepts are called dockets. interact is called eftpos, and if you call it interact or debit no one has a clue what you are talking about. Dryers are almost non exisitant...we hang our clothes to dry. And I have not seen one screen...all the windows are push out and the "mozzies" eat me alive at night (its too hot to close the window). No one asks where the bathroom is its "where's the toilet?" which seems more vulgar to me for some reason. 7up or sprite is actually referred to as lemonade...i thought this was strange. They dont have real iced tea here...at least not in restaurants. Root beer is not even heard of really and gingerale tastes sorta like mold and is darker in color. The most popular soft drink is "lemonade" with lime cordial and bitters. The weather here can change in an instant. It was +35 with the humidex last week and the next day it was rainy and only got to +14 or something. There are many more but thats all I can think of right now...
1 comment:
Hey. It's about time. I was beginning to think you had fallen off the planet. I am so jealous of all your time at the beach! Send some of your hot weather here! (Although we have been above 0 or just below for the almost the entire past six weeks so I can't complain too much).
Tanya
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