tonight is my last night in new zealand. i am a bit sad to go, leaving so many wonderful people behind, but i am also excited to come home (and see my kitties), even though i am officially homeless! though i have places to stay, dont you worry none.
im listening to the tui and other familar bird songs as i type, the owners of them all i dont know the names of. i will miss it here. i leave auckland tomorrow evening and arrive monday afternoon in seattle. so i'll be seeing you all soon if i make it over the pacific in one piece! ciao mates. and thanks to everyone who read this.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
cheese & dead trees
here is anna
the chooks
the timber yard
the gardens i weed
hello everybody. i have left te manawa and went north. i am near a town called keri keri, at a farm called mahoe farms. they make cheese and yoghurt and mill wood.
i am staying with a woman named anna, she is originally from holland. she is 85 and such a cool lady! i really like her. she had 9 kids and 8 of them live on the property plus a lot of her grandchildren who are mostly in thier 20s. her grandson lives with her, his name is simeon and he works at the mill, and we get on really well too. i have been here for 8 days and have been cleaning up simeons garden and the gardens around the house, which are all unkept and overgrown. there are many chooks here (chickens to you) who follow my digging...they like all the freshly mussed soil! also a shy cat lives here. i am really enjoying my time here, anna is so interesting. a lot of people come and go, all the family who lives nearby, and sometimes simeon takes me places; we went to the beach one day, and some hot pools another day. they were so soothing. the weather is windy and sometimes warm, sometimes cool.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
rain & pondering
the sand at mangawhai heads beach
poppy vs. malcolm
two german wwoofers hard at work
It's a torrential downpour! the lawns are flooded. i worked today cutting branches into smaller pieces and hauling them to the fire pile. after a bit i realized it's not so bad working in the rain, after all, it's just water! poppy the goat was nearby keeping me company. i'm still at mangawhai, and my heart is in a bit of turmoil. today i'm in better spirits, but lately i've been unsure of what it is i want and what i am afraid of in my travels. But it's been nice working here in the gardens, planting lettuce and spinach seedlings & weeding. i found a dead praying mantis today in the house, my first encounter. too bad it was not alive. went to an open mike in a nearby town last night. dinner time, so ciao.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
a southerly, north to south, south to north
one of my favorite local birds, pukeko! they're cute & gangly.
this is a kauri tree. they're thousands of years old and massive, and this one isn't half of the largest one ever seen!
sadly they were massacred until few remain, and it is illegal to cut them now.
sadly they were massacred until few remain, and it is illegal to cut them now.
the last half of my time at te moata (the retreat center) was really good. it had been raining so much (and when it rains, it RAINS!) that i hadnt worked outside for many days, and on that thursday, a week ago, i finally got to weed and plant seedlings and sow seeds, and it felt marvellous! the garden was full of weeds so when i was done it looked great, and it gave me joy to work in the soil.
then that afternoon, 2 new wwoofers from quebec, a guy & a girl, arrived. they were super nice. we hiked trails together and had fun!.
Then on friday a new retreat began, a dance/yoga retreat called 5 rhythms. mostly ladies in their 30's, and their joyful feminine energy was great! i joined in on some of the dancing, and it was amazing, very free and about letting go of any restraints. it was beautiful dancing with them. and i sure needed it, it felt so good to move!
the weekend was full of working in the kitchen and dancing and hiking; there is over 800 acres of native bush there, and many trails. it's all protected land and so will never be developed on.
On monday morning i left te moata, and was bound towards a place i had contacted near wellington, which is way down at the south end of the north island. it was listed as a "naturist" retreat. apparently thats another word for "nudist". but i thought, whatever, its not like they're going to force me to be naked! so i hitched south.
i only got half way because i spent 2 hours waiting for a ride, and it was freezing! when southerlies blow in from antarctica, its like winter all of a sudden. my poor thumb!
not to mention the main roads were closed due to tons of snow in the central north island. apparently this kind of weather this time of year is very rare!
my host pauline from the first place i stayed gave me her daughters number, which is in taupo, where i spent the night. by the way, most nzers are very generous and go out of their way to help you. its incredible! they are more willing to help than some of my friends and family!
Also in the news was a hunt for a gunman on the loose. great, i thought. but they caught him a few days later. phew!
Sooo, the next frigid morning i hitched the rest of the way. when i was dropped off in their town, called whaikanai (pronounced why-kah-niy) i was still 3 ks from their place, so i walked in the general direction. i walked through green fields and over rolling hills, crawled under fences and climbed over fences, past rustling trees. i sang to myself all the way, sang about what i was doing and what i heard and saw. flight of the conchords-style. my chorus was "green....hill....road...". which is where i was headed! that walk was the only joy i found there. oh, plus the family's rottweiler; he was a sweetie pie!
At the address in question, i found a huge electric gate barring the way, which i had been told about. i pushed a button on the side and all it did was beep at me. so i climbed over. there was a sign that said "warning! this property has surveillance cameras!" or something of the sort. okaaaay. i walked down the driveway.
my experiece there in a nutshell: not good.
a couple ran the place. he never gave me straight answers when asked questions. then he told me all these bad experiences he'd had with americans. on and on he went. finally i said," i don't think it's fair to judge a country's people so generally. in fact, i think it's erroneous!" i was not rude at all, by the way. as you all know, i am not pro-america at all, but neither am i a bigot! anyway it was tense after that, and his wife was rude to me, and i felt generally unwelcome there. that night as i lay in bed freezing my ass off, i wanted to be home. or at te manawa, the next best place. so in the morning i told them i didn't think this was the right place for me. he said, ok, you can leave today.
So i hitched back north, the way i'd come.
I had wanted to see the south island, but after learning it cost $50 each way to take the ferry there (for one passenger!!), and not wanting to keep trusting my luck, i decided it was more important for me to be around good people who treat me like family than to see the sights. maybe i'm weird, i dunno. i did feel a little cowardly, but i headed back towards te manawa, in mangawhai, the first place i wwoofed at.
I had an amazing day of hitching; it takes about 9 or 10 hours to get from wellington to mangawhai if you drive straight through. i hadn't wanted to hitch at night, and i got my last ride just before dark! good on me! i started at 8:30am and got near mangawhai at 8pm, and i never had to wait more than 10 minutes except once for 30 min. i couldn't believe it, but i trusted i would make it, and i did! malcolm and britta took me back with open arms, and we will talk later about how long i can stay here, but i want to stay the rest of my time here.
i miss home and familiar faces and washington and especially the kitties.
i dont think im cut out for the travellin' life. but not to worry, i will make the best of my time here and try to remain in the present moment. thanks to all who have emailed me over the last week; it gives me joy to hear from you!
then that afternoon, 2 new wwoofers from quebec, a guy & a girl, arrived. they were super nice. we hiked trails together and had fun!.
Then on friday a new retreat began, a dance/yoga retreat called 5 rhythms. mostly ladies in their 30's, and their joyful feminine energy was great! i joined in on some of the dancing, and it was amazing, very free and about letting go of any restraints. it was beautiful dancing with them. and i sure needed it, it felt so good to move!
the weekend was full of working in the kitchen and dancing and hiking; there is over 800 acres of native bush there, and many trails. it's all protected land and so will never be developed on.
On monday morning i left te moata, and was bound towards a place i had contacted near wellington, which is way down at the south end of the north island. it was listed as a "naturist" retreat. apparently thats another word for "nudist". but i thought, whatever, its not like they're going to force me to be naked! so i hitched south.
i only got half way because i spent 2 hours waiting for a ride, and it was freezing! when southerlies blow in from antarctica, its like winter all of a sudden. my poor thumb!
not to mention the main roads were closed due to tons of snow in the central north island. apparently this kind of weather this time of year is very rare!
my host pauline from the first place i stayed gave me her daughters number, which is in taupo, where i spent the night. by the way, most nzers are very generous and go out of their way to help you. its incredible! they are more willing to help than some of my friends and family!
Also in the news was a hunt for a gunman on the loose. great, i thought. but they caught him a few days later. phew!
Sooo, the next frigid morning i hitched the rest of the way. when i was dropped off in their town, called whaikanai (pronounced why-kah-niy) i was still 3 ks from their place, so i walked in the general direction. i walked through green fields and over rolling hills, crawled under fences and climbed over fences, past rustling trees. i sang to myself all the way, sang about what i was doing and what i heard and saw. flight of the conchords-style. my chorus was "green....hill....road...". which is where i was headed! that walk was the only joy i found there. oh, plus the family's rottweiler; he was a sweetie pie!
At the address in question, i found a huge electric gate barring the way, which i had been told about. i pushed a button on the side and all it did was beep at me. so i climbed over. there was a sign that said "warning! this property has surveillance cameras!" or something of the sort. okaaaay. i walked down the driveway.
my experiece there in a nutshell: not good.
a couple ran the place. he never gave me straight answers when asked questions. then he told me all these bad experiences he'd had with americans. on and on he went. finally i said," i don't think it's fair to judge a country's people so generally. in fact, i think it's erroneous!" i was not rude at all, by the way. as you all know, i am not pro-america at all, but neither am i a bigot! anyway it was tense after that, and his wife was rude to me, and i felt generally unwelcome there. that night as i lay in bed freezing my ass off, i wanted to be home. or at te manawa, the next best place. so in the morning i told them i didn't think this was the right place for me. he said, ok, you can leave today.
So i hitched back north, the way i'd come.
I had wanted to see the south island, but after learning it cost $50 each way to take the ferry there (for one passenger!!), and not wanting to keep trusting my luck, i decided it was more important for me to be around good people who treat me like family than to see the sights. maybe i'm weird, i dunno. i did feel a little cowardly, but i headed back towards te manawa, in mangawhai, the first place i wwoofed at.
I had an amazing day of hitching; it takes about 9 or 10 hours to get from wellington to mangawhai if you drive straight through. i hadn't wanted to hitch at night, and i got my last ride just before dark! good on me! i started at 8:30am and got near mangawhai at 8pm, and i never had to wait more than 10 minutes except once for 30 min. i couldn't believe it, but i trusted i would make it, and i did! malcolm and britta took me back with open arms, and we will talk later about how long i can stay here, but i want to stay the rest of my time here.
i miss home and familiar faces and washington and especially the kitties.
i dont think im cut out for the travellin' life. but not to worry, i will make the best of my time here and try to remain in the present moment. thanks to all who have emailed me over the last week; it gives me joy to hear from you!
the snow! in new zealand!
my two wwoofing buddies from quebec, marc and marie eve!
feeling the wind on the edge of the world.
a magical stream running through the land at te moata
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
this is the retreat center, in the courtyard
the maditation labyrinth. i can feel the energy radiating from it when i walk by. havent had a chance to walk it yet.
this is at the beach in waikawau, near the last place i stayed, karuna falls.
karuna falls
milling wheat for bread
so here i am at this retreat center. we're cleaning up the place for the next group, who comes friday. its a yoga & dance group. i'm allowed to partake in the classes. it is raining so much here, off & on. worse than seattle rain! but anyway its lovely. im a bit bored at the moment but am moving on on sunday and will try to take advantage of the space here whilst im here.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
te moata
this is in mangawhai
an old photo, my first day working in mangawhai, picking macadamia nuts. all the red bags and beds are full of drying nuts.
hello every one, sorry to create worry, there's a lesson to myself, dont send an email on a bad day. i am at a place called te moata now, its a spiritual retreat center on the coromandel penuinsula. a buddhist monk just finished leading a silent retreat. i'll send pictures soon.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
a hard days night
just a shout out to let everyone know all is well. i have left te manawa, and after being welcomed into the house as a part of the family, it is hard to leave! the next place i went to was south of aukland, but i got a really weird vibe there...didnt feel safe...cant ignore a feeling like that, you know? so i got a ride to the coromandel peninsula and hitched to the north end, spent the night on the back porch of a cafe in the middle of nowhere, and in the morning got a ride to an old hippie commune called karuna falls. only here for a few days, then i gotta figure out where to next.
when i was at te manawa, i was thinking, yea, i could live here, but being out in the wide lonely world again, part of me wants to come home or at least go back to te manawa. but i shall perservere, i shant give up.
when i was at te manawa, i was thinking, yea, i could live here, but being out in the wide lonely world again, part of me wants to come home or at least go back to te manawa. but i shall perservere, i shant give up.
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