LIFE IS.....
(This is for you to fill in)
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Monday, 19 January 2015
This blog has turned out to be the weirdest ones..... after all it is my first one, but now I have opened a second one!
This one, I just rant on; it was originally going to be an online journal so my family in Canada could follow me on my adventures, but it kind of just ended up being a rant page.
I always feel so inspired when I see a great movie or tv show. And it makes me want to write. Honestly, and this is the product generally. Just bllahhh! But, it's fun and I enjoy it. It makes me feel like I've been writing, and every word counts, eh!
Today at work, it was a pretty good day! (For those of you who don't know, I am a ski instructor!) It's definitely one of those weird jobs, it's pretty boring but it can be fun. Sure, you teach pretty much the same thing every day, but it all depends on the kids you have and their attitude towards skiing. I've had a kid whose cried for the first hour of the lesson, but once the tears dried up, loved skiing and didn't want to leave. I'd have kids who cry the whole time, give up and never ever set eyes on a pair of ski's again, and I have those kids who are really excited to go skiing, fall down once and their world has collapsed. But then you get those inbetweeners and they are my favourite. They are the ones who are maybe a little nervous but they are the ones that shine every time. They are cautious and actually listen to what you say because they want to get it right!
See? RANT!
This one, I just rant on; it was originally going to be an online journal so my family in Canada could follow me on my adventures, but it kind of just ended up being a rant page.
I always feel so inspired when I see a great movie or tv show. And it makes me want to write. Honestly, and this is the product generally. Just bllahhh! But, it's fun and I enjoy it. It makes me feel like I've been writing, and every word counts, eh!
Today at work, it was a pretty good day! (For those of you who don't know, I am a ski instructor!) It's definitely one of those weird jobs, it's pretty boring but it can be fun. Sure, you teach pretty much the same thing every day, but it all depends on the kids you have and their attitude towards skiing. I've had a kid whose cried for the first hour of the lesson, but once the tears dried up, loved skiing and didn't want to leave. I'd have kids who cry the whole time, give up and never ever set eyes on a pair of ski's again, and I have those kids who are really excited to go skiing, fall down once and their world has collapsed. But then you get those inbetweeners and they are my favourite. They are the ones who are maybe a little nervous but they are the ones that shine every time. They are cautious and actually listen to what you say because they want to get it right!
See? RANT!
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Entertainment Issues
I have a little problem with entertainment. One of the movies I saw in theatres with a couple of friends was "Wolf of Wall Street". I have to admit that this movie came out quite a while ago, but it left me quite horrified I'd spent $15 and three hours of my life to see that movie.
I was profoundly stunned to hear people laugh during that movie. Sure, everyone has different tastes, but I didn't realize humans were so uncomfortable with the ideas it brought up, it triggered the reaction of laughter. I didn't find the movie funny at all. It was shocking.
I didn't like to see the way his addiction to drugs was a higher priority than his family. I am astounded that I heard laughter during the moments he was doing his drugs, if you had seen someone face to face doing those things, you wouldn't be laughing, I can pretty much assure you. Second, was the way women were portrayed, just objects men can win. Not wanting so sound too blunt, but it disgusted me.
Anyway, what really brought this on was the fact that my little brother (who's 15 years now) is finding all these drugs, money and sex movies funny. Who am I to judge? Well, society keeps trying to pledge that we will bring equality to men and women, but promoting movies like that, aren't helping. We are giving 'entertainment' to our younger generations that promote this kind of behaviour, then we wonder why we have so many screwed up kids out there. Why are these movies even made? Those movies that are about delinquents that haven't turned their lives around, the ones who find it fun to break the law and hurt others, why do we turn them into celebrities? I'm confused. Our society gives our so many mixed messages and this is just another one.
We are told at school to sit and listen and to read properly, as there are no confusing questions that can be misunderstood. Well, that's a lie. Because society is doing just that.
I was profoundly stunned to hear people laugh during that movie. Sure, everyone has different tastes, but I didn't realize humans were so uncomfortable with the ideas it brought up, it triggered the reaction of laughter. I didn't find the movie funny at all. It was shocking.
I didn't like to see the way his addiction to drugs was a higher priority than his family. I am astounded that I heard laughter during the moments he was doing his drugs, if you had seen someone face to face doing those things, you wouldn't be laughing, I can pretty much assure you. Second, was the way women were portrayed, just objects men can win. Not wanting so sound too blunt, but it disgusted me.
Anyway, what really brought this on was the fact that my little brother (who's 15 years now) is finding all these drugs, money and sex movies funny. Who am I to judge? Well, society keeps trying to pledge that we will bring equality to men and women, but promoting movies like that, aren't helping. We are giving 'entertainment' to our younger generations that promote this kind of behaviour, then we wonder why we have so many screwed up kids out there. Why are these movies even made? Those movies that are about delinquents that haven't turned their lives around, the ones who find it fun to break the law and hurt others, why do we turn them into celebrities? I'm confused. Our society gives our so many mixed messages and this is just another one.
We are told at school to sit and listen and to read properly, as there are no confusing questions that can be misunderstood. Well, that's a lie. Because society is doing just that.
Sunday, 7 December 2014
One of Society's Many Traps
Not sure where to start today.
What an interesting thing life is. Is it even a thing? Maybe 'event' is better suiting. Life is an event, after all. I do not believe it's over after life, it didn't start when we were born. Life is just time. On this planet. In this body. Living with these people. I believe we are in contact with everyone and everything before we were given this body as a tool to navigate this planet. We know everything, everything we need to know is already inside us, we just have to find it. So many people go to others for help because they believe they 'know' more than we do. In a way, they might, but for our self-help we need, we know everything. We go to others to help ourselves to try to identify it so we can tackle it ourselves. "They can only show you the door, but it is you who has to walk through it."
At this moment in my life, I'm struggling trying to find my way. Find the ultimate answer to the "What to do with my life" question that plagues all people. Some people know what they want to do, and lots of us don't. We are told that after high school, go to university, which lots of us do and get a high paying job. Spending money that we don't have to get a higher paying job. I am one of those people who didn't go to university. Well, actually, I did. After high school, I wasn't planning on going to university, but my older brother told me to at least have a back-up plan. I wanted to travel after high school, I had planned on having a gap year, rediscovering my homeland, Australia, ever since we had moved to Canada. But since I had no money, I decided maybe it was a good idea to have a back-up plan and so I applied to a university on the west coast of Canada, in a tiny town called Nanaimo. I studied Japanese and Liberal Studies and Theatre there for one semester. I loved the studying, the classwork and the professors, but I didn't like where I lived in residence. I had no friends, except for the one I made in the internationals building, but it just wasn't for me. I came back to live at home and taught skiing. Near the end of the ski season, I thought, maybe I should go and teach skiing in Australia, so I applied to a few ski hills and got a job with a ski hill a few hours from Canberra in the Snowy Mountains. So I headed off for a magnificent adventure! I only ended up staying at that ski hill for two and a half weeks. I hated it! But I didn't let that quench my thirst for adventure. I went back to Sydney and decided on what I was going to do with the remainder 5 months I had away. I booked a tour that started in Melbourne and went up through the red centre up to Darwin. Best 18 days of my life. Best $7 I ever spent on that tour was riding a camel around a little yard. Stayed in Darwin for an extra week, and booked another tour in New Zealand. I loved my adventure away! Re-connected with some amazing people, and met fantastic new ones. I came back to Canada with an idea of what I wanted to do. Midwifery it was. I applied to an Australian university and a Canadian one. I taught skiing again in Canada, liked it less than the year before. I got into the australian university, but to save money, said no and waited to get into the canadian one, as midwifery was just beginning here so who would apply to do it? Well, I didn't get in. As I heard afterwards, there were only 20 people admitted into the program. The competitive average was a 4.0, well I had a 3.7, there was all of three universities in all of Canada that offered the midwifery program, all of them only taking all of 20 students. Well, I was dumb-founded. I had no idea I wasn't going to get into the program. So here I was, teaching skiing, not making a whole lot of money, and doomed to spend another year out of school. So here I am heading into my third gap-year.
This year, I applied to two canadian universities. What I've come to realize is, this world we have isn't here to help us achieve our passions. The human society has turned into a money-maker business. And no one cares about anything but money.
I haven't given up on my midwifery hopes. My plan is to get an under-grad, teach english abroad (because I can't do this without an under-grad degree), then get into a midwifery school. I don't have to achieve my goal now, but I am not getting sucked into this loan business. I want to pay for everything with my own money, but it's going to be hard. I will probably have to, in the end, take out a loan, but I want to travel in my life. I want to be able to travel and explore the world with no money limits. I want to travel to Morocco, Greece, Turkey, South Korean, Japan, Thailand, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, France, South Africa, back to England and Australia. I want to see the world, full of it's different cultures, languages, religions. I want to see the world, in all her glory, before the end of my life event.
What an interesting thing life is. Is it even a thing? Maybe 'event' is better suiting. Life is an event, after all. I do not believe it's over after life, it didn't start when we were born. Life is just time. On this planet. In this body. Living with these people. I believe we are in contact with everyone and everything before we were given this body as a tool to navigate this planet. We know everything, everything we need to know is already inside us, we just have to find it. So many people go to others for help because they believe they 'know' more than we do. In a way, they might, but for our self-help we need, we know everything. We go to others to help ourselves to try to identify it so we can tackle it ourselves. "They can only show you the door, but it is you who has to walk through it."
At this moment in my life, I'm struggling trying to find my way. Find the ultimate answer to the "What to do with my life" question that plagues all people. Some people know what they want to do, and lots of us don't. We are told that after high school, go to university, which lots of us do and get a high paying job. Spending money that we don't have to get a higher paying job. I am one of those people who didn't go to university. Well, actually, I did. After high school, I wasn't planning on going to university, but my older brother told me to at least have a back-up plan. I wanted to travel after high school, I had planned on having a gap year, rediscovering my homeland, Australia, ever since we had moved to Canada. But since I had no money, I decided maybe it was a good idea to have a back-up plan and so I applied to a university on the west coast of Canada, in a tiny town called Nanaimo. I studied Japanese and Liberal Studies and Theatre there for one semester. I loved the studying, the classwork and the professors, but I didn't like where I lived in residence. I had no friends, except for the one I made in the internationals building, but it just wasn't for me. I came back to live at home and taught skiing. Near the end of the ski season, I thought, maybe I should go and teach skiing in Australia, so I applied to a few ski hills and got a job with a ski hill a few hours from Canberra in the Snowy Mountains. So I headed off for a magnificent adventure! I only ended up staying at that ski hill for two and a half weeks. I hated it! But I didn't let that quench my thirst for adventure. I went back to Sydney and decided on what I was going to do with the remainder 5 months I had away. I booked a tour that started in Melbourne and went up through the red centre up to Darwin. Best 18 days of my life. Best $7 I ever spent on that tour was riding a camel around a little yard. Stayed in Darwin for an extra week, and booked another tour in New Zealand. I loved my adventure away! Re-connected with some amazing people, and met fantastic new ones. I came back to Canada with an idea of what I wanted to do. Midwifery it was. I applied to an Australian university and a Canadian one. I taught skiing again in Canada, liked it less than the year before. I got into the australian university, but to save money, said no and waited to get into the canadian one, as midwifery was just beginning here so who would apply to do it? Well, I didn't get in. As I heard afterwards, there were only 20 people admitted into the program. The competitive average was a 4.0, well I had a 3.7, there was all of three universities in all of Canada that offered the midwifery program, all of them only taking all of 20 students. Well, I was dumb-founded. I had no idea I wasn't going to get into the program. So here I was, teaching skiing, not making a whole lot of money, and doomed to spend another year out of school. So here I am heading into my third gap-year.
This year, I applied to two canadian universities. What I've come to realize is, this world we have isn't here to help us achieve our passions. The human society has turned into a money-maker business. And no one cares about anything but money.
I haven't given up on my midwifery hopes. My plan is to get an under-grad, teach english abroad (because I can't do this without an under-grad degree), then get into a midwifery school. I don't have to achieve my goal now, but I am not getting sucked into this loan business. I want to pay for everything with my own money, but it's going to be hard. I will probably have to, in the end, take out a loan, but I want to travel in my life. I want to be able to travel and explore the world with no money limits. I want to travel to Morocco, Greece, Turkey, South Korean, Japan, Thailand, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, France, South Africa, back to England and Australia. I want to see the world, full of it's different cultures, languages, religions. I want to see the world, in all her glory, before the end of my life event.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
Long days..!!
Yesterday was my birthday! Wahoo! Although it ended up being quite lousy as I was working from 8:30 am to 9 pm. But, on the bright side, everyone wished me a happy birthday which was a very nice and made me feel very ^^ !
Today was much more relaxing, as I worked from 8:30-1:30 and so I had the whole afternoon to relax and get some extra shut eye. Although, tomorrow is going to be a big one too because I'm working from 8:30-9 again! And then I'm working my regular weekend hours of 8:30-5.
What is life if you don't get short on sleep a few times I suppose. Although, I do quite enjoy being bright-eyed and bushy tailed every morning when I go to work. Which isn't happening after those long shifts. I hope they don't expect me to work preschool the day after tomorrow. haha I'll keep you posted on that point.
So even though it means I'm putting money in the bank- I don't like being short of energy. I don't like feeling that I'm not putting all I've got into my work and whatever else I'm directing myself towards. That makes sense right? I don't want to burn myself out for money. That would be absolutely ridiculous.
My parents are laughing at me now because I'm looking 'fierce'.
I haven't done anything for my birthday- I haven't gotten even one present! I've only gotten a card from mum and dad and a card posted from my brother who left New Zealand today and gone back to Singapore. :) That made me happy, but that's it! But that's okay- I'm super busy with work, and maybe we'll postpone it to my next and only day off next week- Tuesday.
Hopefully we'll get to do something awesome.
Today was much more relaxing, as I worked from 8:30-1:30 and so I had the whole afternoon to relax and get some extra shut eye. Although, tomorrow is going to be a big one too because I'm working from 8:30-9 again! And then I'm working my regular weekend hours of 8:30-5.
What is life if you don't get short on sleep a few times I suppose. Although, I do quite enjoy being bright-eyed and bushy tailed every morning when I go to work. Which isn't happening after those long shifts. I hope they don't expect me to work preschool the day after tomorrow. haha I'll keep you posted on that point.
So even though it means I'm putting money in the bank- I don't like being short of energy. I don't like feeling that I'm not putting all I've got into my work and whatever else I'm directing myself towards. That makes sense right? I don't want to burn myself out for money. That would be absolutely ridiculous.
My parents are laughing at me now because I'm looking 'fierce'.
I haven't done anything for my birthday- I haven't gotten even one present! I've only gotten a card from mum and dad and a card posted from my brother who left New Zealand today and gone back to Singapore. :) That made me happy, but that's it! But that's okay- I'm super busy with work, and maybe we'll postpone it to my next and only day off next week- Tuesday.
Hopefully we'll get to do something awesome.
Sunday, 29 December 2013
In Canada, working hard!
I've now been in Calgary for an entire month! Time flies for sure, but it goes a lot faster when you're having fun and that is entirely true for me! I've gone back to work, and have been now for 3 weeks now! It has been quite difficult switching back to routine after 6 months of holiday. I don't like getting up in the mornings, I've re-discovered. But as much as I don't like waking up in the mornings, it is still worth getting to work for. I mean, apart from having to deal with snotty-nosed children, I love my job! haha, but really- My office is absolutely gorgeous. Being outside all day, being oober happy and thinking up games to play with children, and have skis on our feet- it's an absolutely wonderful job. I wouldn't do it if I didn't get paid for it though- too hard and definitely uses too much energy, and sometimes the parents are a little mean and sometimes they say some unbelievable things but I guess that's all in the job description.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
So over the new years, my parents and little brother and I are all going to Canmore for two nights to do some snowshoeing and winter activities (and for me- other than downhill skiing- which I love but I do want a break from wearing ski boots all day!)
Well, I got one more day until I get my 2 days off in Canmore which will be super nice and I'm really looking forward to stay away!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
So over the new years, my parents and little brother and I are all going to Canmore for two nights to do some snowshoeing and winter activities (and for me- other than downhill skiing- which I love but I do want a break from wearing ski boots all day!)
Well, I got one more day until I get my 2 days off in Canmore which will be super nice and I'm really looking forward to stay away!
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Pauanui and Whangamata
Yesterday, I got woken for a day adventure! It's not usually I wake up with a smile plastered to my face- but I had one on yesterday due to the fact that my mother had ticked my face with my alpaca wool bunny rabbit. Okay, so that fact that I don't usually wake up with a smile on my face is a wee lie, I usually do, but underneath I'm usually grumpy...)
Anyway, the trip was to Pauanui Beach! We stopped half-way in Thames for a cup of tea at a cute garden cafe. It was so cute and adorable.
After arriving in Pauanui, we had another lovely picnic, a walk down the beach, a walk back up the beach and then a lie down in the sun.
Getting sunburned on my shoulders. Yay.
We saw a few really good blossoms of the famous pohutekawa tree which was gorgeous. Especially since it is still November, I haven't actually seen pohutekawa blooming in such big clumps!
So it was about 3 in the afternoon when we left Pauanui to visit Whangamata, another little beach town. In Whangamata, we walked along the beach and splashed (well, I did anyway) in the water. Afterwards, as the sun was setting and it was getting rather hot, we stopped at a little fish and chip-ery and got some fish and chips and ate at a picnic table on the seaside. Unfortunately from the picnic table, we couldn't actually see the seaside, but that didn't matter as it was only a few paces away!
We didn't end up getting home until about 8 pm where we rinsed off all our sandy feet and then watched Miss Fisher! A perfect end to a perfect day!
Anyway, the trip was to Pauanui Beach! We stopped half-way in Thames for a cup of tea at a cute garden cafe. It was so cute and adorable.
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| Puananui Beach |
We saw a few really good blossoms of the famous pohutekawa tree which was gorgeous. Especially since it is still November, I haven't actually seen pohutekawa blooming in such big clumps!
So it was about 3 in the afternoon when we left Pauanui to visit Whangamata, another little beach town. In Whangamata, we walked along the beach and splashed (well, I did anyway) in the water. Afterwards, as the sun was setting and it was getting rather hot, we stopped at a little fish and chip-ery and got some fish and chips and ate at a picnic table on the seaside. Unfortunately from the picnic table, we couldn't actually see the seaside, but that didn't matter as it was only a few paces away!
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| Whangamata Beach |
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Strawberry Fields
So since Raglan let's see...we've made 2 excursions!
The first one was back to Paeroa to visit the antique shops and for a coffee which was really nice, we found a really cute coffee shop with a courtyard and vines over the walls and everything!! After stopping there, we continued on to Waihi Beach for another picnic at the seaside! Where I found tons of shells- as the tide was out this time- and decided to give myself a manicure!
Yesterday we went out again to what originally was supposed to be a trip to the post office but we managed to drive from here to Papakura to Ardmore to Clevedon to Maraetai and back to Hunua! So we did lots of driving! We went to Ardmore to visit a place called Strawberry Corner, where they have a property in a kind of corner and they have a massive field of strawberries.
So we went and we bought some strawberries and some strawberry ice cream which they made by putting a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a machine followed by a scoop of strawberries and then it mixes it together and it creates this jumble of yumminess! We then drove into Clevedon and went to a wool shop which was quite expensive but it was the first touristy kind of shop I've found relatively close to Hunua which was quite nice! Next because we were full of ice cream we decided to go for a walk to walk a little of our food off, and so we went to Maraetai and had a nice long walk on the beach!
And we finished watching Call the Midwife season 1 which I like very much! And then went to bed!
Uncle Jamie is leaving back to the UK today :( I wish him a good flight home and I hope to see you again!
The first one was back to Paeroa to visit the antique shops and for a coffee which was really nice, we found a really cute coffee shop with a courtyard and vines over the walls and everything!! After stopping there, we continued on to Waihi Beach for another picnic at the seaside! Where I found tons of shells- as the tide was out this time- and decided to give myself a manicure!
Yesterday we went out again to what originally was supposed to be a trip to the post office but we managed to drive from here to Papakura to Ardmore to Clevedon to Maraetai and back to Hunua! So we did lots of driving! We went to Ardmore to visit a place called Strawberry Corner, where they have a property in a kind of corner and they have a massive field of strawberries.
Uncle Jamie is leaving back to the UK today :( I wish him a good flight home and I hope to see you again!
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| A lovely sunset in Hunua! |
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| Me and my mother! |
Friday, 15 November 2013
Raglan Expedition
This morning I got woken up by---nope, it wasn't the rooster--it was a cow!!!!!! We had some bobbies put in the paddock right outside the lounge living room and they were moooooing and moooing and for goodness sake they're still at it! But so today we decided to go on a day trip to Raglan. It was a sunny day here, and then as we neared Raglan the weather deteriorated and started to rain and then it just remained cloudy for the majority of the day. So, we wandered around first off and I bought some sunglasses- yay! And then, we went out for fish'n'chips and did a little walkies on the beach. Went out to continue wander the shops and went for a little ice cream. I tried the hokey pokey flavour which is famous to New Zealand and honestly, I didn't know what hokey pokey was until I looked it up on the computer just now and as it turns out- honeycomb toffee in vanilla ice cream. Yum. Then we went to the Raglan Beach to have a very nice long walk where we saw two horses and their riders, it was lovely and I want to do that! Ride on the beach, it'd be lovely!
Now we're back home and awaiting to watch Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries!
Now we're back home and awaiting to watch Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries!
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| Tea Stop on the way to Raglan |
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| Raglan Beach |
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| What I wish to do on the beach! |
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| Eating Ice Cream! |
Saturday, 9 November 2013
Waihi Beach
Well, yesterday I woke up with my mother cuddling me! It was too hot!! But never the less I had to get up early anyway because we were planning a picnic in Waihi Beach. So we made our sandwiches and everything and we drove for an hour or so before we stopped at a railway station for coffee and cake before moving on to Waihi and Waihi Beach. It was so lovely, we had a little walkies on the beach one way and then walked back and then it was decided that we were going to go for a little swim/paddle in the sea. 
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| A photo of me eating fish and chips in the park- definittely a wee bit sun-kissed..!! |
Thursday, 7 November 2013
Howick
This morning my mum arrived in New Zealand! I don't believe it's already that time!! (And that means I only have 3 weeks left of my trip!) O.O I don't know where the time has gone, but it's definitely gone!
Today we went to Howick, a little town maybe 45 minutes from Papakura. But still, that's long enough especially when the roads are so windy! Howick is a little cute village town, so after buying sunglasses for everyone except me (because I couldn't find any) we went to a quirky little cafe and had a little snack and then went to the piddly-little beach! It was really pretty- the water was a lovely turquoise colour and there were kiddies out in little opties sailing in the little bay! It was really cute and really quite nice, so we all had a very nice afternoon with the sun shining and seagulls squawking!
Today we went to Howick, a little town maybe 45 minutes from Papakura. But still, that's long enough especially when the roads are so windy! Howick is a little cute village town, so after buying sunglasses for everyone except me (because I couldn't find any) we went to a quirky little cafe and had a little snack and then went to the piddly-little beach! It was really pretty- the water was a lovely turquoise colour and there were kiddies out in little opties sailing in the little bay! It was really cute and really quite nice, so we all had a very nice afternoon with the sun shining and seagulls squawking!
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Maraetai
After a few weeks of doing nothing after finishing touring, which was very very nice if I might say so, today we went out!
So I have an uncle ( I know, surprise surprise!) whom I haven't met since I was aged 2. Knee-high to a bloomin' grasshopper..anyways, he flew into New Zealand (Crash, ba-boom bang) and so he's here now and I got to finally meet him! I have been told (with photos to prove it) that I really liked my Uncle Jamie, and now that I've met him now I'm older- I'm not sure I do approve...just kidding. No, in all seriousness, he is a very nice uncle. eheh, so that was very very exciting!!
Okay, so today we went out to Maraetai- a meeting place by the sea and it was absolutely gorgeous! The sea was a fantastic turquoisey light blue and it was marvelous! We walked up and down the beach, the tide was up which made it a little difficult, but we managed to do it. We had coffee and shared carrot cake in a little cafe on the seaside..ahhh!! We then walked down a little farther and shared a few chips and were harassed by sparrows and seagulls, but I had a little fun scaring them away, running at them at full speed gleefully!! It was a very nice morning!Oh, and while were driving- we saw a drummer and his drum kit sitting on the side of the road on the beach!!! Now you don't see that everyday do you!
Uncle Jamie has also brought some movies with him- we've been watching the BBC Series Death in Paradise which is a very good who-done-it, and we watched The Tourist last night which was also enjoyable especially with Johnny Depp, and it's been very good and lively here in New Zealand.
My mummy comes in two days too which will be good!!
So I have an uncle ( I know, surprise surprise!) whom I haven't met since I was aged 2. Knee-high to a bloomin' grasshopper..anyways, he flew into New Zealand (Crash, ba-boom bang) and so he's here now and I got to finally meet him! I have been told (with photos to prove it) that I really liked my Uncle Jamie, and now that I've met him now I'm older- I'm not sure I do approve...just kidding. No, in all seriousness, he is a very nice uncle. eheh, so that was very very exciting!!
Uncle Jamie has also brought some movies with him- we've been watching the BBC Series Death in Paradise which is a very good who-done-it, and we watched The Tourist last night which was also enjoyable especially with Johnny Depp, and it's been very good and lively here in New Zealand.
My mummy comes in two days too which will be good!!
Sunday, 20 October 2013
New Zealand Tour
Well, hello there....I am back from my 24 day tour in New Zealand! It was just as fantastic as my other tour!!
We started in Auckland and visited the Bay of Islands where the highlight activity was night kayaking! There was the beautiful southern starry sky above and phosphorescence in the water below! Absolutely gorgeous!! Then we made our way to Rotorua where there are geothermal pools, boiling mud pools which were bizarre to watch but at the same time beautiful. Then we visited Raglan were we surfed in the rain! I was quite skeptical about surfing because...well...It just didn't appeal to me plus the fact that it was cloudy and rainy that way...however, I went and it was the best thing I've ever done!!
It was so much fun and I got to stand up on the board too!
Next we went to Rotorua and the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. It was super super neat! When we went into the caves- we had little lights on our helmets however when we got into the caves we had to turn them off and experience complete darkness. It was very eerie...and when we went deeper into the cave and into a boat we turned them off again but this time the way was lighted by the glow-worms! It was almost better than the southern night sky..!! It was absolutely lovely!
The next stop was in National Park. The weather was wonderful and it was jolly good that it was because we were going to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing! It's a 19.4 km walk and gives you absolutely spectacular views! Up the very top of the pass, there was snow! So it was quite windy and cold but the sun was shining and it was one of the most wonderful hikes I've ever done. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!! (This walk took us about 6 hours)
After relaxing in a sauna that night, we made our way to Wellington to take the ferry to Picton across the Cook Strait. From there we visited Abel Tasman National Park where we stayed one night on a floating hostel and then walked from Anchorage to Marahau which is a 12.4 km or 4 hour walk. This one was a lot easier though-it was completely flat which definitely helps!
The beaches were absolutely amazing and picturesque here. We ended up sitting on one of them for 45 minutes and it still took us only 3 hours to walk that.
On Day 12, we went to Punakaiki and visited the Pancake Rocks, and really they were pretty cool. They definitely do look like pancaked rocks. We saw some seals here as well, and the weather wasn't too great. It was very wet and windy but still definitely enjoyable. We stayed in a really cute little rainforest cabin. The group pretty much stayed in the same house which is always nice! Next day we visited Franz Josef which had a ton of fresh air! We walked from the town of Franz Josef to the glacier for a little walk right up to the glacier. The walk to the start of the glacier walk was longer than the actual walk but never mind. The weather was lovely and we even got lost and found a pretty lake! From Franz Josef to Queenstown, we stopped at Lake Matheson which is one of the most photographed lakes ever. And it absolutely makes sense why that is so:
Right on, so next we have our 3 days in Queenstown! Queenstown is absolutely wonderful- gorgeous place! Definitely, if you are going to the south island do not bother missing out on it- it's not only the adrenaline capital- it is also extremely beautiful!
With the mountains coming right out of the lake in Queenstown you just cannot put your camera down even though you've already taken a thousand photos of it already! The camera just cannot do the beauty of Queenstown justice! Well, my camera can't anyway.
So after Queenstown, we did an overnight trip to Doubtful Sound in the Fiordland National Park. It was quite rainy and cloudy, but we still got a very very good impression of the beauty of Doubtful Sound. We did a little boat cruise out to the Tasman Sea where it got a little rough, but luckily, I don't get seasick! The next morning, we did a little walk to Helena Falls in the pouring rain! It was so wet, I do have a very good rainjacket, but I got so wet- I had to borrow pants and I used my scarf as a skirt and my shoes were drenched- I had to wear flipflops because I had nothing else with me! It was so crazy! But the falls were so pretty and you know what- I might not ever go back..so it's worth it. Okay-dokey, what's next? We then visited Central Otago and stayed in Wedderbern. The plan here was to go do the Rail Trail which we did. 35 km of biking completed! The weather was quite nice, but the wind!! Head wind for the majority of the trail, and I'm pretty sure we did it backwards because we did 30 km of a slight incline all the way until we hit the last 5 km of slightly decline cruising! It would have been ideal to do it in reverse, but never mind! That was so much fun and it was lovely!
After completing that bike ride, the Canadians on the tour had planned a thanksgiving dinner! One of our ladies on the tour was in charge of the pumpkin pie. The problem was we couldn't find an oven! So she roasted the pumpkin on the barbeque and cooked the pie in the barbeque and well, it turned our fantastic! And while we were eating our dinner of chicken, roasted vegetables, stuffing, mashed potatoes-- you will never guess what it started doing outside..!! IT STARTED SNOWING!! (Bloody Canadians!) But it definitely felt like Christmas and thanksgiving....so what else did we need for a Canadian Thanksgiving? We had snow to complete it- lovely!
Day 21 was spent in Christchurch. Witnessing what a mess from the earthquakes that place is in is absolutely heartbreaking.
After Christchurch, we visited a place called Kaikoura which is an absolutely gorgeous seaside town.
Here in Kaikoura, we saw tons of seals and it was absolutely wonderful. In Maori, Kai means food and Koura is crayfish, and the sea here is particularly abundant with these fishes, so yeah, cool stuff! It was also here, that I had a little bit too much too drink- but it led to a wonderful night sleep and luckily the next day we didn't have a big day so it was all good :P
We saw a ton of seals here too! Old ones and baby ones! They were absolutely adorable!! (And yes, this one we could actually get this close too!!( the zoom on my camera is not that good..))!!
So now I'm back in Auckland and my trip has been another success!! Go G Adventures!! This is my second tour with them and I have not one thing to complain about. I've had fun both times, they've both been extremely different but both extremely good!! :D yay!
Next we went to Rotorua and the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. It was super super neat! When we went into the caves- we had little lights on our helmets however when we got into the caves we had to turn them off and experience complete darkness. It was very eerie...and when we went deeper into the cave and into a boat we turned them off again but this time the way was lighted by the glow-worms! It was almost better than the southern night sky..!! It was absolutely lovely!
The next stop was in National Park. The weather was wonderful and it was jolly good that it was because we were going to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing! It's a 19.4 km walk and gives you absolutely spectacular views! Up the very top of the pass, there was snow! So it was quite windy and cold but the sun was shining and it was one of the most wonderful hikes I've ever done. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!! (This walk took us about 6 hours) |
| Mt. Ruapehu and Mt. Tongariro |
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| Generally, you cannot see this volcano which is somewhere on the coast, but we were lucky enough with such fantastic weather to be able to see it! |
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| On the way down the other side of the path...about halfway! It was quite a steep climb up and definitely a steep climb down too! (The mud and snow mixed together doesn't help much either..!!) |
On Day 12, we went to Punakaiki and visited the Pancake Rocks, and really they were pretty cool. They definitely do look like pancaked rocks. We saw some seals here as well, and the weather wasn't too great. It was very wet and windy but still definitely enjoyable. We stayed in a really cute little rainforest cabin. The group pretty much stayed in the same house which is always nice! Next day we visited Franz Josef which had a ton of fresh air! We walked from the town of Franz Josef to the glacier for a little walk right up to the glacier. The walk to the start of the glacier walk was longer than the actual walk but never mind. The weather was lovely and we even got lost and found a pretty lake! From Franz Josef to Queenstown, we stopped at Lake Matheson which is one of the most photographed lakes ever. And it absolutely makes sense why that is so:
With the mountains coming right out of the lake in Queenstown you just cannot put your camera down even though you've already taken a thousand photos of it already! The camera just cannot do the beauty of Queenstown justice! Well, my camera can't anyway.
Day 21 was spent in Christchurch. Witnessing what a mess from the earthquakes that place is in is absolutely heartbreaking.
We saw a ton of seals here too! Old ones and baby ones! They were absolutely adorable!! (And yes, this one we could actually get this close too!!( the zoom on my camera is not that good..))!!
Monday, 16 September 2013
Melbourne to Darwin Tour
Hello there, after a long long while I'm back in Melbourne. I've had huge changes in plans since my trip! My tour from Melbourne to Darwin was the best 18 days of my life! The group was amazing and the tour guide was the bestest in the whole world! My favourite place was the grampians and my favourite city was Darwin. My favouritest few minutes was when our tour guide Dingo told us a story at Uluru. Here are some highlights of photos; I can't go through the whole tour- there's too much awesomeness!
So after leaving my fabulous tour group- I departed Darwin after a week and am now in Melbourne. Tonight I'm on my way to the airport for my flight to Auckland tomorrow morning. I'm doing another tour in New Zealand for 24 days starting next week! It's amazing!
Yesterday, as well as packing up, I also applied to universities in Melbourne which is super exciting- and I should hear back in mid-December. I love Australia!
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| Kakadu National Park up in the Northern Territory! |
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| King's Canyon! |
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| We rode on The Ghan from Alice Springs to Darwin |
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| This is at Katherine Gorge. The Ghan had a three hour stop enroute. |
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| This is in the Flinders Ranges. We did a 6 hour hike up St. Mary's Peak. Gorgeous views! |
Yesterday, as well as packing up, I also applied to universities in Melbourne which is super exciting- and I should hear back in mid-December. I love Australia!
Monday, 19 August 2013
Packing frustration
My bag is just too heavy! I've repacked it like 6 times and taken out tons of extra stuff like instead of 6 shirts- I have 4 shirts, 10 undies- 7 undies, got rid of my second light sweater- now all I have are the necessities and it's still heavy... it's kind of starting to get frustrating now. I didn't bring that many clothes to begin with and now I hardly have any. It's kind of ridiculous. I've taken out all my vitamins and acetaminophen tablets out of their containers and put them in little ziploc bags to reduce space and weight- but that's only a little bit. Gosh. It's kind of silly.
Um, exciting things.....
Yesterday wasn't really too exciting- it was my last day relaxing in a home for two months...I went out for dinner with Jenny, Rich and Jenny's mum and dad. It was very delicious. Thai. I ate a lot.
Today is just full of packing (as you might have guessed) and tonight I am on my way to St. Kilda to meet the tour group! I don't know how often I will get to update my blog- but I'll try to do it at least every day because I'll be doing different things every day- if not- It'll be at least once a week. But there won't be any photos because I'm not bringing my computer.
I guess I better get back to re-packing and packing and re-packing... It's actually not a bad weight- it's just if I'm going to be a tourist- I have to pack as light as possible so that I can add things to it on my journey. (Without having to post things back home.. :P ) eheh
Um, exciting things.....
Yesterday wasn't really too exciting- it was my last day relaxing in a home for two months...I went out for dinner with Jenny, Rich and Jenny's mum and dad. It was very delicious. Thai. I ate a lot.
Today is just full of packing (as you might have guessed) and tonight I am on my way to St. Kilda to meet the tour group! I don't know how often I will get to update my blog- but I'll try to do it at least every day because I'll be doing different things every day- if not- It'll be at least once a week. But there won't be any photos because I'm not bringing my computer.
I guess I better get back to re-packing and packing and re-packing... It's actually not a bad weight- it's just if I'm going to be a tourist- I have to pack as light as possible so that I can add things to it on my journey. (Without having to post things back home.. :P ) eheh
Sunday, 18 August 2013
My old House!
So wow, I had a big two days! I'll start with yesterday- Jenny and I went over to 18 Holland Road- it's the house where we used to live in Melbourne which was super cool!! But man, it has changed so much...!! I remember the intensely treed backyard full of trees and bushes and it was pretty, well now- they've ripped out all plants, trees, bushes, even the majority of the grass and it's now replaced with
Ugly...!! I don't remember the deck being like that at all either, and those huge windows in the upstairs overlooking the garage and all the neighbors...ew! (They seem to be welcoming creepers...)
But despite all the horrid changes- I do remember the layout and the laundry room :-)
After exploring the house- Jenny and I went to meet her family for lunch and then went shopping! I found a wide-brimmed hat that I'd been looking for since I arrived in Australia pretty much which is awesome, and I even found a sylvanian family! I now own the chocolate rabbit family! I remember having a family of bunnies as a kid, but I lost them and now I've bought myself a new one that is super cute!
Then yesterday evening, we got some timtams and I learned how aussie's eat these delicious biscuits. So you get a cup of chocolate milk and bite both ends off the timtams, and use the timtam as a straw and suck the milk through the timtams. It is very yummy and unique way of eating timtams! hehe
eheh so yummy...!!
Then today it was nice and relaxing- Judy and Kerry (Two ladies who have kids roughly the same age as Nicole and I) came over for afternoon tea! It was very nice to catch-up! We even had scones and yummy chocolate cookies and macaroons- gosh I am going to come back the size of a bus or rocket or something- but oh well- I enjoyed myself :P
And this last one, is just a photo of Nicole, Charlie and me I thought was pretty darn cute!
This evening, I'm going over to Evangeline's for dinner- to meet my penpal (Evangeline's younger sister) Annika and her parents! When we visited Australia in 2007, we stayed in their house because they were in Russia at the time. But since then, they've had renovations and I probably won't recognize the place- after all- it was 7 years ago!!
But despite all the horrid changes- I do remember the layout and the laundry room :-)
After exploring the house- Jenny and I went to meet her family for lunch and then went shopping! I found a wide-brimmed hat that I'd been looking for since I arrived in Australia pretty much which is awesome, and I even found a sylvanian family! I now own the chocolate rabbit family! I remember having a family of bunnies as a kid, but I lost them and now I've bought myself a new one that is super cute!
Then yesterday evening, we got some timtams and I learned how aussie's eat these delicious biscuits. So you get a cup of chocolate milk and bite both ends off the timtams, and use the timtam as a straw and suck the milk through the timtams. It is very yummy and unique way of eating timtams! hehe
Then today it was nice and relaxing- Judy and Kerry (Two ladies who have kids roughly the same age as Nicole and I) came over for afternoon tea! It was very nice to catch-up! We even had scones and yummy chocolate cookies and macaroons- gosh I am going to come back the size of a bus or rocket or something- but oh well- I enjoyed myself :P
This evening, I'm going over to Evangeline's for dinner- to meet my penpal (Evangeline's younger sister) Annika and her parents! When we visited Australia in 2007, we stayed in their house because they were in Russia at the time. But since then, they've had renovations and I probably won't recognize the place- after all- it was 7 years ago!!
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