Kaikoura, Part 2

Monday, 18 April, 2011
Nelson, New Zealand

We woke up this morning to a good deal of snow on the mountains over in Abel Tasman National Park, across the bay, it's absolutely gorgeous to view, and a mighty chill in the air as well! We're all nursing hangovers here at the house on the hill today, after a 60th birthday party last night for Nickola's cousin Chris, who has been staying here this last week with his wife Saia, as they transition into the house they just bought in Upper Moutere. There were nine people, loads of amazing food (perfectly grilled steak, sauteed mushrooms, roasted veggies, new potatoes in mustard dressing, and Saia's homemade chocolate mousse made with a local lime liqueur were just a few of the offerings), about seven bottles of wine and champagne, and hours of hilarious conversation and jokes, multiple toasts to Chris's good health, and late night singing as the party wound down. It was a really wonderful evening among very good company, just one of the many great social experiences we have gotten by living in someone's home rather than elsewhere.

Now, back to our hijinks down in Kaikoura. On Thursday afternoon we drove to the end of the peninsula to the Point Kean fur seal colony, where the seals have a tendency to sun themselves right in the carpark. All the signs said to stay 10 metres away from the seals, but we found that difficult to do when they were lying only a couple metres from the parking spaces! This guy (or, more likely, gal) was relaxing in the sun and didn't move or even open an eye unless someone came closer than about two metres.

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 There were several seals chilling out in the bushes around the carpark. They have been known to lie on the pavement right in the middle of the road as well. 

 This guy was enjoying his spot on the boardwalk. 

The bird on the rock is a Pied Shag, a member of the cormorant family. The thing sticking out of the water directly behind him is a seal fin. Seals have lots of veins in their fins that can soak up heat quickly, so that is how they warm themselves if they don't want to get out of the water: float around o their side, with one fin up to soak up the sun!

After saying hello to the seals, we walked a section of Kaikoura's Peninsula Walkway, up to the top of the headlands from the seal colony, and then along the tops of the cliffs to the south, taking in amazing views of the rugged coast and the mountains behind. The sun was out, and the water was clear clear clear and beautifully blue. We kept our eyes peeled for whales and dolphins, but didn't spot any. The views were incredible, though.

 Very shallow rocks just south of the seal colony. 

 A common New Zealand sight- cattle grazing atop cliffs overlooking the ocean!

 Walking through a paddock to get to a viewpoint. 

 Looking back down at the Point Kean carpark.

 Another seal colony, about a 15 minute walk south along the cliffs. All the dark spots on the rocks are seals. 

The low hill in the gap between the trees used to be a pa, or Maori fortress. You can see the terracing where the fortifications were, a very common site on hilltops that had a good view and were defensible. The fortifications usually consisted of a stockade-like structure of thick pointed sticks anchored in the ground in several terraced layers.

We ate lunch back at the carpark, with this view:

Apart from the seals on the rock, there are, from the left, a Little Shag, a black-backed gull, and a flock of White-Fronted Terns, with a few smaller seagulls mixed in.

And also spotted this campervan:

USA represent!

Later in the afternoon, we returned to the surf break at Maungamaunu, where the waves were still rolling in beautifully, and Matt took his final surf in New Zealand. It couldn't have been a better one- the waves were easy to catch, and the rides lasted forever, and he did some really epic surfing. I can't tell you how much his surfing has improved since we've been over here, and he couldn't be more stoked about it! I spent the time taking videos of his rides, which unfortunately I still can't post without somehow corrupting them, so they'll have to keep.

We camped Thursday night back at the Puhi Puhi campground. We arrived well before it got dark, so we explored the short bush walk out of the campsite, where the canopy of the native bush was so thick it blocked out most daylight, and we found some amazing huge rimu and totara trees, and wacky vines.

 Amazing Rata vines. 

 Epic Totara (TOH-tar-uh) tree. Totara is very resistant to rot, and they grow huge, so were the favored trunks to use for carving waka, or canoes. 

Another view of the Puhi Puhi River Valley.

The clouds that had rolled in kept the night relatively warm, so we were able to sit out in our camp chairs as darkness fell, enjoying a cup of tea cooked with the last dregs of our final butane cannister, enjoying the setting and our final true night of van camping with Lucy. We whiled away the rest of the evening with a game of cribbage in the van, one of many we have played over the last seven months in various remote places!

Our "card table"-- the laptop case balanced on the basket of books between the front seats!

Friday morning saw us back in Kaikoura for a final bit of exploration and a few errands, checking emails to arrange the sale of surfboard and wetsuit as we passed through Blenheim, and poking around the area just a bit more. We explored south of town a little bit, taking a walk along the rock beach at South Bay, and around the marina where all the whale watching tours and charters leave from, with some great mountain views.

 Six foot beach break at South Bay. 

The remains of a turn-of-the-century whaling factory (a tiny one) near the marina. Whalers around Kaikoura practiced shore whaling, meaning they just went out in longboats from shore and then dragged the whales back onto the beach. The factory was shut down in 1922.

We headed back north as the clouds broke, and we had a gorgeous sunny drive back up the coast to Blenheim, where I said goodbye to my trusty Superfish, passing it on to an eager buyer, and then we hit the road back to Nelson. The rain closed in as we headed into the mountains, and the twisting drive home was made even more scenic by the low clouds and trails of mist sitting in all the mountain valleys and setting off the colors of the yellow trees. We had such a great trip, everything went swimmingly and we both got everything out of it that we wanted. We now have just one more trip with Lucy, up to Golden Bay over Easter Weekend, and then we will say goodbye to her, for she is now officially for sale as the final preparations are made for our departure from New Zealand.

Kaikoura, Part 1

Saturday, 16 April, 2011
Nelson, NZ

In January of 2007, my good friend Provo and I stopped in Kaikoura (kai-KOHR-ah) on our way from Picton to Lake Tekapo, but we were only there long enough to hit the public toilets, grab a coffee, and see how crowded the place was with tourists. This time, Matt and I had a nice leisurely visit and got to know Kaikoura and the surrounding environs pretty well in our few days there, and enjoy the cozy, sleepy little seaside town that is Kaikoura in the off season.

The coastline and bays around Kaikoura provide a refuge for all kinds of marine life, and thus it is New Zealand's center for whale watching and swimming with seals and dolphins, as well as boasting a number of great surf spots. All of these things, and the need to get some exploration in, led us to spend most of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday seeing the sights and taking in the beautiful scenery around Kaikoura. It's about a four hour drive down the east coast from Nelson, and we had some gorgeous scenery along the way, trees covered in yellow and red leaves, the beautiful colors of fall, which we don't have many of in Nelson, due to our warm little microclimate.

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 Both above photos: beautiful colors on the road between Nelson and Blenheim. 

 It had never occurred to me that grapevines would turn yellow in the fall, until we hit the vineyards around Blenheim! Gorgeous, no?

 A look at a stretch of Highway 6 between here and Blenheim. Note the Radiata Pine plantation on the hill. 

In the settlement of Kekerengu, we stopped for a break at The Store (which comprises the entire settlement), a cool seaside establishment with very unique construction. Neat fireplace!

We left Nelson around 10:30 on Wednesday morning, and hit the coast north of Kaikoura about three hours later. We had absolutely gorgeous weather until we hit the winding highway through the mountains on the way home yesterday, which was fine with us! Mostly, we had beautifully sunny days to enjoy the beaches and the views, with just that little chilly bite in the fall air. North of Kaikoura, the rocky coast is home to a number of fur seal colonies, with our furry friends sunning themselves on rocks right up to the edge of the highway. There are a number of places to pull off and say hello to them, with the biggest colony being at Ohau Point. There were hundreds of seals all over the rocks, this year's pups playing in tidepools, and a few seals out in the water, surfing down the massive breakers that were rolling in. It was really cool to stand right at the side of the road and see such huge numbers of animals, who could care less that the highway is right there! 

 All of those dark spots are seals!

Driving south, we stopped to investigate a couple of potential surf spots, enjoying the blue, blue ocean and the great scenery, steep Oregon-y headlands with the snowcapped Seaward Kaikoura Range rising up behind.

We found the perfect waves at a spot called Maungamaunu (or somesuch- there are about four different spellings for it), a point break right off the highway about 15km north of town. With a chilly wind blowing and only a thin wetsuit, I decided not to get in, but Matt paddled out and ended up doing some of the best surfing of his life, with some of the longest rides in the history of Matt. This wave is incredible- they pull around the point and keep breaking perfectly all the way to the inside of the bay, 150 metres or more. 

 Matt waiting for a wave. 

 The perfect point break. 

The scenery wasn't bad either :) 

I entertained myself on the beach, writing and taking photos, and hunting for paua shells. Paua (POW-ah) are big clams whose shells have a gorgeous iridescent lining. We had only found a couple small shells in our entire time in New Zealand, although they are incredible common. This beach rewarded me with huge numbers, mostly just for the enjoyment of finding them scattered every few feet along the beach! 

 I found this shell with the meat still in it. Yes, Paua are black! A fact that greatly surprised Matt and I the first time we had paua fritters!

 With the small camera for scale. 

Treasure. 

The beach was also littered with crayfish shells. Kaikoura means "to eat crayfish," with "kai" being the Maori word for "food" or "eat." The Kaikoura coast is home to an abundance of this kiwi delicacy, but we did not partake because they go for $70-90 a plate!

After Matt's epic surf (he got so many amazing rides, and on such a perfect mellow wave that he was able to do some fancy turns and things that added to the stoke), we headed for a free DOC campsite up the Puhi Puhi River, about 10 km north of Kaikoura. The valley and its braided river were stunningly beautiful, full of yellow leaves, mist, and a couple very old homesteads. The campground sat right below the snowy mountains, and it got COLD that night! We were happy to have our long underwear and lots of layers while we cooked up some sausages and potatoes for dinner, and a quick cup of tea before climbing into the "bed cave." 

 Driving up the valley. 

The view from our campsite. 

A typical New Zealand campground.

On Thursday morning, we headed into Kaikoura and enjoyed wandering around the tiny downtown strip and the neighboring rock beach. Kaikoura only has a population of about 4,000, but overflows with tourists in the high season. The whole economy is built around the tourism industry, centering on whale watching, fishing charters, kayaking, and seal/dolphin swims. We saw plenty of backpackers while we were there, but ultimately it was nice to enjoy the feel of a tourist town in its down time, with local farmers hanging out on the sidewalks and a very peaceful, friendly feel to the place. We really enjoyed walking around, poking about in the shops and galleries, and soaking up the sunshine beside the very calm bay (the town of Kaikoura is built at the foot of a very small peninsula, which provides the sheltered area that draws in so much marine life).

 Matt skipping stones. 

 Beautifully carved clock tower.

Kaikoura business district with the Seaward Range behind.

I think I'll leave it at that for tonight, as it's getting a bit lengthy. Thanks for reading, and tune in for Part 2 tomorrow or the next day!

Back from Kaikoura

Friday, April 15, 2011

Just a quick "we're still alive" post to say that we made it safely back to Nelson after three awesome days down the coast in and around Kaikoura. Our escapades included finding some great surf, seeing some amazing scenery, getting up close and personal with a whole posse of fur seals, and coming home less several books (both of ours), one wetsuit (Matt's) and one surfboard (mine), and several hundred dollars the richer as we begin to sell our stuff  in preparation for coming home.

I'll have a full account of our shenanigans, complete with lots of photos, posted tomorrow night.

A Day Out

Sunday, April 10th, 2011
Nelson

Yesterday was the first Saturday that Matt and I have had off together since we arrived in Nelson, and we took advantage of the timing and visited the Saturday Market, perusing stalls and talking to the vendors, who are all incredible characters, and stocking up on gifts to bring home next month (next month!!). It was a nice warm day, and while I was more interested in looking at the handicrafts, Matt got sucked into a stall selling used old-fashioned hand tools, and came away with a gorgeous handplane for his surfboard shaping and other woodworking. After the market, we treated ourselves to a late lunch at a cafe on the market square called Yaza! and found it to be delightful. They serve Pomeroy's coffee, which is a local roasting company, and I just had to take a picture of our preferred drinks (which were some of the best coffee I've tasted in awhile):

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A flat white (mine) and a mocha (Matt's), with the handplane in the background :)

And I thought some of you might enjoy a photo of some classic (upscale) Kiwi cafe food:

On the left is my roasted pumpkin calzone with spinach, feta and red capsicum, and on the left is Matt's bacon, red onion and roasted kumara pizza. Both were served with typical Kiwi condiments: aioli, chutney (in this case made with carmelised onion and mustard), and relish (tomato). It was all fantastic. And I should add, ALL food in NZ is eaten with a knife and fork (British style), which I have entirely adopted by now.

We didn't make it back to the market in time to hit the produce stalls, so we went to the fruit and veg mart near our work, where we spent $12 and came away with all of this:

Nice haul, eh? The white pumpkin is very typical of New Zealand, and it's hard to come by any other kind, but that's okay, because we're crazy about them! It's what we used in our pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving, and they are so delicious and creamy when roasted. 

I have another day off today (and another tomorrow, we're down to working just a few days each week, which has both advantages and disadvantages) and have kept myself busy working on some top-secret craft projects (the travel sewing kit I brought with me has definitely come in handy) and also baking a coffee cake and another batch of bread. This time I used this bread recipe from Down to Earth, with wonderful results. With significantly less yeast than the recipe I have been using, I got almost twice as much bread out of this one, so I don't think I'm going back! It also came out lighter and fluffier, and held its shape better, which is good because I don't have any loaf pans here!

I'm still using the same seed mix I got a few weeks ago, of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and dried cranberries. Rhonda's trick of wetting the loaf slightly and rolling in the seeds before baking worked a treat!

Matt and I both work on Tuesday, and then we both have the next three days off, so we're going to get out of town and head over to Kaikoura (kai-KOHR-uh) for a couple days to hopefully get some surf, and just see some new territory. We filled up Lucy's gas tank yesterday for the first time in about 5 weeks, which feels really great, especially with the price of petrol over here. The last time we filled the tank was in Blenheim, before we drove up to Spray Point Station. Since then, the only driving we've done was from the station to Nelson, and a couple trips to the supermarket. Those bikes are definitely paying for themselves. 

I managed to snap some pictures of the changing leaves yesterday, as evidence that the season is well on its way to winter:

Further evidence is found in the fact that it's getting dark around 6 pm now, since we moved the clocks back a week ago. This also means that with the clocks moved forward back home, we're back on the 5 hour (and a day) time difference again, up from the 3 hour difference we've been operating on for the last six months. This is also why I got up at 4:45 AM today to Skype with my brother and my parents at 10 AM their time! It was a wonderful taste of home, even if it feels like a bit of a dream now, since I went back to bed after we hung up. 

Hopefully my next post will have some new travel stories and photos as we head down the coast to Kaikoura, and until then, enjoy whatever season you might happen to be residing in on your respective ends of the earth!

Rainy Days and Cooking Adventures

Wednesday, 6th April, 2011
Nelson, NZ

I had two days off in a row on Monday and Tuesday, and Matt had Monday off too. While originally we had hoped to go in search of some surf, a cold autumn-y gale blew in off the Strait, and it poured rain all day and the wind buffeted the house rather spectacularly until evening- there's no doubt that the change in seasons is making itself known. We spent a cozy day inside, bundled up and drinking back-to-back cups of tea, reading, baking, and getting to know our housemate Jamie, who is home a lot while she tries to find work. She's really fun to talk to, and it's nice to share thoughts with another American, and see what her perspectives are on New Zealand, as she's been over here several different times.

We made our weekly batch of bread, and it's so nice that it's become habit now. While we are here, we have the luxury of a lot of free time when we're not working, but we're not keen to spend on much besides groceries and the occasional treat, so we've been filling our time by learning new recipes and skills, and it's been great. Matt is throwing himself into learning more cooking skills, and quickly mastered kneading and judging the right consistency of the bread dough. He's a much more precise cook than I am, and when it comes to bread, that really pays off. It was so nice to have fresh bread baking on a cold fall day that I was inspired to go one step further, and made a batch of cinnamon rolls! They were surprisingly easy, and I was incredibly pleased with the result, as well as the recipe, which I found in a baking cookbook from the library.

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Just to make sure the oven got a proper workout, we made lasagna for our rainy day dinner, including a tomato sauce made from scratch, after watching a Masterchef Masterclass a couple weeks ago and realizing how easy it is. It's SO worth it, the taste is amazing and the smell of it cooking beats all. Here's a very basic version of the recipe (proportions are a matter of taste, really, so mess around with it and come up with what works for you):
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Easy Tomato Sauce

Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a skillet. Add chopped onions and garlic, and cook until the onions start to go transparent. There should be enough oil in the pan that they are cooking in the oil, not on top of it.

Add a couple cups of diced tomatoes. Fresh is always best (I like to take the skins off, for texture reasons), but canned or tinned tomatoes will work fine. Matt and I decided to beef up the sauce by adding some more vegetables, so we put in finely chopped carrots and sweet red pepper as well.

Let everything cook down for awhile, it should be bubbling steadily and have enough oil in it that you can see the olive oil in the sauce. After a few minutes, add a handful or two of chopped fresh herbs. Basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, rosemary, there are lots of options. Basil and oregano are most crucial to a true Italian flavor, but lots of things taste great in the sauce. It will smell amazing as the herbs cook into the sauce.

That's pretty much it! Just let it cook down until it becomes nice and saucy, and make sure to salt it well, although you won't need too much with all the other flavors in there. Use on pizza, in lasagna, or served on pasta. You can also fry up some ground beef (mince) and add it to the tomatos for a nice meaty sauce. You can also puree the sauce (sans meat) for a smoother texture.

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To round off the kitchen goodness of late, I came home from work tonight to find this multi-talented man of mine in the kitchen mixing up bacon, spinach, cheese and red capsicum (sweet pepper) scones for dinner. They were superb, deliciously savory and a joy to eat. He sauteed all the savory ingredients together before adding them to a standard cheese scone recipe, and they came out great. We ate them with simple steamed veggies from the freezer.

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We're down to working only 20 or so hours per week now, and spending most of our free time at home, to avoid spending money, so cooking is providing a lot of our entertainment, as is reading library books and blogs and taking in as much information as we can about homemaking, chickens, saving and managing money, and other skills we hope to put to use as we restart our lives back in Portland this summer. It's an interesting change from all the traveling and roadtripping we've done on the North Island, to living such a settled, routine-filled life here, not leaving town, barely driving, and thinking so much about our return home. This is a time of major planning and information intake for us, as we launch ourselves into the reverse of all the work it took us to get here; now we have a lot of work to do in order to get home; belongings to sell, priorities to set, and last travel plans to be made. In some ways we've been struggling with feeling a bit stuck, like if we were home right now, we'd be able to do more with our time, but I'm also realizing that there is such value in not having every part of our trip be awesome and adventure filled. This way I know that we had a true life experience in this country, living and working and spending money and making money, cutting corners and forgoing things we might want, occasionally splurging on something special--- all things we would do at home. We're truly living life here, not just traveling and sightseeing. As stir-crazy and unexotic as that feels sometimes, I believe it's a very good thing that our entire trip hasn't been a touristy, lackadaisical one where we ignore the realities of life and don't recognize that this country is not just a destination, but a regular country and homeland where people work and live and go about everyday activities. It's not all tropical beaches and humid, starry nights on the road without care or responsibility, and it's good that we know that.

Autumn Arrives in Nelson

Saturday, 2nd April, 2011
Nelson, New Zealand

Life goes on comfortably here at the "top of the south," where in just the last four or five days, fall has descended on us. The nights are cold, and early morning bike rides to work require gloves, even on the sunniest of days. The poplars and maples are turning yellow, and the wind coming in off the sea has a distinctly autumn-y crispness to it. This is one of the last places in the country to feel the change in the seasons, but with the arrival of April (the equivalent of October back home), there is no denying that it is truly autumn (which is, incidentally, my favorite season. Hurrah!)

Work continues to be mostly enjoyable, with the occasional insanely busy day or whackadoo customer thrown in just to keep things exciting. We are enjoying getting to know our coworkers, and have found them all to be awesome people. We have been hanging out quite a bit with Kathryn, who is from Scotland and a kindred spirit, and spent Wednesday evening with her and a big group of British travelers at perhaps my favorite pub that I have been to, ever- The Free House. A converted tiny Anglican church, the place is light, bright, happy, and has giant sculpted copper cockroaches all over one wall, a roaring fire in the woodstove, and one of the best Irish jam sessions I've ever heard playing in the corner.

We've also been invited by our manager, who is a totally rad Canadian ex-pat, to join him and several friends at Golden Bay for Easter weekend, where they are renting a big house out in the bush and planning to explore a local cavern system. He made sure we got time off for Easter weekend, including one paid day off, so we may very well take him up on the invitation, as we've had about a million people recommend we see Golden Bay before we leave NZ.

My body has finally adjusted to cycling again, after six months of not being on a bike. I still miss Sheila, my beat-to-hell but familiar road bike, but am enjoying the bike commute nonetheless. We have driven the car once in the past two weeks, which I think is a pretty good accomplishment. The only disadvantage of our two-wheeled commute is the terrain. Our ride to is almost entirely downhill on the way to work, which means it is almost entirely uphill on the way home. It takes us 15 minutes going to town, and around 30 minutes coming home, due to the slightly uphill grade of the bike path, and then the massive and steep hill that we live on, which no sane person could ride all the way up, even on a mountain bike, and so necessitates walking.

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 From Tahuna Beach; the hill in the background with houses all over it is where we live.

A highlight of our week was celebrating our first paycheck on Wednesday by going out for-- wait for it--MEXICAN FOOD! And also an Indian Buffet. The restaurant is called Mumbai Mexico, run by an Indian family, and advertised entirely by word of mouth. An unlikely cultural combination, but it was exceedingly well done. The buffet was incredibly good, but the chicken and spinach enchiladas (and a Mojito) totally made our week, and were astoundingly authentic. I think I have sufficiently emphasized on this blog how rare Mexican food is in this country, so you can appreciate how grateful we were to find some, finally! (To highlight the ignorance in this country of all things Mexican: we watched a show on the telly about a kid from the Far North going to the national spelling bee, and one of the words he was given was "Chipotle," and the judge pronounced it "cha-pot-il." Sigh.)

Matt and I finally had a day off together on Thursday and we made the most of it. After sleeping in and having a breakfast of bacon, pancakes and coffee, we headed out to run several errands, and Matt also signed up for a library card! The library is right across the street from our work, so it is very handy and we came home loaded down with woodworking and animal husbandry books (Matt) and cookbooks (Me). We also finally got down to the beach! It was a beautiful day, and we found our way down to the beach at Tahunanui, which we can see from our living room windows. It was chilly in the late afternoon, but wonderful to walk barefoot in the sand again, smell the saltwater, and admire the beautiful light on the water. It had been far, far to long since we'd had any quality time on the beach.

Mostly we've settled into life here, but are getting a little stir-crazy after being itinerant for so long, and are really starting to look forward to coming home. Our experience here is and has been amazing, but we have learned so much and expanded so much in our views and knowledge that we are getting really excited to come home and re-start our life there and put all of these things into action. While we are still here, though, we are taking advantage of our time by adding to our routine things like baking bread, which we've been doing regularly, with the odd chocolate cake thrown in alongside, and learning more about cooking, as that's one thing we have the resources to here. While I struggle with how much TV we end up watching here, one benefit has been that we have become religious followers of Masterchef New Zealand and Masterchef Masterclass, and are already reveling in how much better pasta is when cooked in very salty water, and how easy it actually is to make your own tomato sauce for pizza, and similar things.

The other news of late is that we have two new housemates, Jamie and Tom, who just moved into Nickola's other spare room. Tom is a Kiwi and Jamie is from California, and although we haven't gotten to know them terribly well yet, they seem really cool, and it's fun to have them around.

It's time for me to get this posted and move on to other things, but I thought I'd add in one last cultural note before I go:

In spite of six months' presence in New Zealand, until last night Matt and I still hadn't entirely figured out what was meant by the terms "Manchester" and "Whiteware." These phrases are not brand names but are used constantly in commercials and on signage in stores (as in, "50% off all Manchester"), but they always seemed a bit generic so we never completely caught on. I finally remembered to ask Nickola for a translation, and it turns out that Manchester refers to linen generally (towels, sheets, duvets, etc.) and Whiteware means appliances- washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, microwaves, the whole bit. So we were right about the generic thing, at least. I can see where the logic for calling appliances Whiteware comes from, but no one seems to know why linens are referred to collectively as Manchester.