"And thus it was...

...that the Fourth Age of Middle Earth began, and the Fellowship of the Ring, though eternally bound by friendship and love, was ended."

Hong Kong airport, 6AM

Bloody Hong Kong

Hong Kong is bloody hot. Reminds me a lot of Singapore. It's nicer being indoors than outdoors.

We've done some serious shopping at two night markets, and some serious bartering. We've eaten in places where a meal costs 25 dollars - 2.5 euros. I spent a day walking around Lamma island, Kaleva spent the day shopping. We also went to Ocean Park, an animal park and theme park in one. It was a great day... but I got sunburnt. Bloody sun.

Tomorrow I will fly back to Brussels and my 10-month excursion will come to an end. And life will never be the same.

Partytown

I see that I haven't written a single entry from Sydney or Katoomba, which is clearly wrong. I should have written a couple of entries.

Anyway, we arrived to lovely winter's day in Sydney: around 18 degrees, the sun was shining. The hostel was absolutely horrible. Sugar shack. Never go there. They claim they have free internet nearby, but it turns out the internet's only free for the first half hour, and then if you book a tour through the travel agent in question. They do have complimentary tea and coffee though, and free breakfast. But it was dirty, dirty, dirty, I wouldn't go there again.

On our first day we went to the Sydney tower with a view all over the city, then to the Wildlife World to admire kangaroos and wombats and pat little fluffy koalas. Entry to the tower also included a random hologram show and a moving chairs theatre experience... those Aussies are strange.

The next day we went to the opera house (which really looks like a bit of inconvenient architecture) and jet boating. Jet boating was good fun! (I know, it's a bit of Kiwi ingenuity, of course it's good fun.) Then we took the train to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, two hours away (which by the way costs less than getting a train to the airport). Soon after exiting the station at Katoomba we were attacked by a man in a van. The van wasn't black; it was blue and had Flying Fox Backpacker Hostel written all over it. The Flying Fox turned out to be a very cosy hostel with a very friendly atmosphere. And free breakfast.

The Blue Mountains were all about bush. So we spent a day walking around the bush at Scenic World. We also had a ride on Skyway, a gondola with a couple of square metres of glass floor, Cableway, a cablecar from the bush to civilisation, and, best of all, Railway, the steepest railway in the world. We had a look at the "Three Sisters", i.e. some rocks.

My brother was in a great hurry to get back to the city. I was in no hurry. It had taken a battle to convince my brother of the original plan of two nights in Katoomba, instead of one. Kaleva wanted to party, I wanted to walk. I will never ever again go anywhere on a trip of than a couple of hours alone with my brother. Ever. He drives me nuts.

He's also vowed to send his girlfriend a postcard every day, which also drives me nuts. And the calling every other day and the texting every day a couple of times. If that is love, it's driving me crazy, and I will never fall in love. Dream on.

So anyway, after the second night at Katoomba, the only reason we didn't leave with the first train was because I had a massage appointment at 1.30. So in the late morning (after Kaleva had finally dragged himself out of bed, after drinking beer with other guests and hostel staff until 2AM or so) we walked to Leura, a village of art galleries and little craft shops. We visited exactly two shops: the chocolate shop (guess whose idea that was) and the shop selling post cards (that was the other person's idea). And then we were quite happy to walk back.

While in Katoomba, an old scout/guide friend contacted me. She'd moved to Sydney and wanted to speak Finnish for the first time in three months. So when we got back to Sydney we spent the next couple of nights with her and her boyfriend. We went to see a 3D short film about the ocean and coral reefs of the Pacific on the world's biggest movie screen. The screen was impressive, but the film lacked depth (figuratively). Then we went to the Aquarium to see sharks and fish and dugongs and a platypus.

And thank goodness we'd completely entirely run out of money on our last night or we might have ended up in that horrible nightclub for more than a couple of hours and two free drinks each.

When I left New Zealand

It was raining. But in fact, I feel like I left New Zealand when I left the bus from Otorohanga and the Kiwi driver asked if I was going to watch the game (the All Blacks vs Italy. We got badly beaten).

Now I'm in Aussie and the sun is shining but they play bad music everywhere and I feel continually ANGRY!

Sad, sad days

Someone Special

I wake up to the sound of rain upon my sill
Pick up the pieces of my yesterday old thrill
Can I deliver this used up shiver
To how I pronounce my life
And I leave it up to faith to go by it's own will

Back row to the left, a little to the side
Slightly out of the place
Look beyond the light, where you'd least expect
There's someone special

A foggy morning greets me quietly today
I smell a fragrance in the wind blowing my way
And ever further I run to find her
I yearn to define my life
Placing my faith in chance to meet me in half way

Back row to the left, a little to the side
Slightly out of the place
Look beyond the light, where you'd least expect
There's someone special

And she's here to write her name
On my skin with kisses
In the rain, hold my head and ease my pain
In a world that's gone insane,
Insane, insane, insane, insane, insane

Back row to the left, a little to the side
Slightly out of the place
Look beyond the light, where you'd least expect
There's someone special

- Poets of the Fall

BUNGEEEEE!!!

Bungy jumping into the Waikato river at Taupo was way cool! I didn't ask for a "water touch" but I got one anyway, a perfect one. Just my hands got wet, which suited me fine, because I didn't have a spare change of clothes. I got a t-shirt too, "Why live on the edge when you can jump off?" and photos and the DVD. My brother unfortunately couldn't bring himself to jump.

Tomorrow it's time for Rotorua and the ZORB :) That'll be for my brother.

And on Sunday we'll be off to Aussie! Scary...

The road goes ever on and on...

I'm off!

After a minor incident (my brother's first flight from Helsinki to London) being 1.5 hours late, it followed that he would be about 20 hours late in arriving to Auckland. We will see how the trip goes from now on, the already tight-packed schedule will be even tighter and I don't think my brother will see much of Auckland.

Tomorrow, at 6AM, I will be off again. Wish us luck!

Families and families

I've neglected again. I only lasted a week at the horse place. It was very stressful throughout the experience and the relief (and disappointment) was felt on both sides. I made mistakes, the boss got stressed out, I got scared. She nailed an analogy: It was like walking into an exam, nervous of making mistakes and therefore making them.

What I dwell on most is this: When I was thrown off a 170 cm (17 hand) horse onto a gravel road, she never once asked me if I was ok, whether I had hurt myself (I had a headache, rashes down my back, bruises on my side, and a sore knee). She probably thought about the horse, her own splitting headache, caused by stress, and how incompetent I was.

Sometimes it seemed to me that she couldn’t say things politely. I had to ask twice what I should do with a bored 3-year-old stallion, before she would stop accusing me and instruct me instead (and even then it was only after “No, don’t blame him!” when I never was blaming him).

She was a hard one to figure out. On the other hand, she offered me alternatives to make me feel more comfortable; but then she also insulted me by stopping just short of calling me a liar. She exaggerated and refused to be corrected, I don't think she could ever "forgive and forget". A quote from Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy would describe her: “My good opinion once lost is lost forever.”

It was a horrible week, and my only two consolations are these: it was a learning experience and I found a safe haven afterwards.

I was saved by the angel-neighbour with three kids, aged 2-6, who was driving past when the horse panicked. She stopped to help me with the horse, so I went to thank her in the evening. She was lovely, and offered to take me in. So I moved over as soon as convenient. She has another helper too, a Corean girl. It's nice to have company. Two of the children have chicken pox, the young one is grumpy and the old one is happy not to have to go to school. The middle one has been in a happy daze for most of the week, because she turned four on Monday and had a fantastic Mad hatters' birthday party on Sunday (I arrived on Saturday, in perfect time to help with decoration!). Their mum could be another woman to add to my idols list.

The party was - as I said - brilliant. Cousins and aunts and uncles arrived the night before, and they actually made me slightly home-sick! They were such good fun I began to miss my own family. I never thought I'd say this, but it will be good to be back. I love New Zealand, but there are no people like family. At least in my family!

Ride and rejoice

I must ask you to forgive me, for I have greatly neglected my duties to this site by not informing in writing what has so recently come to pass.

Firstly, I'm reading Pride and Prejudice. It's almost as bad as French; I have to read some sentences three times before I understand what they mean. Sometimes I can't. I've also recently finished Terry Pratchett's Men At Arms - so much easier to understand, languagewise. Concepts though... I can't imagine where he gets them!

I'm now near Auckland. I'm hosted by a family whom I found through HelpX. com. I work about four hours a day, grooming and "hacking" (that's riding leisurely) horses. That leaves plenty of time in the afternoon to read or sometimes watch TV. Watching TV is the favourite pastime of my "boss", who has broken her foot. A frightened horse of 600kgs stepped on it. I'm planning to spend two and a half weeks of my last three and a half weeks (!) here. Then I'll have a week left for travelling with my beloved brother, then flying out to Sydney for a short while and Hong Kong for a short while and then - it's back to Europe.

By the way, I hope there is lots of snow around here, because we're going to go skiing at Mt Ruapehu!

Photos of the "impossipuzzle"

Yes, that's what this was called. I thought it was far from impossible though. It mostly demanded patience. An impossible jigsaw would be one with a single colour and crap pieces that don't stay together.

I was rather sad when it was done. I made quite a few friends over the four days that it took, and met one from the past! :)

Photos from the past

When my sister was here, we did a day tramp in Abel Tasman National Park. We got the aquataxi in the morning to 30kms from camp and walked back .

The aquataxi did a little detour so that we could admire the Split Apple Rock. Nobody knows, why it split.

Here's the proof. This was actually at the end of the track. By this time both our feet ached and we were gibberish from tiredness. We had some good giggles! ;)


A couple of bridges there. Nice!

And the middle aged couple who walked past did not see the fun in this picture. Grinch. We had fun :)

World famous in NZ apple crumble

This is not the recipe. The recipe is secret. I can, however, give you the "for Sequoia eyes only" recipe.

Preparing the apples
Remove all cores, chew seeds in mouth to release the juices, spit into pot, cook for 10 mins on high stirrig constantly.

The crumble
Actually, you don't want to know what someone came up with to throw our guests off.

I'm wwoofing in the Villa Backpacker Lodge in Picton (did I tell you that already?). Every night we serve the world famous in NZ since ages ago apple crumble with ice cream, prepared with love. The free internet here is frustrating to the extreme; some genious hacker has disabled facebook. Thankfully I don't have hotmail, because that's disabled too. Driving me nuts with anger.

Last night we went to the "neighbours" at Sequoia Backpackers and sampled their delicious if extremely heavy chocolate pudding/cake. With ice cream. Accompanied by first white wine and then some Canterbury Cream (the poor man's - woman's - Baileys).

I'm waiting to hear from Wine Marlborough to know when pruning starts and I could actually start earning in stead of just stopping spending.

Catcha later...

I'm having a lot of fun. I'm in Picton, working in the Villa Backpackers for accommodation and meals. Pruning will start in about two weeks in the vineyards, so I'll probably work there for about five weeks before my brother comes. Then it's countdown! Not very long left anymore :(

But the other "wwoofers" are good fun, so I'm enjoying myself immensely :)

Thumb up, no deer down

I’ve been up to a lot since my last post.

I hitchhiked around S.I. (South Island). From Queenstown to Dunedin, Dunedin to Christchurch, Chch to Kaikoura and Kaikoura to Picton. Or that was the plan. Everything mostly went according to plan.

I got 10 different rides. Only one was from a woman. She said it was the first time she’d picked up a hitchhiker, but since I was alone and a girl she thought I can’t be too dangerous. And she had a little white dog to protect her. The only other woman I shared a car with was a French girl, who was travelling with her boyfriend. About half of my rides were from fellow tourists. None were from maori. Only one ride was unpleasant, the one from the Frenchies, and that was because they smoked in the van.

I was heading for Picton, because that was where I had to meet up with other volunteers for DOC (Department of Conservation, not Conversation). Two years ago DOC acquired a large piece of farm land on d'Urville Island. The piece is now being converted to a nature reserve, and we were to help with the conversion.

However, my last ride to Picton didn't happen. From Kaikoura, I got a ride from a Kiwi, who offered me a bed in Blenheim and a 26 km ride to Picton in the morning. I accepted.

The volunteer week was more like two days. It took us all of Monday to devise a shopping list, do the shopping, load up with tools, turn back to get the project leader's rifle, drive to French pass, cross the choppy strait and drive across half the island. Then on Tuesday morning we were free to explore the surroundings while the truck was away - getting the mail for the two volunteers who live at the old farm stead full-time. In the afternoon and all of Wednesday we spent constructing wind breakers for the camp site. We used deer gates, green shade cloth and old deer fence. On Thursday we explored, it was the best day. The DOC project leader went deer hunting three times, but we didn't get any venison. He did see two deer though, but couldn't get close enough to shoot. On Friday we had to face the long drive back to Picton...

Now I’m back in Blenheim, the place with the most sunshine hours in New Zealand (it’s pouring down), job hunting. To say that it’s looking a bit thin is an understatement.

My host took me to see his granddaughters. They are 5 and 7, adorable, and so tiring. They absolutely adore pink. The older one wants to be a singer or a dancer or a fashion designer or a model. One evening she wanted to play fashion show for hours. She knew how to look sexy much better than I could. She’d glance at me from under her eyelashes and pout and play with her hair and stick her hips out. Dreadful. Then she gave me a small statue of Tinkerbell that she’d painted herself and a little note saying “Keep it”. I was speechless.

I’ve been passing my mornings at the Riding for the Disabled. It’s very interesting, and I get to be with horses. No, they don’t have a job for me, they rely on volunteers.

I’ve been all over the place: supermarkets, shops, hostels, even the theatre. No luck. If I don’t find something soon, I will move on.

Singing in the rain, sweating in the sun

I went tramping on the Routeburn track. I can understand why they call it a great walk: there was such diversity on the track!

I've never left in such a hurry. When I went to the DOC Visitor Centre on Thursday morning, they told me the best weather would be that day and the next, and that there was a bus leaving in 1.5 hours. I left in a hurry, but still managed to pack everything I needed, including matches which a surprising number of people didn't have, and nothing extra, including togs (Kiwi for swimming gear) which I got to use in alpine Lake MacKenzie. How refreshing! When I emerged from the first 8-second dip, I felt warm. After the second dip I thought my chest was freezing, let alone my wet hair.

[Notice the colour coding - completely unintentional!]
This is me and my Canadian tramping buddy (met on the bus) on Conical Hill. The slope was partly frozen and getting up and down was careful work. But we were rewarded with 360 degree views of the surrounding snowcapped mountains - and a glimpse of the West Coast! We had the perfect day for this, a completely cloudless sky.

To my great disappointment we didn't see a kea in this alpine section. I would have wanted to see the world's only alpine parrot.

On this section of the track I was half expecting Treebeard to stride through the trees. Or the trees to start talking about the consistency of squirrel droppings. And then I thought maybe Rölli would come skipping along the track. My favourite part. The guide at the hut that night told us that this is a 'cloud forest'; that's why the moss grows so well. It can take moisture straight from the air.

Then we went to Milford Sound. It rained. It was brilliant. The boat sailed straight into a white mist. The cliffs of the fiord were alive with waterfalls. For most of the time I stood outside with an Englishman I'd met on the bus (oh, did I tell you that I also travelled for a while with a German guy I met on a bus? :D), admiring the wetness. My camera still works, well done Canon!
We sailed into spray off a giant waterfall and all the Japanese girls screamed and got thoroughly soaked. I closed my eyes but opened my mouth for a drink and although I came through dripping, I was dry inside. Halti is the best :)

We also saw young New Zealand fur seals, lazily enjoying the attention on Seal Rock. How cute! Almost as cute as kiwis.

The two species of possums and one cave woman

It's been long. Too long. I've been travelling for two weeks. Two very fun weeks. I won't tell you everything, it would take me way too long. I'm going to keep travelling for another two weeks or so, then volunteer for DOC (Department of Conservation) and then get a new job.

The West Coast (of the South Island) was amazing. Very lush and green, rainforests grow next door to glaciers. But, I found, the glaciers were just glaciers. Similar to those in Iceland: the ice is all broken up with cracks and crevasses and dirtied by soil and rocks, not smooth and gleaming blue like in children's stories. And there is no magic to using cramp-ons.

The West Coasters deserve a chapter for themselves. There was Peter, the Bushman, who set up the Bushman Centre with his son in Pukekura. The population of Pukekura is three, and all of them either work in the Bushman Centre, or own it. In the Bushman Centre you can view the less frequently sighted species of possums: the round one. The flat variety can be admired by tourists in abundance.

Then there was Steve, the knife-maker in Barrytown. His wife is the knife-seller; she sells all the models Steve makes for the tourists who come to make their own. Apparently the Lonely Planet says that he tells the worst jokes in the world. The Lonely Planet doesn't mention anybody else's jokes.

Then here's what other kiwis think of the West Coasters: Our last night in Marahau near Abel Tasman was our guide's last night on the tour (The Wild West, by Flying Kiwi). We were going to dine together in the Park Cafe, and she wanted us to dress up, either in 80's style or in no clothes. That doesn't mean naked (she's Canadian, after all), but in something that isn't a piece of clothing. I think the winner of the night was the Dutch guy who turned up in his backpack! So, the guide herself wrapped herself in a brown, furry blanket and painted brown streaks on her cheeks. The waitress in the restaurant asked her where she was from. She urged her to take a guess. "The West Coast?"

In all my travels, I'm getting sick of two things: one is people telling me I have a British accent. Yes, I know! Everybody says the same! Don't you think I've been told that before?

Maybe I'm being unfair, seeing as I've worked on my accent deliberately and would be disappointed if I didn't have a British accent.

The other thing is having to repeat my name at least three times or spell it out every time I meet someone new.

I'm being unfair again. I like my name because it's so unusual. But it's not "long and horrible and complicated", as the woman in the Cromwell i-site put it. For god's sake, it's only five letters long! And it's not horrible, it's unusual. Complicated, well that it appears to be. More complicated than I ever thought. Even when I've used the abbreviation Ot, people go, "What?" So I've given up on that one.

Oh, did I mention that my beloved sister has got me to almost empty my bank account? We've been rafting (so much fun, I told you already), canyoning (wet and cold, but once you've jumped off an 8-metre cliff, you're bound to be pleased with yourself), tramping (Abel Tasman coastal track was gorgeous, we walked 30k's...), sky diving (woohoo!), and best of all, flying an acrobatic plane. Words simply can't describe it, but it left me, um, speechless, with shining eyes. They're still shining, even though my sister's gone back to Auckland to fly out in two days' time... I'll miss you, Aura!

Sisters

I'm touring with my sister now :)

We went rafting with Rangitata Rafts and it was WAY COOL! Unfortunately I'm also way too busy to tell you more right now.

Mad dog, mad man

Lovely morning shower today. I'm in Queenstown with James and we went river boarding. It was awesome fun. Mad. I can't even describe it, but I recommend it to all adventurous souls. It was better than black water rafting, and less cold.

Had a delicious if expensive dinner in the gondola restaurant last night. Light meals today.

Queenstown is probably the most expensive place in NZ. It's because all the backpackers come here to spend the rest of their money. A week in Queenstown might be fun but devastating to the wallet. We only came for one night. The bus driver was shocked. She thought it was not nearly enough.

By the way, my job ends on Sunday. Then I'm off to travel with my sister, who is apparently having a wicked time on the North Island.

South Island images

It's taken me ages to get these uploaded, but here they finally are.

This was on the way from Christchurch to Cromwell. I can't remember the name of the place.

Here's lake Dunstan. My swimming pool. :)

Random notes from work

I love the smell in the fruit chiller. So sweet and cold. Apple, apricot, plum, peach, greengage, nectarine...

I like being able to speak French at work from time to time. There are heaps of New Caledonians who come our way. But I miss being able to speak Finnish. The couple of guys (one full-Finn, one half-Finn) who lived at Jackson's and spoke Finnish have left. :(

Dreaming of a white Christmas

Well, slightly late now. But here is what Christmas mostly looked like for me: playing with Baxter or sitting in the sun reading. Baxter is a naughty dog by the way (as bad as the boys of the family), and very keen on chewing on my clothing!

He is the most adorable puppy anyway, broke my heart when I first saw him.

Friend's day

Hyvää ystävänpäivää!

Valentine's day is a waste of opportunity.

The Finns are very bad at telling their loved ones they love them or their friends they appreciate their friendship. That's why they created "Friend's day" - not simply Valentine's. Friend's day is the day to tell all your friends how much you like them, send them flowers, chocolate and heart-shaped cards, invite them over for a nice if less than romantic dinner and so on.

Another reason why Valentine's is a waste of opportunity is that only those lucky ones (are they lucky? I'm not sure of this point) with boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives, can appreciate it. What are the singles supposed to do? Either, the "love in the air" will really irritate them, because they're jealous, or it will irritate them, because they - well, it'll just irritate them. If you'd been me in fourth year secondary, you'd know why.

Anyway, friends and friends all over the world: hyvää ystävänpäivää! Let the sun shine on your day whichever group of people you belong to.

Rail trail and rain

On my first three days off, ages ago as it now seems, I went to pedal myself through about 120k's (that's Kiwi for kms) of the Central Otago Rail Trail. I had a headwind all of the way (joy), but thankfully the way was mostly downhill. Despite this, I swear that fellow cyclists coming uphill the other way were going faster than me.

On Monday I biked to Wanaka (53k's). I had a headwind again, of about 60kph. The ride took me more or less all day, and I was exhausted after it. The way back was much more enjoyable: still a headwind (the wind does not like me here. The feeling is mutual), but it was "bugger all", as my source of information put it, 7kph.

Wanaka is a lovely town, right on a lakefront. I will have to go back with my sister, to go to Puzzling World - with a giant maze and other mind-boggling puzzles to train the grey matter. On Tuesday I woke up to the sound of gentle rain on the tent roof. "Yes!" I thought, "I don't have to go anywhere!" So I sat reading A Time of Omens until three in the afternoon. It was very relaxing. After that I got moving and did a nice easy walk up Mt Iron. The views weren't clear as clear, the clouds were still hanging low. In the evening I watched the end of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, simply because it happened to be on TV and I love the soundtrack.

Something happened the other day at work that has never happened to me before. An elderly male customer said to me, "What are you doing here? You should be at school." When I told him I was 18, he said, "You don't look it." Must have been because I was smiling that day.

Another male customer asked me, as I was making him an ice cream, "You're not from Auckland, are you? Your accent's like it was from further north." Loads further north, dear customer. But I felt smug all the same. When I can fool both Poms and Kiwis (Brits and New Zealanders), I'll be satisfied.

Alive.

I'm alive. Very much so.

Insane

Cromwell. Pretty place, but the town centre is very confusing, Internet is expensive, and the shared kitchen is just... yuck.

I'm living at Jackson Orchards on state highway 6, and I was wrong in my last post, Freeway Orchards, where I work, are on highway 8b. I just moved out into a tent. I like a bit of adventure. It's a real adventure, because the sprinklers go on every Wednesday, from nine in the evening till six in the morning, and everywhere gets wet.

I've also vowed to swim or at least dip in lake Dunstan every day, unless it freezes over. So far I've done well. Yesterday I worked from 1PM till 9PM and went for a dip after work. I meant to go before work, or perhaps during a longer break, but then I was too busy fixing up the tent in the morning and too busy serving ice creams at work to do so. So I went after work. It was cold, but still enjoyable. And when I feel that the water's too cold, I tell myself that it can't be any colder than the alpine river we splashed in in Tongariro. Yes, I've already been classified as "insane", amongst other compliments, such as "crazy", at work and by various other people. But good things come out of being insane; I met another swimmer, who has a horse at another orchard, and she's promised I can ride him. I call that good luck.

Work is fine, very different from my first job. Here, I'm working with girls or young women (apart from the manager, who's older, and Private, and that's not his real name), whereas on the farm I was working with men. Here, I need to smile at all times, especially when I'm annoyed. Difficult customers need the brightest of smiles. And customers need a smile even when things are stressful and the other workmates won't help out. On the farm, if I was annoyed, I could shout at the cows. Or the dogs. Or the calves, that happened once or twice. I wasn't annoyed very often though.

Now that I've been here for four months or so, I've noticed how I've changed. Some would say grown. I'm a lot more confident now, and less nervous at meeting people, employers, other employees and travellers alike. Starting a conversation with the most random of people seems quite natural in New Zealand. I wouldn't do it in Finland though. They'd send me to a mental hospital.

There are so many things that we take for granted. Like washing powder. Like a clothes line with pegs. Like internet. Like a power outlet for charging your phone. Like a wardrobe full of clothes. Like being able to lock the door behind you. Backpacking is fun, but like Joe Bennett concluded in his book The Land of Two Halves, it doesn't bring a feeling of freedom. It brings endless complications.

I haven't even had time to write in my diary for ages, and I feel bad about it. I'll soon start forgetting things that have happened.

I'm off again, working an evening shift. I'll try to get some photos uploaded at some point. This place is gorgeous, but very different to North. The hills here are all golden tussock or brown earth, with the occasional tint of snow on the mountain tops. I could spend ages just staring at it.

Jobless, no more

I'm in Cromwell, and I have a job. I wasn't meant to have it. But I do.

I'd called around a couple of orchards, but they were all fully staffed. When I arrived in Cromwell, I went to the resource centre and asked whether they knew of any jobs. One orchard needed six pickers immediately. I called them, but they'd filled in all the positions an hour earlier. So I called another orchard near by, called Jackson's, and asked if they had anything. They didn't, but asked me to call in the next morning. So I went there today and talked to the managers and they took my name and number and said they'd call me if something came up (the situation changes daily). They called me an hour later.

So I will be working in the orchard shop Freeway on state highway 6 in Cromwell. Drop by if you're coming this way. I'll be doing a bit of everything: packing fruit, selling fruit, making fruit juices and - best of all - making real ice cream. :)

Where's Welly

I like Wellington. I like it more than Auckland. But I'd forgotten there's such a thing as nightlife and bad taste in music (techno).

Last night I went to see Becoming the Courtesan in BATS theatre. It was an hour long musicalish production, very dramatic. It was a rather sad end to an enjoyable day touring LotR filming sites to the north of and in Wellington. I got some very very funny pictures (the black rider at the top of the hill in the Shire is my favourite) but I don't have the time to upload them now. I recommend the Wellington Movie Tours (www.movietours.co.nz), run by Ted, to anyone who's into that sort of thing. It's good value, I think.

Welly is a city to wander about in. Sit in cafes or a library. Te Papa museum - reputedly the finest in NZ - did not appeal to me. I walked in - and walked out again. It's not that it didn't have anything to offer, just that what it had I'd already seen elsewhere. Oh well, free entry, so worth a try.

I'll be off to Christchurch tomorrow. Ferry across, then train. Still don't have a new job.

Off south

I will be off to Wellington tomorrow and I'm trying to get everything sorted before that... I'll spend a couple of days in Well, then continue south to somewhere in Otago, where I'm hoping to get a new job. I'm drifting from excited to nervous to sad and back to excited.

More Tongariro

James, my tramping companion, looking for the huts we stayed in or rested at. You could see them from the crater with binoculars.
Another view from the top.


A fellow Finn gave all brave souls a yoga class to relax our muscles.
More yoga.
I got a private lesson, conducted in Finnish, because I missed out on the first one. I was - obviously - too busy photographing. I was operating three cameras.

More from Tongariro

This is Mount Taranaki, also called Mount Egmont. Taranaki is a National Park on the west coast of the North Island. It's about 75kms from where I was. I took the picture from the top of Mt Ngauruhoe.

Slip-sliding down the slope of Ngauruhoe.

Ladybugs living on the warm rocks at the crater. I don't know what they live on. Tourists?

This is a view from the second hut, Ketetahi, in the setting sun.


The last leg of our tramp was from Mangatepopo Hut, where we had lunch, to Whakapapa Village. We'd been trudging through mud for 1.5 hours when we decided to have a break at the top of the next little ridge. It was the perfect spot: we could see Whakapapa (about 2-3kms away). The Grand Chateau looked like a Disney fairytale palace from the distance (from close by it looks less beautiful. It's ugly as. Doesn't blend into the landscape, obviously.)