Mini adventures

Being on both a student budget and a student schedule does not necessarily allow a lot of time for exploring, at least not for this student. But here and there I am making time to visit new places, or actively taking a different route to see new things, and last weekend, even had a full day of adventuring with only 2 hours of study!

My most recent "mini-adventure" was to a Portuguese bakery that I have seen on the bus to school. It was close enough to campus that I could get off early and walk the rest of the way. I was certainly glad I did on Monday, as the Portuguese chocolate shortbread cookies I got were yum!

I thought the pictures would explain just as well as a bunch of paragraphs for you to read, so here they are (plus I have done enough writing this week, it is nearly mid-terms haha):

View from Mt Eden

Mt Eden crater

Downtown 

Auckland skyline

Little Manly Beach in Whangaparaoa

blue bottle - kinda like a jellyfish

Found this guy in Newmarket while out for breakfast

Some sculpture at the edge of campus....

Definitely going back :)

Maori war memorial

Student Life

Graduate school has been in the back of my mind since my Senior year of Undergraduate. However, all those years ago as graduation was nearing, I could feel it was not the right time to go (not least because try as I might, pinning down an area of study seemed impossible). So instead I entered the workforce, and found that I enjoyed the freedom of no homework, expendable income, and reading whatever I wanted. But in the last 2-3 years, I have increasingly given a Master's Degree consideration.

Last year this led to undertake the application for the program I have now started. Sorting out the particulars of the application, finding time to do the application, and determining how I would complete the program if accepted seemed to drag on for a terribly long time. Once the application was in, I felt relief that it was now in someone else's hands, but also found myself wondering whether I could have done better. Since there was no indication of how long the decision-making process took, I went about life without thinking too much about it. When I received an acceptance letter (albeit not quite in the fashion I had originally hoped for as I needed to complete the Post-Graduate Certificate first), it was a pleasant surprise that set in motion all the steps required to where I am now.

I have now had 3 days of classes, where I have attended 4 of my 5 classes for the first time. I have been interested to observe how my impression of the class from reading the course description and outline has changed after attending the first seminar/lecture. I found myself pondering the old adage of not judging a book by it's cover when yesterday I realized that the class I had thought myself most unlikely to enjoy was actually one of the two I have enjoyed most so far this week.

Two of my classes (so far, as one has yet to reveal itself, later today) are combined upper Undergraduate and lower Post-graduate. I find this brings an interesting dynamic to the group, but I also felt there was a clear distinction in knowledge, attitude and interest between the two levels of students. None of the classes are big (thank goodness!), and all are largely discussion based (rather than lecture, also thank goodness!), but I found it interesting to note the confidence or reluctance of various students in speaking up.

I am hopeful that by the end of this week, I will have enough information around course expectations and time requirements that I can work out a reasonable schedule that allows me to adequately juggle work, study, and class-time. I am still working out just how long I need to allow for my commute. There's no more than 15 min required walking time, and time on the bus seems pretty consistent at 20-25 min (give or take with traffic at different times of the day), but since I am not yet familiar with campus I have a slight paranoia of getting lost and therefore being late(despite most of my classes all being in the same room haha).

It has been an interesting week of ups and downs, in adjusting to such a dramatic change. Some technical difficulties have unfortunately caused some frustration on the work/study side but those seem to be sorting themselves out. Unfamiliarity with the area has caused me to get off at the wrong bus stop, walk the wrong direction, and rely on GPS far more than I would like to. Being in both a new city and a new program means I know virtually nobody (I do live in New Zealand, so there are people at the university I know, just not ones I see daily), and therefore do not always know where to turn for assistance or feel as if I have any sort of social connection. While I am always happy to find someone to ask for help, and know that I can and will make friends, it is interesting to reflect on the situation. As I was walking to the bus stop yesterday,  I realized just how little I have talked in the last week. My job involves a lot of talking, not to mention it is a situation where I am comfortable with those around me so conversation comes naturally. However here, the majority of dialogue in the last week (from my side at least) has been pretty isolated to "Thanks." or "Excuse me, where is..." or "can you confirm when that is due?".

As we get a bit further into the term, and I become more familiar with Auckland, I hope to give you more exciting updates than this rather reflective one :)
Have a great week!

Cyclones, boil orders and road trips

This last week has been one of ups and downs with a bit of chaos thrown in the mix. Most of you probably already know this, but it was my last week of freedom before re-entering student life. This meant my to-do list before leaving home seemed to only get longer, no matter how many things I ticked off. To make matters worse, Mother Nature decided I should be busy at work too.

We are nearing cyclone season, so nobody was terribly surprised when Tonga and a couple of the other islands got hit by cyclone Gita. But we also knew that meant it was only a matter of time before we started feeling the effects here. So we prepped things at work with extra staff on, contractor crews on stand by, etc.

Things got dark, windy and rainy on Tuesday afternoon, and by Wednesday morning full chaos was reigning. I would like to say it was organized chaos, but when the phones and RTs go non-stop for 14 hours, things can hardly stay organized. To top it off, all of New Plymouth and the surrounding areas were on high alert for water conservation and under a boil order. This is because the severe winds caused a tree to come down and damage the in-take pipe at the water treatment facility. We were fortunate that our part of town never ran out of water, but many others were not so lucky. So by Thursday afternoon, work was getting complaints not only of the electricity still being off, but what were we doing about the water?? (Even though that has nothing to do with us!).

Just to keep things interesting with all of this, Thursday was my last day in the office until June. I finished packing my bags Thursday night, loaded the car Friday morning, and hit the road for Auckland. Weather and traffic both behaved themselves, so I got here by lunchtime. I checked into my student accommodation, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Everything is spacious, tidy, and comfortable. Of course, I am not thrilled at sharing a kitchen with people who have varying standards of cleanliness, but I was pleased that my room was already clean, and has adequate space.

Successes over the weekend include figuring out my bus route and getting a student bus pass; finding a Farmers market; locating 2 grocery stores, a sushi place, and a cheap burger joint :) And this morning I ventured down to Queen's Wharf for a wander around a Japanese festival. I also encountered Spiderman wearing a pink Hello Kitty backpack, a man wearing a purple felt suit jacket, and an establishment called "Edinburgh Castle: Dim Sum, BBQ & Accommodation." All in all not a bad way to spend the first weekend away from home, even if things do still feel a bit unsettled. Tomorrow morning at 11am marks the first class in my new adventure to complete a Post-Graduate Certificate in Musicology so that I am eligible to complete the Master's Degree program. More student life updates to come!

Parnell Farmers Market

Shops at my new neighborhood

My new school

Making rice cakes

Taiko Drumming:

Bells Falls

Over the last year I have been making a point of exploring more of Taranaki, especially (when weather permits) the hiking options around the mountain. One of the things that made it on to my list was the hike to Bells Falls, part of the 3-5 day ‘round the mountain circuit.  I am not yet adventurous enough to plan the full circuit, but since the information said this portion could be done in one day if you returned via the way you came, I thought I should give it a go.

Well. If only I had known what I was in for. The information I found advised this was an upper-intermediate level hike that would take about 8 hours. I have found the estimated timeframes tend to be pretty generous, so I was guessing it would take me 6-7 hours. I managed to get back to the car in 7 hours and 2 minutes, albeit with a bit more adventure than anticipated. 

It was a beautiful summer day to be out on a hike, the sun not yet fully over the mountain as I found the parking area. As I set out from the car, it was a nice trail through the woods, easy to follow with only a slight incline. Except for the spider webs, I was thinking I had for sure picked a winner and it would be a thoroughly enjoyable day. I mention the spider webs because I would spend the next 90 minutes looking like I was practicing bad kung fu in the woods. I am certain that just about every second or third tree was anchoring a spider web across the trail, so it felt as if I was constantly walking in to one. Fortunately by the time I returned to the car I had gotten all of them so I stayed web-free on the return trek.

My fist obstacle - a tree across the path

The bottom of a tree that got uprooted

About an hour in to the hike I found the sign for the turn-off to head towards the falls. Unfortunately it was closed due to erosion. However it said to carry on and there would be another trail to take further along. So off I go for another 30-ish minutes until I get to a place where the trail splits 3 ways. Unfortunately it did not say which of these I should take to get towards the falls. So I picked the one I thought might be it and headed off. But not far down it seemed to just be back-tracking the way I had come so I turned around. That left straight ahead from where I had started or taking the third option, which looked a bit more overgrown and less used. Straight ahead led to somewhere I had not heard of before so decided on the third option as it mentioned a destination that had been referenced on the “trail to the falls closed” sign. 

yay!

Oh.....

Well here goes...

I must take this opportunity to say that I am now convinced that the road less travelled is not always the best option. Parts of the trail were terribly overgrown, and while it was pretty forest to tramp through, it did not seem to be what I was after. I had a niggly feeling in the back of my mind that I was not going the right way. I told myself to go just a bit further and see what I encountered. I found a lovely small waterfall (which I thought could be a consolation prize in case I did not find my original destination), but after the waterfall I found myself climbing up a very steep bank. Not long after I got to the top, I hear something crashing through the woods. Peeking around the next corner I see some tracks which are definitely not sheep or goats, and it is unlikely some farmers has cows loose on the national park, which leaves a wild pig.

Well I found a waterfall

And now up this steep bank...

I took this as a sure sign I was going the wrong way and turned back to where the trails split. Part of turning back meant re-crossing the lovely mountain stream that had the mini waterfall, once I had successfully climbed back down the bank. Unfortunately the rocks were slippery and about halfway across I found myself in the water. Oops! The nice side of this was the day was heating up a bit so the water was cool and refreshing. The not so nice side was the squishy shoes and wet pants. But hey, all in a day’s hike, right?

Even though I had eliminated one of the three options, I was still unsure which of the remaining two was correct. I had just about decided maybe I should head home when a local gentleman who looked to be out for his Saturday stroll happened along. I asked if he knew which way to the falls and what do you know, it was the one I had first tried that I ruled out as back-tracking the wrong way *internal eyeroll at myself. He said it was a lovely view and “just a ways down that trail” so I thought why not and off I went.

Three hours later I made it! While getting there, I only fell in the water one more time (there were multiple crossings), slid down 2 banks and tripped 10 or 12 times. Once I was on the right track, it was a beautiful hike. I had lunch near the base of the falls, and it was one of those picturesque places where it felt like time stood still for a little bit. Although I was tired by the time I got home, it was worth the effort and I would likely do it again (minus the detour) now that I know the way. However, to anyone planning to check it I would not recommend a winter hike due to the stream crossings. See below for more photos to better explain much of my day J

My guide for the day

Climbed up and down a few of these

Never been so happy to see an "almost there" sign!

Rerekapa Falls

I like hiking and I find waterfalls beautiful and fascinating. I also tend to gravitate towards things that are labeled as "a bit off the beaten path." So when I was looking for somewhere new to go that could be done in a day trip, I was delighted to stumble on this particular place. It was within a 2 hour drive of home, a reasonable 90-minute hike, or longer if you wished, and was said to be overlooked by most tourists because they got to Mt. Damper Falls first. It sounded like just what I was after.

So one sunny day during our Christmas break from work, T and I packed a picnic, some sunscreen, and lots of water and off we went. Now, those of you who have kept up with some of these posts, and stories through out my travels in general, will know that while have a good sense of direction and will happily read maps or ask for directions, I do seem to pick things that turn into a different or bigger adventure than was anticipated. This is rarely a bad thing, but it certainly changes the expected outcome of the day.

We knew from the directions that we would need to park right off the highway. It was pretty easy to find the post, because there was a clearly marked parking area with a Doc sign pointing the way down a gravel road. So off we go through a farming area. At first we are mainly in woods or pasture areas, but with an easily walkable gravel road. So I'm thinking "yay I picked a good one this time!" because it was too hot for extreme hiking. Pretty soon we see cow pastures, with the occasional sheep. Then we come to a gate, which leads further down the road to a dilapidated homestead. The directions had mentioned you would pass a homestead (their word, not mine), and that the waterfall would be not far past that, viewable from the road and accessible by an easily noticed side road.

Well. Pretty soon after we have passed the house, just about going through their front yard, we see a small attempt at a waterfall, which looks nothing like the photo I had seen, and we saw no side track so we thought we must need to keep going. On we walk through a pasture full of sheep. Then one full of cows. Then over a creek and into the woods. On a now very narrow dirt track. Seems ok at first but the further we go the narrower and more overgrown it gets. I actually thought I was swimming through ferns at one point. After about half an hour of battling nature, we decided to turn back.

When we got back to the point that we thought surely was not our destination, we noticed a hardly used "path" that looked as if it was frequented by sheep more than humans. But down we went and what do you know, we found our waterfall. Unfortunately the drought had dried it up so much that from the road it did not look like much of a stop. But we enjoyed a nice picnic at the base of it, and visualized its beauty when we have had plenty of rain.

Although at the end of it we decided we did enjoy the day, I think I can see why it is not top of most tourists' list :)

Cozy!

 

Rural passing lane?

 

Really this should say "enter at your own risk"....