We have talked about a Tui before because of their weird but cool call and their stylish outfit but had some difficulty capturing just what it is about these birds that makes them so entertaining. Out along a trail we come along one singing the song and were fortunate enough to get the camera out and rolling.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sea 2 City
Wellington has an awesome networks of public trails that weave through and surround the city. This New Zealand Labour Day weekend found Adam and I accompanied by three other American ex-pats wandering from city park to park on the Wellington City to Sea Walkway. Advertised as a rigorous 12 kilometer tour between Island Bay and Parliament. Seeing as Adam and I live within two blocks of the re-nowned Beehive, we decided to reverse the walk and turn the City to Sea hike into a Sea to City adventure. Pictures tell the story best:
The troops set out on the trail - which happened to start in a playground. 
Pirate/Spider Man Jarom entertains the park with his pirate lingo. The best part was how the kids who were playing with him never broke character as this 6 foot + guy plowed straight into their fantasy game.
Our first ascent rewarded us with this gorgeous viewpoint...except that since were were walking towards the city, the views were actually entertaining our backsides more than our optical nerves.
Go ahead. Try and tell me this isn't a Hobbit Trail.
This hobbit's conquering the trail.
Tapu Te Ranga Marae placed the powhenua on the hill. Te Rauparaha was a leading Ngati Toa chief who migrated with his people to the Wellington region, along with a number of Taranaki tribes - including Ngati Tama, Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Tupaia (hapu of Ngati Ruanui), Ngati Haumia (hapu of Taranaki) and Te Atiawa - in the early eighteenth century. First Lieutenant, Te Rangihaeata was Te Rauparaha's nephew. Te Rauparaha faces Kapiti Island to the east and Te Rangihaeata faces Tapu Te Ranga Island to the south. Did you find the non-Maori chief?
We were rewarded at the end of our journey with some adult play time at Central Park. Katie and I decided to see if there is any truth to legends of the power of the Pyramids.
Coolest playground toy since we've seen since we visited the Wheeler's in France with their ground level trampoline. Meet the Flying Fox!
The fox tried to do me in by being too tall...but with a little determination (and my tippy toes) I was not to be outfoxed! Wheeee!
Full disclosure: We didn't actually finish the last leg of the Sea to City walk. We decided that since we all spend quite a bit of our time walking the streets inside the City, we went ahead and skipped the inner-city bit. But for fear of sounding crazy about calling the Parliament the Beehive...we submit the above as evidence.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Discovering Atlantis!
Freedom is a quality not easily overrated. This will be yet another (though likely, perhaps hopefully the last) post about an automobile. The remarkable thing about this particular car is, of course, that it's OURS!!!
Adam and I arrived in Wellington with complete intentions of acquiring a vehicle straight away. Most NZ guide books advise that if you're planning on visiting the country for longer than a month that it is a good idea to get your own cheap wheels so you can get to the more remote areas of this beautiful country. While this statement has certainly proven true, Wellington's excellent network of planes, trains, buses, and ferries have left us only occasionally in need of individualized transportation - so we put the idea out of our minds for a while - though admittedly kept a keen eye out for particularly interesting car models or sales.
Then Callie's records were transferred from the States, and a week later she was called to assist with the Young Women's program at church. Almost immediately, this increased our weekly bus fare average from around $12 each to about $25 - with more late evenings during which there are far fewer buses to catch.
Thus, the search for our own car began in earnest. We started our hunt with the e-bay wanna' be site called TradeMe. Three or four failed auctions later, I'd had enough of setting my heart on a good vehicle option for us, waiting and watching for days, only to be out bid in the final moments of the sale. Conferring with friends and neighbors who have been through all this before, we decided to give a live auction a chance.
Right after work on Monday, Adam picked Callie up and we caught a bus out to the nearby suburb of Lower Hutt. Adam did an awesome job of getting directions, so it was with nary a hitch that we arrived, skeptical but hopeful, at the Turners Auction house. It's clear that this is a good exchange of funds, as the auction house was clean, modern, and very well organized. Monday evening featured a "budget" auction designed purely for cars estimated to sell for NZ$8000 or less. We were given a list of about 60 different vehicles and their details. Adam and I set our price cap and proceeded to investigate all remaining cars. Having completed a cosmetic "once over" of vehicles in our price range, we set out to test drive all possible suspects. This proved an essential element to the process, as we found one car that wouldn't start at all, another that had big alignment problems, and yet another that had a loudly screeching fan belt. When all was said and done, we were left with just two possibilities on which to bid. It came down to a four door Mazda Lantis and a teeny tiny two door Suzuki Cutlis. Adam and I committed to NOT bidding higher than our target price - and were thankfully able to stick to our guns.
Let's be honest - the actual auction atmosphere breeds stress and feeds on the weak of heart and jumpy of hand. I was really grateful that the first car we wanted to bid on wasn't until #9 - so we had a chance to get a feel for how the whole situation worked. The auctioneer was in fine form speaking so rapidly that none of us had a chance to really understand what he was saying. It's a darn good thing the price you're bidding at flashes up on a TV or we wouldn't have had a clue. The two cars right before our first bids were mercifully beater cars, so a few of the other "extreme bargain shoppers" were successful right before us, and thus less interested in our hidden treasure. Adam was an expert bidder, biding his time - but catching the last bid at the perfect moment. In a matter of what was literally seconds we became New Zealand car owners of our first choice vehicle!
We've named her Atlantis - because she was a treasure that was hard to find. If you picture the most basic sedan imaginable, and then turn that picture just slightly sporty, you'd have a pretty good idea of what she looks like. She comes complete with a working engine, 4 tires, and a TAPE deck. Yes - tapes. The best/most challenging part of dear Attie is that she's a manual. This usually wouldn't be a problem, Adam and I are both quite accustomed to driving a stick...except when was the last time any of YOU on the other hemisphere tried to shift with your LEFT hand? Thankfully, Adam handles stress like a pro. You would never have been able to guess that he hadn't been driving on the left his whole life.
A quick swipe of our debit card and a couple of signatures later and we were on our way. By the time we made our way out of the parking lot our stomachs were bidding for their own kind of auction, so we let our Entertainment Book guide us to a cute, appropriately named little 50's style "American" diner Cadillac. We went for burgers (fine, mine was actually deliciously grilled veggies on a bun). I think the burgers would beat Atlantis' tires in a competition for diameter.
On the other hand, if rubber tasted that good, I'd buy out stock in GoodYear.
Adam and I arrived in Wellington with complete intentions of acquiring a vehicle straight away. Most NZ guide books advise that if you're planning on visiting the country for longer than a month that it is a good idea to get your own cheap wheels so you can get to the more remote areas of this beautiful country. While this statement has certainly proven true, Wellington's excellent network of planes, trains, buses, and ferries have left us only occasionally in need of individualized transportation - so we put the idea out of our minds for a while - though admittedly kept a keen eye out for particularly interesting car models or sales.
Then Callie's records were transferred from the States, and a week later she was called to assist with the Young Women's program at church. Almost immediately, this increased our weekly bus fare average from around $12 each to about $25 - with more late evenings during which there are far fewer buses to catch.
Thus, the search for our own car began in earnest. We started our hunt with the e-bay wanna' be site called TradeMe. Three or four failed auctions later, I'd had enough of setting my heart on a good vehicle option for us, waiting and watching for days, only to be out bid in the final moments of the sale. Conferring with friends and neighbors who have been through all this before, we decided to give a live auction a chance.
Right after work on Monday, Adam picked Callie up and we caught a bus out to the nearby suburb of Lower Hutt. Adam did an awesome job of getting directions, so it was with nary a hitch that we arrived, skeptical but hopeful, at the Turners Auction house. It's clear that this is a good exchange of funds, as the auction house was clean, modern, and very well organized. Monday evening featured a "budget" auction designed purely for cars estimated to sell for NZ$8000 or less. We were given a list of about 60 different vehicles and their details. Adam and I set our price cap and proceeded to investigate all remaining cars. Having completed a cosmetic "once over" of vehicles in our price range, we set out to test drive all possible suspects. This proved an essential element to the process, as we found one car that wouldn't start at all, another that had big alignment problems, and yet another that had a loudly screeching fan belt. When all was said and done, we were left with just two possibilities on which to bid. It came down to a four door Mazda Lantis and a teeny tiny two door Suzuki Cutlis. Adam and I committed to NOT bidding higher than our target price - and were thankfully able to stick to our guns.
Let's be honest - the actual auction atmosphere breeds stress and feeds on the weak of heart and jumpy of hand. I was really grateful that the first car we wanted to bid on wasn't until #9 - so we had a chance to get a feel for how the whole situation worked. The auctioneer was in fine form speaking so rapidly that none of us had a chance to really understand what he was saying. It's a darn good thing the price you're bidding at flashes up on a TV or we wouldn't have had a clue. The two cars right before our first bids were mercifully beater cars, so a few of the other "extreme bargain shoppers" were successful right before us, and thus less interested in our hidden treasure. Adam was an expert bidder, biding his time - but catching the last bid at the perfect moment. In a matter of what was literally seconds we became New Zealand car owners of our first choice vehicle!
We've named her Atlantis - because she was a treasure that was hard to find. If you picture the most basic sedan imaginable, and then turn that picture just slightly sporty, you'd have a pretty good idea of what she looks like. She comes complete with a working engine, 4 tires, and a TAPE deck. Yes - tapes. The best/most challenging part of dear Attie is that she's a manual. This usually wouldn't be a problem, Adam and I are both quite accustomed to driving a stick...except when was the last time any of YOU on the other hemisphere tried to shift with your LEFT hand? Thankfully, Adam handles stress like a pro. You would never have been able to guess that he hadn't been driving on the left his whole life.
A quick swipe of our debit card and a couple of signatures later and we were on our way. By the time we made our way out of the parking lot our stomachs were bidding for their own kind of auction, so we let our Entertainment Book guide us to a cute, appropriately named little 50's style "American" diner Cadillac. We went for burgers (fine, mine was actually deliciously grilled veggies on a bun). I think the burgers would beat Atlantis' tires in a competition for diameter.
On the other hand, if rubber tasted that good, I'd buy out stock in GoodYear.
Monday, October 18, 2010
A Night in Napier
Callie and I recently took our second driving adventure out to the city of Napier. Out on the east coast of the north island situated on the southern edge of Hawkes Bay is the Art Deco capital of the world. The journey began with the rental of the little car that could. We picked up our Toyota Vitz downtown and headed off following the trusty directions of our GPS. We ran along the coast until we started heading across the island. We took the road through Palmerston North which is a bit of a college town, as is has the main campus of Massey University nearby. We drove around the main square downtown and parked at the mall to do some wandering. The rainy weather kept us from going too far beyond the mall but had a tasty kebab at the food court and some nice window shopping. Our mission to locate Apples to Apples failed again but we held our heads high. Continuing down the road out of town gave us a great view of the wind farms in the Tararua area between Ashhurst and Woodville. According to this site there are 158 turbines that measure 70 meters tall. This site is immediately followed by a winding path through a valley carved by the river we were driving along.
Thanks to the internet for this picture as we did not stop along the way. Once out of the valley we enjoyed the leisurely drive through the country side with many views of sheep and their lambs grazing, napping and more grazing.
We arrived in Napier and checked into our hostel and went for a walk along the beach. We visited the iSite which had a nice little gift shop attached to it where Callie got a couple of post cards. We continued down the beach until we came across a genuine traveling gypsy camp that had opened up to sell their various wares and services, such as train rides and 10 minutes piloting an off road segway. One of their very creative vehicles had a bumper sticker declaring that "speed was not on option when your house is on your back." After walking a bit further down the beach we turned into the city to walk back home. After seeing the usual chain stores we walked a bit of the main pedestrian shopping area on Emerson Street. We didn't visit many stores because we felt like returning to the hostel so Callie could take a nap and I could do some reading( I was SO CLOSE to finishing my book!). We ventured back out a bit later to find out that the sidewalk on Emerson Street had been rolled up around dinner time. With this defeat we returned to the car and Callie took the wheel for a quick spin that ended up taking us down to Hastings which was about 20km away. After driving around the area failing to find dinner yet again we returned to Napier to have a tasty dinner at a local beach party themed restaurant then called it a night.
The next morning we checked out of the hostel and visited Emerson Street again, this time successfully finding a sandwich and a quiche that made a tasty breakfast. We then went over to a rental shop near the Napier port and acquired two mountain bikes for two hours. The entrance to the rental shop was a sliding door that I opened up and one second later had a border collie trying to get out. After stopping the attempted breakout, we did all the paperwork and we were given our identically sized bikes. This made the adventure a bit more challenging for the more fun sized members of our party but the usual persistence and determination overcame any difficulty. Napier has a boardwalk that starts somewhere in the port and continues down the beach of Hawkes Bay farther then we ventured. Along the way we rode by a flea market that we would visit on our return trip. The rest of the ride back went smoothly and because the border collie was having some supervised time on the beach, there was not another attempted jail break. We got back on the road after getting gas and drove back the way we came. There was a bit of a flash back along the road out of the region as there were a few bridges that were one lane bridges. The first place I remember coming across these was in Costa Rica on our honeymoon but we were not doing the driving so there wasn't much worry. Fortunately because there was not much traffic, they were easy enough to navigate across. Along the way we stopped to say hi to a few special road-side ambassadors.
We stopped in Dannevirke for a taste of home. Subway is alive and well here in New Zealand and is about as common as McDonalds. Most shops seemed closed in Dannevirke because it was Sunday. There was one local bakery called the Mans Bakery and Cafe that we looked into but it looked like another meat pie store which we still have not adjusted to so we settled on the good old 6 inch sub. From there we kept on the road till arriving home. I am not sure which engine our Vitz had but we found out that the 68-104 HP engine had difficulty with hills and the 100km speed limit; particularly both. Despite the slow hills the Toyota performed admirably and returned us home safe and sound from another fun adventure.
Thanks to the internet for this picture as we did not stop along the way. Once out of the valley we enjoyed the leisurely drive through the country side with many views of sheep and their lambs grazing, napping and more grazing. We arrived in Napier and checked into our hostel and went for a walk along the beach. We visited the iSite which had a nice little gift shop attached to it where Callie got a couple of post cards. We continued down the beach until we came across a genuine traveling gypsy camp that had opened up to sell their various wares and services, such as train rides and 10 minutes piloting an off road segway. One of their very creative vehicles had a bumper sticker declaring that "speed was not on option when your house is on your back." After walking a bit further down the beach we turned into the city to walk back home. After seeing the usual chain stores we walked a bit of the main pedestrian shopping area on Emerson Street. We didn't visit many stores because we felt like returning to the hostel so Callie could take a nap and I could do some reading( I was SO CLOSE to finishing my book!). We ventured back out a bit later to find out that the sidewalk on Emerson Street had been rolled up around dinner time. With this defeat we returned to the car and Callie took the wheel for a quick spin that ended up taking us down to Hastings which was about 20km away. After driving around the area failing to find dinner yet again we returned to Napier to have a tasty dinner at a local beach party themed restaurant then called it a night.
The next morning we checked out of the hostel and visited Emerson Street again, this time successfully finding a sandwich and a quiche that made a tasty breakfast. We then went over to a rental shop near the Napier port and acquired two mountain bikes for two hours. The entrance to the rental shop was a sliding door that I opened up and one second later had a border collie trying to get out. After stopping the attempted breakout, we did all the paperwork and we were given our identically sized bikes. This made the adventure a bit more challenging for the more fun sized members of our party but the usual persistence and determination overcame any difficulty. Napier has a boardwalk that starts somewhere in the port and continues down the beach of Hawkes Bay farther then we ventured. Along the way we rode by a flea market that we would visit on our return trip. The rest of the ride back went smoothly and because the border collie was having some supervised time on the beach, there was not another attempted jail break. We got back on the road after getting gas and drove back the way we came. There was a bit of a flash back along the road out of the region as there were a few bridges that were one lane bridges. The first place I remember coming across these was in Costa Rica on our honeymoon but we were not doing the driving so there wasn't much worry. Fortunately because there was not much traffic, they were easy enough to navigate across. Along the way we stopped to say hi to a few special road-side ambassadors.
We stopped in Dannevirke for a taste of home. Subway is alive and well here in New Zealand and is about as common as McDonalds. Most shops seemed closed in Dannevirke because it was Sunday. There was one local bakery called the Mans Bakery and Cafe that we looked into but it looked like another meat pie store which we still have not adjusted to so we settled on the good old 6 inch sub. From there we kept on the road till arriving home. I am not sure which engine our Vitz had but we found out that the 68-104 HP engine had difficulty with hills and the 100km speed limit; particularly both. Despite the slow hills the Toyota performed admirably and returned us home safe and sound from another fun adventure.
Monday, October 4, 2010
4 Wheeling
A couple of days ago I was asked about highlight of my last week. After pondering for a moment I realized that the answer to the inquiry was simple: I didn't die...and I thought I'd share the experience with you.
The Junior Wilhoits took an adventure out onto the streets of Wellington last weekend. Adam did the legwork in seeking out an affordable car rental company - and we were happy to embark out into the world on our own four wheels. We picked up our "new" people mover bright and early Saturday morning - only to be thrilled to discover that our rental was practically a member of our family already.
Pause here for an interlude about our unusual love affair with a certain brand of automobiles. The Wilhoit/Andrus clan has a tall family tree with the RAV4 line. The legacy began when Callie's dad, Kay, first acquired a 1996 4 door RAV4. Callie was then gifted a 2 door RAV4 named Beijos from her Grandpa Wells for her 21st birthday, which made a trip all the way from Florida to Washington State. Meanwhile, Adam replaced his VW with a new 4 door Rav4 before moving to PLU. In the next 4 years, Adam's dad Steve would purchase a beautiful new 4 door RAV4 and Callie's dad replaced his old Rav with 200,000+ miles on it with a newer one. How's that for brand loyalty! Needless to say, we were all smiles to see a cute, well-worn, little 2 door RAV waiting for us in the parking lot. The smiles might have been cheers if it had been a 4 door...but we were just hugely relieved that it was an automatic and wouldn't be learning to shift with our left hands just yet.
A brief brag on my amazing hubby. While I was on pins and needles the entire day as we weaved in and out of traffic - Adam was AMAZINGLY natural at staying on the correct side of the road. He easily manuevered his way around a bazillion round-a-bouts and even stopped turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signals by the afternoon.
We started our drive with a jaunt around the coastline discovering new beaches that have since been put on our list for places to visit in the future. We pulled off along the beach just in time to see the Saturday morning fishermen pull into dock and sell their fresh catches. Apparently you get the best service if you come by boat to get your fish :)
The highway to the interior of the country was quite easy to access. Adam figured out early on that you sit in the left lane if you're a little slower so that people can pass you on the right - it felt weird - but it worked. We headed North towards the suburbs of the Hutt River Valley. It was a gorgeous day, so it felt wonderful just to wind our way somewhat aimlessly around the different neighborhoods people watching and house spotting.
The Junior Wilhoits took an adventure out onto the streets of Wellington last weekend. Adam did the legwork in seeking out an affordable car rental company - and we were happy to embark out into the world on our own four wheels. We picked up our "new" people mover bright and early Saturday morning - only to be thrilled to discover that our rental was practically a member of our family already.
Pause here for an interlude about our unusual love affair with a certain brand of automobiles. The Wilhoit/Andrus clan has a tall family tree with the RAV4 line. The legacy began when Callie's dad, Kay, first acquired a 1996 4 door RAV4. Callie was then gifted a 2 door RAV4 named Beijos from her Grandpa Wells for her 21st birthday, which made a trip all the way from Florida to Washington State. Meanwhile, Adam replaced his VW with a new 4 door Rav4 before moving to PLU. In the next 4 years, Adam's dad Steve would purchase a beautiful new 4 door RAV4 and Callie's dad replaced his old Rav with 200,000+ miles on it with a newer one. How's that for brand loyalty! Needless to say, we were all smiles to see a cute, well-worn, little 2 door RAV waiting for us in the parking lot. The smiles might have been cheers if it had been a 4 door...but we were just hugely relieved that it was an automatic and wouldn't be learning to shift with our left hands just yet.
A brief brag on my amazing hubby. While I was on pins and needles the entire day as we weaved in and out of traffic - Adam was AMAZINGLY natural at staying on the correct side of the road. He easily manuevered his way around a bazillion round-a-bouts and even stopped turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signals by the afternoon.
We started our drive with a jaunt around the coastline discovering new beaches that have since been put on our list for places to visit in the future. We pulled off along the beach just in time to see the Saturday morning fishermen pull into dock and sell their fresh catches. Apparently you get the best service if you come by boat to get your fish :)
The highway to the interior of the country was quite easy to access. Adam figured out early on that you sit in the left lane if you're a little slower so that people can pass you on the right - it felt weird - but it worked. We headed North towards the suburbs of the Hutt River Valley. It was a gorgeous day, so it felt wonderful just to wind our way somewhat aimlessly around the different neighborhoods people watching and house spotting.
We stopped for a while at a big mall in Lower Hutt (Westfield owned, by the way) looking for interesting bargains on furniture. We just "happened" to walk up to the movie level, and a movie Adam has been wanting to see for a while just "happened" to be starting in 5 minutes...so we took a breather away from our road rage and saw The Sorcerer's Apprentice. We actually lucked out doubly because not only were we able to use our Entertainment Book coupon - but the movie was being shown in the "Deluxe Theater". Quite posh appointments for a kiddie flick, but we certainly enjoyed the luxury of the lounge, big recliners and wide armrests.
Having enjoyed our movie break and completed our couch assignment, we headed back towards Wellington to actually purchase the winning sofa. About a week after moving into our apartment Adam and I made a deal that the first thing we would do with our first NZ paycheck would be to purchase a cheap 2-seater bench so that we wouldn't need to race to our one and only armchair lounger that came with the apartment. We actually one-upped ourselves and went ahead with a decent sofa/bed combo that will double beautiful as our second bedroom when visitors come to stay the night...hint hint! Added bonus: no hyperventilating on a blow-up mattress each morning!
When I write it that way - it sounds like it was so simple. Step 1: Rent a car Step 2: Buy the couch Step 3: Bring the couch home in the car. EXCEPT. Except we had received that very adoreable, yet very SMALL car. Except the couch we found for a good price was larger than a 2 seater. Except the couch only fit on TOP of the Rav...which didn't have roof rack bars. So it was with only a bit of twine, many knots, and many more prayers that we slowly wound our way home with the couch. Adam expertly managed to avoid all tunnels or fast roads and we kept our cool as we observed the furniture piece slowly lilting towards the passenger side. Note to the Junior Wilhoits: practice many more tying and lashing exercises since we sold the truck and can't use our tie-downs anymore!
Miraculously, we made it to the apartment safely, somehow managed to haul the couch up from the James Cook Hotel parking garage, fit it into the elevator, and squeezed it through our front door. No sooner had we dropped the couch box and scarfed a PB&J, than were we heading back out to go hard core grocery shopping. What a luxury it was to be able to purchase more than we could hand carry back to the apartment!
Towards the end of the evening we made the final decision to actually leave the RAV back at its rental agency home instead of trying to park it overnight near to us. We knew we'd need to have it returned before we left for church, so it seemed the most economical approach. Dinner was Heaven...no, really - we ate at a pizza place that opened less than a month ago named Heaven.
I believe it is directly in competition with another pizza chain down the road named:
Seeing as it was General Conference weekend, it felt only right to give our business to the former rather than the latter...plus, we got to use another coupon!
Safely home and exhausted in our PJs, we did our best to re-interior decorate our furniture to incorporate our newest arrival. It's amazing what can be accomplished with some imagination and a bit of Teacher's Tack. It was with great pleasure that we finished our "homework" for the evening...completing another disc of West Wing from the library. And yes, we cuddled the whole time on our new couch.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)