New Zealand Part IV: Parties and Palmerston North

Returning from my camping trip, it felt strange to settle into New Zealand life, knowing it was so short-term. I tried to see as many friends as possible, and not count down the days I saw so quickly slipping away. I took the opportunity to spend a lot of time with two of my very close friends, Shyla and Ben. 

My big event for January aside from seeing family and friends, was helping my good friend Tash with the planning for her 24th birthday. I had missed her 22nd and 23rd, so it was really lovely to be there for this one. She had organised a country theme, which turned rather Western in our decorations, including hay bales!

Unfortunately the weather refused to behave and turned rather stormy, so we made the executive decision to pitch the tent, just in case. And thank goodness we did as we would find ourselves all huddling inside later in the night, as the rain poured down. It didn't matter too much as we all enjoyed the good food, good company, and great costumes! (Even if my neck-tie did make me look more like a flight attendant than a cowboy). 

I had organised to go down and see my old school friends Jo and Raiden in Palmerston North in the beginning of February, and before I knew it I was there!

Palmerston North has always had the label in NZ as a terrible hole (not unlike Hamilton) however the town itself is rather sweet, and as long as you had a good friend group I think it could be good fun (plus housing is very cheap).

I knew Jo and Raiden from school, and had always kept in touch even though we didn't see them often after they moved to Palmerston North for their studies. To go down and visit them was a fantastic opportunity! We had such an awesome week, the highlight being when Raiden and I spent the day making a Quidditch pitch entirely from scratch, and playing Beer Pong with it.

























Their adorable and giant cat Max was a permanent fixture in their home.

We took a day trip out to the beach - which was odd for me in itself, as I had spent most of my life living only 5 minutes from the beach. Palmerston North however, is firmly inland, leading us to visit the town of Foxton, both to enjoy the full-sized working Dutch windmill 'De Molen', and also take a walk along the wild west coast beaches.

New Zealand Part III: New Years

Since I was 18 years old, I had gone camping with my friend Shyla every year on New Years, up until I went to Europe. It felt so good to finally get back into the tradition and once again be setting off into rural New Zealand, a boot full of camping equipment, and the backseats of the car full of boxes of food and a healthy amount of wine. 

Camping at Tawharanui up north from us had always been our place of choice, however to have a spot here at New Years one needed to book in June, so we had no chance this year. Instead we went to our secondary spot,Waikawau Bay, in the Coromandel.

 The great thing about this campsite - aside from being on long gravel roads (which many might see as a negative, but meant that it wasn't full of people) is that it borders on both a beach and the New Zealand bush. Being so close to the forest meant it was easy to escape to the shade and the river to cool off, as well as go on bush walks up to the summit (the view was lackluster however) and to check out the swimming hole!

The beach was also lovely, though of the very large slightly wild variety. However just over the hill (a few minutes drive away) was a much calmer, more secluded bay with clear waters and lots of sunshine and shade.

We had great times at this campsite, cooking up all types of things and exploring the surrounding area. However due to a series of unfortunate events we ended up moving the tent about four times which started off as irritating, sank to utterly frustrating, and finally ended on rather hilarious in its ridiculousness. 

First it turned out we had ended up in a wind-tunnel, so we moved the tent to a more sheltered spot. Here was our favourite spot in the corner, well served by shade and sunshine, and we would have happily stayed here if not for a marauding crew of people. Two rather unpleasant families moved in next door to us, and spent the entirety of the afternoon screaming abuse at their children and playing hardcore rap. We moved the next morning. 

This however, was not the end of the tale!

Aside from the fact that we were vindicated late the next day when the family got kicked out for secretly having a dog with them (a strict rule in a national park with endangered birds) we also had a night of terror with the mysterious cackling noise... 

To explain further, we went to sleep quite happy as usual that night, only to be woken up at about 2AM by a large something rustling by our tent. And then... 'HAHHAHHA' the thing cackled, hoarse and throaty, like an old man with a cough.

 This is it! I thought, pulling my sleeping bag tight around me; there's an old ax-wielding maniac outside the tent, and any second now he'll come hacking his way in. Shyla meanwhile, happily slumbered on, earplugs keeping her sound asleep. 

 Hope was not all lost however, as the thing cackled from further afield, and eventually wandered away. In the morning we discovered the monster had been a possum, but still decided to flee to a new location, just in case.

=

Although the forest stream was too cold to swim in, we soon appropriated it for a new purpose. On hot days when we needed to seek solace in the shade, we chilled our wine in the water!

New years was a night of fireworks and listening to people countdown in the sand dunes as we lay on the beach and looked up at one of the clearest night skies I had ever seen, under the gaze of countless stars. Coromandel is one of the most beautiful places in NZ, and well worth going off the beaten track for. After all - to paraphrase Robert Frost - take the road less travelled by, as that makes all the difference. 

New Zealand Part II: A day up North

Before going away camping at New Years (as time-honoured tradition dictated) Shyla and I took a day trip up north, to the scenic town of Matakana and the area around. We started our day with ice cream from Charlies, one of the best places for gelato ice cream in New Zealand (in my humble opinion). Although still extremely nice, it was interesting to see how my time away had perhaps changed my taste-buds. It was no longer as mind blowingly good as I remember, but I still recommend giving it a taste!

Matakana village is well worth a visit just to wander around. Settled in 1842, it's retained its rural charm and remains a picturesque village, full of artisan shops and fancy delis. Saturday is a great day to visit for the Farmers market, which is brilliant for lunch supplies for a picnic, though it is admittedly overpriced. 

If you fancy a bit of shade it's quite nice to wander just past the market and down to the wooden jetty, where you can sit in the shade, legs swinging over the water, and watch the eels drift past (literally!). 

Feeling replete after our giant icecreams, we headed for the quarry, a local hang-out spot that I had good memories of from years before. 

The old cement works were begun in the 1800s by a Scottish immigrant, and saw a boom in the early 1900s, causing a number of large buildings to be built (and it is these which remain to this day). However industry soon moved elsewhere and it closed down in 1929. 

With the filling of the old quarry, it became a swim spot and today is fairly popular, though still only really known by the locals. 

Admittedly I have only ever paddled in the lake, as I have a deep and completely illogical fear of freshwater sharks, however I'm sure it's lovely (and no children have been eaten yet!)

Our next stop was a local Kauri tree which is also only a few minutes from Matakana. Kauri trees are indigenous to New Zealand, and are one of the biggest and oldest species of tree in the world. This one was about 800-900 years old!! 

Our next stop back down the coast was the lookout point on the way down to Orewa beach, where we fondly remembered many childhood days spent climbing the hill up to Shylas parents house, or spontaneous swims in the ocean. 

Our last stop for the day was the small and tucked away Swann beach, where we had occasionally stepped foot in during our teenage years. It's a lovely and tiny stretch of beach only really known to locals but worth visiting if it isn't too busy! Usually the water is very clear, and perfect for a dip. 

I got my Pohutukawa climbing fix much to my delight, as these trees were one of the things I had missed while I was away. 

A New Zealand Christmas

December 2016 

Heading off to New Zealand from the UK felt utterly surreal, even as I stepped on the plane I couldn't believe I was coming home after over two years away! 

My flight from London to Auckland was a long one (though short in terms of possible flight paths) with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur. It was nice to know I didn't have to worry about making my way home, with Shyla - one of my best friends - coming to pick me up at some stupid hour of the night!

Seeing Auckland again as I landed and we then drove through the city late at night was both achingly familiar and so very bizarre at the same time, I felt overwhelmed by the sense that I had finally come home to this beautiful, ugly city. 

I was staying at my dad's place, and organised with my brother Christophe for us both to go over to my mum's to lunch and give her the surprise of her life! It was the most satisfying surprise I've ever given.

Christmas was only around the corner and I was craving a proper one, as it would otherwise be my third christmas in a row without a real tree. Mum didn't take much convincing and we were soon on a mission to find a beautiful REAL tree! I am of the firm opinion that if one doesn't have a real tree (and most importantly that lovely christmas tree scent) it can't really be a real Christmas. I had the time of my life decorating the tree, and then staring at it all lit up in pure satisfaction. Thanks mum!

Christmas itself was lovely, spending it with my family felt awesome, though I missed the presence of Yannick and Necia. My brother and I enjoyed a pre-christmas walk at Shakespear park before heading for mum's house, as it was such a stunning summer day I was wishing I had brought my togs!

Mum made her traditional Christmas cake (yet another integral part of christmas that I had been missing) and I thoroughly enjoyed our pre-lunch Appletiser and salt and vinegar chips!

I was quite proud of my own Christmas cake attempt, creating a french 'Buche de Noel' which is meant to resemble a log. Dad and I were especially proud of our pine cones!

It felt so good to be back in NZ again, I had to indulge in a number of very kiwi things that I had been missing, including my favourite thing of all, Potato top pie! No-one does Pie like we do! (Note the all important Tui-mato sauce too). Until proven wrong, I can happily state that the best potato top pie comes from Little Manly bakery, where we have been going for as long as I can remember (and the shop owner remembers me too!). 

My next port of call for a dose of nostalgia was off to New Zealand's only theme park, Rainbows End. Since I hadn't been here since my 19th birthday I was rather excited! My old school friend Ben had invited me along, and it was brilliant to catch up as we had been good friends for seven years by now, though a few of those had been by keeping in touch via the internet when I disappeared off overseas.
We had a fantastic day, spending lots of time on the rollercoaster (probably fairly tame for most, but exhilarating for me!)  Although a fairly small park when comparing to others in the world, I still think it's worth a visit if you're after a day of fun. And if you go in average weather, the lines are practically non-existent! #protip.

























Our favourite ride was the log flume, where we took turns sitting at the front and getting splashed by water and almost attacked by pirates (well, not really. But it might feel like it to a very small child).

I also spent a lot of time catching up with Shyla, and we tried to make the most of my time in NZ by doing lots of things, from beach walks and spontaneous swims to sleepovers and baking black forest cakes! 

Returning to all my favourite haunts was strange but fantastic. Fish and chips on my favourite beach (Matakatia) with friends was another of my highlights,  and sitting on the grass watching the sunset. Whangaparaoa (the area of NZ I'm from) is a brilliant place to go if you're interested in beaches, as it's full of them. From Shakespear park, Manly Beach (and Little Manly!) Tindalls, Matakatia, Stanmore Bay, Orewa Beach, there really is a beach for everyone, from small coves, to big walking beaches. I love New Zealand.

London: An early Christmas

November 2016

Returning to London after my time in America felt strange, almost like returning home as finally I was in a familiar place again. A few months before I had laid plans to finally return to New Zealand for the first time in a few years, and it had all been planned without my mums knowledge so as to surprise her, so I was very much looking forward to seeing her over Christmas (finally a summer christmas again!)

Because of this I would be unable to spend the festive season with Yannick and Necia, so we had decided to have a small Christmas celebration of our own before I left.

 Necia's dad was also over and visiting for a bit, so it really was like a miniature Christmas! We had decided to wait until the weekend however so Yannick wouldn't be working, so Necia, her dad and I had a few days of exploring in the meantime, whilst my poor brother slogged away at work.

The leaves were still in beautiful autumn colours in many places, so Necia suggested we make a trip out to Primrose Hill which was a lovely park with a walk up to a gorgeous view of the city of London.

We also made a foray into Regent's Park, and wandered through some lovely Japanese gardens as well as enjoying the many strange names of different varieties in the Rose garden. We also popped into 'The Attendant' a cafe with a twist, as it was quite obviously once a Victorian public toilet. The idea at first seemed vaguely unsettling, but knowing how well it would have been cleaned and how long since it was last used for its original purpose made things better. It was slightly claustrophobic as it was underground and rather small, but it was quite a nifty idea.

Finally our early Christmas arrived, and our food celebration began. It was a fun day of cooking in the kitchen, from roast chicken and vegetables, to our nibbly starters of many cheeses and salamis, to Necia's stuffed peppers (inspired from our Greek trip) which were the highlight of the night for me. We also indulged in Prosecco, and overall had a lovely eart Christmas (finishing with homemade apple cake and three tiered chocolate mousse!)

America: A new Continent

November 2016

My next grand adventure was a rather spontaneous one, after a long time of talking about how fun it would be to visit my friend Joe in America, we suddenly found cheap plane tickets and decided we should go for it! Having never been to America, I wasn't sure what to expect but I was really excited to be going somewhere entirely new. I was also hoping to catch up with a bunch of my American friends I had made over the years, but unfortunately ran out of time (maybe next time!)
I would be visiting the states of Indiana and Michigan, as Joe went to Notre Dame university and thus lived in the university town of South Bend, a few hours from Chicago. The university grounds and buildings were beautiful and I found myself a bit in awe at how fancy they were.

























To my absolute delight, I also discovered that squirrels ran freely around the campus! I got super close to this one for a photo, before deciding it might run up my leg and bite me, and backed off a little.

















I wandered the university a few times, going for runs a bit while everyone was at class, and enjoying the beautiful buildings.
Staying in a student house was a cool experience, and I often felt like I was in the movies, with games of beer pong and red solo cups! The contents of the fridge were also amusingly student-like, and one of my first ports of call was to the supermarket to get some ingredients for cooking. The amount of packaged and processed food was something I had expected, but there were still things I found bizarre, like the cleaning of raw eggs which stripped the outside protective layer off (turning the shells white) and then spraying them with a chemical sanitizer before selling them on the shelves. To me the idea was strange, unnatural and a waste of time and money, but I suppose some would argue it made them more hygienic? It was interesting to think about.
I found  out of everything I missed the fresh produce of Europe when I was in America - though that isn't to say one couldn't make healthy food if you knew to make informed decisions on the produce.

























Thursday nights all the people from the flats' old dorm would come over and much beer pong and singing along to music would occur, which was always fun. I also got to experience BBQ wings on a cheap student night, Trivia night at the local bar (and proved quite useless as all the questions were aimed at Americans) and attempt beer pong myself (and fail rather miserably).
My first experience of note  -aside from the small every-day things - was Thanksgiving.
We had a long drive ahead of us to head into Michigan to visit Joe's parents for the big event, which had all of his extended family there too! I felt slightly awkward tagging along as the random friend, but it actually was really awesome, and everyone was very nice and friendly. Joe's mum even gave me a Michigan t shirt!
I had unfortunately gotten sick and so was battling a bad cold and cough - but one of the numerous relatives gave me a hot toddy which turned out to be honey and strong alcohol and I'm not sure what else but it certainly soothed my throat! The day ended with the kids getting cream pies to the face which was rather entertaining though I had no inclination to join in.
 I also tried sweet potato pie (and to be honest I really don't get what the big deal is) and stuffing and homemade cranberry sauce (which I could eat far too much of).
The next interesting trip I took was to Chicago which I was really excited to see, to get a bit of my tourist fix!














Chicago was a big city, full of beggars and people rushing, but I enjoyed it regardless - though by the end of the day I was very ready to leave.

















Our first stop was the Field Museum, which had a really interesting collection and I spent far longer in than I expected. The first area we went through was a huge exhibit of taxidermied animals which whilst slightly creepy was also quite interesting as I saw many animals that I had only read about. This sabre-tooth deer was especially interesting (it was also interesting how obvious the age of taxidermied animals were, as they varied in how well they had been done, and how moth-eaten their fur looked).

The most mind-blowing exibition for me was the entire ancient Egyptian temple with two huge chamber rooms that had been literally lifted up and taken from Egypt and transported here, in a time when the taking of such things by the British and Americans was done without the blink of an eye.

I was adamant that a trip to Chicago was not complete without trying deep dish pizza, a phenomenon famous to Chicago alone. More like a pie than a pizza, the toppings are mixed with cheese and tomato sauce in a very thick layer. It was interesting to try, but I could see why it hadn't spread beyond Chicago. The pizza was rich without being particularly satisfying, and didn't have that crunchy cheesy goodness that pizza should have - I'm glad I tried it but in the future I'll stick to the original! 

Our next port of call was the Bean (also known rather pretentiously as the 'cloud gate') where I got slightly excited.

Tired of the city and fatigued by the cold, we hopped on the train to head back to South Bend. 

As the days passed in my stay, it grew steadily colder until at last the thing I had been hoping for - snow!!!!

 I had spent my winter before in Annecy and had hoped for snow then, being in the French Alps, however I was unlucky enough to experience an unusually warm winter and there was barely any snow at all. Here finally, it snowed, and snowed, and snowed, until in some places it was almost as high as my knees! 

Excited by the initial snow, we braved the fact that it was still falling to build my first ever snowman - and with all the Doctor Who watching we were doing, we gave him a cool little fez out of a red Solo cup.

Like the nutcases we are, we soon decided a BBQ would be a great plan once there was a break i the snowfall. Huddled around this contraption cooking sausages and drinking beers whilst wrapped in many layers and wearing hats and gloves, we looked ridiculously homeless. 

My favourite thing was how we could scoop up snow and shove it into the chilly bin (even just leave the drinks in a snowdrift) to keep our beers nice and icy!

Before I knew it I was already nearing the end of my trip, with only one more weekend before I would be flying back to the UK. 

Joe had sneakily come up with the idea of a surprise trip to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a beautiful area around part of Lake Michigan.  The drive itself was also really fun, as we passed some lovely landscapes on our way.

It was an icy cold day, and snow scattered the ground. We had the woods to ourselves and it made for a lovely walk. It was strange for me to be in the nature but hear no birdsong, like the world was asleep. 

Once we walked down onto the beach I was shocked to realise the sand was frozen in places! It crunched beneath my feet, and there were icicles on the driftwood! I had never seen icicles before, so a picture was needed.

Feeling rather like icicles ourselves after our pleasant but chilly walk along the beach, we decided one last road trip was needed, and headed towards an Amish town!

Amish people are one of those stereotypical things that we think of when we think of America, so I had been quite keen to seem them (at times it felt like I was looking excitedly for a snow leopard or something equally rare, as we stalked them into their natural habitat of the Amish town - it felt rather weird). 

It was snowing heavily when we arrived, and also a Sunday, so there wasn't a soul in sight and unfortunately everything was closed. Although disappointing as this meant I didn't get to spot an Amish (A rather culturally insensitive  sounding game I had started to accidentally play in my head) wandering the town itself in the falling snow was sort of lovely. I could almost imagine this was the lamp post in the woods in Narnia. 

The town itself was called Shipshewana, where quilting seemed to be a big deal (I feel like this sums up the town quite well, as it was lovely, but rather small and just a little quaint). 

 I did get very excited to discover that the Amish go around in sleighs in the snow! Like Father Christmas! Alas, I did not see one in action, though I was pleased to spot an Amish lady walking along the road as we were driving out of the town. Success! 

 Overall, my trip to America was awesome, and went by far too fast. It was so interesting to explore somewhere I had seen so much about on TV, and see what it was really like (at least in this geographical area). I would love to return and see more one day!

One of the funniest things for me was how patriotic people were, with American flags in people's gardens and all about the place! Why the flags?

'Because 'merica!' As my friend Joe would say.