Tramping in the Mountains with Susan

When talking with Susan about what she was most interested in doing while she was in NZ, I showed her some pictures of various places J and/or I visited. She was particularly impressed with the pictures from The Crossing up in Tongariro National Park. 

It is autumn here, and the mountain weather can be tricky, but we decided to try to go up and do some tramping, as they call it here. We were very lucky to end up with a beautiful, sunny day that started out cold but ended up a very comfortable temperature. 

The wind speeds at the highest altitudes made it unsafe to do The Crossing, so we decided to do a different hike, which turned out well for me, as it was a new one that I hadn't yet done. It is called the Tama Lakes hike, and although we took it slow and turned back before reaching the lakes themselves, it offered amazing views of the mountains and a river the whole way, and provided us with a fabulous day of trampng.

This is (from left to right) Mount Tongariro, the Red Crater (looks small because it's set back behind Tongariro), and Mount Ngauruhoe.

The Crossing, (see my posts about it in January 2015) goes up beside Ngauruhoe, right by the Red Crater, and then along the ridge of Tongariro.

We were extremely lucky because there had been a huge snowstorm two days before we went tramping, and while almost all the snow had melted where we were walking, we got stunning views of the snow-covered mountains.

While it might not look like it, Mount Ruapehu is actually the biggest, tallest mountain of them all (hence the much more thick covering of snow). 

Note: All of these mountains feature in the Māori legend, The Warrior Mountains, which you can read about in my August 2014 post by that name.

It was truly amazing to walk this path, because it took us right in between the mountains, so that at almost any point along the walk, if you look to one side you see the first picture, and if you look to the other side, you see the second picture. So impressive!

Short parts of the trail took us through native bush, which was lovely. It was interesting to perceive how intense the sun was; we would be getting too hot and taking off layers, and then the second we got in the shade of a tree, we'd need to put them all back on again.

Look at the high water level of this river! But I think it must not get that high anymore, because it would totally wash away the trail we went on. 

The water was amazingly crystal clear!

Part way through our walk, we came across Taranaki Falls. I don't know why it's called that, as it is not in Taranaki (or even close), but it was very beautiful. Susan particularly loved it.

Happy Emma climbed down to the bottom of the falls, and just after Susan took this happy picture, I became a bit less happy and a bit more cold, as the icy spray got me far wetter than I would have predicted. But the sun dried me out quite promptly.

Notice the rainbow by the bottom!

This is an interesting optical illusion - several people I've shown this picture to have said that it looks like the river is flowing towards the bottom of the picture... but it's not.

I took this picture while standing by the top of Taranaki Falls, and at the very bottom you can see the ripples from where the falls end, and then it runs downhill towards the top of the picture. I knew this, of course, having walked next to the river and taken the picture, but now that people have said that, I really think it looks like the river is reversed!

This is the river at the top of the waterfall. I love the clear water with red and blue stones; it looks magical.

Love those mountains!

Susan was a fabulous tramping companion, and was a great sport even when she discovered that the pads in her orthodics were more worn down than she thought, which made her feet ache. What a trooper!

This bumble bee, along with her many friends, enjoyed accompanying us on our walk. She was the friendliest, though, settling in on my warm, black backpack, and then hanging out on my glove for a while. I decided to not focus on the fact that she was clearly trying to find a nice place to die, and enjoyed her company for a while before finding her a nice little spot in the sun to rest.

I climbed this teeny-tiny mountain in order to peer even closer at the mighty Ruapehu.

We ate at the Chateau for dinner the night before our hike, just like Patty, Kirsten and I did. This time, the weather was so clear that we got this amazing view of Ngauruhoe through the front archway.

No mountain post is complete without a picture of the stunning rolling hills that comprise the view on the drive up and down. These hills are J's very favourite thing about NZ, and they're pretty high on my list as well. Also, notice the charming smattering of sheep. 

Susan's First Few Days in NZ

It's been a lovely week spending time with Aunt Susan and showing her around. She has always wanted to come to NZ, ever since she saw the beautiful landscapes in Lord of the Rings, and now she is finally here. It is awesome to see how delighted she is with everything she's getting to see and experience, and how much she loves being in such a beautiful place. It is also great to spend time talking and catching up and learning more about her life.

We have been unlucky with weather since she's been here, with lots of cold, rainy days. But we've enjoyed reading and watching movies when it's been raining too much, and have gotten to do lots outside when the rain stops.

During her first two or three days, we strolled around downtown, introduced Susan to Sushi Ninja (our favourite restaurant), walked through the lush life of Pukekura Park, and of course took Holly to the beach. I have posted pictures of all of these things over the last year and a half, so I didn't take more, but it is always great to spend time in these places I love.

Just a few days after Susan got here, the temperature plummeted down to 4C (39F), which is deathly cold for here. I complained about it all evening, and then realized the next morning that it was so cold because there had been a big snowstorm on the mountain! I still don't like the cold, but how beautiful is the mountain with fresh snow on it?!

I was so thrilled with the snowy mountain (after it being snowless through the summer months) that I took Susan down to the Coastal Walkway where I bike to work, to get some great views of the mountain, and to enjoy the sunny (but still cold) evening.

Of course, the letdown of pictures means that the mountain looks tiny in the background, when it felt big and close in real life.

I never get tired of the views of the mountain through the Te Rewarewa bridge. I love it every time. Susan loved it, too!

We walked a bit further down the trail and onto a small beach, which was lit up beautifully in the evening sun. Susan's raincoat, which is usually reddish purple, was lit up bright red as the sun was setting, and I thought it was so pretty!

I gathered some shells while Susan explored. The beach was full of interesting things that had washed up after all the rain we've gotten lately.

The sunset was particularly beautiful that evening, and I felt like NZ was putting on a special show for Susan, who was so ready to be appreciative of its beauty.

The next day, we went to Whanganui to visit some of my friends, and as a pitstop on the way up to the big mountains in Tongariro National Park, where we were going to do some hiking.

We stopped at Kai Iwi beach, which is one of my favourite NZ beaches so far (and where I often used to walk with Kirsten and Holly).

We found this awesome little hut that someone had made out of driftwood. It was surprisingly sturdy and architecturally sound, and looked like it had been there for a while.

We also found this charming sculpture, which included some ingenious balancing and a very thin fishing line to hang a rock so that it looked like it was floating. What a generous artistic donation to further beautify a beautiful beach.

Susan and I had sushi for lunch at my favourite sushi place in Whanganui - two sushi places in three days is about a zillion times more sushi than one normally eats in Kansas, so lucky for Susan that she has enjoyed it!

After lunch we met Kirsten for a walk around Virginia Lake, where she got to see lots of pūkeko, which continue to be my favourite NZ birds. (For pictures of pūkeko at Virigina Lake, look at my post "Virginia Lake Birds with Dad" from April 2014). We had a great time talking with Kirsten during the walk and then over tea at a cafe by the lake.

Next, we headed up into the mountains for a great day of tramping (hiking), which I will post about next week.

Susan's Serendipitous Trip

Aunt Susan arrived yesterday for a visit, and it is so lovely to have her here. Also, the story of her arrival turned out to be quite interesting.

Yesterday, I drove J to the airport at 7:00am to fly off to a conference for two days. I came home and finished cleaning the house, then drove back to the airport to pick up Susan at 10:00am. Fortunately, the airport is about a 10 minute drive from home, so multiple trips are not bothersome.

After waiting a few minutes for Susan's plane to arrive from Auckland, I saw it come down towards the runway, but then head back up. A moment later, the voice over the loudspeaker said that due to the low clouds, the plane had failed its second attempt at landing, and due to fuel levels, it would be turning around and returning to Auckland. Poor Susan! To be so close and then get turned around feels terrible.

So I went back home, waited the hour they'd requested, then called the airport and found out that Susan had been rescheduled to the flight arriving at 1:10pm. Also, found out that either Sawyer is a very uncommon last name here or is pronounced very differently, because he seemed totally confused until I spelled it.

I settled in to read for a few hours before heading back to the airport to pick up Susan. I sent J a text to let him know what was going on, but of course he was in a conference and didn't reply. Since the world was still grey and rainy, I pulled up the online arrivals listing for the New Plymouth airport and monitored it. Unfortunately, at 12:00, Susan's 1:10 flight was cancelled. Poor Susan!

Feeling terrible for Susan's plight, I texted J again, explaining that she was stuck in the Auckland airport. To my surprise, he immediately texted back, "She's here? I'm in the airport." Wait, what? I had completely forgotten that J's conference was in Auckland, and it had never occurred to me that it would actually be in the airport, but it was! I called J, who had a short break between meetings, and after confirming that she would be in the domestic terminal, he said, "I'm going to find her," and hung up.

Delighted, I waited a few minutes, before realizing that I probably should have told him her airline or something, so I called him back. Susan answered the phone! Amazing! In the midst of a huge, busy airport that he was only in by coincidence, he had found her in two minutes flat!

They put me on speakerphone, and the three of us planned how J and Susan could keep tabs on each other in the airport and keep me in the loop, and J got permission for Susan to come to the business dinner he would go to that evening if she was still stuck in Auckland, etc.

It was so perfect; it completely erased my stress, and Susan said that once that had happened, she wasn't worried about being stuck anymore, and could relax. She said that when she looked up and saw J, it was like he had been sent there just to make her feel better. Could you imagine being stuck in an airport an hour flight away from the people you're going to meet and then having one of them just walk up to you in the terminal? Pretty cool.

So, finally, at 5:15pm, Susan's plane made it down to the runway, and a tired but happy Susan arrived in New Plymouth. We have been having a great time drinking tea, catching up, and watching the rain ever since.

Now, J is due to arrive back in New Plymouth at 7:10pm, at at 4:45 it is overcast and looking like rain. I'm crossing my fingers that he doesn't also get turned around. Although, if it does, I wonder who he'll meet in the airport?

Holly is so Clever

To begin, I must share the I am finally successfully using "clever" instead of "smart" after being told multiple times that I was confusing people. Apparently, in NZ, "smart" is used fairly exclusively in the "smart-aleck" or "smart-ass" sense. Instead, they use "clever." Which I find funny, because I feel like I've usually heard "clever" in the context of "Oh you think you're so clever" or "She always has a clever comeback." Which seems a bit like "smart-aleck" to me, rather than an actual commendation of your intelligence. So it's a bit like they're switched.

Due to my recent success at reframing these words, I have managed to title this post and the videos it contains with appropriate NZ terminology. Unfortunately, I still feel like Holly's ability to balance on her back feet does not exactly make her witty or skilled at scathing repartee, and cannot quite rid my mind of that association. Give me a few more years in NZ, and we'll see how I do.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, the less language-obsessed of my readers will be relieved to know that the rest of this post is about Holly doing her awesome tricks, and not about words at all.

I still cannot get blogger to upload videos properly, so I have uploaded them to Facebook. I have set it so that even people who do not have a Facebook account at all can see them, so just click on the links to get to the videos.

Holly's previous owners taught her a few of these tricks, and J and I have taught her the rest. She is an extremely quick learner, and if anyone has suggestions of what other tricks I should teach her, I'd be glad to hear them. Training is her favourite time of day. (Also cuddles, going outside, coming inside, tug of war, going to the beach, waking up, going to sleep, eating, drinking, fetch, and anybody talking to her are her favourite times of day, but still).

Balancing a treat on her nose until I tell her to eat it (and then flipping it up and catching it in her mouth - she taught herself that part).
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153194565314395&pnref=story

Shaking with each paw (and waiting to actually be asked - that was the hard part).
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153194574239395&pnref=story

"Lay down" and "Show me your belly"
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153194578909395&pnref=story

Balancing on her back legs - this one is my favourite!
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153194588834395&pnref=story

"Spin!" This is Holly's least favourite, because she has to look away from the treat for a moment. She couldn't bring herself to do it the first time, but affection won out over food - she is so eager to please!
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153194594679395&pnref=story

This last one is not a trick, nor is it the best example of her bubble-catching abilities, but she's having so much fun that it's worth sharing!
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153199284344395&pnref=story

Also, just discovered this video that I posted over a year ago when we were still in our Whanganui house, of Holly playing fetch. It's funny watching me pull the ball out of her mouth. I'd been doing that for months and then one day I said, "Drop it!" and she just dropped it! Who knew?

CORRECTION: Due to very poor memory (aside from Disney song lyrics), I had forgotten that actually J discovered that Holly knew the command, "Drop it!" I overheard him using it while playing fetch with her, and was suitably impressed at the time, but apparently did not commit the event to memory sufficiently for recall many months later.

I'll have to take another video of her playing fetch now sometime.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152155177054395&set=vb.514814394&type=3&theater

NEW ADDITION: Finally found this video of Holly playing with (or brutally killing, depending on your point of view) her rope. I think it might be the thing she does that makes me giggle the most, for some reason.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153208041059395&pnref=story

We're so lucky to have such a great dog!

J's Outward Bound Experience

Earlier this month, J went on an eight-day Outward Bound course. Outward Bound (in NZ, as I know that there are different programs with the same name in other countries) is a leadership training slash physical challenge course that pushes you out of your comfort zone and encourages you to trust yourself. You can read about the organization here if you're interested: http://www.outwardbound.co.nz/

J didn't take any pictures on the trip, being more focused on maintaining consciousness during the most physically strenuous eight days he's experienced, but fortunately, other people in his group did, and they've shared them with us. You're going to get my explanation of what J has told me about the trip, but I'll have him proof read it, so it will be accurate.

J flew to the South Island (for the first time) and got on the Outward Bound bus toward Anakiwa. But before they got to their training location, they stopped, got out of the bus, and did a challenge activity (the first of many, as it turned out). Then they were told, "We're four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the camp. See you there!" And they drove away, and the participants had to jog into camp, and then jump into the icy cold ocean! Good thing J had been training beforehand, but it was still an intense first day. Although he said that by the end of it, that run would have been relaxing.

This is the view near their training location on the South Island.

This is the cliff face that J had to climb. Blindfolded. Yes, blindfolded. And he got off easy, because one guy had to climb it blindfolded with one arm tied behind his back!

For two days of the trip, all nine people in J's group lived and slept on this boat! Notice that it is not that big, and that there is no "inside." 

They did some sailing, but also lots of rowing. They are in the Sounds, which are a series of sea-drowned valleys. So they're the ocean, only not quite. Apparently, and not surprisingly, they are freezing cold. Which becomes important, given that they had to jump into them every day! And don't be fooled by the sunny day, J said it was 7 C (44.5 F) most nights. Cold!

It's still funny to me to think that this looks like a lake, but is part of the ocean.

After the boat part of the trip, they were told to jump into the ocean, wade to shore, pick up a pack, and each find their own secluded campsite. They then spent two days completely alone in the woods. This is not J's campsite, but his looked a lot like this, but more inclined. Also, his was very full of wasps, so he pulled down his tarp during the day and stayed under it.

They did lots and lots of hiking, including peaking two mountains! J's pack weighed about 40 kilos (88 lbs). No wonder he came home tired!

You can see the bend in this photo; that's because the person used a GoPro camera, which is all the rage here. It's wide screen and on an arm so that you can take pictures of yourself doing all kinds of crazy things.

Pretty lovely scenery! I can't wait to go to the South Island some day.

Again with the GoPro curve, but I love these trees!

On the last day, before flying home, J had to jog a very mountainous 12.5 km (7.8 miles), which is by far the longest jog he has ever done. He got off the plane exhausted but happy and proud, and I've loved listening to him talk about all his adventures, and telling our friends about them. He seems to have gotten a lot out of it, not the least of which is the knowledge that he is capable of rising to the occasion when it comes to physical challenges.

Also, the leadership teacher gave each person feedback on their leadership before they left, and J's feedback was extremely positive, so that's always nice to hear.

Visiting Patty on the Farm: Part 2

On my first day at the farm, in addition to all of the fabulous things in my first post, I got to go horseback riding! I love to ride horses, even though I don't have many equestrian skills. I have been told that my comfort and confidence around horses helps them to respond well to me even though I don't know what I'm doing, for which I am truly thankful.

This is Chevy, the beautiful and gentle horse who kindly carried me through the pine forests. I had a great ride with one of the owners, who explained to me that eventually, she'd like to take small groups of people from the city for rides like this, as part of the way to keep the farm profitable. I think that's a great idea, as she has lovely horses and a beautiful place to ride!

The next day, after visiting all the animals again and making sure Patty's donkey friends were safe and happy after the rain in the night, we got to help with an awesome job - making friends with the foals and getting them used to human contact! We went up to their big field, and lead the three friendly mothers down the hill into little paddocks, with the flighty foals following their mothers while staying a little ways away from us at all times.

This is Patty with one of the fillies, getting her used to being touched on the shoulder, where eventually a rope would go. The owner coached her in gently increasing the pressure, and in watching the filly's eyes to judge when she was getting too stressed. The goal, she explained, used to be to "break" horses into submission, but now it is to gently help them to learn to be comfortable around people and to obey out of respect for the relationship. Sounds much better to me.

Also, I was excited because the owner asked me to name this young horse. I suggested Lizzie, which has always been one of my favourite names, and she loved it, so Lizzie it is.

After watching Patty and the owner work with Lizzie for quite a while, I decided to say hello to one of the other mother-daughter pairs. I figured that the filly would hide behind her mum, as she had been doing, but that I could hang out with the mare until it was their turn. The filly had started limping on the way down the hill, so I was hoping to be able to see if there was anything visible hurting her. The owner had said she'd just have to leave her, because she wasn't tame enough to get a good look yet.

To my amazement and excitement, as soon as I walked into the paddock, the filly walked right up to me and put her beautiful, soft nose on my chest! Wow! She stayed there for a bit while I petted her, and the owner looked up and saw her being so friendly and was thrilled!

The owner suggested that I take advantage of the moment to look at her leg if she'd let me, and she did! She stood so calmly and let me run my hand up and down her legs, on which I found no hurts of any kind (although admittedly, would I recognize a horse injury if I felt one? Probably not).

After we hung out for a bit, it was her turn to go into the small training paddock with her mum, but she wouldn't go unless I gave her little pushes and walked along next to her. We're close friends now, clearly! Lucky me!

Also, I got to help name her as well, and then owner and I settled on Duchess, which is appropriate for such a lovely little horse! Also, I am now friends with nobility.

I also made friends with this miniature pony name Smokey, who had just arrived at the farm a few days before I did. I adored him, because while he was very nervous around people, he was also determined to make friends, and would come right over whenever Patty and I came to his paddock. He would stick out his nose and want to be touched, but any sudden movement would cause him to pull away... but only for a second, because he'd come right back and try to make friends. I found this irresistibly endearing, and wish that I had more time to become friends with him.

For a break between farming adventures, Patty and I sat down with the other boarder at the farm (with whom Patty had become great friends) and drank tea and worked on a puzzle.

In all modesty, I would like to share that I have inherited my mother's penchant for puzzles, and made fantastic progress in the time I worked on it!

That evening I said goodbye to Patty, wished her well on the next leg of her journey (to India), received an open invitation to visit the farm again, and drove home. I stopped on the way because I thought this view was too beautiful not to photograph.

Although I didn't know this at the time, I can now tell you that the next leg of Patty's journey did not end up taking her to India, as visa issues prevented that flight, so she is still in NZ. She has left the farm and traveled up to a new Helpx site in Kerikeri, which is north of Auckland and has amazing beaches. She seems to be doing well and enjoying the extra time in the amazing country - and who wouldn't?

Visiting Patty on the Farm: Part 1

I got a lovely surprise the other day when I checked my email and got an invitation from Patty to come and stay with her on the farm where she was Helpxing! How cool!

I drove about four hours north to a farm outside Thames, owned by a lovely couple who bought it about a year ago and are fixing it up. The farm is quite old and charming and reminded Patty and me of Grandma and Grandpa Denner's farm in Iowa. It was a fantastic place to spend my weekend, and I understand why Patty extended her stay there instead of moving on to other Helpx locations.

Patty had been feeding the Dexter cows pears from the tree every day, and by the time I got there, they came over when she called. In fact, if she didn't come and feed them, they started mooing for pears! This particular one was very greedy, so we had to be sneaky to get pears to the others.

Patty made friends with the two donkeys which the owners had inherited with the farm. They were a bit skittish at first, but they warmed to Patty and became quite lovely - especially this one.

The first day, this donkey seemed to have something in its teeth, and kept sticking out its tongue to the side, and Patty was so entertained that she joined in the fun. She also took pity on it and tried to get whatever it was out of its teeth; she never found anything, but it stopped looking uncomfortable, so we were happy.

Patty had jumped right into farm life, and even learned to drive a tractor!

These are peaches from their peach tree. Notice that they are fuchsia! I thought they were very beautiful looking, but didn't get to try one, as they weren't actually ripe yet. Maybe next time.

One of the jobs Patty had been doing was making dinner each night, which the couple really appreciated (as would I). She was directing me through boiling potatoes, making cold apple salad, and cooking silver-beet (swiss chard) and squash when it started to rain. She immediately dropped what she was doing and ran to get her donkey friends out of the rain, leaving me in charge of the kitchen. In case anyone has forgotten, I should never be left in charge of the kitchen; I don't know what I'm doing!

Luckily, I managed not to destroy anything while Patty was gone, and we ended up with a quite delicious dinner of things almost entirely produced on the farm, and resembling the delicious food that Grandma Denner used to make. I didn't contribute any skill to the process, but I also didn't actively ruin it. A resounding success!

After dinner, Patty and I took the cow dog (one of 5 or 6 dogs on the farm) on a walk through the cedar forest.

As it started to get dark, Patty told me how she'd gotten lost in the dark while walking the other night, and how it had been a bit scary. But the woods were so beautiful, and we were enjoying wandering...

... and we got lost. In the dark. Good thing Patty had brought her head lamp. Patty was a bit worried about being lost, but I was still feeling invincible after my non-destructive exploits in the kitchen. Perhaps a busy kitchen should actually be less scary than a forest at night, but I would pick it any time! So we kept walking and chatting until we found our way out. The only downside was that we had to climb over a barbed wire fence, and I tore my jacket. But I've stitched it up and it looks okay, so no harm done. Also, we weren't lost for long, because Patty came up with the good idea of finding the river bed and following it back to the lake near the farm. 

So ended a very lovely day on the farm, with another one coming.