A happy-go-lucky English rambler dude goes to New Zealand for a year. Here he interfaces with some of those he left behind and details his nefarious activities. Or summat.
Recently clicked on MP3s - 7th June 2005 The Lucksmiths - Warmer Corners
Jens Lekman - When i said i wanted to be your dog
The Trashcan Sinatras - Weightlifting
Teenage Fanclub - Man Made
Laura Veirs - Carbon Glacier
The Decemberists - Picaresque
The Eels - Blinking Lights
Well, i've finally made it to Australia, and happily have been busy enough doing fun things to completely neglect the old website. Tonight that changes though! I've got bugger all to do (other than find my way to Coogee from Kings Cross), a cheap internet place at my disposal, and no excuses.
When i last told you anything real about what i'd been up to i was in New Plymouth, mucking about on, and falling off, mountain bikes with the Keith Webb School of Fitness. All of this was merely a prelude to the final challenge for my stay with Keith, an attempt to run the 13k Tongariro crossing, including the ascent of Mount Ngaurahoe (2291m). Normally an 8 hour walk (without the extra mountain), it would be a formidable jog, but the harsh regime of the previous two weeks had left me in reasonable shape (I was now regularly ascending flights of stairs, un-supported, without oxygen).
The day of our final challenge dawned bright and clear, perfect conditions! Unfortunately we were fast asleep when this happened, and stayed that way until 10 minutes before the final bus to the track was due to leave. Shit.
The rudimentary logic my brain was able to perform, in the seconds after having, "Nngah! It's 8 O'BLEEDINGclock!" shouted at me by Keith, told me that death, or at least extreme peckishness, would be the likely outcome of trying to run up mountains all day in the sun, without the whopping breakfast we had planned.
So instead we grabbed our backup rambling gear and as many muesli bars as we could find in 5 minutes, and ran staight out to catch the bus.
As it turned out, we still had a great day, ascended Ngaurahoe, as well as the other optional ascent of Mount Tongariro, thereby proving ourselves to be considerably harder than everyone else doing the trail that day.
The only two negative aspects of missing our alarm and starting late, were Keith's shocking sunburn, after forgetting the suncream + hat, and the 13 kilometre long argument we had about who's fault it was we slept through the alarm. (It WAS Keith's fault, his snoring forced me to put in earplugs, thereby making me sleep through my alarm, OK?)
If you didn't snore, we wouldn't have had this problem now would we? (Note: Mount Ngaurahoe lurking in the background)
After returning to New Plymouth, detouring only to rescue a Snow blind, English tramper from Taumaruni hospital, i had to bid Keith & Julia a sad farewell, and then headed down south to my old stamping ground of Christchurch.
I couldn't wait to get back there, after almost three years away, and the excitement mounted with every town the bus passed on the road down the east coast, particularly during a stop in Kaikoura to gawp at some seals who were hanging out next to the road, impressing passers by with their quite incredible B.O.
Sadly things aren't quite the same back in CHCH now, the hostel which was the hub of my time there, the New Excelsior, is now being run by new owners, who don't show the guests the amount of love that the legendary family of Wayne, Bev, Gemma and Tiger the cat did back in the day. It's still a reasonable place though, and seems to attract a better class of backpacker than your average city centre McBackpackers.
Happily i did get to catch up with Wayne, Bev, Gemma, Tiger and every other resident of CHCH that still remembered me, not to mention a few who'd forgotten me, and a very wonderful experience it was too. In a large part this was possible due to my old Z-Web boss, Dan and his lovely Mrs Lorri, getting married during the time i was back there.
The wedding was a cracking do, a typically NZ combination of tradition with some very modern touches. For example the service was held in a quaint old wooden chapel in Hagley Park, but the dusty old Vicar was replaced with a 'Celebrant', who was more like a TV presenter, and used the word 'awesome' in prayers more than i have ever heard before. Dan & Lorri wrote and recited their own vows too, and during the register signings one of the bridesmaids knocked out a lovely acapella Irish folk song too, not bad!
The evening do was in a similar vein, heartfelt speeches given by (literally) anyone who wanted to give a speech, including a (speech) duet by Dan & Lorri. Happily this break with tradition was combined with the usual lashings of top food and a free bar. Dancing, drinking games, ill advised new drink research & development and jumping into the hotel swimming pool followed (which i annoyingly missed due to having an in depth Soccer chat with a Dutch wedding guest).
Dan & Lorri - they seem to quite like each other
Hmm, i've been in this internet place for a while now, and the price is starting to seem a lot less cheap than it did intially. Also, the world's loudest Japanese teenagers have just taken up residence next to me, so i'm starting to think i should probably move on.
Fear not though, i'll be writing again soon, with exciting tales of Australia, including exploring some of the world's top pubs on Brunswick street in Melbourne and encounters with furry jumping things, furry climbing things, 8 legged crawling things, big bridges and the 50 year storm. And seeing Darren Hanlon!! And The Lucksmiths!! And a Darren Hanlon & Lucksmiths supergroup!!!
Oh. Please come back.
I'll leave you with images two New Zealand institions - Sheep Murder and The Fabulous Bouzouki Brothers.
Theo and Jacob laying down some GreekRock! (No night out in CHCH is complete without a visit to Santorini's for a spot of Ouzo and Limbo dancing)
In the NZ Sheep industry, only the most ethical, compassionate methods are used in tightly controlled abbatoirs
