Cool! I can write a little blog for a photo from within Flickr! Just a test to see that it all works alright.
-Ben
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Quick update.
Okay, just a quick hello from me! I'm still REALLY far behind in blogging, but am hoping to catch up on that during X-mas (I know, fat chance!). If not I may just skip forwards to where I am now, and worry about the other stuff later. In the meantime, I've uploaded some more photos to my Flickr account, which can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/12317668@N02/
I'm in Paihia right now, on the Bay of Islands. Heading south. It's raining today, hence the (very) slight update to the blog and pictures. I've heard there's snow over there in Minnesota! Poor me has to suffer through shorts-and-tshirt weather...
-Ben
I'm in Paihia right now, on the Bay of Islands. Heading south. It's raining today, hence the (very) slight update to the blog and pictures. I've heard there's snow over there in Minnesota! Poor me has to suffer through shorts-and-tshirt weather...
-Ben
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Hello from Te Puke
Hi there. So, let's see. I'm in Wairoa at the moment, aren't I (or at least that is where my past self is at the moment). You know what I mean. The bakery there was really nice. I had some sausage rolls there (absolutely excellent) as well as an absolutely amazing passion-fruit slice baked thing. I was sitting at the table with this guy who was immaculately dressed in a very nice suit and gold cuff-links who was also indulging in sausage rolls. Apparently I was sitting at the table that he always sat at. I gathered that he was in town because of some local council meeting. Very nice guy. His name was Reae (I think he said it was the Scottish version of "Ray"), but his last name was Maori. He said that his Scottish ancestors were an almost regal clan, and that his Maori family blood were also high up in their tribe. I guess he owned a larger portion of land around the area. Wairoa was nice, but mostly just because it allowed me to recuperate and rest. I spent quite a while walking along the river running through town, and when it rained I just got this sudden reminder that I was on an adventure, and that I was in a strange and exotic place. Not exactly sure what exactly about the rain triggered that. I basically just wandered around a bunch, and walked past the same things twice, maybe three times. The second night I stayed at the creepy motorcamp, I talked to the manager, and asked if they had a discount for people staying more than 1 night. She gave the room to me for NZ$20, which was a bit better to swallow. Eventually, I set off Eastwards from Wairoa. The goal for the day was to get to Mahia Peninsula, which was supposed to be particularly beautiful (and good surfing--not that this was even considered at the moment, as the ocean was still rather cold and inhospitable). It was a fairly nice ride for most of the day, and pretty flat. Eventually I pulled into Mahia around 4pm. I went to the holiday park which was clearly marked with big signs and painted boards, and asked how much for a tent spot. The woman I eventually found said that they were, in fact, completely booked at the moment, with no vacancies--not even for my one-man tent and bicycle! I was rather suspicious at this, as the parking lot was absolutely barren, with only one car in sight. I went looking for somewhere else to park myself for the night, and went into the local "dairy" (small general store) to ask the owner. She said there wasn't any other place to camp, and that in fact the holiday park was changing ownership this very day, and the woman I'd talked to was the apparently rather bitter former owner of the place. The woman who owned the dairy, however, said that I was welcome to camp in the yard behind the store! I immediately took her up on it, and set up my tent. Later on, I bought some meat pies from her for dinner (or "tea", as it is known here), as a sort of "thank you". I went for a walk along the beach, as the tide came in. Aargh, I need to wrap this up at the moment. Maybe I should change the name of this blog (or me in general) to "Perpetually two weeks behind". Hope you're well!
-Ben
-Ben
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
First sunrise in the World!
Hello!
Well, let's try to get all caught up on events here. When I left off, I was just leaving from Lake Tutira...
I left around 9:30 AM, knowing that I had a long day in front of me. I said goodbye to the older couple who were staying at the campground in their R.V. They were very nice, and gave me lots of advice about roads and places to go. They run a Bed and Breakfast in Athenree, by the sea.
The main problem was just that I didn't really have any food with me, so I was hungry the whole day. It's not very easy to convey how hungry I was, so I won't even try. There were a LOT of hills, too. Several big river gorges, and then this gigantic one that took me like an hour and a half to reach the top of. It was actually near the top of this hill that I walked my bike for the first time so far. And it was raining intermittently (usually beginning when I had my rain coat off, and ending once I finally had it on). The descent was a nice, fairly long one, although it was really rainy and slippery on the roads so I had to go slow, and I was pretty chilly by the time I got to the bottom. I cycled another 10kms or so, and stopped for lunch, which was pretty much just a packet of salami. Not particularly filling, but it tasted sooo good. Kept on going after momentarily contemplating camping under a bridge (mainly continuing because I knew that--most likely--food would not just walk up to me whilst under the bridge, unless of course a lost sheep happened to wander within my grasp... ), and over, yes, another hill. However, after finally struggling over that, I was relieved to look in my cycle-touring guidebook ("Pedallers' Paradise," excellent books) and find that the final 20km were all more or less flat or downhill!! So, after lots of pedaling slowly along, I eventually made it to Wairoa. When I was just entering the city limits, there was a sign saying "Information Centre, 400m on Left". This rather disconcerted me, because after pedaling for what felt like 2-3kms more, no information centre was to be seen! I thought that perhaps I was losing track of distance and time, and was rather confused. However, after finally making it into the center of town, I was relieved to find out that there USED to be an info center there, but that it had recently moved and had neglected to take their signs down. I went into the nearest gas station/convenience store, and promptly ate about 3 candy bars, a hot mince pie or two, and about a litre of this cheap, vile-looking lime-green "Dietary Supplement" energy drink which was really just like Powerade or Gatorade, except with more sugar/flavour. I asked the nice person behind the desk
where the nearest backpackers' accommodation was, and she was very helpful in directing me to several. I opted for the closest one, and although I felt that NZ$25 was asking a bit much, I didn't really care enough to argue at that point. It was an odd place. I would describe it as "sterile", or perhaps even"soul-less" (not that you'd ever find doctors using "soul-less" needles for anything!) It just wasn't a particularly inviting place to me. The room was pretty chilly, because although there was a heater in the room, there wasn't a propane tank to go with it, so it wasn't particularly useful. The bathrooms were very, very, eerily clean, and in what I believe was a effort to make the place slightly less creepy at night-time, they had something akin to "golden-oldies" playing softly out of some speakers somewhere above your head. This failed spectacularly. I tried to never spend more than the absolute minimum in those bathrooms. Then, the kitchen was similar. Very nicely equipped with pots and pans and plates and the like, but I felt like I was back in Chemistry class, as I was cooking over a hot-plate. And they had the lights set to a timer so that if no movement was detected by the door after about 5 minutes, the damn lights would turn off. THat was really irritating during the middle of dinner when all I wanted was to eat my half-kilo of spaghetti in a WELL-LIT area. I was so hungry that when it turned off the third time I didn't even get up and just ate in the dark. Then I got a bit of a surprise: The couple from the R.V. who I had left just that morning walked in the door in order to do their dishes! So, they had decided to stay in the same place as me. That was pretty much the redeeming feature of this motor-camp. The motor-camp did have a computer connected to the internet, and it was in the smallest building that I have ever seen. I couldn't even stand up straight in it, and I'm not exactly Michael Jordan either! And I was rather surprised when I turned the computer on and it booted Ubuntu (for my fellow geeks out there)! Slightly unexpected. Oh, I'm definitely not going to get up-to-date with this at the moment. I did some hand-washing of clothes in the spooky bathroom's sinks, and then indulged in an 8-minute hot shower. I didn't like that the hot shower was a further NZ$2 though, on top of the already NZ$25 room. Went to sleep. Slept for a long time.
THe next morning, I went and walked around town. I found probably the best thing in town: the bakery! It's called "Osler's Bakery", and it has won numerous awards over the years. I especially liked their specials/day-old rack! Okay, I'm going to have to finish this later. Again. I'll try to post some more pictures soon. And explain about the title of this blog.
-Ben
Well, let's try to get all caught up on events here. When I left off, I was just leaving from Lake Tutira...
I left around 9:30 AM, knowing that I had a long day in front of me. I said goodbye to the older couple who were staying at the campground in their R.V. They were very nice, and gave me lots of advice about roads and places to go. They run a Bed and Breakfast in Athenree, by the sea.
The main problem was just that I didn't really have any food with me, so I was hungry the whole day. It's not very easy to convey how hungry I was, so I won't even try. There were a LOT of hills, too. Several big river gorges, and then this gigantic one that took me like an hour and a half to reach the top of. It was actually near the top of this hill that I walked my bike for the first time so far. And it was raining intermittently (usually beginning when I had my rain coat off, and ending once I finally had it on). The descent was a nice, fairly long one, although it was really rainy and slippery on the roads so I had to go slow, and I was pretty chilly by the time I got to the bottom. I cycled another 10kms or so, and stopped for lunch, which was pretty much just a packet of salami. Not particularly filling, but it tasted sooo good. Kept on going after momentarily contemplating camping under a bridge (mainly continuing because I knew that--most likely--food would not just walk up to me whilst under the bridge, unless of course a lost sheep happened to wander within my grasp... ), and over, yes, another hill. However, after finally struggling over that, I was relieved to look in my cycle-touring guidebook ("Pedallers' Paradise," excellent books) and find that the final 20km were all more or less flat or downhill!! So, after lots of pedaling slowly along, I eventually made it to Wairoa. When I was just entering the city limits, there was a sign saying "Information Centre, 400m on Left". This rather disconcerted me, because after pedaling for what felt like 2-3kms more, no information centre was to be seen! I thought that perhaps I was losing track of distance and time, and was rather confused. However, after finally making it into the center of town, I was relieved to find out that there USED to be an info center there, but that it had recently moved and had neglected to take their signs down. I went into the nearest gas station/convenience store, and promptly ate about 3 candy bars, a hot mince pie or two, and about a litre of this cheap, vile-looking lime-green "Dietary Supplement" energy drink which was really just like Powerade or Gatorade, except with more sugar/flavour. I asked the nice person behind the desk
where the nearest backpackers' accommodation was, and she was very helpful in directing me to several. I opted for the closest one, and although I felt that NZ$25 was asking a bit much, I didn't really care enough to argue at that point. It was an odd place. I would describe it as "sterile", or perhaps even"soul-less" (not that you'd ever find doctors using "soul-less" needles for anything!) It just wasn't a particularly inviting place to me. The room was pretty chilly, because although there was a heater in the room, there wasn't a propane tank to go with it, so it wasn't particularly useful. The bathrooms were very, very, eerily clean, and in what I believe was a effort to make the place slightly less creepy at night-time, they had something akin to "golden-oldies" playing softly out of some speakers somewhere above your head. This failed spectacularly. I tried to never spend more than the absolute minimum in those bathrooms. Then, the kitchen was similar. Very nicely equipped with pots and pans and plates and the like, but I felt like I was back in Chemistry class, as I was cooking over a hot-plate. And they had the lights set to a timer so that if no movement was detected by the door after about 5 minutes, the damn lights would turn off. THat was really irritating during the middle of dinner when all I wanted was to eat my half-kilo of spaghetti in a WELL-LIT area. I was so hungry that when it turned off the third time I didn't even get up and just ate in the dark. Then I got a bit of a surprise: The couple from the R.V. who I had left just that morning walked in the door in order to do their dishes! So, they had decided to stay in the same place as me. That was pretty much the redeeming feature of this motor-camp. The motor-camp did have a computer connected to the internet, and it was in the smallest building that I have ever seen. I couldn't even stand up straight in it, and I'm not exactly Michael Jordan either! And I was rather surprised when I turned the computer on and it booted Ubuntu (for my fellow geeks out there)! Slightly unexpected. Oh, I'm definitely not going to get up-to-date with this at the moment. I did some hand-washing of clothes in the spooky bathroom's sinks, and then indulged in an 8-minute hot shower. I didn't like that the hot shower was a further NZ$2 though, on top of the already NZ$25 room. Went to sleep. Slept for a long time.
THe next morning, I went and walked around town. I found probably the best thing in town: the bakery! It's called "Osler's Bakery", and it has won numerous awards over the years. I especially liked their specials/day-old rack! Okay, I'm going to have to finish this later. Again. I'll try to post some more pictures soon. And explain about the title of this blog.
-Ben
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Greetingd from Wairoa!
Helo there, everyone!
So, I've done a bit since I last updated. I last left you as I was at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Havelock North. I read several books, including a cycling travelogue, an ancient sci-fi novel from like the 50's (that was interesting), and Catch 22. They were all at least fairly good, but with Catch 22 being the one I most liked. I've seen the movie and heard other people talking about it, but haven't read it until now. I am really glad that I have gotten a chance to actually just read for pleasure, and not for a class. It makes it much more enjoyable. Maybe I'll go back and *ahem* re-read some of those english books...
SO, I set off from Havelock North to Napier, a city just about 25kms away. Napier is full of all of these "Art-Deco" style buildings, which were build after the 1930's earthquake. I didn't spend very long there in the city looking around, but it was a pleasant place. I ended up staying in a backpackers called something like "Stable Lodge," which had rather odd decor, with magazine pictures of unicorns and horses pasted onto the walls. But it was nice and cozy, and DRY, so I didn't mind. I went out to "The Warehouse" (a big, Target-esque store here in New Zealand) and bought myself a small AM/FM radio so that I have something to listen to when I want to. It was only about NZ$10, but does the job just fine, so I don't mind. Made some couscous for dinner, and went to bed--only after watching "Minority Report", "Independence Day", and "Men in Black II" with several German backpackers. I wonder, what would a foreigner think about those movies if they could't understand the language? Espcially Minority Report.
Then next day, sorted out some bank account stuff, and headed off for Lake Tutira. It took me almost all day to get there, even though it was only about 45km to there from Napier. There was one big hill, which was something like 15km of climbing! That sucked. The descet was nice, although marred slightly by rain whipping into my face as I tear (carefully) down the other side. At the bottom is a place called "Devil's Elbow", which is just a hairpin turn. Would've taken a picture, but it was wet. Eventually made it to Lake Tutira, and set up my tent in the rain. I was wet and cold, and made some more couscous as quickly as I could. Then, I got into my sleeping bag, and read my new book: "The LOng, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul", by Douglas Adams. Very funny book--you should read it. Next morning, woke up a little later than planned, and finally packed all of my gear up, only to notice at the end that I had a flat rear tire! OF course my spare tubes etc. were at the bottom of ONE of my paniers, and I didn't know which one exactly, so I spent another night there. Next morning, I got up a little earlier, an headed out (oh, and Dad just so you know, I fixed the puncture on my first go, and it's lasted 78kms so far!). Oh, I have 2 minutes left. I'll finish this later.
So, I've done a bit since I last updated. I last left you as I was at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Havelock North. I read several books, including a cycling travelogue, an ancient sci-fi novel from like the 50's (that was interesting), and Catch 22. They were all at least fairly good, but with Catch 22 being the one I most liked. I've seen the movie and heard other people talking about it, but haven't read it until now. I am really glad that I have gotten a chance to actually just read for pleasure, and not for a class. It makes it much more enjoyable. Maybe I'll go back and *ahem* re-read some of those english books...
SO, I set off from Havelock North to Napier, a city just about 25kms away. Napier is full of all of these "Art-Deco" style buildings, which were build after the 1930's earthquake. I didn't spend very long there in the city looking around, but it was a pleasant place. I ended up staying in a backpackers called something like "Stable Lodge," which had rather odd decor, with magazine pictures of unicorns and horses pasted onto the walls. But it was nice and cozy, and DRY, so I didn't mind. I went out to "The Warehouse" (a big, Target-esque store here in New Zealand) and bought myself a small AM/FM radio so that I have something to listen to when I want to. It was only about NZ$10, but does the job just fine, so I don't mind. Made some couscous for dinner, and went to bed--only after watching "Minority Report", "Independence Day", and "Men in Black II" with several German backpackers. I wonder, what would a foreigner think about those movies if they could't understand the language? Espcially Minority Report.
Then next day, sorted out some bank account stuff, and headed off for Lake Tutira. It took me almost all day to get there, even though it was only about 45km to there from Napier. There was one big hill, which was something like 15km of climbing! That sucked. The descet was nice, although marred slightly by rain whipping into my face as I tear (carefully) down the other side. At the bottom is a place called "Devil's Elbow", which is just a hairpin turn. Would've taken a picture, but it was wet. Eventually made it to Lake Tutira, and set up my tent in the rain. I was wet and cold, and made some more couscous as quickly as I could. Then, I got into my sleeping bag, and read my new book: "The LOng, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul", by Douglas Adams. Very funny book--you should read it. Next morning, woke up a little later than planned, and finally packed all of my gear up, only to notice at the end that I had a flat rear tire! OF course my spare tubes etc. were at the bottom of ONE of my paniers, and I didn't know which one exactly, so I spent another night there. Next morning, I got up a little earlier, an headed out (oh, and Dad just so you know, I fixed the puncture on my first go, and it's lasted 78kms so far!). Oh, I have 2 minutes left. I'll finish this later.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
September16th, 2007
Hello there folks! Sorry about that long absence. You should come to expect those, though. If you're LUCKY, you may get something on the order of one update a week--although most will be rather small and short, I'd imagine. So, last Saturday, I took the train up from Wellington city to Paraparaumu, or Raumati. I stayed the night there with my Auntie Anne and Uncle Paul, and Cousin Lawrie. Anyways, I have to be brief, so here we go: I cycled up from Raumati on New Zealand's West Coast up to Palmerston North, and stayed with my Aunt and Uncle, and my cousins David and Nikla and Brendon. I stayed there for a couple of days, and then moved on, by way of the Paihatua Track (road). Boy, that was a hill. After taking most of the morning to get up and over that, I made it to a town called Dannevirke, which had a rather unsettling affinity for trolls. I ended up spending the night there, in a "Holiday Park" (a camp ground as they're called here sometimes). When I went up to the office at first to get a camp site, I was rather suprised to hear that I was the first tent-camper they've had all year long (keep in mind that this is in September, 9 MONTHS into a year.). That didn't exactly inspire a great deal of confidence in me... I went to the local supermarket, and found a big loaf of cheesy, baconey bread that they had just dropped the price down to NZ$2 on. I bought it in an instant, and that was very tasty. At the "Holiday Park", they had a complete kitchen, with stove, oven, pots and pans, cutlery, knives, plates, hot and cold running water, a fridge/freezer, and a table! Quite a change. So, I made some couscous for myself (which is actually stupidly easy, and very filling), and tore off half of the loaf of Bacon-and-cheese bread to eat. I slept the night out in my tent, and I woke up a few times from the cold. I just bundled up, and it was fine, though. I found out later that it was down to about 4 Degrees Celcius, and frosted. I made it through the night, though, and packed up in the morning. I then headed off (a little later than usual, at about 10AM) on my loaded bike. Several times on my journey so far, I've been attacked by Magpies. Apparrently, it's nesting time right now, so they're extra-protective. I was just biking along, and I saw another cyclist on the other side of the road. I waved and said "Hello!", and in response, they yelled: "WATCH OUT FOR THE MAGPIE!" and pointed somewhere over my head. Looking around, I saw this scoundrel come swoopoing in on me, divebombing my and only missing by a matter of inches. That happened several times. They're evil birds, and have been known to knock cyclists off their bikes. I've decided that the best defence is to either sit there yelling and cursing aat them, swinging your arms around, or to sprint as fast as you can,looking straight ahead, as your helmet'll protect you. I kept on hearing a bird flap somewhere over head, and cowering in fear until I realised it was just a simple pigeon. 100 Kilometres later and nearing dusk, I had finally made it to Havelock North, a smaller, slightly expensive town, in some ways akin to Highland Village. My Aunt and Uncle live here, and I had arranged to spend a little bit with them. Their house is amazingly full of plants--more than most conservatories or greenhouses, I'd think! The only thing that there may be more of than plants in this house is books. There's an entire room covered, floor to ceiling with all sorts of books, all the way around. And that's just a quarter of them. In every room, there's at least one bookshelf stretching up to to sky, chock full of books--covering every subject from cooking and baking to plants and their care. Quite amazing. They run a lab where they cultivate plants and trees by cuttingt hem up and then sticking them in dishes with some sort of rooting hormone in it, and then repeating the process once again, with the newly grown plant--quite interesting. The first day here, I started a book called: "Yackety Yak: Bombay to Beijing by Bicycle". I also finished it. It was entertaining, but at the same time, not exactly what you might call "quality literature". It followed a pretty typical Australian bloke on his adventures in India and China and Pakistan, and had some funny bits in it. Mostly it was just nice to relax for a day, and sit on something that WASN'T a bike seat. The Rugby World Cup is in full swing over in France, and the All Blacks (New Zealand's national rugby team) are the favourites to win it. Yesterday they demolished Portugal 108 to 13 or something. Which was actually a far lower score than most people thought the All Blacks would score (Portugal is ranked as the worst team in the tournament). That was fun to watch--although because of the time difference, it didn't start until 11:00pm here, so I was up late watching it for fun. By the way, the National New Zealand Basketball team is called the "Tall Blacks"! I laughed out loud when I heard that. If people hadn't heard of the All blacks, they'd probably think it was the most racist and stereotyped name possible for a basketball team. Okay, time for some lunch. That was enough of a rambling entry as I can currently sustain.Hope you're doing well, whoever it is that's reading this.-Ben
Hello there folks! Sorry about that long absence. You should come to expect those, though. If you're LUCKY, you may get something on the order of one update a week--although most will be rather small and short, I'd imagine. So, last Saturday, I took the train up from Wellington city to Paraparaumu, or Raumati. I stayed the night there with my Auntie Anne and Uncle Paul, and Cousin Lawrie. Anyways, I have to be brief, so here we go: I cycled up from Raumati on New Zealand's West Coast up to Palmerston North, and stayed with my Aunt and Uncle, and my cousins David and Nikla and Brendon. I stayed there for a couple of days, and then moved on, by way of the Paihatua Track (road). Boy, that was a hill. After taking most of the morning to get up and over that, I made it to a town called Dannevirke, which had a rather unsettling affinity for trolls. I ended up spending the night there, in a "Holiday Park" (a camp ground as they're called here sometimes). When I went up to the office at first to get a camp site, I was rather suprised to hear that I was the first tent-camper they've had all year long (keep in mind that this is in September, 9 MONTHS into a year.). That didn't exactly inspire a great deal of confidence in me... I went to the local supermarket, and found a big loaf of cheesy, baconey bread that they had just dropped the price down to NZ$2 on. I bought it in an instant, and that was very tasty. At the "Holiday Park", they had a complete kitchen, with stove, oven, pots and pans, cutlery, knives, plates, hot and cold running water, a fridge/freezer, and a table! Quite a change. So, I made some couscous for myself (which is actually stupidly easy, and very filling), and tore off half of the loaf of Bacon-and-cheese bread to eat. I slept the night out in my tent, and I woke up a few times from the cold. I just bundled up, and it was fine, though. I found out later that it was down to about 4 Degrees Celcius, and frosted. I made it through the night, though, and packed up in the morning. I then headed off (a little later than usual, at about 10AM) on my loaded bike. Several times on my journey so far, I've been attacked by Magpies. Apparrently, it's nesting time right now, so they're extra-protective. I was just biking along, and I saw another cyclist on the other side of the road. I waved and said "Hello!", and in response, they yelled: "WATCH OUT FOR THE MAGPIE!" and pointed somewhere over my head. Looking around, I saw this scoundrel come swoopoing in on me, divebombing my and only missing by a matter of inches. That happened several times. They're evil birds, and have been known to knock cyclists off their bikes. I've decided that the best defence is to either sit there yelling and cursing aat them, swinging your arms around, or to sprint as fast as you can,looking straight ahead, as your helmet'll protect you. I kept on hearing a bird flap somewhere over head, and cowering in fear until I realised it was just a simple pigeon. 100 Kilometres later and nearing dusk, I had finally made it to Havelock North, a smaller, slightly expensive town, in some ways akin to Highland Village. My Aunt and Uncle live here, and I had arranged to spend a little bit with them. Their house is amazingly full of plants--more than most conservatories or greenhouses, I'd think! The only thing that there may be more of than plants in this house is books. There's an entire room covered, floor to ceiling with all sorts of books, all the way around. And that's just a quarter of them. In every room, there's at least one bookshelf stretching up to to sky, chock full of books--covering every subject from cooking and baking to plants and their care. Quite amazing. They run a lab where they cultivate plants and trees by cuttingt hem up and then sticking them in dishes with some sort of rooting hormone in it, and then repeating the process once again, with the newly grown plant--quite interesting. The first day here, I started a book called: "Yackety Yak: Bombay to Beijing by Bicycle". I also finished it. It was entertaining, but at the same time, not exactly what you might call "quality literature". It followed a pretty typical Australian bloke on his adventures in India and China and Pakistan, and had some funny bits in it. Mostly it was just nice to relax for a day, and sit on something that WASN'T a bike seat. The Rugby World Cup is in full swing over in France, and the All Blacks (New Zealand's national rugby team) are the favourites to win it. Yesterday they demolished Portugal 108 to 13 or something. Which was actually a far lower score than most people thought the All Blacks would score (Portugal is ranked as the worst team in the tournament). That was fun to watch--although because of the time difference, it didn't start until 11:00pm here, so I was up late watching it for fun. By the way, the National New Zealand Basketball team is called the "Tall Blacks"! I laughed out loud when I heard that. If people hadn't heard of the All blacks, they'd probably think it was the most racist and stereotyped name possible for a basketball team. Okay, time for some lunch. That was enough of a rambling entry as I can currently sustain.Hope you're doing well, whoever it is that's reading this.-Ben
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Hello Again!
So, sorry about that rather long delay of updates! Firstly, I added some pictures to the bottom of my blog, which you can click on to advance through. They are currently in reverse chronological order (a.k.a. most recent first), and only a few of them have been uploaded as of yet. I have been staying with my Aunt who lives in Wellington, in the suburb of Khandallah, atop an absolutely MONSTROUS hill (take a look at the pictures, and you'll see what I mean)--but there's a very nice view of Wellington Harbour (there's another name for it, but I forget what it is right now). I did a lot of roaming around the city, getting to know the kind of people and places I can expect in the future--as well as looking at NZ bank accounts, and getting my equivalent of a Social Security Number. I also went up to the top of Mt. Kaukau, near Wellington on the 27th.
I greatly enjoyed going to the Botanic Gardens, and poking around all of the different plants and trees--I especially liked those big, tall Nikau palms they had there, as well as their assortment of ferns. They had a very nice little greenhouse called the Begonia House, and there was a cafe within--but unfortunately the cafe didn't open until several days after (under construction). I walked back up a nice path through the woods, and took the cable car back down into central Wellington City.
I also took a foray into the National museum, Te Papa. It was very similar to the Science Museum of Minnesota in that there are lots of interactive, fun, and colourful exhibits to look at and experiment with--they even have an earthquake demo center, where you can go and stand in a little house and feel what a minor earthquake feels like!!
The people have been nice, but different. The other day I was walking around in a little store when a couple of construction workers came in to get something. One of the was wearing a Minnesota Twins cap! I did a double take, and then said something similar to: "Unghh??! A TWINS cap?!" and proceeded to stare blankly at his forehead with my jaw dropped. He was rather confused at first, and had no idea what I was talking about. I explained that he was wearing a baseball hat from back home in Minnesota, and that the team was called the "Twins", and the TC logo stood for "Twin Cities". He was joking around and said that he thought it stood for "Totally Cool". So, that was a little odd.
I pieced my bike together the first day I got there, but neglected to take it out for a ride until about 4 days into my stay at my Aunt's house. Wellington is NOT cyclist friendly. The hills are terrible (again, look at the pictures), the roads steep and narrow- as well as windy and curving (this is in the suburbs of Wellington, mind you--the city itself is quite flat). The drivers are impatient and unused to dealing with cyclists, and the wind...the wind can practically blow you uphill backwards with both brakes on! So, after spending half an hour getting down from where I am living. I promptly turned around and trudged my way back up. Another thing that has suprised me: it seems that every single bicycle I see out being ridden is a brand new, Carbon-fiber, $3,000 bike. I don't think I've seen a proper used bike my whole time here so far! That whole subset of culture is completely missing.
The sausage rolls here have been very good. The first two that I had were NZ$2.80 each, with 30 cents for one ketchup container. At the moment I thought they were a really god deal. They were a very tasty meal, and for a little more than NZ$6, not too expensive. However, the other day I was around the odd end of Wellington (Cuba Street, for those who know/care), when I found a very nice bakery. I think it was called "Elite Bakery," or something odd like that. I went in, and to my delight, sausage rolls there only cost $1.40 each! Half as much money!! Or, the way I looked at: Twice as much Sausage rolls!
Now, I'm up with my other Aunt, Uncle, and cousin, in Raumati, near Paraparaumu, and it is VERY nice up here. They are literally a stone's throw away from the beach and sea, just behind another house on top of a dune. The feed me very well up here, and I'm just up for the weekend at the moment. Yesterday I went for a longer ride on my bike, going about 60 kilometers--including a gigantic hill which was probably about half to one third of the distance!!! Not quite like back home. That was really nice, and I felt just about fine afterwards--the only thing being that I may have gently pulled something in my right shoulder. But doesn't hurt too bad, as I went our for a shorter (15k) mountain bike ride this morning by the sea (I borrowed my cousin's full-suspension mountain bike), which was extremely nice. After that, we went and poked around on the beach for a couple of hours, and looked at shells and other odd things which had washed up on the sand. I found some bamboo, and spent most of the time trying to make various implements out of it, including (but not limited to) bow and arrow, spitball gun, and flute (more or less in that order). Right now it's time for dinner, so I better go! (Pork roast, which I'm sure will be fantastic!)
Hope you're all having a good time, wherever you are!
-Ben
I greatly enjoyed going to the Botanic Gardens, and poking around all of the different plants and trees--I especially liked those big, tall Nikau palms they had there, as well as their assortment of ferns. They had a very nice little greenhouse called the Begonia House, and there was a cafe within--but unfortunately the cafe didn't open until several days after (under construction). I walked back up a nice path through the woods, and took the cable car back down into central Wellington City.
I also took a foray into the National museum, Te Papa. It was very similar to the Science Museum of Minnesota in that there are lots of interactive, fun, and colourful exhibits to look at and experiment with--they even have an earthquake demo center, where you can go and stand in a little house and feel what a minor earthquake feels like!!
The people have been nice, but different. The other day I was walking around in a little store when a couple of construction workers came in to get something. One of the was wearing a Minnesota Twins cap! I did a double take, and then said something similar to: "Unghh??! A TWINS cap?!" and proceeded to stare blankly at his forehead with my jaw dropped. He was rather confused at first, and had no idea what I was talking about. I explained that he was wearing a baseball hat from back home in Minnesota, and that the team was called the "Twins", and the TC logo stood for "Twin Cities". He was joking around and said that he thought it stood for "Totally Cool". So, that was a little odd.
I pieced my bike together the first day I got there, but neglected to take it out for a ride until about 4 days into my stay at my Aunt's house. Wellington is NOT cyclist friendly. The hills are terrible (again, look at the pictures), the roads steep and narrow- as well as windy and curving (this is in the suburbs of Wellington, mind you--the city itself is quite flat). The drivers are impatient and unused to dealing with cyclists, and the wind...the wind can practically blow you uphill backwards with both brakes on! So, after spending half an hour getting down from where I am living. I promptly turned around and trudged my way back up. Another thing that has suprised me: it seems that every single bicycle I see out being ridden is a brand new, Carbon-fiber, $3,000 bike. I don't think I've seen a proper used bike my whole time here so far! That whole subset of culture is completely missing.
The sausage rolls here have been very good. The first two that I had were NZ$2.80 each, with 30 cents for one ketchup container. At the moment I thought they were a really god deal. They were a very tasty meal, and for a little more than NZ$6, not too expensive. However, the other day I was around the odd end of Wellington (Cuba Street, for those who know/care), when I found a very nice bakery. I think it was called "Elite Bakery," or something odd like that. I went in, and to my delight, sausage rolls there only cost $1.40 each! Half as much money!! Or, the way I looked at: Twice as much Sausage rolls!
Now, I'm up with my other Aunt, Uncle, and cousin, in Raumati, near Paraparaumu, and it is VERY nice up here. They are literally a stone's throw away from the beach and sea, just behind another house on top of a dune. The feed me very well up here, and I'm just up for the weekend at the moment. Yesterday I went for a longer ride on my bike, going about 60 kilometers--including a gigantic hill which was probably about half to one third of the distance!!! Not quite like back home. That was really nice, and I felt just about fine afterwards--the only thing being that I may have gently pulled something in my right shoulder. But doesn't hurt too bad, as I went our for a shorter (15k) mountain bike ride this morning by the sea (I borrowed my cousin's full-suspension mountain bike), which was extremely nice. After that, we went and poked around on the beach for a couple of hours, and looked at shells and other odd things which had washed up on the sand. I found some bamboo, and spent most of the time trying to make various implements out of it, including (but not limited to) bow and arrow, spitball gun, and flute (more or less in that order). Right now it's time for dinner, so I better go! (Pork roast, which I'm sure will be fantastic!)
Hope you're all having a good time, wherever you are!
-Ben
Saturday, August 25, 2007
In Denver.
Hi, I'm currently at a pay-per-minute internet booth in Denver Int'l Airport where someone didn't use up all of their credit. The flight was delayed in MSP, but when I got on the airplane, the captain of the plane said that the crew had actually been in town since yesterday at 3pm, yet they had still delayed the flight, and he had no idea what was going on. So, that was a little strange <You have 3 minutes remaining...> See you later!
-Ben
-Ben
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Mr. Owl ate my metal worm.
I have bought my plane ticket! I will be leaving on the morning of the 24th of August--Here's a short list of great happenings since the 17th century which have happened on this illustrious day:
# 1814 - British troops invade Washington, D.C. and burn down the White House and several other buildings.
# 1816 - The Treaty of St. Louis is signed in St. Louis, Missouri.
# 1821 - The Treaty of Córdoba is signed in Córdoba, now in Veracruz, Mexico, concluding the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.
# 1831 - Charles Darwin is asked to travel on HMS Beagle.
# 1847 - Charlotte Brontë finishes Jane Eyre.
# 1853 - Potato chips are first prepared.
# 1857 - The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in U.S. history.
# 1858 - In Richmond, Virginia, 90 blacks are arrested for learning.
# 1870 - The Wolseley Expedition reaches Manitoba, and it ends the Red River Rebellion.
# 1875 - Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim English Channel
# 1891 - Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.
# 1909 - Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.
# 1912 - Alaska becomes a United States territory.
# 1914 - World War I: German troops capture Namur.
# 1929 - Riots in Palestine of 1929: 18 Jews in Safed, 67 in Hebron, and 22 in Jerusalem killed by Arab Palestinians.
# 1932 - Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).
# 1936 - The Australian Antarctic Territory is created.
# 1939 - The Nazi-Soviet Pact is signed between Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.
# 1944 - World War II: Allied troops start the attack on Paris.
# 1949 - The treaty creating NATO goes into effect.
# 1950 - Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the UN.
# 1954 - The Communist Control Act goes into effect. The American Communist Party is outlawed.
# 1960 - A temperature of −88°C (−127°F) is measured in Vostok, Antarctica — a world-record low.
# 1963 - The 200-metre freestyle is swum in less than 2 minutes for the first time by Don Schollander (1:58).
# 1967 - Led by Abbie Hoffman, a group of hippies temporarily disrupt trading at the NYSE by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing a cease in trading as the brokers scramble to grab them up.
# 1989 - Colombian drug barons declare "total war" on the Colombian government.
# 1989 - Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
# 1990 - A judge rules that Judas Priest are not responsible for the deaths of two youths who committed suicide after listening to the band's music.
# 1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
# 1992 - Diplomatic relations are established between the People's Republic of China and South Korea.
# 1992 - Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida as a Category 5 Hurricane.
# 1995 - Windows 95, a computer operating system by Microsoft, is released with much fanfare.
And last, but possibly most tragic (although the release of Windows 95 is a very close contender):
# 2006 - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is no longer considered a planet.
(I guess I have to give wikipedia credit for the origin of this list--although I culled it down)
So, as you can clearly see, August the 24th is a day meant for glory and greatness! It is with this grand and noble history (and an extremely pompous and cliché tone of voice) that I set off into the unknown, my journey a mere footnote 'neath the accomplishments of the champions of the past. Oh, and by the way, the titles of my blogs so far have been palindromes that I was particularly fond of.
# 1814 - British troops invade Washington, D.C. and burn down the White House and several other buildings.
# 1816 - The Treaty of St. Louis is signed in St. Louis, Missouri.
# 1821 - The Treaty of Córdoba is signed in Córdoba, now in Veracruz, Mexico, concluding the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.
# 1831 - Charles Darwin is asked to travel on HMS Beagle.
# 1847 - Charlotte Brontë finishes Jane Eyre.
# 1853 - Potato chips are first prepared.
# 1857 - The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in U.S. history.
# 1858 - In Richmond, Virginia, 90 blacks are arrested for learning.
# 1870 - The Wolseley Expedition reaches Manitoba, and it ends the Red River Rebellion.
# 1875 - Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim English Channel
# 1891 - Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.
# 1909 - Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.
# 1912 - Alaska becomes a United States territory.
# 1914 - World War I: German troops capture Namur.
# 1929 - Riots in Palestine of 1929: 18 Jews in Safed, 67 in Hebron, and 22 in Jerusalem killed by Arab Palestinians.
# 1932 - Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).
# 1936 - The Australian Antarctic Territory is created.
# 1939 - The Nazi-Soviet Pact is signed between Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.
# 1944 - World War II: Allied troops start the attack on Paris.
# 1949 - The treaty creating NATO goes into effect.
# 1950 - Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the UN.
# 1954 - The Communist Control Act goes into effect. The American Communist Party is outlawed.
# 1960 - A temperature of −88°C (−127°F) is measured in Vostok, Antarctica — a world-record low.
# 1963 - The 200-metre freestyle is swum in less than 2 minutes for the first time by Don Schollander (1:58).
# 1967 - Led by Abbie Hoffman, a group of hippies temporarily disrupt trading at the NYSE by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing a cease in trading as the brokers scramble to grab them up.
# 1989 - Colombian drug barons declare "total war" on the Colombian government.
# 1989 - Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
# 1990 - A judge rules that Judas Priest are not responsible for the deaths of two youths who committed suicide after listening to the band's music.
# 1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
# 1992 - Diplomatic relations are established between the People's Republic of China and South Korea.
# 1992 - Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida as a Category 5 Hurricane.
# 1995 - Windows 95, a computer operating system by Microsoft, is released with much fanfare.
And last, but possibly most tragic (although the release of Windows 95 is a very close contender):
# 2006 - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is no longer considered a planet.
(I guess I have to give wikipedia credit for the origin of this list--although I culled it down)
So, as you can clearly see, August the 24th is a day meant for glory and greatness! It is with this grand and noble history (and an extremely pompous and cliché tone of voice) that I set off into the unknown, my journey a mere footnote 'neath the accomplishments of the champions of the past. Oh, and by the way, the titles of my blogs so far have been palindromes that I was particularly fond of.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Drab as a fool, aloof as a bard!
Next school year, I will be deferring my admission to Reed College in Portland, OR, and traveling to New Zealand. In New Zealand, I hope to bicycle-tour my way around the beautiful countryside, and to become a migrant worker, picking apples and kiwis, working in vineyards, the like. I hope to update this blog semi-regularly, although I'm not so sure how that'll work out. Pictures and recounts of adventures will most likely find their way up here, as a way for all of you to track my escapades and travels.
At the moment, I have not considered my route a great deal, and am slowly piecing together a list of things that I will need to gather before my epic quest for...what exactly am I questing for, anyways?! I think I will be leaving around the same time as all the rest of my classmates head off to their respective colleges, some time in late August or early September. I may update this as further developments occur, or I may not. Just remember this: As soon as you're not looking at my blog, it is both updated and not-updated at the same time. I guess the only way to know for sure if there is anything new here is to check back frequently. Or subscribe to the Atom feed.
-Ben
At the moment, I have not considered my route a great deal, and am slowly piecing together a list of things that I will need to gather before my epic quest for...what exactly am I questing for, anyways?! I think I will be leaving around the same time as all the rest of my classmates head off to their respective colleges, some time in late August or early September. I may update this as further developments occur, or I may not. Just remember this: As soon as you're not looking at my blog, it is both updated and not-updated at the same time. I guess the only way to know for sure if there is anything new here is to check back frequently. Or subscribe to the Atom feed.
-Ben
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