They serve coffee in bowls here.

Well, large coffees.

I've found a place where there's wifi--a bagel shop called Wholly Bagels--so I can post some of the photos I took at Castle Point.

This is the view we had a 30-second walk out of our back door. We couldn't see the lighthouse from inside the bunk house, but we could see the water.

Notice the moon? I took this around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. The moon would rise around 1 or 2, and then go down around 1 or 2 in the morning.

I think this is the best photo I have to show what the reef/lighthouse looked like. The reef is the inverted-comma looking thing in the middle, and there was another outcropping you can't see that almost made it a lagoon (well, you can see the edge of the other part, but it just looks like part of the rock unless you know exactly what you're looking for). If you follow the narrow part of the reef off to the left, that's where the lighthouse is. If you look at the water, it looks kind of like a cursive E. The upper section of sand would get flooded at high tide, cutting you off.

This is the rock we climbed (the far left here is the other side of the reef--this photo would go to the right of the panoramic). To try and put it into perspective, the flat part of the tiny point about 1/3 in from the right could hold 4 people--at least--lying down. If you didn't care about falling to your death, that is.

The path was just about this steep for the entire climb up the rock.

Again, perspective: the three people would be about the size of the tiny bumps just to the right of the path in the picture before (follow the path all the way to the edge, and there are two small bumps).

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Rain, rain, a lighthouse, and more rain.

After five days (I think--I'm losing track of all exact dates and days of the week) in Castlepoint, we're back in Wellington. We'll spend two days here, and then head up to Rotarua for the hot springs and four days, and then we're off to Auckland for two days, and then home. It's all very depressing. I like it here (in case you couldn't already tell).
Castlepoint was beautiful. There wasn't much to do--the town has a permanent population of 20--but it was nice to have time to write the essays that we need to. The internet connection here doesn't allow me to upload photos, so I'll just have to wait until we're at a place where there's wifi. Until then:
There's a lighthouse at Castlepoint, and you have to cross a stretch of beach to get there, so at high tide, you can get stuck on what becomes a tiny reef island (it's a lot easier if you can see it in photos). We went up the first night, and it was so clear you could see the Milky Way. We went up plenty more times at varying times of day and in all different kinds of weather; we also climbed Castle Rock--it's high, and the wind was intense. We've got pictures of people leaning into the wind at almost a 45 degree angle. Again, photos to come.
We also went up to Mt. Bruce, where we got to see the native birdlife. They're all pretty (not like you can tell in all of my pictures), except for the kiwi. They're just cute.
Other than that, we really just sat around and worked on our essays. Okay, so we didn't do that as much as it sounds like, but from dinner on, there were always at least two people working. The days were usually devoted to hiking, watching the sunrises, and drying out from doing the first two. We got a proper Southerly, and it was cold. There was lots of rain--cold rain--blowing at obscene angles, so even if you were in rain gear, you got wet. Wet and cold. The best wet and cold I've ever experienced.
Tomorrow we're on our own to explore Wellington. My current plans contain: the botanical garden, Te Papa (again--it's the museum here, and we went the day we left for Masterton), Old St. Paul's, and Wellington Cathedral; all weather-willing. There's rain here, too, although it's not blowing at too bad of angles.

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foodstuffs

We leave for Castlepoint early(ish) tomorrow morning, and it's decently late (well, 11:00, but that's late for us now), so I'll make this short. Maybe.

The last few days have contained a lot of "here & there" type things--and, unfortunately, it takes a fair amount of driving to get from "here" to "there," so I know the inside of our vans pretty well.

1. Bush tramping was spectacular. There are over 150 kinds of ferns here, and I believe it. There are some that look like palm trees. I've been trying to figure out a way to describe the bush here, but the best I can come up with is a combination of Point Defiance, the Hoh, and Hawaii (but that's still missing something). We hiked in a couple of different places, and, at the first, we had to cross a gorge to do any sort of real tramping. On a suspension bridge. Did I mention I hate heights? Yes, it was worth it, but I had a few moments of feeling like my tonsils had dropped to my hips.

2. We toured Barry Kempton's farm (he's a friend of Brian's) and got to see his dogs round up the sheep. I love the sheep. I obviously did not grow up on a farm.

3. After the farm, we went wine tasting (and I learned there's a reason New Zealand is known for its whites and not its reds) and then stopped at Schoc Chocolate. Forget Swiss chocolate. Schoc has all different kinds of really unique chocolate, from rose to smoked paprika to white lemon (the chocolate is white) to sea salt to my personal favorite, Earl Grey.

4. We got the chance to visit a Marae, which is the meeting place for the Maori. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, beyond maybe...enlightening? but that's the wrong word. It was one of those "this is a really old place" (not the Marae itself, but the culture and the country).

5. Last night, we went to a reading of two NZ authors, Charlotte Grimshaw and Paula Morris. And I, of course, bought a book. But I haven't finished it yet!

6. Tonight, we went to a one-man show called "The World's a Stage" that was a reflection (an on-stage essay, almost) of Shakespeare's works. He did it all (Hamlet, Lady M., Mercutio, Lear, Falstaff...), and he did it all very, very well.

7. And, lastly: everything I ate today was wonderful (hence the title). Coffee in the morning (they've got great coffee here). Lunch was sushi (tuna, salmon, and crab). Dinner was fish & chips (and the strips were massive--longer than my hand). Some kind of white fish (whatever was caught this morning) with a magical batter.

And, around 3-ish, I had gelato. Kiwi gelato. And I do believe that is all I need say on that.

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Color Analysis .1

Since this is a writing course, we have some writing assignments due. One of them is entirely up to us, and I've decided to do a color analysis. One of the things that's struck me is the intensity of some of the colors, and all of the subtle differences (I don't think I've ever seen more shades of green in my entire life). I just invented the term "color analysis," but my goal is to impart the essence of the color by connecting it to something that describes it without...describing it.

Terraced Hills

Green, brown: base.

The green of cool summer sunrises, when there is no spectacular color change, simply the slow shift from black through every shade of blue it's too painful to name. The summer morning when you receive the phone call, letting you know that they're gone--dead, or no longer care, and it breaks your heart not to cry, but it breaks your heart to cry even more, and no matter what you do, the fragments of what used to move your blood fall through the cracks in your fingers, to the ground between your feet. They bloom there, in great white blossoms that smell of rain and heartache, and you want to scatter them to the wind, but, but the green stem against your fingertips is too elegant to bear.

The brown of the summer afternoon you were riding your bike without training wheels, the one that whistled and flapped up and down the block, because that was as far as you were allowed to go. You fell, as you were trying to ride up over the curb, because your older, wiser friend who lived next door last year said it was easy. Your knee hurt, so you limped home, only to discover the front door and garage locked, and you were too short to reach the latch on the fence. So you sit on the bottom front step, and only then do you discover your elbow has been badly skinned--at least that's what you believe--with pebbles caught in your red-rimmed flesh, stuck against your childhood nails.

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Path of the Dead

Some photos from the train ride:

Today, I can say for certain that I have arrived in New Zealand. Masterton isn't the middle of nowhere, but it's not a huge city (only about 8,000 people). It's all rolling country and massive, snow-capped mist-shrouded mountains and tiny trickling streams that have worn away great gorges.

Yesterday, we met Brian, a pastor who worked here about 15 years ago (he'll be with us until we go back to Wellington in a couple of weeks), and he introduced us to Colin and Jenny, a British couple who have been here for over 30 years. They are, I believe, some of the most friendly people I've ever met. They had us over for dinner last night and gave us the natural history of NZ; the high points being:

1. The only mammal here before the Europeans came was a kind of bat, so all of the birds became flightless (the kiwi, we have decided, is a feathered pear with a beak).

2. Rabbits: one of the most destructive things ever introduced here.

3. There are 4 million people here, and 75 million sheep.

4. The bush used to be so thick that the stretch called 40 Mile Bush needed lanterns along the cleared path at midday.

5. Southerlies (winds from the south) are evil: they blow off Antarctica and keep going until they hit the southern part of the North Island.

Today, we drove to the coast with Colin and Jenny to see some of the more spectacular parts of the area. On the way, we stopped to see Cook Strait. We could kind of see the South Island, but it was a bit foggy.

Then it was on to the wildlife.

New Zealand Fur Seals (of the baby variety):

They weren't afraid of us at all. A couple got so close to some people that they could have petted them. There weren't any adults in the general area, so we didn't need to worry about being mauled by a seal (although that would be quite the story).

On our way back, we stopped at Putangirua Pinnacles, which are spectacular in their own right, but also happened to be our first movie set here: it's where Jackson shot the Path of the Dead for Return of the King.

Tomorrow should be interesting: we're taking a hike through the bush. From what I've seen (which has been cleared of all of the really big trees), it's all really, really thick. Brian also told us to prepare for "cold" and "muddy." The word "wet" may have also occurred. I can't wait.

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Wellington

We arrived in Wellington around 6:30 last night, after what was supposed to be a 12-hour train ride but ended up being a 6-hour train ride and a 6-hour bus ride. It really didn't make much of a difference to me, but then again, I'm tiny and can fit just about anywhere, unlike Mike, who's well over six feet and has difficulty fitting into some cars.
The scenery was beautiful, especially after we got out of Auckland--it started looking like the New Zealand photos/footage I've seen (no Hobbit holes, though. That's on the northern tip of the island, and tentatively on the schedule for later). Unfortunately, I can't put up photos, since I'm not on my laptop, but I took some rather good pictures for travleing at 50-100 KPH. There was a mountain, and lots of sheep.
We're leaving in about two hours for Masterton, which we're hoping is more like the scenery we passed on the way here, and less like the cities--they're interesting, but there isn't a terrible lot to delineate them from any other city anywhere else in the world (except for the modern architecture. They have every city I've ever seen beat hands down for the number of modern buildings). On the other hand, being out in the middle of a possible nowhere does mean I'm not as likely to have internet connection, so please just bear with me. I'll do everything I can.

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Auckland

I love to walk. This is a good thing. A very good thing.

The past two days, we have walked everywhere in this city. Yesterday, we wandered the downtown and wharf, and eventually came across a restaurant that had the best lamb I've ever tasted (sorry, Granny; if it's any consolation, we were hungry). Eventually, we found ourselves in Albert Park, where we saw some of the largest trees any of us have ever seen (they remind me of Old Man Willow from The Fellowship of the Ring).

On the other side of Albert Park is the University of Auckland. It's a beautiful campus. And, of course, the plant life is incredible.

Today, we took an early(ish) morning hike up Mt. Eden, and we could see the entire city from the edge of the crater (smackdab in the middle of the mountain).

We then continued to the Auckland Museum, which has more wood carvings than I knew existed in the entire world.

Already, I feel like I have a decent handle on this city. It's well laid-out, and there are enough landmarks to remember where to turn. And the people here are really nice.

Although I really like Auckland, there isn't much here that's too terribly different from some American cities (it reminds me a bit of Portland). I can't wait to head out to Wellington tomorrow, and then to Masterton, since we'll be more "out in the middle of nowhere."

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We're here!

We're here! We're here! We're here!

We landed in Auckland about two hours ago, and everything went smoothly--until we discovered Dr. Bob's bag is still in LA. However, on the upside, we did befriend a biohazard security guard, whose other job is a famer, which here, includes sheep. Lots of sheep.
So far, there isn't much we've seen, except for what's out the windows of the van on our way to our hostel. But it's beautiful--lots of water, lots of trees (green!), and mountains. With craters. There will be more to say, I'm sure, in the next few days, after we've been exploring. But we're here!

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A good reason to learn times tables.

I can go up to 12x12. This guy can square 3 digit numbers faster than a calculator, and can square 5 digit numbers--all in his head.

Arthur Benjamin does "Mathemagic" | Video on TED.com

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x=28 hours

That's right. In a mere 28 hours, I will be on my way to New Zealand. Observe:

For me, the trip continues tomorrow. I'm back at school, after a 2-hour flight from DIA (I'm just considering this an extra-long layover). Tomorrow, we leave around 1:30 for Chicago, and then we'll fly to LAX before departing on a 12-hour 45-minute flight for Auckland, where we'll land on the 13th of May, local time.

We'll be in Auckland for two days, and then on the 15th, we have a 12-hour train ride to Wellington (on the southern tip), and then head out to Masterton on the next day (north and a little east from Wellington). From there, we'll be taking day trips (yes, I'll be hiking--10-15 miles a day, even).

On the 28th, we'll head back to Wellington for two days, and then from the 30th-2nd, we're on our own. We have nothing planned or scheduled, and it's up to the eight of us to decide what we want to do. The only requirement is that we be back in Auckland on the evening of the 3rd, and then, after another two days there, we'll fly back.

I can't wait.

I'm currently, for the class, reading The Bone People by Keri Hulme, a Maori writer. I particularly like this passage in the beginning:

"She had debated, in the frivolity of the beginning, whether to build a hole or a tower; a hole, because she was fond of hobbits, or a tower -- well, a tower for many reasons, but chiefly because she liked spiral stairways.

"As time went on, and she thought over the pros and cons of each, the idea of a tower became increasingly exciting; a star-gazing platform on the top; a quiet library, book-lined, with a ring of swords on the nether wall; a bedroom, mediaeval style, with massive roof-beams and a plain hewn bed; there'd be a living room with a huge fireplace, and rows of spicejars on one wall, and underneath, on the ground level, an entrance hall hung with tapestries, and the beginnings of the spiral stairway, handrails dolphin-headed, saluting the air."

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