[ October 01, 2004, 05:48 PM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Ya know, it's not nice to get our hopes up.
Take lots of photos - I've always wanted to see New Zealand's natural splendor.
Other than the sheep, obviously.
-Trevor
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I'm dying of jealousy.
Just so you know.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Be careful!
(Dave and I have been discussing our envy.)
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Have fun!
Posted by Eduardo_Sauron (Member # 5827) on :
Bye! Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I'm saving for New Zealand...
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I want my turny goodness!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
We want pictures! Including some with both twinky and tt&t.
Have fun, twink! Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
Now, if you came to Poland instead of New Zealand, I could perhaps complete my new quest for Canadian babies.
Posted by Chaeron (Member # 744) on :
I could come to Poland Kama...
Posted by Chaeron (Member # 744) on :
Oh, and godspeed Twinky. Please post plenty pictures.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Curse New Zealand.
You better not slow up the game, twinky. . .
Have fun!
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
*goes to find Chaeron's pics on foobonic*
Yes, you could.
Posted by Zamphyr (Member # 6213) on :
Disappointed by the thread title, happy at the contents. How long will you be there ?
Enjoy Middle-Earth!
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
quote:Now, if you came to Poland instead of New Zealand, I could perhaps complete my new quest for Canadian babies.
twinky's mine.
I think the quest for American babies could still happen.
[ September 13, 2004, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: katharina ]
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
You can't have all my men, Katie.
Besides, I don't think John would have approved of Taal and me producing babies in his swimming pool.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I don't have any. Dave can't stop talking about you. He'll go to Poland for a photoshoot sometime.
*explains* twinky had a dream about a year ago where he proposed to me. I still think that's adorable.
[ September 13, 2004, 09:11 AM: Message edited by: katharina ]
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Greetings from the far side of the world!
I will post pictures as soon as I am able. I took a whole bunch today. This is the most beautiful country I have ever been in, bar none (that includes a good chunk of Europe, the Middle East, and of course North America).
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Hey Twinky,
Is it true you can tour The Shire?
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I think so, though I don't intend to do any LotR-related things. I do, however, occasionally look out the window and think "oh, we're passing through Rohan."
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Yay you made it! NZ is indeed beautiful. Glad you like it!
I shall reply to your email just as soon as I think up appropriate answers. Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Hi, twinky.
Hope you are having a great time. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I've been writing a travelogue of sorts. Perhaps at some stage I'll set up a travel section on my website and document my trip. That'd be kinda fun, though I suppose I may not have time until I get back to Canada later next month... In any case, here are some highlights so far:
Day 1: We flew Halifax-Boston (YHZ-BOS) on a little Dash-8. Great planes. Boston's public transit is pretty cheap.
Day 2: BOS-LAX was on a 757 (oddly, the overwater model). I always get window seats so I was front row centre for our little tour of America. Once you get to the middle, America looks pretty big and brown. We did a sweet flyby of the Grand Canyon that was really, really cool. That sucker is enormous. LA is big and smelly, and the airport shut down the afternoon we were there because of communications problems. Fortunately our flight wasn't delayed, and even more fortunately we got to wait in the executive class lounge (mum and dad flew business class while I was relegated to sitting with the proletariat). The lounge offered comfortable seats, free food, free drinks (notably nice New Zealand beer), a big-screen TV (not, sadly, tuned in to the World Cup of Hockey -- which Canada won! Woo!), and computers for internet access and whatnot. I wasn't able to post, though; some weird browser configuration (cookies blocked, perhaps) resulted in Hatrack telling me that there was no one registered with the name "twinky." I suspected that I had been banned.
In any case, we got on the plane okay (a 747)...
Day 3: ...but I couldn't sleep. Boo! So I watched Starsky & Hutch, 13 Going On 30, and an Inspector Lyndley mystery. The flight was 12 hours and I slept perhaps two. This was madew up for by the ease of our Auckland-Christchurch flight and the supreme coolness of the Air New Zealand staff, who came by every little while and insisted that I drink some water.
The Rest: Well, I met a lot of family. A LOT. Fortunately I get on pretty well with all of them, which is great. They're a cool bunch. Touristy highlights of the last few days include a rugby game at Lancaster Park (er... Jade Stadium, I guess, but dad refuses to call it that) -- Canterbury gave Southland a sound thrashing (52-13 or something ridiculous). We got to watch the game from the Committee Room because dad was on the Canterbury rugby union for something like ten years and has lifetime seats in the stadium for his contributions to the game. So we were sitting in a perfectly located glass-walled room and had a spectacular view of the entire field (and, at halftime, the cheerleaders). I actually understand how rugby works now, more or less, so it was great fun to watch even though I had to get all dressed up.
Then yesterday we went on a driving tour of the peninsula Christchurch is sort of on. We were out that way to go to a rugby game, one of my... well, I guess he's my step-nephew, but that sounds kind of lame, I think of them more as cousins... in any case, he was playing in a 64 kg and under tournament. After the game we drove around on what I'd call mountains but were actually only just hills. This was what looked like Rohan, only way better because of the Pacific ocean. I took a zillion pictures.
Right, time to shower and start the day (it's 9 AM here). Further bulletins as events warrent (points to anyone who catches that sly reference).
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Yay, twinky! Keep writing!
*absorbed
(er, is "warrent" a hockey reference?)
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Whoops, that should be "warrant." I'm lame. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*ignores dissing of hometown*
I wondered if anyone I knew was affected by that shutdown. Lucky your flight wasn't delayed or rerouted!
Glad you're having fun.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
*wildly jealous of the rugby game* Did your dad actually play rugby?! We watch it pretty religously on Fox Sports World.
AJ
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
AJ, My dad played rugby until the concussions became a mite too frequent.
Rivka, I didn't really get a very good impression of LA. The sights I took in included the airport, a Days Inn where we slept for the afternoon, the Arby's next to it (which served good sandwiches), and two porn stores whose presence I noted with some amusement (one was adjacent to the Arby's, the other was across the street). And that was LA.
The air was, however, very smelly. Here in NZ, however, the air is distinctly NOT smelly.
Today's update:
Today was comparatively low-key. We got up fairly late and roamed around downtown Christchurch with no plans. The town square is really nice, and the town hall has some seriously cool spherical fountains near it. The cathedral is nice. Then we went to visit another of dad's old friends. I had a grand time with them, actually.
After the visit we went down to the beach. The Pacific Ocean is pretty nice. (Did I mention that the cool thing about flying transpacific on a 747 is that you can tell the world is round?) We went out on a long concrete pier (maybe 200 m) -- I'd've said NZ is pierless, but clearly it is not (awaits groans from the audience). The pier was attached to a library-cum-community centre, which was really cool. They had listening posts with various genres of music, they had PS2s and beanbag chairs, they had a kiddie room, a café, and internet terminals. Oh, right, and books. It WAS a library, after all.
There was someone doing a massive piece of sand art on the beach. It's probably been washed away by now (the tide's coming in), but it was really impressive.
Then we went grocery shopping. I swear that if I ever get married it'll be to a Kiwi, the accent is just too much to bear. I get shivers. If the health care system wasn't two-tiered and I didn't have my parents to think about, I'd move here in a heartbeat.
Oh, yeah. I had a Hatrack dream last night. Not sure what brought that on. All I remember is meeting AJ in a hotel lobby and getting a big hug.
Right, dinnertime. More later.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*laugh* So you're evaluating L.A. by the airport and surrounding area? Much of that isn't even IN Los Angeles (it's Inglewood)! And certainly it's hardly representative.
*muses* I bet you're returning via LAX while I'm out of the country. In any case, you likely don't have time for me to take you on a tour -- however brief -- of some of my favorite spots in L.A. 'Tis a shame.
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
quote: If ..., I'd move here in a heartbeat.
People should TOTally move here. No ifs! Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Right, which is why I mentioned LA only in passing. It IS big, and you can't deny that it IS smelly (Edit: By 'smelly' I pretty much mean that it's a big city. Cities reek of car exhaust to me, and I noticed it especially in LA). Both of these things are true.
On the way back I'm only passing through LA, not stopping there. We won't even have time to leave LAX before heading on to Vancouver.
I'm not doing anything tonight (unless my step-nephew Hamish calls, in which case I'll be taking in the Christchurch nightlife and a large number of alcoholic beverages, but I believe he's working), so I plan to chip away at my book (Cryptonomicon), perhaps play some GBA, and maybe flesh out the skimpy bits of the travelogue/diary I've been doing. Oh, and write some postcards.
[ September 20, 2004, 04:11 AM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by Zotto! (Member # 4689) on :
*still wildly jealous of Twink*
quote:I swear that if I ever get married it'll be to a Kiwi, the accent is just too much to bear. I get shivers.
A-freaking-men, brotha.
Glad to hear you're having a goodtime, dude. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Thanks, Zotto.
We have made an itinerary of sorts, which means that I can now pinpoint with pin-like precision (unf, dig that alliterative action, baby) the juncture at which I am most likely to meet the lovely tt&t.
Woo for Hatrack.co.nz!
I have also written a postcard. It will be mailed (hopefully) tomorrow. It contains, among other things, a marriage proposal.
("It felt weird to START filming with Mal's death...")
In other news, I love my iPod. I'm sitting here, nearly as far as I can get from my birthplace, and listening to all of the same tunes that I was listening to last week on the other side of the world -- and what's more, on a better stereo. Actually (begin digression), the friend we were staying with earlier on had some sort of $4k überstereo, it was flat-out orgasmic to listen to. After we went on our tour of the hills and whatnot the other day, I ran straight to his stereo and listened to Stralafúr by Sigur Rós (and, I confess, got shivers because it was so beautiful to hear through such high-quality speakers).
Anyway, back on the subject of the iPod, it also contains backups of all of my important data from home, including a bunch of pictures, which came in useful just now as I emailed one to tt&t to help her recognize me. Woo!
Bedtime. I still haven't fully gotten over the time shift. Being 17 hours out is awkward.
*zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Wow, I was in a hatrack dream?! That's a first.
*still wildly jealous about the rugby*
AJ
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
quote:Much of that isn't even IN Los Angeles (it's Inglewood)! And certainly it's hardly representative.
Eh? Is Imperial the dividing line? Because I was pretty sure LAX was in El Segundo, what with it having been right across the street from my old office building. And come on, when you're as far away as Canada, even Orange County counts as L.A.
...
Actually, from what I can tell, Imperial is the dividing line, but LAX is mainly in Westchester, which is apparently actually part of the City of Los Angeles. Inglewood doesn't go west of La Cienega, at least not near LAX.
[ September 20, 2004, 12:40 PM: Message edited by: saxon75 ]
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I was not referring to LAX itself, but the hotels and such nearby, which I assumed twinky was reacting to. While some are in L.A. (and some in Westchester), I think the majority are in Inglewood.
I could be mistaken. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
*yawns and stretches*
Good morning, everyone.
Today we're going back to downtown Christchurch, there's an art gallery and a museum and some other stuff to see. I may go paddling/kayaking on the Avon river if it warms up a bit.
Further bulletins as events warrant. Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
quote:I was not referring to LAX itself, but the hotels and such nearby, which I assumed twinky was reacting to. While some are in L.A. (and some in Westchester), I think the majority are in Inglewood.
Ah, could be, could be. I'm not really sure where the airport hotels are, so I bow to your superior and more native knowledge. Still, while the LAX area is nowhere near the best part of LA, it's not the worst either. At least, I'm pretty sure it isn't. By the way, where do you really stand on the LA / not LA breakdown? It's been my experience that Angelenos are usually pretty specific when talking to other people from the area, but are pretty forgiving when people from outside include other cities or even counties in "LA."
Um... Sorry to wreck your New Zealand thread, twink.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
S'ok. Nothing can spoil my good mood today, because...
Today so far: As advertised, we went downtown again, stopping to go to the Christchurch art gallery, "Te Puna O Waiwhetu." Just before that we drove right round the old teachers' college where dad went to school and ultimately taught for quite a while. I mention this because our tour guide in the gallery (which is free, by the way) turned out to be one of dad's former students, and she remembered him on sight. (The more time I spend here the more I realize just how amazing my dad is and how many lives he's touched over the years. It's unbelievable.) In any case, we went 'round the gallery, which actually has some lovely works (and some not-so-lovely modern foolishness, but that's ok). Also, the building itself is gorgeous -- sort of like the Guggenheim in Spain only in glass and IMO much nicer to look at.
After the gallery, we drove up the port hills through a wealthy district called Cashmere (pronounced "Kashmir" but not related to the marvellous Zep song). We had tea and scones at the Sign of the Takahe (and were served by a tall, slim, dark-haired, STUNNING waitress with a shivers-and-chills sexy accent who very obligingly took a picture of the three of us), then went over to a great look-off point near the restaurant to take some gorgeous pictures. The trouble with the pictures is that dad forgot the USB cable for his camera back in Nova Scotia, and the one that belongs to my camera doesn't fit. We've borrowed about a million cables from friends but none of them has the right camera connector. So now we've got a memory card's worth of pictures but no way to empty the card to take more! Fortunately we have my digital camera (which is older and not as nice) and and also mum's conventional point-and-shoot. We'll manage, I guess, but it would be nice to have that cable.
Later this afternoon we're going out to visit my eldest step-sibling and his family again. Unfortunately his eldest son, Hamish, won't be there (I get along very well with him because he's only four or five years younger than me), but it'll still be a good time because the family are all pretty awesome.
Tomorrow we depart on the first leg of our trek to the North Island; we're heading up to the Queen Charlotte sounds to something called a "batch" (it seems to be a "cottage") that one of my step-siblings and his family just bought. You can't drive there, though, so we'll park the care in Picton on the coast and he'll pick us up in his snazzy new boat. How he can afford this stuff I'm not entirely certain, but mine is not to ask such questions.
Woo!
Posted by RRR (Member # 6601) on :
*very jealous* *really enjoying your posts*
quote: something called a "batch"
Bach. It's a small vacation home. So, yeah, basically what you said. Heh.
*has studied NZ slang*
You should ask someone there what fanny means if you didn't know already.
[ September 20, 2004, 11:00 PM: Message edited by: RRR ]
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I DO know what a fanny is.
*wiggles*
Posted by RRR (Member # 6601) on :
O_O You do? Really? And you're wiggling it? O_O
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*laugh* I'm geographically impaired, so it amuses me to have my word taken on any geographically-related issue (even when I'm relatively certain (mostly because I helped a friend find likely hotels a few months back) that I'm right).
As far as "in L.A. / not in L.A." I was mostly defending L.A. Some of my favorite bits of L.A. are in Venice, Beverly Hills, and so on. Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
I hope he means he knows what a fanny is in American-ese.
... Yeah, I really hope that.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Lesson learned. Obviously I did NOT know.
Now I'm curious as to the etymology of the NZ slang, though. I will have to Google some more.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Oh, right, I forgot tonight's update. Tonight was family stuff, which was really cool because I introduced my 15-year-old step-nephew to Tool. He's into Metallica and other heavy stuff, so I'm just giving him a little nudge toward the cream of the crop. He likes dirt bikes. He's got a guitar, though he doesn't play much; I played it a bit last time (he was most impressed by my Metallica repertoire and also my quick rendition of the first Velvet Revolver single) but this time his younger brother showed off his own musical talent: the youngest one, I discovered, is an astonishingly good bagpiper.
Also, their dog is big and agreeable.
And they drink. More than I normally would at this sort of social gathering. That appears to be a family trait, though, because all three half-brothers do it (and of course I have to keep pace with them, you know, ego and all that). I find it very difficult to think of the three brothers as my brothers, though (and it's impossible for me to think of their wives as my sisters, that's just a non-starter). The youngest one is nearly double my age. But I can't think of them as uncles, either, because uncles were always much older than that -- closer to my parents' ages, obviously. So I guess I think of them as some weird hybrid of uncle and cousin. Their kids I definitely think of with cousin-feelings, though some of the younger ones make passable nephews.
Thankfully, though, there is no weirdness, just lots of wholesome goodness, so at the end of the day it doesn't really matter how I think of them because we have a good time regardless.
It's only quarter to ten, but we're getting up early in the morning so that we can drive up to the Queen Charlotte Sounds... so I'm going to bed with my GBA and my copy of Cryptonomicon (which, incidentally, is a great book so far -- Neal Stephenson).
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
This just all sounds so wonderful. I'm glad you're having a good time. Insanely jealous, too, of course, but mostly glad. Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
quote:I find it very difficult to think of the three brothers as my brothers, though (and it's impossible for me to think of their wives as my sisters, that's just a non-starter). The youngest one is nearly double my age.
It's interesting, Juliette has a similar situation. Her half-sister and half-brother are just over and just under forty, while her whole sister and brother are 19 and 14. The relationship she has with her older sibs is interesting; it's not really like what I think of as a sibling relationship, but it's also not really like an aunt or uncle. I think it's pretty cool, myself.
I am, by the way, just as jealous of you as everyone else in this thread. Possibly more jealous than some.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
It IS cool. I'm definitely planning to come back in the future.
I think I'll be AFK for a few days but I'll bump this thread upon my return with updates. Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
*dance*
twinky called me earlier, and all going well, I get to meet him tomorrow! Yay!
Also, twinky, it's a pity you're coming over on the ferry at night, it's a beautiful trip. Although it is a clear night here, so it might be nice anyway. Hopefully!
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
I'm half-real!
So, twinky and I were going to have lunch today, but apparently this morning he decided it would be more fun to get me out of bed and make me rush to meet him for an early brunch, bloodshot eyes and all.
We had pancakes with bacon and maple syrup at the Occ, and turns out not only is he nice, cute, and not scary at all, but he doesn't like bananas, he's rather talkative and very interesting... and complimentary.
'Twas great to meet him. Oh! And I got a hand delivered, signed copy of his album, which, by the way, is awesome.
And now I'm sad that I won't get to see him again for a long time. ::sigh::
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
I'm jealous. Of both of you. And hungry.
Posted by RRR (Member # 6601) on :
Yaay!
I'm jealous too. And hungry as well. I want bacon... No bananas, though. *doesn't like them either*
Posted by Zevlag (Member # 1405) on :
Hehe. I ditto all three of those Sax. meep!
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Can't say much right now, we're at a internet cafe and mum wants to use the time we bought on this terminal to write messages to relatives, but I'll try to post in more detail later tonight or in the next couple of days.
First, tt&t rocks.
Second, I got to drive a jet boat!
Oh yeah, did I mention that tt&t rocks? And that she's super-cute? Yeah. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
OK, I'm using a paid internet terminal in a map store at the moment, so this will be another brief update. In perhaps a week's time I'll be back in Christchurch and will properly update the travelogue.
First, the couple of days we spent in the Queen Charlotte sounds were great, but tiring for me. I was the chief playmate of three rambunctious children. We did some really cool things (did I mention that I got to drive a jet boat? Those things are amazing).
I bore witness to my first shooting. A possum (a pest here) was shot and killed in my presence. That was a new thing.
We took the ferry to Wellington and I got to meet tt&t (specifically we had brunch, pancakes and bacon and maple syrup, which is as close to Canada as I can get down here). We took some photos and once she's given me the OK (I have to email them to her first) I'll post them.
These last two days we've been in Rotorua, seeing the cool geothermal stuff (hot springs, mud pools, geysers) and also a Maori crafts institute where they teach Maori carving and weaving. That stuff was really cool.
Today we're on our way to Waitomo to see some enormous caves complete with glow-worms. I'm pretty excited.
Time permitting the day after I may be able to hang with tt&t again. Some nerves are fraying a bit within my family so I'm sort of walking on eggshells, but we'll see how it all pans out. I'm doing my best to keep anyone from getting too upset with anyone else.
I'll keep everybody posted as best I can. Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Waitomo caves are awesome. Also, yay for maybe being able to hang out with me again!
I hope everything goes well. Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Turns out twinky had a whole afternoon and night to spare, so we did get to hang out again, yay! Even if this time, instead of getting me out of bed, he called while I was in the shower. Great timing, that boy.
It was cold and windy and raining so we decided to stay nice and warm at a bar, where a few drinks were had, much talking was done, and several secrets were shared.
Then we braved the wild, wet, windy weather of Wellington to find a place for dinner... and drinks. Food was good, company was better. Tales were told, there was laughter and tears, and twinky sneakily managed to pay for dinner while I wasn't looking. And THEN he made me promise not to fight about it until we got outside. Sigh. But then there was fighting, ohyes. *giggle*
After that we walked around for ages in the cold and dark and rain by accident, and ended up back at the warm Occ for more drinks after checking the railway timetable to make sure I didn't miss my last train home. Not that that made much difference, I was still within ten seconds of missing it, but I made it. Just. I blame it all on him.
Also he had kindly bought me a map of Canada, which we helpfully managed not to get wet even though we spread it across the bar and also carried it around town in the rain. Awyeah. So now I have a map, in case I ever swim across the ocean... FIE on oceans, I say.
At least it was a nice day for them to go back on the ferry, today. Lovely blue sky.
[ September 29, 2004, 01:19 AM: Message edited by: tt&t ]
Posted by RRR (Member # 6601) on :
edit: a FEW drinks, eh?
[ September 29, 2004, 12:20 AM: Message edited by: RRR ]
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
tt&t's summary of events is good, so I won't offer my own. Instead, I'll cover a few really cool things that I haven't mentioned so far:
First, when we were driving from Christchurch up the coastline to Picton and the sounds, we stopped for a rest at a place called Kaikoura (spelling?). I climbed a steep hill and took some amazing pictures of lazy seals, which I will post at a later date.
Second, my step-nephew Logan, while he is only nine, is an astonishingly good cook. Mussel fritters, mmmmm.
Rotorua, where we went on the North Island, is a smelly place (sulphur) because of all of the geothermal activity. There's a big geyser and mud pools and our B&B actually had a heated pool as well as a hot spa pool. Rough life, eh?
Waitomo, where the glow-worm caves are, is astonishing. The stalactites and stalagmites grow about a centimetre every 300-500 years, and some of them were up to 800,000 years old. Just amazing. Again, I have pictures (though not of the glow-worms, that isn't allowed).
As tt&t said, Wellington was SERIOUSLY cold and rainy. But the following morning was magnificent; I went up the cable car with my parents and mum purchased a snazzy sweater for me. If I keep hanging out with my folks I may even become a somewhat snappy dresser.
The ferry ride back to Picton from Wellington was gorgeous, and reminded me of FotR; I kept expecting to see the two kings with arms outstreched somewhere.
Now I'm in Nelson, which is supposed to be the sunniest place in NZ but it's overcast at the moment.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
*is jealous, extremely so*
But I'm glad you're having a good time.
I am planning to
a) going to do a year there (3rd) and/or b) visit on my own time.
It is my goal, and increasingly becoming a mantra: "Think of New Zealand".
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Nothing else to add, eh.
Teshi, when is third year for you?
EDIT: Yeah, that's how you spell Kaikoura.
[ September 30, 2004, 12:42 AM: Message edited by: tt&t ]
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Sadly, this is my first. So not for a while- I considered doing my second year there, but everyone I asked said definately third, for a mixture of reasons.
But tt&t, your summer break must be over my winter break, neh? so how is your school year set up, because I might have interesting complications involving semesters and school years.
But it's worked before. I've definately heard of people doing it. Hm.
But I have this plan of holidaying there with a friend. I think she's got a different idea of it- I don't mind walking a lot, she says she doesn't but I'm skeptical of that. I need more money before I can go though!
EDIT: I also have this thing where half way thought my third year I'll have lived in Canada as long as I've lived in England. I don't feel Canadian or English so I figure a third country won't do any harm .
[ September 29, 2004, 11:17 PM: Message edited by: Teshi ]
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Our uni year goes as follows:
First semester: March - June Second semester: July - October
Summer semester: November - February.
Most people only study over the first two semesters, and work over the summer. Good luck with working it out. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Nope, nothing. Not a word. Zip.
Other than that you totally rock.
(And also that the map is only of ATLANTIC Canada. I'll email or snail mail a proper map of all of Canada to you sometime.)
I am now back at my "home base" in Christchurch! I can think about uploading some photos at long last. I'll see about that later tonight (it's 7 PM here and dinner will be soon). I can listen to music at volume again! It's been driving me insane... *rocks out to Silverchair*
Anyway...
Nelson was cold and rainy, but still nice. We saw some cool stuff there, including the geographical centre of NZ, a Japanese garden, and a glassworks. When we left Nelson this morning, though, the weather was glorious. I took some spectacular photos there and also along the coastline. We wound up in Punakeiki (or something) to see the pancake rocks (which are really, really neat). Then we drove further down the coast and ultimately across the southern alps through Arthur's Pass, which the Maori were using way before Arthur discovered it, but anyway.
Incidentally, that particular region is also known as "Rohan" to some of you. But I did not glimpse the fair Éowyn.
It started snowing as we descended from the pass, and of course this turned into rain at lower altitudes.
And now mum and dad are back, so it's dinnertime. I'll post again soon. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
One further cool incident to relate:
We were poking around in Nelson (actually, I was sequestered in an Internet café posting my Nelson update) and my dad was browsing in a secondhand bookstore. He happened to pick up a book of photos of the Canterbury region (where he lived for a long time; Canterbury is where Christchurch is). As he was flipping through it, he stumbled across a photo of his mother at a dog show!
...crazy, eh?
Mum bought me the book so now I have it in my backpack. Posted by RRR (Member # 6601) on :
That's awesome.
Also, we need pictures. Need.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I'll see what I can do. I have 55 pictures at roughly 400KB apiece. At 56k, that will take a good long while. Nonetheless, it's only 9:40 PM, the night is young...
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Send me some! *bounce*
Also, do you have AIM or MSN or... whatever where you are?
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I'm actually writing you an email as we, um, speak. I will scope the instant messaging situation and append that information to the email, which should be departing through the ether in a few minutes.
I will post again shortly. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Right, the pictures are gradually going up Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I have one other cool thing to say: I saw the studio where the One Ring (specifically, all forty One Rings used for the movies) was crafted! Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
OK, first the pictures of tt&t and I have been okayed and posted.
The other pictures are going up gradually and sometime in the next 24 hours I will make a massive post linking and describing each one.
[ August 18, 2021, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
Yes.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Is this the next hatrack couple in the making? I think they've got Kama and Frisco beat for the cuteness factor.
AJ
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
and my dirty mind wants to know what was going on that you took pictures of that tt&t wouldn't have okayed.
AJ
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
AJ? Dirty mind? Get out of the city.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
quote:I think they've got Kama and Frisco beat for the cuteness factor.
If enough people keep mentioning that we are a couple, he might finally catch the meme and believe it.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Yeah we all know my mind is about as clean as the driven on snow!
AJ
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Hatrack dirty minds at work already I see.
... No to the coupleness, the cuteness, and the telling about the other pics. *grin*
The other pictures of NZ that he will post later though are really worth looking at, although I haven't seen all of them. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Is there supposed to be a post between mine and Kama's or something? Because hers makes no sense... Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I thought the expression was "pure as the driven snow?"
Which, by the way, I am. Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
Yes, I will marry you and have your babies.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
That's okay, Twink. We all have our faults. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Huzzah! But where shall we live?
...actually, I feel that after seeing my soon-to-come NZ pictures, you will want to elope and come live here with me (since I can get an NZ passport without difficulty). Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Awww, I thought Kama was saying yes to marrying me. Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
I can marry both of you. But I don't think I can have your babies, kiwi.
-- edit: and we can all live in NZ, if only someone will protect me from spiders.
[ October 01, 2004, 07:53 PM: Message edited by: Kama ]
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Another 15 or so pictures to go before the big post... (which is written already).
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
I'll protect you from spiders, but we don't actually have that many here.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I've noticed that. There were way more spiders in Nova Scotia.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
In any case, it's nice to be deemed suitably attractive for the purposes of engaging in matrimonial activities. Thanks, Kama.
(Unless that wasn't what you meant, in which case )
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
-------
---------- Fabulous pictures, guys. I can't wait to see the rest of the ones of New Zealand, too.
[ October 01, 2004, 08:07 PM: Message edited by: katharina ]
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
If you want to come to NZ too, you can join our little polygamist commune... If you and Kama both marry me and/or tt&t, she or I can get you NZ passports and ultimately citizenship.
Speaking of marriage proposals, I really need to ask Bob to analyze that dream of mine sometime after he and Dana have had time to settle down a bit. Do you still have it? Because I can't seem to find it with the search...
_____________
I actually HAVE seriously started to think about moving here in the future, though. The only trouble is that NZ does not appear to need very many chemical engineers, particularly in the region I'd want to live (which is to say, near Christchurch).
Just one more batch of pics to upload after this one...
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
OK, here we go. First on the list are several pictures taken in Kaikoura, where we stopped as we were driving up the east coast of NZ from Christchurch toward Picton.
After taking some photos at ground level, I climbed a hill of significant height and took a picture from the top. The car near the centre of the photo is our rental car.
As we were getting ready to leave Kaikoura, I happened to look over at the mountains (they're hard to avoid) and noticed that I could now get a better picture:
The thing is that where I'm from we don't HAVE mountains to speak of. Nova Scotia is small, and while there are hills there aren't really any proper snow-capped mountains. Canada has the rockies, of course, but I've never seen them, never having been that far west. So NZ is my first exposure to REAL mountains. Thus I tried to shoot another shot of the mountains from the moving car as the sky cleared:
From Picton my half-brother Peter picked us up and took us across to his "bach" ("cottage," spelled B-A-C-H but pronounced "batch"). I don't have too many pictures of it because I was too busy having a good time, but here's my nephew Logan working on some pancakes:
I spent a significant amount of time constructing (with assistance) a tire swing. Here it is, with engineer-in-training Conrad. Unfortunately for those who were rooting for Logan earlier, he accidentally got smacked by the tire swing on the last day and knocked right over. Got quite a shock. See, we'd rigged (at Conrad's suggestion/insistence) a complex rope mechanism from a nearby tree so that the swing could be pulled (by the turbo, AKA yours truly) to great heights before being dropped with its occupant. During a dry run of the apparatus, Logan accidentally wandered into the path of the empty swing and was promptly clobbered. He spent the rest of the afternoon in bed but recovered fairly quickly. I felt pretty bad since I was the supervising engineer-on-duty and this was a significant safety incident (definitely a reportable), but I'm mostly just glad he was OK.
Here is everyone with their dog, Jack. My parents are on the left, their parents are on the right, and the kids are in the middle. Obviously, I am not in the photo.
We went fishing but didn't catch anything and I didn't take any pictures. Since I was the only one not handling a fishing rod, I was given responsibility for driving the jet boat (slowly, so as not to scare the fish). After we gave up on the fish I was given permission to drive the jet boat at great speed. (For those who don't know a jet boat is like a motorboat but instead of a propellor it has a turbine, like a jet. Hence the name. They can turn on a dime and are a blast to drive because they're very, very fast... they sort of skim over the water rather than plowing through it.)
Later, when I can get the pictures from dad's camera, I'll post the pictures he took of the boys and I on an inflatable mat we strung off the back of the jet boat. Peter is a former jet boat racer, so he knows how to handle them. Basically the premise is that we hang on for dear life and he does his best to make us fall off the mat and into the Pacific Ocean. Great fun.
Next we took the ferry to Wellington and I got to meet tt&t (pictures shown in my last post above).
Then it was on to Rotorua, where they have lots of cool geothermal stuff like this geyser:
The next day we departed for the Waitomo caves, but no pictures were allowed in the glow-worm caves and the pictures I took in the stalactite/stalagmite caves didn't turn out, so they were erased. We wound up in Wellington and I got to see tt&t again (but no pictures this time, it was cold and rainy and we were more interested in talking than posing). The next morning we took the ferry back to Picton and then drove to Nelson (northwest) by the scenic route:
We arrived in Nelson, ate, and slept. The next day we found our way to the exact geographical centre of New Zealand, which is on top of a hill and from which I took pictures:
Then we drove through the magnificent Buller Gorge (in which I'm confident some of FotR was filmed, or at least somewhere that looks very much like it). We went across the longest swing bridge in NZ:
We stopped at Punakeiki to see the super-cool pancake rocks. I was running low on flash card space by this point so I only took one photo. This is what's called a blow-hole, where the pancake rocks have a hole in them where hydrodynamic head (what we chemical engineers call "pressure") can build up as waves come in and eventually the water just explodes out the top:
Finally, we drove through Arthur's Pass and got to see some real mountains up close. I am absolutely positive I saw, from a distance, the precise bit of mountain shown in FotR when the chain with the ring on it breaks and Boromir happens to ever-so-innocently pick it up. I didn't get a picture of the spot, though. But I DID get a picture from near the middle of the pass:
This is actually not quite Arthur's Pass yet, it's a gorge with a Maori name that escapes me at the moment, but it'll do.
In any case, we drove through the pass, and just as we were leaving it and descending we struck snow! Being Canadian I felt right at home. By the time we were out of the mountains it had obviously turned to rain. Then we polished off the drive back to Christchurch and got some much-needed sleep.
That brings us to today. I have 11 more days in NZ. We were originally going to venture further south, but in much the same way as we curtailed our trip around the North Island because of dad's condition, we have more or less cancelled our trip south. So this leaves me with 11 days to kill in Christchurch, some of which are taken (e.g. dad's birthday) and some of which I'm working on filling up with fun plans.
Further bulletins (and photos) as events warrant.
[ August 18, 2021, 11:36 PM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
quote:If you want to come to NZ too, you can join our little polygamist commune...
I thought I was already in a polyamorous arrangement that involved you...
I love the pictures. Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
I like the sleepy seal best. Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Lol at the sleepy seal picture I went "Awww" and Steve looked over and said, "No you can't have him!"
AJ
Posted by suntranafs (Member # 3318) on :
Haha great pictures Twinky. familiar west coast Too bad we missed each other. I left Christchurch like two days before you got there. Beautiful country. Go thou to Queenstown, then north to glenorchy then to paradise and check out the chinamans bluff(paradise) track it's awesome. Or at least check out the Routeburn or one of those other tracks in that area I'm pretty sure they'll be awesome too. Country like you have never seen before, and unless you come back, won't see again- and this is coming from an Alaskan. Also reccomend the Otago peninsula and the Oamaru area for penguins and stuff. Maybe check out the art galleries in Hokatika, they're really pretty neat. Two hot sping places going over the Lewis pass rd, hear they're awesome, and that the one further west is the better of the two. And Te Anau and milford sound are super awesome. Likewise Mt Cook and the lakes on the road going to it. And if you get back to Christchurch area go to Belfast and the willowbank wildlife sactuary and see kiwis and heaps of other stuff.
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
I like how a thread about leaving Hatrack has pictures.
You guys look like you're having a great time, enjoy.
Hobbes Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I wanna go. I want to see the sea.
(refrains from quoting a certain movie about mountains)
Looks gorgeous. Marvellous. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Today my dad taught me all about cricket. We watched a bit of some tests going on at a local park and he explained some of the game to me.
I might get to play a guitar later this week! (I've been slowly going crazy because I presently do not have access to any musical instruments.) I'm looking forward to that. Posted by Zotto! (Member # 4689) on :
Dude. You're a lucky man, Twink. *Awesome* pictures. Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
Those are freaking huge headphones. And, um, mountains.
I'm definitely visiting New Zealand sometime. Of course, nowhere near the foreseeable future, but it's on my to-do list.
Also, did ttt teach you any Maori?
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Wow... it's amazing how much New Zealand reminds me of Montana. Um, except for the whole ocean bit.
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
The pictures of Kaikoura remind me heavily of Denali Park and thereabouts in Alaska.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I may look silly with the massive headphones, but boy do they ever sound good.
When I get back to Canada I'm going to get myself an NZ passport. Once I've worked for a little while and accrued some capital, if I still want to move here and the country will have me, I'll see about finding work 'round these parts.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I can't believe I forgot to mention this earlier, but one of the first days I was here we were in Sumner and we stopped at a park that we'd visited 20 years ago. Much of the playground equipment was still there, so dad took some shots of me on the slide and swings and stuff. Of course, last time I was there I was just shy of three years old.
It was really, really cool. Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Awwwww, cuuuute. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
And when you get back, you're going to scan the 20 year old pics and post them with the new ones, right? Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Mum said she would dig them out when we get home, but I have no convenient scanner access... I'll have to look into that.
Posted by Zotto! (Member # 4689) on :
Dude, Goatee, me too. I didn't know you'd been to Denali (or maybe you told me and I conveniently forgot, heh). I worked at the Denali Park Resorts last summer with the Holland American tour company after visiting the summer before *that*. Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
My aunt and uncle used to live right around there. My aunt (and cousin, I think) worked there, too. They've recently moved to South East Alaska, though.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
You should have taken a picture of the stars. Or are they really not that much noticably different?
Also, don't you have to live in a country in order to become a citizen of it?
Posted by Ophelia (Member # 653) on :
The laws are different depending on the country, I think. Like I know in Switzerland you can become a citizen if you can trace your ancestry back there (with proof, of course). I don't know how many generations back they allow the connection to be, though. I guess New Zealand is something like that?
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
I don't know that much about it but:
quote:If you were born overseas on or after 1 January 1978 and one of your parents was a New Zealand citizen, your birth must be registered through the Citizenship Office, Documents of National Identity Division, Department of Internal Affairs or at one of New Zealand’s overseas posts before your 24th birthday or your citizenship will lapse.
So you might want to check that out twinky, since you're 23 and all. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Whoa, I'll have to get on that.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Oh man, this is complicated. I don't speak legalese and I'm kind of sleepy... but I will muddle through! Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Today we went on a road trip to Akaroa (about an hour away from Christchurch). As with pretty much everywhere else in NZ, it was staggeringly beautiful.
What was really neat about it, though, was that we stopped at a small cheese factory and a tour bus of tourists came in. The bus driver came up to dad and said he knew who dad was. Dad looked perplexed until the fellow said his name -- turns out that he was a former captain of the Canterbury rugby team while dad was on the Canterbury rugby union.
(On a related note, Canterbury beat Auckland the other day in a very exciting match. I actually have my own Canterbury uniform at home, though I'd most likely get broken in half on a rugby field.)
Posted by suntranafs (Member # 3318) on :
Just remember, if you meet anybody nasty just yell kamatekamatekaorakaorateneitetangatahurupurunaaneitikimaiwhakawhiteteraaahaupanekaupanehaupanekaupanewhititeraaHi! really loud
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
ooh is there any place where that (the Haka) is written out with word divisions? I know the first bit... but I'd love to see what a translation actually is, especially where they start grabbing their crotches.
I like it the best when NZ plays Samoa and they do the opposing war chants. You can visualize what a real pacific islander battle would have been like.
AJ
Posted by RRR (Member # 6601) on :
I found this by Googling.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
My dad used to lead hakas. Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
I just finally got around to reading this. It sounds like your trip is going well. I love the pictures. They remind me of B.C. The mountains remind me of the Okanagan Valley and the Ocean shots are very much like Vancouver Island.
I have received my copy of Idolatry and I will be posting a track by track review soon (and yes, I am still working on my album but I am a procrastinator).
Enjoy the rest of your trip dude.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
It really is disgustingly beautiful, even in pictures.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Yeah I should have googled. Did your dad lead "The" All Blacks Hakka? or just a local one.
If so you neglected to mention that he was an All Black.
AJ
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
He led that haka, but not for the All Blacks (it doesn't belong exclusively to them). He led hakas in Japan when he took an NZ team on a tour there, and also at the national swimming competitions. He also played for Canterbury for a long time (and later served ten years on the Canterbury rubgy union), but I don't think they did hakas in provincial rugby at that stage (they certainly don't nowadays).
This is why we can do stuff like show up for a game and get free seats in the committee room with free food and drinks.
Edit:
I'm glad to hear it's arrived, solo.
[ October 05, 2004, 12:14 AM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
The Haka is so cool.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
It actually showed up a couple of weeks ago but we have been really busy with getting my daughter back to school, buying a new car, renovating our bathroom, and helping my inlaws put in a basement floor so I haven't really been around too much.
I posted a review here last night.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Wow, thanks dude! A real review!
Will post to the other thread now. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
In NZ news, this morning we went out to a high school to see my brother Peter's motivational speaker show. It was actually astonishing. I'll post more about it when I have time. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Okay, here's the more detailed version of what happened yesterday:
We went to see my brother Peter's motivational speaker road show (I'm not sure how else to describe it), which I was half-expecting to be kind of hokey in that "lame high school guest speaker" way. Anyway, a bunch of high school kids packed into this auditorium for the show in front of what was actually a very well-assembled audiovisual setup. They carry it (and all of their props, more in a sec) around in a snappily-painted 18-wheeler.
The most notable prop was John Britten's fastest motorcycle design. He built ten bikes, and this one was the one that broke three world speed records. What's crazy-cool about Britten is that he was a high school dropout and had no formal training.
Anyway. The three speakers were: 1) a Fijian netball player (whose name I can't spell, sadly) who came from shooting coconuts at a wire loop her father stuck in a coconut tree to playing on the New Zealand netball team that recently won the World Championships, 2) Jeff Knight, a dropout-turned-gang-member-turned-opera singer, and 3) the 4'11" Kiwi who was Gimli's stunt double in LotR (and who is actually IN the vast majority of the shots featuring Gimli, wearing a kilogram of makeup and 29 kilograms of padding and armour; every time Gimli looks short in the movies, it's actually this guy). Oh, he's also (IIRC) a dropout, but has a black belt (not that I remember which martial art it's in).
For me the most powerful story was Knight's. When he finally decided to get out of the motorcycle gang, his former mates called him up and told him that if he didn't surrender his bike they'd kill him (just so we all know this isn't hyperbole, one of his best friends, who stayed in the gang, was murdered a couple of weeks ago). So he gave up his bike, which was quite literally all he had at that stage in his life, and went to drama school. He acted for a while and worked on his voice, and when he was telling us about this he gave a stirring rendition of Ave Maria -- unaccompanied. Crazy.
There were some interludes, like the short clip about John Britten, and some other notable Kiwi inventors and innovators. Obviously, the basic message was "you can do anything you set your mind to" with a dash of "don't let what other people say get you down," but rather than being hokey stuff like "only you can prevent forest fires," the stories were so moving that it was impossible for me to stay cynical. For a moment I actually caught myself thinking about dropping this whole engineering thing and starting a rock band.
Then at night we went to visit one of dad's old Canterbury Rugby Union mates. It was great because I got to sit and listen to all of these cool stories, but I don't think anyone other than AJ would be interested in any more detail than that
Also, two nights ago we had dinner at a restaurant on the summit of one of the big hills near Christchurch. You can only get there by gondola. Sadly we didn't have any cameras suitable for taking good nighttime pictures, so the only good shots were the ones from the upward trip. Also, the food wasn't anything special -- certainly not $50 a head special. Ah well.
That brings us up to today. Mum and dad are heading off to Hanmer either today or tomorrow, while I am departing on a solo adventure. Woo!
[ August 18, 2021, 11:40 PM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by suntranafs (Member # 3318) on :
quote: He led that haka, but not for the All Blacks (it doesn't belong exclusively to them).
No it sure doesn't. It's actually basically only the last few(albeit by far the most dramatic) verses of a Haka called Ka Mate(hehheh means "it is death" funny name for a dance, no?) I've seen the translation posted, and I think that's fairly close but maybe not really quite literal. It's more like tis death tis death tis life tis life. Invented by a guy a couple hundred years ago right after he got out of hiding from his enemy to inspire people to go kick a lot of a** and take over the all of the south island or something(or was it all NZ, lotta land anyway). I also heard a Maori contingent in WW1 ran out of bullets and so got up, did that haka, and charged the Germans, who then commenced to run like heck! Truly a very impressive dance- if you can call shouting and stomping and splatering and muscle tensing and fist shaking a dance!
[ October 07, 2004, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: suntranafs ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
yeah I didn't realize that "Haka" was a generic term that applied to all war chants and there are different kinds. That link RRR googled was quite good.
And twinky I expect a full accounting of your rugby conversations later!
AJ
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
AJ, my dad taught Fergie McCormick how to kick goals. That's the vintage of the rugby gossip.
Turns out that tt&t found herself in Christchurch this weekend and so I got to hang out with her on my "home turf," so to speak. We explored "downtown" Christchurch a bit (kind of a disappointment, really, there isn't much of anything there) and took a bunch of buses to the shore at New Brighton, which is the site of the long pier and really cool library that I mentioned earlier. The library was closed (whoops) but the pier was still fun. Or at least I thought so.
I was really glad things worked out such that we could hang out again, especially since we weren't so rushed this time with trains to catch and whatnot. Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
I was glad to get another chance to meet up too.
I'd actually never been to Chch before, so twinky the tourist got to show me around part of my own country. *grin* However I feel I need to mention that he had his map upside down the entire time, and tried to blame it on us making our maps the wrong way up. You should have seen his face when he figured it out.
He also neglected to mention that exploring meant miles and miles and miles (and miles) of walking, and several bus trips. It was fun and we got lots of time to talk, but my legs felt it the next day. Sigh. Clearly I am terribly unfit. At least I didn't complain about how heavy my backpack was.
Also apparently we can't get through a day without injuring each other. The worst of these was probably when I turned around too fast with arm upraised and my elbow collided with twinky's jaw, causing him to bite his tongue or cheek. I'd probably feel worse about that had he not already smacked me in the eye causing me to see stars. So it's probably for the best that he's going back to Canadia.
Anyway, it was fun. I almost ended up having to stay in Christchurch for an extra day though, because the weather was so bad in Wellington when I got back there that we almost couldn't land, and nearly had to turn back to Chch. We flew around above Welli for over half an hour waiting for it to clear a little so we could get down, and when we got into the airport, flights were being cancelled left right and centre. But I made it home safe and sound, yay!
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
You should have been here today. The weather is absolutely glorious. I do not relish the prospect of returning to Canada just in time for frost.
Also I discovered that when we were pub-hunting downtown we really should have gone the other way. I was down there with my parents today and passed about a jazillion more suitable places than we did on our extended hike. This may have had something to do with my mental map being reversed. I like north to be UP on my maps, not DOWN. Anyway, everything worked out okay aside from the injuries, though I suppose that next time I'm in NZ you'll be avoiding me like the plague.
Today was a low-key day. Dad and I took a kayak on the Avon river for half an hour, which was a relaxing excursion. The ducks were kind enough to get out of the way. We said adieu to the last group of family and friends, so we've covered everyone now and tomorrow can be pretty much reserved for packing and travel preparation I suppose. Tonight we're out for dinner with the folks whose houses we've been using, which should be a good time.
Hopefully I'll feel rested by Wednesday morning, just in time to spend the entire day flying.
It looks like I'll get home just in time to nab The Music's second album, Welcome to the North, which is already out here in NZ but costs a whopping NZ$30. I expect it to cost C$12 (which is what their first album cost me) or maybe $14-$16 if it looks like a hit. I have been resisting the temptation to buy it while here, even though I want it quite desperately. Nonetheless, when I get back to Canada I only have to wait four days; the North American release is on October 19th. Huzzah! Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
In another thread tt&t called me "Dan" for the first time and totally without ever having really spoken to me. Which, of course, leads me to believe that your conversations were dominated by discussion of yours truly.
I just want to say that, while I'm not at all surprised, I'm still flattered. I'm glad to be cool enough to be a conversation piece when the little details of your own lives prove unsatisfactory as conversation pieces
It'll be good to have you back in the country, Dude, even if you are a stupid number of klicks away. I expect all the unsavory, sordid, unfit-for-Hatrack details upon your return I'll try and swing you an E-mail this weekend, I'm all alone for Thanksgiving and just about done with my work for Tuesday. I'm glad this trip rocked Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
It would have been nice to have been there today.
Alas for the pubs being the wrong way! I liked the ones we did find though - even if it did take nearly all night to get there. Perhaps you should turn your mental map the right way up? (Also, north is down on our maps? o_O I never realised... clearly I hold my map upside down ALL the time.)
...Yup, like the plague. Definitely. You'll have to drag Dan along with you next time so we can talk about him behind his back in front of him. When I'm not busy avoiding you, of course. (Yes, Dan, he told me allll your dirty little secrets. *grin*)
Also, there are unsavory, sordid, unfit-for-Hatrack details? I wanna know! Tell me quick! >_>
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
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twinky's mine.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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