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.
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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!
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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::
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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. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
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. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
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.
posted
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
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 .
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. Posts: 1431 | Registered: Aug 2003
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(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. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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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. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
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...
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
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. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
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! Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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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.
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... 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. Posts: 1431 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Is there supposed to be a post between mine and Kama's or something? Because hers makes no sense... Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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...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). Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
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...
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
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.
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