New Zealand IV: Pancake Rocks and Glacier Pools

  Jan 6, 2011

We rose early Thursday morning, and set off on our next destination- Punakaiki. Of course, this meant first driving back over the treacherous Takaka mountain road. I have new found appreciation for our cruise-control friendly highways here in the states. Once safely to the other side, we drove down the west coast of the south island for 5 hours, passing through numerous small towns along the way, such as Greymouth and Hokitika, until we reached our destination.

The Pancake Rocks

Punakaiki, otherwise referred to as the Pancake Rocks, is a heavily eroded limestone area located along the coast. The rocks feature many holes that the sea bursts through (aka-blowholes), making it a popular tourist attraction. When I read on the map "Pancake Rocks" I envisioned large, round flat rocks that where shaped like silver dollar pancakes or stacked IHOP pancakes. In my mind, all I would need was a bottle of maple syrup and I'd be ready to chomp down on one of those rocks when I saw them. I was wrong. The rocks are named so because of the "pancake" layering of the limestone that I guess resembles a plate of hundreds of deformed pancakes stacked on top of each other. Really, really thin and deformed pancakes. More like deformed crepes than pancakes now that I think about it. I suppose "Crepe Rocks" doesn't have the same ring to it. Regardless, the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks were super cool.

The Pancake Rocks: See the stacked "pancakes"?

There were pathways winding through the rock formations, revealing to me a world of pancakes I had never seen before.

The walkway

Stacks and stacks of pancakes!

A big hole. Hopefully NOT a blowhole. That would be intense. 

One of the best parts of the Pancake Rocks was the blowhole. We were taken off guard when water suddenly shot up vertically in the sky and sprayed us with water particles everywhere. It was like being in the front row of Shamu's show at Sea World. We raced to grab our cameras so we could capture the next eruption, but nothing happened. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. Other visitors walked past us dismissing the rocks before us as nothing more than another bunch of pancake rocks, unaware of the volatile blowhole below that we knew was going to burst unexpectedly at any moment. It was just a matter of when. And so we continued to wait until finally Shamu the blowhole decided to burst once more. This time I had my shutter ready. See?

Shamu the blowhole 

 We also enjoyed playing the "What do you see?" game, as encouraged by the below sign. It's amazing how long you can stare at a bunch of rocks shouting out random things you see in the formations. It's also amazing how much fun it can be. So go ahead, give it a go. What do you see? (Look at the second picture. My apologies that it isn't bigger. The first is just a guide).

Oh! And we saw our very first Kiwi bird! They are adorable, flightless birds native to New Zealand.

Franz Josef & The Glacier Pools

After our eyes were full of pancakes (not our stomachs unfortunately), we hopped back into the car and embarked further down the west coast for 3 more hours until we reached Franz Josef. Before I forget, I would just like to take this moment to mention how few gas stations there are in New Zealand. Here in the states you can't drive a mile without passing at least one, and on the highway you know there will be a rest stop eventually. In New Zealand I had no such assurance. Especially when we passed a road signs stating "No fuel for the next 150 km". And we passed many. Each time I gulped, wiping perspiration from my forehead and praying to the fuel gods that we had enough to make it there, wherever there was, because I had no sense of how far Madame Vitz could take us on the fuel we had. The drive from Punakaiki to Franz Josef was one such drive. Fortunately, we never found ourselves stranded on the side of the road waiting in desperation for someone to drive by and rescue us. I don't think my AAA card would have been much help in that situation.

Franz Josef is home to the Franz Josef Glacier, a 12 km long glacier located in the Westland National Park, This glacier, along with the neighboring Fox Glacier, are unique because they descend from the Southern Alps into a temperate rainforest. Our intention had been to see both glaciers and go on a guided glacier walk, as this was our first (and probably last) time ever being at a glacier. However, neither happened. Mr. Weatherman decided to rain on our glacier parade. This is what we saw when we looked at the glacier.

Franz Josef Glacier...Somewhere in there

This is what we would have seen on a sunny day (or at least something like this):

Evidently, the "see a glacier" and "walk on a glacier" part of our plans fell through. Secretly, I didn't mind because a) I'm not partial to cold things and b) neither Laura nor I had packed appropriately for such an adventure. After all, it was summertime! We had been wearing shorts and t-shirts just that morning and here were were in Franz Joseph bundled up in jeans and sweatshirts. Climbing on the glacier would have required wearing a snowsuit, hat, gloves and warm wool socks, none of which we had. In retrospect, I think I owe the weatherman a singing "thank you" card for keeping us indoors and my body frostbite-free. Ok, that's not exactly accurate because Laura and I did end up outside, only we experienced the warmer side of Franz Joseph. Why freeze your limbs off when you can soothe them at the Glacier Hot Pools? It's a no brainer. And so Laura and I grabbed our swimsuits (something we had packed) and headed to the hot pools for some much needed relaxation.

The glacier pools were nestled in a lush rainforest. There were three 3 pools, each filled with pure local glacier water and ranging in temperature from 36 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius (96-100 degrees Fahrenheit). We pool hopped from one giant glacier hot tub to the next, basking in their blissful warmth. After a long couple of days driving, this was precisely what I needed to unwind and re-energize for the next leg of our trip.

A Glacier Pool. The screen up top sheltered us from the rain.

There were a lot of people in the pools actually, we just found our own isolated spot.

 That evening, Laura and I ventured into town and went to the one bar that was open. It reminded me of a ski lodge bar- cute and cozy with fireplaces ablaze. We indulged in a kiwi dessert plate (kiwi as in the fruit, not the New Zealand native), and Laura had her first legal beer! Hooray for New Zealand having a drink age of 18. After our dessert and beers we got wild and crazy and went to bed. Hey, we had another early start the next day. Besides, there was a scarcity of handsome New Zealand men at the bar. While we may have been in need of some good eye candy, we weren't going to be in need of sleep!

New Zealand III: Golden Bay, the Abel Tasman National Park and the Pu Pu Springs

Jan 5, 2011

After sleeping in our car in a parking lot and catching a 2:00 a.m ferry at Wellington, Laura and I arrived at the South Island at 5:00 a.m. to a town called Picton. We drove Madame Vitz off the ferry and set off to a place called Golden Bay, located in the northwest corner of the island. If you ever plan to drive around the south island, let me warn you: the drive to and through Golden Bay is a bitch. There is only one road, and it is the most windy, twisty, narrow thing I have ever driven on. My driving consisted of me literally turning the wheel from left to right to left to right in a methodical motion. It required such concentration to stay on the dang left side of the road. After every bend I was praying that there would finally be a straight stretch of road, even if only for a couple of meters. This drive also required crossing a ridiculously high mountain with equally curvy roads, but also had the added fear-factor that if a massive tractor trailer (or idiot driver) were to swerve me off the road it would be a long and awful plummet down the mountain side to our disastrous deaths. But, being the calm individual and skillful driver that I am, I pushed these thoughts from my mind and safely guided Madame Vitz to our first destination in the bay area: The Abel Tasman National Park.

Where the Picton ferry dropped us off

The beach at Nelson

Park at Nelson,a town along the drive to Takaka

Abel Tasman National Park

The Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand's smallest national park, renowned for its golden beaches, granite cliffs and coastal track (which they claim is world famous).  The park offers many activities to tourists, including biking, kayaking and sailing. Laura and I chose to walk the Abel Tasman Coast Track, which is 54.4 km long and takes 2-3 days to walk. Clearly we didn't have time for that, so instead we just went on a 2 hour walk. This was just as good in our minds. The track took us through a thick forest, one which I can best describe as a mixture of a rainforest, Never Never land (from Peterpan), and Jurassic Park. It was full of babbling brooks and creeks, as well as breath-taking views of the tiny islands and teal blue ocean on our perimeter. We walked as far as Apple Bay Beach. Here we descended from the track to the beach where we rested on a log and ate, fittingly, an apple. Then we turned around and headed back to the starting point.

The start of the Abel Tasman Coast Track

The coast

The track's forest and brooks

Apple Bay Beach

After this morning walk Laura and I headed to Takaka, the main town of Golden Bay. It was a small, one street town lined with many cute shops and cafes. While I was back in Sydney, I met a man from New Zealand who insisted that we go to Takaka. He said we must a) eat at the Wholemeal Cafe, and b) see the Pu Pu Springs. I took his recommendation very seriously, and so our first stop was to the Wholemeal Cafe for lunch. This man knew what he was talking about. We had the best veggie lasagna I have ever eaten. Simply delicious. I would endure that unbearable, windy four-hour drive over mountain tops just to eat another piece of this lasagna. It was that good. Laura can back me up on this one. Once our tummies were fully satisfied, we went off to find the Pu Pu Springs.

The Pu Pu Springs

The Pu Pu Springs, or Te Waikoropupu (its full name- good luck pronouncing that one), are some of the largest fresh water springs in the world that produce the clearest water in the world. "It is one of those rare places on Earth where crystal clear water streams in copious quantities out of the bottom of a natural pool and out of many vents around"(according to Seafriends). I can't explain it better than that. I was enthralled with this place. The Pu Pu Springs were beautifully mesmerizing and tranquilizing. No wonder it's a sacred place for the Maori People. I could have stared at it for hours. In fact, we probably did.

The Pu Pu Spring

The Golden Bay

Once we had our fill of Pu Pu, Laura and I decided to find Golden Bay's bay. The entire time we had been in Golden Bay, we hadn't seen any water. Everywhere we looked we saw farmland, forests and mountains, but no water (excluding the Pu Pu Springs). I knew we were by the coast, and logic told me that they didn't call the place Golden Bay for nothing. So our burning question was a reasonable one: Where was the bay? We made it our mission to find out. We hopped in Madame Vitz and took off in the direction of the coast. Eventually, I saw a sign for a beach and turned down the long, pebbled path until we reached what looked like a parking lot. We hopped out and ran eagerly towards what we hoped would be the bay. Well, we were right; it just wasn't what we had expected. The ocean was at low, low tide so there was a massive stretch of sand between us and the water. And there was absolutely no one there (probably because no one else could find it!). We enjoyed the entire bay to ourselves, walking the distance of the sand until we finally dipped our feet in the cool ocean water. Mission accomplished.

Golden Bay- looking inwards

The bay water! It does exist!

New Zealand II: Black Water Rafting in Waitomo

Jan 4, 2011

Waitomo is a small town in New Zealand; it has a population of about 300 people. Driving through the town took under a minute. I know because I did so, not realizing until I was in the next town. I saw the sign that said "Waitomo" but I never saw the town. That's because from the surface there isn't much to the place. I believe there was maybe one bar and one restaurant. And a gas station? Forget about it. But those who drive through Waitomo and scoff, ascertaining that there is absolutely nothing to do there are fools, for beneath the surface lies the most incredible bunch of glowworm caves. Laura and I are no fools, which is why we made it a top priority to go to Waitomo and view this unique, natural wonder.

Us girls decided it wasn't enough to simply look in the caves. Instead, we opted to participate in the Black Abyss Tour run by the Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. The tour was advertised as being the "choice for natural born adrenaline junkies everywhere." We were pumped. The tour began at 8:00 a.m. First, we met our two experienced caving guides, Corin (a male Kiwi) and "B" (a female Kiwi). Both were awesome, really energetic and knowledgeable in all things caving (a fact that put my mind at ease). Next, we went out back to gear-up. This was quite a process. First, we had to wiggle into a still damp wet suit. Not the most pleasant sensation. Then we put on wet suit socks, a wet suit jacket, and a pair of rubber boots. Lastly, we threw on a safety harness and helmet, equipped with our very own light. The outfit was bulky and difficult to move in, but I still adored it because I secretly felt like I had joined an exclusive super hero team- like the Incredibles or X-men! If only. I did join a team, a team of clueless tourists who had no idea what they had just signed up for...

Geared up and ready to go!

The caving crew: includes 4 boys from boston and 2 native kiwis

The 5 hour Black Abyss Tour went a little something like this:

A) We went to the cave: We squished our bulky bodies into the van and drove a distance to the entrance of the Ruakuri Cave.

B) We learned to abseil: Outside the cave we were instructed on how to properly abseil. Abseiling, or rappelling as it is also commonly referred, is the act of descending down a rock using a rope. This was something neither Laura nor I had ever done before and were eager to try. We practiced on a hill that had ropes attached to a plank at the top. One at a time we would walk ourselves down the hill (a small one, might I add) getting the hang of how to use our left hand to slack the rope to go and use our right hand to break when we wanted to stop. On the hill, abseiling was as easy as learning to ski on a bunny slop. It was no big deal, and by the end of a few practice runs I was bored with it. But this does not mean that you are ready to go up to the top of the mountain and tackle the expert ski course. That, however, is precisely the sort of transition we made going from the practice hill to actual cave entrance.

C) We abseiled into the cave. One by one, us inexperienced tourists walked to the edge of a plank where Corin attached our safety gear to the abseiling rope. Once secure, he instructed us to sit back and hang- hang 11 stories above the floor of the cave the lied beneath us. By this point my heart was racing. It was time to abseil. Only this scenario was nothing like the practice one outside. Outside, the hill was a gentle incline that you could securely place your feet on for a balanced and controlled walk down. Not to mention you could dig your foot into the dirt and grass for added support when needed. By contrast, the cave was a straight drop down. There was no incline whatsoever. And the hard, stone walls were covered with water making for a slick, slippery surface. In order to "abseil" successfully down the cave my legs needed to be perpendicular to the wall, but this was nearly impossible given its wet surface. Additionally, it was pitch black in the cave which made it incredibly difficult to see where I was placing my feet. Thus, instead of gently walking myself down the cave wall as I had practiced and envisioned, my attempt at abseiling resulted in my slipping and sliding 40 meters to the bottom. Most of my time was spent trying to keep myself facing the wall (rather than the black abyss that was behind me) so that I could more easily slide down. I was desperate to get the the bottom and touch solid ground again. There were multiple instances when I was tempted to just let go of the break and let myself fall to the bottom where B was waiting to catch me. It would have been much quicker and less anxiety-producing. Eventually, to my great relief I reached the bottom. I'm glad I can check that one off my bucket list and never do it again.

D) We whizzed down a flying fox: Yup, to get from point A to B in the cave we took a flying fox. You know, those zip-line swing thingies. Now this was my idea of fun. I loved soring through the air in the pitch black cave. I would have been content doing that for the entire length of the tour.

E) We took a snack break:

F) We went black water rafting: I envisioned this being something like white water rafting in the blackness of the cave, a high-action, fast-paced turbulent activity. This, however, was more like tubing in a lazy river. The scariest part of the whole bit was getting from the rock ledge into the water below. We had to stand on the rock edge holding the big, black tube in place behind us, and then jump a couple meters into the water landing on top of the tube. The temperature of the water was a shock I was not prepared for. It was freezing!   As you know from my experience at surf camp, I strongly dislike being in cold water and go to extreme lengths to avoid it. But now, being stuck inside a cave, there was no where to run and hide. I had no option but to endure being submersed in the ice cold water as we pulled ourselves through the cave along a rope attached to the wall.

G) We viewed the glowworms: This part was super cool. Everyone linked themselves together so that we made one straight chain. Then Corin pulled us through the cave while we lied in our tubes looking up at the cave ceiling that was covered in thousands of tiny glowworms. They looked like a brilliant, starry night sky. In the black stillness of the cave it was absolutely spectacular to stare at. We came to learn later that the glowworms weren't even worms at all, but maggots. Waitomo may not have many residents, but the ones it does have are smart and they knew that maggot caves didn't have quite the same ring to it as glowworm caves did. And so they refer to the caves as glowworm caves as an advertising ploy to lure outsiders in. We also learned what part of these magnificent maggots glow. Any guesses? The answer is their poop. Yes, maggots have shiny shit. Or feces. Or whatever you want to call it. I joked, "That's some cool shit!" Because it literally was. I'm sure people in earshot rolled their eyes, but I couldn't tell because it was so dark so I will continue to think my comment was clever and funny. Oh, and we also learned that the maggots dangle shiny threads to capture prey, and when they do they pull them up and suck their brains out. There might be a few other steps in there, but that's the basic gist of it.

H) We swam and stumbled through the cave:  This is the part of the tour that they left out of the online description. I read thoroughly over the website numerous times, and no where did it say that we would have to spent a significant amount of time swimming through icy cold cave water in the dark. Had I read that I may have thought twice before signing up. But no, the Legendary Black Water Rafting Company left that teeny, tiny bit out, which I find perplexing since we spent the majority of our time doing just that- swimming, wading and stumbling through the frigged cave waters. Of course by this point there was no going back now. The only option was to persist onwards. Miserably. I tried to keep high spirits and a positive attitude, but it was hard to do when I was slowly losing feeling of all parts of my body. When we weren't swimming we were walking knee-deep through the cave. However, this was even more difficult because a) the water in my boots may them so heavy it was difficult to lift them, and b) the cave floor was terribly uneven and it was impossible to know where or what I was stepping on. We literally were walking blinding through the caves. Our guides named this leg of the trip "The Drunken Path" because we were wobbling side to side and even falling over at times. Not exactly what I had in mind.

I) We had another snack break: Thank goodness! I needed this badly. Nothing like a cup of hot orange juice (which I had never had, but was just what the doc ordered) and a big hunk of a chocolate bar. My tank was almost on empty, but this filled me right back up.

J) We climbed two waterfalls: That was the only way out. The exit hole was high above, and to reach it required climbing over and through two powerful falls. Fortunately, this was easier than it looked and with a hop, skip and a jump I was over the falls. There, before me in the distance was a light. I crawled and scrambled towards the light until finally the exit was before me. I hoisted my still numb body out of the hole and onto the earth outside. The sun shined brightly and warmed my entire body and soul. I gulped in the fresh air and my lungs breathed with delight. It was pure bliss.

K) We disrobed and ate: Well, first we had to walk a mile or so back to headquarters in our bulky wet suits. But once back at camp, we changed, showered and were given a warm bowl of soup and a bagel.

I know that it seems like I had a terrible time. But really I had a blast! Yes, there were moments when I was anxious, scared, cold, uncomfortable and grumpy, but through it all was an underlying feeling of joy and excitement. It is an experience I will always cherish.

Once warmed and fed, Laura and I hopped into Madame Vitz and set off an a 7 hour drive to Wellington where we were scheduled to catch a 2:00 a.m. ferry to the south island.

New Zealand: Journey to Middle Earth and Back Again

Jan 2, 2011

On new years day, I hopped a plane to Auckland, New Zealand to embark on a two week adventure with my younger sister, Laura. The plan was a simple but ambitious one: rent a car and drive from the top of the north island down to the bottom of the south island and then all the way back up again. The challenge was to do this in ten days (I would be in New Zealand for 14 days, but Laura would only be there for 10 further limiting our time). Anyone I spoke with who had been to New Zealand insisted that we needed at least a month to explore both islands. And while I believe this to be true, I can proudly attest that it is possible to do the impossible- we successfully traveled through or to over 15 towns and cities in New Zealand in just 10 days. We came. We saw. We conquered. Here's how we did it, and what we saw and did along the way...

I left Sydney on new years day, but I arrived in Auckland at 12:05 a.m. the following day. Laura wasn't scheduled to arrive until 7 a.m. that morning. Thus, I was forced to transform the Auckland International Airport into my hotel for the night. Not exactly ideal. My first bed for the evening was a McDonald's table. I sat my bum on a red, hard, plastic swivel chair and laid my head on my arms folded across the equally hard and plastic table. Talk about a pain in my ass. The potent aroma of fries and beef juices didn't add any pleasantness to my sleeping scenario. So I moved. I found an open row of cushioned airport seats and curled up in the fetal position to catch some Z's. Asides from waking up every ten minutes, peeking to check that security wasn't coming to escort me out of the building and that my bags were still where I had left them, I slept like a baby. Like a baby that wines and fusses all night long. I thought 7 a.m. was never going to arrive. But alas it did. And then, through the customs doors emerged my beautiful, little sister. Cue the orchestra, because I was singing "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" Hallelujah that my sister arrived safely and on time, and hallelujah that we could now get this adventure-party started.

After embracing (it had been four months since we last saw one another), we went and picked up our rental car. The car was a Toyata Vitz. A pink-ish colored Vitz, a combination of pink and silver but it certainly wasn't pink nor silver. I have never, ever seen a car this color. It was an odd color. It was an ugly color (for a car). And that is precisely why I loved it. We loved that quirky, pink-mobile as if it was our very own. Fortunately, driving Madame Vitz proved to be less difficult that I had anticipated. The challenge, of course, was having to drive on the opposite side of the road. I hadn't driven a car in four months, and now my first time behind the steering wheel I had to consciously think about staying on the left side of the road. I admit I was a little nervous about this, especially about the turning part, but after a few minutes I got the hang of the transition and quickly felt at ease behind the wheel. That's not to say that I didn't have one or two "oh $h!t" moments when my mind would go into autopilot and I'd find myself turning into the right lane. But like I said, for the most part driving was easy, breezy. I can proudly report that we and Madame Vitz made it through the trip a-okay without a scratch on any of our bodies. What a relief.

Is it pink? Is it silver? No, it's Madame Vitz!

Our first destination was Matamata where we were scheduled to go on the Hobbiton Tour. Now, some of you may be scratching your head wondering what on earth a Hobbiton tour is, and many others of you are probably brewing with excitement (or jealously perhaps) wishing you could go on the tour too. The Hobbiton Tour is a tour of the Hobbiton movie set used in the Lord of The Rings (LOTR) movies (Hobbiton being the name of the place where Hobbits live). If you don't know what the LOTR or Hobbits are then you have been living under a rock, are beyond hope, and should just stop reading this. But if you are anything like my sister then you are a humongous LOTR fan who has been dreaming her entire life of visiting New Zealand just so she could see where LOTR was filmed. I'm talking about a HUGE fan. Laura's room has wall to wall posters of LOTR. She has a life size cardboard cut-out of Legolas. She is a LOTR junkie and isn't ashamed to admit it. So our going on the Hobbiton Tour was practically a little girl's greatest dream come true! I love LOTR too, just not to the extreme level of my sister, so I was also stoked to go on the tour.

At Hobbiton. Whoot whoot!

For the tour, we were picked up in a Hobbiton Movie Set Tour bus. Our tour guide was Louise (it was almost as if my mother was there with us too!), a nice but nerdy LOTR devotee. She spit out fun facts and figures as we drove through the hilly, green farmland of Matamata to the Hobbiton movie set. Then we had to sign a confidentiality form because, drum roll please...they were currently revamping the Hobbiton set for Peter Jackson's new flick, The Hobbit. Cool, eh? We got a sneak peak at what's to come. But Mr. Jackson doesn't want the rest of the world to know this. Sorry. You'll just have to a) fly to New Zealand and see it for yourself, or b) wait until the movie comes out. What I can say is that the Hobbiton movie set tour was awesome. The land of Hobbiton was super cool: the Hobbit homes were adorable, the land was lush and green, and the sky was perfectly blue. All that was missing was Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, and Gandolf the Great.

Laura with the good-looking Gollum

Our bus. Riding in style. 

After the tour, we drove two hours to Waitomo, a small town known for its phenomenal glowworm caves. We arrived around late afternoon and settled into our hostel, YHA Waitomo. I won't be telling you the name of each hostel we stayed in every night, but I am telling you this one because it was the best hostel I have ever stayed in (notice that I didn't say cleanest or most modern). I say this because of two reasons: 1) it had a trampoline (anyone who knows me knows that I love trampolines), and 2) it had a tennis court located at the top of a hill that offered a spectacular view of the surrounding area and was completely isolated from the rest of civilization. I'm so glad that Laura and I decided to climb the hill to play tennis that evening, because it is one of my fondest memories from the trip. The funniest part was that when we got to the top of the hill, we were greeted by none other than Shadowfax! Fitting considering we had just spent the morning touring Hobbiton, a land well known by Gandolf, the owner of this stunning white horse. Oh yes, and Bambi also decided to come view our tennis showdown. And so Laura and I spent the evening playing tennis atop of a hill in New Zealand alongside Shadowfax and Bambi while we watched the sunset over the surrounding land. It was bizarrely wonderful.

My favorite tennis court, located atop a hill in Waitomo

Shadowfax. So white he glowed

Bambi came by to say hi.

Happy 2011!

What better way to ring in the new year than by watching the greatest fireworks show on earth? There is no better way! Here are some shots of what I saw from my friend's apartment balcony (please excuse the poor image quality). I'm guessing it probably looked a little bigger and better on your television screens, but it was still exhilarating to see happen in real time. Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2011!

Bombs burst away

Harbor bridge action

Panoramic view

By the end the sky was so smoke-filled I couldn't even see them anymore...haha

Cricket, Castle, One Very Big Banana & Crabs

I spent 2 more days with Tash and her family in Coff's Harbor, which were spent relaxing, eating (more of Francesco's Italian feasts and Aussie barbies), and hanging out with family. There are four activities in particular that we did that I would like to discuss: 1) We watched cricket 2) We watched Castle 3) We went to the Big Banana 4) We went fishing for crabs

1) We watched cricket. 

Cricket. When I hear the word I think of a bug, something that I dissected in my 8th grade bio class. But no, here in Australia cricket is one of the most popular sports along side of rugby and football (aka soccer). Australian's obsession with cricket has always been and will remain a mystery to me. At first I thought it was because I was unfamiliar with the game and didn't know the rules, so I had my English roommate explain it to me one day when he was intently watching a match on TV. What I cam to understand was this: cricket is sort of, kinda like American baseball except one game takes place over 5 grueling days (yes, d-a-y-s) rather than 9 short innings. There is a pitcher who throws a ball at a batter with a fat wooden bat and helmet, except unlike baseball there is no "Three strikes and you're out" rule. Technically, the batter could bat forever if the opposing team doesn't get him out. How you get "out" is a little fuzzy to me still, but I think catching a ball is one way. When a batter does hit the ball into the outfield he runs back and forth between two posts, and these count as "runs". That's basically all I have gathered. So the way I see it, if you made the posts 4 bases in the shape of a diamond and implemented a rule about balls and strikes- you would have baseball. But that's not even the point. The point is that cricket is one of the most boring sports to watch- it's on right on par with golf. Cricket is so s-l-o-w paced. I mean it takes 5 stinking whole days to finish! They have tea breaks for goodness sake. Tea breaks?! I just cannot grapple watching nothing for 5 entire days. But Olie was a huge cricket fan, and so we watched for a few hours as nothing unfolded on the screen before me. And that's it. I have nothing more to say about cricket really. I watched it. I don't get it. I vented. And I am now over it.

2) We watched Castle

On Boxing Day (Dec 26th, the day after Christmas) we went to Tash's uncle George's house for a barbie. That evening Tash insisted that we watch the movie Castle so that I would finally understand what a "bogan" was. According to Wikipedia: The film gained widespread acclaim in Australia and New Zealand, but was not widely distributed globally. Hence the reason I had never seen nor heard of the film. Well we watched it. It was about a bogan family that fights to keep their home when an airport threatens to take it to expand. I enjoyed the film, although I'm not sure I have complete clarity as to what exactly a bogan is. Still, if you are curious I encourage you to rent or legally download the film for your viewing pleasure. Maybe then you will have some understanding as to what I'm poorly trying to talk about.

3) We went to the Big Banana

Fun Fact: Australia has over 150 BIG "things" (I guess you could call them statues or monuments?) erected across the country for tourists to see. For some odd reason, Australians are obsessed with taking any aussie-related object they can think of and building it as large as they can. You can visit the Big Avocado, the Big Axe, the Big Beer Can, the Big Spider, the Big Trout, the Big Wine Bottle, the Big Boxing Crocodile, the Big Golden Gumboot, the Big Macadamia Nut, the Big Mango...I think you get the point. On Monday we went to see the Big Banana. I had been looking forward to this the entire time in Coffs because a) I love bananas, I mean really really love them and b) it is such a quirky, unusual thing to do. Do you know anyone with a picture in front of a ridiculously large banana (asides from me now)? I certainly do not. Basically we went, took a pic in front of the banana, wandered through the banana souvenir shop and ate a chocolate covered frozen banana, but as the sign outside the Big Banana read, it was "a whole bunch of fun!"

Tash & I at the Big Banana

4) We went fishing for crabs

On my final evening in Coff's Harbor, Josh and Craig took Tash and I out to go fishing. (Side note: The Aussies love how I pronounce the name Craig. I don't know about you, but when I say Craig it rhymes with Greg. When they say Craig, they emphasize the 'a' sound much more strongly). The main goal was to drop two crab nets into the ocean water in the hopes of catching mud crabs to take home and gaily consume. First, we hopped in a large green canoe and paddled through an enclosed area of the ocean until we reached an "island" where we could get out and fish. I say "island" because the tide was so high that the entire land mass was under water. So, we carried on in the canoe looking for the perfect places to drop the crab traps. Then we returned back to the wanna-be-island where the tide had lowered slightly and attempted to fish. This proved unsuccessful and we returned to the house empty handed. The following morning Craig and Josh went to retrieve the crab traps and found to their dismay that they were empty. Despite the failed fish and crabbing attempt, it was fun to take part in this favorite past time activity of my host family.

The canoe, fishing gear and team

Christmas At Coff's

Before I begin telling you about my fabulous Christmas with Tash and her family at Coff's Harbor, let me first introduce the main family members who so warmly welcomed me into their family and made me feel right at home. There were 27+ family members gathered for Christmas, but these were the ones whom I spent the majority of my time with and who I came to adore.

Michael- Natasha's brother
Janice- Natasha's Aunt (sister of her mother)
Francesco- Husband of Janice (an adorable 60 yr-old Italian man)
Josh- Janice's son and Natasha's cousin
Amy- Wife of Josh
Skye- Daughter of Josh and Amy (the most adorable 2 year-old you have ever seen with blond ringlets and sky-blue eyes)
Chloe- Daughter #2 of Josh and Amy (precious 3 month-old who is rocking a blond mullet)
Emma- Janice's daughter and Natasha's cousin
Craig- Husband of Emma (and originally from Casino, but not a bogan)
Ana- Daughter of Francesco
Oli- Fiance of Ana

Great, now you are acquainted. Moving on. Even though I knew it was Christmas time, it never really felt like the most wonderful time of the year to me. Despite the carols, signs and decorations that bombarded me on a daily basis in Sydney it just didn't feel like Christmas with the sun shining down on me and people walking around in thongs (both the flip flops and the bathing suit, or lack there of). Instead of snow I had sand. Instead of jazzed up pine trees I had palm trees. This wasn't Christmas as I knew it! So waking up Christmas Eve in Coff's Harbor felt like any other day to me. However, over the course of the next two days little things happened, things that I associate with Christmas back home, that finally made me feel for the first time that Christmas had arrived (better late than never, hey?). For example, on Friday evening Tash and I baked cookies. This is an activity I associate with Christmas. What is Santa going to eat after he delivers your presents if there are no home baked cookies waiting for him? No cookies would surely be a crime. And these were not just any cookie, I assure you. We baked from scratch the most glorious naked Santa sugar cookies known to man. For years Tash had had this crazy desire to make naked Santa cookies- I guess it's to hot in this neck of the beaches for Santa to wear a massively warm and cozy suit- and so we made her fantasy a reality. The cookies were a hit. We also made snowmen and penguins.



Tash delicately cutting out our Santa cookies


While baking I mentioned that we were missing Christmas music. Janice disappeared and I heard the jingle of bells and whistles surface in the background. To my great delight, it was the Celine Dion Christmas album! I know this may sound lame and unimportant to you, but you have to understand that this is one of my most favorite Christmas albums of all time. Back home at Christmas time, Laura and I play this album on repeat and sing each and every jingle at the top of our lungs while we engage in Christmas-themed activities (like baking cookies and decorating the tree). So if there was anything that was going to transport me to Christmas, this album was it. I was giddy like a little girl as I sang along with Celine. I think Tash and her fam thought I was a tad strange, but I didn't mind- it was officially Christmas time.

That evening Francesco cooked a splendid Italian feast comprised of an entree (pasta), main (veal schnitzel) and dessert (an array of cookies and goodies, many of which were prepared by Janice). Bon appetit! In fact, Francesco cooked most of our meals (brekky and dinner) while I was there. I can assure you that I was feasting good in the neighborhood! I think I gained 5 kilos while staying there. But hey, I figured that in a weeks time I would be on the backpacker diet so it was best that I eat as much quality food as I could before it became obsolete. After dinner we gathered in the living room to watch a Christmas movie, and I insisted they watch A Christmas Story. It's an American classic, and none of my Aussie companions had ever seen it. They enjoyed it, I think. I know I did.

Saturday was Christmas day! We made our way over to Tash's other Aunt's house where the celebration was taking place. There were over 27 family members present (aunts, uncles, cousins, babies and dogs) to partake in the days festivities. I, the odd woman out, blended in nicely with the sea of guests. And fortunately, everyone was super welcoming to me. They inquired about my time in Australia and future plans, and made fun of my accent. "Who is this girl with the funny accent?" they would say jokingly. Normally, Australian celebrate Christmas by having a barbie (BBQ) on the beach. This Christmas, however, was a wet and rainy one so it took place in doors. Our Christmas meal was a "cold" lunch (usually in the summer its far to hot to stand around an oven and stove cooking food) which included chicken, pork, ham, prawns (shrimp), potatoes, and salads. Dessert was comprised of Christmas puddings with custard (this was new to me), rum balls (also new to me), rocky road chocolate (popular here in Oz), gingerbread houses (there were 2), ice cream cake and a fruit trifle. I was stuffed. Christmas crackers lined the table, enough for each guest to have one. I had never seen these before either, which Tash found astonishing. "You don't have Christmas crackers?" she asked. Nope. At least not that I'm aware of. Maybe you have them in your home, but they never made an appearance at mine. Have I lived a sheltered life? A Christmas cracker is basically a wrapped tube that contains a stupid little toy or thingy-majig. You and another person pull on either end of the cracker and whoever gets the bigger piece gets to keep the toy (sorta like pulling apart the turkey wish bone). I got a tiny plastic skeleton. Inside there is also a joke (ex: What has 4 legs and an arm? A happy pitbull). and a paper crown that you can wear on your head. Mine was orange. I wore it at the dinner table. It was silly and fun. Maybe next year I will incorporate Christmas crackers into the Speers family celebration.

After lunch, Tash and her family engaged in a Christmas tradition you certainly never do in the northeast: they had a water fight. Suddenly, everyone around me appeared in their swimmers with guns and water balloons in hand. Without warning hoses were on and spraying in every which direction. No one was safe. Everyone was a target. This included myself and so I ran for cover inside the house. Yes, I was a sissy. The thought of being sopping wet did not appeal to me. Instead, I sat as a spectator inside with the other wise souls and watched the entertaining water battle that took place outside.

Next it was Secret Santa time! Since their family is so large, they do a secrete Santa instead of buying everyone a gift. Tash kindly threw my name into the mix, and my heart swelled with gratitude and thanks when my name was called and a gift was passed my way. It was so kind of them to include me. And the gift I received was perhaps one of the best gifts I could have ever received. I didn't know what to expect since I knew that some stranger who had never met me had bought the gift, but to my extreme delight when I unwrapped the paper I saw the words: "Pass the Pig." I held in my hands the travel version of one of my most favorite childhood games that I use to play at my Grandparents house in Iowa. For those of you who have never had the pleasure to play Pass the Pig, its a simple game- one that mimics dice, except instead of dice you have two pink pigs that you shake and roll. You gain or lose points for the position that they land in (on their back, feet, snout, etc.). It's simple, mindless, time-passing fun. And I have fond memories of playing this game as a young girl at my Grandparents house. How fitting that I should receive it here from a stranger as I celebrate Christmas as far away from my family as possible. At this moment I smiled, feeling connected to my loved ones back home. For me this gift, as silly as it may sound, represented my family being there with me.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent playing games, such as Assassin and Quoits (a ring toss game). That evening Tash and I returned to Janice and Francesco's house where we watched The Santa Clause, another favorite classic American Christmas movie of mine. I was a joy-filled, satisfied little girl when I went to bed that evening. I thanked St. Nick for bringing me a holly, jolly Christmas all the way around the world.

This is how Santa rolls down under