Intensive Share

Garden Update

2011-04-18T21:56:00.001+12:00

I have somehow managed to completely fail at blogging anything so far this year, and it's already April (how did that happen?) I guess I'm just too busy living life to write about it. Or maybe I'm just too busy working... My camera has also been a bit temperamental over the last few months, so I haven't taken as many photos as I wanted - completely missed taking a photo of the tomato bed in it's prime, which was a shame, it's not much to look at now. I'm just going to do a quick overview of the last few months, as I need to go to sleep soon for work tomorrow.

November - The vegetables are growing well and I was able to eat mesclun, spinach and pak choi. I've been eating juicy strawberries since the 8th November, they have been very productive this year and I'm glad I planted them in a bed instead of a strawberry pot (as I'd done the previous year).

Above is a box with mesclun, snow peas, beans, brocolli, pakchoi, carrots and spinach growing. The mesclun is bursting out of the square!

In November I also started laying weedmat around the boxes to keep down the grass and weeds, as I was getting a bit sick of mowing and strimming it away from the boxes. Here you can see potatoes, which I am growing in left over compost bags. I built a cage from chicken wire to protect my strawberry bed. The far bed in the above picture has broccoli, peas, and onions. It did have parsnips but they never germinated :( Think I had a bad batch of seeds.

Strawberries and raspberries - yum :)

December - I continued the weedmatting endeavour, and spent a day shovelling Otatara pebbles on top, with a lot of help from mum and my boyfriend. I think it looks almost stylish now!

The centre box has peas which you can see have shot up - they are Dwarf Massey peas which supposedly means they don't need staking, although I did give them a bit of support by making a cage around the box - primarily to protect my broccoli from cabbage butterflies and their caterpillars. I had a good, if short, harvest of peas - unfortunately the bulk of them were ready whilst I was away over Christmas and New Years. The fruit picking continues, and I've harvested my garlic (the pots in front of photo above), picking carrots when I want, and giant broccoli heads too.

January - Even though Summer seemed to have deserted us for most of the month, I at least still managed some great harvests. My experiment with cucumber fell flat though, with my cucumber plants promptly dying as soon as they went outside. Nevermind I have a solution for cucumbers for next season...

Carrots, strawberries, broccoli, peas, spinach... yum yum yum!

I also seem to be growing something surprising in my raspberry bed!

February - I came into my main crop of potatoes (I was hoping they'd be a bit earlier) and have spring onions and baby turnips too. My broccoli was almost done, and I ended up freezing a lot of later use as I just couldn't eat my way through it all.

March - This month has seen the bulk of my tomato crop ripen. They are in a raised bed by the back door and have done surprisingly well for being outdoors, although ripened later than I would have liked. Having said that, I did have some ripen before the next door neighbour's tomatoes, which are in a glasshouse. I have Roma, Moneymaker, Russian Red and Sweet 100 growing. I've made some into puree and frozen it. I love tomatoes, but there are just too many for me!

I also bought some fruit trees and planted them along the new fence my kind neighbour built as our new boundary. There are 2 ballerina apple trees, a meyer lemon and a feijoa so far. I've harvested all the potatoes from the bags I planted them in, and most of my crops are coming to the end of the season. It's also bulb planting time - I noticed last spring there was a severe lack of bulbs in my garden, so now there are tulips, daffodils, anemones, ranunculus, freesia, crocus and dutch iris.

April - The biggest accomplishment of April so far - my new tunnel house that Dad built me for my birthday!! Now I can plant even more food!

There are currently some pak choi, broccoli, silverbeet and lettuce growing in there. In summer I'll try for some cucumber again, and grow tomatoes so hopefully I will get some earlier. Unbelievably, considering how cold it has been recently, I'm still harvesting tomatoes, and strawberries. In fact I've had strawberries constantly since November, and haven't had to buy a single punnet.

At some point soon I'm going to write a post examining my successes and failures for the season and looking at where to go next. Right now, though, I have to go to sleep!

Filling the Square Foot Garden

2010-11-12T20:00:00.001+13:00

So I was going to write about how I prepared my vegetable garden a while ago, but I have been too busy in my garden to actually get around to blogging about it! So I actually did this back in August, and it is working very well, but I'll update with new garden photos later. First off I want to explain about the mixture I used for the boxes. As I am using something called the 'Square Foot Method' I wanted to be fairly true to the book and follow the instructions to create a good growing medium. This involves using a formula of 1/3 blended compost, 1/3 vermiculite (a type of volcanic rock) and 1/3 peat moss. I was a bit sceptical about using peat moss as I remember the devastation of peat bogs in the UK, but peat moss in NZ is from sustainable places apparently so I felt a bit better about it. The vermiculite was difficult to source, but I eventually got it from a gardening supply place in Christchurch who happily couriered it down to me. For the compost, the book recommends using at least 5 different types, but this was pretty difficult, especially as many bagged composts don't actually state what is in them. I used Tui vege mix, Nicholls organic, Tui organic and worm castings. My boxes are 12" deep but I only needed to use the mix for the top 6" so the bottom half I just used plain compost of a different type again underneath.

My equipment - tarp, buckets, and compost, as well as the trusty book.

First I mixed up all the compost (I had already done lots of sums to work out how much of each compost I would need).

Then the peat and vermiculite were added and the whole thing was dampened and mixed some more.

Then I dragged the tarp over to my boxes and started shovelling it in with the bucket, wetting the mixture frequently which helps the compressed peat moss to expand.

I actually mixed it up for each box one by one, so did the whole thing 4 times. It got a lot easier...

All four boxes are filled up, and I had some left over as I have a box which is only half the size of the others - saved it for my next box. My flatmate and her entire extended family turned up while I was doing this... I'm pretty sure they thought I was completely crazy...

Then it was time to start planning and planting. I'll update with photos of my lovely growing garden shortly, it is doing very well.

My Bathroom Renovation, part 2

2010-11-12T17:48:00.000+13:00

After the bathroom was practically gutted, it was time to start putting it back together. Having the floor completely ripped up at least meant it was somewhat easier for the plumber to get to the pipes and sort out the plumbing, some of which was looking a bit dodgy - again, such a wonderful DIY job was done on this bathroom previously...

The bath and frame are positioned.

Bob the builder looking busy building the new laundry cupboard.

Bath in place, it is starting to take shape!

I have walls again!

The shell of the cupboard has been built - slightly smaller than the original so that I could accommodate a bath. The bath is also slightly smaller than standard so that I could still have a laundry cupboard, as there is nowhere else in the house to put a washing machine.

My shiny new vanity - now I have real storage, this will be much better than the plastic drawer set from the Warehouse I've had under the sink for ages.

The bath liner is fitted.

It took me a while to decide on paint colours - I wanted something I liked and that matched the wood detailing, but not something too modern as it isn't in-keeping with the house. In the end I chose a deep purple with an off-white purple for the upper walls. People who know me know how much I like purple, but honestly it was what matched best! (And it was actually my boyfriend who originally picked it).

New floor! It's just vinyl but the wood effect works well in the bathroom and blends well with the real wooden floors I have in the hallway - so much so that when my mum first saw it she thought it was wood.

Really taking shape, not long until it's finished!

The shower is in! Finally I have a shower with good pressure!

Cupboard doors looking very smart.

All finished!

I've had the bathroom finished for a couple of months now, and am still loving it. The shower is so much better and it's nice to have a bath once in a while too, and the whole bathroom feels a lot cleaner and tidier than before, with plenty of storage. It'll be a while before I can afford any more house renovations, so in the meantime it's on to the garden!

Where oh where shall my garden go?

2010-09-07T12:20:00.002+12:00

After building my garden boxes, it was time to position them. I'd chosen to put my garden along the side of the house as this side gets the most sun, even managing a good morning of sunshine in the darkest winter months, at least until the next door neighbour's trees obscure it. The sun is almost at the point of topping those trees now (beginning of spring) so it should be fine in the summer time. The bottom of the garden is the flattest part, with a slope up to another fairly flat level. For some reason, I decided to place my boxes in a diamond rather than square pattern... not sure why really but it seemed to make sense at the time! I think it makes the garden look interesting anyway, although it is perhaps not an efficient use of space...

I had a bit of help from my flatmate to remove some of the grass from the area I had marked out, although I went around afterwards and straightened it up a bit as his edges weren't that straight.

My lovely cut out square of ground.

I placed weed matting on the ground to stop any weeds from getting into my beds. I don't think that will be too much of a problem, the grass is dying just with me trampling all over it. The box fits over the top and nestles into the cut out square so it won't move too much.

The first two boxes fit snugly in the flattest bit of the garden.

Now came the dilemma of where to put the next box. The further up the garden, the less sunny it is, so I really wanted to keep it close to the first two. Unfortunately there is a bit of a slope in the way.

I decided that the slope wouldn't stop me, I could just dig the bed down into it. Easier said than done, it took me a lot of digging over an afternoon and following morning to get the bed vaguely level. It rained overnight as well, so I was slipping around in the mud a lot, but I think it helped to loosen the heavy clay soil somewhat.

I marked out the area with black tape and then started to dig.

Poppy lends a hand - put your back into it!

Almost finished.

The box goes into place.

This was incredibly hard to do on my own but I got there eventually after quite a bit of heavy work! It is still not quite level but was the best I could get it and I think it will be fine.

The three 4x4ft boxes finally in position.

I've protected them with bird netting, not because of birds but to stop the multitude of cats in my neighbourhood from using them as litter trays. Of course my cat is much better behaved! The grass and soil went behind the fence by the garage to raise that area a bit as I am going to make a pathway around to the side of the garage to make a composting area... don't think the neighbours will mind will they??

All the boxes in place and partially filled with compost. In the back is my 2x4 box which I have placed in an empty space in my old garden bed between two plants I uncovered from the mass of weeds that was originally there. I'll make sure to keep those bushes trimmed and away from my box. It will be planted with raspberry canes - if they fruit higher than the fence I can also go around the fence and pick them.

It was a lot of work to cut into the slope - but I will probably do it again for another 4x4 box at a later date. Either than or cut the whole slope out completely and put in a retaining wall. Tempting, but an awful lot of digging for me...

I also treated the wood with linseed oil to prolong the life of boxes. I will do another coat soon. If only it would stop raining!

Next - filling and planting the boxes!

My Bathroom Renovation, part 1

2010-09-07T08:52:00.005+12:00

One of the things I've been itching to get done since I moved into my new house is the bathroom. It was functional (barely) but had a lot of issues, not least the terrible shower water pressure and the fact the shower base was leaking. To get a hot shower you had to turn the shower mixer right around as far as it would go, and then you would get scorching hot water dribbling out. Any less than that and you would just get a cold shower. Not pleasant. I was also fairly convinced the shower had been leaking and rotting the floor away - there was a suspicious sponginess to the floor by the corner of the shower.

It took a long while to find good builders who actually bothered to give me a quote (clearly builders in Dunedin have too much work, as I got a complete lack of response from many of them). The builders I chose were recommended to me on WOMF, which is a useful site for finding recommendations. I'll talk about the builders more when I inspect the finished work!

I chose a new vanity to replace the pedestal sink, and a bath and bath screen with a slide shower to replace the tiny corner shower. I also have a laundry cupboard in the bathroom which accommodates the washing machine. It is actually too big for the purpose, and needed to be made slightly smaller so that the bath could comfortably fit. Even so I do have a slightly shorter than standard bath, but it is still a decent size. The items I chose weren't particularly expensive, but are practical options. The most expensive items were the taps and mixers - I needed good quality tap ware that would function with my unequal low pressure water system. I chose some nice taps from the Methven catalogue, a company well known in NZ for their specialised low pressure tap ware.

On Monday morning the builders and the plumber arrived and started to demolish the existing bathroom. Out came the sink and washing machine, followed by the demolition of the cupboard and shower

When we were able to see the flooring it was obvious that there was extensive water damage and the whole floor would need replacing.

Not only was their water damage from the shower but also from the washing machine. When I first moved in the hot water tap had been leaking, probably for a long time. It was clear the bathroom had been a bit of a DIY job - the floor was just particle board with the vinyl put straight on top, and at one end was a gap where the floor did not even reach the wall! So the floor was removed as well. The builder described it like pulling up weetabix, the damage was that bad. I think the vinyl was the only thing stopping us from falling through!

Luckily the joints underneath the house are in fairly good condition considering the age of the house. We did, however, spend Monday night without a bathroom floor! I'm glad that the toilet is in a separate room! The cat, who likes to explore under the house, was having great fun jumping up onto the joists. Unfortunately she kept disappearing when I tried to take a photo.

I had a slight dilemma about which spout to use on the bathroom vanity as I could not decide from the pictures in the catalogue. The lovely plumber went and got me some spouts to see to help me choose. I posted the photos on Facebook to see what people thought.

I opted for the high-rise spout in the end, it got the most votes! I hadn't been keen on it in the catalogue but seeing it in real life helped a lot.

The building work continues on Tuesday, with the new floor, plumbing and bath being fitted. Excited!

Fun at the Farmers Market!

2010-08-24T20:41:00.003+12:00

Every Saturday morning, the car park next to Dunedin Railway Station buzzes with people. It's time for the Otago Farmers Market, a year round, weekly market where vendors from all over Otago come to sell their produce.

I like to go to the Farmers Market whenever I have a Saturday morning off work, except for perhaps when it is bucketing down with rain. Sometimes it's just a quick visit to buy a few veggies, or to meet up with a friend and get a coffee and a yummy crepe from the French man at La Crepe.

In a bid to be a bit healthier and buy more local produce, I decided last Saturday I would try and buy most of my groceries for the week/fortnight. I budgeted myself $60 for the food. Normally I would go to the supermarket for a 'big shop' about once a fortnight and I would always be shocked at the amount of money I spent compared to what I had bought.

I went to the market fairly early in the morning - about 9am - when the selection is better. It usually runs from 8am until 12ish - although there isn't much left by then!

Here's what I bought:

Some of this will last me longer than a week, which is probably a good thing as I'm working night shifts next weekend, so might not quite be up for visiting the market after work!

The big plus of buying local produce is that you are buying in season. I bought carrots and parsnips, spinach (I love spinach and I definitely need the iron!), broccoli, 2kg of potatoes, and yummy Braeburn and Granny Smith apples. I rarely used to eat apples but have developed a taste for them again. I also bought a loaf of multi grain bread and a loaf of sour dough bread and half a dozen free range eggs. I bought 2 large chicken breasts for $8, which will easily last me for four meals, and some yummy bacon from Happy Hogs. That's a bit of a guilty pleasure, I love bacon!

Then I looked in my wallet and realised I still had plenty of money left, so on a whim I bought some hummus and a pot of mixed seeds to sprinkle on cereal etc. And I still hadn't broken the budget! It was time for a celebratory crepe!

I was pretty pleased with my purchases, the bread will only last a few days but the rest will easily last me a week or two. I haven't done a price comparison with the supermarket, but some things definitely seemed cheaper, and then there is the added bonus of not buying snacks and packaged food I don't really need. There are plenty of other things on offer at the Farmers Market too, from fish and venison to jam, beer, cheese and even plants and seedlings. Last year I bought my cherry tomato plants from the Farmers Market and they produced very well for me all summer.

And yes, after the shopping it was time for hummus on sour dough for lunch!

Building a New Garden

2010-08-18T18:40:00.004+12:00

One of my goals since being in my new house is to have a proper vegetable garden. Last year I grew quite a bit in containers, but this year I wanted to expand and make use of the space I had. After all, who needs all that grass to mow??

Last year I found a very interesting book in the library called Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew. Unfortunately it always seems like it was booked out of the library when I wanted it again, so in the end I bought my own copy. I really liked some of the ideas in the book and decided that this year as an experiment I would follow Mel's method.

The main concept of the book is to garden in squares rather than traditional row gardening. Raised beds are used, and separated into square foot sections. NZ is a metric country, but I tend to work in both imperial and metric as I'm from the UK and I was taught both at school. Different numbers of plants can be grown in each square - for example you might grow one tomato plant in one square, but can grow 16 carrots in the same amount of space. The idea is that you plant what you need, when you need. Gone are the summers of my childhood when my dad's courgettes would all be ready at once and we would have a massive pile of them on the table to get through. Anyone wonder why I hate courgettes? That's why!

Mel's book had been around for several decades, but it was recently updated to include mixing up your growing media from scratch rather than improving your existing soil. This is great as my soil is pretty much all clay and I don't fancy my chances of growing much in it without some hard work! The bonus of starting from scratch is that you should be lessening the chance of weeds growing - and if they do get in there they are easy to spot and remove. I'll discuss the growing media in a separate post.

I decided that my raised beds would be best in the garden on the north side of my house, which gets all morning sun, and will get more afternoon soon in a few more weeks when the sun tops the neighbour's cabbage trees.

I had a few different ideas about the size of the raised beds I was going to make. Unfortunately as I only have my little car and no tow bar, I needed to get lengths of wood that would fit in the back of the car. Luckily the lovely guys at Placemakers cut up all my wood to the sizes I wanted, making it a lot easier for me! I originally intended to make 4 boxes, each 4x4ft. Later I decided on 3 this size, and one 2x4ft box, which meant I had to cut one piece of wood in half (well, luckily my flatmate did that for me!) However, I did all the box making by myself.

Beginnings of the box, a 4ft (120cm) long piece of timber, which will sit 30cms high. You can also see my electric drill/screwdriver, measure and other tools, along with my tulips and garlic that are growing in pots by the house.

To begin with I had to drill holes along one edge of each piece of wood for the screws.

Then it was a case of screwing each side together, I rotated all the corners so the box is equal length on all sides.

The finished box. I put extra pieces of wood in each corner to help stabilise the box. It is pretty heavy and it was quite hard work moving it when I was on my own, although my flatmate did help out a bit with moving the boxes to their place in the garden. I should note that the timber I used is untreated, as I wasn't keen on using chemically treated wood that might leech nasties into my vegetables. Later on I painted the outside of the box with linseed oil which is a good sealant. The boxes will probably rot in a few years, but the wood is fairly cheap and I don't mind having to replace them later on as I might have developed some new ideas by then!

I also made a 2x4ft box. In future I think I will stick to the 2x4 size as it was a lot easier for me to move around by myself. I have space in my garden for plenty more boxes, but I will see how I go with these ones first.

Intensive Update #4

2010-08-16T21:14:00.000+12:00

Time for another update, as it took me so long to write up Tonga I never wrote about anything else! Luckily I won't be going on any holidays for a good long while due to lack of funds! So no more multiple holiday posts...

Not that I'm really sure there is much to update about my life. Things are ticking along, the house is going well, I had 2 flatmates for a while but one has just moved out. It's nice to only have one flatmate, the house feels more my own with only one other person here, and I'm hoping I can get by with just renting out one room but we'll see. I've been waiting months to get my bathroom renovation sorted and hopefully that will be happening in a couple of weeks. There are still plenty of odd jobs to do around the place, and lots of things I'd love to do too, but unfortunately the bills need to be paid instead! I've learned I hate paying Rates! They always come at the wrong time.

Other aspects of my life - work is going well, and the 3 week holiday from work is even better! Switching to 12hr shifts has meant I get a lot more time off, although I'm going up to full time (from .9FTE) when I start back next week so that means an extra 8hr shift per fortnight. My love life sucks, but then that's really nothing new is it? Spectacular heartbreak this year, but I'm mending slowly. At least the cat loves me. Oh yes, I got a cat a couple of months ago! Her name is Poppy, and a friend from work gave her to me as she didn't get on with their dog. She's taken a while to settle in but she's pretty good most of the time now. Doesn't like new people though!

I'm really getting into gardening lately, and planning to grow a lot of my own vegetables over the coming year. I'll be blogging a lot about it I think, have been taking photos as I go.

So friends, this is a short update, as really there haven't been that many newsworthy moments so far this year! I can't believe it is half way through August though, the year is disappearing so quickly.

Tonga Holiday, part 5

2010-08-10T20:42:00.001+12:00

Leaving 'Eua was a lot simpler than our journey there - we took the plane back instead of the ferry. This is probably the shortest commercial flight in the world, being just over 8 minutes long. The plane was small, only fitting around 12 passengers, but as the ferry was not running, it was the only way off the island. I have to say, I'm not a big fan of small planes, but I managed to hold myself together for the short flight.

Our last few days we planned to spend at a beach resort, Vakaloa. This resort was once favoured by the old King. It actually wasn't too pricey, although a bit more than our earlier budget accommodation. When we arrived, we also realised that they had upgraded us for free! Our last few days were spent in luxury!

The verandah outside the rooms.

My bed - the room was massive, and there was another big bed opposite this one, as well as a sofa and other furniture. And an ensuite with hot water shower! Look closely and you can even see the roses decorating the bed!

The beach at the resort.

There were very few people staying there, and we were pretty much the only people on the beach that day. We also went swimming and snorkelling too - saw a few interesting fish underneath the waves! Unfortunately a tropical storm was closing in on the region so the weather started to turn the day we spent on the beach, but we still had a great day.

One of the main reasons we chose to stay at Vakaloa is because they held a Tongan feast and cultural show, and we had missed out on the one at Hina Cave. Surprisingly there were only a handful of foreigners there, many of the guests were Tongans. I think a lot of the groups were families who had brought their visiting relatives, or work groups coming for a night out.

The feast was huge, with many traditional vegetables and dishes. I confess I steered clear of the seafood ones, but I was told they were also delicious!

Roast pig anyone?

Guests going up for seconds.

After the meal, the show began. There were several different types of dance represented, not just Tongan, but also other Pacific island dances. The costumes were beautiful too.

One of the guests a German/Kiwi guy who was at our table, volunteered to play the drums, and actually did a fantastic job - the other drummers were impressed!

I believe this young schoolgirl has recently won competitions for her dancing.

Then came the highlight - fire dancing!

Usually this is done outside on the deck or beach, but because of the storm the winds were too strong, so a modified version was performed instead. I caught some on video too!

The next day it was time for me to leave Tonga and say goodbye to my friend R, who was heading back home to Canada! So a pretty sad day for me. She was heading back to the capital, Nuku'alofa to spend another couple of days in Tonga. Unfortunately I had to go back to work. Actually it turned out I was pretty lucky to leave on the day I did, as not long afterwards the cyclone hit Tonga and wreaked havoc. Luckily my friend stayed safe and eventually made it home herself.

I had a great, relaxing holiday in Tonga, even managed a bit of a tan (novelty for me!) It was a wonderful first taste of the Pacific Islands, and I'll certainly be back one day. Not to mention visit a few of the other places in the Pacific. I wish I was there right now actually, as I am writing this in the middle of freezing cold Dunedin winter!

Tonga Holiday, part 4

2010-08-08T23:51:00.002+12:00

Our last full day on 'Eua, and we decided to see some more of the sights the island had to offer. The lovely people at the Hideaway also ran 4x4 tours of the island, so the four of us opted to spend the day with Sifa again. The weather was beautiful again, although the seas were getting stormy and we learned that the ferry we had taken a couple of days before had been cancelled for the rest of the week. Luckily we'd booked the plane back to Tongatapu the next day.

We crammed into the 4x4 and first took another group up to the start of the Fangatave trek, before heading to our first sightseeing spot.

A view of the beach below the cliffs, our first viewpoint.

An example of a traditional house - this is now a school house.

Next we took a drive into the rainforest, and a walk up a river to a spring.

On the way we saw some Red Shining Parrots - unique to 'Eua. Unfortunately couldn't take any decent photos, but at least I can say I've seen a bird my dad hasn't yet seen!

Then we headed to see a sight I found absolutely amazing - a giant Banyan (strangling fig) tree. This particular tree is named Big Ovava, and you can see why!

Big Ovava is so big I couldn't take a photo of the whole of it in one go!

This tree is actually growing out of a giant sink hole, and we climbed down into it. It reminded me of the tree in Avatar, I could just imagine blue aliens swinging around in the roots and branches...

View taken from further down in the sink hole.

Another nearby sink hole, photo taken from the top.

And looking up from the bottom!

We made it down into the sink hole to the bottom of the tree - the roots are massive.

Sifa and one of the women in our group decided to climb back up through the roots and branches! I wasn't quite that brave!

After that little adventure we headed deeper into the rainforest - the vegetation along the track we drove was about as high as the car bonnet! Sifa took us to a cave called the Rat Cave - a name which didn't really encourage us to explore further...

Sifa headed into the small cave, I took a little more convincing...

But eventually I made it inside - it was more of a tunnel which opened onto a cliff ledge.

View of the rainforest coastline from the cliff.

Next we came to a man-made viewpoint, another lovely view of the national park coastline.

I managed to snap a photo of a white tail tropic bird (Tavake) - a pair of them were playing on the winds.

Another drive, and a short trek to a local waterfall, the Smoking Cave, unfortunately not much water in it at present.

A student fell to his death here not long ago, whilst walking in the bush at night. It would have been a pretty difficult retrieval, as the sink hole is deep and hard to access.

We then headed to Lakufanga - the Rock Gardens, where we had our picnic lunch and a little rest.

The cliffs at the Rock gardens.

There is a local legend about this place, where a starving family threw themselves to their deaths when they ran out of food and have been reincarnated as sea turtles. If you throw the fa fruit from the cliffs the turtles will come and eat them. You can read more about the legend here.

A natural archway - Li'anga Huo A Maui.

Legend tells that the archway was created by Maui's mother. Maui's mother had woken up Maui to do some hoeing on the island, and Maui, feeling quite angry about being woken up started hoeing and caused an earthquake. His mother stopped him as he was damaging the island and snatched the hoe from his hand, throwing it to the south of the island where it became embedded in the cliff face. Maui later pulled it out, creating the archway.

Our last stop after visiting the archway was a lovely empty beach. We had time to take a leisurely swim in the deep rock pools, and sunbathe afterwards.

It was another great day on 'Eua. I absolutely adored this island, if I came back to Tonga I think I would head straight here. Although we didn't have time to visit the other groups of islands that make up Tonga, I think we made a great choice in coming to 'Eua.

Tonga Holiday, part 3

2010-08-08T11:31:00.000+12:00

After a couple of days on the main island of Tongatapu, we went to spend a couple of days on another island, Eua. Eua is a 2.5hr ferry ride from Tongatapu (or an 8 minute flight!) The island mostly appeals to people who want a more outdoorsy trip or just a quiet break. In the right season it is great for whale watching - unfortunately not when we went. There are, however, plenty of other things to do, such as walks, diving, and caving.

The ferry trip over was absolutely horrific. My friend spent the entire time outside at the railings and most of the Tongans were seasick too. Luckily I don't get seasick, though even I wasn't feeling too flash.

We had booked to stay at a place called the Hideaway and they came to pick us up from the ferry terminal. From the moment I got there I knew I'd love it - it has a great atmosphere and the staff are very friendly and helpful.

The main building - the wooden side is the dining/relaxing area and is great to chill out in during the evening.

We chose to stay in a 'fale' - a thatched hut. We stayed in the far one pictured. They are basic but cute! All that was missing was a hammock!

The dining area as viewed from the whale watching deck down by the ocean.

A lovely quiet beach just a short stroll from the Hideaway.

The next day we opted to do the Fangatave Beach Trek, a full-ish day trek down to a secluded beach through caves and forest. We were joined by a couple of other guests, and guided by Sifa, who did a great job. We were driven to the start of the track, which I think was in the northern part of the island (?) but I can't quite be sure. Riding on benches in the back of the Ute we drove past the King's residence (which was really a small holiday house) and through a couple of pretty villages. The people of Eua do seem to take a lot of pride in their gardens, most well landscaped with the lawns trimmed and green.

A short walk through a field took us to the cliff's edge.

Sifa heading towards the cliffs.

The gorgeous view from the cliff edge.

Fangatave Beach - our destination far below!

We then headed through some gently sloping forest - some trees had very impressive root systems.

Then came the hard part - climbing down the cliff face!

After the climbing, we walked through a series of caves.

Stunning stalactites and stalagmites.

Then it was time for a break, and Sifa climbed a coconut tree to bring us fresh snacks!

Yummy fresh coconuts straight off the tree - tasted much better than my first coconut drink!

Then it was time to head through some more caves...

Some were a tight squeeze!

And some involved a leap of faith! Why did I always end up as the first to do it??

Eventually we made to this beautiful secluded beach!

We spent a few hours at the beach, had our picnic lunch, went for a warm luxurious swim, sunbathed and fell asleep on the beach! We were the only ones there! I can't imagine this beach ever gets many visitors, which just made it paradise.

We took a different route back up the cliffs, which didn't involve crawling through caves, but did involve a longer climb to reach the forest path.

I climbed up first, which meant I could photograph the rest of the group following me up.

Eventually we made it back to the top! It was a tough but rewarding walk and a very memorable day. I thoroughly recommend the walk. And it's always good to make a few new friends!

Sifa, don't jump!

Tonga Holiday, part 2

2010-04-13T19:13:00.007+12:00

After our very busy tour the previous day, it was time for a little relaxation. There are a couple of islands just offshore in the lagoon of Nuku'alofa which are great for a beach day. We headed out to Pangaimotu, about 10 minutes by ferryboat. There were only two other people on the boat with us, and the island itself felt almost deserted! The resort consists of the pier, a restaurant/bar and a few fales (beach huts for sleeping guests).

We went for a walk along the beach and found a sunny spot to sunbathe and swim. It was a lovely relaxing way to spend the day. We also had a couple of canine visitors, including this very cute puppy!

The tide was coming in during the afternoon so we started to lose our beach spot. After our picnic lunch, we headed to the pier-side bar and chilled out on the deck.

We also went for a swim off the pier near this half sunken boat.

Eventually after a long day of sunbathing and swimming, it was time to catch the last boat back to Nuku'alofa. We had a great, relaxing day, although we managed to get some nasty areas of sunburn where we'd missed the suncream...

Tonga Holiday, part 1

2010-03-05T12:43:00.010+13:00

On the 5th February my friend R and I flew out to Tonga for a holiday, a last hurrah as she was leaving New Zealand and heading back home. We got in at about 2am, found a shuttle bus to take us to our pre booked guest house, and then waited... and waited... until somebody woke up to check us in! Although I'd confirmed a couple of days ago, it seemed that they still didn't know we were coming!

On Saturday, after some sleep, we headed out to explore the capital of Tonga, Nuku'alofa. We checked out the market and wandered down to the lagoon, as well as sorting out an island tour for Sunday. Sundays are observed as rest days in Tonga, and not much is open or running, but a couple of places still run tours. The reason why everything closes on Sunday is because Tonga is a fairly Christian country. The majority are Mormons, but there are a few other faiths as well. There are churches on practically every street!

On Sunday we joined a minibus tour run by Tony of Tony's Tours. He's an expat who has lived in Tonga for many years, but he offers a somewhat British perspective on life in the Kingdom. He's quite funny, and not at all politically correct, but well worth spending the day with!

Saw a lot of coconut trees!

Apparently this is the only two-pronged coconut tree in the world!

Lovely beach, had a paddle in the warm Pacific Ocean (makes a big difference from St Clair Beach!)

The Blowholes - a pretty magnificent sight. there are holes in the rocks and when the tide rushes in, the water spurts through the holes, hence the blowhole effect.

After spending some time clambering around the rocks by the blowholes, we went for lunch at a quiet resort, and R and I got to sample our first coconut drink!

It's a bit of an acquired taste, but quite refreshing.

We also visited Hina Cave, a large cave on the beach where they often do traditional shows. Unfortunately we were in Tongatapu on the wrong days to go to this one, but we did see a different one on our last night.

Hina Cave has a bit of natural light from these holes in the ceiling.

This is a 'land bridge' - that's the sea underneath it! If I recall correctly there is a Maui legend about this area, but I can't quite remember the details any more...

Our last sight of the trip was 'Stonehenge' - unfortunately not really as impressive as the real one in England, as there is only one monument! At least you can go right up to it though, unlike it's namesake. This one is probably also some sort of calendar too. It was probably built about 1200AD.

That's about all for our Tongatapu tour, I took tonnes of photos but these are the highlights. It was a very enjoyable but quite tiring day, particularly getting used to the sudden change in temperature from our rather dismal NZ summer!

Intensive Update #4

2010-01-04T17:13:00.007+13:00

It's been a while since I've updated, and there have been a few reasons why. I thought it was about time I did though, because the last couple of months have been pretty action packed. Some things really warrant a blog post all of their own, but I literally do not have enough hours in the day at the moment so more detailed posts will follow later!

So, the first major event of the last few months was that I have bought a house! I found it in October and the deal was finalised on December 7th. Ever since then it has been a hectic time of moving all my stuff, unpacking, sorting, buying much needed equipment and furniture and cleaning up. The garden still needs a lot of work, but luckily mum came and lent a hand with some of it. I'm still having a few teething issues, particularly in relation to electrical problems (stupid washing machine...) and the shower (poor hot water pressure) but it's all stuff that can be sorted. I want to do a bit of decorating before too long as well.

The second event is the departure of several friends of mine. One close friend left a couple of months ago now to live with her boyfriend in the North Island, so at least there is the chance of seeing her again occasionally, but the others are just going too far away! Craig and Rhonwyn left just before Christmas, to head to Australia for the holidays and then over to Canada. Life just isn't going to be the same without them, though the reality of them not being here really has not sunk in yet. I've lived with these guys for almost 3 years so it will be a big change. I think it's helped I've had the new house to focus on. Hopefully I'll manage a holiday over there in the next couple of years! JT also left to pursue work in Oz, and another good friend of mine leaves in February, but not before we have a well deserved holiday in Tonga. It really has been a mass exodus of friends recently. I'll be advertising for new ones shortly!!

The third event is live music! There have been a couple of bands I've been dying to see and have had tickets for for months. First off was Pearl Jam in Christchurch, supported by Liam Finn and Ben Harper. The music was great, the weather was awful, and I was enjoying myself until some idiot behind me hit me on the back of my head with his elbow. Luckily the friend I was with and a couple other people around me picked me up off the floor and looked after me, but the b**st**d didn't even apologise or even seem to notice! I ended up with a headache and neck sprain which went on for weeks. Seems to generally be okay now, so I'll have to start going back to the gym and seeing how I cope.

I also flew up to Auckland to see Green Day, who were absolutely amazing! I was careful not to get hit this time! The music and the lighting show they had was simply fantastic and there was tonnes of crowd interaction - they got a young boy up on stage, and a woman with pink hair got to come up and sing one of their songs. I'll post properly on the event later.

Other than that, I've been working, working, working. Can't wait for my holiday in February and also for my sister coming to NZ next week! I wish she was here for longer than 2 weeks, but maybe I'll just have to steal her passport so she can't leave!

I'm not really one for New Year Resolutions so I won't bother joining the ranks of bloggers who've made lists of resolutions for 2010 - let's face it, I'd probably break them next week anyway. I'll just say I have one goal for 2010 and that is to write more than last year. That won't be hard!

Yet another gardening post...

2009-11-11T22:32:00.011+13:00

I figured it was time for a quick garden update again, as I think it has been making quite a bit of progress in the last few weeks. Everything seems to be developing nicely and I've even started harvesting some plants, particularly my rocket. I've made quite a few salads with my rocket leaves, and I'm starting to run out of plant! I've just sown some mesclun seeds so hopefully I'll have some more delicious salad leaves in a few weeks!

I decided to transplant my pak choi as I thought they were overcrowded in their previous container and merited a bucket each. I was wary about this as I read they don't like being transplanted, but they seem to be doing well, and aren't far off harvesting. The tomato plants are flourishing and flowering - I even found a baby tomato on the biggest plant:

My lettuces are also doing well, I've just been cutting off leaves when I want them and they just carry on growing in between my harvests! As you can imagine I've been having a lot of salads lately.

I've left the best bit until last - my strawberries! They are doing great in their planter (as is the mint I've just pruned and hung up sprigs to dry in the airing cupboard). There are quite a few strawberries developing, but these are the most advanced:

I've also sown some seeds! Some snow peas, cucumber, spring onions, spinach and mesclun. I've borrowed Daharja's idea for using egg boxes as seedling trays (though my dad also does this, and also cuts off the tops of plastic milk bottles for pots).

The mesclun was only sown a couple of days ago, and already it's beginning to sprout!

I've no idea why this picture keeps rotating when I upload it, and I can't seem to fix it sorry!

I'm thrilled at my current progress, gardening really is not as difficult as it may first seem. I'm not sure about how successful I'll be with my seeds yet, the hardest thing for me is to make sure they are kept watered, with my erratic work schedule I find it hard to remember sometimes. More updates soon!

Yaaarrrr! Here be pirates!

2009-11-10T20:41:00.004+13:00

Last Saturday, we had a Pirate-themed House Party! It wasn't for any particular reason, other than the fact I like dress-up parties, and our house deserves to have good parties. We have this great room on the roof, dubbed the Skyloft, which is a wonderful space for parties and hanging out. With only a few weeks left in this house, we needed to make good use of it!

I made the decorations, including this pirate ship, made out of pieces of cardboard and the insulation cladding you put on water pipes!

I also made the food, complete with little pirate flags!

As is common with pirates, eventually the alcohol took over, and duels ensued!

Craig chose to come as a Muppet Treasure Island inspired cannibal, rather than a pirate!

Pirate wenches!

We had traditional and modern pirates turn up, including a Somali pirate complete with machine gun, and an internet pirate!

I had a great time hanging out with my friends, but I'm quite sad thinking about it. A lot of them will be leaving NZ at the end of the year, and I shall miss them! Don't want to have to find myself new friends, I like the ones I've got thanks!

Look how the garden grows...

2009-10-21T15:38:00.005+13:00

It's been a few weeks since I transplanted the majority of my plants so I thought it would be time for an update. The garden is doing very well!

I've still been keeping them in the Sky Loft, although on nice days I've put the containers outside on the roof. I just have to be careful because it can get a bit windy up there.

Chives (from which I have already harvested), a Chilli plant which needs transplanting soon, and plenty of lettuce.

Another lettuce and some pak choi. I'm a little worried that the pak choi don't really have enough space, but I read that they don't like being transplanted too much, so I've decided it's probably better to leave them.

Strawberry plants and starting to flower! And some mint I stuck in the top of the container.

My sunflower, which seems to be growing visibly every day - I should start marking it on the stake. Come to think of it, if it grows much taller I'll need a taller stake!

My cherry tomato plants. The closest one I have named Alpha, because it seems to be twice as big as the others, a real super plant!

Last but not least, my rocket. I've just harvested some of this for my salad this evening, and it was scrumptious!

Well, that's it so far. I'm planning on sowing some seeds at some point. I should get onto that, but life has been pretty hectic at the moment. Suffice it to say I should be a proud (and broke) home owner in less than 2 months time!

Yum! It's sushi time!

2009-10-19T22:45:00.002+13:00

Tonight I made sushi :)

It was the first time I've ever made sushi, and it was surprisingly easy. I bought a bamboo sushi mat from an Asian food store a while ago, which made rolling the sushi a lot easier. I think I will get better with practice too.

My sushi contains tuna, carrot, red pepper, avocado, snow peas and baby spinach. I made too much, but that just means there is some for when I'm hungry later on tonight when I can't sleep. I've just finished working night shifts, so my body clock is a little screwed up...

I love sushi, it is one of my go to lunches when I'm out and need something quick and yummy. Funnily enough I never ate it before moving to NZ. There are a lot of foods I never ate before moving here actually. There is such a range to choose from in Dunedin, particularly Asian foods, my taste buds have become a lot more adventurous!

All cultured out!

2009-10-16T20:32:00.005+13:00

I'm feeling very cultured this week. Not only did I go to the theatre on Saturday I also went to the ballet on Wednesday!

My mum came to visit me last weekend and for a change we decided to go and see a play on Saturday night. She lives out in the sticks and hasn't been to the theatre for years. I must admit I haven't been very much since I moved to NZ - although it is something I try to do whenever I visit Christchurch or Wellington. I've only seen one other play in Dunedin in my 3yrs here, and that was a couple of months ago. That was Emma, and by coincidence the lead actress in that was also in the play I saw on Saturday.

The play was called Glorious - and it was played down in the Studio Theatre, which I didn't even know existed!

Glorious is a modern play by a local playwright, Richard Huber. It only had 2 actors, a male and female. Unlike Emma, the play only had these 2 characters. In Emma, the 4 actors played several different roles.

The female lead, played by Anya Tate-Manning, is Gloria. Gloria is a wealthy socialite who decides to annoy her father by announcing she is marrying a writer-slash-waiter she met at her father's birthday party. She moves into his dingy apartment and takes a job as a waitress. Jimmy, played by Daniel Coppersmith, reluctantly puts up with her (although he isn't exactly indifferent to her charms). Both actors had a great grasp of an American accent and their chemistry really sparkled. I think Daniel stumbled on a couple of lines, but honestly the script is so fast paced who wouldn't miss a beat every now and then?

The play is based on the Screwball comedy genre of Hollywood films such as those starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. It is gloriously fast paced, the 2 characters continually sparring with quick-witted comments. I really enjoyed the background music too, the 1930s theme came through really well.

The intimacy of the studio theatre works really well for small plays such as Glorious - you feel as though you are right in the action and can almost reach out and touch the characters. The set itself never changed, and yet was able to be two completely different locations. I've always had an interest in set design, indeed I would have opted for that part of 'A' Level Drama if one of the other girls hadn't hogged it every time we did a play (so I was stuck with acting or make-up).

My only complaint was Gloria's wardrobe. I don't know where they got those dresses from, but I think they for an actress who was a couple of sizes bigger than Anna, they did nothing for her figure at all!

Glorious has been short-listed for this year's Playwright New Play Award, and deservedly so. I'd recommended everyone to go see it, if that showing had not been the last one!

On Wednesday, my friend and I went to the Regent Theatre to see Swan Lake. We'd bought our tickets ages ago and so I'd been looking forward to it for a while. I think I've only been to see the ballet once before, years ago, although I've seen a few on TV.

Swan Lake was performed by the Imperial Russian Ballet Company. They are world renowned, but I must admit I don't know an awful lot about ballet.

It was performed following the traditional version, but with the happier ending decreed by the Soviet Rule (I wonder if anyone does the original ending these days?) The ballerinas were hypnotic and did an excellent job of telling the story through dance and gesture. You don't need a script to understand the feelings they convey.

I loved the way the ballerinas resembled swans, not just through their costumes but also in their gestures - the slight move of an arm could instantly evoke the elegant arch of a swan's neck or wing. All the costumes were magnificent, although Prince Siegfried's white tights left little to the imagination!

The principal ballerina playing Odette, the Queen of Swans, was mesmerising - she could move in ways I didn't believe were entirely humanly possibly. I felt that the Prince faltered a little in places but otherwise he was very good too. I wonder how uneven the Regent Theatre's stage is - it certainly looked it from where I was sitting, which presumably must affect a dancer's ability.

My only problem was that I was exhausted from working a morning shift and the ballet was quite long, and the theatre very warm, so I almost felt like I was being lulled to sleep by the music and the dancing. That meant I didn't enjoy it quite as much as if I had been wide awake, but it can't be helped when I have to work.

The Imperial Russian Ballet Company will be returning to Dunedin next year, and I plan on seeing them again. I think they will be performing Snow White. I'm quite tempted to see Peter Pan next month, but to be honest I really need to start saving my money for my foray into house buying!!

Beginnings of the Container Garden!

2009-10-10T20:01:00.000+13:00

For a while now I've thought about growing my own vegetables. I've always grown up with home grown vegetables, my parents and my grandparents all being keen gardeners themselves. I have great memories of picking pea pods in Granddad's veggie patch and eating the yummy raw peas inside. I also have less fond memories of my dad growing several tonnes of courgettes and declaring that he "grew them especially" for me every year, despite the fact that I absolutely hate them. So I won't be growing courgettes, and I'm aiming not to grow so much of one thing that I won't know what to do with it and it goes to waste.

At the moment I live in rental accommodation and whilst we have a lovely garden I can't exactly dig it up for a veggie patch. Our Landlady doesn't even trust us to care for the garden properly and has a professional gardener do it for her. Hopefully I will soon have my own house and garden, but in the meantime I'll have to make do with a container garden.

My little veggie collection started when I was at the Farmer's Market one saturday morning, and on impulse bought 3 cherry tomato plants. A couple of days later I headed to a local nursery, YouthGrow in North Dunedin, and picked up a few more seedlings. YouthGrow is a nursery run by Presbyterian Support, helping young people to earn skills and gain employment. I am a volunteer for another PS initiative, the Buddy Programme (which I'll blog about another time). They do a lot of charity work with families in Dunedin and so I wanted to support them by buying some plants from the YouthGrow nursery.

I've decided to start small and kick off my veggies with seedlings rather than attempting to grow from seed. Less chance of me killing them! Once I get into the swing I'll start growing a few things from seed, but I don't want to over do it and end up with too much all at once.

The plants are currently living in the skyloft, our conservatory on the roof. On calm, sunny days I'll put them out on the balcony but the weather has been so changeable lately I dare not subject them to that right now.

I've also replanted them into bigger containers, so now they've moved from the bookcase to the floor.

I'll update with more photos as they grow and I add more to the collection! Can't wait until harvest time!

Reaching a nursing goal!

2009-09-29T12:56:00.002+13:00

I've just handed in my Level 1 Professional Portfolio!

I am so relieved that stress is off my shoulders! Of course the Level 2 Portfolio is due in another 5 months, but at least I am halfway there with this one.

For those that don't know, Registered Nurses in NZ have to meet certain practice competencies to gain and renew their practising certificates. There are 2 ways we can prove this. The first option is waiting until the Nursing Council decides to audit you and then compiling a portfolio with evidence to show how you have met the competencies. The second option is signing up to your employer's Professional Development Recognition Programme (PDRP). This consists of several levels. As a New Graduate RN, the terms of my first year of employment are that I submit a Level 1 Portfolio at 6 months and a Level 2 Portfolio at about 12 months.

Most RNs work at Level 2. You can progress to Level 3 or 4 by submitting further portfolios, but for these levels it would usually mean you had a more senior role or were more experienced in your field. If you are on the PDRP you are exempt from the audits, at least for a while.

Although the portfolios are a pain to do, they are beneficial in providing proof to the Nursing Council that an RN is maintaining his or her competence to practice. A lot of nurses freak out about them, but those of us that have trained recently in degree programmes are much more used to putting portfolios together.

The New Grad RNs are also being encouraged to apply for the postgraduate courses next year. To be honest, I have no intention of studying next year, even if it is free. I feel like I need a year to consolidate my knowledge and concentrate on improving my nursing practice. There are also a lot of practical ward-based certificates and courses I'd like to spend my time doing next year. Although I do want to continue postgraduate study at some point, I really don't think I'd get an awful lot out of it this soon into my practice.

Anyway, I'm going to have a short break from portfolio-related work and focus on some other things, in particular buying my first house!

Intensive Update #3

2009-09-26T22:33:00.000+12:00

My blog has been taken over for the last 6 months by tales from my trip to South East Asia, and so I haven't written about anything else. Hopefully now I'll get back on track!

So, first a bit of an update in what has been happening in my life during the last few months:

1 - Job

I started my new job at the hospital about 10 days after I got back from my trip. Six months in, it is still going really well, and I really feel like I'm improving as an RN. As a new graduate I have this job for a year. After that I'll have to find a permanent job, hopefully in the same place I'm working now and definitely still in Dunedin - I have no plans to move elsewhere! I feel settled in Dunedin, and it must feel like home because I always miss it and am glad to get back whenever I leave! I'm not sure I've ever really had that feeling in my life before...

2 - House

I'm currently looking for my first house! Yes, I'm entering the property market, and hopefully before the end of the year when my rental agreement runs out or else I'll be homeless! It is proving quite hard, houses I like tend to be sold very quickly before I can even make a decision! I've got a few lined up to see this week though, so hopefully something will come of it.

3 - Free time

Well I don't have much of this any more, due to all the working! I've had to give up choir for the rest of the year, but hopefully I will be back there next year and able to be a bit more focused! My writing is also pretty sporadic at the moment, I think I need to get into a routine and plan my free time a little better to make room for it. I've also been trying my best to spend time with my friends lately, as a lot of them are leaving at the end of the year - won't have many left after that!! And then there's the boyfriend...

One new hobby I've taken up is vegetable gardening. Well, sort of. I've got the beginnings of it anyway. It'll all be in containers, at least until I get my own garden. I'll blog about it later.

I'm making this a short update. The clocks go forward an hour tonight, which means I get an hour less sleep. I have to work at 7am tomorrow! Argh!

SE Asia Trip - Conclusion!! (Finally)

2009-09-22T23:27:00.002+12:00

So it's finally over! It only took me six months to catch up on the blogging for my trip. I took a lot of photos and it took a while to weed through them all. And with my busy life at the moment it has been pretty difficult to write it all up. Remind me not to attempt such an extensive travel blog again!

I really enjoyed my time in Laos, just wish I had longer and could have visited the southern part too, but I'll have to save that for next time. It would be nice to go with somebody next time as well, just because I did find it more difficult than usual to meet people. From previous experience, I usually prefer to travel alone - I can do my own thing and don't waste time doing things I don't want to do because I'm compromising with somebody else. Yes, I'm selfish, but I don't see the point in going to the other side of the world and not seeing or doing what you dreamed of. It really amazes me how people can go to these exotic places and spend their time drunk and hungover instead of actually exploring and absorbing the place. I mean, you could have done that at home!

It has actually been 6 months since my trip now, and it seems like a long time ago. It has been enjoyable re-reading my travel journal and going through my photos to stir my memory! Now I have it all online, I can have a quick read back whenever and wherever I want to remember the wonderful time I had!

SE Asia Trip, Part 12 - Bandar Seri Begawan

2009-09-04T06:57:00.000+12:00

18/03/09 - 19/03/09

After my trip into the jungle it was time for a bit of a rest. One thing I noticed about Brunei was how hot it was! Even though it was probably around the same temperature in Laos I rarely saw the sun there, but in Brunei the sun was baring down and the sky bright blue. I'd gotten used to the Laos haze so it was weird for the day to be so bright.

I decided to go out for an evening stroll again, as I wanted to take some photos of the famous mosque, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque. I'd noticed it all lit up the night before and I wanted to capture it's magnificence.

The mosque is surrounded by gardens and a lagoon.

The ceremonial boat in the lagoon - not sure what this is for?

Across the lagoon.

I went back in the daytime to see what the mosque looked like in daylight.

Personally I prefer the night time look, but it is still stunning.

After wandering around for a while in the morning, I eventually found the Royal Regalia Museum. The signposts weren't very helpful! This museum houses many gifts from around the world, given to the Sultan of Brunei. There were some stunning pieces, including the royal chariot. Unfortunately photography wasn't allowed and I had to check my camera in. I did like the mandatory walking around barefoot though - my shoes were killing me!

The Royal Regalia Building.

I also wanted to visit the Brunei Museum - the national museum. For some reason, however, this museum is about 6km outside the city centre. I managed to catch a bus out there, and the locals on the bus were very helpful in getting the driver to stop in the right place for me.

The museum was separated into different halls. I enjoyed the exhibit of Islamic Art, the historical timeline of Brunei, and the natural history hall was quite interesting too.

The only problem with this museum is that it is so far away from town. The buses seemed to be pretty sporadic and after waiting a while I decided to walk back. On the way I stopped at the Tomb of Sultan Bolkiah, the 5th Sultan of Brunei, who ruled during the country's Golden Age. His tomb lies where the original capital city is believed to have been, on the banks of the Brunei River.

The Tomb of Sultan Bolkiah.

The view on the way back to Bandar Seri Begawan.

It was a pretty long and hot walk back. Luckily I didn't have to walk the whole way, as a porshe suddenly pulled up beside me and an English woman offered me a lift back to town. I happily accepted. She had been working in Brunei for a couple of years but was going back to the UK shortly. She dropped me off outside the Handicraft Centre as I wanted to check it out too. That was not hugely exciting though, full of overpriced handicrafts and ornaments.

That was about it for my short time in Brunei. I would recommend it as a stopover destination if you've got plenty of money, are travelling as a couple or family, and don't mind package tours. It really isn't geared up for the independent budget traveller. At least the museums are free!

SE Asia Trip, Part 11 - The Green Jewel of Brunei

2009-09-03T22:53:00.005+12:00

17/03/09 - 18/03/09

As I travelled to SE Asia with Royal Brunei Airlines, this meant that in both directions I flew through Brunei. In a bit of spontaneity whilst booking my flights, I opted for a free stopover on the way back. I'd never really considered Brunei as a holiday destination before, and indeed knew very little about it. So after booking my flights I did a bit of research into this tiny country.

Negara Brunei Darussalam, or the Abode of Peace, is a tiny country on the north coast of Borneo, which gained independence from the UK in 1984. It used to be a much larger and more powerful Sultanate several hundred years ago, but a war with Spain, and loss of territory to Sarawak ended the Empire. There are currently around 400,000 people living in Brunei, 67% of which are Muslim. Alcohol is banned, although non-Muslims and foreigners are allowed to bring in a small amount.

I only had two days in Brunei and because it is not really a country set up for the independent traveller, I'd pre booked a hotel and a day trip to make my short time there more hassle-free. I was picked up at the airport by the hotel - one of the few budget ones, but they still pick you up. It was evening, so the city was quiet. It was strange to see signs in English everywhere after a month in Laos. After settling in I wandered out to find something to eat. The town was dead. There really is not a lot to do here at night - all the pubs and nightclubs were forced to close after prohibition, so aside from a cinema, a mall and a couple of restaurants there aren't many places to go at night. I guess people here are the early-to-bed-early-to-rise type!

I did chat to a security guard and his friend who seemed a bit bemused to see me out and about, but I explained I was looking for food and they helped me out. I also got a couple of offers of lifts from men driving by, which I firmly refused. They were probably only trying to help out the silly foreign girl, but hey, you never know. I don't accept lifts from strangers at home (not that I'm ever offered any) so why would I abroad?

The next day I had booked an excursion into the Temburong district to visit the jungle. This involved taking a speedboat to Bangar, the capital of Temburong. Then a bus to Batang Duri and a long boat to the Ulu Ulu Resort in Ulu Temburong National Park. From here I would be going on a trek and a canopy walk. I found this tour on the Internet, there were a few around that I could find but not many, and they were all pretty expensive.

Kampong Ayer - otherwise known as the Venice of the East.

This water village is found in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei. Roughly 39,000 people live here (10% of the population) and as well as houses there are mosques, shops, schools and a hospital.

We sped past the floating village on our way up river to Bandar.

The ferry pier in Bandar.

This was a pleasant town, although there were smelly durian fruit lurking on the pier!

The longboats we took into the jungle!

View from the longboat.

Lovely jungle scenery!

Gorgeous day!

Ulu Ulu Temburong National Park Resort.

The National Park covers about 550 square kilometres of pristine jungle. Brunei has always made it's money from oil, so they've had very little need to desecrate their forests, unlike many other countries. A lot of this national park is pretty unreachable, but there is a little bit you are allowed access to, with a tour group.

After being shown around the Eco-resort, we were boated across to the start of the track.

Climbing up the muddy track to the canopy walk.

Luckily there were steps some of the way! A lot of steps...

Eventually we reached the canopy walk. The only other people in my group were a middle-aged Thai couple, who had struggled with the trek so far. They didn't want to climb any more, so it was just me and the guide who climbed the scaffold up to the canopy walk.

The canopy walk!

Views from the canopy.

Disappointingly I saw very little wildlife on the trip. I was hoping for some monkeys, or at least some horn bills. I think that the timing of the trip was wrong - as we didn't reach the canopy until mid morning. Earlier would have been better to catch the wildlife. Still, it was a gorgeous day and after the walk we were treated to a great meal and I got to go swimming in the river!

The resort was a lovely place but pretty empty. This seemed to be a bit of an ongoing theme with places in Brunei - lots of places to go, but hardly anyone there. I rarely saw anyone else in my hotel either. The country has an air of ageing decadence about it - a lot of money has been spent on elegant buildings, but they are collecting dust around the edges from lack of use. For example there was a big theme park built for the Sultan, which was once well-used but now most of the rides are broken down or closed. It's like wandering around a ghost town.

Only one post left on my SE Asia trip, my last day in Brunei exploring the capital city. Almost home!

SE Asia Trip, Part 10 - Leaving Laos

2009-09-02T23:52:00.001+12:00

15/03/09 - 16/03/09

I opted for another form of transport to get from Vang Vieng to Vientiane, after the awful minibus experience. This time I chose the VIP bus - what makes it VIP I have no idea. I was fairly wary at first as a tuktuk picked me up from the Guesthouse and dropped me off in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. I was told this was where the bus would pick me up. I was there with a German woman in her 60s, and neither of us were entirely convinced we were going to be getting to Vientiane! Eventually after about half an hour, some other people turned up and the bus followed shortly after. The trip was uneventful, and a lot more comfortable than that minibus!

We reached Vientiane at about 5.30pm. In hindsight, not a good idea to arrive late in the afternoon, as I couldn't find anywhere to stay. Apparently because of the change in Thai Visa regulations, there are a lot more people doing visa runs over the border to Vientiane. The German lady and I decided to try and find a room together, but in the end we had to go a lot more upmarket in order to find somewhere to sleep though. It was nice to spend my last night in relative luxury though!

I spent my last night in Laos where I had spent my first, at a little bar on the banks of the Mekong. I had a great dinner with my new German friend and chatted the night away. You do meet all kinds of people when travelling, and I spent my last night in Laos hanging out with a 67yr old!

The Mekong bars in Vientiane.

I went to the market the next morning to buy a cheap suitcase so I could pack my masses of souvenirs a bit more efficiently. Afterwards I spent a leisurely few hours browsing in Vientiane before heading to the bus station to cross the border and catch the Night Train back to Bangkok. I really like Vientiane and wish I'd been able to spend another day or two there. There were a few more things I'd still like to see in the area. Will have to save them for next time though!

I'd timed my travelling so that I would travel back to Bangkok overnight and could go straight to the airport from the train station for my flight the next day. It meant a few extra hours hanging around the airport, but I didn't really feel like negotiating the hectic world of Bangkok again. So that's it, my trip to Laos is over! But wait, I've still got a few days before I'm back in NZ... time to visit Brunei!

SE Asia Trip, Part 9 - Vang Vieng

2009-09-01T22:51:00.001+12:00

13/03/09 - 15/03/09

Leaving Luang Prabang in the morning was a bit of rush because I hadn't packed the night before... Hence I managed to forget a few things in the hotel room, like my NZ SIM card, the silver charm I'd bought, the silk I'd dyed... Oops. Oh well, it wasn't anything major, but it was annoying. I also had way too many bags because of all the stuff I'd bought at the Night Market...

The journey to Vang Vieng was absolutely awful - remember I had done half of it before, but doing it again it was even worse. The reason being is because I'd opted to go by minibus, and somehow I got stuck in the front seat between the driver and another passenger. The seat I had was not even a real seat! There was no seat belt and barely any legroom. Every time we went around a corner - which was very frequently - I had to brace myself against the ceiling. I really wished I'd just taken the normal bus.

My bad luck didn't stop there. Finally arriving in Vang Vieng, I got into a tuktuk to take me to a Guesthouse in town. Only when I went to get out of the tuktuk, my foot slipped and I fell through the grate on the back of the vehicle. My leg got stuck to about mid calf! I managed to pull myself out but I ended up with some massive bruising and pain. Forgot it was Friday the Thirteenth!

When I'd recovered from my journey, I had a hobble around the town, and across the bamboo bridge to the island. It seemed pretty quiet, but I guess it was because all the drunk Brits and Aussies hadn't managed to stumble back to town from tubing yet! They came later...

The bamboo bridge area at dusk.

The next day I went on a day trip involving some kayaking, tubing and caving. I'd opted for one without too much trekking, as my leg was still pretty banged up. There were about 13 of us on the trip, so much less personal than the previous organised things I'd done, but I did get chatting to a couple of Irish girls.

First stop was the Water Cave, a short 1km walk from the sawngthaew through some dried up rice paddies. A lot of tour groups came here so we had to wait a while to go in. This was because to see this cave, you had to go in by inner tube!

Entering the Water Cave!

Tubing along the cave was pretty hard work when we were going upstream, luckily I occasionally got to tag onto one of the guides and be towed along! The cave had some interesting rock formations but I couldn't take any photos as my camera was in my dry bag and not waterproof. Should look into getting some kind of waterproof pouch for these occasions.

Afterwards we had a relaxing picnic lunch by the river and had fun watching the best kept dog I've seen in Laos trying to cross the river to get to our food. It wasn't a deep river but the dog was obviously scared of the water. He made it in the end though!

Walking back to the sawngthaew, we stopped at the Elephant Cave, so named for it's elephant like rock formation.

Can you see the elephant?

I bet you can see the snake though!

Next up was kayaking! We drove to a point 10km above Vang Vieng so we could kayak down river back to town.

The scenery around Vang Vieng is nice, although overall I preferred Nong Kiaow.

Kayaking down the Nam Song.

Kayaking was pretty hard work too, particularly when we got caught in the rapids. I got overturned once, when the kayak in front of us got stuck and went over the rapids sideways. Lost one of my jandals! Luckily I got to change partners and I didn't get overturned again, although we had to get out of the kayak because we got stuck and I got washed down the river a bit. I wasn't hugely impressed with the guides, there was a long stretch of the trip where I didn't even see them anywhere, good thing we didn't drown!

We took a break at the 'Bucket Bars' at about the 5km mark. This was where all the tourists came to get drunk and tube down the river. My first taste of the 'real' tourist trap that is Vang Vieng, and I really did not like it.

The notorious Bucket Bars.

The rope swings where drunken people jump into the water... hmm, safe...

Kayaking into the sunset!

The second half of the trip was a little frustrating as we had to keep dodging tubers, but at least there were less rapids to fall over! Unfortunately I'd lost my jandals, so I had to walk back to the guesthouse barefoot, which elicited a few comments from the locals!

It was a fairly tough day physically for me, but I think that was because of my sore leg and I wasn't feeling too great - by the evening I had a fever yet I felt freezing cold - I went to dinner in a full set of thermals, clearly there was something wrong with me!

Vang Vieng is quite surreal at night, the Friends Bars that line the streets blaring out Friends episodes must be unique, and not really in a good way! It is really odd. But when you're feeling as ill as I was, it was quite comforting to curl up on some cushions, eat sandwiches and watch mindless TV. So I admit I did succumb to the Vang Vieng backpacker trap a little...

Luckily my fever broke overnight and I felt a lot better the next day. I wasn't well enough to do anything too active with my morning, but I did have a nice walk around town before getting ready to catch the bus back to Vientiane. Only one more night left in Laos! Oh no!

SE Asia Trip, Part 8 - Luang Prabang, the Third Attempt

2009-06-18T22:50:00.012+12:00

09/03/09 - 12/03/09

And it's back in Luang Prabang for the third time! This time I will be riding elephants and learning how to weave!

I booked a half day elephant ride through Tiger Trails. There are a lot of places in Luang Prabang offering elephant rides, but not all of them are reputable places or treat their animals well. Tiger Trails is a pretty well established company who operate under the Fair Trek community-based tourism logo. They work with the Elephant Village, about 15km outside LP on the banks of the Nam Khan. It was originally established in 2003, by a German I believe. There are 8 elephants in the village, most rescued after being injured whilst working in the logging industry. They are all kept healthy and looked after by a specialist vet. The Elephant Village is endorsed by Stay Another Day, an initiative which promotes sustainable tourism in Laos and Cambodia.

The group I went with consisted of a Canadian couple and 4 Germans, so once again I was the single one! When I arrived at the Elephant Village I also met a couple who I'd met earlier in Muang Ngoi.

An earlier group riding their elephants through the river.

As the rest of my group came in twos, they all shared elephants. I was the odd one out, so I got my own! We climbed onto the elephants from a specially constructed platform. Each elephant was also ridden by a Mahout, who knew the elephant really well. My Mahout was a young guy but he had been doing this job for 5 years. You can check out all the elephants here.

Me riding an elephant!

Didn't feel hugely safe going down such a steep hill, but we made it!

Wading through the river!

I was the first person to try riding on the elephant's neck. The mahout seemed perfectly happy lazing around in the seat and playing with my camera!

Heading back up to camp.

After our ride, we helped to feed the elephants. They definitely eat a lot!

We were also provided with yummy lunch at the Elephant Village Eco Lodge, before heading back to Luang Prabang. It was a fun morning, though I wish I hadn't worn such light colours, I was filthy by the time I'd finished. They also run full day and overnight trips, and Mahout courses where you can learn a bit more about the elephants. We were supposed to go to Tad Sae waterfall as well, but apparently it is all dried up at this time of year.

The rest of the day I spent enjoying LP and meeting up with the other two girls I'd left in Muang Ngoi as well as two of the German guys I'd met on the elephant trip.

Over the next two days I'd enrolled in a weaving course. The aim was to make a traditional Lao silk scarf. The course is run by Ock Pop Tok, a Lao textile gallery and weaving centre founded by a Lao weaver and an English photographer in 2000. It provides sustainable employment to rural weavers. The centre itself is in a gorgeous garden location a wee bit out of the main centre of town. The course is quite expensive, but well worth it I thought.

The first half of the day involved learning to dye silk. There was only me and one other woman on the course. We had an interpreter, a young guy named Morn who was studying English at Uni. He was a really nice guy and very helpful. He first told us about the how the silk was made and dyed, and the origins of weaving. Then we got to choose some silk and what natural dyes we wanted to use.

Making my dyes!

We were learning how to make natural dyes. I chose tarragon root (yellow), sappan tree bark (purple) and some kind of berries (orange).

The range of colours you can get from the natural ingredients found in the Centre's garden.

The other participant was only there for the morning, so that left me on my own for the rest of the course - making it even better value as these people were solely focused on teaching me. They made me a yummy Lao lunch and then I got to choose two colours for my scarf and learnt to spin the silk onto the spools. I chose a blue-grey colour for the base and a pinkish colour for the pattern.

I was introduced to my teacher, a Lao lady who spoke no English (hence the need for an interpreter). She showed me how to work the loom and make the pattern. It was quite difficult but I eventually got into a rhythm. By the end of the day I'd done about a third, with a bit of help!

Before heading to the weaving class the next day I got up early to watch the Monks collect alms. This happens early every morning in Luang Prabang and is a big tourist attraction, although it really only involves the locals. We just stand around and watch. There are a lot of rules about not getting too close to take photos etc. I stood on the other side of the road and watched, well away from the snap-happy tourists.

After that I headed up Mount Phousi to check out the views. Unfortunately there really wasn't much of a view as the whole of LP is blanked in smog at this time of year.

The entrance of the Royal Palace, from the gates of Mount Phousi.

Random Buddha statues dot the mountain.

Yey, naga statues!

I spent the rest of the day finishing my scarf. Unfortunately lunch today wasn't so great - mushroom soup and fermented fish - yuk! But at least there was plenty of sticky rice!

I was pretty proud of my finished scarf - the edges weren't perfect, but it wasn't bad for a first attempt. I haven't taken a photo yet of the finished piece. It was hard work but well worth the effort to actually say I learnt to weave, Lao-style!

In the evening, my friend and I went to see the cultural performance at the Children's Cultural Centre. I saw something similar before in Vientiane, but actually I preferred this one. The kids were great and it was quite interactive too. They started with a Baci ceremony where they greeted everybody in the audience and tied white strings around our wrists and gave us food and water.

The Baci ceremony.

Some of the young performers.

There were some lovely dances, full of energy and fun. There was also a puppet show in Lao, depicting the legend of Pi Mai Lao or Lao New Year celebrations. Luckily we were given a leaflet to explain what was happening! It was pretty funny though!

Well, that's it for Luang Prabang. After the show I spent way too much money in the night market buying souvenirs and gifts, and got a great Lao massage before heading to bed. It was up early the next morning to head to Vang Vieng. My trip is almost over!

SE Asia Trip, Part 7 - Carry on up the Nam Ou

2009-06-18T22:48:00.010+12:00

04/03/09 - 08/03/09

Further north of Luang Prabang, along the Nam Ou river, nestles the small town of Nong Kiaow. Even further upriver lies Muang Ngoi. And when I say upriver, I mean it. You can't reach Muang Ngoi by road, only by boat. Nong Kiaow is reachable by road now, but you can also catch a slow boat up from Luang Prabang.

I decided to take the minibus up to Nong Kiaow and then boat the rest of my journey. Judging by the amount of backpackers arriving into Nong Kiaow late in the afternoon and struggling to find rooms, it is probably a good idea to get to Nong Kiaow earlier - I arrived on the bus at around midday, and had no problems finding somewhere to stay.

Nong Kiaow is really two villages, joined by the bridge across the Nam Ou. I headed over the bridge to the east side where I found a cheap and basic bamboo hut (I think this was CT Guesthouse, otherwise known as Pha Noy Guesthouse).

View of the bridge from my balcony.

Some more bamboo huts - there were a lot to choose from!

View across the river to Nong Kiaow - you can make out the boat landing if you look really closely.

During the afternoon I wandered down to the beach below the bridge, where kids were swimming and a few fishermen were working. I stumbled across a female tourist topless sunbathing (though she was lying on her stomach). A few kids came by and started staring and laughing about it - I'm not sure she realised how much of a spectacle she was making of herself. It was really quite culturally insensitive of her to show that much flesh, particularly as this is a fairly rural, traditional area, not some resort. Lao people even swim fully clothed.

Nong Kiaow is a very quiet peaceful spot. I know a lot of travellers come through here, but honestly they must not stick around long - I barely saw any walking around the town. I had a good wander around the dusty streets, taking in the stunning scenery and chatting to the gaggles of local kids.

The gorgeous view of the Nong Kiaow boat landing from the bridge.

The next day I set off on the 3km-ish walk to some nearby caves where guerrillas and local people sheltered during the Indochina War. It's a pleasant walk, though I wouldn't recommend walking it in the heat of the day as there wasn't much shade.

A young boy was waiting at the makeshift ticket office to take my entrance fee. I asked him if he went to school and he told me he did sometimes. A short walk over a bridge and through some paddy fields brought me to a rickety bamboo staircase leading up to the mouth of the cave - halfway up the karst cliff.

The young fee collector.

I wonder if this existed when the Lao people hid there?? I doubt it!

Cool cave formations.

The cave was massive, probably could have fit a few hundred people in there.

There was another cave a little further along the path which I thought I would visit next. However on my way out of this cave I was accosted by a very smelly, dirty Lao man, who desperately wanted to tell me about the other cave. I told him I already knew about it thanks, and headed off in the right direction. The man started following me, really too close for comfort (he smelled REALLY bad) and I was getting a bit nervous and annoyed so I kept stopping and taking photos in the hopes he would pass me by. But no luck for a while until I stopped by a stile and he climbed over it. Then I quickly legged it back the way I'd come! Missed out on the second cave, but really my alarm bells were ringing that that guy was dodgy. I heard from another traveller later that she had had the same issue and when she reached the cave the man had confronted her and tried to kiss her and told her he loved her. When she attempted to leave, another man appeared and she had to give them money before she could get away. Not sure if it was the same guy, but I assume so. Beware if you are a female visiting on your own!

Paddy fields and karst mountain scenery. Lovely!

Sunset from the bridge - I lingered on this bridge a lot!

Nong Kiaow is a great place to chill for a few days, but there isn't an awful lot to do. There are a few treks advertised in town, including one to some waterfalls I would have liked to do, if I could have found anyone in the office to talk to me about it. The other problem that I have had continually on this trip is that because I'm on my own everything costs more unless I can find people willing to do these activities with me. So I'll be saving that trip for next time, hopefully I'll be back with a friend (or sister, hint hint)!

Of course, if you can't cope without cellphone reception and Internet, you probably won't like Nong Kiaow, and Muang Ngoi even less, if you can't do without electricity! But then you probably shouldn't be in Laos in the first place!

The next day I took the long tail boat up to Muang Ngoi, about an hour's ride up river. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, I can see why people say this boat ride should not be missed. I'm glad I chose this route instead of the oversubscribed Huay Xai to Luang Prabang one.

Cows enjoying a swim!

Muang Ngoi from the boat.

I met three girls on the boat who had been travelling together for a few days and they invited me to find a bungalow with them in Muang Ngoi. We found bargain basic huts with hammocks for 30,000 kip (so 15,000 each for two people - $3NZ) - the cheapest accommodation I had in Laos.

Our rustic little hut :)

Beautiful sunset - always seem to be able to find one of these in Laos!

My time in Muang Ngoi was mostly spent relaxing by the river and reading. Again there are a few walks and tours you can do, but really the nicest thing is just to relax and enjoy the surroundings. Muang Ngoi is a very quiet place - there is just one main street which leads to nowhere, and no motorbikes or cars. The only noise comes from the generators which kick in for a few hours in the evening for a bit of electricity.

Whilst we were there a big delivery of Beer Lao arrived by boat. It was dropped off in large crates at the bottom of the boat landing. We came across a handful of women who were busy carrying these heavy crates up the steep steps to the village, whilst the men just looked on. I firmly believe nothing would get done in this country if it was left up to the men - the women seriously do all the hard work. The women were carrying 2 crates at a time - one on their backs tied on with a sling around their foreheads! Seriously worried about neck and spinal injuries in these women! We gave them a hand and carried up a few crates ourselves, much to the amusement of the local men.

The beach where I relaxed and went swimming.

An enterprising young Lao lady called Penny with a cute little baby had set up some bamboo sunbeds and umbrellas, which were free if you bought a drink or two. Bargain, Beer Lao and relaxing on the beach! I met a few other foreigners here, including an older American couple who had sold up their lives back home and were travelling the world. It was inspiring to find the adventurous spirit can still live on through years of marriage and grand kids etc.

The bustling main street of Muang Ngoi...

Me and the girls at one of our favourite meal spots.

After a couple of days of R&R up north, I felt it was time I headed back to Luang Prabang. One of the girls I'd met came with me, while the other two stayed a bit longer in Muang Ngoi. We caught the long tail boat back to Nong Kiaow, and were then switched to a slightly larger slow boat for the trip to Luang Prabang. Unfortunately because it was the dry season, the river was quite low. This meant there were a couple of times when the boat got stuck and we had to get out and walk!

Walking along the riverside while the boat was navigated through the shallows.

Wading back out to the boat.

The boat ride was pretty long and cramped, but the scenery was lovely to look at. The nice thing about boat journeys is that there is always a slight breeze so you don't have to deal with the sticky heat! We arrived in Luang Prabang at around 5pm and I headed to another Guesthouse I had been recommended that was slightly cheaper than where I had stayed before.

I really enjoyed my time up north and in retrospect I probably could have spent a bit longer up there. Still there is always next time! Hopefully the area will still be as tranquil as it was when I visited, but I'm a little doubtful. I heard the Chinese were planning to build a dam further upstream that would devastate the Nam Ou and this area of Laos. Let's hope that never comes to pass.

SE Asia Trip, Part 6 - Luang Prabang, the Second Attempt

2009-06-18T22:46:00.008+12:00

02/03/09 - 03/03/09

I arrived back in Luang Prabang in time to have a wander around the peninsula at sunset.

The next day I spent the morning in Luang Prabang before heading out to Kwang Si Waterfalls in the afternoon. Practically every travel agent along the main street sells some sort of tour or trip to Kwang Si, or you can just hop on a tuk-tuk and negotiate a price if there is a group of you. I joined a minibus heading out to Kwang Si. I got chatting to an Australian girl on the bus and we spent the afternoon together exploring the waterfall.

Kwang Si Falls are located about an hours drive from Luang Prabang. The main fall is about 180ft (according to Wikipedia...) but there are several smaller cascades into the pools below the main fall as well.

As it is the dry season there isn't an awful lot of water - I've seen photos of the falls in the rainy season and they practically cover the above cliff wall.

We decided to climb to the top of the falls - unfortunately this is what the climb looks like if you go up the right side of them. As we learnt later there are steps on the left side...

At the top of the falls - a fence presumably to stop tourists falling over the falls.

The pools at the top of the falls.

Back at the bottom again, this is taken from the base of the falls looking out.

This is the swimming area further down from the falls. We had a good time along with all the other tourists swimming and relaxing. Certainly a nice break from the heat.

Near Kwang Si Falls there is also a Bear Rescue Centre, where bears which have been rescued from poachers are looked after. I think they are all Asiatic Black Bears. There used to be a tiger here too, but unfortunately she died recently of a nervous system disease. These bears are endangered and you have pretty much nil chance of seeing them in the wild. While I don't like seeing animals in captivity, at least these ones are protected from poachers and the destruction of their habitat.

Unfortunately I didn't get many decent photos of the bears, but it was fun watching them play around in their enclosures.

On the way back the minibus stopped off at one of those 'traditional' villages - the places that make you walk around a set path lined with stalls, trying to convince you to buy something. Argh. The highlight of that side trip was giving my Sprite can to a little girl to play with it with her friends, and also watching all the baby chickens following their mothers around.

Back in Luang Prabang I spent the evening with my new found friend, hanging out at l'Etranger and the Night Market, followed by some god awful lao lao cocktails at a bar. The bars close at 11pm for the enforced curfew, so not a late night for us as we had to make it back to our guest houses before the police rounded us up! I nearly got locked out...

I decided I would leave Luang Prabang the next day and head north up the river to Nong Khiew and Muang Ngoi. But I'll be back in Luang Prabang yet again before heading home!

SE Asia Trip, Part 5 - The Mysterious Plain of Jars

2009-06-18T22:44:00.014+12:00

28/02/09 - 02/03/09

The Plain of Jars is one of those things that I've heard of before but never really realised where it was, until I started researching my trip to SE Asia. I wasn't sure if I could squeeze in a visit during my time in Laos and how difficult it would be to visit the sites on my own. In Luang Prabang, however, practically every tour company was asking for extra people to join trips to the PoJ so I decided on the spur of the moment that joining a tour would be a lot easier than trying to do it all myself. I opted for a 3 day 2 night tour by minivan. My group consisted of me, 3 Germans and another guy from New Zealand - the one and only Kiwi I met throughout the entire trip!

We set off along the winding road south of Luang Prabang fairly early in the morning. I'm sure the views from the tops of the hills would have been amazing if it was not for all the smog from the slash-and-burn farming going on. Our guide spoke good English and was up for a laugh and a joke which made the drive a lot more enjoyable. On the way we stopped at a Hmong village and a Khmu village for a quick look. I felt like a bit of a voyeur having a poke around, but the kids seemed to enjoy having us around.

A traditional Hmong house.

A Hmong village south of Luang Prabang.

This cute kid kept following us around. I'm not usually one for taking photos of kids, but they seemed to be expecting it and enjoyed looking at the camera screen to see themselves.

Villages along the road to Phonsavan.

We arrived in Phonsavan in the afternoon. I think I was expecting the town to be a lot more touristy but in reality we hardly saw any other foreigners. I'm not sure where they were all hiding! Phonsavan basically consists of one fairly busy main road with a couple of streets on either side of it. The town was built in the 1970s after the original capital of the province, Xieng Khouang, was destroyed due to fighting between the Pathet Lao and anti-communist troops (backed by the USA). It is on the main road to Vietnam, so there was a fair amount of traffic passing through, including a lot of motorbikes and mopeds - seemingly most people in Laos own one!

The view from our rather posh hotel - Dave desperately wanted to reach the cow but couldn't quite make it!

War souvenir display at the hotel.

Some more war memorabilia. There is A LOT of this type of stuff displayed around town, leftovers from the Vietnam War, which affected this area of Laos really badly.

I had a good first night in Phonsavan, eating at a local restaurant and chatting to some Vietnamese workers who were very pleased to see me drinking a huge bottle of Beer Lao.

The second day was the day we would actually be seeing the Plain of Jars. There are apparently more than 400 sites across the region, in Thailand and as far away as India, leading experts to suggest they were put along trade routes. Only Sites 1, 2 and 3 are easily accessible to the public. The others are unsafe due to the huge amount of unexploded ordnance in the area, left behind in the 'Secret War'. Laos is apparently the most bombed country in the world, and yet nobody really realises it was affected so much by the war in Vietnam. Apparently American planes dropped their extra bombs here on their way back to Thailand.

We visited Site 1 first, a short drive along dusty roads from Phonsavan. This is one of the largest sites, with over 250 jars of different sizes. We had to make sure we kept to the paths within the markers to ensure we didn't tread anywhere which hadn't been swept for bombs... I took tonnes of photos, but here are just a few of my favourites.

The mouth of a cave where local people and Pathet Lao soldiers sheltered from the dropping bombs. It is pretty big inside. There is a small hole in the top, probably damaged from a bomb hitting it. The landscape is spotted with craters, now overgrown with shrubs and weeds.

While some of the jars are intact, a lot have been damaged by time or by bombs.

Some jars have lids.

On the way to the next site we stopped by the old town of Muang Khoun. The German woman who travelled with us the day before had gotten food poisoning so she didn't come on the trip today, and one of the German guys was feeling worse as the day wore on. Our guide went on a mission to find him some medicine at the local pharmacies. In the meantime, we had a look at the local sites, including a stupa and a Buddhist temple.

Notice the bomb casings in the background.

We came across some monks exploring the stupa as well.

Inside the stupa - this one had been hollowed out by invaders attempting to find hidden treasures.

At least the Buddha is still standing... I mean, sitting...

We headed to Site 3 next, where we were pretty much forced to eat the lunch at the noodle shop that had set up by the entrance. Yum, noodle soup with the most grisly chicken I've ever seen - I fed it to the cute puppy that was hanging around... After that experience, it was a short walk through some cow fields and rice paddies, over a couple of bamboo bridges, to reach the next site. It was a really pretty one, set amongst trees and farmland.

Cows on our path on the way back from Site 3.

Finally, we visited Site 2, which for me was by far the prettiest and most atmospheric. It was set on top of a hill in a copse of trees. Some of the jars here are huge. Somebody joked that it was as though a group of giants had had a drinking session one night, and left their empty jars behind.

I think the tree grew up through this jar.

The sick German guy was still feeling pretty rough, so we opted to head back to town after seeing the final site, instead of taking a detour anywhere else. I had a quiet afternoon exploring the town and reading my book, heading out to eat on my own. Have to say, most of the food I've eaten on this trip hasn't exactly been mind-blowing, but at least I didn't get food poisoning, like the rest of my group. Must be the doxycycline at work!

The third day was basically just driving back to Luang Prabang. The Germans were all heading to Vang Vieng, whereas the Kiwi and I wanted to go back to LP. This meant a coordinated crossover at the town where these roads met. Didn't run so smoothly due to a lack of cellphone coverage, but we eventually caught up with the other minivan and dropped them off. Then Dave and I got a row of seats each to ourselves, which definitely helped with the windy trip back along the road to LP.

I knew I wanted to go back to LP because I wanted to head north, but I wasn't exactly sure of my plans. Time for a little spontaneity after my organised couple of days.

SE Asia Trip, Part 4 - Luang Prabang, the First Attempt

2009-06-09T16:20:00.015+12:00

25/02/09 - 27/02/09

After checking in and making myself look and feel a bit more human, I decided to take a wander up the main street of Luang Prabang. The main 'old town' part of Luang Prabang is a thumb shaped piece of land, with the Mekong river on one side and the Nam Khan flowing around to meet it. It was very hot, though not as bad as Vientiane, so I headed to the Royal Palace Museum where I could do some sightseeing away from the heat (seems to be a pattern of mine now...)

The Royal Palace was built between 1904 and 1909 after the previous one was destroyed during the Black Flag invasion. It is a mix of Lao and French styles of architecture. The monarchy lived here until 1975 when it was dissolved and Communism took over. The Palace was turned into a museum - which is a much better fate than being knocked down.

I wasn't allowed to take my camera inside, which was a shame as there were some really nice things. I really like the mosaic on the walls - it portrayed scenes of typical Lao life - and seeing the King and Queen's rooms, which looked apparently just as they did when they were occupied. There were also displays of gifts the monarchy had received and clothes they had worn.

Outside I chatted to a Lao man who worked at the Museum for a while. He was trying to convince me to move to Luang Prabang - think they might need to pay their nurses a wee bit more before I consider that! Then I had a look around the gardens, on the edge of which was a temple. Presumably this is where the Royal Family would go to worship.

I couldn't get inside but I did look around the outside - again it had some cool naga statues.

It was still too hot to attempt walking up Mt Phousi, so I headed to the riverside instead. There are a couple of restaurants along the river banks but it has nothing of the atmosphere of Vientiane.

The next day I was up early to get a head start on the day. I had problems changing my travellers cheques because my current signature doesn't exactly match the one on my EIGHT YEAR OLD passport, but eventually found somebody who would change it with my much more up-to-date driver's licence. I decided to spend the day seeing the city sights, which basically meant another day of temple-seeing.

To be honest I got bored of looking at temples fairly quickly, but the next few photos are from Wat Xieng Thong, one of the most historically important temples in Luang Prabang. It was founded in the 16th century by King Setthathilat and was spared during the Black Flag invasion because the leader of the invasion, Deo Van Tri, had been a novice monk there. He used the temple as his headquarters instead!

The temple is classic Luang Prabang architecture - apparently that's when the roofs sweep low to the ground.

On the back of the building above is a gorgeous mosaic depicting the Tree of Life, Buddhist style.

During the late afternoon I took a walk around the peninsula. I could see orange clad monks bathing in the Nam Khan river. There were a few very rickety looking bridges spanning the Nam Khan - but I wasn't too keen on crossing them!

Found some more nagas on the way home!

I spent the evening looking at all the pretty handicrafts at the night market and watching a movie at a cafe-slash-bookshop called l'Etranger. They have a funky room upstairs decked out with comfy floor cushions and a big screen TV. Yummy food (Western and Lao) and Beer Lao too!

The next day I decided to grab a slow boat ticket up the Mekong to the Pak Ou Caves. There must have been about 60-70 people waiting at the boat landing for the skippers to shepherd us down in groups of 6 to their waiting boats.

Here's our skipper - boy they hire them young here!

A common sight on the Mekong (looks pretty much like the photos from my last post!)

The Pak Ou caves are literally in the side of the cliffs on the bank of the river. They bring the boats up to some wooden pallets floating on the river and you clamber out and up some steep steps to the caves. On the way up the first thing I saw was this sign - if you can work out what it was trying to say you're smarter than me!

There are 2 main caves at Pak Ou, the lower one chockablock full of Buddha images, large and small. Apparently there are about 2500 sculptures inside. These caves have been spiritually significant even before the rise of Buddhism, when local people worshipped river spirits there. The Lao Royal Family used to come on pilgrimages here on Buddhist holidays. Now, however, they are mostly a tourist attraction and unfortunately I think the local river spirits are long gone.

The upper cave is a fair walk up some concrete pathways, populated with small children trying to sell the freedom of small caged birds. A big seated Buddha dominates the entrance, silently watching the tourists flock in and out.

The upper cave is much longer, bigger and darker and stupidly I forgot to bring my torch so I have no decent photos to show for my trip up there. After a quick look around I headed back to the boat.

On the way back the boat stopped off at a 'traditional' Lao village. There was basically a pathway to follow leading us around several market stalls selling the usual handicrafts, which I ignored for the touristy gimmick it was. There was also an interesting display of Lao alcohol and insects in jars - tried a bit of Lao rice wine, which was absolutely disgusting.

While the rest of the group wandered around the village I sat on the beach and took in the scenery, a much more pleasant way to spend my time I thought.

I got back to Luang Prabang at about lunchtime and had been planning on visiting the local waterfalls, but really I just wanted to be lazy and soak up the surroundings, as the next day I would be leaving Luang Prabang for a while to head to Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars!

SE Asia Trip, Part 3 - Vientiane to Luang Prabang, the long way round!

2009-06-08T21:52:00.011+12:00

23/02/09 - 25/02/09

Although I really liked Vientiane, I did want to push on to Luang Prabang. I thought I would be able to spend a bit more time here when I headed back to Bangkok at the end of my trip (this didn't actually go according to plan in the end, however...)

The most popular route from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is by road via Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng was once a gorgeous little town on the Song river, but it has become a backpacker mecca in recent years, with a fairly overt drug scene. Not really on my 'to do' list!

I decided to be a bit different and take a route that few travellers take - a three day voyage, on slow boat, sawngthaew and public bus, via Pak Lai and Sainyabouli.

The first day involved being up early enough to catch the slow boat from Kao Liew boat landing. The tuktuk driver helped me buy my ticket to Pak Lai and I dragged my stuff down the steep bank of the Mekong to the boat. Locals swarmed around me shifting their own bags and packages onto the boat as well. I looked around in vain hoping to see anybody else who might be a traveller, but no such luck, I was definitely on my own! I attracted a lot of curious glances from people wondering what on earth I was doing there, particularly from the many small children.

The view as we set off up the Mekong.

Random but beautiful buildings perched on the river bank.

A small village on the far side of the Mekong - I wonder if it is joined to any roads? Although there is now a road from Vientiane to Pak Lai many people still use the slow boats to get to the villages that are unreachable by road.

Fisherman on the Mekong.

Reflections in the still waters.

Glad I'm not on that boat!

These are typical of the slow boats that ply the Mekong - I'm on a similar one myself.

Secluded Buddhist temple - I wonder if it is only reachable by boat?

The inside of the boat I was on - it was full to begin with, but people were dropped off along the way, often jumping to other long tail boats which came up to the sides of our boat.

The sun begins to set as we reach Pak Lai - 10 and a half hours after leaving Vientiane.

Taking the slow boat up the Mekong was a lovely way to spend the day, although quite solitary as very few of the passengers spoke to me, and those that did didn't speak any English! I tried my best, but really being able to count to 10 and say 'hello' and 'thank you' are about as much as I can manage in Lao at present. The slow boat wasn't even as uncomfortable as I thought it would be, though I did have a bench to myself and my trusty cushion. It was nice to be able to stretch my legs when we reached Pak Lai and I refused all offers of rides up the hill. I found a room at the first guest house I came across - Jainhny Guesthouse - which I shared with these lovely little reptiles:

The power supply to Pak Lai promptly stopped as I went to find some dinner, and only came back on quite late, so I had a brief walk around the town after dark. There was some kind of funfair happening in the town square but I didn't really feel it was my place to participate, so I just had a quick look before going back to the guesthouse and to sleep.

The morning sunrise view from my guesthouse.

Leaving Pak Lai - I think I would have stayed another day if I hadn't been travelling alone. As it was I was only bridging the language gap with my phrasebook and there were no other travellers to be seen anywhere. At the bus station whilst I waited for my sawngthaew I spent my time chatting to a group of young Lao guys. They had fun looking through my Lao phrasebook and trying to teach me how to pronounce random words in Lao. Funnily enough the first question I always get asked by the locals I strike up conversations with isn't what my name is, but instead 'Do you have a husband/boyfriend?' Hmm.

I don't have any photos of the next part of the trip. That's because if I'd taken my camera out it would have been immediately covered in a thick coat of red dust. Sawngthaews are by far my least favourite form of transport ever, I have decided. They are basically pick-up trucks, mostly with a flimsy roof over the back, and two long benches in the back of the truck facing each other. I was crammed into one with about 8 locals, luggage and a few chickens. For about 5hrs of speed racing over potholes on dry, dusty tracks. Fun.

I spent the entire time with my sarong wrapped around my head, my bandanna covering my face and my sunglasses on. Some of the other women had towels wrapped around their heads, and there was one old guy with a balaclava on. I could see they were enjoying the trip about as much as I was - one woman was getting quite travel sick by the end of it.

Finally we reached the bustling metropolis of Sainyabuli.

Yeah. Actually I think Sainyabuli must have grown and changed a lot in the last couple of years, as the map and information in my Lonely Planet guidebook was utterly inaccurate. There looked like there were some shiny new roads and fancy hotels - who on earth these were catering for I've no idea. It took me forever walking up and down the main streets, developing blisters on my heels and between my toes (switching between my teva sandals and flip flops not a good idea - now I had no comfy footwear...) before I found a cheap guesthouse. It took a while longer for someone who actually worked there to appear and get me a room, but at least my new found language skills enabled me to ask for a room and find out the price.

Later in the afternoon, I took a short walk around the town, checked out the river and the market and bought some oranges. Now I'm ashamed to admit I spent the rest of the evening in my room, which actually had a TV with HBO and some good movies. In my defence, I was actually getting ill!

I had planned to spend a whole day in the Sainyabuli area, but as I was developing a cold I thought I would push on to Luang Prabang instead. It was only a 3 and a half hour trip by public bus, which was quite a relief after the journey the day before. The only significant thing to note of the trip was the ferry crossing, on this vehicle ferry:

I seriously was not convinced that ferry would take the weight of all the traffic on it, but at least it was only a very short trip. Must be very different in the wet season when the river is a lot stronger and wider!

I got to Luang Prabang at lunchtime and found a guesthouse in the 'Post Office' area recommended by Travelfish - called Rattana Guesthouse. Unfortunately a little too expensive for just one person, but otherwise comfy and clean. I was planning to use Luang Prabang as a base to explore some of the surrounding area, but I think it is a lovely town to spend time in on it's own merit.

I did enjoy this 3-day trip, but I can't help but think I perhaps should have done it later in the trip, in the other direction. Although it did help me pick up more Lao than I perhaps would have done sticking to the more well-trodden route, I did find it quite lonely, which did influence me to speed the trip up and spend less time actually exploring the area. Most other travellers I spoke to afterwards were unaware of this route, or the places I had mentioned, but were quite impressed I'd done it on my own so soon into my trip into Laos. I guess it was a bit of an achievement, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd been with a travelling partner.

More on my time in Luang Prabang to follow shortly!

SE Asia Trip, Part 2 - Vientiane, Laos

2009-06-06T16:12:00.016+12:00

21/02/09 - 22/02/09

First stop Vientiane - capital of Laos. After a few hours queueing to get through immigration (and it was Saturday so meant I had to pay more for my visa) I finally made it into the heart of Vientiane. It was early afternoon, scorching hot and dusty, but already I preferred Laos' capital to Bangkok. Much quieter for one thing!

I headed to Saysouly Guest House, because I'd heard the owner there would be able to help me out with the next part of my trip. It was a nice enough place, close to the Mekong river, but not far from the rest of town either. I didn't really know what to do with myself for the rest of the afternoon, so I wandered around the nearby Wats (temples) and chatted to some novice monks. They are always up for practising their English with the foreign tourists, particularly the female ones, I've discovered!

Beautiful blossoms :)

A common site - random tuktuks outside attractions such as this Wat.

Wat Mixay (I think) - it was a holiday when I was there, hence the flags.

I love these towers, particularly the dragon ornamentation :)

Mekong riverside bars - not too lively in the day, but a great place to go for dinner and a drink in the evening.

After that little sightseeing jaunt, I decided to catch the Yensabai traditional dance show at the Lao National Theatre, down the road from where I was staying. It was an enjoyable performance, though the venue felt more like a school hall than a capital city theatre. I liked seeing all the different costumes and dance styles. Each dance told a different story or was from a different cultural group in Laos.

After the show I headed to the first riverside bar I could find. It was dark, but the whole riverside was lit up with fairy lights and candles. The place I found had low tables and cushions to sit on and was pretty quiet at first, though a large Lao family soon came to eat. Their children livened up my night a bit, as they were crawling around and playing games around me. I had no idea what to order, so the waiter suggested I order this thing where they brought me a charcoal burner with some meat, veggies and noodles and I could boil them in the pot myself. Good choice, as it was yum! Have no idea what the actual name of it was though!

Also ordered my very first Beer Lao, which comes in a massive bottle and took me about 2hrs to drink, but was well worth it. I'm not a big beer drinker, but Beer Lao was good ;)

The next day I decided I'd do some more sight seeing, and rented a bike for the day so I could reach further afield. The first place I headed to, and the furthest away, was That Luang.

That Luang is basically the most important monument in Laos - it was built in the 16th century on top of an earlier Khmer temple, and Buddha relics are believed to be kept there. It was destroyed in 1828 by the Thai invasion, but later restored by the French.

I arrived there just as a busload of Thai tourists turned up (oh no, not another Thai invasion!)

Lovely roofs from a nearby temple - That Luang originally had temples on all sides, but I don't think they are all there anymore.

I got a wee bit obsessed with finding all the different dragon statues where ever I went - actually I think they are Nagas, but whatever...

Then I cycled down to Patuxai - the Arc de Triomphe of Laos. Also known as the vertical runway, because the Lao built it with money given to them by the Americans to build an airport!

I didn't stay long here, as I couldn't find anywhere to chain the bike, so I didn't climb to the top. Instead I went to Talat Sao (Morning Market) and looked around the shops for a bit to fend off the boiling sun. I ate lunch next the That Dam (the Black Stupa). This stupa in the middle of a roundabout, looked a bit sorry for itself - the Thai invaders stripped all the gold from it and it has since been left to the weeds.

Then I cycled to Wat Sisaket, though I only ended up seeing the outer buildings. I stopped to chat to a young monk and take some shelter from the sun. He taught me a few words of Lao, and I helped him practise his English, and showed him photos of home that I keep on my iPod. Of course, I was very careful I didn't inadvertently touch him - the Buddhist monks aren't allowed to touch women. They can't even give their mums a hug!

I cycled past the palace, which you can't go inside, and stopped again at Wat Ha Phra Kaew - the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This is where the one in Bangkok should be! Guess what, those Thais stole that too! Starting to feel quite sorry for the Lao people. Have to say I much preferred this temple - it was simple and understated. It didn't have the over-the-top gold glare of the Bangkok temple.

Afterwards I'd decided I'd had enough of the temples and heat, and took refuge in the Lao National Museum. Yay, air conditioning! I was actually quite impressed with their ancient history displays on the Plain of Jars and Champasak, and they even had a dinosaur display! It mainly consisted of a large colourful wall mural - deeply inaccurate I'm sure - but they did have some sauropod fossils that had been found in Southern Laos. There was also a well-presented exhibition about the first Dutch visit to Laos in the 17th Century, which was partially funded by the Dutch (can't remember exactly what organisation). I didn't like the modern revolutionary stuff though - the displays were very dated and some didn't have English translations. And there was no air conditioning in those rooms!

I finished my day with a spa treatment at Mandarina Spa, which was great although I spent the entire time trying to work out if my therapist was male or female... Never did get to the bottom of that one!

SE Asia Trip, Part 1 - Bangkok

2009-04-03T23:35:00.000+13:00

This is the first post in a series chronicling my trip to SE Asia last month. I flew into Thailand, then headed up to Laos for almost a month before flying out to Brunei for a couple of days and then back home. I worked all summer to afford this trip, which will probably be my only holiday for a good long while. I had a great trip, just wish it had been longer!

Bangkok is one of the easier hubs to access SE Asia, and I managed to get a pretty good deal with Royal Brunei Airlines from Auckland. I wasn't really planning on spending much time in Thailand, though as it happened I spent even less time there than I thought I would. My original plan was to just spend a night and day in Bangkok before heading to Laos, and then spending a bit more time there on the way back.

My first impression of Bangkok... I really didn't like it. But to be honest, how many cities do I really take a liking to? These last few years in quiet NZ have probably reinforced my dislike of busy, bustling cities - I'm just not used to people everywhere anymore.

Having said that, I did see some very beautiful things in Bangkok, even though I was only there for a very brief amount of time.

After battling my way through the hordes at Airport Immigration, I grabbed my bag (the last one left on the carousel) and headed to the buses. The first thing I noticed was that absolutely everybody seemed to smoke. I thought I was going to choke to death whilst waiting for the bus! I had to hide my face in my bandana the entire time - probably looked ridiculous...

The bus dropped me at Khao San Road, near to where I was staying. Yes, I know, KSR is not really my scene - it is full of drunk and stoned 18-yr old british backpackers after all. I just thought it would be the easiest place to go when coming to a country I'd never visited before.

The street was packed with stalls, shops and places to eat. Luckily the place I was staying at was located down a quiet alley, so I felt quite far away from the noise and crowds of the evening.

The next morning I walked down Khao San Road, and it was so quiet you wouldn't recognise it as the same street as the night before. I could actually see the pavement! Very few people were out and about - must be the hangover from the night before. I'd planned to walk to the Grand Palace in the morning, but I kept getting stopped by locals, telling me that it was closed and I should go to these other places. It annoyed me so much I turned round and spent my morning shopping for clothes in the markets. Eventually I went to the Grand Palace in the afternoon, and needless to say it wasn't closed, but buzzing with tourists.

Thailand still has a monarchy, unlike Laos, which is a Communist country. Here are a few photos of the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha:

The walls were covered in beautiful murals.

These guys were not nearly as good at keeping a straight face as the guards in London!

I was only allowed to take photos of the palace grounds, not inside the museums or temples. There were a couple of weapons rooms to wander around - a quite interesting one with lots of sharp pointy things, and another not-so-thrilling room full of guns. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha museum was a welcome relief from the sweltering heat outside, and housed some interesting statuary and models. I prefered it to the temple itself, which I found a bit too overwhelming. I don't find covering everything in gold gilt particularly inspiring.

After my trip to the Grand Palace I desperately needed to cool off. I headed to the river and took a local boat, which stopped close to where I was staying. The trip was a nice way to cool off and see a bit of the city without having to battle my way through the touts.

This is Wat Arun, which I would have liked to visit, but I was running a bit late.

I only really spent a day in Bangkok, and after this afternoon of sightseeing, I headed to the railway station to catch the overnight train to the Laos border. It was a sleeper train, and I had booked a lower berth in the 2nd class carriage. These carriages were basically rows of seats that converted into bunks, with an upper bunk that could be pulled down too. They were pretty cool actually, a guy came along during the evening to make up the bunks so you could go to bed and they had a mattress and sheets and pillows. Each little bunk had curtains for privacy and a light inside so I could carry on reading.

My seat in chair form...

And made up as a bunk!

I actually had a really good nights sleep on the train, and in the morning got chatting to a young couple from Bristol who were also going to Laos. The train arrived in Nong Khai a few hours later than planned, but that gave me an excuse to watch the morning scenery go by.

This railway line will soon go across the border into Laos as far as Vientiane, but the track hasn't been finished yet. This means going to the border by tuk-tuk, or walking if you really feel like it. It took a good few hours to get through immigration, but eventually I made it into Laos! Next up, the capital, Vientiane!

Superhero Birthday!

2009-04-03T17:44:00.009+13:00

I've been back in New Zealand 2 weeks now, and have just finished my first week of REAL NURSE work. Woohoo! But that hasn't been the only excitement in my life since I've been home. I had my 25th birthday last week and to celebrate I planned a house party. Now, I haven't had many parties during my life, and certainly not much in the way of birthday celebrations, so it was about time I did something. I had always wanted a costume party, so now was my chance!

The theme:

My love for dressing up and comicbook characters finally combined!

Rhonwyn and I spent thursday and friday cooking up a storm, and my sister and my cousin came to stay and helped me with the decorations and preparations (BIG thanks to Graham for cleaning the BBQ in the pouring rain!) And not to forget Craig, who went to fetch the BBQ and ran errands for me at the drop of a hat.

Anne and Graham's homemade potent punch!

We started off downstairs in the kitchen/lounge area with a BBQ just outside - it had been raining so we put the BBQ in the doorway so we wouldn't get soaked. My cousin volunteered (well, okay, maybe not volunteered exactly...) to be BBQ chef, along with JT, from whom I'd bought the BBQ anyway.

The Penguin and Indian Jones bonding over beer and BBQs!

My flatmates and friends really put a lot of effort into their costumes, I was very impressed!

Craig as the infamous Joker! Scary!

Rhonwyn as Poison Ivy

Leanne the Warrior Princess

The X-Men - my camera flash turned him into a great Havoc! And he's accompanied by Storm

Danger Mouse - I loved this costume, and she won the costume competition!

Sailor Moon!

Me and Danger Mouse

The Huntress and Sailor Moon team up!

Death and Highlander Lass

The Pink Ninjas!

After stuffing our faces with food downstairs, we headed up to the Skyloft which I had turned into a party room, with lots of yummy desserts, party decorations and games. My original plan was to have kids party games, but this proved a bit too much for me to organise. Instead we had a pinata, Twister and the dancemat set up. I stupidly forgot to take a photo of the skyloft with all the pretty decorations, so you'll have to take my word for it that it looked great!

Dessert in the Skyloft!

Pulling the pinata!

Battling it out at Twister!

I didn't take as many photos as I'd have liked, as I was getting quite drunk. You can tell by how blurry some of photos are... I had a terrific night though, eventually going to bed at around 3am, after most of the guests had left (except the one who wasn't up to walking home, haha!)

Roll on the next party, any ideas for the theme??!

I'm off to Laos!

2009-02-16T18:20:00.003+13:00

The summer has gone quickly - and I am still completely unprepared for my trip to Laos. I leave on Wednesday night! I still have a list of things to do, not all holiday related but rather sorting out my life at home while I'm gone. I was going to write a blog post about the history and culture of Laos but haven't had the time. Instead, here are 11 random things you probably didn't know about Laos:

Laos is a land-locked country, bordered by Cambodia, China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand and Vietnam.
Laos' original name is Lan Xang Hom Khao, literally meaning Million Elephants, White Parasol. Unfortunately these days there are only around 2000 elephants left. There are probably more white parasols...
Laos is made up of many ethnic tribal groups - apparently anywhere between 94 and 134 different ethnic groups. Not bad, considering there are only about 5.6 million people in the country.
Laos is the most bombed country in history - thanks mostly to Americans who dropped 2,093,100 tons of bombs during the Vietnam War (1964-73) in an effort to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail and stop the flow of North Vietnamese forces. One of the main areas affected was the mysterious Plain of Jars.
Laos used to be a French colony - the Lao kingdoms succumbed to French sovereignty in 1893 after spending decades forced to give tribute to Siam (now Thailand). Laos gained full independence from France in 1953.
Communists seized power in Laos in 1975 and declared it the Lao People's Democratic Republic, as it still is today. Laos will probably remain communist as long as it has the support of communist regimes in Vietnam and China.
The major religion in Laos is Theravada Buddhism, which is still practised by 60% of the population in spite of the communist regime. Spirit worship, or animism is officially banned but is apparently still strong among the many tribes.
Lao people prefer to avoid stress in their lives - a common notion is "too much work is bad for your brain."
Over 75% of Lao people live on less than 2USD a day.
Laos has 20 National Protected Areas (like National Parks) covering 14% of the country, making it among the most protected countries on earth.
In the capital Vientiane there is a monument reminiscent of the Arc de Triomphe, called Patuxai. It is sometimes referred to as 'the vertical runway' because it was built with US-purchased cement meant for a new airport.

I might post about Laos whilst I'm on the road, but then again I might not. After all, I would rather spend my days enjoying the country not sitting in some dingy Internet cafe.

Saibaidee!

(Map from www.maps.com, plain of jars and waterfall photos from www.nomad4ever.com and patuxai photo from www.bugbog.com)

Dressing Up!

2009-02-06T18:02:00.004+13:00

For my birthday in March I am having a fancy dress party. The theme is Heroes vs Villains, and I am planing on resurrecting the Huntress costume I made for a party last year. The party is for my 25th, and as Craig tells me I will officially be old, I am also making iy a kid's party (but with an adult twist) with food from my childhood, games, balloons etc. Hopefully it will be something to remember as I've never really had much in the way of a birthday party.

Anyway, I need to send out invitations before I go away on holiday, and I thought I could use a photo of me in fancy dress as the picture on the invite. So Craig and I dressed up in our gear, and Rhonwyn took some photos of us in the park outside our house. Craig was wearing his 'Ed the Ringwraith' costume as the villain - although Rhonwyn commented he looked like an old lady in a raincoat!

Here's a couple of the best photos:

For those who don't know who the Huntress is, she is a DC comics character and a member of the Birds of Prey - one of my favourite comics. You can find some information about her here.

Well, I had better get on with making the invitations!

Kepler Track - Day 3

2009-01-30T13:57:00.016+13:00

It was really hard to get going on the morning of Day 3. Craig still had a bad knee, but the lady needed her walking pole back, so he had to resort to making his own out of a tree branch. I was covered in open wounds from where my backpack had been rubbing :( and it wasn't long before my legs started to feel the pain of walking so much downhill the previous day. My sister still seemed fighting fit though - but she is a super fit freak anyway.

Day 3 was the last day of the trek, and although it was longer distance wise, at least there were not too many ups and downs. We were back in the forest now, the path meandering by the river and lakeside.

Above is the Iris Burn Hut where we spent the night. Nice hut but full of sand flies!

The 'Big Slip' - a landslide that occurred back in 1984.

This river seemed a bit dry!

Weird tree.

A New Zealand (South Island) Robin - Craig and I spent ages with two of these curious birds who came up very close to us. Below is some of my very bad footage (before I ran out of memory).

Craig loved the prehistoric looking forest - we had lots of pit stops for photo opportunities for his dinosaur blog. The breaks were killing me though - Craig made me a staff too as my legs were screaming in agony by the afternoon.

Unfortunately I ran out of camera memory, so the following photos are actually ones Craig took for me.

The river estuary coming out into Lake Manapouri.

Lake Manapouri.

We finally arrived at Moturau Hut, a lovely hut on the beach by Lake Manapouri. My mum came running up to meet us as we took a break here. How I wish we had opted to stay the night here! Unfortunately there was a further 6km walk ahead - which was pretty much all I could manage. This part of the track I had walked several times before so I didn't mind so much that I couldn't take anymore photos.

We finally got to Rainbow Reach at 7.30pm (so we had taken about 10.5hrs to walk the 22km from Iris Burn to Rainbow Reach). 2km an hour is a pretty poor pace to be honest! It was nice to get home and have a hot shower though - although we were promptly dragged out to a friend's barbecue.

So I had completed the Kepler Track, my first multi-day trek in New Zealand. It was great fun, but bloody hard work too. I did come away with a great sense of achievement though. Next time I might try the Routeburn Track!

Kepler Track - Day 2

2009-01-26T19:46:00.014+13:00

Day 2 began relatively early, as lots of the other backpackers started rummaging around the bunk room and woke us up. We left Luxmore Hut around 9ish after a camper's breakfast of muesli bars and tea, and began what we thought would be a somewhat easier walk than yesterday - at least that was what it looked like on the map....

The morning began quite overcast, although it soon brightened up.

Luxmore Hut from further up the mountain path.

The peak of Mount Luxmore - we steadily climbed round and up almost to the top. We didn't opt to leave the path and climb all the way up, for reasons made clear below....

Unfortunately about half an hour into the day, as we began climbing Mt Luxmore, Craig's knee suddenly gave way. Luckily a passing trekker lent Craig one of her walking poles for the day - otherwise I don't think he would have made it.

A rest stop with a view.

Quick - hide from the Ringwraiths!

The walk today was mainly along the alpine ridges - usually Anne was miles in front, I was in the middle, and Craig was miles behind. At least being so exposed we could all still see each other, even from the other side of the mountain ridges...

One of the negatives about being spaced so far apart from each other was having to take awful self portraits like this one...

Craig having a much needed break.

The path goes up...

The small black dot is Craig.

Finally we start the downhill slog...

Unfortunately it involved climbing down several precarious staircases like this. Not fun when you have a massive backpack on making you very top heavy - I'm glad it wasn't windy!

All the staircases - with Craig at the very top.

Lake Manapouri in the distance. (Where we will be tomorrow.)

After this view point, we reached the bush line, and went steeply downhill through forest once more. I was keeping up with Anne now, but we lost Craig altogether. We would have stopped for him to catch up, but I was also in agony by this point - my legs do not like steep downhills, and I'd developed open pressures sores across my hips from the rather ill-fitting backpack.

We came from up there somewhere...

All in all, Day 2 was definitely the toughest day. What should have taken us about 6 hours, from Luxmore Hut to Iris Burn Hut, ended up taking us about 10hrs. Anne and I reached the Hut a good hour before Craig, dumped our stuff and had a quick break before going back up the hill to see if we could find him. After dinner, we were all so exhausted we collapsed to our bunks by about 8.30pm.

Kepler Track - Day 1

2009-01-04T12:35:00.012+13:00

The weather was gorgeous for our first day on the Kepler Track. Unfortunately we got off to a slow and rocky start with Craig managing to drop his hoody in the car park and having to go back and find it before we even got onto the track. Half an hour into the walk we also discovered my waterproofs, which were attached to the outside of Craig's pack, had also fallen off - Craig ran back to find them and eventually discovered they were back at the Control Gates, right at the start of the track... At this point I resolved to keep a much closer eye on everything attached to Craig's massive rucksack. (There was quite a bit of potential for things falling off!)

The track begins at Te Anau Control Gates at the south end of Lake Te Anau, which you can see above. These gates control the water flow into the Waiau river down to lake Manapouri.

From there the track follows the edge of Lake Te Anau through beech forest.

The first leg of the journey was an hour and a half walk (5.6km) to Brod Bay, where we would stop for a quick lunch. This part of the track was the easiest of the day...

Beautiful Brod Bay was a lovely spot for lunch - so nice that I didn't really want to leave! The only annoyance were the sand flies, but then they are an annoyance everywhere.

From Brod Bay, we had to walk up to the bush line. This section of the walk was 8.2km of uphill. The track started to climb steeply, with lots of switchbacks, and the lake got further and further away.

My sister, super fit freak that she is, quickly disappeared into the trees, leaving me and Craig far behind. Every now and then we'd catch up to her as she would wait somewhere for us, but she would quickly disappear again. We came across one obstacle - the fallen trees below - which required a bit of maneuvering to climb through.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours and hours of zigzagging, Craig and I finally made it to the Limestone Bluffs. I was really intrigued by these cliffs jutting out of the forest. They just seemed so out of place to me.

I don't think Craig was too happy about seeing these stairs, but he made it up them!

A few more switchbacks later and we eventually reached the bush line and came out on top of the hills! Anne was waiting for us here and we took a break to admire the view. Less than an hour left of walking to go!

Somewhere behind that middle hill are my parents!

Lake Te Anau and the town itself in the distance - it seems so far away, and yet we started there only a few hours before.

The views just scream Lord of the Rings!

The view back from the way we just came....

And finally Luxmore Hut comes into sight!

We reached the hut at about 8pm and the place was pretty full, which meant we struggled to find bunks and had to sleep in separate bunk rooms. It was great to put the packs down though - but it felt very strange walking around without them.

After we'd made our dinner of reconstituted freeze-dried meals and had a bit of a rest, we decided to venture out to see Luxmore Cave, a 10 minute walk away.

The lake at sunset - my camera doesn't really do the view justice.

Luxmore Cave is a 2km long cave - although only the first bit is really accessible, unless you would like to crawl through water to get to the end.

We made it as far as we thought safe, which included a little bit of crawling and scrambling, before the cave opened out in a little cavern.

Thought I should put at least one photo of me up, hideous though it is! This was the little cavern we were able to stand up in after crawling through a narrow tunnel. I went a little further, but it was a bit too narrow and small for my liking.

We walked back over the hills in the dark, and when we arrived back at the hut, we discovered 3 keas (alpine parrots) hanging around on the deck. I didn't take any photos, unfortunately, but it was great to see them up close. It was about 11pm when we finally went to bed, and I had to wake the guy up who was on the mattress next to mine, because he was lying diagonally across the bunks. Moron! Eventually I fell asleep to the sounds of keas calling and Craig snoring...

Kepler Track - Some Information

2009-01-03T14:14:00.005+13:00

New Zealand is well known for having great places to hike. New Zealanders generally refer to hiking as tramping, but that just conjures up images of homeless people every time I say it. My friend Craig, my sister and I have all been wanting to hike the Kepler Track for quite a while now and so we booked onto it from Sunday 21st to Wednesday 23rd December.

The Kepler Track is a 60km circuit in the Kepler Mountains close to Te Anau in Fiordland. It normally takes about 3-4 days to hike, although every December there is a race called the Kepler Challenge, in which people actually run it! The winner this year finished in 4h 56m 24s - absolutely crazy!

The Kepler Track is one of the New Zealand Great Walks (as designated by the Department of Conservation, I think). The highest point is the Luxmore Saddle at 1400m and the lowest point is the track by Lake Manapouri at 180m. Whilst many NZ tracks have evolved from old Maori or pioneer routes, the Kepler Track was established pretty recently - in 1988, to ease the strain on the popular Milford and Routeburn tracks. It is apparently named after Johannes Kepler, as are the surrounding mountains. He was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer from the 17th Century. I've no idea what he has to do with this area of Fiordland!

The Kepler Mountains are made up of metamorphic and plutonic rocks from deep in the earth's crust, on top of which are sediments such as limestone, formed when the area sank below sea level before being raised again. There were also lots of glaciers in the area for thousands of years, which carved the U-shaped valleys, fiords and lakes you can see in the area now.

The forest is mainly beech (silver and red) and podocarp, such as rimu and totara, with lots of ferns and mosses on the forest floor. Above the treeline the landscape is mostly covered with snow tussocks.

We opted to do the track in 3 days and 2 nights - mostly because of the exorbitant cost of staying in the track huts ($45 each per night!) - rather than over 3 nights which would have allowed us a slower pace. This meant we would start at the Lake Te Anau Control Gates (as most people do) but would finish at Rainbow Reach, cutting out the last couple of hours of track (which I've walked before anyway). Day 3 would be by far the longest distance, so it makes it a bit easier to finish at Rainbow Reach.

I will post my photos from my 3 day Kepler Track hike in the next 3 posts to follow shortly. Hope you like!

Graduation!!

2009-01-03T12:11:00.007+13:00

I'm a bit late posting about this, as my Graduation was on the 12th December, but better late than never I guess!

Finally, after starting my Nursing degree back in the UK in September 2004, I had finished! It has been a bit of a long journey, particularly as I had to do one year more than I hoped when I got to New Zealand, to satisfy the requirements about 'cultural safety' etc.

The best thing about my Graduation was that my family were all there! It is not very often these days that we are all together, as I only get to see my sister once or twice a year. Luckily she scheduled her flights to fly into New Zealand a couple of days before Grad, which I was very happy about! She had her Graduation earlier in the year back in the UK, which I could not attend as I was in the middle of my course, but I was very grateful she could come to mine.

The Graduation itself didn't start until the afternoon, so my parents arrived at around midday and we went out for lunch at Capers, one of my favourite cafes in Dunedin. It was pouring down with rain, so I opted to skip the Graduation Parade down George Street, in order to have more time for lunch.

Here we all are at Capers - dad is clearly already tired from the 4hr drive! Then they dropped me off at the Town Hall and I caught up with the end of the procession and headed into the Marquee.

The weather felt even worse waiting inside the marquee - the rain was battering it so much the frame started to move! I thought the whole thing was going to collapse on us! Luckily it didn't and we were filed up with our little numbered stickers on our sleeves and led into the Town Hall to bagpipe music.

The Town Hall quickly filled up and the Graduation began. It wasn't quite as long and boring as I had dreaded and I was quite excited to get up on the stage, although the moment seemed to go so quickly I can barely remember it now! My sister videoed me crossing the stage, but got rather excited and so the video jumps around a lot!

Our guest speaker was a female drain layer (!), and she was actually quite entertaining, at least for the first 15 minutes of her speech. Finally though, it was all over. I headed off to find my family and go to the Nursing Department's Graduation Function.

Woohoo, I finally had my degree!

There were actually two Nursing Functions we went to that evening - the first was a prize giving where we all received our transcripts and Otago Polytechnic badges.

The second was supposed to be a dinner function that I had opted to buy tickets for, mainly because I hadn't been organised enough to book a meal anywhere else in town. The food however turned out to be pretty average (in fact it was basically little appetisers and no real food at all). There were also barely any of my classmates or lecturers there, so it wasn't really that much fun. We were all still pretty hungry so I ended up taking my family to Eureka instead and getting yummy dessert! Should have just gone there in the first place!

By the end of the day I was pretty glad to get out of my bright blue robes, although we had an early start the next morning because I had booked a Graduation photo session so we could get some nice family photos. So I had to don my sexy outfit once again...

All in all, my Graduation day was pretty fun and relaxed. It was great to spend the day with my family as it happens so rarely these days.

Of course, the funny thing about graduating here is that although I now had my Bachelor of Nursing degree, I still had to wait another week for my Registration Exam results. So even though I had the degree I still could not work as a Nurse. Luckily I passed the exam! I had been slightly worried about it, as due to my concussion I had had to put in an application for extenuating circumstances. It was all good though, and now I can put the letters BN and RN after my name!

Wellington Trip, Part 7 - Final Days

2009-01-02T23:18:00.006+13:00

I had planned my Wellington trip so that I could do most of the touristy stuff during the week and then spend time with my friend Rebecca at the weekend when she was off work.

On Saturday we went to Otari Wilton's Bush for a nice walk in the sunshine. The reason I wanted to go there was because it had a canopy walkway, although to be honest it wasn't quite as impressive as I'd hoped. The Reserve itself though was beautiful.

Otari-Wilton's Bush Reserve consists of 100 hectares of native forest and 5 hectares of plant collections. The area has been protected since 1900 when a local landowner Job Wilton fenced it off, thus protecting it from being logged and farmed like the land around it.

One of the things I have really enjoyed about Wellington was its wealth of green spaces. I've visited Karori Reserve, the Botanical Gardens, Otari-Wilton's Bush and walked through the Town Belt - all these places are within minutes of the city centre. I barely felt like I was in a city at all. All these green spaces and the coastline as well - Wellington has so much beauty!

After our walk, Rebecca took me for a drive around the coastline of the peninsula. We had lunch in a cute little cafe courtyard in a little suburb (I can't remember the name exactly) and then continued our drive round to the Red Rocks Reserve.

In the distant I could just make out the Kaikoura Ranges of the South Island. We didn't go into the Red Rocks Reserve itself, as it required either driving a 4x4 (which we didn't have) or walking several kilometres. This area was really nice though, and there was an informative display in the visitor centre (really a big open shed-like building) about the history of the place.

During the evening Rebecca and I met up with a girl called Steph, who I had met at the hostel, and we went out for dinner at a really nice Asian restaurant called Monsoon Poon, then coffee at a funky cafe. None of us were particularly in the mood for a big night out, but the evening was fun nonetheless, and it was great to see the busy weekend nightlife of Wellington compared to Dunedin!

On Sunday, Rebecca and I were being particularly lazy and spent the morning watching the Shortland Street omnibus... but then we decided to make the most of the afternoon sunshine and took our books to the city beach to read and relax. It was really nice just to chill out like that. I really liked the beach, which had warm, safe swimming water, compared to the pretty rough beaches of Dunedin.

Finally it was time for me to fly back to Dunedin. I was actually pretty sad to leave, I'd had a great week exploring Wellington in beautiful, warm weather, which was completely unexpected (everyone warned me about the rubbish weather Wellington has, but apart from the first night I didn't see it at all!) I definitely recommend taking the time to see all Wellington has to offer, rather than just spending a night here, as so many backpackers seemed to do. There were still things I didn't have time to do - I wanted to go out to Matui/Somes Island and Kapiti Island, for example. Well, there is always next time!

Wellington Trip, Part 6 - Botanical Gardens and the Weta Cave

2009-01-02T21:15:00.009+13:00

I was pretty exhausted after my hike along the Southern Walkway and so that night I opted to spend relaxing at the hostel. I didn't particularly like the hostel much - earlier in the week it had been full of school kids and so there weren't that many people in my age bracket around. That Thursday night however, I ended up drinking bourbon and cola with some of the hostel staff (mostly backpackers short of money), because it was someone's birthday. He was turning 38, and trying to chat me up... Needless to say I eventually had to escape back to my dorm room.

On Friday morning I travelled up the Cable Car to the Botanical Gardens. The Cable Car has been running since 1902 to give access to a new suburb for all the new people coming to live in Wellington. Otherwise it would have been a steep walk uphill through scrub land. Now the area is, of course, completely different.

Above is the iconic red tram slogging its way up the hill. There are two trams that run up and down the track every 1o minutes.

I spent all morning wandering around the Botanical Gardens. I wanted to visit the Carter Observatory but it was closed for renovations. I did however discover the human sundial close by, which was surprisingly accurate. Below are a few photos of various parts of the Gardens.

I really liked the Peace Garden, with a lovely little waterfall and some welcome shade (it was getting bloody hot by this point!)

The Lady Norwood Rose Garden was in full bloom, full of roses and people admiring them. I took the opportunity to snap a few photos of the pretty flowers.

The Botanical Gardens were nice, but to be honest I was feeling pretty hot and tired (and achy from my long walk) to fully enjoy them. I did like some of the funky statues scattered around the place though.

During the afternoon I decided to go to the Weta Cave out at Miramar. No, this wasn't a cave full of insects but rather the face of Weta Productions, the company who did the special effects in Lord of the Rings. It was a pretty long bus ride out there but it was worth it. The Weta Cave had a little one room museum with pieces from various movies they had worked on, as well as a shop containing pretty expensive but well-crafted merchandise. The selling point for me though, was the brilliant movie in their little cinema. I used to think that Weta was the company that did computer graphics, but I learnt that they had many other faces - including creating weapons, armour, prosthetics, creatures, miniatures, costumes and props.

Having travelled all the way out to Miramar I realised I didn't have any cash to catch the bus back... which meant I had to walk a few kilometres back along the bus route until I found a cash point. Finally making it back to the hostel, I met up with my friend Rebecca, who I was going to spend the weekend with. We spent the evening watching movies on the sofa and catching up. Yey for girlie time!

Intensive Update #2

2008-12-30T18:12:00.005+13:00

Life has been quite busy over the last month or so, even though I haven't really had any work at all. I've still got another post or so about my Wellington trip, and because I've wanted to get that finished I haven't had a chance to write about my GRADUATION (!), passing my NURSING REGISTRATION (!!), hiking the Kepler Track, or Christmas.

I was at my parents' house for over a week with no real internet access - they have dial up, but it barely copes with loading Gmail, and takes about 2 days to load a photo - so I was pretty much unable to keep up with the blog posts. Hopefully, I'll have a bit of time to catch up over the next couple of days, although I am packing up to move house, as well as finally getting some work. Life is ever hectic - but here is a photo of beautiful Lake Te Anau and Fiordland to bring some much needed tranquility...

Wellington Trip, Part 5 - Southern Walkway (2)

2008-12-17T01:16:00.015+13:00

So now I was halfway through the walk (at least map wise - not actually sure this map has anything close to resembling a scale). Here is the second half anyway:

This part of the map gets more complicated because there are several other walking paths which cross it. They are quite difficult to tell apart on the map, and even more difficult to tell apart in reality, because all the arrows are the same colour (obviously never heard of colour-coding in Wellington...) Hence, I managed to get myself lost 3 times from this point onwards.

The patch of grass just above the cyclist is where I eventually stopped for lunch. Lunch consisted of 2 muesli bars and 3 apricots. I should probably plan these things a little more...

Funny looking trees!

This was my second choice of path, the first turned out not to be a path at all. (First time I got lost, due to fork in the path not being signposted at all!)

The view from Mount Alfred.

At this point my track crisscrossed several others, and because they are all marked with the same colour arrows, I ended up walking along the wrong one. I should have been walking along the ridge line but I was further down in the forest. This meant when I finally worked out where I was, I had a helluva lot of uphill climbing to go. Not fun. I also found arrows pointing to a Lord of the Rings film location, which I followed too, but then those signs disappeared as well.

Finally I made it back onto the right path (in the photo above) and then of course promptly left it to go up to the summit of Mt Victoria. Mt Victoria is one of the most popular lookouts over Wellington and was one of the reasons I chose to do this walk. The views did not disappoint me, but the crowds of bus tourists did...

This is the Byrd Memorial, which honours the memory of Admiral Richard E Byrd, a polar aviation explorer. Due south of this piece of land lies Antarctica (and there is no other land in between).

I can't remember the significance of this rock, but it is at the summit of Mt Victoria.

Buses of tourists showed up while I was here, they all climbed dutifully up from the car park, took some photos and then drove off again. I felt so good for walking all this way to get here, even if I did look like a sweaty, filthy hobo by that point.

I started my walk from somewhere behind that distant headland. I think.

Back down Mt Vic and I was back on the track. I headed towards Charles Plimmer Park where I swiftly lost the track again (although I've no idea how!) and ended up much further down than I was meant to be. I ended up walking back up the main road to Mt Vic until I eventually found the track to lead me back downhill again....

Finally finished!! Only took me about 5 hours.... but that did include losing the track several times. I was really pleased I'd done it, and reached Oriental Parade. It was, however, another couple of km or so back to the hostel, so at this point I cheated and opted for the bus....

All in all, another great day in Wellington. I definitely recommend doing the walk the way I did it - as it is so much nicer to walk towards town, rather than getting out to Island Bay and then having to worry about getting home again.

There are heaps of free walks around the Wellington area - other ones I contemplated were the Northern Walkway and the City to Sea Walkway. Check out this site for more info on the walks around Wellington.