Adventures of a Wimp

Most of my friends would not describe me as a wimp but man, oh man I sure am!

My adventures in New Zealand have involved some scary and not so scary excursions but they have equally made me scream, cry or just panic.

In order of terror…

1. Doing the Canyon Swing (104m) in Queenstown. Most of you have either watched the video or seen the picture. I managed to scream, cry, hyperventilate and of course eventually jump.
2. Walking past the giant spider on the deck of my home in Akaroa. It was seriously straight out of the movies. I’m aware that NZ only has 1 poisonous spider but a spider is a spider when you are afraid of them.
3. Swimming with dolphins in Picton. I know what you’re thinking...dolphins? Scary? But they are really big and come from nowhere. Also, it was my first time snorkeling and I freaked out and couldn’t control my breathing, which added to the OMG dolphin panic.
4. Caving in the Waitomo. It was my favorite adventure but it had just been raining for days so the water was really high. This made it awesome but hard at the same time, as I am a short person so at points is was up to my armpits. Seriously, the most amazing time! I did panic when I couldn’t see the rest of the group because that is not a place you want to get lost in.
5. Sandboarding on the 90 mile beach. I have an overpowering fear of heights and the hill we went down was steep. In the end it was great but looking down that hill made me have to pee a little.
6. Climbing a glacier in Franz Josef. Once again those heights really got me. I was also afraid I was going to slip and fall into a crack and have to saw my own arm off to free myself.
7. Swimming in the ocean at night. I felt like I was in a horror movie and I would be the first one to die. I watch a lot of horror films.
8. Hitchhiking. While I knew it was safe because everyone does it in NZ, North American news has programmed me to trust no one and history tells me that girls like me go missing all the time. (Highway of Tears)
9. Depending on my charm to make friends everywhere I went. Enough said!
10. Flying to the other side of the world without a plan, doing research or much of clue.

XOXO SID

WOMAD

WOMAD is a world music festival and that some of you may have heard of but I hadn’t. It took place March 16-18, 2012 in New Plymouth in the North Island.

Brooke, my Kiwi friend, goes every year and so when I got the chance to volunteer of course I said yes because otherwise tickets were $265. It was a chance to enjoy 3 days of music from around the world and a lot of NZ music which I have had limited exposure to since I’ve been here.

I was a last minute volunteer specifically for the Waste Management Team, meaning I was making sure people were putting everything in the correct containers. I was amazed at how hard it was to get the public to pay attention to where things go and why. On the other hand I had a lot of people who would fight over if something was recycling or not. I actually learnt a lot about recycling and composting and felt like I was doing something important.

The music at the festival was fantastic and the scheduling for the most part was great. They did a great job leap frogging the stages and not putting similar acts against each other and most acts played twice so that you had a better chance of seeing everyone. My festival favourites were The Black Seeds (NZ), Chapelier Fou (France), Pascals (Japan), Alabama 3 (UK), Dobet Gnahore (Africa), The Bombay Royale (India) and Shogun Orchestra (NZ).

Of course it wouldn’t have been awesome without the people I was there with, Brooke, Deb, and Val, in Deb’s wicked old school camper van. I also made some new friends who were volunteering with me like Eleanor from Australia who had a sort of British accent from watching too much British television. She was crazy fun to work with and we bonded over fashion which she studied in school. I also met Julia from Montana and we bonded once back in Wellington and she has been a bit of a life saver. We have shared our love of film and ladies night, and sulked in our mutual unemployment.

WOMAD was a great experience and I was happy to get to spend that time with Brooke before she moved to Perth. It also brought me back to my roots of volunteering which I haven’t done in a few years and forgot how satisfying it can be.

XOXO

Sid

A Touch Of Dean Luck

This trip has been filled with Dean Luck. Some of you may ask what Dean luck is…well… it is an unfortunate event that isn’t serious but inconvenient and even funny after the fact.

It is aptly named after my old flat mate Stefan Dean who has a funny way of ending up in situations that are funny for those of us listening but are frustrating for him in the moment. My favourite example of it is one time on the train he went to use the toilet and walked in on a woman with her pants down. It was horribly awkward but not the worst thing to happen. Stilling having to go to the toilet he walks into the next stall and catches another woman with her pants down. Classic Dean Luck!

I’ve been working in Blenheim picking grapes for 3 weeks but the end of the season came and it was time to move on. I was stressing because I didn’t expect it to be that soon and had no plan for my last month in New Zealand. I spent a lot of time on the backpacker’s board looking for another job or a place to woof.

Finally I figured out what I was going to do...head to the Golden Bay area, do the Abel Tasmen day hike and then head to Napier to woof at a hostel for 2 weeks. I had completely decided to go having booked a bus but at the very last minute I got wind of another job in Blenheim and after an agonizing hour trying to make a decision, I decided to stay and forfeit my bus ticket and cancel on the hostel in Napier. The decision should have been an easy one, stay and make money but my gut had been telling me to leave. By the time I got home from the library that very same day I was informed by my flat mate that they now only had one job left for the two of us.

Not going to lie, I was seriously pissed that I didn’t listen to what my gut was telling me. Once I was done making a scene and being pissed, I let my flat mate take the job. We both needed it equally but my gut said leave so it was time to leave…again.

I decided to stick to my plan of heading to Golden Bay but the hostel in Napier had given away my position so beyond Golden Bay I was once again floating in the wind.

Hours before I was to catch my bus to Golden Bay my friend texted me and said she knew of a job in the North Island picking grapes so I made the decision to go meet her instead of going to Abel Tasmen/Golden Bay.

Once again, this time for the last time, I hoped on the ferry to Wellington to meet my friend and head north to Martinborough…

When we got there the place we were staying was a shit hole. It was attached to the Marae which by all accounts should be cool but there was no heat in the rooms, no soap or toilet roll, no locking doors and mice and cockroaches in the kitchen. The work it’s self was the usually grape picking stuff but people didn’t talk to each other and the stuck to their races. There was the Indian group, the Malaysians, the Chinese and then us, so it was very lonely.

We decided after 2 days to leave which turned out to be a bit of a gong show.

The manager tried to scare/threaten us into staying but of course I scared him more by quoting labour laws. We left super early to catch the bus which never came so we call and complained. My friend sort of broke down because just wanted to leave so we called our co-worker and he was going to drive us to the next town and we were going to spend the night and catch the bus in the AM. Half way there the bus company called us back and apologized and said they were sending us a private van to drive us to Lower Hutt to catch the last train from there, so we turned around and headed back to the bus stop. The driver who came was super awesome and said he would drive us right into downtown Wellington, we could drink in the van and if we needed to stop we just had to say when.

It was the most random of nights and I’m not sure of any other place that would send a private van for two stranded backpackers even if it was their fault but thankfully it happened.

Oh the Dean Luck has been strong with me on this trip but it always works out in the end.

XOXO

Sid

Grapes, grapes and more grapes!

After a disheartening stay in Wellington trying to find work, I relented and called up a place in Blenheim to join a grape picking crew.

Everyone I have talked to about any kind of fruit picking has said that it is tough and shit work but desperate times call for desperate measures. The least I could do was find an hourly crew to be on because some fruit picking is by quantity.

So once again I was running to the ferry (this time still drunk from the night before) and heading for the south island. I was definitely happy to have a job but also to head back to the south island because I really love the south island and was planning to come back down anyway.

I am working through Kiwi Bunk House who run a hostel and vineyard work for the area. Most people staying in the hostel work in the vineyards. I was lucky that they put me in the smaller hostel located above the office which is more like a flat then a hostel. The facilities are really nice and new and there is only 7 people staying here. The girl’s room has a dressing room and bathroom attached that I only share with 2 others while the men have to share amongst 5 and their room is much smaller than ours. Free laundry, roof deck, and front patio, sky tv, full kitchen facilities but no internet.

Physically grape picking isn’t  hard, it depends on the orchard and how low the plants are but since I’m short I have an easier time than some of the others. Psychologically it is hard because we are not allowed music, some days we are not allowed to talk to each other so the only sound we have is the sound of the tracker.  I work better with music so I find some days really hard especially when it is 6:30am.

The people I work with are generally nice. There have been a few that rub me the wrong way but in a group of 30 that will happen and it was mostly over the BBQ. I got it in my head that it would be nice to gather everyone together for a potluck to eat and drink as a team. Have you ever tried to have a potluck with backpackers??? We’ll don’t! I know backpackers are cheap but seriously people only wanted to buy crisps so we would have just had a dinner of crisps.

After the drama of trying to get people to see the point of a potluck, I gave in and forgot the idea. Instead I collected $5 from everyone and bought the food and organized the cooking and cleaning. It was a lot of work for me but in the end I got what I wanted; an evening of food, drink and fun.

Now the grape picking season is coming to an end (really short this year) and I will be hitting the road again to make the journey home.

XOXO

Sid

Best Laid Plans

When I decided to come to NZ I made the choice to not plan much beyond my first week in Auckland. I didn’t want to close myself off to possibilities.

The first half of my trip was pretty uneventful aside from missing Christmas with Brooke in Wellington to be in Akaroa for work. I have often questioned why I choose to spend a week in Auckland, but if I didn’t stay for a week I would have never met Brooke who is a friend for life.

The second half of my trip started on the wrong note. The night before I didn’t really sleep instead opting to drink with Ricki until 5am. So it was no surprise I missed my shuttle to Christchurch at 10:30am, which then meant leaving Christchurch a day later than planned.

I decided to stay the night in Lake Tekapo which was a great decision but took up another day on a tight schedule. The only reason my schedule was tight was because I volunteered for WOMAD and had to be in New Plymouth in the north island by March 16.

The great thing about staying in Lake Tekapo was meeting Knowing on the bus the next day and she turned out to be part of the amazing 210 crew. I was having such a great time with the 210 crew; I decided to extend my stay an extra night shortening my time in Wanaka.

This leads me to the black hole that was Franz Josef and all the mishaps that happened there. (See previous blog)

After arriving in Nelson I only hadone night so I walked around for a bit and got some dinner. Ricki had given me a list of places to go but instead I opted for the cheapest option which turned out to be the worst meal I’ve had in NZ.

I was up early, got some breakfast and was still 30mins early for my bus to Picton so I decided to go in the gift shop and get some more postcards. I was watching the bus stop and didn’t see what I thoughtwould be my bus so I just kept wandering until I looked at my watch and realized my bus should have arrivedalready. I went in to the info office and asked when the bus would arrive and they said it already left and that it was the unmarked bus that was there the whole time.

I immediately freaked out and asked when the next bus was and they said the next day, so they checked the flights which were all sold out. All that was left to do was try and hitchhike to Picton and catch a later ferry.

I’ve never hitchhiked before and I’m sure my mom won’t be happy to hear this but it turned out. This really lovely older couple from the north island was catching the same ferry as me so they gave me a ride and bought me lunch. I was so grateful for them because they were really great to talk to and we had a long discussion about how you met people along the way in life.

Now that I’m in Wellington and trying to settle down again things haven’t been working out, after weeks I still don’t have a job. What this means is that I will have to cut my trip short and come home soon because my money is rapidly disappearing.

Despite my best laid plans it has been a bumpy ride,but the thing about travelling is it’s all about the people you meet along the way. They make all the difference between a good or bad experience. Though my trip has been less than smooth, it has allowed me to meet some of the most amazing people that I would have never met if things had gone as planned.

XOXO

Sid

Hitting the West Coast

After a sad farewell to my new friends in Queenstown, I hit the road heading up the west coast which is known for being the most beautiful landscape in NZ.

My first stop was in Wanaka, sadly only for a night but it was so peaceful which was a nice change from Queenstown. I was lucky because one of my 210 mates was also on the same route as me so Carlo the German and I made our way to Wanaka and then up to Franz Josef together.

One thing in Wanaka that I found strange was the overabundance of dolls that looked like golly wogs; a little disturbing to say the least.

We were very lucky because on the bus from Wanaka to Franz Josef there were only 4 of us so it was a really chill ride up where the bus driver stopped at spots for us to take pictures including a waterfall. (I’m really partial to waterfalls.)

Franz Josef was a bit of a black hole of time for me. On my trip I decided to not plan in advance because you never know what will happen and I wanted to just let things take its course. This didn’t work out so well for me…

First, I couldn’t book a glacier hike until Tuesday (I arrived on Sunday) because they were all full up and a few were cancelled due to weather.

Second, all the Naked Buses leaving Franz were full until Wednesday. This meant either hitchhiking out or spending 3 days in Franz which is unheard of since it is small and most come for the glaciers.

Third, I was attacked by bed bugs in my hostel. The side effect of the bites is an overwhelming panic that wakes me in the night that had me counting my bites in the washroom and still has me waking up to double check.

I’m still not sure exactly why the universe was telling me to stay in Franz aside from the amazing weather I had on the glacier which otherwise would have been rainy if I had gone the previous days.

The travel up to Nelson I had prefect weather which made it sad that I was stuck on a bus for 9hrs but we did get to stop at the pancake rocks and take pictures.

Of course this delay in departure meant that my time in Nelson was pretty much non-existent which is my greatest regret in NZ. 

XOXO

Sid

The Adventure Capital

After leaving Lake Tekapo and just wanting to stay there for another few days, I was a bit weary of Queenstown. Sure it’s most people’s # 1 stop because it’s the adventure capital but it is also a party town and I wasn’t sure if I was up for the party.

Of course all the sadness disappeared once I rolled into Queenstown.

Immediately after getting off the bus I made friends with an American named Knowing (her parents are hardcore hippies) and we soon realized that we were staying in the same hostel. We checked in and were put in the same room, 210, which turned out to be the most amazing hostel room I’ve had.

 The 210 crew consisted of Knowing, Joel and Daniel (fellow Canadians), Carlo the German and Max the arrogant Dutchmen later replaced by Mr.T (also a Dutchmen but not arrogant). For some reason this mixture of random characters made for perfection. 

Room 210 ripped it up four nights in a row on the mean streets of Q’town. Mostly bouncing between 3 bars all within a half block of each other. I feel bad because Ricki gave me a list of must go bars and restaurants but I only made it to a couple places on the list and only because they were part of the pub crawl we did.

Don’t worry; I didn’t just drink while I was in Q’town…

I booked the daytrip to Milford Sound (which isn’t actually a sound it’s a fiorland) and had perfect weather for it. Crystal clear skies and water filled with dolphins and seals. For a place that receives rain 200 days of the year, I couldn’t have been luckier. 

 Q’town is the home of both the first bungy and the highest bungy in the world and I was told that I had to do it, that everyone does it when they come to NZ. However, the night before I was going to do it I had bad dreams all night and the next morning in my groggy state went to the front desk to book but totally chickened out. I just kept imagining it and it made my stomach do flips so the girl at the desk said I should try the Canyon Swing, she said it wasn’t too bad and the best of both worlds as you free fall for  60m before starting to swing.

 If you know me then you know I am terrified of heights so just imagine what I might be like on the platform...or just take a look!

XOXO

Sid

Where Heaven and Earth Meet

It’s hard to describe just how much I loved Lake Tekapo.

Immediately after I got off the bus and looked around I regretted having only one night in Lake Tekapo. It is known for its night sky, toted as the best in New Zealand.  Anyone who has heard me speak about what I love about Saskatchewan knows just how much emphasizes I put on the sky and stars. I feel very connected to the stars, not because I have studied constellations or anything, but because I feel their energy and power and I like to believe the ones I love that have left this earth are amongst the stars.

Of course the one night I was in Lake Tekapo it was a cloudy night so I couldn’t see any stars.

Since I only had one day I decided the main thing I wanted to do was climb Mt. John. It is about a 1 hour hike to the top where there is a café as well as the observation centre. It was a beautiful wooded hike until closer to the top when the bush stops and it is just a massive field. Once at the top the view of the area was magnificent. You could see a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and lakes. I could’ve stayed up there for hours but it was getting late and I didn’t want to walk down the hillside at night alone because that is asking for trouble.

Being a Canadian who has grown up with lakes formed from glaciers, you would think I have learnt my lesson from swimming in glacier lakes but nope. When I arrived the lake looked so beautiful and it was actually sunny (it has been shit weather for the past month in Akaroa) so I decided “why not go for a swim”. It was so cold and I lasted about 10mins in the water before I had to get out. I know what you’re thinking, “she’s Canadian, she should be used to it” but I’m also a beaner who wasn’t made to swim in glacier lakes. It was still a beautiful day to sit and read my book while sunning myself.

Oh Lake Tekapo… I can’t wait to return to you and see where heaven and earth meet.

XOXO

Sid

The Fallen City

Christchurch, the fallen city, has been hit with a series of earthquakes first starting in September 2010. Since then the region has been hit by thousands of quakes with no end in sight. The city is saying that it will take 12-15yrs to rebuild the city. Even though the structures will take this long to rebuild, the peoples spirit has been rebuilding at a rapid pace.

I was only in town for 1 day and one that day I was shown the true spirit of the fallen city. It was a beautiful day and people were out. I got a free concert in the park, which is something they do every Sunday, watched a rugby practice and just enjoyed the quiet nature of the people.

My first day of work at the restaurant was on Dec.23 and there were 2 large-ish earthquakes that day. One was 5.8 and the other was 6.0. Considering I have never really felt an earthquake and I was in a strange building surrounded by glass and sharp things that could hurt me if they fell; I did pretty well. It was kind of funny because both the boss and manager were a bit worried about me because they could tell I hadn’t really felt anything like it before. Since that day there have been hundreds of aftershocks, some I can feel and some that I can’t. What amazes me is how quickly I have become accustomed to them.

Christchurch also marked my very first couch surf. I stayed at “The Castle” as it is known by the residents past and present and all those who walk through the doors. My hosts, Hilal, Kayla, Oli, Ben and Logan (who I only met in passing) were so great and welcoming. However, I was a bad guest who went to bed early. They had a party and I just couldn’t stay awake because I was so hung over. Lucky for me they were cool with me hitting the hay early and were more worried that they would keep me up. I loved staying at The Castle because it had so much old school charm since most of the fixtures in the house were the originally ones and because I was able to meet new, interesting people with a similar spirit to mine.

Onwards to Lake Tekapo and then Queenstown!

On The Road Again...

Sorry for the long silence but there is only so much you can talk about in Akaroa. But the time has come after 2 months in Akaroa; I am hitting the road again.

I have really enjoyed my time here in this quiet coastal town despite the rocky start but as is the nature of travelling, I have to say goodbye.

There are a few things I will miss about Akaroa…

1.       Watching Charlie Chaplin walking to work on Saturday mornings.

2.       Waking up to a symphony of birds.

3.       Sitting on the beach with Sina and watching the sunset.

4.       The Akaroa library and the crotchety ladies who work there.

5.       My Ma Masion crew: Puai, Sina, Brooke, Levi, Chris, Kinnear, Ben, Tracy, Kevin, Marley, Finn and even Surly Simon. I will especially miss Ricki who saved my sanity during those tough first weeks and turned out to be a kindred soul.

On the flip side, I will not miss…

1.       Walking up the hill to my home multiple times a day.

2.       Watching Nickelodeon and Disney channel. (Why do parents let their children watch that crap)

3.        Sitting on the beach and being eaten by sand flies.

4.       Nowhere to just dance up a storm.

5.       Small town mentality where everyone knows your business.

I am happy and thankful to my co-worker Kevin for taking me kayaking the other day to see some penguins, and seals. He and his wife run kayaking tours out of a penguin reserve on the other side of the hills in Flea Bay. It was so great to finally get out there as Kevin had originally said he would take me for my birthday but we were waiting for nice weather. Unfortunately, all my day offs for the past month have had pretty shitty weather so we postponed until finally I just had to go even though it wasn’t ideal weather. This summer has been a pretty gloomy and rainy one for us here in Akaroa, which is unusual.

Oh Akaroa…I will have very fond memories of my times here on the piss, hanging with Sina pretty much every day, chilling with my kiwi roommate as he teaches me some kiwi slang and all the ways to say “going on the piss”,  cruising in the Japanese Jag with Ricki, and reading endlessly in the sunshine.

Onwards I go, next up Queenstown where I will be bungy jumping from the 134m Nevis jump. Yes I will pee myself but at least I will do it. I am pretty much skipping over the rest of the East coast as I have been warned it is pretty boring. I will be spending the next 2 weeks in the West of the South island and then parking for a couple months in Wellington or maybe even Nelson.

XOXO Sid

Holy Hannah I’m turning 28!

Another year gone with a year of endless possiblities to replace it.

28 isn’t old by any means and I’ve grown to really appreciate every age and really savory each year as you never get any of them back.  As I get older, I’ve started to let things go. Things I’ve been holding on to for years, for reasons long forgotten.

28 is going to be glorious as I will usher it in on the beach with my few Akaroa friends. I will spend it thinking about the past year that was full of change, and I will look forward to the coming year with anticipation as I can only improve myself and enjoy every step I will take.

Oh 28…what will you hold for me?

Double Life

The transition to NZ has been relatively easy. I’ve actually forgotten how long I’ve been here (1.5 months) as it feels so natural. I didn’t even suffer from jetlag as I went out drinking and dancing my first night in NZ which acclimatized me to the time difference.

Now that I have a job and a home I really feel settled but it feels strange because I feel like I’m living a double life.

Back home in Toronto I work in the arts, in theatre, in the film festival world and I love it and I’m good at it, but I often forget about my life back home.. I see theatre, opera, film and concerts on a regular basis. I have drunken political conversations with anyone possible. I am confident in myself, my ideals, and my passion.

Here in New Zealand, I work in the service industry as a waitress and I’m not great at it but not horrible. I’m not confident in myself, I can’t express my ideas and my passion, and the arts feel a thousand miles away. I don’t feel like myself but I’m not completely unhappy with that. My life is very simple here, I go to work, I read a lot, I drink wine or beer on the patio or the beach, and I have no worries or stress.  I do wish I could have a conversation about art, any art form, just some acknowledgment that art exists.

 I have a double life with very different goals, different friends and different skill sets. I may not feel like myself here but maybe I’m becoming the person I’m going to be. A very wise and wonderful woman once said to me that you truly do not become the person you are until you hit your 30’s. As my 28^th birthday approaches very quickly, I’m not sure if this new person is part of the person I will become or if I am just on a vacation from the person that I really am.

Oh my double lives… both are lovely and both are satisfying but in very different ways. I have to remember not to lose sight of who I am as it is quite easy to do here.  

XOXO

Sid

Things I've learnt So Far....

1.       NZ drivers will not concern themselves with pedestrians. Not because they are mean but because they have never had to, so get across the street quickly and double check before crossing.

2.       The hottest men work in hostels. Maybe it’s because they all have sexy accents and are extremely friendly but whatever it is, it’s always a pleasure to check-in.

3.       It’s really okay to smile, start up a conversation or just say hello to anyone and everyone you see on the street. Except in Auckland where they suffer from big city syndrome.

4.       Kiwis love their roundabouts. Roundabouts make me nervous; see point 1.

5.       You don’t have to wear shoes to the mall, restaurants, on the street or anywhere you don’t feel like.

6.       Sprite is called LEMONADE! Drives me crazy because I can’t actually get lemonade in restaurants because if I order lemonade they always bring me sprite.

7.       Apparently it’s okay and expected for you to drive to work when you only live 10mins walking from work.

8.       People really do love Canadians but can’t discern our accents. Only one person has gotten it right and it was a Canadian who has been living in Australia for a few years.

9.       Foreigners also don’t realize that there are coloured people in Canada. They always wonder why, if I’m Canadian, I’m so dark.

10.   Aftershocks become so a part of life here in the South island that you can sleep through even the 5.3 ones. Trust me, I’ve done it.

XOXO
Isidra