Kaikoura and Wellington: Adventures in the country and city

Now I know it has been a while since I caught up on our travels so I'll do a nice review of our adventures in 2012 so far.

Kaikoura

After my parents left for the North Island of New Zealand, Wells and I headed north to Kaikoura. About 5 hours north of Christchurch, Kaikoura is a great coastal town that has amazing majestic mountains that come right up to the wonderfully blue water. The town itself is quite a cute coastal town with fish 'n chips, backpackers and whale watching. While trying to find a lesser known surfer spot we had heard about, we stumbled upon a camping area along
the beach that was free. Yes, FREE. Okay, so there weren't any facilities (one glorified port-a-loo down the dirt road) but still. We quickly grabbed a spot by the dunes that we shared with a small family in a campervan. We set up our tent, checked out the surf potential and got ready for dinner. This was our first 'real' camping trip and we christened our new camping pans with canned soup and Mac and cheese:

Getting out of the tent the next morning was quite a view to wake up to

We saw real seals, promise!

After a walk up the mountain and seeing seals (!) we decided we wanted to spend another night there so we picked up some more food supplies in town. Now, a quick note about traveling in New Zealand. Street signs are not nearly as plentiful as they should be, which can be a bit frustrating when trying to follow along on a map. Instead, they have done up the country with directional signs that can make it feel a bit like you are finding your way around a theme park. Christchurch this way, Mt. Hutt this way, etc and will also point out local attractions. So, on our way back to our tent we passed for at least the third time a sign that read 'Old Coventry 400m' and we figured, why not? Well it turned out that it was not a historic building for public viewing, but rather was now a small school. After a awkward visit, we left quickly and followed another sign post to a more successful visit to a lavender farm!

Feeling the moment at the lavender farm.

That night we stayed up late watching the stars by a fire.

Wellington

Even blonder!

With the help of Wells' Fulbright 'Orientation' we made our first trip to the north island in early February. We decided to get there a couple of days before the Fulbright shenanigans began, but had no idea what shenanigans we were really walking into. We flew in on Saturday, which was the second day of the International Sevens rugby tournament. This two day tournament consists of fast-passed games only 7 minutes a half, but it the fans that go truest crazy. The Sevens is known for being one giant costume party that turns into a street party at night. It was still pretty early on a cloudy, drizzly day when we arrived but people were already out in elaborate costumes and before noon, drinking. It turned out to be a wonderful mix of Halloween and tailgating that took over the whole city. As we explored the city we saw a group dressed as monopoly pieces, a group of cavemen, fire women, men dressed only in dog food bags and cross dressing abound. It was hard not to get caught up in the spirit so we stopped into one of the cheap Asain stores and picked up a few items to create an easy costume. 

Example of how elaborate the costumes get. Andrew Gorrie/Dominion Post

After watching The All Blacks win from the safety of our hotel room, we donned our costumes and set out for Courtenay Place. The street was shut off and people were everywhere. Wells got really excited when we ran into... TRON!

The next morning when I woke up I had a glowstick necklace, there was a wig on the floor and the tv was a church sermon on mute. The next couple of days were quieter with more exploring of the city- funky Cuba street, views of Wellington harbor and a conveyor belt sushi bar (I've always wanted to go to one!) That Monday was Waitangi Day but also Super Bowl Sunday in the states so a lot of kiwis sent their holiday in bars watching the game. After a trip up the cable car (!) and a walk down through the amazing botanical gardens, we found a place to sit and watch the game for a bit. I still find football boring. Plus, the didn't even show the ads, so really, what was the point?

View of Wellington and the harbour. Yes, I know, it looks just like the postcard.

Fulbright activities

Entrance to the Marae

The next morning, Wells' Fulbright schedule began. After his initial introduction to all the Fulbrighters who are just arriving now, I joined them for the lesson on Maori culture and language. It was interesting to have this type of introduction after having been here for 4 months. With so many Maori place names in this country, it was helpful to have a proper lesson on pronunciation. We prepared for our lesson to the Marae, a Maori Iwi's (tribe) meeting place. It's interesting to note that although the Maori name has been accepted as a universal term, all Iwis consider themselves to be independent entities.
When we arrived at the Marae and followed the steps to being welcomed onto it:
Karanga: Call to visitors
Tangi
Hongi: shaking hands and touching noses
Whaikorero: speech giving and exchange
Kai: eating. Food is blessed and served

Our beds for the night.

After dinner that evening we had a lesson from the marae's carpenter, then got settled into our beds for the night. Given the way the matresses were set up, Wells and I ended up sharing and sleeping very closely.
We woke up the next morning and we were the only ones in the room.... Very eerie, but also, why did nobody wake us up?? Rude. We rushed to get dressed and meet everyone else who was eating breakfast, but it turned out we had plenty of time. After some more lessons on Maori culture, it was back into central Wellington to get ready for the Fulbright cocktail party (aka networking session). It was nice to get to know the other Fulbrighters and, in a way, talk to some Americans- about things back home and New Zealand quirks.

Over the next couple of days we toured the Otari Bush, saw lots of native plants and toured parliament. After another social hour at a local pub where we met the US ambassador, we met our host family set up by Fulbright and went out to their great home on a hill in Lower Hutt, just outside of Wellington central. They were a great couple who had done some amazing travels and got us excited about ours. They took us to soe places that we wouldn't have gotten to otherwise like the Weta Cave, some great beaches and Mt. Victoria for a 360° view of the city and harbor. 

View of Wellington from Mt Victoria

Finding our own path in the bush!

 We can't wait to continue our adventures around the south island and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Kevin Brady!