good-bye WBF!

Tomorrow is the last day of the World Busker's Festival, and there were a few more acts we were keen on seeing, so we headed out early to make the most of the day before the heat climbed up the thermometer.  A few more pictures:

 

  

The Yo Yo Guy-2008 yo-yo world champion, from Boston!

Heir of Insanity-juggling and amazing acrobatic acts inside the bubble

 

The chalice in Cathedral Square

the bus.

Before I came to NZ, I had never ridden a bus for public transportation.  Ok, once I rode one for 2 miles as a shuttle between Creighton and the Qwest Center for a basketball game, but that does not count (especially because I had to drive my car to Creighton).  When we first arrived in NZ, I was incredibly nervous and overwhelmed to ride the bus.  First came the hassle of figuring out when and which bus would arrive at the stop closest to where I was at a given time.  Next, I had to rummage through money that was completely unfamiliar and unrecognizable to me to pay the driver while a line of people was behind me.  Once sitting on the bus, I still couldn't find comfort, as I craned my neck to try and spot where to get off the bus so that I could push the button to notify the driver on time.  Goodness, it was quite the ordeal!

I can't believe that I haven't driven a car since September.  And that it's been long enough that I can barely remember what side the gas pedal is on, and it looks funny when we see an American car in NZ with the steering wheel on the left side.  Bus rides, as long as they aren't to completely new places, are simple and easy now; I even have some of the timetables memorized.  I realize that the location of our flat is the most fortunate occurence.  There are two bus lines that stop right outside our front door, which from my experience in other people's homes that aren't on bus lines, makes me feel incredibly lucky, considering our situation.  Although my life and times revolve a lot around waiting for the bus, and trying to be on time for it, I feel like it's been a growth process and confidence booster.  I have to admit though, I do miss driving and its conveniences, and can't wait to get back to it.  But there's no doubt that bus riding has increased my patience and slowing down in NZ!

survivor gabon FINALE!

The time has finally come tonight for the Survivor Gabon finale!  A feature-length, three hour grand finale to the show that's comprised our Thursday night television excitement!  The weeks leading up to the finale have been suspenseful, and oddly, Bret and I have been getting more and more into the show, pulling for our favorite castaways.  After a previous post about Survivor, one of my friends commented on the show; when I realized that it was being watched in the U.S. still (I thought this was an old season), I refused to let her talk to me about it any more.  I thought that her few comments about it would spoil the outcome for me.  It didn't, thank goodness, and I was completely surprised by the ending.
   

Finishing Survivor marks a milestone of sorts here.  It is the first and only show that we have watched the entire season of since moving to NZ.  It was the first Thursday we lived in the flat, and with limited television program selection, Survivor is was.  It became a mainstay of our Thursday nights, kicking off the weekends early, and something to look forward to at the start of the week.  I had never watched a whole season of Survivor before (this was the 17th season!), and probably never will again, but it will always serve as a reminder of our Thursday traditions in Christchurch.

pizza quest

One thing that's definitely different about my lifestyle here in New Zealand is that I don't go out to eat as much as I did in the states.  I love making dinner, experimenting with recipes and local ingredients, and it's always nice to have leftovers for lunch.  But, of course, every once in a while, I crave a quick and easy meal, and pizza is a go-to.  In Omaha, I am a huge Sam and Louie's fan, dousing their New York style pepperoni pizza in their seasoning and hot sauce.  I thought it wouldn't be too hard to find quality pizza here in NZ, but I thought too soon.  My notes:

• One Red Dog-gourmet braised lamb and pumpkin pizza.  Truly kiwi.
  
• Domino's-our main choice the first month we lived here.  Crazy flavors like chicken and apricot sauce, cheeseburger with mayonnaise swirl, and pepperoni that looked like hot dog slices...we settled on thin crust cheese which is different than U.S. pizza because the tomato sauce is sweeter and the cheese isn't as mild
• Pizza Hut-similar flavor selection to Domino's, so we stuck with the cheese pizza, lack of sauce
• Cocopelli-our favorite, is a gourmet pizza restaurant, where our pizza of choice is packed with chicken, red capsicum (bell pepper), onion, green onion, and pistachio sour cream, which is a crazy but delicious combination
• Papa's Pizza-self-proclaimed 'best pizza or your money back', we ordered it for delivery (can't even remember what kind) and it was delivered half folded on itself in the box, looking worse than day-old Totino's pizza, and tasting just as bad...didn't get our money back but saved their brochure to show everyone back home
• Hell Pizza-all of their pizzas are titled with references to hell and the devil, we ordered a meat pizza (eh) and Bret concocted a sushi-inspired salmon, aioli, avocado, and seafood sauce pizza which was surprisingly yummy
  
• Spagalimi's-Italian style (whatever that means here in NZ), classic crust pizza.  Took a risk with New York Pepperoni, and was very pleased.  As close to American pepperoni as I've found so far.  Would definitely order delivery from there again

It's safe to say that none of the New Zealand pizzas come even close to my classic American favorites at Old Chicago, Don Carmelo's, or Sam and Louie's,  but the research has been satisfying for the most part!

goody goody gum drops!

A new and fast favorite ice cream we've tried here is Goody Goody Gum Drops, a bubble gum flavored, mint green colored ice cream, chock full of sugary sweet, sticky gumdrops.  I think I am going to 'invent' the flavor when we get back to the states!

even more WBF

I didn't have to work until my yoga class this evening, so found it the perfect opportunity to head out into the city again to check out more of the World Buskers Festival.  Below you'll find a few pictures and descriptions of a few acts:

Aerial artists
    
 
Clown Loto-a Japanese clown that did his act with no spoken words!
    

Slackwire Sam juggled knives and flames on the slackwire on a unicycle
   

Russian Bar Trio-the girl did flying tricks on the balance board suspended between her two partners, finishing with a double somersault twist high in the air
   

Reuben DotDotDot holding his weight on a 15 foot pole
   

Angels in Victoria Square (if you gave them money, and were lucky, they'd share a secret or angel dust...we weren't lucky)
   

Lili DiScala singing opera

More WBF

Too much World Buskers Festival for one post...so here's part two!  After surviving a few shows in the intense heat, we made a brief and brisk tour of the city, taking in the weekend crowd, and grabbing fresh fruit ice cream.  The final show I had planned on seeing yesterday was Bendy Em, a contortionist.  We killed a bit of time, and caught the final 10 minutes of another busker before she started.

Bendy Em is also from Australia and is the world's only (her claim, not mine) street performing contortionist.  I was interested to see this yoga teacher (if she can do it, I can too, right?) contort her body into all different sorts of shapes.  Emma was about my height, but incredibly ripped and tan, and was a ball of energy.  She set up her few props, which included a 16 inch plastic cube stacked on scaffolding for her dangerous final stunt.  She was pretty funny and totally jazzed the audience up with her crazy contortions and sense of humor.  Her final feat?  You guessed it...cramming her tiny body into the box!  Ok, after about three minutes of the show, I gave up on the idea of being like her...

  

  

   

 

  

World Buskers Festival

The World Buskers Festival is on in Christchurch and we were eager to check out the free entertainment from around the world.  The weather is truly summer, so a halter top and plenty of sunscreen was in order, as well as a backpack stuffed with cameras and water.  We were off!

   

The World Buskers Festival has 450 performances across several stages throughout downtown area over the span of a week in Christchurch, and is one of their largest festivals.  As mentioned in several posts, we come across buskers regularly in the city, so I was excited to see a festival dedicated to the art.  Even better, there was a schedule to the various performances, so that by the end of the week, it is feasible to see all of the acts.  

   

In Cathedral Square, we made our first stop.  The whole city center looked different and more vibrant, with loud music playing, and lots of people milling about the open market and food vendors.  We were right on time for a performance, and took a seat on the cathedral steps.  A large crowd drew around Mr. Fish, a busker from Australia, as he performed his 40 minute act.  He juggled knives, did several hat tricks, made fun of many audience members, and was hilariously comedic.  Seriously, everything he said was some sort of goofy joke or cheeky response; if you weren't listening closely, you were bound to miss something!  We were easily entertained the entire time, and his final trick included climbing atop a 10-foot unicycle, juggling knives, and balancing a fake goldfish on his shoe.  While sporting a helmet complete with fish bowl attached (totally reminding me of Cat and the Hat), he flipped the fish off of his shoe and into the bowl.  Genius!

Mr. Fish (on the left)

 

Next, for a change of scenery, we headed over to Victoria Square, a block away, for a look at what their stages had to offer.  We had gyros (I love eating fair food!) and caught some of a circus act on an aerial stage.  No wires attached, the quintet performed death defying trapeze, rope, scarf, and balancing acts, suspended high above the ground, with no nets, in front of a very live crowd.  No room for errors, I couldn't help but hold my breath during several of their stunts!

 

Back of Victoria Square aerial stage

  

More to follow...tomorrow!

Mind-boggling.

LOST is back, and in full force!  Our Survivor night (season finale next week!) was made that much sweeter with the anticipation of LOST's return.  Our calculations with the time difference and iTunes posting schedule had us thinking we would be watching LOST by 8:30 pm Thursday night, but after religiously clicking refresh on iTunes, I said I would only wait until 10:32 pm (quite arbitrarily) for the episodes to be posted before I gave up for the night.  Magically, right before my cutoff, the episodes were downloaded from iTunes and so it began.

It was amazing, and left me questioning even more.  But most importantly, it made me totally feel at home.  It reminded me of the countless episodes I watched in the dark, in the comfort of my apartment, on my laptop screen, glued to find out the latest LOST detail, back in Omaha.  And I totally miss that.  Just like the losties have to go back to the island, I feel like I will have to go back to my mainland too...eventually!

PSA Mania!

In NZ, there are so so so many public service announcements on television.  I would venture a guess that nearly half of the commercials in between shows are PSAs.  There are PSAs for everything and anything here, and I have a hard time comprehending the need for so many.  A list of just some of the PSAs I can remember off the top of my head:

• Skin cancer-the importance of sun screening kids now; slogan-NEVER let your child get sunburnt
• Cervical cancer-get checked now and prevent this from happening as it shows an abandoned four-year-old remembering his mom
  
• Breast feeding-lots of commercials about the impact on baby's health and why mothers should start
• Driving too fast-a father and son driving fast, son inherits father's driving patterns and crashes
• Drunk driving (called drink-driving)-after a night at the bar, friends climb into car that crashes (one of many many drinking safety ones)
  
• Drinking (in general)-there are so many graphic and almost unnecessary scare-tactic drinking commercials, one showing a man who previously is spinning a child around, and after drinking does it again and throws a child into a wall
• Swimming-likening a person who has never swam before to a baby in the water
  
• Boating-ensuring boaters have communication gear in case of emergency
  
• Domestic violence-police are called out to a home once every 7 minutes for a case of domestic violence...IT'S NOT OKAY
  
• Fire safety-for adults (no candles in campers, changing smoke detector batteries, etc.) and kids (cartoons about exiting the house safely and telling adults about matches)
  
• National/natural disasters-how to prepare your home and family should some sort of disaster strike
• Mental health-how to cope and/or help someone you know or yourself with mental health issues
• Smoking-it's bad for you and how to stop with additional advertisements for a quit line
  

Educating the public in these often self-explanatory commercials is all too common here.  The car accident and drinking ones have gotten so disturbing that Bret or I jump off the couch to turn them off (no remote) as soon as they come on (and we have them pretty much memorized.  Are there that many PSAs in the states?  Maybe there are, and I've just been too busy fast-forwarding through all the commercials (ah, I miss that luxury).

Christchurch Chess

The first and main guidebook that I've been looking at throughout our trip showed the famous over-sized chess board in Cathedral Square.  We usually stop to check it out when we're near, but it wasn't until last week that we snapped our first photos.  Check it out!

   

  

 

   

  

worlds away

As I turned on the television this morning, getting ready for work, I was bombarded with kiwi news broadcasting the inauguration ceremony back in the U.S.  It feels so distant from where we are, and it's hard for me to comprehend the gravity of the historical moment happening in the United States right now.  The news that I have heard about the massive celebration filled with international celebrities and politicians, and throngs of Americans flocking to our nation's capital was incredible!  It's been challenging being so far away from the news and happenings in America, but it's true that what's going on back home can be felt here...many kiwis ask us about our new president, and are often as up to date on 'our' news than Bret and I are.  It will certainly be an interesting 4 years! 

I. CAN't. WAIT!

After my long weekend, I am back to a full week of work.  The one thing getting me through though, is the return of LOST!  I had never watched LOST before, and remember thinking when it first started that it was a survivor-like drama.  I never got into it.  When Bret (a longtime huge LOST fan) returned from NZ December 2008, and over Christmas break, with nothing on television, he convinced me to just try watching the two hour pilot on DVD.  I gave in, probably out of boredom, and the rest is history.  I watched three and a half seasons of LOST in four months, which averaged to about one or two a week.  A lot of the episodes Bret re-watched with me, and it was often a marathon on the weekends.  Since I watched the episodes back-to-back, I caught lots of little details and was so intrigued by the drama, the theories, the characters, and their stories.

There were several times when people would start talking about the previous night's episode of LOST that I would have to leave the room, or beg them to stop talking, since I wasn't caught up yet.  LOST is the type of show that you have to see every episode sequentially.  It was painful to be left out, but made me even more determined to finish.  I finally caught up and was able to watch the season four finale last May!  Quite the accomplishment...I was disappointed that it wouldn't return to television until 2009.  Here in NZ, they're way behind on it and Bret and I agreed we wanted to stay in the LOST loop.  With a Christmas iTunes card we invested in the season pass, and have devoted our Thursday nights (after Survivor, of course) to LOST.  That way we are up to date, can read the blogs, and Facebook statuses won't provide spoilers!

I can't wait to see what happens!!!

southern sky

Today was a crazy weather day in Christchurch.  We took a long walk in the afternoon into the city to the giant Hagley Park.  Bret went for a run while I did some yoga and pilates.  Between leaving the flat and getting to the park, the sunny and warm weather turned ominous and thundering.  It was the first time we had ever heard thunder in Christchurch.  We managed to finish our workouts before the long walk back in sprinkling and cold rain.  Once home, the most intense thunderstorm we had experienced here hit Christchurch, with lots of lightning, thunder, and heavy rains which made the lights in the flat flicker.  The whole time I couldn't help but wonder if New Zealand has tornadoes, because I have never seen a basement...  The intense lightning and rain even made the national NZ news!

The storm definitely chilled the air, and after babysitting the night sky was so clear.  We could see hundreds of stars, and even a few shooting stars.  We found several familiar upside-down constellations and the little dipper was distant and tiny.  The milky way dazzled across the sky and it was a beautiful night!

perfect job

I had to babysit tonight and again tomorrow night for baby Evelyn.  It was the perfect evening!!!  Evelyn's mom invited Bret to come, since Evelyn would already be asleep, for a movie night.  Our television in the flat is quite old and small, has three stations, and no remote control (can you imagine?!).  Evelyn's mom also created a box for me in their pantry full of Oreos and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and searched high and low in Christchurch to stock her fridge with Dr. Pepper for me!  She even bought me my first wedding magazine, New Zealand Weddings (an awesome souvenir).  Bret and I settled in to watch the Kill Bill movies on a huge flat screen television with remote while enjoying our snacks!  The perfect job!

four day weekend!

I have a lovely four day weekend!  I have to babysit in the evenings on Saturday and Sunday and yoga on Monday, but other than that, four days off.  Today we took advantage of the 80 degree weather, packed a picnic, and headed for the beach.  We've gone to two beaches here in Christchurch so far.  The first one, New Brighton, was on an exceptionally cold and windy day...so uncomfortable just to take pictures!  The second beach, Sumner, was on Labour Day and was packed with people and a long and crowded bus ride to get there.  So, for convenience sake, we went to New Brighton today; it's much closer! 

When we arrived, and attempted to look for a section of sand to set up our picnic and towels, we found nearly the entire expanse of the beach to be wet.  The tide had come up so far!  We'd noticed that too in Abel Tasman National Park...where the kayaks would take off in the morning from the small stretch of sandy shore, in the afternoon, there would a football field's length of shore, with tractors having the drive the returned kayaks up the beach!  But today we found a dry patch of warm, soft sand and settled in for a refreshing picnic and ocean view.  There was a haze on the horizon, so we could barely make out the snow-capped mountains, but the sun was warm and there was a perfect seabreeze to keep us cool.  We read and listened to music, got in the water (just our feet!), and walked along the beach.  I've really liked how we've tried to incorporate our 'holiday' spirit into our working lives since we've returned. 

Our last stop before heading home was Harrington's Bottle Shop.  Harrington's is a local Christchurch brewery, and Bret has really been enjoying picking up a bottle of their beer at the supermarket every once in a while to add to his collection.  This place was like beer heaven!  They had all of their beers on tap or pre-bottled, and so it took Bret a while to determine what on earth he was going to buy...15 minutes of indecision later we left with two bottles of fresh-off-the-tap beer and headed home! 

the city

Yesterday I had a rare day off of work in the middle of the week so we decided to take full advantage and head into the city.  The city centre was busier than normal, the weather was perfect, and we accomplished much:  browsing the after-Christmas sales, haircuts, library, and touring the art gallery.  The art gallery is a collection among several buildings of all sorts of shops housing leather crafts, beads and jewelry making, a fudge factory, jade, paua, and opal shops, cafés, and several wool shops.  It was really fun to peruse the shops specializing in New Zealand goods. 

After leaving the art gallery, we came across a busker on the street with his dog.  Buskers (street performers) are very popular here in Christchurch.  In fact, later this month, there is an international busker festival in Christchurch, with over 400 acts.  It's somewhat inspired Bret to make a True Life-esque documentary about the life of a busker that travels to Christchurch to perform.  We enjoy wondering about how they are inspired to do what they do everyday!

The busker and his dog, Polly, were incredibly entertaining.  And just us stopping to look nudged the man to show us all of his dog's tricks.  Polly could ride a skateboard, honk its horn, sing along appropriately with "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window" and even pick up the coins that people were donating and dropping into a hat.  She was quite entertaining, and I am looking forward to checking out more buskers later this month!

Yes Man!

Yesterday we went and saw the movie Yes Man!  Since I didn't have to work today we were able to stay out a bit later and catch a later Tuesday night show.  Plus, the tickets are discounted on Tuesdays, so it was even better!  I had been wanting to see this movie for awhile but there were so many uncanny references that I had to share:

• Rhys Darby---he's a hilarious comedian from NZ; he plays Murray (the manager) on Flight of the Conchords, and Bret and I have watched his stand-up routine here, so anytime he was on the screen, I couldn't help but giggle
• Nebraska Husker game---we can't escape the references and signs from back home!  Jim Carrey, on a random whim, goes to Lincoln, Nebraska, and dons a cornhead hat and face paint
• Jim's Third Eye Blind cover of Jumper---I love Third Eye Blind, and it was exceptionally entertaining to see him sing it
• Bungee jumping!---Did you know that bungee jumping was invented in Queenstown, New Zealand?!
  

This movie was cute and funny, and I loved how it tied in a bunch of things going on in my life right now.  You should go see it, just to laugh at those scenes!!!

no place like home...

Throughout our time spent here in New Zealand, you'd be surprise about the references to Nebraska and Omaha, our home, that we come across frequently, as if reminding and encouraging us to make our way back there someday.  It's been really interesting and has always provided us with a warm and fuzzy feeling.  Some examples:

• While watching the American Price is Right, a contestant was wearing a Husker t-shirt
• The Warren Buffett book display at Borders
• While checking The Who website about concert dates, a Nebraska license plate emblazoned with THE WHO is on the front page
• Watching David Letterman, there's a clip of a man yelling "Omaha!  Omaha!" over and over
• Jim Carrey at the Husker game in Nebraska in Yes Man!

There's a few more...that I can't really recall off the top of my head, but it's so neat to see Omaha-related things when we're 8516 miles away from home!

Takeaways

We've been pretty disappointed with the food in restaurants here so far.  There are very few chain restaurants, and the ones we've gone to have had consistently poor service and strange food.  It just isn't like the experience of eating at a restaurant in the states at all.

It seems like on NZ television, they have a reality show for everything.  We've recently become keen on watching The Kitchen Job.  It's about a restaurant man from America, that has come to NZ to help restaurants that are rapidly losing money and customers.  He basically goes in there, tries the food, tell them it's terrible, helps them create a new menu, makes over the place, and then has a trial run with a food critic.  He comes back a month later to see if they've made progress, and that's it.  It's entertaining because they argue a lot on the show, and it has made going to restaurants and cafes even harder now; each time we're there, I assess it as if I were the restaurant man on the show!

There are several solutions to eating in a restaurant though, when not wanting to cook.  Of course there's pizza, and even Thai delivery available.  But we've noticed throughout our travels that takeaways are very popular to the kiwis.  Takeaways are the NZ version of good-but-bad-for-you fast food.  Walking into a takeaway, you have so many options of the things you want fried up to take home.  The most popular is fish and chips, and you order the pieces of fish you want and scoops of fries.  But they also deep fry hot dogs, mussels, pineapples, donuts, paua, and more than I can even remember.  You place your order at the counter, wait a bit, and it is presented to you, triple wrapped in newsprint.  By the time you open it, at least two of the layers are soaked through with residual grease, and there's a big ol' pile of fried food for your dinner delight...

We rarely eat at the takeaway (so unhealthy!), but you can smell them a mile away.  It's like a nightly fish fry!!!  Not quite American fare, but fun to experience anyways!

Riccarton Market

Today, our goal was to check out an outdoor market in Riccarton, a suburb of Christchurch.  It is held every Sunday at the racecourse, and I imagined it to be like the Farmer's Market in the Old Market.  It was much much bigger!  We took a new bus route over there, and after lots of walking to even get into the market, we found it sprawling with booths, people, and stuff!  There were produce stalls, fair foods, rummage sales, crafts, jewelry, and so much more.  It was a bit overwhelming, so we didn't stay long...but long enough for our favorite German bratwurst we've found here, and a giant pineapple-raspberry snow cone!  Yum!

 

  

  

 

We finished the day with a tour of yet another mall, where we found another American store, Borders.  We perused the books, stumbled right into a whole section devoted to Warren Buffett (so many Omaha signs) and headed home.  A wonderful, new day!

underwater dolphin pics!

More from the dolphin experience of a lifetime...

We took underwater pics, and as predicted by Bret, they are mostly just gray blobs because we were so close to them!  I'll post a few!

RECORD HEAT!

While most of my friends and families are freezing back home with snow, ice, and extreme wind chill, Christchurch experienced a huge heat wave yesterday...with the temperature reaching nearly 95 degrees!  I was lucky to be nannying in a house with several heat pumps shooting out cold air.  I drew all the curtains and sat comfortably in the dark while the baby was napping!

Most homes here do not have insulation, and also, no air conditioning or central heating.  Many homes have heat pumps, but they are only in some rooms (we only have one in the main room).  So it gets hot fast.  The couple of hot days made for a sticky and uncomfortable flat, with the outside temperature as the sun started to go down often being much cooler than indoors!  However, as much as I miss winter, I am not going to complain about the heat...typical to NZ weather, it will probably be cold and rainy any day now!

New Year's Res

What are yours?  I'd be interested to know.  The New Year was swept in so quickly and quietly, that I failed to recognize some resolutions right away.  So here we go:

• Learning to relax!  Using my kiwi-intuition, my yoga training, and my patience to continue to relax, help me stay young, and energized!
• Staying fit!  Getting right back into regular yoga practice (I can't wait to teach more yoga (especially to kids) when I get back to Omaha) and continuing to eat and cook healthful food.
  
• Reflect!  Lots!  This blog has really helped me to do this, therefore, my goal is to keep on top of it, and continue well beyond my return to Omaha.
• Learn...I want to keep learning and growing...learning more about myself, others, and the world around me.

Home Sweet Chch

Coming back to life post-holiday was a rocky transition.  E-mails to catch up on, groceries to buy, heaps of laundry, etc. etc.  Life without the computer seemed so much simpler, and I didn't have a worry in the world, or a pressure to be on top of things.  It was comforting driving into Chch and having everything seem familiar, and finally feeling like a place in NZ was my home.  That was nice.  But as soon as I was back, I found myself stressed, and even suffering a bit of cabin fever in the flat.  I have two additional days off before going back to work, and already, the challenge I set forth for myself, learning to relax, is taking effect.  Part of me wants to get back to work right away to shake off this feeling, while the other longs to be back on holiday.  I need to regroup, and gear up for 2009!

holiday reflection

Being on holiday (such a common NZ term), was much needed.  We have worked so hard to get to NZ for what seems like so long, and after being in the country for over 3 months, it was so nice to be able to see its glory, finally.  Life in Chch has been surprisingly hectic, especially before the holidays, and sometimes, it's easy to get so drawn into work that we forget that we're even here!  Which has caused stress and frustration from time to time.  Having the extended vacation, without the connection to the internet, was so wonderful.  We spent free time lounging, and naps were a regular afternoon occurrence.  We bought a deck of cards and had ongoing games of gin rummy, and I read two books.  Laying on the beach, or relaxing on the deck was one of my favorite pastimes.  I didn't have anything to worry about, and it provided me with a much needed opportunity to reflect.  The thing I missed the most was being able to blog daily about my experience.  In my think time on the bus, my blogs would start writing themselves in my head.  However, so did a creeping sense of obligation to finish them as soon as possible when I returned.  I came to NZ to learn to relax, to slow down, and take it all in.  They're a little behind on the times, everything is a much slower pace, and I had always heard that it was just a chilled-out place.  Yet, since being here, I have been overwhelmed with working my three jobs, planning for our little trips, and 'getting things done'.  It's the American in me, what can I say?  The holiday provided an excellent opportunity to give in to the kiwi way, and I loved it, and can't wait to do it again.  I always feel like I'm running to stand still, or speeding up to slow down.  If I learn nothing else here, I hope to find that balance between running around like a crazy woman, and being bored out of my mind, finding my center and purpose, while taking the time to treat myself to relaxing moments regularly, taking it all in.

Day 9-Kaikoura

Today was our last day of holiday.  We checked out of the lodge early, hauled our luggage to the center of town, and had a couple of hours to kill before catching the coach back to Christchurch.  We had a sunny breakfast on the patio of a seaside cafe, and then sat on the warm beach until noon.  Kaikoura's beach lacks sand, but is covered in smooth gray stones, a wide array of sizes.  The sounds of the waves rushing over the stones, and back into the sea was wonderfully relaxing.  I was dreading going home, but at the same time excited.  I had to slather on sunscreen and wear a scarf wrapped around my head to prevent the intense sun from burning my skin and scalp (Bret even made me wear my bicycle helmet at the beach earlier in the week to prevent this!).  As I walked from the shore, back to the bench where we had stashed all our stuff at (right under a Pohutakawa tree), a seagull flew so low over me, and pooped right on my arm.  Isn't that how it always goes?  So right before I am set to get on the bus, I am frantically washing my arm and shirt off, only to find the air dryers not working in the bathrooms...

It was pretty funny though, and a silly way to end our lovely holiday!  A few last photos:

 

The real Pohutakawa deal

Monarch on the beach

Sundog at lunch yesterday

Seagull in flight

 

Kaikoura sunset last night 

No scalp sunburn today!!!

Day 8-Kaikoura!!!

    
Today was the day!  Dolphin swimming here I come!  I have to admit that I was nervous.  I feared that maybe I had set my expectations too high, that I wouldn't be able to swim, that I would get so excited that I would scare the dolphins away.  Bret likens it to meeting your idol.  You just get so star struck you don't know what to say.  Here's how the day went down...

We woke up early, and the sun was bright, thank goodness.  We rented some bikes and cycled down the Dolphin Encounter headquarters.  After checking in, we hung out for a while before we were called in to begin the adventure.  First we were outfitted in head-to-toe wetsuits, snorkel mask, and flippers.  We changed immediately and shuffled into a room to watch an informational safety video.  There were a lot more swimmers than I expected, nearly 40, and I was eager with anticipation.  We boarded a bus and took a short ride over to the other side of Kaikoura's peninsula to get on the boats.  Luckily we were on a boat with only 13 swimmers, while the other one was packed with the rest of the swimmers and additional spectators.  We were off!

We cruised down the coast, heading south, out to where the dolphins usually congregate.  On the boat ride there, we came across a few dolphins, two types of penguins, and fur seals in the water!  So cool!  Everyone was getting psyched to be seeing a couple of dolphins, but I was in absolute shock and awe and was starting to get butterflies in my stomach.  The gear was feeling heavy and tight, and my breathing was definitely speeding up.

Hello!
 
We arrived to a pod of over a hundred dolphins, even with a few babies!  The boat slowed to a stop, an air horn sounded, and the swimmers scurried to the back of the boat to slide quickly into the water.  It was such an adrenaline rush!  The first time we went in, they had warned us that the initial shock of the water temperature would knock us back a bit.  The cold water caught my breath, my snorkel filled with water, and I struggled to get my breathing under control.  Everything was quiet, I had lost Bret and the other swimmers, and I focused my gaze directly beneath me into the water, as instructed by my guide.  Instantly, dozens of dusky dolphins (only in the southern hemisphere) went zooming underneath me.  I was ecstatic!!!  We were told to make noises, singing through our snorkels, to communicate with the dolphins, swim in circles with our arms at our sides, and dive down, acting as dolphin-like as possible.  Before long, the fast dolphins had swam with their pod away from us, and we climbed back on the boat.  We repeated this process an additional 4 times.  The process was exhausting.  The buoyant suits made swimming difficult, and we were told to look down into the water the majority of the time.  But when we would look up, we could see dolphins somersaulting out of the water right in front of us!

Dusky dolphins
 
On my last swim, I managed to communicate with one of the little guys.  Making my noises, and catching the dolphin's eye, as I swam in a quick circle on the surface of the water looking down, the dolphin mimicked my movements directly underneath me.  It was a dream come true!  We were also instructed not to touch the dolphins, which I was happy to oblige to, but they swam so close, I don't know how they didn't run into me!  I was convinced that their tails were going to flip me in the face!

Other swimmers in the water
  
It was the coolest experience I have had in a long long time!  My description and pictures don't even do it justice, and I want to hold onto the moment forever!  I wish that I could have had some sort of goggle-cam so you could better understand how amazing this was for me!  Even Bret couldn't get over the initial shock of the experience.  As we got back onto the boat, exhausted and breathing heavy, we changed to warm clothes, enjoyed hot cocoa and cookies, and dolphin observed for a while.  That's where all of these pictures are from...we took video and underwater shots too, but I will need to do a bit of editing and sift through them after they're developed for a later post!

We were right in the middle of all of that!  There were twice as many underneath the water!