ROCKY LOOKOUT

Also in October, I had the wonderful opportunity to do a little bit of tramping on one of the mountains near Masterton with the super cool Amy Munn. She posed the idea of doing one of the day walks to many people, but since no one from the young adults bible study was free and since her other friends had to back out due to last minute changes in plans, she was left with me. Poor Amy...

Everything started out as you might expect. After we had been walking up a bit, we both got a little bit breathless. But for some reason, I found the bottom of the hill more difficult, and once I got going became fine. Unfortunately, this did not happen for Amy, who increasingly became more and more out of breath the further up we got. It wasn't like climbing up this hill was easy for me, but my respiratory system didn't seem to get the memo. There were a couple of times when I tried pretending to be more tired and out of breath than I actually was in an attempt to make her feel better, but I don't think it was really helping. 

It was at this point when I tried to verbally make her feel better. Anyone who knows me really well, knows that the second I decide to open my mouth in an attempt to console someone, it becomes a bad idea. I don't know why I thought this would help, but I decided to talk about my experience climbing up to the caves in my first year in Mexico. I think I thought that it would somehow convey that I understood what she was experiencing... I still don't know why I thought that would help. Aii, poor Amy. Looking back, I feel so bad - Amy is puffing away, thinking that she's going to die and looking dauntingly at the endless amount of stairs we have to keep climbing and here I am chattering away about how I've climbed mountains in Mexico. Good one, Natalie. 

But we made it to the top, eventually. The view was spectacular and after we ate our lunches we forgot about the difficulty we had climbing up there (until we woke up the next day with sore legs). Amy, if you ever read this, I'm sorry! I fail socially and thanks for an amazing experience!

MARLBOROUGH SOUNDS

A few... okay, many weekends ago I got the chance to do a bit of travel on my own. So, I packed a bag and hopped on a train down to Wellington. Friday was great just wandering around Wellington at my own pace. The youth hostel needed a paint job, but it had the comfiest beds ever... and let's be honest, they're much cheaper than hotels for a reason. 

Rise and Shine!

Saturday, I got up bright and early and boarded the Bluebridge ferry to Picton. Not that there is anything super exciting about Picton, but to get there one must travel through the Marlborough Sounds and I since I'm still not sure what I'm going to do in my last two weeks, if I'm going to go to the South Island or not, I thought it would be nice to at least say that I'd seen some of the South Island - even if it was just Picton. 

Jellyfish!

If you're ever planning on traveling by ferry, everyone will be fixated with advice about how you can avoid motion sickness... but honestly, my advice is, unless you have really short hair, bring a hat... for 2 reasons. One: on the way to Picton, it was a bit windy, which resulted in my hair feeling like it had been backcombed even though I had put it up. Two: on the way from Picton, I sat at the balcony/seating area at the back of the boat which in my opinion were the best seats in the house, but which also happened to be in direct sunlight and sunglasses were not quite adequate. 

But all minor frustrations aside, this was an absolutely amazing experience. On the way back, I even saw dolphins and the albatross were diving into the water around them. It was spectacular. Unfortunately, cameras aren't always the greatest at capturing these things, so you'll have to take my word for it. The Marlborough Sounds are amazingly beautiful and so. worth. seeing. 

Picton from the ferry

Cheers!

THE WAY IS SHUT

"The way is shut. It was made by those who are Dead, and the Dead keep it, until the time comes. The way is shut." 

~

Had the coolest most fun packed weekend.... last couple of weekends actually.  Saturday morning my host and I got up, packed some lunch and a copious amount of water into a chilly bin, loaded up the car and hit the road. Destination: South Wairarapa! Putangirua Pinnacles, Cape Palliser, Lake Ferry... basically the southern most part of the North Island.

The great thing about New Zealand is that even getting places is exciting. Passing though the town of Martinborough, travelling on country roads between farmland (and thousands and thousands of sheep), over rolling hills, along the coast - it's pretty much the epitome of enjoyable and it's incredibly beautiful.

First stop: The Pinnacles. 

View from the Pinnacles Lookout 

They aren't exactly a breeze to get to - you have to walk about an hour up a rocky riverbed/stream then up and up and up a rocky hill, totally exposed to the sun - but it's totally worth it. Once you get up you can walk through the eroded columns of stone, being mindful that they could technically collapse at any moment, crushing you or starting a rock slide... but they are far too beautiful for thoughts like that. In the picture above, they look quite flat... far too flat in my opinion. Believe me you are constantly walking up hill, even when walking through them. I probably have a hundred photos of rocks on my camera after this; just warning anyone that has thought about asking to see photos of my trip... Ignore all thoughts following the paths between the pinnacles to the very end. On my way up, pulling myself up over obstacles had been done by holding on to rocks on the sides of the pinnacles with my hands, since there came a point were I could no longer trust the rocks under my feet.There may have been a point where I was suspended like a tree frog, unable to go up because if I moved I would start a slide of rocks and then slip back down the slope of rocks and unable to go down because the rocks I was holding on to on the sides couldn't hold my weight enough to allow me to lower myself down the slop. Images of starting a rock slide which would inevitably bury my unassuming host who had the sense to stop long below were conjured up in my mind. I considered how the signs coming up the hill which said, "Caution: Rock slides" and "Do not climb the pinnacles" would probably negate my medical insurance. I'm still not entirely sure how I got out of that situation, but I got down most of the rest of the slope on my derrière.

For my less nerdy viewers, who possibly might not get the reference at the beginning, this site is one of the filming locations for a scene in the Lord of the Rings. It was a passage called 'The Dimholt Road.' In full sunlight and without the dramatic music it was much less creepy, but there is something eerie about walking alone amide towering rocky towers so I can see why they chose this site for the scene. My host was constantly commenting on our long ascent up to the pinnacles how, "Peter Jackson probably wouldn't have walked up all the way up there. He probably had a helicopter." 

Of course I couldn't leave without leaving a little bit of Canada behind! 

Next Stop: Cape Palliser 

(But only after stopping in Ngawi for icecream! Passionfruit mmmmm....) The walk up to the light house was a little bit daunting, but we made it! 

Cape Palliser Lighthouse

Climbed all 253 of these!

The whole time up the steps I was thinking, "Don't turn around; don't look down." The way down I had to hang on to the rail with both hands! But the view at the top was spectacular. You could see all the way down the coast, the rocky beaches and jagged coastal rocks on one side and the black sands on the other. I've never seen black sand before. There's something almost mystical about them. It can be bright and sunny, but when you looks at the beaches it almost seems overcast, I can't explain. 

And in case the spectacular views, fresh sea breeze and calming noise of the waves crashing against the rocks were not enough, down on the rocks below were New Zealand's fur seals. It was just another lazy day for them. We watched them for a while and wandered among the rocks searching for shells. 

Last stop: Lake Ferry

Lake Ferry (this is a town not an actual lake) is on the shore of Lake Oneke which is separated from Palliser Bay by a sand bar, which is black like the other beaches in the area. This area is not the safest to swim in due to the rips created by the lake draining into the bay and the undertows have carried people away. 

We walked along the sand bar and then stopped at the pub/restaurant/hotel near the beach. I decided to try the whitebait fritters, which are essentially whitebait fish (an anchovy-sized fish, sourced locally) in an egg mixture fried like an omelette. I thought they were delicious (although my host thinks they "taste like nothing"). It's true, they don't have a strong fishy flavour, but I think the texture is part of what makes this dish popular. 

*If you are easily grossed out, skip this next bit*

After we get our fritters, I had already taken a bite when my host leaned over and said, "I don't want to put you off, but did you know those are it's eyes?" 

I didn't think they were gross; I happily finished my fritters!
You be the judge. 

After our fritters were finished, we decided it was time to head home. With all that hiking and sea air we were confident we would sleep well. After putting her in the car before eating dinner, the dog refused to get out of the car and once we started off she didn't move an inch from this position:

Tired Pip? Someone's had a full day!

WETA WORKSHOP

This post has been a loooong time coming. It has occurred to me that some of the people reading this blog may have never seen the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit and that much of what I say may have been lost on them. All I can say is that is very unfortunate. So for those of you who don't know, 13 years ago this December the first film of one of the highest grossing film series of all time was released and the world changed forever. Based on the novel, The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, the films made their way into cinemas around the world and into many many people's hearts. The films were considered to be one of the biggest most ambitious film projects ever undertaken and were partially created by these guys: 

Weta Workshop. Founded by Sir Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger in 1987, Weta Workshop embodies the Kiwi 'no. 8 wire' can-do attitude employing many master craftsmen, many of whom are self taught. Named after the infamous New Zealand weta (basically a VERY large cricket), Weta has brought fame to New Zealand through it's work on projects like The Lord of the Rings, The Last Samurai, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, Distict 9, Avatar, The Adventures of Tintin and The Hobbit. Basically it has become a mecca for nerds all over the world traveling to New Zealand to make their pilgrimage and, up until the last couple of years, stand outside the gates and peer through and hope to see something. 

Luckily for us, 2 years ago, the founders saw the financial gain in opening up a small part of the workshop for pilgrims to be guided through explanations of the work the company does and look through into a couple of parts of the workshop to see parts of the creative process. And it is definitely worth it. Starting from sketches up to the final painting of the prop, the guide explains how everything in the movies are made, different materials used for different shots and even how they make replicas. He discussed the digital process, sword and armour crafting, 'bigatures' and much more. We went in there expecting to just get shown some props and how they were made - and we did - and came out with a lesson about life. 

It perfectly mirrored a conversation I had just had with 2 college-aged girls (college in NZ is the same as high school) the Sunday prior. Somehow we got on the topic of future careers. One of the girls was saying that she wanted to be a brain surgeon; the other that she had no idea what she wanted to do. We talked about how it's okay to not know what career path you should follow, that university is over-rated and that you shouldn't necessarily be focused solely on getting there (unless of course you want to be a brain surgeon). I told them that just because you've decided a career path does not mean that you know what you want to do for the rest of your life. Other choices crop up. The one everyone is asking me now is, "So what type of nursing do you want to do?" This revelation came as a huge shock to me because all through high school and much of university I thought I had this whole career path sorted, having chosen to pursue nursing and studying at McMaster. We discussed how so much of education and energy, as children and youth, is focused on getting kids to figure out what they "want to be when they grow up" but not enough time is focused on helping them enjoy their childhood. You can always work on being more grown up; once lost you can't work on becoming a child. I told them to do what they love, are interested in learning and have passion for and to try to make a job out of that if possible. It fit in so well with what our guide discussed about his own personal experience. 

I got this quote from the Weta Workshop website and it pretty much sums up what we talked about during the tour: 

      "Working at Weta is about as good as it gets," Matt says - "We get paid to have a hobby and play with weapons at work. I carry around a Japanese Katana when I do my tours... where else can you do that?" 
      Matt also says what so many other artists at Weta tell us, that the most important thing you need to work in a place like Weta is passion and a desire to be the best at what you can do. What school you attend or what qualifications you hold comes second to the passion for your art. 
      "It's never a bad thing studying. I would never discourage anyone, but it really isn't the only way to get a job, at least not here in New Zealand... Not everyone is cut out for higher education - financial reasons, learning difficulties or dyslexia may mean it's hard to acquire a formal education, but the very same things may well increase your chances of becoming a great artist and the lack of education shouldn't stop anyone from being allowed to pursue their dreams."