Taranaki/New Plymouth

  Farming appears to be alive and well New Zealand. The countryside is divided up into neat parcels divided by hedgerows..... a combination of Great Britian and Switzerland with the mountains in the background. Cows, sheep and goats everywhere. Our third and last week in New Zealand was spent in what is known as `The garden of New Zealand ``. The area is reknown for its parks and gardens and is ranked in the top ten most fertile regions of the world. This is a result of the volcano, Mt Taranaki, which very much reminded us of Mt Baker. The mixture of mud, ash and lava that flowed down the mountain have produced not only interesting land formations but a soil that is rich and fertile. We accepted an invitation to a Magnolia nursery in New Plymouth.....our host had recently won international recognition for a magnolia hybrid he`d developed..... a very knowledgeable nurseryman. While in New Plymouth we hiked the mountain .... incredible views when the clouds allowed it. It had just a trace of snow which was the first snow of the season. We enjoyed black sand beaches (very hot on the feet) and watched the surfers..... it is a destnation for surfers. Got sunburn while working in the nursery. Enjoyed picking and eating fresh fijohas (related to kiwi fruit) and apples. Did some storm watching , strange how some things are so mesmerizing you can just watch for hours..... mud pools are like that too. Enjoyed good conersation and wine. Three weeks in New Zealand have gone by incredibly quickly. We could have easily spent three months in New Zealand there is so much to see and wonderful people to get to know. We've even developed a deeper appreciation and understanding of rugby. We were invited to a sheep ranch on the east coast but realized early on that we couldn't do it all......my only disappointment. Especially if we wanted to do it through HelpX, you really need to be able to commit at least a week.

magnolia blosom

On our way back to Auckland we explored the Waitmo Caves. .... huge caverns full of stalactites , stalagamites and glowworms. But the best part was the hike through the forest through natural tunnels and views into caverns with the river flowing through it. Unfortunately the batteries on the camera died so it is not very well documented with photographs. The whole area is dotted with caves some more accessible than others. We are now on our way to Australia. G'Day from the Happy Wanderers

Egmont lighthouse

mounds created by lahars

entrance to the cave

 Our host family in Rotorua. They were absolutely terrific. Local knowledge just makes the difference. They helped us avoid the tourist traps, gave us the use of their mountain bikes and showed us good bike routes. We really enjoyed trail biking the area.There's something about barreling down a narrow bush trail while accurately navigating the terrain that is very satisfying. They took us to the best thermal swimming holes off the beaten track. We of course did some amazing work in their "forgotten garden"...... I've neer seen so many roses on one property. And we introduced them to chocolate zuchinni loaf.

 My favourite the hot and cold pools.

We visited the Maori cultural centre in Rotorua. It was both entertaining and informative. They do some amazing things with their faces ... it makes one realize how much communication occurs through body language.  Their carvings are very beautiful more detailed and intricate than what we're familiar with on the west coast.

a geyser

 We love the forests especially the tree ferns. We'd like to import these to Cobble Hill. 

We spent a week in a geothermal wonderland which is probably the most visited place in New Zealand. Even before Teawara errupted and buried the pink and white terraces, the eight wonder of the world.

Rotorua

This is my fourth attempt and you're basicly just getting pictures because I haven't the patience to write it all again. Was trying to embedd a link and here it is and has reappeared  Buried village Pink and White Terraces   

Our host family in Rotorua .......good people.

Hot and cold pools our favourite.

Maori warrior

Maori carving mostly based on the human form.

The geyser

We love the forest especially the tree ferns.

We're in New Plymouth now. Hopefully my next blog attempt will be more successful. Love y'all

On the Road Again

Hard to believe we've been here a whole week already. The flight down here wasn't as bad as we thought it might be. The dreaded transfer at LAX from terminal 3 to terminal 4 was a piece of cake. The meals on Quantas were quite good although we weren't sure about eating at 12:30 AM, then trying to sleep through to breakfast served 12 hours later.

Auckland April 1, 2011

We nursed our jet lag in Auckland at Dave's cousins place.....they took care of us so well. Auckland is a beautiful city, in many ways it reminds us of Vancouver only a few less million people, less annual rainfall and a little more laid back..... barefoot people in the city. It is as multi-cultural as Vancouver and then some .... so many Polynesian tribes. In the Otahuhu market we clearly looked like awestruck tourists being the only white folk in the crowd..... we could have been in a marketplace in Malayasia. Our first evening out we went to a food court ...... unlike any food court we've ever been to ....there was every Asian country represented there ........... not a hamburger or hot dog insight.

This could have been us.

We celebrated our ninth anniversary in Aucklands Skytower ..... the tallest building in the sourthern hemisphere. I couldn't convince Dave to jump off it with me so I settled for a sumptious buffet in the Skytower restaurant. 

Skytower from across the harbour

Monday we headed south to Rotorua the geothermal centre of New Zealand. Through Helpx we found a host family here. We're helping them with some gardening and maintenance.... raking leaves and putting gardens to bed, can't cut the roses until they've had a couple more frosts. A little bit strange for us since we were getting ready to plant when we left Vancouver Island. It was a little strange those first few days enjoying the mid-afternoon sun facing north rather than south. On the weekend we switched back to standard time and turned our clocks back one hour. What a mixed up year.

Today we explored the geothermal parks and pools in the area. It makes one very aware of the volatile nature of the earths crust when one sees what comes bubbling up through cracks and pools. The Marois used these warm/hot pools for cooking, washing clothes and enjoyed the health benefits of soaking in the warm pools as well. We also took the opportunity to treat our bodies to a therapeutic soak this afternoon..... this is where you'll have to go for your next spa trip Jenny. The mud is full of exfoliating goodness and comes out of the earth warm and ready to use.Imagine having that at your front doorstep for everyday use. 

Bubbling hot mud.

Steam coming from a hot pool.

So long for now, Hope you're all enoying more warm weather as you're moving into spring and thinking of us where for now at least the temps are cooling off..... frost last night but daytime highs were up to 19 today. The Happy Wanderers ???

Peloponese January

the view walking home after a swim

Although we were prepared for rain and fully expected to be picking in the rain they do not pick olives in the rain here.,,,,,,and here we've had the most rainy days of anywhere we've been in Greece. They prune the trees quite heavily when picking. When the trees are wet they can easily transfer disease so rainy days are used for clean up and making firewood......so that's what we did. Because they prune so heavily there are huge piles of branches that get burnt....... they would have huge amounts of mulch if they could chip all those branches. Before burning any of the bigger pieces get cut off to be used for firewood. Olive wood is a hard wood that burns slowly, but many of the pieces are small so disappears quickly.

Unfortunately with so many people burning; there wasn't a day without a smoke cloud in the neighbourhood or on the horizon which isn't so nice but they've done this for years and years. It's hard to change the old ways especially in these parts of Greece.

The day we arrived there was a thunder storm and a torrential downpour that changed a dry gully into a raging river. Two days later it was once again a dry gully but the water had uprooted anything in it's path as well as caused a few mudslides. The following week we had another spectacular thunderstorm which started at night and lasted through until lunch. It felt very much like spring and more and more spring flowers appeared along with some invasive species such as “gorse” which was also starting to bloom. Gabriele was more than happy when Roberto gave her the go ahead to uproot the “prickly shit”as he would call it. They have more than there fair share of “prickly shit”.

Dave on the machine

When the weather was clear we again enjoyed incredible views while picking ...... the sea below, snowcapped mountain ranges, glowing orange groves. After work we were able to go swimming, relax with a glass of red wine (Roberta and Barbara make their own) and enjoy the most stunning sunsets.

Roberta pruning/cutting

Meal times were often the combined efforts of Roberta and Barbara (our hosts), Lauren and Libby (two young ladies from the States), other guests that would drop in with food and ourselves...... always a very social creative affair., which was usually very successful. And when there were to many cooks in the kitchen we'd get things like “***# falafel *#*#”......but Dave can fix most anything with tzatzki. We enjoyed local culinary delights such as “horta”, the winter greens the locals enjoy. Roberto would have gathered a bag full of horta for lunch while on a break, it is related to dandelion and grows wild. Also goat grilled on the woodstove and fresh feta, yogurt and milkrice made by the shephard's daughter up on the mountain.

the girls raking

We've learned alot about ourselves, lifestyles,olives and people. Hard to believe are time in Greece has come to an end. It has left us with impressions and ideas which we will carry into the future and who knows what it will lead to but for me(Gabriele)... Mindful Living is one.

the best sunsets

The Happy Wanderers on their way home...... Frankfurt January 17th.

Happy Holidays

Our rainy day

Balos Bay Xmas Day

Quiz for the day? Why is the Mediterranean aqua blue whatever the weather?

2 summer days, 2 windy days, 2 cloudy days and 1 rainy day 1 = 1 perfect week in Kissamos in the western most corner of Crete. We swam, we hiked, we explored a little bit everday. We had hoped to hike the Samari Gorge (the longest, deepest gorge in Europe) but soon realized that was too ambitious a plan for the Xmas holiday and would be stretching our limts. As it was we burned calories instead of putting on calories which would be more the norm over Xmas and we got a good “flavour” of a small corner of Crete.If you're looking for a place to holiday we recommend it...a 5 star destination.

But not everyone took a break. The olive pickers worked late Xmas eve, a few picked on Xmas day and everyone was back at it December 26^th. The square was full of migrant workers eager to be working. And there are so many olives to pick. They grow a smaller variety in Crete but they supposedly produce a better oil.Crete produces 70% of Greece's olive oil.

This is an incredible landscape: mountains, gorges and caves galore. The flora and fauna is equally as impressive both what grows wild on the moutain slopes eg. sage, wild leeks, thyme and what we see blooming in the gardens eg. geranium bushes, poinsetta bushes, hibiscus bushes, roses and more... if winter is so full of colour .....can you imagine spring????

Most of the locals attended mid-night mass Dec 24^th some of which were held in sacred caves. We visited only one sacred cave ..... the music echoed in the gorge, they had a manager scene set into a rock face and the chairs were still set up from the mid-night service.

Greek ferry docking facility

BC Ferries eat your heart out. The Greek ferry system does it... well the greek way of course. No need for fancy landing facilities, just any old concrete dock will do. Simply back the ferry in, drop the ramp and load em up. Simple and cost effective. Oh, the part about the Mediterranean only having 3 foot tides does help, but David Hahn should take notes. The coffee is on par with what we get in BC. And we had roast pork with rice at 8 Euro a shot for lunch. Whitespot look out. And we did hear a rumour that most cruise ship lines want to have Greek captains because they are so good.

Contrary to what you may have heard, we have been impressed with Greek drivers. After watching bus and truck drivers manipulate their way through these tiny villages with half a lane and cars parked everywhere, it is quite impressive. The problem is not the driving, but the parking etiquette: if a parking spot doesn't exist, just park on the sidewalk. If that doesn't work, just stop, put on your 4 way flashers and walk away. Try that in Victoria and see how fast they tow you away.

Guess how many lbs I've lost (or is that euros)?

Almost 53 and still climbing

We are on the eve of New year.....wondering how it will unfold both for the locals and us. After this weekend it's back to work for us. We'll be olive picking on the Peloponese, Moloai for the next two weeks.

New Years Eve was quiet just the way we like it and the church bells rang at 7:30 am to ring in the new year.......might not have been appreciated by those that had been out celebrating.

Monemvassia New Years Day

Wishing you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR......

Settling in for Xmas in Crete

Approaching Crete or is it Vancouver Island

So it was only one storm but it left an impression on us. Really we've had very good weather and not much rain at all. We left Santorini early Saturday morning 4: 25 am but really it was 5:30 am because the ferry was an hour late. It was windy and Gabriele will admit that she was a little nervous in light of the weather we'd had. But we found a central location and although the crossing was a little rocky it was uneventful.... she's experienced worse crossing Hecate Strait. We arrived in Iraklio (Heraklio) at 10:30 am, 18 degrees, clear skies with a gentle breeze off the ocean.

Throne room in Knossos

We did the last of our Xmas shopping in Iraklio...... western consumerism has caught on.......”city sidewalks, busy sidewalks” everyone loaded down with Xmas shopping. We jostled along with the crowds soaking up the atmosphere ....not the least bit stressed. We were led to believe Xmas isn't that big here., they don't exchange gifts until January 1, so they can enjoy shopping a little longer and alot of people do seem to enjoy shopping. Sometimes you'd like to be a shopper but you do have to think twice when you know you have to carry it home and you already have to much in the backpack. So we did laundry instead .... important to have clean clothes for Xmas.

Appreciating the perfect Minoian male

Visited Knossos the Minoan Palace outside of Heraklion. Site of the first recorded flush toilet. Only it didn't have a handle to push, just relied on constant running water. And it is rumoured that the Queen bathed in sheep's milk and honey rather than water. 

Chania pronouced "Hania" lighthouse

We then bussed it to Chania, the Venetian port on western Crete. Had thought that we would spend Xmas there, but it was way too noisy and felt too much like a tourist hub. (If you ever meet a front man working for a restaurant that say's he has cousins in Canada, run away quickly.) We're tired of being tourists so we hightailed it out of there to find a more rural setting to celebrate Xmas. 

We are now in the middle of an olive grove outside of Kissamos. Situated between tiny villages that seem to go back to back. You leave one village behind to simply enter another. We have views of the sea and moutains, much more our style. And quiet, we're back to listening to roosters crow and dogs bark rather than people yelling, motorcyles roaring oh and our all time favorite: church bells ringing. Have we mentioned the large number of churches per capita in Crete.

Enjoying the crystal clean aqua blue waters

Holiday...... crazy shoppers.

Crystal clear aqua blue water

Went swimming today at one of the most beautiful beaches in western Crete which by the way we had all to our selves.... wonder what everyone else was doing. A lot of the locals were busy picking olives but we thought there would be a few others enjoying the beach on such a beautiful winter day. In the summer these beaches are packed.

Ahhh... the endless beaches (note lack of tourists)

Gabriele and Dave's travel tip number 201: do not rent a hotel room beside (or near, although this is hard to do in Greece) a church. They all have bell towers You just don't know when they will ring.
Merry Kissamos from Christmas,


The Merry Wanderers