Livin' in New Zealand

Happy Easter!

2009-04-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of the kiwi school year is the recurring 2 week break between terms (quarters). It means our summer vacation is only 6 weeks, but it sure is delightful right now to have the time off! Below are pictures from our Easter travels... we headed to North for some warm weather, all the way to the northern most cape, Cape Reinga.

As we reflected on God's gift of salvation over the holidays, we were also awestruck once again with his creativity via creation! Hopefully these pictures give you a glimpse of the beauty of Aeoretea (Maori for Island of the long white cloud)!

One of many pristine, secluded beaches up north!

Most of the North Island of New Zealand has been cleared for farmland; rare pockets of protected land yield unbelievably lush subtropical forests!

Many of the communities of the far North are on islands or peninsulas best accessed by boats via water. We've just hopped off the ferry here, ready to explore the community of Russell. Historically, this community has seen a lot of tension between Maori and colonizing Europeans. The flagpole (symbol of British dominance) was cut down 5 times! Not to mention hundreds on both sides slaughtered. Why is it that this history seems to repeat itself no matter where we find ourselves overseas?

Here Carrie pauses to look around on a forest canopy walk outside Whangerai.

(The Wh sound is pronounced like an "f" in Maori.)

Another glimpse of an island community. (Reminds us a lot of coastal Alaska--including the rain!)

Thomas preparing our nightly lodging.

Campgrounds abound in New Zealand and are much cheaper than hotels, motels, or renting camper vans! Plus most of them have full kitchen and shower facilities. :)

One of the biggest threats to native species of birds and other wildlife is this possum imported from Australia. The Department of Conservation is quite committed to erradicating this invasive species. Possum traps are everywhere. In Taupo, they even drop poisoned carrots from the sky to kill them! The non-poisoned possums are used as food and for their fur. Popular tourist items include possum socks and underwear! :)

A glass-bottomed boat near Goat Island--a great place to snorkel and see huge snapper!

Waterfall near Whangarei

(the largest city north of Auckland.)

Getting ready to snorkel (brrr...)

Waitangi Flag Pole--commemorating the signing of the treaty between the Queen of England and Maori tribes.

A war-time waka (canoe) created from one of the giant kauri trees. Maori have several different forms of canoes & kayaks for various purposes. This particular one was built to celebrate the Maori contribution to the Treaty of Waitangi.

This is the stump from the kauri tree that the Waitangi Memorial canoe was built.

Thomas exploring a sea cave!

Off for another stroll through farmland!

These dunes almost reminded Carrie of the Gobi Desert. They were quite impressive and even provided snow surfing rentals!

Not bad for autumn--eh matey?

(yes, our friends do talk like that here!)

Okay, okay, so Carrie couldn't resist "posing" on the car at the beach. This is on a stretch of far north relatively solidly-packed coastline called 90 mile beach. 4 wheel drive vehicles can trek the whole way (tide-dependent). We didn't quite dare with our car... just did the first couple of kms.

Thomas doing a bit of 90 mile by foot.

Video proof that we did drive it... although the video probably would have been more exciting had we actually gotten stuck with the tide coming in! :)

The turn-around point of our journey: Cape Reinga (northernmost tip of New Zealand.) We did some day-hiking and swimming the area before turning around to head back toward home. As we traveled homeward, we stopped often by fruit and veggie stands to load up on fall produce, primarily avocados, apples & tomatoes. Our grapevine has so many grapes we've invested in canning jars and even made our own grape juice!

Home sweet home!

Thanks to flickr for the photo, it totally captures fall in Taupo!

Links to our facebook albums with more of our kiwi photos to be posted mid-January. (We're having trouble getting stuff to load on the free wi-fi here in Australia... sorry!)

Kia hari te tau hou!

2009-01-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

Kia hari te tau hou! (Happy New Year in Maori.) We hope this finds you all doing well as 2009 gets underway.We're happy to report that after 2+ months of repeat visits to the mechanic, our lemon of a car ran smoothly throughout our Christmas holiday South Island travels. We were blessed with good health, traveling safety (both on foot and by car) and overall good weather including a break in the clouds that allowed us to see New Zealand's tallest peak, Mt. Aoraki (Mt. Cook).

The Alps of the South Island are much more impressive than any mountains the North Island has to offer, and what with the alpine vegetation and bountiful blood-sucking insects, we almost felt like were in Alaska at times, well, at except when the baaaing of sheep awoke us! We really enjoyed both the holiday parks (campgrounds that include hot showers and full cooking facilities--microwaves, stoves, refrigerators, etc.) and the basic DOC (department of conservation) sites as well. This is definitely a country well-designed for the backpackers (aka trampers) and campers. We totally recommend it!

May these pictures give you a glimpse of the beauty of the South Island, its people, and animals. Feel free to check additional photos on our facebook pages. Enjoy. And again, Happy New Year!

Love,
Carrie and Thomas

Since we live in the middle of the North Island, we first drove 4 hrs south to Wellington and boarded (including our car) the InterIslander ferry.

Picton is the gateway marina to the Marlborough Sounds (South Island)

A view of Tonga Bay in Abel Tasman National Park.

Anchorage Bay (on the Abel Tasman Great Walk).

The start of Avalanche Peak hike.

1/2way up Avalance Peak.

Treehugger?

Thomas never misses the opportunity to explore limestone caves!

A yellow-eyed penguin, one of the rarest penguins in the world!

Ready to go after our first night out... the blur you see is a mass of sandflies (probably about 100 of them.) Nothing is a greater motivator for packing up a tent quickly!

This was the first of many swing bridges we crossed--something quite common on maintained trails.

Hiking in Mount Cook National Park.

This kea (one of the world's only alpine parrots) may look cute but it's quite cheeky. One put over 20 holes in our brand-new tent! When we returned to Taupo, Thomas co-workers told stories of damaged cars (where windows were poked out) so I guess we didn't have it too bad.

How's that for an alpine valley?

Sumitting Gillespie Pass.

Taking a break to enjoy the view (and rest a bit, too). On this particular hike (or tramp as they call it in NZ) we did over 60 km in 49 hrs!

Lunch break... time to kick off the boots, swim in the stream, and enjoy the view!

We felt a bit more confident making our glacial stream crossings after watching this farmer go across the rivers. This farmer ended up giving us a ride back to the carpark (saving us 5 km of walking on a paved, busy road.) You gotta love Kiwi hospitality on New Year's Eve. He transports food, sheep, even cattle across the river.

Another hike in the Southern Alps!

A view of the farm, ranch, and forest land near Motueka.

Farthest south we've ever been (about 41 degrees south latitude.)

It's not everyday that you see this street sign! :)

These kids don't need any rehearsal to be shepherds in a Christmas nativity drama!
Traffic (sheep) Jam near Te Anau.

Last glimpse of SI mtns before taking the ferry north.

Cheers for a great Christmas, 2008!

Finally, an update!

2008-12-12T15:41:00.000-08:00

A thousand apologies for the long delay in updating our blog. (And this time we can't blame it on lack of reliable electricity in the jungle, either.) So much has happened over the past 2 months that we don't know where to begin. So, we'll let the pictures do the talking. Additional photos/information can also be found on our facebook pages as well.

God has blessed us richly. Our pre-arranged furnished rental house is working out well, we've just extended our initial contract for 3+ more months. Thomas is really enjoying his job (it gets him out in the field at least twice a week.) Carrie's efforts in relief work in some pretty tough situations have rewarded her with a biology/integrated science (et. al) position at a rural high school about 45 minutes from Taupo--to start in February 2009. In the meantime she's working part-time at the bike shop where we purchased some mtn bikes and hoping to get involved with some Dept. of Conservation volunteer work as well. Our travels have been crippled a bit by a "lemon" of an auction car (it broke down almost immediately after driving it off the lot), but we're hoping to do some traveling around the South Island during our Christmas holiday.

For those of you requesting our postal address, it is:
Carrie VZ & Thomas Brand
PO BOX 1121
Taupo 3351
NEW ZEALAND

We could probably ramble on forever, but we know it's a busy season right now, so we'll let the pictures do the talking. Additional photos/information can also be found on our facebook pages as well. Merry Christmas everyone!

Departure from Chicago. We definitely noticed a difference packing for a 4-season country instead of the tropics! The winter gear was too heavy for the 50 lb bag limit, so we wore 2 pairs of jeans, several sweatshirts, jackets, etc. on the planes from Chicago to Auckland.

"Picture perfect" view of the national park nearest Auckland. The fauna is actually quite tropical in this forest--a bit reminiscent of Pohnpei.

A view of Mt. Ruapehu (Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings) from the botanical garden about a km from our house.

October is a splendid time to move to Taupo; spring flowers are at their finest!

The Lions' Walk (5 km along Lake Taupo) which we got to know extremely well since our car broke down the 3rd day after purchasing it from an auction!

Hiking up Mount Tauhara (7 minute drive from our house; 15+ minute bike-ride)

It's not uncommon to cross farmers' fields on hikes in New Zealand. However, it's wise to check out what kind of animals are penned in before you hope the fence!

Craters of the Moon (geological hot spot near Taupo) and great mountain biking trails.

More Craters of the Moon

Another geological hot spot (near Turangi)

Day Trip to The Piha Beach

This is our VW buggy. Looks cute but runs horribly--and it's all electronic stuff we couldn't catch before the auction. To get the spedometer to work you have to disconnect the anti-lock brakes. To get the car to start you have to disconnect the airbags. The immobilizer won't let you start the car some days, thinking the key isn't programmed to it! Once we pay off the car payments we're hoping to trade in for a Subaru...

Our Rental House from the front. Eventually, we hope to have some deck furniture. (No the satellite TV is not hooked up!) :)

Our living room was big enough to host a church small group (of 15 people) for a Christmas party. It's nice to have a house big enough to have friends over again! :)

An indoor kitchen with running water, working fridge, stove, and microwave! Yay!

Our Bedroom (we're getting really good at creating cardboard nightstands!)

Hiking Pueora National Forest after a job interview at Marotiri Primary School--a glimpse back to Lil' House on the Prairie. 4 teachers, 80 students in grades 0-8; surrounded by sheep, cows, and rolling hills. I can literally here sheep baaing while students work on their spelling tests!

Celebrating Guy Faust Day (he's a guy who planned to blow up the British Parliament building in protest); turns out the British killed him but now celebrate his explosive attempt with fireworks days in October.

31st Birthday Dessert Overlooking Lake Taupo

Hiking in Tongariro National Park
(near Tongariro Area School where Carrie did quite a bit of relief work in November)

Whakapapa Ski Resort at Mt. Ruapehu. Rumor has it that they have enough snow to open during the Christmas summer holiday!
Stopping for a rest over Aratiatia Falls.

Exploring the area by mountain bike. (Huka Falls trail.)

Another weekend, another bike trip.. err ummm... hike. We gave up halfway and hiked the rest. (When you have to carry your bike up more than one set of stairs it should not be classified as a bike trail! :)

A New Beginning (again :)

2008-09-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well... after a year + of paperwork, it seems like God is opening the doors to one of our long-term dreams of exploring New Zealand. Thomas has signed a contract with CHEAL consultants, an engineering firm in Taupo, New Zealand: http://www.cheal.co.nz/

If all goes as planned, we'll depart the U.S. in mid-October, undergoing a 2 day flight that travels through Chicago, Los Angeles, Fiji, on its way to the final destination of Aukland. We hope to stay in a hostel or camp for the first couple of days while we doing some car/scooter shopping and get ourselves oriented in New Zealand's largest city. Then we'll immediately put our "new" used car to the test as it moves us and our luggage eastward, about a 6 hour drive to the center of the North Island. In Taupo we'll begin our quest to find a rental apartment or house (hopefully one that allows for a dog! :)

Because the seasons of New Zealand are opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere, the school year runs from February-December. Carrie is currently applying at several schools for the 2009 school year in Taupo and the neighboring larger city of Rotorua. Depending on how it all progresses, she may also try to find some temp work in the local national forests or within the outdoor tourism industry for the summer (summer = November-January). It is likely that we may rent through December and then move to the school's community once its determined where she will be teaching.

We'll keep you posted on our developments, including snail mail addresses and phone numbers when we receive them. Our e-mail addresses will remain the same. We're hoping to find a 2 bedroom place so there will always be a guest room waiting for you! After 2 transient years with World Teach, we're really looking forward to joining a community for longer than a school year.

As always, we appreciate your prayers as we make a new transition. God bless!

~Carrie and Thomas

Taupo's closest volcano... known to locals as Mount Ruhapehu and Lord of the Rings fans as Mount Doom.

Looks like there will be more beef than in Orealla! :)

The view of New Zealand's largest lake from Downtown Taupo