Yesterday was a memorable day for me. Not because it was Valentine’s Day. Actually that too, but in a different context which I would not dare to explore here. Red roses, chocolates and all even getting a chocolate at the Railway Station from a complete stranger was quite memorable in its own way. But, let’s not delve into that.
Now, coming back to the other memorable event. I attended the audit committee meeting of the company I work for. I have attended and presented at audit committee meetings in Asia but this was the first here in New Zealand. That wasn’t the memorable event but the people I met certainly qualified for that event.
One of the attendees at the meeting was the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Rt Hon Jim Bolger. I am sure to some corporate high flyer, meeting dignitaries like that is an everyday affair but not to me. I was quite honoured to have met him, introduced to him and have a conversation with the man.
This morning, I tried to find out about his background, what he was like and what he did for the country while he was the Prime Minister. I learnt that he was Prime Minister from October 1990 to December 1997 and under his leadership, the country’s economy transformed itself from having the lowest growth rate among 29 OECD nations to one of the strongest. He now sits on and chairs several boards. What I really found interesting was that after he retired as Prime Minister of New Zealand, he was appointed Minister of State and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He then was sent to Washington as New Zealand’s Ambassador.
In contrast, a Malaysian Prime Minister like Tun Mahathir Mohammad, after retirement has left public office altogether, officially at least. Imagine what it would be like if he remained in politics as the Minister of Finance or something like that. As it is now, he is causing a stir, outside of government.
Like Jim, Mahathir was also a memorable Prime Minister whom I had the honour of meeting in person. Mahathir, changed Malaysia from a agricultural nation to an industrial powerhouse in that part of the world.
Shaking hands with Jim yesterday reminded me of my meeting with Mahathir many years ago when he was the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Both meetings were in Board Rooms of large corporations of their respective countries. At both meetings, they were in control even when they were not on the Chair. Both elderly statesmen in their 70s. Both have a similar sort of charisma. Despite their power and influence, both appear to be very warm and friendly. Someone you know you can talk to and will listen. Both just as sharp and just as shrewd.
I guess that’s what separates us from the great leaders of the world, and why only a few will get to that position.
Thursday, 15 February 2007
Monday, 22 January 2007
Weekend at the Otaki Forks
This weekend is the Wellington Anniversary and a 3 day weekend. We thought of going camping but then the weather was not all that great for camping. So we thought of going for a day trip to a nice spot.
We have passed the Otaki Forks turn off several times going up north but never knew what the actual place was like until a friend said it had a good campsite and a picnic spot. The Otaki Forks, obviously in Otaki (90 minute drive from Wellington), is the main western entrance to the Tararua Forest Park. Two tributaries, the Waiotauru River and Waitatapia Stream, meet the Otaki River here, and hence the name.
The forks is about 20km from SH1 and the journey is half the fun or shall I say half the adventure. The Department of Conservation officer I met told me that it was perfectly alright for a car to get there and I had confirmation of this from a work colleague who has been there. So off we went. After about 15km in the Otaki Gorge Road, we had to do a "river crossing" which we thought was so weird. The river actually flowed over a sealed road into the other side falling straight down a ravine.
Okay, that was adventerous, but not that bad we thought. Then immediately after that thought crossed our minds, we came across a sign that said "gravel road ahead". Now that got me worried as there were no indication as to how long the gravel road was and whether cars could use it. We waited for a few minutes, not a soul in sight. We whipped out our cell phone, just in case we needed to call AA. No signal bars on the cell! Since we had two confirmation that it was okay, we went aead.
The gravel road was actually not too bad. It was pretty much like this all the way with a small kilometre or so stretch of sealed road in between. After driving like we thought we were almost lost, we saw a sign "Picnic Area" and a DOC sign board. We took the turn off and came to the most beautiful picnic area I have seen.
The grass was green and the river just next to the grass area was so inviting. The water was crystal clear and they even has a toilet that flushed. It did not have hot water though but that wasn't too bad. There were about 4 other families there but the place was really big.
We later went into the river for a dip only to find out the water temperature was 15.1 deg C, or at least that's what my trusted Casio said. We braved the cold and went in. It was so refreshing. There were seveal deep pools suitable for kids as well as adults.
There are several bush walks from here from 20 minutes to several days cutting across the ranges. All the walks start from across the river on this bridge.
We did not attempt any on this trip as we were not geared for any sort of walking. With the wild weather last few months, some of the walks aren't actually that safe for now.
However, this picnic spot is very safe and we will be back when the weather is better. Afterall it is only an hour's drive from home to the picnic spot and is really great!
We have passed the Otaki Forks turn off several times going up north but never knew what the actual place was like until a friend said it had a good campsite and a picnic spot. The Otaki Forks, obviously in Otaki (90 minute drive from Wellington), is the main western entrance to the Tararua Forest Park. Two tributaries, the Waiotauru River and Waitatapia Stream, meet the Otaki River here, and hence the name.
The forks is about 20km from SH1 and the journey is half the fun or shall I say half the adventure. The Department of Conservation officer I met told me that it was perfectly alright for a car to get there and I had confirmation of this from a work colleague who has been there. So off we went. After about 15km in the Otaki Gorge Road, we had to do a "river crossing" which we thought was so weird. The river actually flowed over a sealed road into the other side falling straight down a ravine.
Okay, that was adventerous, but not that bad we thought. Then immediately after that thought crossed our minds, we came across a sign that said "gravel road ahead". Now that got me worried as there were no indication as to how long the gravel road was and whether cars could use it. We waited for a few minutes, not a soul in sight. We whipped out our cell phone, just in case we needed to call AA. No signal bars on the cell! Since we had two confirmation that it was okay, we went aead.
The gravel road was actually not too bad. It was pretty much like this all the way with a small kilometre or so stretch of sealed road in between. After driving like we thought we were almost lost, we saw a sign "Picnic Area" and a DOC sign board. We took the turn off and came to the most beautiful picnic area I have seen.
The grass was green and the river just next to the grass area was so inviting. The water was crystal clear and they even has a toilet that flushed. It did not have hot water though but that wasn't too bad. There were about 4 other families there but the place was really big.
We later went into the river for a dip only to find out the water temperature was 15.1 deg C, or at least that's what my trusted Casio said. We braved the cold and went in. It was so refreshing. There were seveal deep pools suitable for kids as well as adults.
There are several bush walks from here from 20 minutes to several days cutting across the ranges. All the walks start from across the river on this bridge.
We did not attempt any on this trip as we were not geared for any sort of walking. With the wild weather last few months, some of the walks aren't actually that safe for now.
However, this picnic spot is very safe and we will be back when the weather is better. Afterall it is only an hour's drive from home to the picnic spot and is really great!
Sunday, 14 January 2007
Craving for that authentic Asian food?
Malaysia is a melting pot of three very distinct ethic groups; the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians. Vera and I belong to two of them. As people who have been to Malaysia would know, the food you get there is probably second to none. Food from Malaysia is quite different as the Indian food is not exactly what you will get in India and likewise, the Chinese dishes in Malaysia do not taste anything like what you might get in China. And don't event try to categorise the Malay food and everything else in between like the Nyonya and Mamak varieties.
We have patronised so many Malaysian food outlets here in New Zealand (some operated by people who have never been to Malaysia), but found the ones prepared in our own kitchen on a small scale is still the best. I am sure other migrants from other parts of the world feel the same.
We then thought of this concept of providing a "home chef" service in the form of a business, called Hire a Chef. We just started the website and are in the process of getting everything organised to get the ball rolling. It is still in its infancy stage and the website is pretty static at the moment. We will be filling in the "blanks" as we move along the process of setting up the business including some recipes that you could have only found in your mom's kitchen.
Click on the link above or the logo to take you to the website. Let us know what you think of the idea. Both the concept as well as the website itself. Any comments is appreciated. Thanks.
We have patronised so many Malaysian food outlets here in New Zealand (some operated by people who have never been to Malaysia), but found the ones prepared in our own kitchen on a small scale is still the best. I am sure other migrants from other parts of the world feel the same.
We then thought of this concept of providing a "home chef" service in the form of a business, called Hire a Chef. We just started the website and are in the process of getting everything organised to get the ball rolling. It is still in its infancy stage and the website is pretty static at the moment. We will be filling in the "blanks" as we move along the process of setting up the business including some recipes that you could have only found in your mom's kitchen.
Click on the link above or the logo to take you to the website. Let us know what you think of the idea. Both the concept as well as the website itself. Any comments is appreciated. Thanks.
Monday, 8 January 2007
The world traveller
I discovered this website on S & J's Blog about a tool that graphically illustrates the countries one has visited. I entered mine and here is a graphical representation of the countries I have visited in this world.
It is only 12% of all the countries on earth! That is only a fraction of what some others have been to.
I would be happy to have touched 25% before I leave this world!
Here is the link to this project. Click here to take you there. (I know, it sounds weird!).
It is only 12% of all the countries on earth! That is only a fraction of what some others have been to.
I would be happy to have touched 25% before I leave this world!
Here is the link to this project. Click here to take you there. (I know, it sounds weird!).
Thursday, 4 January 2007
Mid summer or mid winter
Well, that is the million dollar question. Is it now mid summer or mid winter. We just sailed through the longest day of the year a few weeks back and technically we are in summer. However, if you had seen the temperature gauge lately, you would think we are still in winter.
We have this temperature gauge gadget that records the indoor and outdoor temperature and this morning when I woke up, I thought it felt more cold than it should. I looked at it and could not believe what I saw. The outside temperature read 1.5 degrees Celsius!
It is January and I can still see a lot of people with winter jackets and coats. There are the odd ones that brave walking around in shorts and tee shirts but the vast majority still wrap themselves up. Same time last year there were lots of flesh exposed! This year it is all under wraps!
The newspaper this morning had a report that said this summer is one of the coldest in New Zealand in 60 years. In fact the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said it was the coldest since records began more than 70 years ago.
We have not been in New Zealand long enough to see the trend but people who have been here longer tell us that last winter was also colder than usual and it is still lingering on longer than it should. We had so much rain and snow last year, a lot of people were affected either by their crop destroyed, farm animals trapped in snow, houses washed down cliffs and even the odd earthquake. While we were having more than our fair share of the rain, our neighbours in Australia is having the worst draught in history!
We have this temperature gauge gadget that records the indoor and outdoor temperature and this morning when I woke up, I thought it felt more cold than it should. I looked at it and could not believe what I saw. The outside temperature read 1.5 degrees Celsius!
It is January and I can still see a lot of people with winter jackets and coats. There are the odd ones that brave walking around in shorts and tee shirts but the vast majority still wrap themselves up. Same time last year there were lots of flesh exposed! This year it is all under wraps!
The newspaper this morning had a report that said this summer is one of the coldest in New Zealand in 60 years. In fact the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said it was the coldest since records began more than 70 years ago.
We have not been in New Zealand long enough to see the trend but people who have been here longer tell us that last winter was also colder than usual and it is still lingering on longer than it should. We had so much rain and snow last year, a lot of people were affected either by their crop destroyed, farm animals trapped in snow, houses washed down cliffs and even the odd earthquake. While we were having more than our fair share of the rain, our neighbours in Australia is having the worst draught in history!
Tuesday, 2 January 2007
The way we camp
We have been camping even before we came to New Zealand. I was just amazed at how different the camping experiences are between what we experienced in Malaysia and how it is here in New Zealand.
This was our tent and how we camped in Malaysia. This was taken about 5 years ago and has not changed much.
This is our tent in New Zealand and the scene of the campsite here.
Note the differences in the access roads to the campsites.
The real difference the way I see it is back in Malaysia, campsites are not designated and you need to go and look for them yourself. In order to find one we joined a club. I belonged to the "Lanun Darat" or "Land Pirates" directly translated to English. Once found, most of us 4WD owners keep it a big secret so that no one else knows about it and it will remain clean and pristine for our exclusive use. Facilities are not even basic - it is pretty much non existent and you need to be completely self sufficient for the number of days you intend to camp. The only power source will be the odd car or truck battery used for lighting purposes. And due to its location and access you never went alone! We put up with wild animals and learn to live with them to some extent.
Here in New Zealand, campsites are well established. Most are privately owned and some by the Department of Conservation. A vast majority are located in cities or near cities where you do not need an all terrain vehicle to access. While we keep campsites a secret in Malaysia, campsites are widely publicised here in New Zealand. You can get brochures and maps and all are adequately sign posted. The phrase "self sufficient" here takes on a different meaning. You bring your own barbeque, fridge and stove so that you can cook yourself a meal without having to leave your tent.
If you are not inclines to be completely "self sufficient", the camp kitchen usually has multiple, refrigerators, freezers, stoves, ovens, microwaves, toasters and some even barbeques. The laundry has washing machines, dryers and ironing boards. The showers have running hot water. Where do you get food? Some campsites sell food and others have huge 24 hour supermarkets at their doorstep.
We went to a shop selling camp gear in Wellington the other day to look for accessories to "upgrade" our camping experience and was surprised to find that you can buy a solar powered hot shower, complete with a shower tent if you wanted. You can get a chemically treated portable toilet to take with you. This really got me - a three power sourced, portable 1.5kg washing machine and dryer. The three power sources used are gas, battery and AC power!
When you pick a campsite, you get to choose between a powered and a non powered site. If you walked by a powered campsite, you will no doubt notice the array of electrical appliances I described above. We have even seen a satellite dish outside a tent. Since the weather here can get pretty "chilly" especially at night even in summer (depending on where you camp), you can even bring your portable heater.
And how do you bring all this stuff? A trailer, of course, which is going to be our next investment!
In short camping in New Zealand is like going on a holiday at a resort. Actually, some of the campgrounds actually call themselves a "holiday resort". The only difference between a real resort and a campsite is that you bring everything yourself and the "resort" merely provides you with a spot and facilities for a small fee. Which is actually not too bad. We had a real good holiday by the sea at a fraction of the cost we would have paid to stay at a "real" beach front holiday resort. Of course our son wanted to bring his TV and Playstation with him but we only had a non powered site and besides, we did not have room even for the fishing rod which I wanted to bring with me. But that is going to change when we have our own trailer!
Would this concept work in Malaysia? A business proposition maybe for someone with a large piece of land and don't know what to do with it!
This was our tent and how we camped in Malaysia. This was taken about 5 years ago and has not changed much.
This is our tent in New Zealand and the scene of the campsite here.
Note the differences in the access roads to the campsites.
The real difference the way I see it is back in Malaysia, campsites are not designated and you need to go and look for them yourself. In order to find one we joined a club. I belonged to the "Lanun Darat" or "Land Pirates" directly translated to English. Once found, most of us 4WD owners keep it a big secret so that no one else knows about it and it will remain clean and pristine for our exclusive use. Facilities are not even basic - it is pretty much non existent and you need to be completely self sufficient for the number of days you intend to camp. The only power source will be the odd car or truck battery used for lighting purposes. And due to its location and access you never went alone! We put up with wild animals and learn to live with them to some extent.
Here in New Zealand, campsites are well established. Most are privately owned and some by the Department of Conservation. A vast majority are located in cities or near cities where you do not need an all terrain vehicle to access. While we keep campsites a secret in Malaysia, campsites are widely publicised here in New Zealand. You can get brochures and maps and all are adequately sign posted. The phrase "self sufficient" here takes on a different meaning. You bring your own barbeque, fridge and stove so that you can cook yourself a meal without having to leave your tent.
If you are not inclines to be completely "self sufficient", the camp kitchen usually has multiple, refrigerators, freezers, stoves, ovens, microwaves, toasters and some even barbeques. The laundry has washing machines, dryers and ironing boards. The showers have running hot water. Where do you get food? Some campsites sell food and others have huge 24 hour supermarkets at their doorstep.
We went to a shop selling camp gear in Wellington the other day to look for accessories to "upgrade" our camping experience and was surprised to find that you can buy a solar powered hot shower, complete with a shower tent if you wanted. You can get a chemically treated portable toilet to take with you. This really got me - a three power sourced, portable 1.5kg washing machine and dryer. The three power sources used are gas, battery and AC power!
When you pick a campsite, you get to choose between a powered and a non powered site. If you walked by a powered campsite, you will no doubt notice the array of electrical appliances I described above. We have even seen a satellite dish outside a tent. Since the weather here can get pretty "chilly" especially at night even in summer (depending on where you camp), you can even bring your portable heater.
And how do you bring all this stuff? A trailer, of course, which is going to be our next investment!
In short camping in New Zealand is like going on a holiday at a resort. Actually, some of the campgrounds actually call themselves a "holiday resort". The only difference between a real resort and a campsite is that you bring everything yourself and the "resort" merely provides you with a spot and facilities for a small fee. Which is actually not too bad. We had a real good holiday by the sea at a fraction of the cost we would have paid to stay at a "real" beach front holiday resort. Of course our son wanted to bring his TV and Playstation with him but we only had a non powered site and besides, we did not have room even for the fishing rod which I wanted to bring with me. But that is going to change when we have our own trailer!
Would this concept work in Malaysia? A business proposition maybe for someone with a large piece of land and don't know what to do with it!
Sunday, 31 December 2006
Annual Camping Holiday
There are a few things that makes the Kiwis, Kiwis. One of them being camping. As we discovered last year, the Kiwi camping is not quite how we camp in Malaysia.
Instead of pitching and breaking camp every few days like we did last year, we decided to go to one campsite and spend most of our time at one location. We chose a campsite by the sea in the Bay of Plenty at Ohope Beach. What attracted us to this site was the amount of activities they had for kids during the Christmas - New Year holidays.
It was a 6 hour drive from Paraparaumu and we headed off with the Odessey all packed to the brim at half past five in the morning. We reached the campsite as my trusted GPS said we will, at 11.18 am. We got a site perched on a hill over looking the sea. Beach front property! Prime Real Estate! What a way to holiday!
When we arrived on the December 23 half the campsite was empty. There were tents scattered all over. Then the exodus began on Boxing Day. There were endless flow of campers, trailers, campervans, caravans of all makes and sizes and soon by evening, the whole campsite looked like some third world refugee camp!
The campground owners had lined up all sorts of activities for kids starting from scavenger hunts to talent shows and even water slides.
Ashwini took part in the talent quest. Although being the youngest to take part, she did not win anything as the others were well prepared for it and were a lot better. Here is a video of her performance. Not sure how it will turn out in a blog.
After a few days at the camp everyone made friends including the kids. We adults found out we were camping next to an older couple who were also from Paraparaumu.
Here is the other Kiwi tradition. What would a camping trip be without some Barbeque?
And barbeques are definitely men's territory! Here's proof!
Of course women can multi task which men can't. Ashwini seen here riding her scooter, eating breakfast and clinging onto her new underwater camera!
Just before leaving, we just booked for another stay at Ohope for next Christmas at a choice sea view section. We were advised to book latest by March if we wanted a slice of this view.
Happy New Year everyone!
Instead of pitching and breaking camp every few days like we did last year, we decided to go to one campsite and spend most of our time at one location. We chose a campsite by the sea in the Bay of Plenty at Ohope Beach. What attracted us to this site was the amount of activities they had for kids during the Christmas - New Year holidays.
It was a 6 hour drive from Paraparaumu and we headed off with the Odessey all packed to the brim at half past five in the morning. We reached the campsite as my trusted GPS said we will, at 11.18 am. We got a site perched on a hill over looking the sea. Beach front property! Prime Real Estate! What a way to holiday!
When we arrived on the December 23 half the campsite was empty. There were tents scattered all over. Then the exodus began on Boxing Day. There were endless flow of campers, trailers, campervans, caravans of all makes and sizes and soon by evening, the whole campsite looked like some third world refugee camp!
The campground owners had lined up all sorts of activities for kids starting from scavenger hunts to talent shows and even water slides.
Ashwini took part in the talent quest. Although being the youngest to take part, she did not win anything as the others were well prepared for it and were a lot better. Here is a video of her performance. Not sure how it will turn out in a blog.
After a few days at the camp everyone made friends including the kids. We adults found out we were camping next to an older couple who were also from Paraparaumu.
Here is the other Kiwi tradition. What would a camping trip be without some Barbeque?
And barbeques are definitely men's territory! Here's proof!
Of course women can multi task which men can't. Ashwini seen here riding her scooter, eating breakfast and clinging onto her new underwater camera!
Just before leaving, we just booked for another stay at Ohope for next Christmas at a choice sea view section. We were advised to book latest by March if we wanted a slice of this view.
Happy New Year everyone!
Saturday, 23 December 2006
A blast of light from space
Yesterday afternoon Vera came running and said this must be the most incredible display of lights in the sky. Somewhat a rainbow but with no rain. In fact it was a bright hot summer day. I decided to capture this amazing display in my camera, right in front of our home.
Here it is...
This morning, I was reading the Dominion Post (our local newspaper) and this is what we discovered it was.
" It looks like a rainbow that's been set on fire, but the solar phenomenon is as cold as ice. Known in the weather world as a circumhorizontal arc. This multi coloured arc is caused by light passing through wispy, high altitude cirrus clouds which contain fine ice particles. This optical phenomenon is said to be reasonably rare.
Though similar in principle to a rainbow, the hexagonal ice crystals that make up the cirrus clouds are shaped like thick plates with their faces parallel to the ground. When light enters through a vertical side face of an ice crystal and leaves from the bottom face, it refracts, or bends, like light through a prism. If cirrus srystals are aligned just right the whole cloud lights up in a spectrum of colours."
Here it is...
This morning, I was reading the Dominion Post (our local newspaper) and this is what we discovered it was.
" It looks like a rainbow that's been set on fire, but the solar phenomenon is as cold as ice. Known in the weather world as a circumhorizontal arc. This multi coloured arc is caused by light passing through wispy, high altitude cirrus clouds which contain fine ice particles. This optical phenomenon is said to be reasonably rare.
Though similar in principle to a rainbow, the hexagonal ice crystals that make up the cirrus clouds are shaped like thick plates with their faces parallel to the ground. When light enters through a vertical side face of an ice crystal and leaves from the bottom face, it refracts, or bends, like light through a prism. If cirrus srystals are aligned just right the whole cloud lights up in a spectrum of colours."
Thursday, 21 December 2006
Christmas Lights
It's that time of the year where tree is lighted and presents abound. In the neighbourhood we live in there is also a competition for the best decorated home. Read that as the most lights! Since it gets dark only about 9pm, we were not able to capture some of the homes at their best. Here are some of the pictures I took. All we had at our place was a lighted Christmas tree and even that was inside, so no one would have known.
At all of these places, the streets were packed with cars, parked on both sides of the road, and in some streets you had to actually wait to get into your drive way. One of them was ours, as our neighbour who won the competition for 2 successive years had their lights all up and people were parking on our drive way.
These are the ones of our neighbours.
What we did not capture was the national winner of the best decorate home. This family won $10,000 for their effort in putting up 42,000 lights in their house. I can imagine where most of the ten grand is going to end up in!
Merry Christmas everyone as we will be heading for our annual pilgrimage, camping!
At all of these places, the streets were packed with cars, parked on both sides of the road, and in some streets you had to actually wait to get into your drive way. One of them was ours, as our neighbour who won the competition for 2 successive years had their lights all up and people were parking on our drive way.
These are the ones of our neighbours.
What we did not capture was the national winner of the best decorate home. This family won $10,000 for their effort in putting up 42,000 lights in their house. I can imagine where most of the ten grand is going to end up in!
Merry Christmas everyone as we will be heading for our annual pilgrimage, camping!
Friday, 17 November 2006
An orchard in the making
This is apparently the time of the year to plant trees, flowers, shrubs, grass... anything that grows actually. So last weekend off we went to a local nursery in search of fruit trees to line our back yard.
We were quite surprised at the variety of fruits out there. We were thrown at growing fruit trees we never would have imagined every growing in the tropics! All we wanted was an apple tree and an orange tree. When we went looking, we found at least a dozen varieties of each. Then there were apple trees that had two varieties in one! That made process of deciding all the more difficult.
With so much choice, we decided to ask someone there for help as it how they taste as they are going to end up in our stomach sooner or later. After all those facts thrown at us, we decided on an apple tree with two variety "braeburn" and "royal gala", and an orange tree that is supposedly sweet called "blood orange". Together with that we bought a lemon tree and just couldn't resist a kaffir lime tree or in Malay we call it "limau purut". More Tom Yams on the way I was assured.
When we got home and planted them, I did a search on the trusted web to find out what the varieties were like. I discovered that there were at least a thousand varieties of apples. There is even a website that is dedicated solely to apple growing and tracing each varieties' anchestry. And to my horror, the bllod orange actually looks like blood! The tree has yet to fruit but I can't wait to see the fruit and even more, taste it! I took this off the web, take a look at this picture of a blood orange!
We were quite surprised at the variety of fruits out there. We were thrown at growing fruit trees we never would have imagined every growing in the tropics! All we wanted was an apple tree and an orange tree. When we went looking, we found at least a dozen varieties of each. Then there were apple trees that had two varieties in one! That made process of deciding all the more difficult.
With so much choice, we decided to ask someone there for help as it how they taste as they are going to end up in our stomach sooner or later. After all those facts thrown at us, we decided on an apple tree with two variety "braeburn" and "royal gala", and an orange tree that is supposedly sweet called "blood orange". Together with that we bought a lemon tree and just couldn't resist a kaffir lime tree or in Malay we call it "limau purut". More Tom Yams on the way I was assured.
When we got home and planted them, I did a search on the trusted web to find out what the varieties were like. I discovered that there were at least a thousand varieties of apples. There is even a website that is dedicated solely to apple growing and tracing each varieties' anchestry. And to my horror, the bllod orange actually looks like blood! The tree has yet to fruit but I can't wait to see the fruit and even more, taste it! I took this off the web, take a look at this picture of a blood orange!
Sunday, 5 November 2006
A sure sign of spring
I wish I had a shot gun this morning although I am usually against guns and violence.
Spring has arrived but with a vengeance. There are lots of flowers around and the grass is rapidly growing. Together with this, weeds have also decided to take over our lawn. Where there are no bald patches on the lawn there are weeds. Weeds of all shapes and sizes.
Now where did the guns come into the picture? Well, you see… with spring comes flowers and with flowers come birds. With spring, the sun rises earlier each morning and the birds start their day early as well. Behind our home, there is a rather huge lifestyle block. Life style blocks are a little like living in the country. This particular one has lots of trees, a lake and animals. While it is a lovely landscape from our bedroom window, it is also where birds congregate each morning, rain or shine.
By 5.30 in the morning, the sun takes a crack and this is when Birds Anonymous chooses to have their morning meeting, sort of like a pre flight briefing. I am sure it is accompanied by free flow of bird booze and beak food, as it surely sounds like they were high on something. Trying to stay in bed on a weekend is really quite a challenge when you hear these pesky birds all talking at the same time.
I woke up and went to the window and I could literally see them staring at me, eyes dazed from all that drinking, I'm sure. Seeing that they outnumber me and that I am in no position to climb over the fence and knowing all too well that a base ball bat is harmless when it comes to creatures with wings, they continued even louder. If I could understand beak language, I am sure they were all laughing at me!
That is when I wished I had a shot gun!
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for nature and animals but just like we respect their space, they should respect ours.
Over the coming months, as the sun rises even earlier each morning and the more I get used to all that bird talk, I will probably be able to sleep through all that noise. And eventually the noise will turn into melody and then all too soon, I will be missing the chirping in the morning. I might even throw some fresh grubs on the lawn in the morning just to wake them up, entice them, to listen to them. That is when I guess they’ll wish they had a shot gun!
And then when I have gotten used to the sound of silence over autumn and winter, it will start all over again!
Guess that is one way of looking at the circle of life! How exciting!
Spring has arrived but with a vengeance. There are lots of flowers around and the grass is rapidly growing. Together with this, weeds have also decided to take over our lawn. Where there are no bald patches on the lawn there are weeds. Weeds of all shapes and sizes.
Now where did the guns come into the picture? Well, you see… with spring comes flowers and with flowers come birds. With spring, the sun rises earlier each morning and the birds start their day early as well. Behind our home, there is a rather huge lifestyle block. Life style blocks are a little like living in the country. This particular one has lots of trees, a lake and animals. While it is a lovely landscape from our bedroom window, it is also where birds congregate each morning, rain or shine.
By 5.30 in the morning, the sun takes a crack and this is when Birds Anonymous chooses to have their morning meeting, sort of like a pre flight briefing. I am sure it is accompanied by free flow of bird booze and beak food, as it surely sounds like they were high on something. Trying to stay in bed on a weekend is really quite a challenge when you hear these pesky birds all talking at the same time.
I woke up and went to the window and I could literally see them staring at me, eyes dazed from all that drinking, I'm sure. Seeing that they outnumber me and that I am in no position to climb over the fence and knowing all too well that a base ball bat is harmless when it comes to creatures with wings, they continued even louder. If I could understand beak language, I am sure they were all laughing at me!
That is when I wished I had a shot gun!
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for nature and animals but just like we respect their space, they should respect ours.
Over the coming months, as the sun rises even earlier each morning and the more I get used to all that bird talk, I will probably be able to sleep through all that noise. And eventually the noise will turn into melody and then all too soon, I will be missing the chirping in the morning. I might even throw some fresh grubs on the lawn in the morning just to wake them up, entice them, to listen to them. That is when I guess they’ll wish they had a shot gun!
And then when I have gotten used to the sound of silence over autumn and winter, it will start all over again!
Guess that is one way of looking at the circle of life! How exciting!
Saturday, 4 November 2006
That familiar buzz
I am awake at half past five this morning for several reasons. One being it is about the time I wake every weekday to get to work. Now, even without the alarm blaring, I am still up at that time. Two, it is approaching summer and it gets bright by then. The sun is up and the mercury is slowly rising above the 10 degree. And lastly, I am awake because of a strange but familiar buzz.
When I heard this buzz in my ear, I almost thought I was back home. Wait a minute, that isn't quite right! Then I realised what that buzz was all about. Mosquitoes!
I have not heard that for almost 2 years! All the time we lived in Tawa, we had no trouble with mosquitoes. We encountered the odd ones when we were in Auckland last summer.
Our place in Tawa was 260 meters above sea level (at least that is what my watch says) and our present place in Paraparaumu is 1 meter above sea level. Is that reason why we have mosquitoes? The temperature here is often 1 or 2 degrees warmer than Tawa. Could that be the reason why we have these ancient creatures lurking around? Tawa is in the mountains while Kapiti is by the sea! Maybe that's it!
Gosh I wish I knew why, so I will know how to get rid of them. I will even if they were endangered! As I hate mosquitoes! I am not going to start my collection of mosquito cocktails, Mortein, Ridsect, Shelltox, Vapemat.....
When I heard this buzz in my ear, I almost thought I was back home. Wait a minute, that isn't quite right! Then I realised what that buzz was all about. Mosquitoes!
I have not heard that for almost 2 years! All the time we lived in Tawa, we had no trouble with mosquitoes. We encountered the odd ones when we were in Auckland last summer.
Our place in Tawa was 260 meters above sea level (at least that is what my watch says) and our present place in Paraparaumu is 1 meter above sea level. Is that reason why we have mosquitoes? The temperature here is often 1 or 2 degrees warmer than Tawa. Could that be the reason why we have these ancient creatures lurking around? Tawa is in the mountains while Kapiti is by the sea! Maybe that's it!
Gosh I wish I knew why, so I will know how to get rid of them. I will even if they were endangered! As I hate mosquitoes! I am not going to start my collection of mosquito cocktails, Mortein, Ridsect, Shelltox, Vapemat.....
Tuesday, 31 October 2006
That Kiwi tongue
The other day, our kids were talking on the phone with their grandparents in Malaysia. After about five minutes on the phone with the young ones, I took over, and my parents said they had no idea what the two of them were saying. Mind you, they were speaking English and not Maori.
After about a year in New Zealand, the kids have picked up so much of the Kiwi accent and the odd Kiwi phrases which only a Kiwi could understand, let alone appreciate. Even as parents, we have to stop them mid way in a sentence and ask them what they meant or ask them to repeat that is a form understandable by whose ears have not been tuned to Kiwi. For this reason, Anil and Ashwini both tease us saying we are not Kiwis and will never be one!
Some of the ways certain words are pronounced make it very Kiwi. An example is the word seven. In English we pronounce it as "sev"-"en". But the Kiwis pronounce it as "see"-"ven". Then there is the word ten. In English it is pronounced as it is written, ten. In Kiwi, it sounds more like "tin".
Then there are the phrases. When someone says "thank you", in English we tend to respond with "you are welcome" or "not at all", but in Kiwi, you respond with "that's alright". In English you tend to wish someone "have a good day" or "have a good evening" but in Kiwi, you say "have a good one". I ask, one what?
When I was young, I was used to saying "my one" and "your one". And my parents often corrected me by saying the proper way to say it was "mine" and "yours". But in New Zealand, every one says, "my one" and "your one" and my kids say it's perfectly correct to use those words. We use to learn in school to say "expensive" when you mean something costs a lot of money. But here people say "dearer". I have yet to hear a Kiwi use the word "expensive".
Maori or locally known as Te Reo is widely spoken in New Zealand and is one of three New Zealand official languages. The others being English and the New Zealand Sign Language. However Maori is not a written language and hence there are no script. It uses Roman characters to write. As a result of this, the pronunciation of some of these words is rather "odd" to a native English speaker. In English the letters "ph" sounds like "f" but in Maori the letters "Wh" has the same effect. So Whangerei is pronounced as "Fangerei", Then there are other names of places like Whakatane and Whakapapa which I rather not translate here or this blog would turn out to be some X rated site.
Then there are some names with a "wh" but does not have the "f" sound. For someone new to New Zealand, that would be real tricky. So a suburb in Wellington called Whitby is not pronounced as "fitby", because we were told it originated from an English word! Is that confusing or what? If one assumed that everything else is pronounceable, then think again. Petone is another Wellington suburb pronounced as "pet"-"toe"-"nee" and not "pet"-"one". An Auckland suburb Onehunga is pronounced as "O"-"nee"-"hung"-"ah" and not "One"-"hung"-"ah".
There are some words in English that are considered impolite or outright rude when used in any context but here it is perfectly acceptable. You see advertisements and commercials using the words "bloody". And phrases like "bastards" are quite commonly used. I was quite confused when I heard this phrase, "... he was a bloody good bastard." Was that a compliment or the opposite? Apparently it was the former.
This is a serious “lost in translation” thingy!
Note: thingy is another common Kiwi word to denote “some thing”.
After about a year in New Zealand, the kids have picked up so much of the Kiwi accent and the odd Kiwi phrases which only a Kiwi could understand, let alone appreciate. Even as parents, we have to stop them mid way in a sentence and ask them what they meant or ask them to repeat that is a form understandable by whose ears have not been tuned to Kiwi. For this reason, Anil and Ashwini both tease us saying we are not Kiwis and will never be one!
Some of the ways certain words are pronounced make it very Kiwi. An example is the word seven. In English we pronounce it as "sev"-"en". But the Kiwis pronounce it as "see"-"ven". Then there is the word ten. In English it is pronounced as it is written, ten. In Kiwi, it sounds more like "tin".
Then there are the phrases. When someone says "thank you", in English we tend to respond with "you are welcome" or "not at all", but in Kiwi, you respond with "that's alright". In English you tend to wish someone "have a good day" or "have a good evening" but in Kiwi, you say "have a good one". I ask, one what?
When I was young, I was used to saying "my one" and "your one". And my parents often corrected me by saying the proper way to say it was "mine" and "yours". But in New Zealand, every one says, "my one" and "your one" and my kids say it's perfectly correct to use those words. We use to learn in school to say "expensive" when you mean something costs a lot of money. But here people say "dearer". I have yet to hear a Kiwi use the word "expensive".
Maori or locally known as Te Reo is widely spoken in New Zealand and is one of three New Zealand official languages. The others being English and the New Zealand Sign Language. However Maori is not a written language and hence there are no script. It uses Roman characters to write. As a result of this, the pronunciation of some of these words is rather "odd" to a native English speaker. In English the letters "ph" sounds like "f" but in Maori the letters "Wh" has the same effect. So Whangerei is pronounced as "Fangerei", Then there are other names of places like Whakatane and Whakapapa which I rather not translate here or this blog would turn out to be some X rated site.
Then there are some names with a "wh" but does not have the "f" sound. For someone new to New Zealand, that would be real tricky. So a suburb in Wellington called Whitby is not pronounced as "fitby", because we were told it originated from an English word! Is that confusing or what? If one assumed that everything else is pronounceable, then think again. Petone is another Wellington suburb pronounced as "pet"-"toe"-"nee" and not "pet"-"one". An Auckland suburb Onehunga is pronounced as "O"-"nee"-"hung"-"ah" and not "One"-"hung"-"ah".
There are some words in English that are considered impolite or outright rude when used in any context but here it is perfectly acceptable. You see advertisements and commercials using the words "bloody". And phrases like "bastards" are quite commonly used. I was quite confused when I heard this phrase, "... he was a bloody good bastard." Was that a compliment or the opposite? Apparently it was the former.
This is a serious “lost in translation” thingy!
Note: thingy is another common Kiwi word to denote “some thing”.
Monday, 30 October 2006
Kachiiiiing!
Tomorrow marks the last day where 5 cent coins are legal tender in New Zealand. From November 1, 2006, 5 cent coins will be taken out of circulation and the remaining coins with the exception of the "gold coins" will take a new form.
See the new set of coins below.
The notes changed in 1999 when polymer ones were introduced. These polymer currency notes apparently have one of the most advanced security features that nobody actually bothers to check its authenticity, unlike in some countries.
Most of the notes in circulation have the signature of the Central Bank or here it is called the Reserve Bank Governor's signature on them, Alan Bolard. This morning I was shown a $20 note that had the previous Governor's signature, Don Brash.
For those of you not familiar with New Zealand politics, Don Brash is currently the leader of the main opposition party in New Zealand. The note is still legal tender so nobody actually bothers. But how many countries in the world would have the leader of the Opposition guarantee the value of its currency? Interesing indeed!
See the new set of coins below.
The notes changed in 1999 when polymer ones were introduced. These polymer currency notes apparently have one of the most advanced security features that nobody actually bothers to check its authenticity, unlike in some countries.
Most of the notes in circulation have the signature of the Central Bank or here it is called the Reserve Bank Governor's signature on them, Alan Bolard. This morning I was shown a $20 note that had the previous Governor's signature, Don Brash.
For those of you not familiar with New Zealand politics, Don Brash is currently the leader of the main opposition party in New Zealand. The note is still legal tender so nobody actually bothers. But how many countries in the world would have the leader of the Opposition guarantee the value of its currency? Interesing indeed!
Saturday, 28 October 2006
The day the ghouls came out to play
It was that time again when the ghosts and ghouls came out to play.
The neighbourhood where we have now moved into invited us to its annual Haloween party. Main aim being we get to know each other. Since New Zealand is positioned to see the first sunrise and all, I guess that must have been the reason to celebrate Haloween earlier. The actual day is October 31.
The kids were all eager to trick or treat and got dressed up. Anil being the blood sucking vampire who scared the hell out of himself when he saw his costume in the mirror and Ashwini, the mini Bewitched witch all geared up with the latest Nimbus 2006. All costumes exclusive to the "Two Dollar Shop", in case you want to stock up on these items after readiong this blog.
There was no trick or treating as that is apparently an American thingy and there were no Americans in our neighbourhood. They weren't too dissapointed as there were other lollies on the table.
We adults had our gear but were too shy to put them on but when we arrived, we saw other adult warlocks, sorcerers, witches an ghouls all dressed up. There were an array of different models of broom sticks all stacked in a row. With all the witches congregating in one place, the spells must have had an effect as the home we went to was warm and cozy on the inside while the cold bone chilling rain was pouring on the outside.
The get together was quite good as we got to meet the other neighbours and the guy that built our home, Bob. Immediately I had this tune running in my head "Bob the builder....can we fix it...Bob the builder...yes we can". Thankfully, this Bob was quite a nice chap and did not cast a spell on me when I told him what was running in my head. We found out we had quite a few things in common. Building was not anywhere near the similarities. I demolish more than I can build.
We called it a day or rather a night when it was about time for the real vampires and withches to come out, and headed back home in the rain.
The neighbourhood where we have now moved into invited us to its annual Haloween party. Main aim being we get to know each other. Since New Zealand is positioned to see the first sunrise and all, I guess that must have been the reason to celebrate Haloween earlier. The actual day is October 31.
The kids were all eager to trick or treat and got dressed up. Anil being the blood sucking vampire who scared the hell out of himself when he saw his costume in the mirror and Ashwini, the mini Bewitched witch all geared up with the latest Nimbus 2006. All costumes exclusive to the "Two Dollar Shop", in case you want to stock up on these items after readiong this blog.
There was no trick or treating as that is apparently an American thingy and there were no Americans in our neighbourhood. They weren't too dissapointed as there were other lollies on the table.
We adults had our gear but were too shy to put them on but when we arrived, we saw other adult warlocks, sorcerers, witches an ghouls all dressed up. There were an array of different models of broom sticks all stacked in a row. With all the witches congregating in one place, the spells must have had an effect as the home we went to was warm and cozy on the inside while the cold bone chilling rain was pouring on the outside.
The get together was quite good as we got to meet the other neighbours and the guy that built our home, Bob. Immediately I had this tune running in my head "Bob the builder....can we fix it...Bob the builder...yes we can". Thankfully, this Bob was quite a nice chap and did not cast a spell on me when I told him what was running in my head. We found out we had quite a few things in common. Building was not anywhere near the similarities. I demolish more than I can build.
We called it a day or rather a night when it was about time for the real vampires and withches to come out, and headed back home in the rain.
Sunday, 22 October 2006
Never too early to get into business
While it used to take a lot to start a business in the old days, it takes just a few clicks of the mouse to start one now. Online buying and selling has made businessman and businesswomen out of the average Kiwis. How is this relevant to this thread?
This morning, Anil, just used his pocket money savings to buy his first investment, a television off Trade Me (an online auction site) for $25. And at the same time our 5 year old daughter cleared her toy chest and placed a whole lot of her used toys on Trade Me for auction. Will she be able to rake up the $25 spent by her brother? Time will tell! As they say "one man's meat is another man's poison".
This morning, Anil, just used his pocket money savings to buy his first investment, a television off Trade Me (an online auction site) for $25. And at the same time our 5 year old daughter cleared her toy chest and placed a whole lot of her used toys on Trade Me for auction. Will she be able to rake up the $25 spent by her brother? Time will tell! As they say "one man's meat is another man's poison".
Monday, 16 October 2006
The modern day nomad
While I have been quiet the last two months, our lives were far from hushed. Since the last post, we sold our house in Tawa, packed and moved up north to Paraparaumu. Below is a picture of our new house.
Paraparaumu is a nice little suburb up north of Wellington. While it is part of the greater Wellington region, it is not part of Wellington city. So, some of my friends say we now live in the country. Which is in a way not entirely untrue. The place where we live used to be farmland just 2 years ago and now has been developed into residential living.
There are still lots of farmland scattered around where we live. it is kinda nice living in a sort of a small town with a rural feel to it. For starters it is far far away. The ride to the city, where I work, takes close to an hour on a good day by train. Can you imagine what it would be like on a bad day? I took a taxi to the airport the other day and it cost me $192 one way and the airfare to Auckland from Wellington is only $140! So go figure!
The journey to the city is quite picturesque travelling past lush farm land and the rugged coast. October being the lambing season, the journey is dotted with white little lambs running after its mother in the mornings. They are quite relaxing to see. Then there is the fantastic coast line the train crosses. It climbs up a steep hill and from the train window the South Island can be seen among the morning mist. And on the return journey, a postcard perfect sun set awaits!
I will one of these days post a picture of the sceneries along the way.
Is it a surprise that Vera calls me a "Modern day nomad"? We have moved 9 times in the last 11 years we have been married! Is that a record or is that a record?
Paraparaumu is a nice little suburb up north of Wellington. While it is part of the greater Wellington region, it is not part of Wellington city. So, some of my friends say we now live in the country. Which is in a way not entirely untrue. The place where we live used to be farmland just 2 years ago and now has been developed into residential living.
There are still lots of farmland scattered around where we live. it is kinda nice living in a sort of a small town with a rural feel to it. For starters it is far far away. The ride to the city, where I work, takes close to an hour on a good day by train. Can you imagine what it would be like on a bad day? I took a taxi to the airport the other day and it cost me $192 one way and the airfare to Auckland from Wellington is only $140! So go figure!
The journey to the city is quite picturesque travelling past lush farm land and the rugged coast. October being the lambing season, the journey is dotted with white little lambs running after its mother in the mornings. They are quite relaxing to see. Then there is the fantastic coast line the train crosses. It climbs up a steep hill and from the train window the South Island can be seen among the morning mist. And on the return journey, a postcard perfect sun set awaits!
I will one of these days post a picture of the sceneries along the way.
Is it a surprise that Vera calls me a "Modern day nomad"? We have moved 9 times in the last 11 years we have been married! Is that a record or is that a record?
Friday, 4 August 2006
Kiwi obsession with sports
Since we have been here, one thing I noticed with Kiwi's in general is - they love their sports. Probably the word "love" is an understatement. Kiwi's are obsessed with sports. Any kind of sports will do as long as it is a sport. Let me explain the obsession.
The hour long evening news on the local television has about twenty to twenty five minutes of sports news. The remaining half hour covers local news, the war in the middle east, international news, politics, business and the weather. The morning news which is about fifteen minutes long has sports news and "other" news divided equally. Sports news back home mainly covers soccer and any sports that has local participation. Over here, it covers every and any imaginable sport there is on the face of the earth. But to be fair, the twenty minutes sports news has at least ten minutes of rugby.
On a Sunday afternoon, if one did not have Sky, and if one is not obsessed with sports, like me, then one is doomed! Either resort to watching a video or read a book. If you turned on the idiot box, you will have sports in one form or another in every free to air channel. It is either rugby, soccer, golf, biking, running, walking, swimming or simply some commentary of some sports somewhere on earth. It is simply amazing!
The obsession with sports just does not stop there. It goes beyond that. All my life in Malaysia, all I can remember about athletes are a retired footballer and some over the hill badminton players. My 7 year old son on the other hand, within a year in New Zealand, could name at least half the All Blacks in a line up. My 5 year old daughter recognised Tana Umanga before she could make out how Helen Clark looked like. Now, my son's school homework has an element of sport in it, all in the hope that they do not end up as couch potatoes.
If you thought that was taking it to the extreme, read on. In mid winter when the mercury can drop to almost freezing point, you can still see people playing rugby. This is just not adults, even junior teams from the various suburbs and schools partake in winter rugby. Most of the main rugby matches are actually held this time of the year. We went to one "Hurricanes vs Chiefs" at the Westpac Stadium. The temperature then was 5 deg Celsius and winds of up to 30 kmph but that did not keep the fans away. People came out in the thousands all dressed up in their favourite team colours to support their teams.
Due to where New Zealand physically is (the other side of the world), when games are played in Europe, it is the middle of the night here. That did not keep Kiwi's away from sports. The last World Cup had people into pubs at 5 am to watch live matches and still go to work after that.
Kiwi's continue this sports culture by continuously looking to create new adventure sports. If bungee jumping was not enough, you now have reverse bungee, where you are propelled upwards instead of jumping down. Another variant is a 143 m jump from a cable car suspended over a canyon or jumping off a parasail high above Lake Waikatipu. If white water rafting was not scary enough, you now have black water rafting and rafting in a cave in darkness. What else can you do in a river? Oh yes, white water sledging. Then there is the "fly by wire", where you fly yourself, powered by a 60hp engine, across a valley at 170 kmph! And the legal speed limit on New Zealand motorways is 100 kmph. That's not all! There’s also sky diving, paragliding, hang gliding, heli-skiing, skiing and snow boarding, jet boating, mountain biking, 4wd motorbikes, quad biking (some designed especially for kids), the list goes on.
Where do you find all this? Not in Auckland of course! Not the administrative capital or the business capital but the adventure capital of New Zealand, Queenstown. Actually, I think it is probably the adventure capital of the world! If you can possibly think of a way you could pay some one to scare the crap out of you, you can probably do it in Queenstown.
In short, if you are obsessed with sports, New Zealand is the place to be!
The hour long evening news on the local television has about twenty to twenty five minutes of sports news. The remaining half hour covers local news, the war in the middle east, international news, politics, business and the weather. The morning news which is about fifteen minutes long has sports news and "other" news divided equally. Sports news back home mainly covers soccer and any sports that has local participation. Over here, it covers every and any imaginable sport there is on the face of the earth. But to be fair, the twenty minutes sports news has at least ten minutes of rugby.
On a Sunday afternoon, if one did not have Sky, and if one is not obsessed with sports, like me, then one is doomed! Either resort to watching a video or read a book. If you turned on the idiot box, you will have sports in one form or another in every free to air channel. It is either rugby, soccer, golf, biking, running, walking, swimming or simply some commentary of some sports somewhere on earth. It is simply amazing!
The obsession with sports just does not stop there. It goes beyond that. All my life in Malaysia, all I can remember about athletes are a retired footballer and some over the hill badminton players. My 7 year old son on the other hand, within a year in New Zealand, could name at least half the All Blacks in a line up. My 5 year old daughter recognised Tana Umanga before she could make out how Helen Clark looked like. Now, my son's school homework has an element of sport in it, all in the hope that they do not end up as couch potatoes.
If you thought that was taking it to the extreme, read on. In mid winter when the mercury can drop to almost freezing point, you can still see people playing rugby. This is just not adults, even junior teams from the various suburbs and schools partake in winter rugby. Most of the main rugby matches are actually held this time of the year. We went to one "Hurricanes vs Chiefs" at the Westpac Stadium. The temperature then was 5 deg Celsius and winds of up to 30 kmph but that did not keep the fans away. People came out in the thousands all dressed up in their favourite team colours to support their teams.
Due to where New Zealand physically is (the other side of the world), when games are played in Europe, it is the middle of the night here. That did not keep Kiwi's away from sports. The last World Cup had people into pubs at 5 am to watch live matches and still go to work after that.
Kiwi's continue this sports culture by continuously looking to create new adventure sports. If bungee jumping was not enough, you now have reverse bungee, where you are propelled upwards instead of jumping down. Another variant is a 143 m jump from a cable car suspended over a canyon or jumping off a parasail high above Lake Waikatipu. If white water rafting was not scary enough, you now have black water rafting and rafting in a cave in darkness. What else can you do in a river? Oh yes, white water sledging. Then there is the "fly by wire", where you fly yourself, powered by a 60hp engine, across a valley at 170 kmph! And the legal speed limit on New Zealand motorways is 100 kmph. That's not all! There’s also sky diving, paragliding, hang gliding, heli-skiing, skiing and snow boarding, jet boating, mountain biking, 4wd motorbikes, quad biking (some designed especially for kids), the list goes on.
Where do you find all this? Not in Auckland of course! Not the administrative capital or the business capital but the adventure capital of New Zealand, Queenstown. Actually, I think it is probably the adventure capital of the world! If you can possibly think of a way you could pay some one to scare the crap out of you, you can probably do it in Queenstown.
In short, if you are obsessed with sports, New Zealand is the place to be!
Saturday, 17 June 2006
The "bug" that kept us awake!
For the past week we were kept awake at night wondering what that chirping noise was. It was not the typical continuous chirp but one that was like a second or two apart. It was also something that sounded like a bird trapped somewhere in the house, or was it an insect or a bug?
We had no idea what it was but the fact that it only sounded at night when there are no movements around the house got us suspecting it was an insect of some sort. But it sounded like a bird and was way too loud to be an insect.
This mysterious sound went on for over a week and we were quite curious to find out what exactly it was. Everything and anything came to mind.
This morning when we woke up, it sounded again! I said to Vera, whatever it was, it is begining to get hungry and is now making its presence known during the day. So, off we went on our search for the elusive creature, equipped with a broom stick, bug spray, gum boots and a torch light. We went under the house, then in the garage and tried to follow the sound.
As I was following the sound it sounded like now coming from the hallway upstairs. That got us worried. I stood at the hallway, right at the stairs and there it went again! It came from above my head. The second chirp, that gave itself away.
It was our smoke detector that needed a battery change!
Coming from a place where smoke detectors were not common, we had no idea what it was and how we would know when it was time to change batteries. And all this while, we had sleepless nights thinking a giant weta or some dark creature crept into the house at night waiting to pounce on us!
We had no idea what it was but the fact that it only sounded at night when there are no movements around the house got us suspecting it was an insect of some sort. But it sounded like a bird and was way too loud to be an insect.
This mysterious sound went on for over a week and we were quite curious to find out what exactly it was. Everything and anything came to mind.
This morning when we woke up, it sounded again! I said to Vera, whatever it was, it is begining to get hungry and is now making its presence known during the day. So, off we went on our search for the elusive creature, equipped with a broom stick, bug spray, gum boots and a torch light. We went under the house, then in the garage and tried to follow the sound.
As I was following the sound it sounded like now coming from the hallway upstairs. That got us worried. I stood at the hallway, right at the stairs and there it went again! It came from above my head. The second chirp, that gave itself away.
It was our smoke detector that needed a battery change!
Coming from a place where smoke detectors were not common, we had no idea what it was and how we would know when it was time to change batteries. And all this while, we had sleepless nights thinking a giant weta or some dark creature crept into the house at night waiting to pounce on us!
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
The wicked weather
The north had a blackout, the south had a whiteout and we in the centre of the country had a blowout!
Literally, that's what happened. On the same day, the weather played havoc. We had lots of cold Antartic wind blowing from the south and that caused much of the South Island covered in blanket of snow. Some up to 60cm thick even on the beach! That resulted in roofs giving way due to the weight of the snow and power lines being cut off. As I write this some, 2 days after the storm, some folks in the South Island still have no power.
In Auckland, it was not the snow but the wind that brought down some lines in the main backbone of the country's power grid. That caused shops, business and homes in central Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city to come to a stand still.
In Wellington, being prone to strong winds, we experienced even stronger winds. Winds of up to 140 kmph in some exposed places. It blew off roofs and caused damage to homes.
The weather is getting colder by the day. We have so far recorded the lowest temperature in Wellington since we arrived! 0 degrees Celsius. Although we did not get the snow, I did see ice on the steps and even on the car windscreen this morning. The wiper had to scrap through the ice. The end result was something like shaven ice used for "ice kacang"!
Literally, that's what happened. On the same day, the weather played havoc. We had lots of cold Antartic wind blowing from the south and that caused much of the South Island covered in blanket of snow. Some up to 60cm thick even on the beach! That resulted in roofs giving way due to the weight of the snow and power lines being cut off. As I write this some, 2 days after the storm, some folks in the South Island still have no power.
In Auckland, it was not the snow but the wind that brought down some lines in the main backbone of the country's power grid. That caused shops, business and homes in central Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city to come to a stand still.
In Wellington, being prone to strong winds, we experienced even stronger winds. Winds of up to 140 kmph in some exposed places. It blew off roofs and caused damage to homes.
The weather is getting colder by the day. We have so far recorded the lowest temperature in Wellington since we arrived! 0 degrees Celsius. Although we did not get the snow, I did see ice on the steps and even on the car windscreen this morning. The wiper had to scrap through the ice. The end result was something like shaven ice used for "ice kacang"!
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