Welcome to Middle-Earth
I apologize, o loyal readers, for not posting in such a long while. It's been a crazy several days and several hundred miles (or should i say kilometers) since my last entry.
We're currently in Takaka (emphasis on the first sylLABle, people), a hippie town on the north shore of the south coast. monday to thursday last week was spent rushing through the north island, including overnight buses with rest stops at 3 a.m., coed dorm rooms (surprising in the morning if you came in the middle of the night), hiccuping mud pools, geysers (though some call them geezers with the accent), plenty of info about maori culture (very cool, more eventually), some nice kiwis and brits, and an overall feeling of overwhelmedness and rushing. We rushed to this particular spot because it is here that we began our WWOOF (that's the farming thing where you work for your room and board) adventure on friday.
But first: an introduction to the south islands. welcome my friends, to middle earth. it's complete with barefoot people, mountains everywhere, gnarly trees that speak to you (if you're tired enough, strange things happen), poisonous spiders, guys with very long beards, and screams from those bad guys in the hoods whose names i've been trying to remember for the past week but can't seem to bring to the front of my head.
To elaborate:
barefoot people: People walk around here in this hippie town with no shoes on. ever. my current WWOOF host, grant, hasn't worn shoes in over a year.
mountains everywhere: really. it's ridiculously beautiful and majestic. and i hitched a ride from a guy who worked as a location scout for Lord of the Rings and got them to shoot in his backyard. ridiculous. and the sun doesn't set until after 9:00. and rises before 5:00. ridiculous.
gnarly trees that speak to you: i've been tired, ok? overnight buses are not the best place to get restful sleep. plus it's cold here - it's summer, but i wish we had sleeping bags. cold cold cold.
poisonous spiders: it just so happens that the farm i am currently staying on is the most spider infested place that ever was. there are webs everywhere and i mean everywhere. also, the only poisonous thing on this island is the white-tailed spider. when i arrived, there were 3 of them, live, in a jar on top of the friggin refrigerator. needless to say, i was overjoyed.
guys with long beards: it's a hippie town, get over it. and i visited a hippie commune from back in the 70s today. It's called Rainbow Valley. it was cool but there were too many sandflies. and i didn't see any rainbows. really cool though. community house, beautiful clear running river, weekly eatings and all. hip.
screams from the things with the stuff: also at the farm where i am currently situated, a past wwoofer built a little spaceship in the corner of the garden. it's very cool and has a disco ball and reflecting pool and everything. on the outside he put a wind harp. it makes "music" when the wind blows through it. sounds more like i should be diving into the bush with my precious.
ok, i've got to go sleep in my tent in the living room right now - have to get a good night's sleep before a day of weeding and wood carving tomorrow, with a side of oatmeal in our outdoor kitchen and stacking more firewood with my sore hands (stacked quite a bit today). i'd like to tell you more, but that's about all i can do at the moment. my hands are freezing off.
before i go, though: travelling is hard. i know it sounds pretty exciting and relaxing and beautiful and all of that. and it is. really, i'm having a great time and learning a lot and it's very very cool. but it's also hard and stressful. how to make the most of our time, how to deal with awkward people that you need things from, how to meet people, how to find out the information you need to get done what you'd like to get done, how to manage finances, how to have a bad day without a space you can call your own. so it's hard sometimes. we've had a rough couple of days (with hysterical laughter thrown in between as stress relief), and although things are worked out for now, i believe, i want to thank you all for being there to support me, even though you're not here in person. it helps to know you're out there. so keep the emails and comments coming. i'll write when i can.
much love. amy.
ps oh - and it's a month tomorrow that i've been away. can't believe it's already been a month. and that it's only been a month. 11 more to go...
We're currently in Takaka (emphasis on the first sylLABle, people), a hippie town on the north shore of the south coast. monday to thursday last week was spent rushing through the north island, including overnight buses with rest stops at 3 a.m., coed dorm rooms (surprising in the morning if you came in the middle of the night), hiccuping mud pools, geysers (though some call them geezers with the accent), plenty of info about maori culture (very cool, more eventually), some nice kiwis and brits, and an overall feeling of overwhelmedness and rushing. We rushed to this particular spot because it is here that we began our WWOOF (that's the farming thing where you work for your room and board) adventure on friday.
But first: an introduction to the south islands. welcome my friends, to middle earth. it's complete with barefoot people, mountains everywhere, gnarly trees that speak to you (if you're tired enough, strange things happen), poisonous spiders, guys with very long beards, and screams from those bad guys in the hoods whose names i've been trying to remember for the past week but can't seem to bring to the front of my head.
To elaborate:
barefoot people: People walk around here in this hippie town with no shoes on. ever. my current WWOOF host, grant, hasn't worn shoes in over a year.
mountains everywhere: really. it's ridiculously beautiful and majestic. and i hitched a ride from a guy who worked as a location scout for Lord of the Rings and got them to shoot in his backyard. ridiculous. and the sun doesn't set until after 9:00. and rises before 5:00. ridiculous.
gnarly trees that speak to you: i've been tired, ok? overnight buses are not the best place to get restful sleep. plus it's cold here - it's summer, but i wish we had sleeping bags. cold cold cold.
poisonous spiders: it just so happens that the farm i am currently staying on is the most spider infested place that ever was. there are webs everywhere and i mean everywhere. also, the only poisonous thing on this island is the white-tailed spider. when i arrived, there were 3 of them, live, in a jar on top of the friggin refrigerator. needless to say, i was overjoyed.
guys with long beards: it's a hippie town, get over it. and i visited a hippie commune from back in the 70s today. It's called Rainbow Valley. it was cool but there were too many sandflies. and i didn't see any rainbows. really cool though. community house, beautiful clear running river, weekly eatings and all. hip.
screams from the things with the stuff: also at the farm where i am currently situated, a past wwoofer built a little spaceship in the corner of the garden. it's very cool and has a disco ball and reflecting pool and everything. on the outside he put a wind harp. it makes "music" when the wind blows through it. sounds more like i should be diving into the bush with my precious.
ok, i've got to go sleep in my tent in the living room right now - have to get a good night's sleep before a day of weeding and wood carving tomorrow, with a side of oatmeal in our outdoor kitchen and stacking more firewood with my sore hands (stacked quite a bit today). i'd like to tell you more, but that's about all i can do at the moment. my hands are freezing off.
before i go, though: travelling is hard. i know it sounds pretty exciting and relaxing and beautiful and all of that. and it is. really, i'm having a great time and learning a lot and it's very very cool. but it's also hard and stressful. how to make the most of our time, how to deal with awkward people that you need things from, how to meet people, how to find out the information you need to get done what you'd like to get done, how to manage finances, how to have a bad day without a space you can call your own. so it's hard sometimes. we've had a rough couple of days (with hysterical laughter thrown in between as stress relief), and although things are worked out for now, i believe, i want to thank you all for being there to support me, even though you're not here in person. it helps to know you're out there. so keep the emails and comments coming. i'll write when i can.
much love. amy.
ps oh - and it's a month tomorrow that i've been away. can't believe it's already been a month. and that it's only been a month. 11 more to go...
posted by theonetheycallamy at 12/05/2004 04:46:00 AM
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