Photo Essay: New Zealand Kea
Kea are the world’s only alpine parrots, found only on New Zealand’s South Island. They are extremely intelligent with a highly developed sense of curiosity, which can lead to them being a bit of a nuisance at times. They got on my NZ bucket list when I watched a documentary about Milford Sound and saw footage of them gleefully destroying tourists’ rental cars by ripping off windshield wipers.
Fast forward almost a year, and there I was in Milford Sound, on an epic quest to find kea. I had already passed by the spot where I had seen them on the documentary, a large pullout right before the Homer Tunnel, that was at the time, woefully devoid of kea. However, having chosen to stay at the only hostel in Milford Sound, I became hopefully again when I realized the nearby patch of jungle clamoured with shrieking parrots. And sure enough, I heard the sounds of a kea on the hostel grounds and went running out with my camera. I was lucky enough to have found a wee group of three kea that basked in the attention of myself and the few other people that had come out to see them. I soon realized that they were so curious about us, the zoom lens I brought was mostly useless, as they would waddle right up to us inquisitively. (more…)
The Strangers We Meet
I had something strange happen to me recently. I found out that someone I met very briefly, a long time ago, in a place far away, and whom I never saw or spoke to again, died in January of this year. And surprisingly, it touched me deeply.
Three years ago, I was in Romania, only for a few days and mostly on a whim because I wanted to see Transylvania (this was while I was living in Scotland and had the proximity to go to amazing places on a whim). I had rented an adorable little cottage from an English couple who lived in a small village nestled in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. My time in Romania was a more unique experience, as a lot of the trip was spent in rural country, a landscape that was both naturally beautiful and pockmarked by the ruins of communism. It was a time filled with much wandering, stray dogs, gypsies, “Dracula’s” castle, pessimistic taxi drivers, and getting lost repeatedly. (more…)
Parrots, the Universe, and Everything
Don’t panic.
If you have felt recently that your life has been lacking stories about romantically-challenged birds, grumpy venomous snake experts who hate venomous snakes, or advice on how to cross language barriers when trying to buy condoms in rural South America (it’s for blind dolphins, I swear!)…..I have your remedy.
This is a TED talk by the wonderfully captivating writer, Douglas Adams. It is an intimidating hour and half long, but once you start, you may understand what a fantastic speaker Adams is and enjoy listening to it all in one go, as I did, for I could not bear the thought of interrupting him. He artfully weaves explanations of the basic mechanisms of evolution into his story, as well as the importance of environmental conservation without getting a bit dry or any less funny. This talk was also one of his last before he passed away making it all the more worthwhile to explore the wit and wisdom he left behind.
http://www.ted.com/talks/douglas_adams_parrots_the_universe_and_everything.html
Reflection: New Zealand and Expectations
I don’t think there was a place in the world I wanted to go to more than New Zealand. It had captured my imagination and entranced me through documentaries, pictures, and movies. I had spent countless hours researching and taking notes about it because my former partner and I were once thinking about moving there. I read guidebooks, immigration books, and hundreds of websites, threads, and blogs about it. I hadn’t even thought about going to New Zealand this past January….I was in the midst of planning another trip to Europe with some savings I had and thought NZ would be too expensive and inaccessible to visit. But as I was planning the European trip, I realized that since I had the money now, NZ was where I would want to go above all. I remember once I had actually decided I was going to go, it felt like having a crush on some boy. My heart would beat faster at the thought of it and I would just say to myself…New Zealand….New Zealand…and smile. That alone was worth the airline ticket I bought in peak summer season. This would be an important trip because it would help me figure out if moving to New Zealand was something that I really wanted to do, and if so, would trigger the long and challenging process of immigrating there. Nothing could compare to my excitement of seeing this country that was so significant to me.
So how do I reconcile the fact that honestly, when I look at the trip as a whole, New Zealand underwhelmed me? (more…)
The Trouble with Possums
Opossum World, Napier, New Zealand.
Surprisingly, not a magical Disneyland for people who love possums and all things cute and fuzzy.
…Well, it is a place for people who love all things cute and fuzzy, as long as they like their cute and fuzzy with a side of taxidermy.
Recommended Hostels in New Zealand
Before my trip to New Zealand, I had only stayed in hostels for a few nights in Scotland, as part of a fantastic Wild n Scotland tour of the highlands. My feelings were mostly mixed….one hostel the group stayed in had about 15 dorm beds in one room and one of our tour mates snored quite loudly making the night difficult for me to sleep through. Another hostel we stayed in was an old converted castle, with beautiful grounds, tons of room for everyone, and several resident ghosts. But I’ve never been a big fan of communal bathrooms and I greatly enjoy the luxury of having my own space, so often I have avoided hostels. But for this trip I decided to suck it up and travel by hostel (called backpackers in NZ) the whole way. And I must say, I was really happy with all my accommodations. (more…)
Travel Log: New Zealand
Before visiting New Zealand, I hadn’t traveled out of the country in a little over two years, while finishing school. For me, that is two years too many. Travel does so much to refresh your soul and your perspective and though I had gotten that recently by moving states, I was revitalized in a completely different way from this trip. A way that reminded me again of what the world has to offer and left me wondering how to bump my life up a notch to take advantage of certain opportunities. But that’s serious life-pondering stuff. On a lighter note, New Zealand also made me love living out of a backpack. It helped me realize how little I miss the internet, tv shows, and my possessions when I don’t have access to them. It got me excited about things like fabric softener, an electric toothbrush, and super soft toilet paper when I returned home. (more…)
On the Road: Wharariki Beach
When I visited the Isle of Skye, I thought I had experienced the strongest winds I ever would….winds that held you up as you leaned into them, that pushed you down hills, that slammed any door worth slamming. That was before I visited Wharariki Beach in New Zealand’s Golden Bay region. My Couchsufer travel companion, Jim, and I had been enjoying a day of beautiful summer weather in Golden Bay, soaking up the sun and spending time in the wee town of Takaka. We decided to drive up and check out the Farewell Spit, a large bird estuary, and Wharariki Beach, which had been recommended to us for spectacular scenery. As we drove, we briefly picked up a hitchhiker who had already been to the beach and said it was amazing. He said that we would hike over a hill and get a little sand blown in our eyes, but then it’s incredible. So we excitedly headed in that direction and pulled up to the grassy hills that led to the beach. (more…)
On the Road: Waitomo Glowworm Caves
On my 5th day in NZ, I took the Intercity bus from Rotorua to Waitomo, where I would be staying the night and taking part in the only thing I actually booked ahead of time…the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. The caves are internationally famous for housing huge populations of glowworms….little maggots that attach themselves to dark, wet surfaces and hang threads of sticky silk down from their bodies to catch other insects for food. They attract their prey to their silk threads with iridescent blue lights on their butts, making a spectacular sight in a perpetually dark place, such as a cave, where millions of them may gather together and look all for the world like a miniature galaxy of stars, shining down from above.
(Photo not mine, credit due to eccleton.wordpress.com) (more…)
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