Getting On With It

Since I receive more e-mails, comments, txts and messages related to this thing I decided to give this Kiwi Doings blog some TLC. Here we go...

What's new? Work, work more, drink hard, repeat. That's nice.

So really, I needed a holiday from my working holiday.  I hiked it up north to Whangarei, Northland the modern way - via car and motorway (and gladly paid the $2.20 toll).

Up north NZ and up north MN are eerily similar. Breathing in the crisp winter air while enjoying the view of the ocean is comparable to going to Duluth. We were in the midst of school holiday's as well so the place was riddled by tourists. Those gosh darn bloody tourists I tell ya what!

Being a tourist in Waipu, NZ :D

On a caffeinated note, I had the best cappuccino in my entire 23 years of existence! Bob makes a splendid one that will surely make you wet your pants in multiple ways. Plus I had to try the Bubble & Squeak - Traditional Potato Mash, Cabbage, Onion, Bacon, Poached Egg and Hollandaise Sauce for 14 NZD. Orgasmic (I should seriously become a food critic as my talent for describing food is above par from most). A cultural note, if Kiwi's have a favorite sauce it has got to be hollandaise - it comes in practically every dish.

Had the opportunity to photograph the most photographed waterfall in New Zealand (below). Only had to climb down 98 steps to get to the bottom (this was also where I parked a car for the first time in the Southern hemisphere!).  It was gorgeous, green and reminded me of Disney. 

Above Whangarei Falls

Whangarei Falls

Additionally, spent too much time at the clock museum attempting to tell time. Archibald Clapham amassed a collection of over 400 clocks (take a 360 tour online). So much arithmetic was involved in time calculation back when my parents were kids - there wasn't an outlet in the place to plug in my clock! I thought Mrs. Randall was mean making us learn time via an analog clock. Thank-you Bill and Steve for making my brain go to mush.

Counting balls (it's a French thing). I believe this is how parents learned time.

It's much more peaceful collecting plates, stamps or coins.

I found a piece of Sodor Island (remember Thomas?!). Unfortunately Thomas and friends came down with Whopping cough (it's a bad one this winter) and thus we were unable to visit 'em. Nonetheless I touched where they all chug along when they're busy working.

Okay, I'm not sure where the pic I'm in went to...

Sodor Island is going through recession as well.

I honestly forget which museum I saw the below images (it was in Whangarei, so probably the Whangarei Museum I'll assume). But, the pics are of a Kiwi bird too shy to come out so I did a sneaky and took a picture of the cameras they installed. The chest of drawers below actually were on the bottom of the ocean around 1850 when the ship sank whilst coming/ going from NZ.

My goodness that's a pale bum.

My God, I'd buy it. 

 Oddly enough, I noticed the fire directions in the hotel. Westpac is currently updating Health and Safety and I received a massive PDF on what to do during a fire (apparently common sense of leave the building is too difficult to grasp, so let's bury it in 142 pages). The hotel has the same idea since leave the building is #5 on the fire to-do list.

I have now returned to my downtown corporate job. Sitting at my desk Monday thru Friday from 9.30 to 5.30. Routine. But don't worry, I'm getting ready for the new Batman movie to arrive and looking forward to doing a bungy off the Auckland Harbour Bridge!

I had me Weet-Bix for breakfast!