End of Another Chapter

Well faithful readers, I have decided to end this blog here, and start a new one for my travel to the UK and back. The address for this is:
http://jtvsworld2.blogspot.com/

You will also notice below there have been several entries added in quick succession recently to this blog.

Thanks for your readership, and see you on the flipside!

2009 & Beyond: Party like its 2009!

Well, we finally made it out of 2008 - not sure how I feel about 2008, because I don't look back on it with bad feelings, despite it being a roughish year, having my Grandfather die, and my car getting broken into etc. I guess I have developed the ability to roll with the punches, which is a good thing.

So since last time, I read a couple of books - N.O.W.: No Opportunity Wasted - by Phil Keoghan, and Screw It, Lets Just Do It- by Richard Branson.
N.O.W. was good, it was kind of motivating, although I probably didn't get heaps out of it as I tend to live my life that way anyway, just on a more casual scale.
Screw It, Lets Just Do It was also good, gave a good introduction to the story of Richard Branson. It was written for a reading age of about 12, however I didn't mind this as it meant I read the whole book in one sitting pretty much.

So I guess the main event since my last entry was my New Years adventure. On the 31st I headed down to Flaxmere in the Hawkes Bay, for a New Years Party. I pitched my tent on the back lawn, and had a reasonable night. On New Years Day I finally got to tick off something that has been on my list for almost 4 years: Going to Splash Planet (Phil would be proud of me LOL). It was nice, very busy, but nice to just lax back in the pool. That night I stayed with my brother-in-law Bevan's parents, in Hastings, and went home with a car load of vegetables.

On the way home I visited my old school friend Andy, and his wife Kirstie, who were staying at their Uncle & Aunties bach in Taupo. It was good catching up after probably about 4 years.

From there, I headed back to Papamoa for a couple of days more, and then had to return home for 4 days more of work.

Mid-week I found out and got confirmation that I/we weren't required after Thursday, which is a little bit of a shame financially, but good in the sense I can have a holiday and have time to sort stuff out before I go. Friday I went into work as they have a BBQ breakfast every Friday, and ended up gettting a days work, tidying up the stock from the Truck and Trailer that tipped over near Tirau this week. After work I had a fairly productive afternoon, getting a new alarm remote for my car, checking that a cellphone from New Zealand will work in the UK, and provisionally booking a ticket to London (via Tahiti & L.A. - I also already have one provisionally booked going via Hong Kong)

This week, Im doing some work for Mum & Dad, and catching up with several friends. In the weekend I may be going to Lake Waikaremoana, or Bowentown, and/or Rotorua.

Back in the City of the Future.

So finally I was back in Hamilton. I was pleasantly surprised to discover in the 5 months I had been away from home that Hamilton’s traffic problems had been solved by the changes and improvements they had been doing on the roads. The only thing left to fix in Hamilton’s infrastructure now is the access between the Eastside and the City, but I don’t live on the East side of the river, so Im not so fussed.

So of course it was back to business, trying to find some temporary work, looking into my visa for the UK, and sorting out finishing off my Te Reo course.

I ended up after not having much luck with other recruitment agencies, finding some work at a Meat Works in Te Aroha through Allied Workforce. And I managed to get hold of someone who could help me at Te Wananga O Aotearoa, and resumed my classes.

After about 2 weeks of doing my classes, one weekend, on the Friday night I spent at the Marae on the campus, in which time I managed to catch up the lessons I had missed. Early the next day, my teacher and I headed out to Kawhia, where we learnt about the Marae (Maketu) that is where the Tainui Canoe landed, and is currently buried, which was pretty cool. So we stayed the night there, and then got home about 11am on Sunday. When I got home, I decided that I had enough time to shoot up to Auckland and go to Big Boys Toys, because I really wanted to go, and had promised myself I would this year (I hadn’t been since 2005) after not going last year. It was alright, but not the same as last time. Noticeably less girls and freebies.

Working at the meatworks took a little bit to get used to – mainly the 4am wake ups. The first day I wasn’t sure if I could stomach it, but I think it was because I didn’t get to eat much breakfast, or get lunch until I got home. Anyhow, I ended up quite liking it. I ended up with a bit of a cold, but didn’t think much of it until early one Saturday morning I woke up with really sore glands under my arms, so I went to the A & E once it got to a decent hour, and mentioned that I was working at a Meat Works (in our induction they said we should mention this so they test for Leptospirosis) so they sent me for a blood test.

The following Thursday, once my cold seemed much better, the clinic called me and mentioned that I had tested positive for Leptospirosis. It is a notifiable disease, which basically means the Ministry of Health contacts you and asks you some questions, because it is quite rare, and possibly quite harmful. I was lucky, as it turns out I mustn’t have got a bad case of it. However, I ended up having 3 days off work anyway, which allowed me to sort out my visa application for the UK, and get a UK bank account sorted too, and finish my Christmas shopping. When I went back to work it was kind of nice, as word had gotten around that I had got it, so I was semi-famous. I wasn’t quite so positive about working there as I was before, knowing that I had contracted a potentially harmful disease from it. Anyhow, I’m all OK, so no need to worry.

So, we worked Monday, and then Tuesday I went to Auckland and got my Biometrics done for my visa application (fingerprints scanned, and photo taken) and sent the application off the next day.
Christmas day was had at home in Hamilton, we had to go and pick up my Grandmother up from the hospital, and when we got home my Cousins had arrived, so it was all good. After a good NZ BBQ Christmas lunch, we headed off to Papamoa, where I am now.

Boxing day was basically spent shopping, as I made the most of the Boxing day specials, including getting a full-body wetsuit for cheap. Other than that I’ve just been walking, and doing a bit of reading.

From the North, to the South, to the East, to the West-ish.

So I spent a night at home in Hamilton, and then the next day I hopped in the car with Suzanne and Bevan (my Sister, and Brother-in-law, who were home from the UK, while they were getting their visas renewed) and headed down to Wellington. On the way we stopped for tea in Palmerston North and caught up with one of their friends.

We carried on, and got to Wellington, I stayed with Beth, a friend from my time in Japan, and her partner Aeneas. Beth & I headed out (back) to the Pub with her workmates, and later on grabbed some pizzas before calling it a night.

The next day, I think we went for a bit of a walk, got some groceries and some DVDs, and then that night some of their friends came and we went to the pub and watched Wellington play Canterbury on the big screen, before we went back to the flat and played Poker (I had to be re-taught, as I had only played it once before).

The following day (Sunday) I got up and went for a walk down to Te Papa (the Museum of NZ) getting some breakfast in Transit. It was OK, but the highlight for me was seeing and being spoken to by Suzy Cato – the former children’s presenter, who is still a fox.

On Monday, Suzanne came and picked me up and we headed Northwards, stopped for brunch at Subway. We had decided that we would go to Castlepoint, on the East coast, Suzanne had been there once before. So we went there, very isolated, but interesting, and plenty of people considering. There is a lighthouse, and a bit of a lagoon, amongst some big rock formations. Suzanne and I then carried on north and spent the night in Napier. The next day we headed further North to Gisborne, as I had only been there once, by plane, and Suzanne had never been there. We had a bit of a look around, and then went to our old friend & neighbour Isaac’s house, where we had dinner, played Scrabble, and stayed the night. The next day we caught up again with Isaac, and his brothers, before heading off, Northwards, to go around the East Cape. It was an interesting journey, we saw Tolega bay, Tokomaru bay, and went to the actual East Cape, although that was most disappointing as it was a 21km drive, and you didn’t end up at the beach, or the lighthouse, or access to either, rather just a dead end with a set of toilets. So I did what any good person would, and used them. So following this, we drove back to the main road, and carried on, to Opotiki, Whakatane, and eventually Papamoa, where we met up again with Bevan and their friend Ray (both who had been snowboarding during our excursion.) The next day, Bevan & Ray went to the Mountain again, and Suzanne & I went to Hamilton, and then Suzanne carried on to Hastings to meet up with Bevan again, and they stayed a few days with his parents. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos to show from this journey as of course my camera had been stolen.

Screw You Guys, I’m going home: The Far North Farewell

My Apologies, its been a while since I last updated this, obviously. It hasn’t so much been because my life has been boring, rather the opposite, I’ve been a bit busy, and have left it until I can sit down and do it justice. As I sit and write this, Im outside our house at Papamoa, on a lounger, listening to The Feelers – The Best, ’98 – ’08, after this I will be listening to Elemeno P – Elemeno P, this time last year both bands were down here playing together, with Atlas, at the Papamoa tavern, a great night.

But I digress.
So since the last entry, I finished up at work in Kaitaia. A little sad, due to leaving all the friends I had made, but at the same time, I had pretty much conquered Northland, done all I had wanted to do.

Before coming home I decided I would go and camp at the places I hadn’t yet got around to camping at, such as Rarawa, Spirits Bay, & Tauputaputa Bay (which is right up the top, near Cape Reinga. So I packed my car with my camping gear and took off. The first night I decided to go to Rarawa first, as it was closest, and I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough daylight left to put up my tent if I went all the way to the top.
So, I settled in, and slept with my head facing the stars, which was nice. The next day, after a bit of breakfast, I went for a snorkel. However, when I came back, I discovered someone had broken into my car, (hence the name – Far North Farewell, the other part is from Southpark, what Cartmen says when he gets annoyed with the others) which put a dampener on it, as I couldn’t continue camping with a broken window, and they had taken my clothes bag (including my camera), so I had to spend my last days up north back at the Backpackers (where I had been living) sorting out my insurance, and getting my window fixed. Once I had it all sorted, I headed home to Hamilton.