Here some pictures from the Manukau South Head lighthouse:
Here some more information on NZ’s lighthouses
Since our wireless is a bit crappy… I freed my la fonera today. I had enabled the ssh access earlier, so I only had to flash the box with a dd-wrt. It took a while until everything worked well… we’ll see how it works.
Yes, I should post some more stuff here… but there is no time. Uni starts on Monday and there is still lots of stuff to do. I had to enroll this week — it was so much fun. So much commerce on campus… unbelievable and the students association right in the middle of it. Some kid got murdered around the corner and we have two new flat-mates. I am starting a Free Culture Club with a couple of friends… and I still have Tonga in my mind, which was a great experience.
I almost forgot that NZ Immigration asked me to supply a full medical check and a chest x-ray for the extension of my visa. That would have costed me $250+the x-ray… After I send them two emails and received three, they agreed that it was their mistake and I wouldn’t have to send it through… puh.
So what do you want to hear/read about?
Here is the little hut I lived in for three weeks.
And here two pictures from our day trip over the island:
I am in Tonga since one week. Time to check witch the rest of the world. The good news: There is no new WordPress update… The bad news: Girls in Tonga stay at home; Kitchen, cleaning and taking care of the kids… But Tongan customs go further (ask for details^^). Sunday is a strict rest day. No work, exercise or shopping. Only baker shops are allowed to open. I stay here with a Family, their two boys and x girls (where x is a big number). In Tonga I go to church and choir practice. I also slack a lot and not only on Sundays. Tongan families usually have some animals (pigs, chickens, maybe a cow, dogs and sometimes cats, lizards and lots of insects [one cockroach a day]) and fruit trees (bananas, papayas, mangos, …). Books or something to write can be pretty important if you don’t want to behave like a tourist (or Tongan) all day. You should also drink a lot, no tab water, but (boiled) rainwater… or sweet Tongan drinks. Since roosters surround my little cottage, I was usually awake around 4am (but could go back to sleep). So this type of local animal is not my friend! I cruise around the Island with the two girls who are closest to my age (one of them is my NZ contact, the other her cousin). Unfortunately they are very busy and I can not hang out with them as much as I would like to. It also seems to be impossible to visit one of the other Tongan Islands with them, because they are expected to stay at home, do work in the house and for other family members. We had a few sunny days, but cloudy days are not bad either. Even rain doesn’t bother me here (you will enjoy rain baths). Tongans usually don’t like to speak to much english, but I am learning to speak some Tongan…. more later…
Ok, it has been a while… here is an update (pics will follow):
(Pictures temporarily stolen from tom)
Well, it is 20 degrees, and I hear people speaking about Christmas… but it doesn’t feel like Christmas and it is good like this. Sometimes I see a little decoration here and there… but it is not convincing… not with 20 degrees. Why would Santa wear the thick jacket and not togs? Well, it looks as if I’ll go for a little Christmas trip: Paynes Ford for some climbing, New Years at the Canaan Downs Festival and in between some tramping… sounds good? good!
I almost forgot to write a sentence about the Routeburn Track! Well here it is: We saw lots of clouds, and we also got to know how it feels in case it rains for three straight days… it was wet! If you are keen to see some picture, check rainman’s website So there is a new waterproof jacket on my Christmas wish list!
Well, the year is almost over. So here a quick update:
I will move to a new flat, finally! New address is: 1/27 (Name of my cat, without the “n”, a hint: it starts with “Ti” and ends with “ka”) St. // Christchurch // NZ
Cheers,
R.
Well, last weekend I tramped around Mt. Cook — the highest mountain in the southern hemisphere(?!). Me, Rainer and three of his mates got up early, to drive to Mt. Cook Valley. From there we tramped up to 1800 meters or so. The last part is an alpine track, so plenty of snow and of course no trees (no log burner, must be chilly during winter). The weather was again great!
Two of our mates were quite fast at the start and we lost them out of sight. But they took a wrong turn and ended up reaching the hut 1,5 hours later than we did…
One of the toilets was fully full full, the other almost (85%). The funny thing about them was, that they had two departments, one for number 1 and the other for number 2 :)
On the way back, the next day, we could slide down the snow: Bum sliding, very cool.
