a flappers delight

The town of Napier, on the east coast of the north island of NZ is a delight for anyone with a passion for architetcture. The town was hit by an Earthquake in the 1930's and so pretty much all of it was rebuilt in the Art Deco style. With only time for a quick stop off before making my way down to Wellington, I walked around the few main streets following the LP's architecture walking tour marvelling at the different buildings and their stylistic details and features. The seaside town had a lovely laid back feel and lots of cute cafes and little shops. There was also a lovely little sunken garden with lots of pretty flowers, a sculpture pond and a quaint water wheel. I also got rather over excited by a very well stocked whole-foods health store grocery (a bit like Scoopaway for any Bristolians reading this, Rose) with a great range of cereals, oats, dried fruits and nuts. I picked out a selection so that i could make my own muesli as i was already having withdrawal symptoms from the farm. I also came across a really nice store which sold all sorts, clothes, home stuff and also had a printing machine where you could get your own designs printed onto t-shirts and bags (if only there was more time and i had a bottomless backpack!). I was staying at the rather intriguing Stables Hostel, which as the name suggests used to be an old stable yard. It was comfy and cosy and had lots of horsey related decorations jazzing up its interior.

Rotten eggs, its Rotorua

The town of Rotorua is famous for all its geothermal activity (including geysers and hot mud pools), a valuable resource that the Maori people have been using for years to heat their homes and cook their food. It also meant that whilst walking around you are often hit with a sulphur/rotten egg smell wafting in the air! I visited the village of Whakarewarewa (or Whaka for short) aka the thermal village to learn about the history of the local people have adapted to the hot ground conditions and how they benefit from what the land naturally provides to them. One of the techniques is called the hangi, which is a cooking method, whereby the food is buried in the ground and left for a number of hours to cook using the heat from the ground. I also tried some corn on the cob (you can just see the little yellow blob in the photo) which had been cooked in one of the boiling water hot pools! It was interesting to learn about the Maori traditions and how much emphasis there is on respecting the land that gives them everything they need and protecting resources for their children and future generations. I also learnt a lot from Jacko, who i was staying with. He taught me a lot about the Maori culture and explained how they were affected with the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand. We talked a lot about ancestry and the importance of families and i learnt that Jacko was hoping to go back to his ancestral land one day and set up his dream home! I had a little time to walk around the town and also went down to the stunning Lake Rotorua which glistened under the morning sunshine.

wwoof here, wwoof there

Life at the farm was very laid back and peaceful but at the same time, buzzing with activity. With so much going on there were so many different things to help out on and get involved with which made being a wwoofer (willing workers on organic farm) a very varied and interesting experience. Chan (another fellow wwoofer from Hong Kong) and I did a lot of jobs together. The first being some tree planting down in one of the fields. We were planting shoots in quite a boggy area and the hardest part was trying not to lose a welly in the sticky mud. The constant squelching fart sounds also helped to keep us amused as we tried our hardest not to faceplant into mud! Another daily activity was feeding the animals. The pigs were partiularly entertaining because they would get so excited while watching us approach with all the food scraps for them. Other jobs included painting, doing some mosaic tiling, preparing fruit beds, weeding ("weeeeeeeeeeeeeds"!) and bits and pieces here and there.


With an amazingly stocked lader full of wholesome goodies (every kind of dried fruit and nut under the sun, cereals, pulses a plenty, baking goods, honey, wholesome crunchy peanut butter etc etc you get the idea) and a plethora of homegrown produe cooking was extremely fun and Marijke made us some very yummy meals. We also had lots of Roberts homemade beer, lots of different types including a darker mix flavoured with liquorice. All of this food and drink was obviously justified by all our hard work on the farm! We helped out with some of the cooking - Chan made us some authentic chilli beef on one night and i got to do some baking rustling up my favourite Pumpkin Pie desert.


Evenings were spent often by the fireside reflecting on the day and other things. Chan and I talked a lot about the cultural differenes between Asia and the West (Chan: "That is so interesting", Me: mmm). He also showed me how to palm read (well the basics) and how he had had his future predicted by a fortune teller!I tried to explain to Chan that it is common practise in England to put the kettle on and have a cup of tea whenever you come back into the house, even more so if its a bit cold outside...he just said i drank too much tea. He also thought i was a bit crazy when i randomly started doing yoga (tree pose) during one of our tea breaks!


At the end of my stay another previous wwoofer, Shai returned. He had the intention of traveling around NZ on one of the horses and so i gave him a few handy tips for working with a horse that hadn't been broken in yet! It was fun having another wwoofer around and the 3 of us had an interesting conversation about our views on worldy issues and discussed how we thought the world would progress and what we hoped would happen in the future. It was fun to philosophise and share our inspired views while tending to the plants in the garden! Shai also entertained us with his didgeridoo and stories of his travel adventures over the last 5 years.


All in all i had a great time on the farm and left feeling inspired by the world and community that the people are creating for themselves there.

Welome to Otamatea Eco Village

Set up in 1997, Otamatea is made up of an intentional permaculture community living on the peninsula of the Kaipara region in Northland on the north island of NZ. The land which is about 250 acres in total is split up into 15 plots of land (5 acres) which are individually owned by the members of the eco village. There is also an additional 71hectares which is owned collectively and managed communually.

I was staying at 'The Far Side' with Marijke and Robert who are building there own unusual, slightly medieval themed house, complete with a 3 storey tower, lots of mosaic features and colourful pillars. There are also a few other buildings and barns on their plot including my little house for the week, extensive veggie patches and animal paddocks. The friendly pigs, chickens, cows, horses, cats and dog were all part of the family and contributed to the whole lifestyle and feel of the place.

One of the best things about the location of the house is the view from front side across the hills and surrounding water of the Tasman Sea. One of those views that you can just stare at for ages and never tire of, pretty good to look at while your eating your homemade muesli and sipping on a cup of fairtrade organic coffee :)

sailing through the sunset

Whangarei (pronounced fang-garei) is a nice little harbourside city on the east coast of the northern island. Here i stayed with Dave, a boat builder from Germany who had moved to NZ about 8 years and hadn't looked back. Dave met me at the bus stop and after a little stop off to see the Whangarei Falls - described by LP as the Paris Hilton of NZ waterfalls, "Not the most impressive but reputedly the most photographed" - we went to the nearby Sandy Beach for a surf competition where one of Dave's friends was competing. Unfortunately the conditions were really bad due to the rain and so we watched the poor surfers battling it out from the comforts of the warm van. Dave had brought along a flask with a concoction called 'grog' a well known sailors drink consisting of rum, hot water, lemon juice and sugar...ideal for wet and windy days! With the rain not showing much signs of easing we decided to call it a day and went home. Dave's place was a little cottage tucked away, with some horses from the surrounding farm making themselves at home around the house! We got the fire going and cooked up a hearty veggie bake and chatted about life in NZ boat building and sailing around the world.

The next day we went to the William Fraser Memorial Park and walked around in awe at the network of massive trees framing a little boardwalk loop. We then took a little drive to the Abbey Caves, which were fun to have a look at, although we thought it best not to venture in too far without proper gear, especially as all the recent rain had made the water level quite high.

With a break in the rain, we decided this was the only opportunity to go sailing and so we arranged to meet Marcus, one of Dave's friends down at the harbour. After pulling on some amazing hi-vis orange wet weather sailing pants (yes, trousers) the 3 of us climbed aboard and set out for Matakohe (Limestone) Island. Marcus explained that they used to do a lot of quarrying on the island but that it was now part of an ecological island restoration plan to enhance the habitat and increase the amount of bird life. This involves getting rid of all the predators on the island, mostly the possums and rats which are a big threat to the birds not just on the island but throughout the whole of NZ.

We stopped hear for some more grog and snacks and after Marcus told us some more stories we returned to our little boat. Marcus also said that no-one was allowed in his boat without doing some sailing and so i sailed us back into the harbour as the sun was setting which was really fun and the perfect way to end a lovely day.

green is where the heart is...

A little plant i noticed whilst out on my coastal walk to Opua. p.s. carrie, this made me think of you as i knew you would be appreciative of its heart-like natural formation and the contrasting textural form of the veins haha

Waitangi sunset

sunsine again!

Having arranged my wwoofing, i had a few days to kill and so decided to hear North away from rain city in search of te sunny (but chilly) coastlines. Paihia was te perfect place to take in some fresh sea air and catch a few rays. I took a lovely coastal walk along the beachy stretches to the port of Opua (about 12km return) and had chats with a few friendly locals along the way. One of these locals was Leon who must have been in his 60's. I bumped into him on his way back from visiting his friend who lived on a boat. He was happy to share his thoughts with me about how he believed the end of the world was approaching and that by 2012 we will be suffering from another ice-age!!

Auckland in the rain, boo hoo

Arriving in Auckland was quite a culture shock after spending 3months in Asia. Also a little off putting from suddenly being all alone in a cold and rainy city! However, it was nice to spend a little time resting in the warm, dry indoors and making plans for the rest of NZ. I was able to have a little explore around the city in between rain showers. I had a look round the Auckland Art Gallery and also found a nice cafe for a big hot latte (havent had one of those in AGES!) and a nice spot of reading. I also found a great clothing exchange, called Recycling Boutique, where i picked up a few things after spending quite a long time trying on various items and then rating them in terms of weight/suitability for travel etc etc !!

Monks, meditation, herbal sauna and massages

"Mind is the forerunner of all events" - Buddha

Our final stop in Laos and where we would all be departing on our separate journies was Vientiane. Our arrival coincided with an open meditation session at one of the nearby Wats and so we tuk-tuked over for a taste of peace and enlightenment. After a quick explanation about various meditation practices we soon took up our positions and gave it a go ourselves, spending time on both seated and walking meditation. Ven. our teacher - an Australian Buddhist monk, stressed the importance of attention being the key to achieving mindfulness. It is this state of mindfulness that has been highly praised in the practice of meditation to alleviate a wide spectrum of both mental and physical conditions. It is a great way to rid your mind of all your current stresses and concentrate and focus on the present moment that you are currently living in!

"Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must also step up the stairs." - Vaclav Havel.

After our meditation, we walked across the garden surrounding the Wat to a small dwelling where we had heard about a local herbal sauna. We changed into the cloth sarongs provided and after some tea ventured into the little wooden sauna. The heat was immense but the aromas from all the herbs and spices were incredible, there was so much steam you couldn't see anything inside ("We could totally get naked in here") ! We stayed in for as long as we could and then came outside and sat around with some others having tea. After a few more quick heat-blasting and refreshing teas we changed into clear sarongs for our massages. I don't think i have heard my own body creak and click in so many places before. The massage was a full manipulation of all my joints and felt amazing. Clearly, the numerous bus journeys and rickety mini-bus jerky trips had taken their toll!

Chilling with the homies...homestay in Savannakhet Province

We continued on our path north up to Savannakhet, right next to the Thai border, where we had read was a good place to do some more trekking. Unfortunately all the booking offices were closed by the time we arrived but luckily we found the really cute Cafe Anakot run by a Japanese expat who was able to arrange one of the eco-treks for us where you go trekking and stay with a family in a local village. The prospect of another early morning and lots of walking the next day sent us to bed early. However, this plan was slightly scuppered when Shereen and I got caught in a torrential downpour on the way home from the internet cafe. The crazy man standing in the middle of the street screaming like a psycho also added to our 'drowned rat' experience. Avoiding him at all costs we then got lost on the way home and so by the time we made it home we were soaked to the bone, nice.

And so, with our day packs packed up with the essentials for 2 days (mosquito spray, hand sanitizer and toilet roll) we ventured into the forest with our two guides, San (can't remember his name now so i made one up) and Soda. Our two guides were really friendly and Soda, the local guide and forest expert had great skills at noticing all the bugs and creepy crawlies in the forest, some were deadly poisonous while others were useful for medicines and herbal potions. There were lots of insects that were edible and are regarded in Laos as delicacies but none of us were too keen to try but we eventually gave in and all gulped down a little wormy/maggot thing. It didn't really taste of much and was mostly just like a squidgy bean. Unfortunately my camera decided to go on strike for this trip but i did manage to take a photo of this spider that was lurking in the canopy above us. We had lunch at a little house in the middle of one of the rice paddy fields. We learnt that when there is a lot of work to be done lots of people sleep in these huts instead of hiking back to their villages. We feasted on a meal of sticky rice (very popular in Laos), fish, meat, eggs and a few other random bits and bobs. The afternoon walk was through more forest and there were lots of mosquitoes which despite our insect spray showers still manages to get us. After one more little pit stop for some water we walked the last bit of the track to take us into the village.

The family were very welcoming and showed us all around the village and they welcomed us with a large dinner with lots of their friends from the village. We all sat round together before eating and they do this sort of blessing where they wish you well (in terms of health, prosperity, safety in travel etc.) and mark it by tying a white cotton string around your wrist. By the end of this we were all left with lots of white bands and a feeling of great acceptance and honor. We then had a great meal of chicken, fish, sticky rice, vegetables and soup. The chief of the village also invited us to a ceremony that they were having for some people who had recently passed away. Unlike your usual black and somber funeral gathering, the meeting of people was a much more festive event with lots of eating and drinking (Lao Lao liquor) and staying up all night.

The next day we woke up early to take offerings to the monks as the village Wat. We sat in front of our pots of 'goodies' and listened as the monks carried out their prayer rituals. With my new heightened interest in Buddhism I found it really interesting talking to San who had been a monk previously. He told us about the process of becoming a monk and some of the stories of his experiences. He also explained to me that there is no such thing as a female monk but that there are females in the wats and monasteries and they are just called nuns, hmm interesting.

After saying our goodbyes to our village hosts we carried on with our trek towards the Turtle Lake. We had a time-out in one of the rice paddies to help plant some rice (putting what i had learnt at the agricultural college in Hanoi to good use!). They were grateful for our help and i joked with them about whether they would give me a job! We carried on our trek back through the forest and had another delicious packed-lunch in a little hut on the edge of the rice fields. This was our finishing point and there was just time for a quick snooze before our tuk-tuk arrived to take us back to the city.

It was a really great trek and unlike a lot of things that market themselves as 'eco' or 'green', this trip actually was because we didn't have a negative impact on the area we were visiting. Everything was genuine, without the gimmicks of most touristy trips and organised tours. It was also a great cultural exchange because although we asked everyone we met loads of questions (i think i averaged a question a minute at some points!) we also shared a lot of our traditions and customs. The guides were very intrigued when i explained to them the English theory that when the cows are sitting down in the field it means its going to rain and luckily for me it did start raining (a little bit). Eco-rant over!

Are there really 4000 islands?

Having made it across the Cambodia-Laos border and after a little mini-bus confusion we embarked upon the longboat to take us to Don Det, one of the islands making up Si Phan Don (meaning 4000 island). All the accommodation on the island was made up of a series of bungalows set up along the Mekong River. Spoilt for choice we looked at a few places and chose one guesthouse which had a nice outside balcony area with comfy hammocks (sensing a theme?...i am). We adapted quickly to island life and the slow pace at which things are done. We spent the evening in one of the restaurants on the main road slash mud/dirt track. A friendly game of pool with some other travelers turned into one of the longest games in the history of time, partly because of the terrible condition of the wonky table and partly because after about 45 minutes of constant misses most of us had given up the will to live let alone play!Eventually a few flukey shots helped us all to finish up and vow never to play on this table again.

The next day we rented bikes to visit the large, Li Phi waterfall on the adjacent island of Don Khon which is believed by the local people to wash away the spirits of the deceased. It was a little frightening to see fishermen casting out their nets from the rocks with such rapid water gushing past but i guess they were pros and knew what they were doing!
Carrying along down the west side of the island we made it to a small beach where we spent a little time paddling in the water and resting our cycling legs. Eager to get around the whole of the island (it wasn't so big) we carried on until we reached a really rocky track. We persevered along the ridiculously body shaking bumpy path until we couldn't take anymore and worrying that the road would not improve we turned around and headed back to Don Det for our afternoon fishing trip we had booked.



Unfortunately it turned out to be one of those rather uneventful trips. Despite our guide ferrying us around on his longboat to various different spots along the river, we got nothing, not even a little bite or nimble at our bait. We were hoping that he would have some sort of back up plan, especially as the trip description had featured a fish BBQ on a tiny island along the Mekong but there was no back-up plan. Our only luck was that he had bought with him one fish so we were still able to have a little bit of BBQ fish. However by 6pm the prospect of one small fish between 3 of us who hadn't eaten since breakfast seemed a little disappointing and not quite the feast we had been hoping for. On returning to dry land we hung up our rods and went for a proper dinner. I had the popular island choice, the pumpkin burger, which was really tasty and totally satisfied by starved and grumbling stomach. Post dinner and feeling alive again, we met up with some others and had some island happy shakes before retiring to our place for some late night hammocking, ideal.

This last photo is something that I was rather intrigued by as we cycled around the island. I later found out that these termite mound like structures are what the people use to make charcoal. They dig a pit and fill it with chopped wood to make a big stock pile and then they cover it all up with mud leaving some vents along the sides of the base. The mud allows the inside to get really hot and sort of roasts the wood to make charcoal...ingenious!

The bumpy road to Ban Lung

Our next stop was Ban Lung which took us nearly a whole day to get too made up mostly of a 4 hour wait in a random restaurant/cafe/shop on the outskirt of the town of Steung Treng. A good few hours of people-watching in our little square of activity and just when Shereen was becoming quite the foreign attraction after joining with the locals 'shuttle cock kick ups' game our minibus arrived. We bundled in to its already crammed seats and continued along the bumpy road to Ban Lung. We were all very happy to arrive at the LP recommended Tree Top Guesthouse where we stayed in little cabin bungalows among the trees complete with veranda and hammock and little wooden walkways, delightful!
Following a much needed long sleep we spent the next day hiking to the impressive volcanic Yaklom Lake. It was so nice to cool off in the water following the uphill route to get there and by the afternoon the mornings grey sky cleared to let the sun through. We returned home taking a litle detour to the amazing 'Coconut Shake Restaurant' for a really thick and creamy drink of fresh coconut, a meal in itself.
The next day Mathilde and Shereen went on a day trek while i sadly remained at home suffering from a bit of an upset stomach. We spent the evening having soup (where you cook it yourself at the table by adding ingredients as you like to the prepared stock) with the friendly guides, Jimmy and Vuthy, who shared with us their aspirations to open their own restaurant in the coming year. We promised them we would come back for its opening.

Angkor, wat wat wat?

We arrived at the bus stop just after sunrise, half asleep and feeling a little disorientated. After picking up our bags we noticed that the gate to the station was closed with a number of eager tuk tuk drivers waiting outside. The next moment someone opened the gate and the hoards of men rushed in trying to collect passengers. I was glad we had a pick up arranged by the previous hostel in PP as now was not the time for any of our wearisome selfs to be dealing with the frenzy of drivers. After a little rest, freshen up and breakfast we hired bicycles and headed along the road that would take us to Angkor. I had ignorantly assumed that Angkor was one of those tick-box tourist sites, dismissing it as 'just another wat' - how wrong i was. On arrival to the complex (i had previously thought it was just one temple) I reaslised that my expectations were completely underestimated. I was astounded, starstruck - can one be starstuck by a building? well i was! The beaming sun and blue skies added to the overall impression of the Hindu temple which was erected for King Suryavarman II early in the 12th centure (at a similar time to Notre Dam in Paris for comparison). From pictures (which i will put up soon!) you cannot appreciate the scale of the structure and the impression it impacts on you as you traverse around its various parts. The engineer part of me wqas going crazy thinking about how it would have been constructed and how much effort was involved in just to get the materials to the site. We spent a few more hours cycling around the other temples, stopping off at those that took our fancy and getting overly-excited by a large community of resident monkeys. For the evening we had a local dinner at the night foodstalls and then exercised our bargaining skills at the well stocked night market. Thinking of my already rather full pack (stupid winter clothes) I was successfully restrained and bought only one t-shirt anda purse made from recycled fish food bags (how sustainable!). As we walked around we enjoyed a live band playing Cambodian music and also marvelled at the number of 'fish foot massages' where live fish eat the dead skin off your feet, hence, 'massage' - hmmm, think i'll pass!