I Scream, You Scream...

Tomorrow = Lunch with some long lost relatives! It's also my last day in Auckland. :'( Hehe, in any case, here's to hoping I survive the cold in Dunedin. I'll be in touch with you all from down there! Take care and enjoy this one pic I've uploaded for yawl...

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Screw Coldstone...this is where it's at!

AKL Antics

Been up to quite a bit over the last few days. Nothing big, just little outings here and there to keep things interesting. First event of note was the arrival of my dear Aunty Karen for the weekend (along with my new toy with which all the pictures here have been taken with - my new sony cameraphone). Her arrival meant an increase in family activities since a significant number of us were around.

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We began by having a big family dinner at Grand Harbour where we enjoyed their wonderful Peking Duck. The pic above is of the first course of the meal - the crispy duck skin in the little flour pancake thing served w/shrimp chips. Mmmm...tasty.

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Aunty, Grandpa, Grandma & twin cousins: Brittany & Caitlin.

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We (belatedly) commemorated the b-days for 3 of us since the days are in relatively close proximity (within a week). The cake was a chocolate orange mud cake from "The Cheesecake Shop."

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Saturday meant another trip to Snowplanet (L - Me, R - Callum...btw, this wasn't taken on my cameraphone...it's the only pic [in this entry] that isn't). I must say, skiing is pretty darn fun and I'm getting better at it each time I hit the slopes. Good times despite the freezing cold...though, it's definitely helping me get used to Dunedin-type temps. We came back just in time to eat dinner and watch the All Blacks thump the British & Irish Lions 21-3. Go the All Blacks!!!

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A tasty Kiwi treat, these are pikelets - essentially sweetened, mini pancakes.

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Here I am, polishing off the last bit of orange chocolate chip ice cream for dessert while my cousin Josh watches on.

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My Uncle and I went out to watch the New Zealand Warriors rugby league (a different kind or rugby) game against the Brisbane Broncos. This game was the 10th anniversary of the Warriors first game in the NRL (National...you know the rest) competition. The game was very lively and was played in clear (though chilly) weather. 30-18 was the final score and it was an upset victory by the Warriors over the Broncos (who had won their 10 previous games and were leading the league).

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What's a day at the stadium without enjoying some sort of concession stand food. My Uncle Lance here is enjoying the sausage & chips.

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Well, I'm in to my last week here in Auckland and I'm finishing up with some of the packing that I have to get done before I head down to Dunedin. I hope you are all a lot warmer than me right now! Take care and catch you later!

Snowplanet: Hitting the Indoor Slopes

A bit of a delayed post, considering this happened almost a week ago, but a post nonetheless. My Uncle, cousin Callum & I drove out to Snowplanet for a bit of ski/boarding action.

It was really only my second time doing snow activities (though, last time was outdoors). The last time I was at the slopes, well over a year ago, I snowboarded. So, logically, I thought that since I had gone snowboarding before, that would be the best thing for me to do this time. I was hoping to build on my previous experience but, to be honest, it really didn't work out as well as I had hoped (read: I fell A LOT). I had difficulty on the bunny slope and was dragged by the "lift thingy" when I tried going up to the bigger slope.

So...scratch snowboarding. I was pretty demoralized by the whole dragged by the "lift thingy" and almost called it a day. Then my Uncle suggested that I should give skiing a go. Figuring that I had nothing to lose, I threw caution to the wind and traded my board for a pair of skis.

Wouldn't you know I would've been much better off starting on the darned skis to begin with! I had a much easier time with balance and it was a lot more enjoyable from then on out. Who knew skiing wasn't the big, evil thing I had always thought it was (or is that what I had always been led to believe?). In any case, I'm definitely looking forward to another trip out to Snowplanet to try and work on my skiing! Just gotta get comfortable enough so that I can have a go on the big, real slopes that are all over the South Island!

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Besides the slopes, I've done quite a bit of shopping and seen much of my family (always good times). I've bought 3 more albums (2 new Bic albums - live ones, and 1 Brooke album that I already own but lost the special edition dvd for) and have begun stocking up on warm stuff. It's gonna be freakin' cold in Dunedin...dammit. I've also been enjoying 2 good ole Kiwi treats that I haven't been able to enjoy for a good long time: Fresh L&P (awesome, awesome soft drink - not pictured) and Hokey Pokey Ice cream (pictured below).

Gee this place is awesome! Now, if it just weren't so damn cold...

Haere Mai - Maori for Welcome

It's been 2 years to the day since the last time I arrived in New Zealand. It's funny, just about everything feels the same as it always does except for the little voice in the back of my head reminding me that I'm actually gonna be here for a really long time. Not merely a few days. Not just a couple weeks. Not even close to a month. I'll be here in "Noo-Zee-Lahn" for darn near 6 months and it's both exciting and terrifying at the same time. This'll be my chance to really see what life is like down here in the Southern hemisphere. Everything right now feels familiar, but I imagine once I step off the plane down in Dunedin things will get interesting real fast. I suppose it will feel like getting tossed into the water to learn how to swim for the first time (and from what I hear about Dunedin, that'll be icy, fricken-freezing cold water). So while you all are enjoying your summers up there in the Northern hemisphere, please do soak up some sun for me and enjoy the warmth. I'm quite jealous...

Anyhow, here are some pics to entertain. Nothing major, just a few quick snapshots from the flight to AKL.

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Food on most airlines that we're used to is pretty crappy. I'm thoroughly convinced, from what I've experienced at least, that international airlines (such as Air Tahiti Nui, Cathay Pacific and Air NZ...just to name the ones I've been on) are actually pretty good in the culinary department. In comparison, US airlines such as American, United and, sorry to say, Hawaiian just don't cut it. Observe... There isn't a whole lot on my tray up there, but it's pretty tasty. I had the beef ravioli (which had a surprisingly flavorful marinara sauce) which came with a light salad, pineapple orange juice and a really tasty passionfruit cake. If you look closely, you can see a piece of smoked chicken quiche (right in the middle) that my mum gave me. That was really good quiche too! (Obligatory ginger ale pictured on the right).

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There was no real reason to take this pic other than the fact that I thought it was cool Air NZ put their name at the bottom of the cup. That blackness out there beyond the glass is the nighttime sky. Just going back to the food topic real briefly, it only really applies to Economy. Food up in the more privileged classes seem to be of a much higher standard in general. It's so much better than anything in the back that you really can't complain too much.

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Next up, we have breakfast! I opted for this yummy cheese omelet accompanied by hashbrown, mushrooms & a tomato. It was also served with OJ, papaya & pineapple and a pineapple muffin.

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Mum got the blueberry pancakes (far superior to any that were made in apartment 128...though that ain't saying much) which were very tasty as well.

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And finally, a lovely winter sunrise as seen from the sky. It was almost 7 am by the way. Seems like I'm gonna be missing the sun a whole lot over the next couple of months... Also, just so you all know, that white dot on the right is a light at the wingtip.

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There we go. I have returned once again to the "Land of the Long White Cloud." Tomorrow, I'm supposed to watch my cousin's soccer game, go to an indoor ski slope (finally, time to hop back on a snowboard and see if I remember anything) and then settle down in the evening time to watch some Rugby (Lions v. Otago). Let's hope the Otago boys can show the British & Irish tourists why they call Carisbrook stadium the "House of Pain." On that note, take care everyone. Peace out.

Aloha Oe

Good bye Hawaii. I will miss your warm weather, lovely beaches, great food and, most importantly, all the cool people who are there (particularly those cool people who I happen to know). Au Revoir...

A Dip in the Pools

I took a trip out to the tidepools yesterday with Ryan & his cousin Wesley. It was another "typical" day in paradise as the beautiful weather made the lovely scenery look even better. Take a look at some of the pics and you'll see what I mean.
-By the way, if you want to see bigger versions of the pics, click on 'em and you'll be taken to the flickr page where you can view the pics in their larger (but not quite the biggest) size.

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First stop on the drive out was the lookout. From here you get a wonderful view of Sandy beach (L) and a view of the blowhole (R).

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To get to the tidepools, first you walk along the relatively easy, paved path on the way to the Makapu'u lighthouse. When you see the informative humpback whale sign, look down towards the ocean. When gazing from the top, you'll see something like this.

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You can take any of a hundred different routes to get to the bottom (unfortunately, we chose a very rocky and somewhat steep path) and when you finally reach the bottom, you'll arrive at your destination. The view from the bottom looks roughly like this (above). We hopped in and swam around for a bit in the cool ocean water. After getting knocked around by some very forceful and large waves, we decided it was probably a good time to leave (we have the bumps & scrapes to prove it).

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And that was our trip to the tidepools. Other notable events that occurred were Ryan knocking his head on a rock (while reaching for his towel) and Ryan finding his lost sunglasses (which he didn't know he had lost in the first place). Things seem to happen in threes. Thirdly, when we came back to the car, we saw this next to the passenger side...(L)

Definitely not something you want to see when you walk back to your car (R)... Ryan's car got broken into and a backpack full of valuables was taken. After a nice, long chat with an officer from HPD, we made our way to Foodland in Koko Marina and probably bought enough Powerades® to sponsor a children's sporting event. Geniuses that we were, no one brought water so we were pretty damn thirsty. Shortly after, we headed to Teddy's Burgers for a well overdue lunch break.

Other than the unfortunate theft incident, it was a day filled with plenty of sun, water, good burgers and electrolyte-replenishing fluids. If we ever catch the guy/gal/group who was responsible for the stealing, you will be punished physically, mentally and spiritually. Let that be a warning to you! On a happier note, we were all glad that we had fun and that none of us were hurt during the course of the day. Here's yet another gorgeous picture from the tidepools to close it all out. I hope everyone out there is having a good time. Take care folks.