s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

Stephen and I climbed Mt. Vic. None of these pics really conveys just how steep these tracks are.

And, the view from the top. Passing clouds did weird things with the light while I was taking these, so there’s some weirdness where they didn’t stitch quite right.

Some shots taken on the way back down, which may look a little familiar.

A Shortcut to Mushrooms:

Get Off the Road ! (There’s a Shadowy Stephen Coming For You !)

After our hike, we trooped back up to the farmlet we’re interested in, which was having an open house. We hoped the listing agent could give us some more info & indeed she did. Took the opportunity to tramp around the pasture a bit more & here’s a photo. For reference, the house is on the other side of that rise with the power poles on it, and this photo is taken from somewhere in the middle of the property — it continues quite a ways behind, down into a gully with another stream and then back up to a higher ridge.

And here’s a closeup of one of the pukekos hunting down near the stream in front. Aren’t they the *wackiest* ? Check out those feet.

We were supposed to go up to the realtor to have her go over some of the Kiwi legalese with us tonight, but are staying in on account of we had to take the door handle off. Stephen says I should maybe give a little more info than that, so I’ll explain that the handle was getting kinda tough to turn, and finally got to the point where it wouldn’t draw the bolt out of the jamb no matter how hard we leaned on it, effectively trapping us in the apartment. The landlord came over right quick and since we luckily had a Leatherman sort of thing in the Drawer Of Random Stuff, we managed to get the handle off and force the bolt out to open the door. The landlord is going to buy and install a new bolt assembly tomorrow AM, so in the meantime we have stuff piled against the handle-less door. Woo.

Well, today marks one week in-country. I sit at home with Slow Top clinging like a furry limpet, watching the rain come sheeting down in front of Mount Victoria. It is now starting to feel like New Zealand. You have to understand that during the first week my brain was having trouble processing what was going on. It knew I was in a foreign country, which means Sweden, right? This default mode is because I have spent so much time in Sweden over the last 3 years (about 8 weeks in total) that it had become the default “other country”. The fact that I was in Sweden the week before didn’t help this perception, either! But my brain is finally starting to prcess the fact that (a) people are not speaking Swedish, (b) everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, and (c) the architecture, flora and fauna are all very definitely not scandanavian!

So, much of the last week was spent in neighborhood familiarization, meaning we drove all over the place. Some of the roads up to the neighborhoods clinging to hillsides are truly special. As in “oh my god we are all going to die!!!” special. A road I would not feel compfortable driving down every time I needed a gallon of milk. We have found one place we are quite interested in (see previous Blog posting), and tonight we drive up to talk to the relator to find out just what all the legal stuff means regarding putting in a tender offer. If we get the place we will certainly have plenty of crash space for anyone who wants to come and visit!

As for Wellington, it is an interesting city. The apartment is in the middle bit of the city, about a 3 minute walk from the main museum (Te Papa), and only a 10-15 minute walk from the CBD (central business district) where Tam works. Lots of ethnic food available, especially south and east asian. There are some european food places too, with an Italian and a French restaurant around the corner. It is all small enough to be walkable. But Wellington city itself does spread over hill and dale. The city is both crinkly and knobby. It has all the ins and outs of the harbor, plus the steep hills. We are in the central basin, but other valleys full of houses are over the hills. And due to the many bays a place that is onyl 3 km away as the crow flys will be many more by car or foot. And the airport (on the other side of Mt Victoria) is so small and cute! One runway, rather short. And the control tower is amongst the houses on a hill next door. All very amusing.

Today I begin work, sorta. I told the fellows in Sweden that I would not start working on the writing projects until mid-September, but I have to call Clive up in Auckland to talk about money, and I promised I would send some info to Sweden regarding the papers I am planning to write. I don’t mind. Keeping the Swedes happy keeps me employed, and money is useful.