Interests, Pastimes & Hobbies: June 2012

Sunday, June 10, 2012

NZ's Great Walk: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing

One day on Facebook...

A.S: I think I'm going to just skip doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Hiking on stony tracks is not something for my feet.

Immediately, friends responded...

Friend A: You must be kidding me. That's the best tramp I've ever done in NZ. You just have to do it. I'm sure you won't regret it.

A.S: Really?? Aren't there much nicer ones in the South Island, especially those with glaciers and snowy peaks.

Friend A: Yes, there are but to me, Tongariro is still topping my list.

Friend B: Seriously, do it, A.S!! Come on, it's the greatest walk in NZ. It's just breathtaking! It's not difficult, don't worry!

A.S: Yeah, I'd love to but it's too stony, I don't think I have the best footwear for it. My leg hurts and I'm having blisters too on my toes. The weather's not too good. It's been rainy. Don't you think that it's a waste to hike up there and see nothing?

But in the end, she was glad that she made it! Yay, yay, yay!!! Sure enough, according to the weather forecast from I-site, Monday was a good day for the hike and yes, she found herself returning to bright sunny weather after the 4 days spent in Napier.

*A.S's current location*

Day/ Date: Sun/ Jun 10th, 2012

- A.S has been here in Spain since May 15th. She's currently in Girona, a town 1 hour's drive Northeast of Barcelona. She admits she has a lot to catch up on her blog updates. Burdened with lots of thoughts, plans and to-dos, she'll still try her very best to keep this blog alive. Thank you so much for keeping up with her delays.

A.S appreciates you as an audience to her blog. It keeps her contented knowing she's not writing for herself. She welcomes you to drop in more often, share your thoughts and interact with her here at cyberspace. The posts may be a little behind but she promises to close the gap as much as she can, as she gets limited internet access and the time to update.

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Thursday, June 7, 2012

NZ: Vineyard Experience in Napier

So, A.S is now in Spain but she's not going to start talking about Spain. It looks like a big mess now but she'll be taking notes about Spain and write about it later. Let's continue with her journey in NZ.

It was in December 2011 when she spent about a week in Taupo waiting for the weather to get better but it did not. So, she made her way to Napier which was 2 hours drive to the east coast before she returned to Taupo for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Here, she had the opportunity to live with a host who was honest enough to warn her that he swore a lot, drank a lot and smoked a lot so that she could make up her mind if she was prepared for the eventual choking smoke, drinking and the 'F' word every 10 minutes. Instead, A.S found it rather amusing when she was there. In fact, eventually an American girl joined her and A.S was not sure if she too got influenced by him or she just wanted to connect by behaving the same way. It was really funny.

So, what did she do here in Napier? It was a vineyard here in supposedly dry area of the North Island in NZ but somehow it was wet and chilly during those 4 days in summer. She should have had more time doing the 'tucking' but ended up just chilling out in this cosy house, going online, watching TV, listening to Breeze FM which apparently was the favourite station of the host, joined him for a dinner party at the neighbour's outside overlooking their own vineyard.

Speaking of 'tucking', it means readjusting the wire up a notch as the plant has grown a little taller. The grape vines are too weak to stand on their own and thus need this wire frame to tuck them in place. At the same time, keeping the vines and the leaves in between the wires on both sides makes a big difference in keeping the vineyard looking neat and tidy. It's no easy work, though. It works your muscle pulling every 6m length of the taut wires out, and fix it a level up and oh, don't forget to put on a thick pair of gloves. Hands can get pretty sore after awhile with those wires.

Yes, those are the wires.
Notice how neat the vines are instead of creeping out everywhere.

Don't you just want to stare at them forever?
And A.S wonders if it would be a starry starry night had it been a clear day.

Yea.. don't you like living in this house too?

Hot coffee sipping in jacket from right here while the radio
was playing overlooking the drizzle and strong wind outside.