atmosphrericks

2011-03-17T18:27:00.001+11:00

Today Jonno went north and south. He ated pie.

melbound

2011-03-06T23:29:00.000+11:00

Last night i didnt even unload my bike.. just took my necessities off and left it out in the cold. slept pretty well, and just chilled out a little.

this morning... got up early and made my way the one block to the ferry. there was a german couple with bikes that i had seen in bicheno and in st helens. I also met a dutch bikelist who, it turns out, lives really close to my cousin (he lives in zwolle), and I suspect he bought his bike from my cousin's shop in Lemerleveld. wacky. i took photos of it, and im gonna ask lianne. I also told him to go into the shop when he goes back home, to tell him "Hi" from me.

So then.. neat. 9 hours on a boat. boring. i did a bit of writing and a bit of sleeping... but was mostly bored. The Cinematic Orchestra's La Fleur was a great soundtrack to come in to melbourne by.

then dave was there at teh entrance to the place... and yay. then we went to have wonderful dinner times at paul and deryn's (remember them from 2008 folks?)... it was good and chilled.

now im back on the boat and all my bikeling gear is packed away.

tomorrow is plans to be made... and perhaps a sail to be done (weather dependent)

lol.

the circle is complete

2011-03-05T16:05:00.000+11:00

Im back at devonport again. yay. somewhere somewhat familiar!

The dirt road was awesome at teh start, then the steep climb was merciless. The way down the other side was infuriating because of all the corrugations, i couldnt get any speed up. When i gto back to a sealed road it was great... and quiet. I had a bit of a chat to the cows. Im trying to organise an uprising, but they dont seem to care.

I took a bunch of back country roads today which were a real treat. I had to back track a little when i got lost, but that was fun, too.

Tonight I am staying in the gingerbread house hostel, which is right by the ferry terminal. it's pokey but it's ok.

I took the ferry accross the mersey to get into town... it was 2.50$ but there's nothing in town.

I'm a little sunstroked today, which is prrrrr nice... even if i cant really function.

just a small portion

2011-03-04T15:33:00.000+11:00

leaving georgetown was like a present. but the trucks, oh my. heaps. sometimes there is not enough shoulder.

the ride, divided into 3, was only about 45km...

when i got to batman(!) bridge i learned that batman started melbourne in 1835. also, some crazy guy was camping there, i could hardly understand what he said... but he did say "a spot of bad weather coming over there", and then 15 minutes later: exactly a spot of bad weather came by.. fleeting as. i think he was a soothsayer... a shaman... a crazy.

short ride through the depressing Beaconsfield: "the golden heart of Tamar River". they had hairdressers smoking, frownfaced out the back of their shops, people stooped on their stoops... just generally an air of unhappy poverty

then i got a tent site at Beauty Point... i can almost see the place i was staying at yesterday. it's better here.

I went to the platypus house for a tour, and i was the only one on it, so it was like it was all for me... special tratement!

now the sun is out, and im a nerd in the sun.

tomorrow im gonna go over the dirt road towards the devonport... to complete my round trip. yay.

you can always go, George Town

2011-03-03T18:51:00.000+11:00

last night was neato... just so relieved to get my wheel in shape again.

so the groung was hard, and my pillow makeshift as. but i like scottsdale... it's got something real.

I headed out early again because i knew the wind was gonna be a meanie today. Riding up to Bridport i was full of song and humming... it was nice... and likey. Heaps of people told me it was a really nice town, but i found it to be no nicer than most... just ave.

heading due west i was facing the wind in the face. it was tough going, and there were HEPAS of trucks... some with raw timber, some with milled timber... i swear i smelled carrots after one went by. they were generally nice at avoiding me though.

by the time i got to george town, i was sick of the wind. unfortunately the ONLY campground in the area is 3km north of town and is right it the path of the wind. fortunately i have a site almost in the lee of a building.

there's another cyclist here who has a trailer, and is touring with his dog, who runs beside him all day. i like it.

ooo... 3k visitors.

2011-03-02T13:16:00.002+11:00

hey everyone.. just reached a landmark 3000 visitors. feels spesh.

Bikey Fixey

2011-03-02T13:15:00.000+11:00

Today Marty and Sue (custodians of Weldborough Hotel) drove me into Scottsdale via the gravel road... which was 4wd-ey.

I pitched my tent on the free council tent site, amoung a billion campervans. Then dropped my bike off at the shop to get a spoking to.

Im back on schedule now (i was ahead before)... and i'll feel better when my bike does. Im gonna explore the town some more... it's a nice day and i have nothing to do.
there's an Eco Centre here... apparently it looks like an upside down bucket.

anyway... im not dead.. im having a more relaxy time now.... have good erryone.

Today... weird.

2011-03-01T13:02:00.001+11:00

“that’s like the computer we have at home”. A young boy tugging at his mother’s hand.
“very observant”, she sarcastically responded so that I would hear.
I was sat in the garden outside the closed library, legitimately using the wifi. The voucher ran out just as I finally got to paste yesterday’s post.

Back at the hostel there were more cyclists: David, one of the British cyclists I met in Queenstown, and again in Triabunna, and another British pair who were travelling on a tandem. The were full of stories into the night.
I found, weirdly, that I’m a lot more social than ‘normal’ in Tasmania. I prettymuch have at least a conversation with everyone in the hostel. Even I’m wierded out by that.
So the night was humid and there are two people trading snores. Artch.
Today I went to the bike shop to see what hours it opened and the sign said something along the lines of “opens usually at between 9 to 11, but sometimes not at all and sometimes at 7. Closes around 4 or 5 or thereabouts, unless I have something important to do.” It was a bit disturbing, and it was after 9, and was not open so I decided to chance my spokes. I also forgot to get more sunscreen, so I was squeezing the tube for all it was worth.
I got to the servo (that’s what they call them here) and David… the British one – had stopped for a coffee. I was surprised because h left ages before me. Anyway this is a story about how I’m the winner. So we started out from the servo, and were pretty much riding together… then I decided he was going too slow, and passed him and sped up the 600m incline. It was a beautiful hill. I was telling the crows that if they couldn’t say anything nice, they shouldn’t say anything at all. Eggs.
On the way up I had another spoke break. The wheel is still ok… but the stress. O my. I went as slowly as possible down the 300m decline on the other side, and got to the Weldborough pub, which I’d heard was great. It IS great.
So, the dude at the pub, Marty, told me that the post bus goes to Scottsdale (the 53km that I don’t wanna risk), and there is a bike shop there. But I’d missed it by an hour. I asked him about accommodation, and it’s 5$ a tent site… sweet. And then he said he could do a special on dinner… which would be a cheapy pasta dish, which turned out to be awesome and way value. And the pub stocks the widest range on microbrewery beers in Tasmania(which I had been looking to try), and I’m catching the post bus tomorrow (he rang them), and the band “iron and wine”, whom I love, kept popping up in the bar playlist.

I conclusion, this place is great, and it’s the first mid afternoon nap I had in for-ages. They’re (Marty and his wife/partner) are really making a go at this place, and it seems like it’s working well. I think it will. They’re thinking about doing a folk festival in may… he invited me back for that, but well…. I’m busy at my brother’s wedding… and also probably poor by then.
Weldborough Pub…. AWESEOMES.
So now I have to find the bike shop in Scottsdale and see if they can fix my wheel. I think its weird that only the spokes I got new in December 2010 are the ones that are breaking… did Thunderbikes in Wanaka use cheap spokes, or is this a common thing that happens? Why are none of my original ones brittle? Does weathered metal lose it’s brittleness? Who am I, Wikipedia?
So I’m a little stressed, but I am still having a good’n time. I have plenty of time to get back to Devonport for the sailing on the 6th (Sunday), and I have heaps of options on which way to go. I am thinking of not even passing through Launceston, but going norther to Beauty Point, and Port Sorrel, and then Devonport. I really just want my wheel to get better.

Peacelove and praise.

st helens of troysmania

2011-02-28T19:03:00.002+11:00

The wind! Oh the wind. In my face today. 76km into the wind. It was mostly flat which meant that there was nothing to be in the lee of. Always complaining, I am. It was beautiful, and smacks of Wairau(?) (the stretch between gisbourne and napier).

SO anyway, last night I went climbing the rocks at the top of the road to the hostel, and it was getting dark. I clambered down the other side of them, and down over the peninsula, for a walk along the waterfront. I found the blowhole, which made an almighty boom before the great splash. The first big one was really scary. I couldn’t get a good photo of it though… just an alright one. Further on, a island reserve (much like the island in island bay in wellington) was alive with the riotous calls of a million seagulls. I was expecting to see penguins, but I was too early for their homecoming… I think theyre pre/post-crepuscular – they like to travel on land in the dark.

There was a tour-busload of people unloaded into the hostel, and the place was noisy again… groups. The next morning I was up early because the group was. I departed town at 930am, which is early. But it seemed apt.

I told you about the wind

I told you about the distance…

manG.. is anyone actually interested…? it seems like routine by now.: get up. Bike. Do a thing. Blog. At least you know I’m still alive.

I keep meaning to write philosophically or more conceptly, but they never stay in my heap long enough to get them out. One imagining that I thought was odd, was someone dancing with a crucifix. Symbolically it’s quite racey, but then when I think about it, it really doesn’t mean anything. Ponderous.

The reviews are in, and they’re glowing!

2011-02-27T16:46:00.002+11:00

Last night a gaggle of boisterous Taiwanese people took over the hostel. I had to get up in the night and tell them to shh… no-one else would.

After my GINANT dinner, I got talking to Doris, ad german tourist who was going to wineglass bay (by coles bay… where I wanted to go). So I organised getting a ride with her. For the price of a cup of coffee! Good deal. And awesome day

The place was beautiful and the sun finally shone! And boyo did it shine! Good work day

Anyway, it was about an 8km walk… which included a big swim and wineglass bay which is rated as one of the 2nd best in the stralia. It was good.

Pretty much had a really good day.. of goodness and greatness… all of which I expected of the east.

All together, thanks Doris for my biking day off.

Oh the hostel is good too.

Everything’s good today.

Shhh.

ps. trevor is being a pain in the leg. i don't know why. i think i need a box of connective tissues.

they're all robots

2011-02-26T18:30:00.000+11:00

Well… that last post was a bit dramatic.

So I met Dylan again last night. I recognised his bike at the kitchen before he got back from Maria Island. His handles were replaced. Today was his last riding day. Congratulations for making it to Hobart. Good Work!

The drizzle last night dampened my tent, but I didn’t care. I’ve resigned myself to this weather. I’ll not fight it.

After dinner I was loitering online and who should pop up, but the Sam, who is in Africa rescuing spitting cobras, and making lime plaster kilns and… general larrikins. It was good to see his lappy face.

Oh, one of the English cyclists I met in queenstown was also at the campground in Triabunna. His bike was fancy with internal hub gears, and ortlieb brand panniers ($$). Jealous.

So I left a bit late, because I thought the ride was gonna be short to Bicheno… I thought it was gonna be 78km or so… 50 to Swansea, and 28 to Bicheno. It turns out it was 50 to Swansea and 43 to Bicheno. 93km. a bit different. Especially when you’re rationing energys.

It was pretty flat overall, and the wind was in my face. I saw the ocean a fair bit on the way into Swansea, but didn’t see it again till I got to Bicheno. Where it’s everywhere.

People driving on the east coast are way less friendly than on the west. On the west people would wave, and smile and all sorts. On the east they are like robots.

So I made it to Bicheno, and there is no bike shop. My wobbly wheel is rideable, but it keeps reminding me it’s not ideal.

The custodian of the backpackers has dreads, but his dog has better dreads – all natural.

Thanks everybody.

the path to the eastern shore

2011-02-25T21:03:00.001+11:00

There was a reluctance to leave this morning.

The traffic swam one way
Ruthless and unswerving –
Then the other.
I felt so fragile.

My hopes were high
Riding the arch
Of the Tasman bridge
As the Hobart cityscape
Was revealed: its fragments uniting.

When the path came to an end
My best guess based on useless maps
Was confirmed by a passer-by.

Through another tourist town
“please use off-street parking”, ”P”.

The wind began to blow
Here was I, blow by blow
Trying to fight back.

A quiet snap; a quick check
Nothing to report.

Blood-sugar falling.

The hills began to rise
Here was I, rise to rise
Trying to climb

A quiet snap; a quick check
That was the second spoke to go
The wobbly tire nudges
A persistent reminder

Blood-sugar falling.

And as I was making verse
Lamenting my sedimenting optimism
The crest of a gentle rise revealed
The quiet river valley
Deep history in the patterns
Of stone lining the way
It gently stirred my blood
Resuspending the feelings
That had given me pleasant dreams
In which to sleep.

The sun still needs to show.

hobbling restraint

2011-02-24T19:17:00.000+11:00

i slept well, even if i had to sleep as still as possible. even the movement of an arm is enough to rock the bunk. i didnt wanna make anyone grumpy.

so after what i thought was a sleep in, it turns out i was up and breakfasting at regular road time (~8am). but with nothing to do... well.. something to do, but not much.

i went a-wandering... found a bike shop and got some replacement gears; a new tire (i had ridden my old rear one bald) and an inner tube (from that stupid front wheel carryon), and a patch kit (you can sometimes have too many patches, but not often).

i feel like i should get some bathers, as an optimistic gesture about the weather... it is gonna be preen and croon. but i didnt. its not too late.

then i went to the supermarket to stock up for the morrow.... and it was back into the shopping routine... supplies'd!

i got back to the hostel and wrestled with my wheel to get the tire off. eventually it came off (as did some skin from my knuckles!).

i went to explore the vicinity, test the new tire and brakes. on the way i saw a bunch of people dressed in red dresses and fancy red crap... they were boisterous. i went down the road a bit, and they were all at the pubs around the park... then they started to gather on the park... it was odd. they were "hashers" going on a "red dress" fun run national (nash) meet: the "nash hash red dress" run. to raise money for research into the tasmanian devil tumour disease, a contagious cancer. i put some coin in the box and got a sticker. it was still weird. and continued to be weird as i went for a bike around battery point, where they were running, and then stopping at pubs, and then running some more. i couldnt handle it, so i went back to hostel to relax.

im still not relaxed... its just so uptight and "must do this or that" in the place... it's probably my fault, too.

i'm using all the free internet as much as i can... updating everything... ever.

oh, i did my laundry proper today... up till now it's just been in bathroom sinks here and there.

'The Hobart' by J. F. Tolkien

2011-02-23T19:15:00.000+11:00

Leaving hamilton was sooo hard. the sun was out, and the serenity was how's. the road was easy to New Norfolk, which is the biggest town i'd seen since Devonport. At the information centre they gave me the information about Chch... it was weird. Then i found the internet at the liberry, and was able to catch up in the blogging that i'd failed in so far.

the ride into Hobart was really busy, and then i was directed to a less busy way into hobart.... then i tried to find MONA, but it was invisible. then i found myself on a bonefide bike path going into hobart centre. then it stopped.

by now the traffic is 4 lanes and i dont get it. the population is overwhelming.

ive decided to stay for 2 nights... just have one day of not biking.

i need to get a new bike tire... new inner tube... maybe some new riding gloves (i lost one in rosebery). Is there anything in hobart? swimming? i dont know. I'll probably sleep all day.

they should make swanbats... bats with long necks.

my favourite australian ad has a slogan:

DON'T DIE!

LOOK UP! LOOK OUT!

it's really good.

oh, did i mention that i saw a bumble bee? well i did... in queenstown (the tasmanian one).

out me way

2011-02-23T12:51:00.000+11:00

so i stopped in at the info centre at norfolk. they told me about chch being shaken, not stirred. stink!

oh, and now im on the internet again... to alleviate any fears about my untimely... um... pants.

sprintfinish

2011-02-22T12:37:00.000+11:00

last night the warmest place was in the backpackers' kitchen. I'm at lake st clair camp site, in a tent, so the kitchen isnt really meant for me. nevertheless i loitered and tarried as best i could over having dinner... tea... coffee... hot chocolate... dishes... I was saving up my warmth.

back in my tent i arranged everything and went to sleep on the cold hard ground. i knew the sleep would be tough. my damp towel was the only thing between me and bruised hips. I had heaps of wierd dreams. the weirdest was one where i was helping someone die after being hit by a car. it was gruesome.

so my toots were cold all night but i was generally not too cold. i had the occasion possum visitor trying to steal food from my saddle bag on my bike. at first he was timid, and then he got used to me, and didnt even flinch when i was trying to tell him off.

i was gonna stay there 2 nights, but it was sooo coooold, that all i wanted to do was leave. so thats what happened. i stopped briefly at the wall in the wilderness, a carving exhibit by some artist who wants to be famous... and kinda is. it was really beautiful. the lighting tricks which created the depth illusion were really good.

most of the way was downhill, which is nice. But that stupid tire that i fixed yesterday was going down again. you never really fix a puncture that is caused by rim pinching. it's a new-tube job every time.

at 3pm i was in terraleah, whose information centre was useless and gave me less information than just looking at a map. *yay*. the gardener seemed to know more. he directed me to Ouse (say:"oos"), where there was a campground by the river. it turns out it was just a park and camping was prohibited.

by now it was getting late, and i did a sprint finish 16km to hamilton where i could stay for 10$ in a caravan. luxury! so that is where i am.

Oh, and i think it is the second day in tasmania that i didnt meet rain (!). all my stuff is strewn so that it can dry out.

Hobart tomorrow.

grrrrrruelling.

2011-02-21T12:36:00.001+11:00

the morning was oh, so cold. in between melting by the electric blanket and reaching up from my puddle to turn it off, i was contemplating staying in queenstown another night. then i thought about riding out to the first lake (~20km) so that the ride to derwent bridge was shroter the following day. When i got up i had made up my mind to do that second thing.

somehow in all my automatic pilot, i forgot what the plan was and didnt refill my waater bottles or get enough supplies for two nights camping. So, lcimbing out of queenstowns in the drizzling rain, i had commitedmyself to the 93km distance ( and >980m in elevation). i was being pessimistic when i though it would take 8 hours, and optimistic when i thought it would take 6. it took 8.

The british cyclists i met in queenstown last night had been there a couple of days waiting for the weather to change.

after nelson falls, i felt my front tire go soft, so i pulled over to fix it. it was hard in the cold. and made me a little angry.

about 20km from the last big climb i really started to get the grumps. it was too long and hilly. there was a picnic spot that i stopped at, and the day riders (and their support van) were there, so i had a chat with them. and they gave me a delicious cookie.

mostly the whole day i was in this weird dream like delerium... hypothermic and lost in memories. the wierdest one being a memory of making a powerpoint presentation for university, and thinking about how i should have done the graphics for more impact.

the hypothermia-ness was a bit scary, but i knew i had to keep eating and stay wrapped up, even if i didnt feel like either..

all in all, this day is most unimpressive, and am hoping the sun will show up soon.

a shorten time.. to prepare for a long one.

2011-02-20T14:14:00.000+11:00

last night i was kept up for a bit listening to some loud koreans arguing in the kitchen (on the other side of the wall). then they stopped. i slept

the rain, oh, the rain. it monsooned again overnight. then i got up at 8, and there was a break in the weather so i thought i would ready myself for the 41km to queenstown. Just as i was putting on the highviz, the skies opened up again and the rain and the wind came through. i was down about it. and the lady who operates the backpackers was saying "you're welcome to stay another night"... me? i reply: "I'm on a schedule"... i dont even know why... because i'm way ahead of it. I just didnt want to have to reason with anyone.

so the climb began and it was nice. people had warned me about the how twisty the road was, but it was fine. it felt really nz-ish. i got in two hail storms. the first one came on like a chill of a ghost in a house. then the second one was just BAYM! HAELSTROM. for a bit. this time i had my wet weather gear on most of the day, so i didnt get too wet. RainPants? more like condensation pants. o lol. now i am in queenstown and its only 2pm. i'm gonna find a bed and then sort out my plans for the yonder road... tomorrow is 85km.. and a lot of climbing. i expect it to take ~6 hours...maybe more.

all i want for it is sun. im sick of the wet.

say: "stroooooooorn"

2011-02-19T17:51:00.001+11:00

this time i had to make it to strahan (see title for pronunciation). through zeehan (i think you say that one as it sounds).

firstly it rained HEAPS and MONSOONLY most of the night. i had to get up when i was awakened by the first spits at ~1am to get my washing off the line before it'd never dry. the festivities at the pub went on for a very long time.... and a very loud time. i hope it was worth it - probably was.

so at about 7am the rain kinda stopped, enough for the wind to begin drying my tent.

After i packed up, i was gonna go into town and check out the festivities, but for some raisin i just decided to leave. like... i felt a little forced out. i forgot to buy more supplies and fill my water. So by the time i got to zeehan it was time i had more things... and water.

it was weird, i missed the turnoff to strahan, which was just as well... because it meant that i went into town... got online briefly at the liberry, and then went in to the main town.

as i passed the big budget accommodation, a voice from the balcony said "im on a bike, too. wanna come up for a chat?" it was a dutch girl, Marianne, whom Ben (the french guy) had told me has been cycling around for about 4 years... Europe (east+west), Southeast asia, china... some other places....

so i stopped for a bit. It turns out that Me, Her and Ben are gonna be in Queenstown tomorrow... all arriving from different roads.

after that conversation, she informed me that i was heading the wrong way for strahan, so i went back the way i came and found the right jcn ("jcn" is australian for 'turn off').

all day the weather was squally (dave says that it's a real word), and after the henty river, the coastal wind (a southerly) brought with it a heavy heavy downpour and a strong sense of intertia. it was a struggle. when i finally got to strahan, i was soaked through! dripping at the information centre, asking about a backpackers (wasnt gonna tent in my condition).

so now i have my wet clothes (from the line last night + my newly enwettened ones) on the line. true story. the sun was out for a bit.

so, queenstown tomorrow. only a 45km trip, so i should be fine. although i hear that the weather will not be (again!!).

today i saw roadkill: 1 snake, 2 iguanas, 2 wallabies, 1 wombat.

there will be snacks, there will

2011-02-19T12:02:00.001+11:00

im just in zeehan. no online access in rosebery. will keep you in the loops.

leaving the cradle.

2011-02-18T17:31:00.000+11:00

last night i went wandering in the evening (when the scales of dark and light are even), the crepuscular hour, and came across 4 wombats, individually, feeding on the tufts in the grassland. they didnt seem all that worried about people staring their eyes out at them. One of them took exception to my bike, but that was a snobbish one. they were pretty awesome... compact little square-pooping grass-eaters. tick.

then it rained pretty well in the night... and me all doomy about it. there were heaps of cyclists all doing their cycly things.

i prettymuch just left with my dirty and wet tent all clammed up in a bag and thought it would be all downhill to tullah. it was almost, just more undulatey than i thought.

i saw an echidna having a smell at the air, and walking away. then i saw a wild tasmanian devil baby running away. then i saw another echidna, who, upon my arrival did a 'hedgehog' move of just sitting there for a bit. then it walked away, and i have it as a movie. well.

the day was really foggy, so i didnt see the cradle mountain, or get good barings on where i was... i just plugged in and turned on. then i arrived at the junction with the main highway (going from a 'B' road to an 'A' road). the more main road was terrible, and there were trucks. i quickly learned that if i heard one coming i had better pull over... or get pretty close to death. the shoulders were non existant and the edges of the roads were all bumpity.

so i made it to tullah, and expected to have a nice sammy at the cafe... which was all closed up and everything was for sale and sad. so at the servo i refueled my sugars and then headed for the climb. the next 17km consisted of a 5km climb of ~500m and then the same (descent) on the other side, to find myself in rosebery.

the festival started tonight, and consisted of a band playing at the tote. (from what i can tell... 'the tote' is a chain of pubs?) they were pretty hotstuff, till the bassist decided he was gonna be the singer (i think he was the most famous of them) and it went all billy bragg meets paul kelly. so i went to the fish'n'chippie and confused them all by ordering a large green tea. haha lol. yum.

there is a french guy camping at the rosebery campground who speaks english by way of gesticulation and onomatapeia (sp?). very funny. he's been extreme biking around the place for a week... me? coupladaysmate. sunspastayardarm.

there is a stereotypical aussie hoon driving his falcon around the town, and it seems like he is dropping all the people off at the pub. his horn keeps sounding softishly when he turns right.

wandeling

2011-02-17T19:46:00.000+11:00

last night the baby cried heaps. and the parents werent even speking in hushed tones. it was irksome.

and dont people know that when you shine a torch on a tent, the whole thing lights up?

and... i was gonna get up at 7, but it was raining really hrad, so i put it off for an hour. then it was just drizzly

with my freebie map all marked up, i planned my walk and it was looking good. took the free shuttle into dove lake and set off. the waether was bleak, but i dont mind a bit of the wetstuff. there were heaps of peoples on the tracks. it seemed that every time i decided to put my jacket on properly, it would fine up. the walks were pretty special... another wallaby... sceeds of wombat droppings (theyre the cube-shaped ones), and some skink on the boardwalk. I did climb to the high bit, for some photo ops. even in the fleeting clouds sometimes the cradle mountain peak was visible.

after getting back i ate some things and had a nap and then a shower... whereapon i discovered i had a leach on my back... it was odd. I wonder how long it was feasting. not one of those slow sluggish ones, but a spritely one... even though i didnt want to, i decided to squish it. there is not much more delicious for a leach than a bathrooom full of potential hosts.

now there are heaps of cyclists around... well not in heaps.. all standing on their own... but there are a lot.

tomorrow i go to Rosebury. it's like 60km downhill and then maybe 10 up and 10 down. i wonder what will happen.

again, photos are coming when i can.

best of the best to all.

tangy superlatives!

2011-02-16T19:10:00.000+11:00

last evening, the sounds of the jungle were awesome! i felt like i were in thailand or somment. the only thing is the crows, they make stupid grumpy noises, and loud!

on my way out of gowrie park i met a few wallabies.. being all shy.

from the park it was a gentle ride mostly till it started going down down down REALLY FAST! Then after reaching the river, it was a climb! i mean a CLIMB! it were harrowing. approximately 900m in elevation in 25km... you work it out.

So in moina (say: mo-e-na), had a coffenee to get me up the last little bit. when it started to flatten out it got AMAZING... i let out a couple of hollers and woahs... just before turning a corner at it getting even more pretty! TANGY SUPERLATIVES.

my brain is starting to get fun again, after it being so confined by work over the summer. it's wiley ways are sending lightenings bouncing around the inside of my head. it is awesome.

get back to it: back in moina i used the payphone to book a tentsite in the campground. good thing i did, because it is jam packed! like... everyone is camping....

just when the place was starting to feel normal, and the experience was tiring (biking), then the turnoff appeared to the park. heavenscented. After getting my tent set up i went to explore.

just around the corner there was a tasmanian devil park... so i went in and got a talking to! seriously, this guy was on to it and everything, and demonstrated quite rantingly the shortcomings of the current conservation regimes and programmes... i thought he was gonna cry. But it was super cool, and afterwards i was hanging out in the office nattering over the skeletal structure of their skulls, and their relatedness to monotremes... WAHT. A. NORD.

now is after dinner... which was icky, but im full. and i got a $AU8.5 map for free at the info centre when she said "merry christmas"... click. yay! now i have a plan for a 4 hour walking thing tomorrow... ALSO YAY

In conclusion YAY and YAY. plus YAY.

Oh, i forgot to mention... this guy dylan, from korea, who i met in gowrie park is biking the other way around the island. i'm gonna email him when i get further on and we're gonna meet up on the other side. fun.

that' about it, really. except YAY.

happy new yarrr.
(photos when i get a real connection.)

hydromayhem

2011-02-15T17:24:00.000+11:00

It seems that of all the human activities that adversely affect the landscape... mining and hydro and the most dramatic. Cromwell was a great example of that. This place i'm at now is also one of that... but less dramatic. Im in Gowrie Park, which was home to 3k people in the '70s, when they were making the hydro dams all up in that river. Now it's mostly a campground/backpackers with remnant buildings of the oldendays.

This morning i got up purdy earls so that i could go to the bike shop to get my wheel seen to. It was a miracle... Derrico in Devonport, Tasmania.... it is awesome.... super good. they fixed my wheel immediately, replacing spokes and showing me the damage in the rim, and then only charging me 10 bucks! it was way cheaper than in wanaka.... (~$90). If they had a website, i would link to it, so that they get more hits.

so then i went to the info centre.... got a parks pass, and some streetish maps, and then just left town... i was pretty keen to not be in Devonport... it felt heaps like Westport.... maybe because they both have port in their name. the road out was pretty hutt valley. I kept getting flashes of bits of NZ: Wairarapa, Manawatu, Nelson.... just things.

I stopped at Sheffield for the shops, and more info centre deets. they told me about Gowrie Park, and gave me more specific information on cradle mountain... (!!)... which might be a really spendy place to be.

For now i have my own cabin in the place... i have food, and i have my lovely life.

I will upload photos in a sec... they'll be at http://www.flickr.com/photos/atmosphrericks

The thing about today is that i found that i was out of practice in biking. one of my knees, trevor, is having a weird old time adjusting. I'll be fine, just need to get back into it, after all that sitting in the truck in Cromwell.

anyway, i'll have a lot of uphill tomorrow! eek.

namaste...

TAS

2011-02-14T22:32:00.000+11:00

lucky we packed the bike in the car last night... that made this morning easier. dave dropped me off in the ferry terminal and it worked a treat. i went on board even though i had an apple and a banana which i kept secret... and ate on the way. take that quarantine laws.

the boat ride was really boring. it wasnt choppy or anything.. it was just like the interislander but for 9 hours and with more floors. bass straight looked pretty sweet coming out of the bay, but tasmanmania looked way more better... im pretty sure i could see cradle mountain from the boat.

Devonport, the town that the boat lands in is pretty bleak... probably about 1/2 the size of whanganui, but doubly disshevelled. the homeless man walking his bike seemed pleased that i waed at him... we're brothers after all... he's just an older version of me.

ok and the backpackers is such a dive... euw. only one of the fryng pans has a lid. and theres 2 forks. it's ok... i wont be here long.

tomorrow is information centre time, to get a seasonal pass for the national parks, and to the boike shop to fix my wheel.

i forgot to tell you the rules for translating words into Australian (As dave taughts it):
if it is a person or a place, you can take off the last syllable and put "o" on the end, ie. Servo, Davo, Jonno.
most and all other cases you just add "ie", ie. Aussie.

that's all i know. this internet kiosk is sooo weird. i have a suspicion this island is really werid.

ok... goodnight.

will i am s tow n

2011-02-13T23:09:00.000+11:00

this morning we (dave and i) went out for to break the fast. it was good to have a nice coffee again ( no offence cromwell, but a little offence ). sated.

we then went into the main centre of melbsblourne and explored. we went to ACDC lane (which was lame) and to this really great place where there is genius grafitti all over the walls. that bit was awesome.

after a brief stroll along the yarra, and a couple of footbridges we went back into the townplace and then i got a camera ( mine had been playing up for months... so frustrating ). Dave was superfast and thanks to him they threw in a free 4Gb memory thangamie.

i've be practicing my australian and after a couple of goes, i can usually make the suitable affectation to make me sound like a true blue aussie.

something that irked me a little on coming here is how un-multicultural the place is. especially coming from a place that was full of people from all over the world. it's also weird being in a city, and by (on) the sea... coming from 3 months of being as far from the sea as possible in nz, and in a rural home.

in the afternoon i went for a bike ride, and was flying along when i heard a weird crunch sound. it was the remnants of my front pannier rack, breaking one of the spokes on my front wheel :( i was sad. then i took off the buckled remnants and continued a coastal ride to the beach as the dusk was dawning. i'll see about getting a new spoke in Devonport, TAS.

so now with my limping front wheel, and my bike all in the car ready to go tomorrow morning (9 hour ferry ride to tasmanmania), I'm feeling a little underprepared and dazed by stimuli for the neato adventure... I hope my travelling pants will fit me soon.

i made it here,

2011-02-12T21:20:00.000+11:00

I've commitments to my readers.

had a werid morning cleaning stuff up, but was all ready when jo came by at 9 to bring me to the queenstown airport.. it was super awes just hanging out... where the robot check in was a little problematic.

the plane was little and noisy, but 3 hours is just a little while.

in the airport i went through customs, and they had to check my tires for mud. they let it past even though there was clear evidence of fruit pants. they let me go without warning. so my memories of melbsblourne airport are washed clean.

Dave was there at the airport... a happy face... and it was good. then we tried to get my bikebox in the car. after a brief struggle, we abandoned the box in the carpark and sped off. We then got stuck behind some hippies who were struggling to exit.

I met daves boat (home) and it was fun poking around in all the hatches for treasures.

so now where having the dinners and some wines... while the marina restaurant blasts abba, and some australian band called 'australian crawl' in australia to an australian wedding party. australia.

ok. im being antisocial... i'll end it here. i ham it. might go for a sail tomorrow.

OH! jsut saw some bats. animals. show me.

the chattels are in the mail

2011-02-11T14:35:00.000+11:00

yesterday was the last day. it was pretty lowkey and normals. nevermemind
me and jo then went for a walk and a cider up to the old reservoir... it was pleasant.... it was nice doing friend things with friends... didnt get much of that this year. It was more intense workey and glum this year. still. it was ok.

today (was funny because) i had to make a guitar box and then put all my personal chattels and seasonal accruments into the post to my parentses. i got a bike box and had to walk it home... which was awkward, but still made me feel like i was heading on... which was nice. nice and awkward.

now ive only got with me things im gonna take on the plane tomorrow. jo offered to put me at the q'town airport which is ace.

im pretty excited... and everything is falling together nicely.

plu(m)s

2011-02-09T16:04:00.000+11:00

more picking today. the main bulk of the peoples are picking in a group, plums. i'm picking with the old guys. theyre really old, and deaf. they dont tell me anything. i had afternoon break with them on purpose, so they wouldnt say anything to each other. i had a little grin on my face most of the time. from what i hear, when they dont know that i'm listening, most of their conversations consist of letting each other know they didnt hear what the other one just said. it is pretty surreal

anyway, im getting less interested in working, so my breaks are beginning to go over time...

ONE MORE DAY.

starten some more again

2011-02-08T16:04:00.000+11:00

oh wo. it looks like exactly a year from whence i last pudden anything up on the blawg. so here it goes again.

I wonder, did you know, i'm gonna bike around tasmanmania? now you ham.

i just spent saturday in a junkyard getting a whole lot of bits together to replace the dodgey bits on my bike. my best prize was a $NZ5.00 derailler... Scroe!

so then... i put on a new chain, but it was the wrong kind, so i put the old one back on. true story. but it gets better: i was in town and then it broke (cos of all my tinkering), and within 5 minutes i repaired it and was off homeward again... i felt like a pro.

anyway... i have 2 more days of work, then i have friday off, to plan stuff. then my plane departs in the afternoon of saturday.

mostly all im thinking is 'davedavedavedavedave'.... and sometimes something about tasmanmania.

la la la la late for dinn0r.... byes.

nelsoon come

2010-02-09T19:24:00.000+11:00

so its a bus up to nelson. im glad i bussed it, if i biked it i wouldve regretted it. the countryside was really boring. mostly cows and rundown houses and small patches of bush. there was about 5km of beech forest: hardly a reward if i was on my bike. (plus i wrote a paper on beech sooty mould for one of my classes. so ive seen em beofre)

punakaiki was a bit lame. the pancakyness of the rocks was a bit of a stretch. more like stacks of rock, that you cant eat.

plus my throat is a noying. soreness.

i cant wait to get back into wellinton tomorrow! yum!

this hostel is huge and the most holidayey hostel ive been in. has a pool and erryones by it in cheesy fashion. also has free brekky. free wifi. ramen/noodles when i paid. it even has a camp name: "paradiso".

but i am sleepy and have to rise earlyish for my brekky and bus.

hoki ticker.

2010-02-08T15:21:00.002+11:00

the alarm was a swamp fire. it was still going on my way to ross. it was really smokey AND cloudy. it was mostly a really boreding ride. even mount hercules was not that impressive (though the undergrowth was prettys).

i stopped at a hostel just south of ross. The Church. there were many records from the 80's, and not much else. two other people were staying there, but they didnt turn up till late evening. so i had the place to myselft for many hours. there was a guitar with 2 strings missing. and time.

went to bed too late. insects were everywhere. dinner was av-as. woke up with a scratchy throat. and the rain on the roof. my head was a little swimmy, but i thought to carry on. i was getting pretty bored of the boring countryside. it's mostly dairyfarms around here. and then i stopped at hokitika. now im gonna leave the biking to a bus. its gonna rain more tomorrow, and my feel groggys. plys also, this area is all "gold this" and "pounamu that", its all a but nonsense. i think the only thing i wannet to see further north was punakaiki, but i just dont think its worth all the effort and mind games, to look at a bunch of funny rocks for an hour - with lots and lots of other people. so thats that.

hokitika is a bleak little town... i guess it's ok, but i think even cromwell is nicer. i kinda miss that place, actually. and i miss the sun. come back sun.

yep. im gonna make eats. by.

baby log

2010-02-07T06:39:00.002+11:00

yay. slept like a baby log. till 3 am when the civil defence siren howled for a good 5 minutes. i still dont know why.

yeah, im gonna try to get to ross today. its about 108km.

ask me about it then.

2010-02-06T18:55:00.000+11:00

and last night it was a case of getting about 2 hours sleep 'cause some giantly oversized person in the bunk above me (eauch), and some picky german (who woke up the ginant guy cause he was snoring) were both snoring.... loud.... bad. today i bought ear plugs for just-in-case. i found it hard to fall asleep and keep fingers in my ears.

i went to visit fox glacier, which was really nice. really really nice. i like glaciates. plus the water was very cold. just as i was leaving, the couple of cyclists who i met yesterday, turned up. we had a brief chat. i kinda expected to see them here (franzjosef) tonight. it was nice to see them agains.

then i headed over a rough series of ascents and descents into franzjosef. found the backpakers. dumped my stuff. and went to explore the glacier here. it was not as sunny or nice. it was ok. i liked seeing the shape of the valley, and the interesting line that the metrosideros trees didnt grow below. my mind wondered about the ages of the trees and the recentness of the height of the glacier.

franz town isnt as fun or bustling. its like the queenstown to the wanaka of fox glacier.

i went in the hot pools in the forest, which was super spendy, and would have been perfect if not for the canadian douche-bags talking loud with swears and mouthy talk.

at dinner i sat down and talkened with a dutch couple, which was nice. might see them again, sometime.

ima go to bed early tonight in the hopes of making it to ross tomorrow (108km), but it might just be to harihari. i got warned about mount hercules, which is before harihari. ask me about it then.

ik gaan naar bed. goede nacht

in the land of the Fox. Glacier, that is.

2010-02-05T16:49:00.000+11:00

so haast is really little, got it? good.

the power went off at almost 10pm, but it was ok, it often does. most people have generators. it was a good cue for bedtime.

Brian and Pam were supernice and made dinner, and we watched the pirates of the carribean, till the power went off just when it got up to the big battle at the end (the best bit).

I left haast about 930am and set out in good spirits. it was a nice road. Not quite as nice as the day before, but still nice. i divided this big ride into 3 parts, later to find out that one of my thirds was closer to half. i only did stats maths, not real maths.

it was pretty hilly up and down along the coast till i got to lake moeraki. then it levelled out a bit. i met some people heading north on their bikes when i stopped at lake paringa. there were supermany sandflies and it was unpleasant. it was better to be biking, cause then the flies dont have time to discover you and swarm to the warmth of your blood. anyway, i passed them later on when they stopped - probably for the night. i didnt feel the need to stop for to be a sandfly meal. there are many tepid stagnant pools around this area in which larvae feed. it makes me want to have the mountain streams back.

anyway, ~120kms today, thats my second longest ride in the south island, and now i have a sore bum. it was such a releif to get into fox township. it is bigger than i thought it would be. and nicer.

im gonna go see the glacier tomorrow. im not sure how far north i will go tomorrow. it's waitangi day, so that should mean something.

dear wellington, im sorry you have the sevens on. just hunker down and ride it out. love, jonathn.

goodnight (i feel like im missing a whole chunk of something. but its probably a monotonous chunk of the 7 hours i was riding for.)

being held haastage

2010-02-04T15:24:00.000+11:00

so yesterday i parted with wanaka who treated me nicely. I headed up to lake hawea, which is soo beautiful and silent. I got a flattie somewhere along there, before it got to 'the neck' which is also really pretty. It's where the lakes hawea and wanaka almost kiss. (and it's beautiful)

I was up at a lake lookout and this car stopped and someone gave me a banana - which was great, cause my last banana got smattered all inside its bag.

then further round i went for a last ditch swim in lake wanaka, which was also beautiful.

makarora was pretty lame, but then it started getting bushy and heading up in hills. it was so nice.

i stayed overnight at this place called 'cameron flats' which wasnt the best place in the world, but there was a half hour walk to 'blue pools' which is a bit of a river where it has a good swimming hole and is really saturated colourwise. it was f'n freezing, and super populous, but a good swum was had.

i then almost succesfully cooked rice by the sun (it was that almost cooked kind... yknow, 90seconds in the microwave). it was a little un-done, but it was fed me.

in the late evening kids in cars kept turning up, and when i woke up in the morning there were peoples errywhere. all separate parties. also, in the morning i got my first taste of how bad the sandflies were gonna be (before the sun came out proper). my repellent wasnt working, it turns out it was for 'mosquitos' - only.

the haast pass was a great road, and on the other side the roads steepened down. "the gates of haast" was a cool area with a roaring river. that biologist, haast, sure got a lot of things named after him.

when the road levelled out at close to sea level, the clouds started moving in. it got pretty overcast and muggy, but not cold.

in haast, the first thing i did was track down brian and pam. brian is the brother of mike, who i was flatting with in cromwell, and brian owns the house we were in. so they are putting me up for the night. im trying to thinks of a reasonable gift... bottle of chardonnay? something like that, eh.

haast is way smaller than i thought it would be, and has a rural, bubonic, rustic aroma.

better go make dinner.

having friends with friends is awesome.

2010-02-02T19:48:00.002+11:00

i went to meet melissa and george (scott, really) down at the local, and then their friends turned up, then one of them left to get a boat, and two of them left to get a bunch of food, and then we all had a cruise on the lake, and a picnic on the island in the middle. it was superb. we went dippin' in the tepids, and munching on the delectables.

the serenity was all upons. thanks guys. im feel nice.

wananker.

2010-02-02T11:41:00.000+11:00

so i packed it all in my panniers and rode on into the sunny day. it was so perfect: a light breeze, full sun, the whole deal.

it took me 3 hours to get to 'puzzling world' in teh hopes of seeing some awesome illusions, that i had been informed about. it was pretty lacklustre. my favourite bit is the holograms in their frame.

trying to get in touch with mel, but she isnt respond to text messages.

im staying at 'wanaka backpackas'- itsa lame name, but there are guitars, and the lake view takes up the whole frontageir.

im gonna go explore and eat... fun? yes!

sunside

2010-01-31T13:03:00.002+11:00

for a last day, today was pretty weird. basically the orchard was empty but for 5 pickers (the day before there were ~80). my best beloved, it was so hot i couldnt even read any rudyard kipling.

now its ovar and i get to go home. YAY!

still have to sort through all my stuff to figure out what goes, what stays, and what get sent to whom. my work boots have re-opened their mouths just in time for me to not need them any more --trash'd.

so on tuesday i head up to wanaka and then on to somepark with a mountain in it... and then on to haast. etc... (somemountain=aspiring)

time to go sunside.
i look forward to seeing all you peoples soons.

graduation day

2010-01-29T14:13:00.000+11:00

we had lunch on the back of my trailer today. it was all very fancy and not very nutrientful. the bigboss dropped a salmon and i didnt notice and i boot a big bootprint in it. it was pretty bleak, but its a once in a lifetime experience -- expensive.

it turns out i only have a couple more days left on this job. im pretty keen to head home, and i dont think i can afford accommodations till the 13th for this campingwedding. so that sucks, but also i get to go home. much.

it feels like the end of highschool when a bunch of us went to the field opposite the racecourse in whanganui (now its a bunch of new stink houses).

ive a commission to do a paint for one of the guys here... the one who plays the pi-pa (chinese traditional guitar-like instrument).

im a little dazed by the changes, but i'll sort it out.

i wish it was mandarin

2010-01-28T14:58:00.000+11:00

it was supposed to thunderstrom today. but it didnt. boo. it was nice and hot, though.

jo lent me a tape toplay in the van for learning cantonese. i think it would be funny if everyone got into it. i dont think they will. but still. it's worth a stab. i wish it was mandarin.

tomorrow is a last big pick, then it's down to the small crews. the bigboss is putting on lunch. it seems im bringing it in on a a trailer.

apparently one dude who has been here for a few months had a crying farewell. so wierd.

im looking forward to getting back... heaps. but aslo have to hang around til the 13th/14th or so....

exciting.

great grey-great greasy limpopo river.

2010-01-27T14:11:00.004+11:00

theyre gonna put a lunch on for the pickers on friday. that means i'm gonna turn my trailer into a ginant table. its gonna be greet. i better remember the ham-brake for the foodtime. the pickers had to go back to the cherries they already went through, and theyre starting to rotten and mouldy, and it smells and is grose. i feel'd sorry for ems.

i got a book about how to learn cantonese. the tones are tough. i also got the rudyardkiplings "just so" stories. theyre odd. they reminded me of the kolokolo bird song by bobby mcferrin. then i tried to sings it.... he's waay better than me.

there's an annoying guy sitting here with his headset and is talking loud to someone over the internet. i wish he would shut up. oh it looks like he is about to. neat. oh, false un-alarm.

Irene is making dinner tonight. korma. she calls is 'kromera'. she is of indian descent, so im guessing she knows... unless she is just dyslexicly reading an anglicised wrongity.

for lawn.

2010-01-26T14:09:00.000+11:00

narp. i got nothing.

oh, people were being really mean to the other driver... about making that mistake yesterday. i wanna do it, now - just to take the heat off him.

ok., that was something. but it doesnt count.
bye.

any requestions?

2010-01-25T13:31:00.000+11:00

haha funny: the other driver drove the cherries up to the pack house, then washed them, then drove them back to the orchard, for some reason. then he went home. it was the end of the day, but someone else had to drive them back up to the packhouse... odd.

the work today was really busy, it was fun. up and down all the time and with all the cherries. it was fun because i got there with a ginant load and then two tractors of peaches and apricots turned up and then the other truck full of cherries.. it was like a chaos party. neat.

there are more work stories, but they are even more boring than those above.

besterday

2010-01-24T10:21:00.000+11:00

yesterday i was totally glad to be doing work agian, and the sun came out and shone just for me. it was a pretty sweet day. and then in the evening i basked in the more of the shine of the sun.

then i slept pretty poorly, and was awoken a couple times by loud conversation in the next room. i shsh'd them to myself, but i think it wasnt working.

then today the rain started and then pretty-much stopped, then they let the people go... so they were wet and then they werent making any money. meanies.

i only did 43 hours this week. all im really thinking about is leaving... im sure i'll be distracted by something for a bit. i hope. *KURRUNNNG!*.

maybe i should resume some writing...

sheehs (thats a palindrome)

2010-01-22T11:24:00.003+11:00

i had a pretty sweet day off yesterday...

... slept in till i could bear the babytalk going on in the lounge no more. the baby crys a lot but more annoying is that is the mum who gets fed up and growls... making the baby cry more... and the cycle just goes round and round. JUST LET HER CRY for a bit. sheehs (thats a palindrome).

so i spent all morning and earl afternoon painting, and almost finished the triptych. I'm pretty happy with it so far. maybe i'l be happier with it when it's complete.

then i was townward bound, forto buy supplies to make some dinner with. i make'd awesome sushi rolls... i was proud. then i went to the orchard campground to eat and play musics with dennis and co. he studied the Pipa for 6 years at a music university. the music notation is wack! buthe played so awesomely, i was a little ashamed just playing some of my songs. and also this annoying german guy(whose guitar i was playing) wouldnt stop playing blues and metal covers. then some other ouche was like "do you know any jack johnson?" and i was just about to throw up. then i convinced dennis to play some more. cool.

it was revealed to me thrice that the pack-house girls fancy me. haha, "the guy with the sunglasses". that's pretty fun. ny.

before i got home the sky poured a torrent that soaked me through on my 3 minute bike-ride home. it was pretty amazing, and also warm. then there were thunderstorms.

so i decided that the 3 languages that people should know are english, mandarin, and spanish.

today i was all ready for work, but they cancelled it. it looked like it would rain all day, but it hasnt. i think also it is a chance for the pack-house to catch up on sorting all the picked cherries.

so then i went swimmen and now im gonna go home and hopefully finish a paintings.

pretty neat, eh. although i wanna go home, and although i have a camping wedding to go to on the 13th, i hope they give me work up till then-ish.

best behavior

2010-01-20T14:29:00.000+11:00

work work work. stop.

they had a VIP on the orchard today, so we had to be on our best behavior. I always am.

i broke my sunnies. so now my jimmorrison looks more like lamelammison (sorry, im tired and im not even trying)

tomorrow is a day off for me. im gonna sleep. and im gonna paint, and opshop and then go to the campground and play some music with this chinese guy, who plays the traditional chinese guitar-like instrument. i think someone else at the campground has a guitar, and we can trade songs and food.. i hope it's fun.

ps. people leaving comments/questions on blog as "anonymous"... i cant really reply. (but i guess it's scott)

pps yes i have enrolled, and accepted my offer of study, but i have changes to make.

tarPauline

2010-01-18T14:49:00.000+11:00

saturday:
had work. then went swim at pool. it was good and nice.

big drama at the packhouse... my flatmate mike made some stupid comments about foreigners to a foreigner (who also drivers the forklift) and told him where to go. it was pretty shameful. then the boss got involved andg ive'd my flatmate two days suspendesion, and the other guy gets shipped off to a pickers crew. pretty unfair. but that's business time. so my flatmate, mike, spend most of the evening moaning to his wife about the situation in their room... i heard it through the wall and it was annoys.

sunday:
the sun was scortching. i got sunbrunt. it was ok. after work i went swoman in the lake. it was nice and wierdly hot-then-cold. it was annoying with all the speedboats and jetskis. i wished they didnt ruin the serenity, and they went straight to the pool room. it's the vibe.

today:
jo wasnt at work so it was mostly boring have to talk to other people... i think flatmateMike and his wifeIrene get back tonight. it was peaceful without them... but maybe a little borine. otherIrene made cookies. they were REALLY average.

im really ready to go home now. but i have like 20 more days or something... i cant wait to bikeride haast-to-hokotika. mmmmmmmmmmmmm

sepulveda

2010-01-15T15:04:00.000+11:00

i had to pick up the pickers in 4 trips today.... that means some were late... and it also means that tomorrow i will have to get them 15mins earlier to make time for the extra trip. *yay*.

the front of my boot has opened up and it eats the grass when i walk around. i put tape on it, but that only doesnt do anything much (only a little bit).i just got a galoop of areldite or whatever... to make it go together. it will work i promise. (everyone here talks about "hundred mile an hour tape" which i think is southIsland for duct tape.)

at least there was sun today. apparently we're all gonna get rained on on sunday.

i also remembered "sepulveda boulevard" which is what the robot voice on the bus in LA kept saying. it was a realy long road i went down on the bus for about an hour, and it cost 67cents. the robot voice is emblazened on my brain.

heapwave

2010-01-14T15:24:00.000+11:00

the rain started 10 minutes after i got up (i arose at 4:45) and then i picked everyone up in the rain.... it was pretty funny. just after i dropped the last person off at the orchard, they all started to pile back into the van forto be dropped back to their accommodations. hilarious

then work started again in the medium drizzle of 10am. by this time i was hopped up on coffee and goji berries.

after that wore off... the day just lingered and loomed. we finished by 5.. which is a bit ow on my sustainability.

everyone is still picking slow, so i want them to go home... i feel sorry for 'em.

by.

bikie gang.

2010-01-13T15:06:00.000+11:00

the kids are out on their bikes going 'round the 'greenways'* causing traffic jams and such. its really awesome. they're timing it so that they all go over the pedestrian crossing one after the other, holding up traffics. i wish i was in their gang.

todays work was painfully slow. i feel bad for the pickers because they have to pick heaps of cherries, but arent allowed to put the split ones in their bucket, but they have to get them off the tree. there have been heaps of split ones because the rain has been all aprons.

on my last trip of the day up to the packhouse the pickers are finished and i usually pick up two argentenian pickers and drop them at their house on the way. they are pretty cools. i like their accent and want one just like it.

have i told you im getting up early? today i worked 10 hours. what a champ/chump/chomp.

this morning i was having a dream about getting an email from sam, and i was just about to read it when my alarm went off. i read teh subject line, and the 'from' field, but that was it. i hope it's still in my dream inbox when i go to sleeptonight.

tonight Irene is making dinner (flatmate) and it's gonna be eggplanty. i feel like i should bring/make something, but they eat so different to me, i dont know how it would work without prearranging a thing.

ps.stephen hawking is talking about imaginary time versus real time... and euclidean space-time mapping. OUCH.

tenterfoot

2010-01-12T14:42:00.002+11:00

the other new driver.. yeash. where do they find them? oh. it's rural.
(burn)

i had my day off yesterday.. it was pretty sweet. after i got home i launched myself up the hillside to explore the background. it has awesome rock formations atop, and from those rocks you get the neat views of grandure. it proves that this town is balanced precariously on an irrigation system, and the cherry orchards stretch for many square metres. i did see many skeletons of rabbits and possums... and one sheep/goat one. the place was rabid with thistles and wild roses (and little else). there was one native divaricating coprosma (methinks) that liked it up there.. but it was also spiney, so i didnt like it. but i liked being up high and in the wind'n'rains

then i did more painting before nighnigh's.zzzzzz

so in collusion.... stop.

dayorft

2010-01-11T11:12:00.000+11:00

i slept in... for ages...till 830. thats heaps.

then painted while the rain and cold swept in.

apparently they have another new driver, i wonder if they'll even need me when i get back.

the people playing tennis on the teevy sound funny.

i dont know what else to do in this place.... paint and work... and eat... and sleep.... mostly.

Im kinda angry because i thought it would be all toasty all the time down here. but it's not. it hasnt even been above 25 degrees yet. sheehs. come on summer, yer not even trying.

rained doubt

2010-01-10T13:38:00.000+11:00

the rain was heavy before i got up, so i knew work would at least be delayed. we started at 10. it was so good to have a sleep in.

by the time 11 oclock started, the rain was back, and doing its best. it did well. the pickers were sent home

i had to make prep for the next day and ended up finishing at 12. so that was 2 hours of work today. neat.

tomorrow is my day off... i wonder if that is still the plan. i hope it gets sunny soon. im really blue about it.

today was mostly painting... good.

woah, it seems theres a live jazz singer in the next room. sounds fun.

thundering typhoon

2010-01-08T14:08:00.000+11:00

theres is a poor student trying to apply for next year, but he is typing like a mutant. the whole table is shaking whenever he types anything. its like a furious storm of letters.

i saw hedgehog cross the road - and waited for it's safety. i also saw ducks and ducklings. also there was a blended family of quails - which was awesome.

i dont even know why i keep typing things here. i think its just to let you know that im still alive -- well, i am.

2010-01-07T14:13:00.002+11:00

i think a funny name is 'humanbarry tom-john.'

i have to wake up early tomorr0w again to pick up the chump pickers. i almost didnt wake up in time this morning, but did. fun story.

i had made it a bit of a game today, and passed the other driver twice... what a try-hard.

i think everything is orbiting everything, and will eventually come together.

brittle conciousness

2010-01-06T14:34:00.000+11:00

my brain keeps tellin me this whole thing is a dream, and that the people im talking to are just amalgams of people i already know, or of aspects myself. every day seems to resemble what i imagine could happen, permutations of a theme. even stephen hawking is talking about things i thought about already, even thought they're wacky and nutso.

i didnt have to get up too early today, which was nice. but im still a zombie at the end.

work was same-ol'. then i went to town in the rains - all the rains. it was nice being in them. i hope it rains again when i go home tonight.

toadsted marchmellows

2010-01-05T14:21:00.000+11:00

today was looking up. then real down. i got lumped with the new driver for a couple hours in the morning. it was really artch on my brain. he was really slow to pick up what was going on ( he got better later, but by then the damage was done). the one that sticks with me the most was his use of "bloody" as a prefix for asians. it got riled in a 'i should've said something' kind of a way. then it went round in my head. terrible. other than that the day was confusing and tiring.

finally the opshop was open when i am not working, but there was not any good t's.

ive decided to have an espresso coffee... i cant remember the last one i had. it was probably back in wellingtron... probably at the penthouse in brooklyn... ol'skoo. i miss you's from/at it. and the places.

i get a couple-days off from picking up the pickers early, so then i can sleep in a extra bittle. that will be great.

Ah, plus, and, friends Scott and Danielle have a newbie daughter... lucia jet catan. welcome.

and also i wanna do me some science. its brainless.

i cant think of anything more... um. oh, new flatmate... she is from malasia too, and, plus, her name is 'irene'. that makes two in the house of those qualities. fancy.

then what

2010-01-04T14:01:00.002+11:00

so all the young bird-scarers/shooters are called tom, and the old ones are called ray. yesterday one of the toms was being my other driver, today it was the other one's turn. by now i have taught 5 people how to do the job, and there will be another proper driver tomorrow. it's like ground hog day, but without bill murray and the ability to montage.

now we are starting half an hour earlier... which means i have to go pick up pickers at quarter to 6. 5:45. i've to get up when the birds are still sleeping. then the dawn chorus is all aprons when i eat brekky.

this also means that we finish early. and my hopes were dashed quite expertly when the sallies was closed by the time i got to town. theyre supposed to close at 4. grr.

im painting a picture, and then the uberboss came up to me today and was like "i'd like to see it" (in a friendly kind of way), and he can see it, thats fine, its just that i didnt know he new about it. it's the kind of small town that shrinks when people say anything. aparently the thing i painted was in the uberbosses family history in the region. i wonder if he will wanna buy it for megabucks when he sees it. Ive bought more canvasses.

i still miss my guitar... i've been pretending to play it in my sleep.... though my brain thinks im really playing it... what a chump.

also learning about quarks, and spin states of quarks and how they make matter.... lookout, its: orchard nerd.

plunge'd

2010-01-02T13:45:00.000+11:00

i woke upafter yesterday's sleepy time off - it was good. i was rearing to go.

then it was timeAndAHalft cause of it being newyears' day holiday. or somment.

then i went home forlunch, after which i went for a dip in the irrigation lagoon. shh dont tell. it was perfect temp and refreshed as.

then we finished early. the end.

hearty newyears wellwishens

2010-01-01T10:27:00.000+11:00

so we got to finish an hour early... but that means i worked 8.5 instead of 9.5... so it's fun.

i prettymuch went home and had tea, watched tv, talkend on a pone to friends having newjears in taupo, and missen them much. then i went to bed.

i woke up and went back to sleep till 930, when parents called forto wishen newyears.

so, it is a different year. cool. i hope it's a good one.

oh i got some new shoes.. that's neat. the end.

sumer?

2009-12-31T13:59:00.000+11:00

there be fresh snow on these them there hills. last night was real cold. the work-a-day was ok, a little chilly. but then it turned rainy and almost sleety. it hurt biking home. thats why there was no blog, cause it was to cold and rainy to go to the internet.

so yesterday and today i started at 6:15 forto pick up pickers.... which looks like it will be my regular duty to do. stink. this also means that generally i will be working 9hour days... 7 days a week. intense! gimme some money.

im not sure what is gonna happen this eve. i heard rumour that a friend is local. also i heard rumour that the road to queenstown is chocka on this night. making me believe that accommmmodation is real sparse. no.

the mega boss asked me regarding new year's: "where are you going?" i replied: "probably to sleep".

today was really cold. i wore longpants for the first time to work.

mickey mouse in surgery

2009-12-29T14:57:00.002+11:00

so today was a bit random and stuff, but the new driver(the husband of the lady) had his second day, and now they both quit. they said something about a "mickey mouse operation" and all i could picture was mickey mouse on an operating table counting backwards from 10, with a gas thing over his chops.

now i have to get up hella early again to pick up the pickers... but there's heaps now.

i also got given, then ungiven, a box of christmas treats. i dont mind, it was just a bit of a hassle getting the box back to the place. i kept the bananas, and put the faffing-around time on my timesheet. fun.

on the way to town i saw a cloud in the shape of a dragon cleaning its wings.

fork lift

2009-12-28T15:00:00.000+11:00

today, as yesterday, a troup of new pickers started. nowtheres heaps.

that lady who annoys me so much has a husband who is a driver too. he is less annoying but wont shut up about cycle touring. he sounded ultra witty to himself when he called other tourists "credit card tourists". it reminded me of jack telling tyler durden about his "single serving friends". i laughed out loud, not at his wit, but at the similarity.

then later i drove a forklift for some reason to get apricots off a trailer. ask me if ive driven something and i probably have... go ahead.

my innards are still a little weird.

im sleepy again. i have a billion books to read. that guy, stephen hawking is blowing my mind, and the 'education of little tree' is doing the opposite.

bored yet? you dont have to read it, hahaha. aww.

it's not me... its moo

2009-12-27T15:36:00.000+11:00

i need to leave this place. the worst person in the world has arrived.

the wwf is on the tv in this bar, and he was all like "yay! wrestling" then he asked the bar lady to go home with him, and then his 4year old daughter wanted to go over somewhere else and he says "she prbably needs a hiding". its awe-ful.

so christmas, i went biking, but it was windy. then i went to jo and mybosses house. it was nice haning out and playing with toys.

now he's talking about drunk driving. euw

tback to christmas. at 2 there was a thing at the workers accommodation, a potluck thing. it was odd and random. i think i ate something with garlic in it. which im feeling for days. even now. i love garlic, but in the last year and a bit, it has been reeking havoc on digestion. it even hurts. (sorry if thats more than you need to know)

anyway... boxing day was working. and today 20 more pickers started, so thats HEAPS now. im getting pretty bored of cherries.

peaces all.

venus in draaaaag

2009-12-24T14:41:00.000+11:00

oh how today lingered. on and endless till the end.

it was a countdown to a day off. a christmas day off. neat. everyone was wishing everyone happiness.

in that vein, i wish you all that happiness.

traffic is chaos here. with my brian switching off i had to sturggle the whole way...

have fun in taupo all ye merry tenderfoots.

im gonna sleeep for ages. then gonna go for a biker ide to clyde? then go to peoples hauses.

end transmission

somephotos

2009-12-23T15:00:00.002+11:00

i know. i have no photos of recent. i will get them on the compy then upload them somehow on the wirelessness. or something. eventually. apologies.

a brief history of....

2009-12-23T14:58:00.000+11:00

...thanks dave.

Today was more even more hot. but not as long. and also i did driving.

i went home for lunch and irene had some salady leftovers for me. it was greatyum
(ps. i live with irene and mike who havea baby gnaire who is 7 or 8 weeks old. little as. but theyre good. mike drives the forklift at the packhouse, and i deliver the cherries to the forklift so the packhouse has them. so it's good that we know what is going on. makes things more efficient and easier.)

then i got a mail from the packhouse (ps my house is on the same property as the packhouse, so has the same address) and it was a brief history of time book. something for meditative escapism in the eve.

also im generally really tired cause of the many working im doing. on bozing day work starts at 6. i hope it finishes at 230/300pms. that would be nice, even if it is still hot. but then theres eventide for swimin'.

i got a offer of study back from vic. theyre declining me two papers because of a lack of prerequisites. i think i can wrangle one, but it looks like i might have to do a paper in 2011 to finish my degree. stink. i was hoping to finish classes before my 30th. but ohwel. at least a doublemajor is to be had.

myboss invited me for some time on christmas. and aslo there is a potluck at the packhouse. but i also wanna go for a bikeride. i'll make the bikeride in the morning... a few hours, then get back for to make potluck luncht and then go to elsewhere.

thats all the news from me (that i can remember)

approximity

2009-12-22T14:59:00.000+11:00

i think im sunburnded today. thats pretty much all the news. plus i like payday.

i was in a daze for the morning. then had lunch at home... and coffee. magic.

and i worked late.

had a text message from a friend about blowing up a supermarket. made me laffs. thanks.

im jealous of people riding their bikes around when im working.

um...... um um.

lapse of time....

2009-12-21T14:46:00.000+11:00

the weekend means that everything closes early, then i finish work. that means that i have no internet for those times... i think there may be some other kind of internet. i hear rumours.

then ok... saturday... it was a work-a-day

then sunday. also that. but also news that i was to shift into the new house. i went in, had a look, the bathroom ($37k worth) wasnt worth staying there. so i left it. i didnt wanna live in a room where i had to walk through someone elses room to get to the kitchen... and for more money than i was currently paying. so today i sorted all that out. and im staying put. neat.

so today, 15 more pickers started on the ground. and once again i was doing all the driving. the lady who is supposed to help me is being helpless.

im starting to get a sense of being a orchard worker... sometimes i imagine im in a kibbutz in israel. it makes it more fun. also sometimes i find myself making the noised of a mortar cannon war. i think its because there are so many guns going off all the time. SO MANY GUNS. they all wanna shoot all the birds. its better than the nets they stick up, that trap them... its grose. im gonna send a email to the spca about it.. see what they reckon.

im so sleepy. i put my timesheet in to the office yesterday... 61hours. thats my working week. neat. give me some money!

i did have other things to say, but whenever i get into the internet place, my brain is all blanks.

ok. peaces. thanks for peoples update comments... its nice to know things :)

shortle

2009-12-18T15:12:00.000+11:00

and they threatened windnrain. all we had was wind. and it was hot and sunny. methinks we were lucky and that tonight is gonna be when the rain sets in...

oh guess what. im driving things all day. oh you know.

nothing else really... um christmas is in town... people are excited.

i think i mighta gotten out of having to pick people up for work.. yay. now i can sleep laters.

laters.

holla

2009-12-17T14:55:00.002+11:00

so prettymuch, after lunch most days, i get droopy and i get under-eye bags. ive never had more people mention how i look tireds... so weird. im not, its just a skin-face thing.

today i did all the driving all over again. and im an expert. shh. stop bragging.

then we were issued with flouro vests. funny.

mostly nothing. i hope everyone has beans for dinner. make them last....

im probably almost sick of cherries... and am waiting for my new funhouse.

the end.

mainly me.

2009-12-16T14:23:00.002+11:00

the day was really busy. the other driver lady was there, but she didnt get to touch the driving controls today. it was all me. daveC is right. ive become a driving machine... driving a machine.

oh and that lady.. mang, talk about annoyng. she had a size chart and was comparing all the cherries in someone's bucket to her chart. euw. she's no fun. holding up a picker... a good guy, who has been on the scene longer than she has... poor kenji.

everything was going like clockwork it's neat.

in my breaks and lunch times i steal myself away and make for a book about a guy who did a 2year biking trip from new york to the other coast then down into mexico and on into brazil. im 1/3 of the way through. he talks about food alot. most of it sounds grose.... bleeding steaks... sucking flesh out of crab claws etc. still its fun to escape.

the manager (boss of myboss) is starting to talk to me more and seems happy with my work, so that's nice. I currently live with some people, and one of them operates the forklift at the packhouse and has all kinds of tips and stuff to make me more efficient. it's pretty convenient. i wonder how it will be when i live by myself for a bit - in the 37k-bathroom house. mmm... lonely and clean probably.

i get to wake up early again tomorrow... pick up the van to pick up pickers. probably a 9hour day. neat. blingblong. i hope that lady drives... or does something a little useful tomorrow. i should not let her occupy such thoughts.

oh, i got a free drink from the matriarch at the fruit stall... i think i was being nice. woops. yay.

driving. batty (she is)

2009-12-15T14:39:00.000+11:00

today was odd. i got up hella early to pick up the van to pick up the pickers, but the man who would tell me the task and details wasnt there (i later found out he was at the bathroom and i "shouldve waited". (whatever; as far as i knew you had runnoft.)). so i picked up the people i shouldve, and it was not a problem.

so and this new driver is driving everyone batty. she is a know-it-all, who likes to condescendingly point things out. even though she is annoying and no-one points that out to her. myboss cant work with her either. i wonder how long she lasts.

im getting pretty mechanical about the driving runs and everthing is getting clockworky (not the orange kind).

so today's 9.5 hour day was a daze and im barely functioning. zzzzzzz.

barrybarry.

2009-12-14T14:47:00.000+11:00

today we had 2 trucks laden with trailers going up and down. also another driver started. she is a little bit annoying and oddly job-matched. when she got into the ute she said "oh, its not an automatic!". i was astounded. i fear i am going to have to do all the difficult driving. her husband will be doing some driving too, i hope he's more drivey.

the more people was ok. even more people start tomorrow. i hope it's still ok.

tomorrow i have to get up at 5 and drive people from town to the orchard etc... i hope it's not annoying. mostly i just wanna deal with people who can do what they are doing... that sounds simple, but it's only slightly more attainable than world peace.

oh yeah... copenhagen. what a beaurocratic symbolic time/money waste. im sure theyre using more fuel to get people to and fro than the emissions of one of the neglected island nations would produce... (you get the concept. i dont write sentence good)

for those who would like to know... my address at the moment is 330 ripponvale road, cromwell.

i'll be moving some time soon. apparently the place im moving to has a $37,000 bathroom. i hope it's my room.

runinng into others

2009-12-13T11:41:00.000+11:00

it keeps happening. running into others. everywhere. its a small town, i guess thats what happens in them.

i forgot to mention, that myboss was referring to me as maxwellsmart for some reason, and then once he called me while at work, and he saids "turn around" so i did, and he was about 200m away with his boot to his ear, on his "shoe phone". it was pretty funny. oddly.

so today is my day off, but they close the pool for laneswimming till 400pm. which is annoying. it was nice toget up late in the day.

im gonna have to go visit "old cromwell": recreated brick-by-brick to the condition it was in in the 1900-something... i dont know... when they made the lake.sounds odd. apparently the road just goes into the lake.

also.... Francis Cooper King, was born 11th of December 2009, weighing in at 7lb 4oz. neat.

the clam before the strom

2009-12-12T13:12:00.000+11:00

so today is a nice day. we only worked half of it today, cause there wasnt much left to do. the busyness starts on monday

i met the uberboss yesturday, that was the guy who is gonna be my neighbour. i didnt realise he was the king of the place.

yay! toni had the babby. i hope she's doing ok. peacewishes to you.

i just had lunch with some people from work... a sort of 'pre-season kick-off' thing.

ive been away for approximately a month now. how spesh.2 more to go. its going to be hard. i miss it. but its good to be out and away on my mini adventure what spins me some monies.

im so gonna sleep in tomorrow morning. then maybe head to the swomenpool and amble around.

thanks for listening. bye.

barrage of errands (harangued)

2009-12-11T15:20:00.000+11:00

today saw lots of random errands for me. that was basically that.

i met my soon-to-be neighbour, he gave me a weird up-and-down looks. i hear that he: "hope he's not a boozer".

mostly i am wondering how toni is doing. her water broke some day(s?) ago, and the babby is supposed to follow. good luck toni!

ok. thts me. expensive internet over'n'out.

random and tiring.

2009-12-10T15:20:00.000+11:00

its ok, really.

today was mostly random and tiring because the plans keep changing. basically we are reaching the end of the early cherries, and the main crop are about to start. so thats fun

its super nice living in a building... still

even though the young couple with the baby are there... the man is super nice, but rants and rants about the state of the world and the impending one world government. he also has this voice he uses with his babby... and its horrible and creepy and a bit wrong.

im getting on well with jo, who is a level in charge of me... and we keep being astounded by the stupidity of two people in particular. it is funny. i hope more funny stupid things happen.

anyway. i dont really know why im still doing this. its gonna be routine pretty soon, and well.. boring reading

i miss people and places.
peaces.

a place in the sun

2009-12-08T15:16:00.000+11:00

oh my ...pants. the internet is expensive in these parts!

ok... so yesterday started like normal. then the bosslady came and told me that the house would not be ready until... the 16th! and im all not happy about that. then she says that i can borrow a stretcher for my tent.

the day goes on some more

then she comes back, and i have a room in a house for a week. which is nice news. its adjacent to work. and has a bed and a roof.

so im there now. well... not now. there is no internet there. so i have to use the ones in town. and then...

now i can cook some real food too.. im happy about that.

there is a young couple with a babby there, too. but thats fine.

so and today was mostly picking cherries. but not good ones... though they are the ones for export. but well... they know waht they want.

im gonna go do some groceries. i probably wont be on the internet as often as i used to be, or post the blogs as much. but you'll survive. i will too.

mmm foodgetting time. yum.

pretty neatbix

2009-12-06T18:49:00.000+11:00

so early in the morning, the revvellers returned to the dorm. it was ok, no one was really roudy. there was one guy who was shouting something at the main entrance at one point. but it sounded like he got hauled off in a taxi.

the morning was drizzly, so after breakky i went out in it and had a wander. did some errands (posted a letter, etc) and then went on a walk proper.

it was a 1.5 hour return walk up the queenstown mountain... peak... thing. it was really steep, especially around the bottom. the higher up, the more easy it was, till the last 15minutes where its extreeme to get to the verypeak. but the view up there is spec.tack.you.lar. mm. remarkables are my favourite teeth. queenstown looks like a silly joke from the top. (did i tell you that upon entering the q.town periphery yesterday i actually, literally chortled?)

coming down was tough. the unsurety of descent was annoying. imet an oldish lady on her way up, she was struggling, and she was still on the sidewalk of one of the apporaching streets.i warned her about the steepness...but also said she should have a look. i hope she did.

then i met max (my ride) down by the lake. we listened to nick drake and leonard cohen on the way back.

upon arriving 'home' (tent home doesnt really count) i did all my washing, and replaced the gear changing cable and housing on my bikes front derailler controls, it seems good so far, i will wait and see when all the bits settle intoplace... then readjust.

so i had a fine time away. it was neato and great to sleep in a bed.

make it good. peaces to erryones.

right ok.

2009-12-05T20:13:00.000+11:00

so todays work was normal. you know that already. fine.

then i have a day off tomorrow. so i got a ride to queenstown with someone who picks the fruits. he's here on a busk. he plays the violin, pretty well. he was getting applauses at some fairly well known pieces. it was pretty good.

it was really good, when he picked me up from out the campsite, there was bobdylan (bringing it all bac home - maggies farm) on the stereo. that was my sign.

i actually like the town quite nice. it reminds me of koln. just really tiny. and the cathedral is the remarkables. (which really are remarkable! and they look like they would hurt if someone bit down on you with them.

it's nice to be somewhere where everybody is from somewhere else. i like the meld.

preeeen

2009-12-05T16:12:00.001+11:00

this time all the scanning matched up with the bucket counting. i think imabout to go to queenstown to look for tyra... um... more later i suspect.

} else{ (nothing) }

2009-12-04T16:09:00.000+11:00

today was pretty normal again. nothing too remarkalble. didnt see the auditors.

also i was making red beans and rice. but then ruined it with burning the bottom of the pot. which then tainted the whole pot. so i ate some. then i hate the rest.

the annual running of the mills

2009-12-03T19:05:00.000+11:00

today was mostly the same. pretty systematic. scanning. driving. quading. picking up buckets, dropping off buckets, tyingup nets, putting down nets...

and i was wearing sunglasses for a bit, an myboss called me the fonze. i ignored it, and he kept going. eventually he got frustrated and stopped. poor guy.

tomorrow the orchard is being audited for export. all the rules are being disseminated and adhered to.

also, looks like i get my first day off on sunday. i wonder what it will contain.

tractor pull

2009-12-02T19:38:00.001+11:00

this morning i was heading to the kitchen for to have my breakfast, and the camp-guy drove up and accused me off not paying, and saying he was gonna rip down my tent, and generally being a complete tool about things. if he'd just looked in his ledger he would see i was up to date and fully paid, it was just that the dude who i upated my stay with didnt give me a new tag to put on my tent. so this old dude who accausted me before brekky, didnt apologise, just gave me a new tag. im not like his... anyhting. (actually, i kinda like his prosthetic leg)

when i got to work i got shown about the tractor, and then went on a tractor excursion. reversing down rows with a trailer, mudy, bumpy tracks, and the like. myboss kept giving me obscure challenges to try with it, and i aced em all. so skillz.

most of the rest of the day was business as usually. lifting/lowering nets, driving buckets of cherries to the packhouse.

myboss has this theory that "cherry" can be used as a salutation, so i keep reminding him to use it. im not convinced, but it's funny. myboss also showed me this game where you bowl unripe peaches down the deck of the truck and whoever gets closest to the end without hitting the end is the win. its a killing time game.... of bowls. what a boss.

um last night's storm was fun in a tent... seriously. the rain was nice. and the tent peformed wonderfully. its just todays bleak weather that was not so fun. still, my face got sunburned... or fun-burned.

merry christmas.

**************************************************************
ADDENDUM
**************************************************************
i had a memory today, of a job interview i had almost exactly 5 years ago to the day. the question was "where do you see yourself in 5 years" my reply was "working on an organic orchard or something". it spooked me out that this is halfright. the organic-ness is missing, but still. woooeeeeeooo. i think there's ghosts in the timeline.
**************************************************************

title page, author, date.

2009-12-01T19:22:00.000+11:00

...and then the porridge was all watery and felt like eating soup. but the toast was classic soylinseed+pinderkaas.

i passed a picker and the office lady on my way to work today. im a biking machine (if you havent already figured that one out)

some bird had been trapped under one of the nets for a few days and decimated the fruit on that tree. i had a laff. it was probably me what trapped it there. i hate the nets. soon they'll be gone.

most of the day i was wandering around figuring out what to do. playing with quadbikes... the like.

at one point mark, boss (but not main boss), told me to attach one of the trailers and do a series of maneuouvres. he exepected me to fail. but im a trailer master by now, and it was super easy. impressed? i think he was.

im making buddies with the old dudes at the packhouse, and i think thats gonna stand me well when it gets super busy. so thats neat.

iim pretty much statying 1/2 an hour later than i was gonna, forto help wrap up things for the day, so thats nice forto being paid.

right now it rains. my outer tent shell is supertaut, so it sounds like a hand drum, being played arythmically... isnt that some kind of torture? right now it's nice.

I've also heard from the grapvine that some friend's father died recently. Condolences and Peaces to thems!

the light is waning and the night is bekoning me to sleeep.gnite.

ps. also, i find that people around here do not hesitate to tell you what their favourite fruit is. i havent figured out mine... what's yours?

nets

2009-11-30T17:35:00.002+11:00

im totally getting sick of the bird nets. every day we have to take them up, then at the end of the day put them down. it's always worse when some nnumbhead did double knots that you have to figure out.

.... and then the sprinklers go on in the middle....sheehs.

in the morning i saved a mum and 8 ducklings from the net. even though the mum was gonna leave some behind trapped.

also, i need new shoes. my 6$ - practically wear them all the time - shoes are starting to have mouths at the front, and eatthe grass that i walk through.

i did more driving today. saw the diane boss lady a couple of times, she said nothing. even though i txted her about the accomm situation. oh well.

then i got feedbacks and will continue to blogs... while i am able ;O

i am quite glad i'll be a driver when the season starts. i think the picking crowd is much too competitive. cut throat. they have this thing, that if you are on contract, and you dont pick enough, you can be dismissed, but there is no punishment if you are on hourly rate, and you go slow. it seems like backwardsland in accountancyworld.

ive been working everyday since getting here. i dont mind, im just beginning to think that if i want a day off, i'll have to ask for it, otherwise it is assumed that i work every day. again, i dont mind. it's heaps easier work than biking here was.

its still early. but i have writing to do. and sleeping and the other thing.... dreaming.

last night i had dreams. i dont remember them now, but i remember that it was mostly dutch. and we were lost.

im thinking that if i dont hear back about accoms this week, im gonna have to look at the rooms on the supermarket board. they seem... um.... opportunist.

a nother

2009-11-29T18:53:00.000+11:00

Today i found a mushroom and had it for dinner.

i also drove too many cherries at one time to the packhouse. they said "bring them in smaller amounts". so the next time, i took two trips in a row, with more cherries. they had their revenge. they flooded the entrance to the coolshed so i couldnt walk there. it made me laff and i liked it.

um not much else new... i been spreading the rumour that im moving into the house that the orchard just bought. ithink it's gonna work. um.... apparently the races were on today. and in other apparentlyes, its gonna rain tomorrow. hrm.

im thinking i might stop all this blogging. i mean, its probably nice for you... but i dont get to read anyone elses blog, so it makes so little difference to me. i think the only person i know for sure who reads this is scott... who also posts comments as anonymous.... his feedback has been invaluable. thanks guy.

quad

2009-11-28T18:21:00.000+11:00

yep,it was another day. first i was on the cherrypickers, then i got sent to lift some nets.. nothing new so far.

then i got sent to help out john, the old guy, with the southern accent. he gets worked up easily, and is also not a fan of telling people what to do. which is nice, but i guess can let him down in the work dept.
so i got to help organisea bunch of pickers oing there thing, got to cruise aroun on teh quad bikes. brought trailers of cherries to the stall... and generally larrikin about. not bad, really. i haven managed to get a extra halfhour on the en of the day.

i also met the uberboss. he seems normal. perhaps a little too normal.

so things are going better. im still sinusweird, but paracetamol seems to keep those symptoms from interfering quite nicely.

anyway... lets hear from someone? i mean... everyone ... or some people... or the one person.. reading this must have something i might not know.

also, it was my parentses 40th wedding anniversary yesterday! congratulations them.

you might be noticing something odd with the 'd's in this entry. they've all been pasted in, because my d key has stopped working all together. so now, instead of pressing d, i press ctrl+v. it works well.

bye... to whoever is, if any, still reading these rants.

frontal lobe heartache.

2009-11-27T19:44:00.000+11:00

i got up at regular time today. that was easy.on my way to work i saw faintly up ahead a cyclist crossing my path. later on found that it was jo, and she was taking a short cut, but i still bet her to work. what a fun story

pretty much the same as yesterday; cherry pickers, lifting nets, pinning nets down.
but todays news was taking a load to the packhouse, which is something i will be very familiar with later on..

i also had to get two ducks out from under the net. one was particularly deadbeat, so i had to corner it and pick it up, for to show it how to get out. it probably didnt thank me.

then in the afternoon headaches hit, now i have paracetamol which is my friend.

when i got back to the camp, these kids were picking up their barely conscious buddy, and dragging him inside to sober up (i hope)

then, just before, i saw these little kids splashing in the pothole puddles in the driveways. so cute.

so

more very

2009-11-26T17:05:00.001+11:00

today was heaps better.

got woken up by the same old hiphops and what-not. but then they left. i guess my watch alarm was too quiet, and i slept through it. i woke up at 730. which is almost too late. i had to get up and go through my morningness superfast! and then the headwind getting there was a stink. and i threw half my toast to the kerb, 'cause it was getting me down.

got to work, and assumed it would be more of yesterdays carryon. but then it turns out it wasnt to be.

first i met jo, she is reaing a book about somone who cycle the americas. from ny, to sf, to mexico and on....
sounds hard.
so we spent ages clearing the mesh so the 'ladders' (cherrypickers) can get around the trees.

then i had a go on the dodgey one which was really dodgey. i picked a pretty decent bucket of cherries.

than i had a hoon on the quadbike - learning - which came in useful later when i was organising buckets...

then a whole lot of other stuff happened. got to wait around in the irrigation. that kinda thing.

in conlusion, i met heaps more people today... and the work was more interesting and vAried. plus i got to eat some delicious product.

day two....

2009-11-25T18:27:00.003+11:00

hi again everybody. today just started where yesteray left off. went for an hour longer, but was much the same. i got more formulaic at my thinning technique. i also had a cracker of a heaache in the afternoon. i think its still unresolved sicknessess from my trip down. a chronic thing? i dont know. being sick is boring.

so after work i zombied around the campground. i always knew it was charlies dad that killed bledcoe (home and away). still. not enough curly-haired-man lately.

i think that unless this sickness goes away, i wont last the summer. this town is a terrible town.
i was woken up at 5 by turkish hiphop, an beeping horns.

the southland accent is hard to get used to. the hillside around the town reminds me of california/nevada... and it feels like its hemming me in.

anyway.i shall have an ealy rest, in the hopes of not being sick. peace everyone.s

seasonal workers... it's always one of them.

2009-11-24T18:19:00.000+11:00

so i went to work at the appointed time, but the appointed rendezvous was not to be. the guy "just forgot". that was neat. eventually i texted the lady in charge and then it was on.

i was appointed to some scraggly peaches in the far orchard. i was told how to do it, and then left to do it all by my self all day. it was lonely, windy and sometimes hot.

it was really boring. i hope it gets less so when more people arrive, and i have a better idea what is going on.

im on a hourly rate, and i think im doing well. but heaps of people are on a contract rate and have to haggle over every tree for their pay. its pretty stink. and well... "you gotta keep an eye on them, they'll try to rip us off" (i hear the boss saying to someone being trained as a supervisor)

so i started at 9, and finished at 430. tomorrow starts at 8. i think it will be the same. i ont think i will get in trouble like some people did today. i know what trees do.

i hope tomorrow is better. i will bring my music thing... see if that helps.

im living in a tent and the ground is hard and the food is far away... waaaaaaa

also. apparently i have a foreign accent. heaps of people ask me about it, an im stumped. as far as i know, i just dont have a great nz twang. just a slight one. anyone who wants suggest what my accent may be, let me know.

cromcrom

2009-11-23T13:25:00.002+11:00

it was pretty tough getting up this morning, knowing that i was leaving the wanaka. its been a fine time. albeit brief.

gemma and sarah came down with ben's mum. they arrived with slight commotion at about 130am while we were slerping.

i was supposed to leave at 8, but my intertia got the best of me, and loitered till 9. its a nnw wind, which is exactly what i needed. someone mentioned that i might like the wind after that. not likely.

it has been 2 days since i had ridden and my legs were all ready to go. so they sure did! it took me 2 hours to go 55km today. what a difference the wind direction makes!

my front derailler cable is on it's last twangy strands. so im gonna have to deal with that.

i turned up that the fruit stand at about 11:00, and rang the bosslady, but she wasnt answering. then i went into wherer the office was, and heard that she was mad that i wasnt there at 9am. like i was supposed to. which was never arranged, so i felt a little wierd that i thought i had to smooth things over at first meeting. it turns out she had a chance to look over our correspondence and find that she, in fact, had made the incorrect assumption. so that was a relief.

and also plus too, she raised my rate again, this time by 50c, without me even saying a thing.

so now im tenting for 10 days while i work, till they get the house all ready then i hope to get in there.

anyway. things look like they'll be alright. i let you know how i go

clamberin' tendrils

2009-11-22T20:22:00.000+11:00

today was a sleep in that i havent had for sooo long. and slowly woke up rambling about random things what happened on my journeys.

when the day was heating up, we went to the market to meet a friend of mine [Melissa, who i met when i worked in AK, and re-met again at Christen's wedding, and who lives here]

then we went to scout out time climbs. there are heaps around here, already set up an graded.
theres a bunch of photos on my flickr

i didnt get to the top, but ben, who always did took the ropes up and we climbed up with funny shoes and chalky fingers.

it was a really nice day and we ha a picnic on the riverside, then sam and ben clambered up a huge other wall. sam was really getting into it towards the end. i took photos all about.

then we had icecreams by the lake

then a barbie

then some computer games

then some bloggins

now it is sleep time.

gnite.

rural as.

2009-11-21T22:33:00.000+11:00

hey, that was good. met heaps of new people. they all climb. and most of them work in constructing houses in some way.

im still sleepy. i left them at the rural party. it kinda reminds me of the manawatu, where you drive for 10-20 minutes to the next weirdly settled place where something is happening and then another distance for another of them.

i had my socks. i feel like they might be a hindrance down here. i might have to go get some normal ones. euw.

i think sam has volunteered me for some climbing, but im not sure i need that kind of ... thing. it might be nice to see some walls of rock in the region, though.

it is also a bit annoying having to retell how i got here. i just wanna say something like 'i took my time' or something. stupid elaboration. makes me bored listening to my self talk about it. i'll just introduce myself and give them a card with a link to this blog? hrm

oh dear. i think i may be turning this blog into some sort of pity party with all my complaining.

nah, im good. nervous about what work i'll be doing and where i'll be staying, but im fine. dont be worried.
[thats what people who you should be worried about would say]

i mean, feel free to worry, but just tell me about it, so that i can aleviate your concerns.
nah, im good.
peaces.

bus-ted

2009-11-21T16:55:00.000+11:00

ok, so by now you hate me going on about the wind. and i hate it too.

now im in wanaka. i took the bus, and am fairly releived because it looked like a long hard road.

in this new place the feral weeds are less prevailent because many native things grow. town is pretty in line with what you'd expect of a tourist place.

i didnt trust the bus driver who kept barely givining way, and riding the clutch around corners.

um. and today is the first day i havent ridden my bike since last saturday. the end.

"...swinging the world by it's tail, bouncing over the white clouds, killing the blues."

2009-11-21T08:03:00.000+11:00

if there's one thing ive learnt, it is that the wind can make me madder than any person could. mostly because i'd end up being sad about the person what made me mad. you cant really be sad about the wind. or can you? no. the wind is just a physical relocation of air. people are a bunch of decisions.
im interested to find that i hate the wind... hate. i know i shouldnt and its useless, but well, it is the way i feel.

i slept well. ihad control of the windows (i learnt my lesson in chch) and allowed the wind to eddie in. it was pretty good, and still even a bit hot. it was also good because there were no noisy sleepers ( note: i do not know this of myselft. i have been known to not shutup. )

the morning came up with some REALLY strong winds. like, if i was riding this way yesterday, i wouldve stopped and pitched tent (as it goes, it still took me 2 hours to bike 14km!)

so in the new light of hating the wind, and being a bit disappointed by the landscape, ive booked a bus from tekapo to wanaka. fifteenbucks! at least that gets me through lindis pass. which ive heard tough stories about.

so i leave here at 2pm. ive 4 hours to kill. in the wind. I wish i could kill the wind.

also, to continue with the 'mange' theme. rabbits everywhere in this town.

im scared to leave this building, gusts come up from the lake and batter the building, but i dont know if i'd be able to stand in some of them.

ok. i think my time has been killed for the time bean.

peaces. honahan.

unimpressed

2009-11-20T16:33:00.000+11:00

i thought it was gonna be an OK run, 'cause it started out easy. getting to fairlie was pretty sweet. and i thought, well it's over half way to tekapo, it must be better later.

so
then the roads got really straight an boring. the ground more parched, the weeds hardier.
then the wind really picked up and blew in my face. HARD.
then the road started heading upwards.

thats about when i started getting mad. "beautiful" they said. "untouched wilderness". all i saw were some ranges, and places where forest used to be. plus european weeds everywhere. you may be able to tell, but im super unimpressed.

today I got attacked by magpies and almost ran over a feral cat.

even getting to lake tekapo, fighting the wind, was unrewarding. it wasnt till less than 1km out from the town that you could even see the lake. crossing the bridge into town, on the lake side of the bridge, the river is a nice minty azure, and on the other side is... well... dirtyish and normal-river looking. i get suspicious when i see that kind of thing.

i booked my place at the yha on the offchance that on a friday night the place woul be booked out.

this hostel has the most gaumless faces ive seen in one place since orientation week at university.

i know, i know, im being negative. well, im just being honest. im not swayed by the landscape, like i hoped i'd be. the mountains just remind me of the rimutaka range in winter. and the wine, of wellington.

im gonna see about taking the bus to wanaka tomorrow. avoiding lindis pass(!) and more of that stink wind. plus, get to see sam

[oh and i forgot. last night at about 3am i started sweating really heaps and fast. it woke me up. it got me worried that my body was just giving up all it's water. i still dont know what it's about but i think its something related to this unerlying illness ive been ignoring. any hints?]