Island Life

(Typed on December 14, 2011; FINALLY have internet today)

It’s been just over two weeks since our last post and we can happily say we met all our goals we shared with you- obtaining jobs, deciding on our mode of transportation, finding a place to stay (besides a hostel) and doing some sightseeing/traveling around. Not to mention I’ve alllmost stopped peeling and we are both back in good health.

Shortly after writing, Adrian and I caught a bus to Tauranga (4 hours from Auckland with stops along the way, $12NZ) to start our job searching. We were only there about a day and spent it registering with temp agencies (most require you to come in-person to start using their services). The next day we left for Rotorua (2 hours from Tauranga, $10NZ) for the hostel receptionist jobs we wrote about (yes, we got an interview- check!). After seeing the hostel and getting more details about the two positions, it didn’t seem like something we would be too keen about.

The next day we did some wandering around the town centre and surrounding area then caught a bus back to Tauranga to continue our job search. (More on Rotorua to come once we have spent more time there.) We decided to switch hostels up and stayed at one 20 minutes walking distance from the city centre called “Just the Ducks Nuts”. It was the neatest hostel I had ever stayed at because it was four houses in residential area that were converted to hostel houses. Each house had it’s own kitchen and living room area and in the centre of the four houses was a grassy area with a bbq, hammock and a rugby ball to throw around. With that being said, we were happy we were only committing to 2 days there because the closest grocery store was about 45 minutes walking distance from our hostel and with me walking, carrying groceries, even longer to get back. Our whole Saturday was devoted to the trip!

Sunday we moved back to a hostel in the city centre so we would be closer to more temp agencies we could apply at starting the next day. Unfortunately, they didn’t work out so well for Adrian. Any plumbing or gas fitting jobs would require Adrian to be certified and any plumbing specific or even general labour jobs required him to have his own vehicle. So with those types of jobs being a write-off for him, there was no need for me to continue my job search in Tauranga. We decided it would be best to find work in the tourism or hospitality industries and that meant getting out of Tauranga.

We originally thought Tauranga would be a good place to base ourselves because we would be able to find decent jobs with normal hours and would have the beach after work and maybe hiking on the weekends. Well after a couple days there, we got pretty bored. The only place we felt was worth checking out was the neighbouring town of Mount Maunganui aka Mauao. This is the place that has the nice beaches! and is named after an inactive volcano which you can climb, which we did. Yet another challenging hike! We first walked around the Mount through pohutukawa trees then ventured up to the summit. Beautiful view! The only thing that spoiled it was the unfortunate aftermath of an oil spill not too far from the shore. The ship is still out there but most of the beach has been cleaned up. We actually met a guy at Ducks Nuts who volunteered his time cleaning the beach up and then got the opportunity to stay on a small island with a Maori tribe and continue to clean while experiencing their culture- sweet as!

From the bottom of The Mount

Walking around The Mount

View of the town from the summit

Before our 30 minute ride, $2.60NZ ticket to the Mount, we had spent the last couple of days applying for tourism and hospitality jobs in the North Island on both coasts- close to the beach :D We eventually got an e-mail back from a lady looking for a couple to be “general hands” for the maintenance of a small island a few kilometres from the Coromandel Peninsula. There were a few e-mails back and forth with more job details then we got a phone call from her with more job details and asked us when we could start. No CVs submitted, no experience required, she asked if we would be interested. After a quick discussion period, we decided it sounded like a pretty sweet set up. So I called her back with an enthusiastic YES and the next day (Dec. 8; a month since we‘ve left Calgary), her husband picked us up from Auckland and took us to the island! Both obtained jobs- check!

The island is called Slipper Island (www.slipper.co.nz). It is a privately-owned island which is marketed as a resort but it’s really a choice of a campground or chalets for accommodation. The closest towns to the island are Tairua and Pauanui both with a population of around 1,250 but grows significantly for the summer season. It took us about two hours from Auckland to Tairua then another 20 minute boat ride to the island. Our jobs involve anything from cleaning the chalets, to helping guests on and off the boat (if they don’t fly in; the island has it’s own airstrip), to gardening to farm work. In return for our 4-5 hours/day of work, we have free accommodation here plus food for our main meals. Barbara Needham was the lady we spoke with in the “hiring” process and Gordon is her husband who picked us up. They have hired a retired English couple who have been coming to the island for a number of years to help manage the island- Malcolm and Hazel- who we work closely with.

On the Slipper Express with Slipper Island in the distance

Home Bay, the front beach closest to the main house, chalets and lodge

Some things we are really enjoying here:

• Atmosphere - With just the four of us here for the time being it’s a nice relaxed atmosphere. We start work around 9, 9:30, tea time at ~10:30, lunch at ~12:30, another tea time at ~3, dinner at ~6. It’s a nice change to not have a million things going on at once with skipped meals.
  
• Variety of work - As mentioned before there is a great variety of work. For example, we have been cleaning up the chalets the last few days but today we got to do some gardening work.
  
• Beaches and associated activities - The closest beach is literally right out the front door! It’s a decent size outlining one of three major bays which turns up fish, jelly fish, sting rays, and dolphins from time to time. So far we have seen everything but dolphins. In terms of activities, they have kayaks, canoes and snorkelling gear here and if Adrian and I knew how to fish we could do that!
  
• Mule - Adrian is loving driving the mule (transport ATV) around.
  
• Freedom and flexibility - With no guests yet and only the four of us here, we have a lot of freedom and flexibility in our “work schedules” and leisure time.
  
• Home cooked meals - Our first home cooked meal here was stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon, fish caught the day before, scalloped potatoes and fresh garden veg (they call it veg not veggies). The next night we had steak, crayfish caught day of, mashed potatoes and more fresh garden veg. YUM!
  
• A place to call home - Not that were sick of it yet but it’s nice to have a place to stay a little while instead of constantly repacking our packs and moving around. Especially for Christmas and New Years.

Some things we are not enjoying so much:

• Weather - The first two days here were gorgeous and what you would expect for an island in summer but since then it’s been overcast and windy with rainy periods. Hoping it lets up soon!
  
• Slow for work - There are no guests yet so it’s pretty quiet and we are having to make work for ourselves. It’s also not the worst thing.
  
• Internet and tv - The tv is not working and the computer/internet is only working half the time. I was also told I would be able to Skype but unfortunately it doesn’t look that way. They don’t have a webcam or even a microphone and Adrian can’t connect his laptop to the internet.
  
• Laundry - You can only wash in cold water so our clothes aren’t coming out too clean and even after dissolving detergent in warm water there’s clumps all over our clothes.
  
• Entertainment - Because Adrian doesn’t read and the tv isn’t working, he’s struggling to entertain himself sometimes.
  
• Generator - It is to be expected for the island but the electricity is run by a generator so we only have electricity for certain periods of the day.

Overall, we are really enjoying it so far. It’s not every day you get to stay on an island for an extended period of time. It’s also nice to have something to do. Although we aren’t making money, at least we’re not spending it. The island is also big enough and we have enough varied jobs that it’s not like Adrian and I are together 24/7 so less chance for us to get sick of each other just yet :p

We are planning on staying here for about a month then heading down to the top of the South Island, Marlborough area, to make money working in a vineyard. Mmm, WINE!

We hope to talk to some of you closer to Christmas and for those we might not, have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Decisions, decisions, decisions....plus some Auckland sightseeing

We had just arrived in Auckland last time we wrote. Since then, we have had our working holiday orientation, looked into jobs, looked into transportation options and done a bit of sightseeing in Auckland.

Somehow a week has passed and we are still in the process of developing a plan. It’s been quite overwhelming at times with so much to consider- where to work, what kind of work we want, what kind of work is available, how to get around, where to stay while in Auckland, etc. Seems like too much talk/discussion and not enough doing.

But now with a new week ahead of us we are feeling more productive and decisive. In terms of work, Adrian called a temp agency for trades work but found out any plumbing work required full certification and most of the time a reliable work vehicle. So he is looking into labour or tourism work. There aren’t too many sport-related jobs that I have found so I am looking into tourism jobs as well and temp office work (it seems like admin work makes potentially the most out of the other jobs related to a working holiday visa).  We applied to a hostel in Rotorua looking for a couple to fill receptionist/housekeeping and receptionist/barman positions. Adrian is also busy applying for other labour work and I have submitted my resume (CV here) for temp office work to recruitment agencies.

We are looking for work in either Tauranga or Rotorua. Tauranga has a population of over 118,000 and is considered one of the fastest-growing cities of New Zealand. It is supposed to have a lot of labour and logistic jobs for Adrian. If we are able to find work there, on the weekends Lonely Planet tells us there is tramping (hiking), swimming with the dolphins, fishing & diving, kayaking and white-water rafting at our disposal. We are also fairly close to more touristy and outdoorsy places like Taupo and Rotorua.

Rotorua has a population of over 70,000 and if we can get past the constant smell of sulphur (from geothermal activity) it provides some pretty neat culture and activities. The Maori population in the town is 35%. Activities include mountain biking, thermal pools and massage, along with the same activities as Tauranga.

Transportation has been another aspect to consider. After some initial research we were leaning towards purchasing a vehicle to travel around the country in. We took into consideration the amount of time to look and find a decent vehicle, the initial purchase price, gas costs (currently $2.09/litre, yikes!) and any maintenance costs then even more time selling the vehicle once we were done. Some pros included freedom to do our own thing, having a vehicle to get to and from work, and a big enough vehicle would provide accommodation as well as transportation. Unfortunately after some looking around on the internet and calling some sellers, there wasn’t too much out there for us for what we were looking for and could afford. Another option was/is an adventure hop-on hop-off bus. We learned today that one of them is having a pass sale with about $600 in savings. This mode of transportation would be less expensive and would allow us to meet more people.

To break up the job and transportation searching, we did some sightseeing. Last Friday we went on a FREE day tour with Stray, the bus company we are thinking of buying a pass from. The day tour included going to the Sky Tower and watching a girl jump off, a walk through a park in Auckland Domain, visit to a pub with a FREE beer taster, and a FREE Harbour Bridge climb and watched some people bungy jump off. On Saturday I did a bit of exploring through Auckland Central finding some nice parks and some cool retro/thrift shops. Sunday there was a Santa Parade that passed right outside our hostel so we checked that out for an hour or so. Considering it was called the “Santa” Parade you would think it would all be Christmas-inspired. Oddly enough, it was not. I could count the number of Christmas floats on one hand. Still entertaining nonetheless and I got some photos of some weird things.

On Harbour Bridge with Auckland Central behind us

Some artwork in a stairwell leading up to "K-Road", Auckland's red light district / killer place for vintage clothing

One of the few Christmas-inspired floats in the Santa Parade

How creepy are these?!

Hostel life has been what I remember from when I went backpacking in Europe for 4ish weeks but it’s completely new to Adrian. For the first two days we got a free upgrade to a private room and enjoyed it so much we didn’t want to switch to dorm rooms. Luckily they have a pay for “3 nights, stay for 4 nights” deal going on that we have taken advantage of so the difference in cost between dorms and a private room is pretty minimal. Base Auckland is one of the biggest hostels I have stayed in and with that comes and noise and messiness. Ear plugs have come in handy a few nights and we’ve learned to work around the mess. The location has been nice and we’ve met some cool people but we’re looking forward to leaving behind the broken elevators, leaky washers and lack of kitchen supplies.

Despite some minor heath issues (peeling from sun burns, getting a cold and getting used to the drinking water here (?)), we are looking forward to hopefully getting an interview for the job in Rotorua, making a transportation decision and “getting amongst it” as they say, apparently.

Sweet as, post again soon! (hopefully with news of a secured job for at least one of us!)

Kia Ora from Auckland, NZ / Recap of Fiji - November 19, 2011

Kia Ora Family and Friends!

We made it, again!

We started the day off at 6:30am with getting ready for the flight and last minute packing/arranging of everything in our bags. Our taxi ride at 7:15am was free because we paid for our ride when we first arrived in Nadi, Fiji even though the cost was included in our “welcome package”. (I have included the early morning times to show that I can wake up early and be productive; I just prefer to sleep in when I can!) Once we arrived at the airport, everything was smooth sailing. Our flight was on time, boarding went quick and we took off at 10am as scheduled. We even ran into a few people we met on the Yasawa Islands at the airport. A German guy from Nurnberg area who was flying back home, a Netherlands guy who was on his way back to travel more of New Zealand and a modern day hippie from Chilliwack who signed up for the same SWAP program in NZ as we have.

The Auckland Airport was also smooth sailing, for the most part. The only slight problem we ran into was Adrian’s hiking boots being used in Canada and Fiji which turned out to be a biosecurity risk to New Zealand. After a quick inspection of his boots, we were officially in New Zealand! I was actually much more excited for our arrival in New Zealand than Fiji because I feel now the adventure has really begun! Fiji was beautiful and fun but because we bought a package, everything was laid out for us and made so easy.
We caught a bus that dropped us off right outside the hostel (Base- Auckland Central Backpackers) which we had a voucher for- a perk for registering with SWAP (www.swap.ca). We will be staying here for at least the next two days, 1. Because it has been paid for through the registration of SWAP and 2. It will give us time to get organized, receive our orientation (where we get information on how to set up a bank account, get a tax #, start searching and applying for jobs) and really get some sort of plan in place :p We got an upgrade for the first two nights because they didn’t have a dorm room with two beds available. We were prepared to lose our privacy we had for the past ten days but we weren’t going to say no for a couple more nights!

--- RECAP & HIGHLIGHTS OF YASAWA ISLANDS AND NADI, FIJI ---

• Coralview Resort, Tavewa Island – We wrote about it in the last post.
  
• Korovou Eco-Tour Resort, Naviti Island – There wasn’t anything too exciting about this resort. Although we will give it the benefit of the doubt that we arrived on a Sunday which Fijians take very seriously as a day of worship (50-60% of the population are Christian) and rest. Pros: nice long beach with more hammocks; more spacious huts; laid back feel. Cons: Our toilet leaked and no one fixed it and we weren’t accommodated for it at all; both water and beer were at least a couple dollars more expensive than Coralview; staff wasn’t as friendly and the resort set-up didn’t allow for much socialization.
  
  

  

  Adrian chillin' in the hammock while I write in my journal

• Waya Lailai Ecohaven Resort, Waya Lailai Island – Our agreed upon favourite resort/island! Even though we arrived on an overcast day, the island was amazing! There were so many palm trees and a long white sandy beach PLUS gorgeous green foliage and neat rock formations all over. Here we had two activities scheduled- reef snorkelling and a summit walk. The day we went snorkelling was very windy and overcast but they seemed to think it would be okay. Unfortunately by the time we got out to the reef, Adrian was quite sea sick and wasn’t up for it. It would have been nice to share the experience but I still enjoyed it. Having never gone snorkelling but assuming I would have the same reaction even if I had, it was so beautiful! So many different coloured fish, huge pieces of coral all in different colours and formations and... reef sharks! As some of you know, sharks are not my favourite animal but any stretch so I was pretty intimidated by six 1.5-2 meter reef sharks swimming around me. But once the guide started playing with them and let me pet one, I was able to relax a bit. We also had a summit walk in the late afternoon on the island. It turned out to be an exhaustive hike which took 45 minutes to reach the summit after trampling over leaves, boulders and mud but WOW the view definitely made up for it! Stay tuned for pictures ;) Mom, I’m sending you an advisory for these!
  
  

  

  On the beach of Waya Lailai

  

  At the summit of Waya Lailai Island, highest peak of all the Yasawa Islands

• Beachcomber Island, Mamanuca Island – This was rumoured to be the party resort/island of the Yasawas but it wasn’t too pumpin’ for us. The resort manager was a Caucasian guy and you could tell by how the resort was set up and ran. Much more commercial compared to the other resorts ran and owned by Fijians, a huge boutique, bars all over the place, even our room was designed differently. We spent the night chatting with a bunch of people we met on Waya Lailai and watched some traditional Fijian/Polynesian dancing.
  
  

  

  Male fire dancer

• Seaspray Day Sailing – Our last day out at the islands was spent on a sailing trip that was an included activity in our package. We got to do some free snorkelling (Adrian was feeling fine this time), explored the island where the movie “Castaway” was filmed,  had a bbq on the boat, and visited a village where we finally got to participate in a Kava ceremony.
  
  

  

  Kava ceremony in the Yanuya Village

• Nadi Tour – Our last full day in Fiji was spent in Nadi. We slept in a bit, I got some much-needed laundry done and we booked a half day tour of Nadi. With the tour, we visited the largest Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere (Sri Siva Subramaniya) although we weren’t allowed in because it would cost extra (even though we thought it should have been included in the tour cost); visited a local fruit and vegetable market; went to a local souvenir shop where we participated in another kava ceremony and I got my first taste of foreign markets (ugh); guided tour of the Garden of the Sleeping Giant (founded by Raymond Burr) and ended with a visit to the village of Viseisei, the legendary landing site of the first Fijians.

Yet another long, detailed e-mail (post) but we hope you are enjoying reading them! Adrian and I are having a great time together, learning a lot about each other (good and bad) and can’t wait for what’s in store for us in New Zealand!

We will e-mail (post) you again soon. Hope all is well back home!

Bula from Fiji - November 13, 2011

Bula from Fiji!

We made it!

The flight from Calgary to Seattle was a cinch after we were able to confirm the departure time and a bit of an emotional goodbye between Mom and I (Dana).

Before our flight from Seattle to Los Angeles we had some time to kill so we had a bit of a nap at our gate then went to look for a plug-in to charge Adrian’s laptop and iPod.  Half an hour before our departure time, we decided to head back to our gate. Looking at the board to confirm our gate we saw it had changed. Luckily it was only a few gates down but we jogged over to find that they had just called for the final boarding. We made it JUST in time!

From Seattle to L.A.

The Los Angeles Airport was ridiculous. It was very difficult to find out where to go from switching from Alaskan Airlines to Air Pacific even after getting directions from several people. Once we turned up at the correct terminal we found insane lines. Partly because the lines for Philippines Air and Air Pacific were intertwined but also because there were a lot of people flying Air Pacific. We had a bit of a time getting Adrian’s boarding pass because for whatever reason they didn’t have a printed one when we picked up the rest of them at YYC. If he had had it, we wouldn’t have had to worry about the lines. 

Once we got the boarding pass, we had about half an hour to spare before we started boarding. No wonder it takes an hour to board a 747. It fits a lot of people but we also had to take a 10ish minute shuttle ride to the plane. It then took another 10ish minutes for us to drive to the strip. Some people joked that we were driving to Fiji. The ten hour flight didn’t seem too long somehow. We were both pretty excited and our flight attendant, Jonah, took good care of us ;)

"Yay!", "Yes!", On the plane to Nadi, Fiji

Since we were greeted with a welcome song at the Nadi Airport, the friendliness and welcoming has not stopped. I’m not sure if they are that way because they rely so much on tourism but it seems as if they are very friendly with each other as well. Either way, we like it! The first day consisted of catching up on some sleep and getting our bearings of the island. We ended up going to bed at 9pm that night and waking up at 6:30am the next day.

Breakfast was at 7am in time to catch our bus to Port Denarau at 7:30am. Boarding the vessel for the Yasawa Islands started at 8:20am and we started moving just before 9am. It was a five hour ride to the Tavewa Island with stops along the way for other people getting off at other islands. We met a girl traveling on her own and I’m guessing she was from Australia. We also met a guy from Manchester who was island hopping. He gave us tips on traveling through New Zealand as he had been there three times before, as well as for Australia and SE Asia a bit.

Coralview Resort is nice but we can’t compare it to anything else yet. I am still in awe of how blue/green the water is here! And clear and warm! I’m used to Central California waters- dark and cold. It’s also very hot and humid outside with not much of a cool down in the evenings. Not a surprise we both burnt the first day on the vessel ride from sitting outside and then again yesterday. Thankfully Adrian packed some aloe vera which we used up pretty fast. We were both exhausted from the sun and probably jet lagged a bit so we went to bed around 9pm again.

On the Yasawa Flyer

Our first of many welcome songs to the resort/island

Yesterday was our first full day on the islands. Breakfast was at 8:30am and then we were off to the Sawailau Caves. It took an hour to get there on a small motor fishing boat. Once we got there, we walked down into a water filled pit. We swam in there for a bit until it was time to venture into more of the caves. This involved diving through a narrow tunnel :s A little freaky but once we worked up some courage, it wasn’t too bad with the help of the guides. I asked for some history or interesting facts of the cave but the one guide admitted he didn’t know too much about them. After lunch back at the resort, we ventured to a private beach. It was longer but other than that nothing different from the closer beach. The water was so shallow and clear, I swear we could have walked across the ocean to the other island. Just before dinner we got a bit of a workout hiking up to the top of the island to watch the sun set. Beautiful!

Inside the cave after diving through the dark, narrow tunnel

Our "private" beach

Sunset at the top of the island

While here we had met a couple from Australia here on vacation; Jeff from the Netherlands who is backpacking through Fiji, New Zealand and Australia for 6 months; Sophie and Victoria from Denmark who are backpacking through Fiji and Australia for 4.5 months; and Marie from the Netherlands here for her diving certification.

Today we are off to our next island – Naviti Island – and staying at Korovou Eco-tour Resort.

E-mail (post) you all again soon!

Love,
Adrian & Dana

Intro Post

Dear family, friends and other interested parties:

Thank you for taking the time to check out our blog about our adventures through Fiji, New Zealand and Australia for the next year or so. And who knows what the future holds, maybe we will have some stories and experiences to share about South East Asia.

Against what seemed like all odds at times, Adrian and I have been embark on these new adventures together. With obstacles such as being laid off, financial responsibilities, Adrian's basement flooding, poor Scarlet getting hit by a vehicle, we are so thankful we are able to do this, and together. We would also like to take the time to thank you for your support and encouragement to do this.

So far we have been able to update a bunch of you every week with new happenings but we won't guarantee it will be a weekly thing for the next year. Please enjoy reading the blog posts (subscribe if you want) as they come but we can also be in touch via e-mail, Facebook, Skype or our shared cell phone (just ask for our phone number). 

Thank you again for your support and your interest in our adventures!

Until next post...


Much love,
Adrian & Dana