Introducing Massimiliano!!

By now you have all probably heard about the newest addition to our household, but I cannot let this occasion pass without an official blog announcement.

So without further ado....We bought a Vespa!!!

Name: Massimiliano ("Massi") Powers
Make: 2006 LX150

I have wanted a Vespa longer than I have known Rob, and we have been working toward that goal for years. When we were trying to decide where we wanted to live after Chicago, one consideration was how scooter-friendly each location was. Once we arrived in Auckland, it became our main criteria for finding a neighborhood to live in.

Even before we left Chicago, we got motorcycle licenses in anticipation of purchasing a Vespa. Most places don't require a license for bikes with an engine smaller than 50ccs, but we knew we would want something big enough to carry both of us. It is also much easier to get a motorcycle license in Chicago than, well, just about anywhere - especially countries that have a publicly funded healthcare system. Our licenses won't be transferable until June 2015, but until then we can drive on our US licenses.

Massimiliano was the name of our Italian wedding planner. When I first emailed Massi, I told him I wanted to arrive at the wedding on a white Vespa, which he reserved months in advance - and he even requested photos from the dealer to ensure it was white. However, the week before our wedding was fashion week in Milan, and a model crashed my white Vespa! Instead of asking if another color would be okay (which it would have been because I am not crazy), Massi found a white Vespa a few towns away, and drove it 100km on the Italian motorway in the rain to get it to me before the wedding.

So far, being a Vespa owner has been everything I dreamed it would be. It's a little scary, but drivers here are very used to seeing them around, and respond accordingly. We always wear helmets and we never, ever drink and drive. We've driven in light sprinkles, but if the weather's too bad, we leave Massi at home.

Our current commute is Vespa-ing to the ferry and then taking the ferry to the city - not a bad way to start the day!  And I always take the long way home. Until this week I've been commuting alone (while Rob walks), but his helmet is finally here, so now we can start taking the long way home together.

Some pictures from our adventures thus far...

19 March 2014 - the day we bought Massi!  I saw the deal online and knew someone would snatch it up quickly, so Rob and I dashed over to the dealer during lunch. I didn't have my license with me, so Rob had to test drive Massi without me.

To the left: Our new commute - Vespa to ferry to city! To the right: our first tandem Vespa adventure.

The second best part about owning a Vespa (after riding it around all the time) is being able to buy all the Vespa merchandise I've wanted for years but couldn't buy without feeling like a poser.

Just around the riverbend!

Now that things have settled down at work, we wanted to jump right back into adventuring - so this past weekend Rob and I headed down to Raetihi with two friends, Katie S. and Kristen, for a 2-day, overnight canoe trip on the Whanganui River. We left straight from work Friday, stayed in a cabin Friday night, and got up before the sunrise Saturday morning to pack up our stuff and get on our way.

The company in charge supplied us with two canoes, six waterproof barrels, life vests and a map. They did a quick overview of some rowing strokes and told us how best to navigate rapids and then sent us on our way!

We began our journey at the Whakahoro campsite, and rowed down to spend the night in the John Coull hut.  It may not look very far on this map, but it was nearly 37.5km (23+ miles). It took us roughly 7 hours including our lunch break at Mangapapa.

On Sunday, we canoed a further 18.5km (11.5 miles) to Mangapurua, where we did a two-hour hike up to the Bridge of Nowhere and back.  From there, a jet boat picked us up and took us back to our car, and it was another five hours of driving to get back to Auckland and our beds. 

The hut warden told us that this was the slowest he'd seen the river in 40 years - lucky us! At points the wind was blowing so strong in the wrong direction that it felt like we were rowing against the current (I believe the nautical term for this is a headwind). This meant we had to row every last meter of those 56km - no lazily floating down the river as we expected.

It was one of the harder things I've ever done, but also one of the best. I think a small part of me is starting to understand why some people push themselves so hard physically - the sense of accomplishment can be a little heady. Plus, the complete and total immersion in nature is such a unique experience. Knowing the nearest call for help is a 7 hour canoe ride down river is a little terrifying, but it can also be both liberating and empowering.

View from the shuttle to Whakahoro

Starting out -  we're all smiles and Disney songs

From top left: spotting the first of many wild goats on the river bank; watching dozens of birds flitting around like falling leaves; a stunning reflection - at least that glassy water is good for something!

From top left: Lunch break, where Rob stabbed (and killed) a bee with his Swiss army knife; O Captain my Captain; finally making it to the hut around twilight

Our lovely hut - complete with "nice long-drop toilets"

Oh, misty eye of the mountain below...

Bridge to nowhere, hiking and jet boat!

What I love most about rivers is

You can't step in the same river twice

The water's always changing, always flowing

But people, I guess, can't live like that

We all must pay a price

To be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing...

Checking in

I know we've been bad about posting lately, so wanted to pop in and let you all know what's been keeping us. Sadly, it is not because we've been too busy having fun - the truth is that March is our "busy season" at work over here. This is nothing compared to what busy season meant back in the States, but it does mean that we work late a couple nights a week and generally work a bit on Sunday.

It hasn't been all work and no play though - my Vespa was dropped off on Tuesday and I've been scootin' around Devonport whenever I can.  Rob doesn't have a helmet yet (and we never, ever, ever ride without a helmet), so it's been just me for now, but we're hoping to remedy that this weekend.

We have a lot scheduled for April -so stay tuned!  Until then, check out my new commute!  Not too shabby.

Vespa to ferry to city - best commute ever!

Coromandel weekend

Last weekend we rented a bach (Kiwi for "rental house") with a couple of friends on Cook's Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula, which is a 2-3 hour drive from Auckland.

Unfortunately, I caught a pretty terrible cold a couple days before we left, and was still in pretty bad shape by the time the weekend rolled around. I tried to take it easy, but did manage to get a few adventures in - we did some boogie boarding at Hot Water Beach (in some of the biggest waves I've ever seen) and I tried sea kayaking for the first time. We forgot to bring our waterproof camera, so we don't have very many pictures from the weekend, but we did kayak into a cave, which was pretty neat.

Funnest grocery run ever - short (2-3 minute) ferry ride to Whitianga, then rented a bike car for the 1km trip to the grocery store! Also stopped at a cute produce stand for some fresh avocados and tomatoes. We introduced our Kiwi friends to American-style taco night. They loved it!

Sea kayaking, Cook's beach, and a traffic jam caused by cows

Valentine's Getaway

I have always had a strong dislike for Valentine's Day - it makes single people feel bad about themselves and makes couple people feel weirdly obligated.  But this year I realized something - if life hands you an excuse to celebrate, take it!

So this year, Rob and I used Valentine's Day as an excuse to go back to Rotorua! On our way we stopped at the Big Sheep, which is something I've wanted to see for a while. Their yarn selection was disappointing (and nearly nonexistent), but it was a good place to stop for lunch. They also have the Big Dog next door.

While we were there, we thought we'd give sledging a try as well. To some people, sledging is the same as sledding. To Kiwis, it is white water rafting on a one-person sled. It's one of the more extreme sports I've ever tried, and I'm proud to say that I escaped with only a few scrapes and bruises (although I did hit one rock so hard that it scraped my knee through my wet suit - owwww).

Above: Pictures of sledging I stole from google images. They are not messing around!  Below: A much-deserve post-sledging beer flight at Rotorua's only brew pub (cleverly named "Brew")

And then Sunday was luging! As some of you may recall, we went luging during our Christmas travels and had the best time! We kept making jokes that it was like Mario Kart, and so I had the oh-so-brilliant idea of making Rob hoodie of his favorite Mario Kart character, Yoshi (I bought a green hoodie and added red spikes) and dressing up as my favorite Mario Kart character, Toadette.

If you know nothing about Nintendo, you may find these pictures confusing and slightly disturbing, but rest assured - they are awesome.

Our inspiration

To the left: Another excellent eHarmony picture for Rob. To the right: Bowser

Just in case you forgot that this is also an absolutely breathtaking area to spend a day (on the luge ski lift)

Entertain Us

Over the last few weeks we have been to multiple shows and even an amusement park. Before moving here we were warned that we might find New Zealand to be a bit lacking in culture, but we've been pretty pleased so far with the offerings available to us.

We got a groupon to Rainbow's End, which is New Zealand's biggest amusement park. I think there were something like 7-8 rides, but there were also very few people there, so we got to ride them as many times as we wanted. Also they played "Timber" in line for the enchanted log flume (which turned out to be very strange indeed).
 

Not pictured: The Power Surge, aka the scariest ride I have ever been on. 

 I found out Dolly Parton was coming to town soon after we moved here, but Rob had no interest and I didn't want to go alone. So I was thrilled when a friend let me know she had a last minute cancellation and therefore an extra ticket. I loved Dolly before the concert, but now I love her even more. She sang old songs and new songs and told stories and played all kinds of instruments. Age has definitely not slowed her down.

It is important to me that you know that they played "Hello Dolly" just before Dolly came on stage.

We are kind of Shakespeare nerds, so when we saw signs around town for Shakespeare in the Park, we got some friends together to go see it. It turns out we are also Shakespeare snobs. According to the experts, Othello is a Shakespearean tragedy, but this cast (unintentionally?) played it as a comedy. I miss Stratford (Ontario) already.

The outdoor theatre was pretty neat, even if it did start to rain.

Auckland has a pretty great movies in the park program, and we have been to two movies so far - The Graduate in Silo Park and The Great Gatsby (the 2013 version) in Milford Reserve.

From top left: View from Silo Park back to the city; Graduate on the silo; one man's creative seating arrangement (Erin - I thought of you!); Gatsby on the big inflatable screen; Rob and I nerding out with our dual Gatsby shirts.

I don't know who makes Rob's shirt, but if you are jealous of my Gatsby shirt, you can get yourself one through Out of Print clothing (it also comes in sweatshirt form, and their sweatshirts are super cozy). That is also a handy link to have if you ever want to buy me a present.

Finally, we celebrated 6 months in New Zealand on February 9th with a hike up Mount Victoria, which is the big hill in our back yard that overlooks the entire town of Devonport (our new home, which I promise to tell you more about soon). I was intending to write a big long post about being here for 6 months with lots of profound thoughts about our first half-year of living abroad, but my thoughts about it are actually pretty simple:

We love it here. We miss you there. We're glad we picked this winter to leave Chicago.

Celebratory picnic on top of Mount Victoria overlooking Rangitoto.

Christmas Vacation Part IV - Middle Earth

I largely credit Lord of the Rings for putting New Zealand on my radar. Generally, Kiwis don't appreciate this type of fame, but the film and tourist industries have embraced it.  Which brings us to the fourth and final photo essay of our Christmas Vacation - the Lord of the Rings Nerdery part.

Visiting Rivendell, which is in between Martinborough and Wellington. The stone in the bottom center photo is the last piece of Rivendell still standing. Rumor has it Legolas took some promo shots where I'm standing on the right.

Rob is between Gandalf and Aragorn's height. I am almost exactly as tall as Gandalf (because I'm a wizard, obviously).

This bridge was not in any movies but it's in the same park as Rivendell and I like it. It reminds me of Indiana Jones.

At Weta Caves - Peter Jackson's prop workshop and mini-museum. We did a tour of the workshop, but no pictures were allowed.  It was pretty neat! They had lots of non-LOTR stuff as well - the studio has done props for moves such as Avatar, District 9, King Kong and the classic horror film Black Sheep.

Some cool stuff around the mini-museum. If you don't recognise it, no explanation can help.

Hanging out with the trolls in the Weta Caves garden.

After Weta Caves, we headed to Stansborough studio, who did all the weaving for the Lord of the Rings movies and many others in association with Weta Caves. They made their own yarn (aptly named Mithril) out of their blue-grey sheep for the movies, and were selling it in store! I bought enough to make myself a Mithril vest - just in case there are any orcs lurking about.