Well I am at my favorite local hangout---the library!! Yeah I am pretty much a nerd around here! My sister would be proud of me! This is the only place in town that has wireless and free computer access so it is a nice place to hang out. This was a much better week than last week. Last week I worked all week. Which isn't a stretch for most people, but I am used to working 3 or 4 days a week. One of the nights I started work at 8 am and then worked till 10 pm---with a short break in between. I can somewhat empathize with Henn---one of my co-workers back home! And then the next day I was back at work at 8 am. I am thankful for the extra money though. It will come in handy when I do some of my traveling.
Last weekend I finally made it to the coast---I saw the Pacific Coast from the other side! Pretty amazing. And it was actually warm enough to swim, but unfortunately I forgot to bring my togs---(bathing suit!). I even got to tour a sheep farm on a quad. It was definitely a NZ experience to be surrounded by lots of sheep and cattle. I even got to drive the quad a bit. Thankfully their weren't any trees nearby!
This weekend I am on call so I am forced to stick close to home. It has been raining all night long and all day so far so I am okay with staying home. I bought a new car this week from one of my co-workers. I had a rental car for a month from the hospital. Crazy to think I have been here over a month!
I think the summer is almost over---I am a bit sad about that. But have been told that autumn is very nice over here. Can't wait to do more tramping around the area!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Escaping the country!
Well I finally made it out of Masterton for the weekend! I was on call all last weekend and ended up getting called in a couple of times, so my reward this weekend was to have a 4 day holiday. I left early Thursday morning on the train from Masterton to Wellington. I traveled with all of the business commuters who travel to Wellington for work. I was hoping to meet some relatives who were arriving in Wellington on a cruise ship, but unfortunately we didn't make any definite plans so I ended up doing my own thing. Wellington is a very nice city right along a beautiful harbor. Of course with my NW luck it was raining the entire day. Thankfully I was a smart NW girl and had brought a jacket with me! I found the information center near the Civic Square and was able to find some fun things to do in the area. I went on the cable car which goes up to the Botanical Gardens. I found out that Wellington is full of cable cars--for personal use. People live in very high spots around the city and to make it easier to get to their houses they put in cable cars to get to their houses. Very ingenious!
Later in the afternoon I went on a WETA Lord of the Rings tour. Weta by the way is an insect--it is also the company that does the special effects and costumes and other cool features of the Lord of the Rings and several other movies. The tour took us to several places around the city where they had filmed the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I didn't realize that the filming had taken place for 3 years and that they filmed all 3 films at once. So the actors became quite familar with the sights of NZ. We even saw where the hobbits went surfing in their spare time!
I have been fortunate to be able to stay with Gwyn's parents in Lower Hutt which is about 20 min from Wellington. It is nice to have connections when it comes to accomodations!
On Friday Gwyn drove up from Carterton with her 7 children--which to me is amazing that she would be willing to travel by herself for an hour with her 7 kids. The older 4 kids and Gwyn and I went to Te Papa (the national NZ museum). It reminded me of OMSI back home. It was pretty cool to see some of the displays and learn more about the history of NZ. They even had a giant dead squid on display that they found in the waters of Antarctica.
Today I spent the day with Gwyn's parents in the Lower Hutt area. Thankfully the weather was much better today so I could see more of the beauty of this area. It was nice to see the water. I have been on an island for 3 weeks and still have not been to the beach. I need to take full advantage of the fact that it is still summer and get to the beach soon!
Tomorrow I am running in a 7K fun run around the bay of Wellington. There also is a half marathon, but I didn't think I wanted to kill myself before heading back to work on Monday! In conclusion I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying my time exploring NZ. I would love to work less and travel more, but I am excited to take advantage of every opportunity I have to explore this beautiful country. Hopefully I will be able to have many of my friends come and visit me while I am here! :)
Later in the afternoon I went on a WETA Lord of the Rings tour. Weta by the way is an insect--it is also the company that does the special effects and costumes and other cool features of the Lord of the Rings and several other movies. The tour took us to several places around the city where they had filmed the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I didn't realize that the filming had taken place for 3 years and that they filmed all 3 films at once. So the actors became quite familar with the sights of NZ. We even saw where the hobbits went surfing in their spare time!
I have been fortunate to be able to stay with Gwyn's parents in Lower Hutt which is about 20 min from Wellington. It is nice to have connections when it comes to accomodations!
On Friday Gwyn drove up from Carterton with her 7 children--which to me is amazing that she would be willing to travel by herself for an hour with her 7 kids. The older 4 kids and Gwyn and I went to Te Papa (the national NZ museum). It reminded me of OMSI back home. It was pretty cool to see some of the displays and learn more about the history of NZ. They even had a giant dead squid on display that they found in the waters of Antarctica.
Today I spent the day with Gwyn's parents in the Lower Hutt area. Thankfully the weather was much better today so I could see more of the beauty of this area. It was nice to see the water. I have been on an island for 3 weeks and still have not been to the beach. I need to take full advantage of the fact that it is still summer and get to the beach soon!
Tomorrow I am running in a 7K fun run around the bay of Wellington. There also is a half marathon, but I didn't think I wanted to kill myself before heading back to work on Monday! In conclusion I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying my time exploring NZ. I would love to work less and travel more, but I am excited to take advantage of every opportunity I have to explore this beautiful country. Hopefully I will be able to have many of my friends come and visit me while I am here! :)
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