The priests that run the winery...

Hello everyone, (Well anyone who reads my blog!)

Sorry its been like years since I have posted... I was crazy busy with work,  worked like 92 hours in two weeks.. yes... crazy.. but I love it, it was all winter fashion and running around and telling people what to do and coordinating different things and planning! But once I finally finished all of that I got two days off work.  So off Colin and I went to Hawkes Bay for 4 days and we had soo much fun!

On Saturday Morning we woke up and got our little blue car to take on our adventure.  We started off a little rough, somehow got on the wrong highway a few times.. but eventually we made it to Napier.  Napier is a beautiful town right on the east coast of the north island and it was so warm (No wind!)  We got some lunch and did some walking around.  Our first big hike of the trip was up to a place called Bluff Hill.  There is where New Zealands oldest prison is, (Wanted to do a tour but it was expensive) and from there, there are really pretty views of the city.

Below:  - Napier central city area,  us on the beach,  a view from Bluff Hill, and the major port in Napier.

So then we went back into town and got some dinner and headed back to the hostel.  The people staying in the same room as us were from Washington state!  he guy grew up in Mt. Vernon and the girl went to Evergreen, how crazy is that!  We are going to meet up with them in Wellington when they make it down here.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed down to Hastings for their farmers market.  It was super cute with little stalls all having samples.  I got a very good waffle and colin got a good sandwhich.  We then headed to Te Mata Peak which is a big mountain ish type hiking area that overlooks the water and other parts, basically its beautiful... here are some photos! (and introducing to my blog... a VIDEO!)

So after our beautiful 2 hourish hike we headed to this little down called Havelock North which has super cute shops and cafe's.  We went to a fun organic store and they had all my favorite organic brands from back home... expect it was 15.00 for a jar of pickles... but we had lunch and an amazing coffee at this little cafe' and then jumped in the car for our drive to Gisborne.  But first stopping at a chocolate factory! YUMMY, except it wasn't what we thought so we just got a truffle and headed back towards Gisborne.

The drive is only 216K but its SOOO windy it takes forever!  when we finally made it we checked into our little hostel and went down to the beach to catch a little bit of the sun set. 
Gisborne is where Captian Cook landed in New Zealand discovering the country in 1769.  so naturally we got a photo with the statue, and it is located where he actually set foot in NZ!  Also Gisborne is the first place in the world to see the sun each day... cool huh!

 Photos below: - sunset, Captain Cooks statue, the clock tower in town and me on the beach.

On Monday morning, we walked around town and stopped at this little cafe' and bookstore for a coffee up on the deck which overlooked the main city street.  We then headed to a brewery called Sunshine brewing company and got a personal little tour.  They were even brewing at the time and we got to see some of the process.  Colin naturally bought some beer and we got to see their little bottling line as well.  After saying our goodbyes we were off back to Napier, while stopping along the way for some pretty pictures and a hike... except they were doing some construction so we didn't get to hike...

We made it back in the afternoon and then walked around by the water and made our way back to the hostel and then down to dinner. 

Our last day, today (Tuesday)  was spent going to a winery and a brewery.  We went to a place called the Misson winery and it was amazing!!  Basically, back in the day there were some priests in Europe who came to do their thing in NZ.  Yet they also brought along some vines to start their winery.  They built this house with the help of the Maori and then years later realized there was this river that continued to get bigger... so they moved the entire house! They split it up in 11 pieces and moved it up this hill to its current location.  and through the years they added onto the house in different sections.  It even withheld the huge 1933 earthquake.  During our tour they showed us pieces of furniture they have photographs of them savaging from the destroyed parts from the earthquake.  it was so cool to see! Not to mention it was beautiful!  The priests now don't work and learn here anymore, but all their profits go to them.  The man who did the tour was great, he had a wonderful sense of humor and we tasted some great wines.  I even bought a bottle!  (which is odd for me since i don't usually like wine and I don't know much about it.)  He then suggested for us to go to the Roosters Brew House.

'tell them Trevor from The Mission sent you' he told us.  How Kiwi!  It is what you hear about, how people just say tell them so and so sent you and go to this place, they'll love you and show you around. etc.  So we made our way there had a delicious lunch and some great beers.  They were amazing!  and so cheap! so we bought a litre of beer and once again were on our way home.

We are now back home in Wellington and came home to a heat pump in the house!! YAY!!!  Next week we are off to New Plymouth to camp on the beach and some hiking! so I will write another post soon!

New post soon!'

Hi everyone! I just wanted to say a new post is coming soon! I have just been so busy with our fashion week/events at work(put in over 50hoirs this week!) but soon I will have more photos and info so stay tuned!!




- sarah

Osama is dead... and the Kiwi TV1 put the fake photos on the news....

Hello Hello!

So this week I was given tickets to a Wellington Blues VS. Auckland Hurricanes Rugby game.  so Friday night Colin and I walked down to the stadium and watched the game.  It was pretty fun and interesting since I don't really know the rugby rules, but I enjoyed it alot.  The stadium only seats around 36,000 people and is only one level.  So really there isn't a bad seat.  Its crazy to think that the other major stadium in the country only holds just over half the capacity of Quest Field.


 Also, this week we found out the Osama news.  It has been interesting to hear the comments from Kiwis.  The messages boards on-line here are surprisingly negative.


  I think this will be something like 9/11 and how people remember where they were that day.  I was the first person in the office to know about it since my parents called to tell me.  Everyone was astonished about the news.   The funny thing is that the NZ news actually found one of the fake photos for Osama on the internet and thought it was real.  His fake death photo was broadcasted on the news.. I can easily say it hasn't been since then..


Since we wern't able to go to Hawks Bay over Easter we are now going on the 27th of May.  I am pretty excited!  We take the bus up, then stay in Napier for 2 days where we will walk around/explore and then do a biking wine tour.  Then on Saturday/Sunday we are going to rent a car and drive up the coast to Brisberth and stay up there for a night.  Hawks bay is right on the east coast of the North Island and have heard from many people how beautiful it is.  Some people from work grew up there so I am getting a whole list of fun things to do.

My package from home came! It was filled with amazing things! I was told I had to bring it into work for show and tell.  It was hilarious to watch Jaime, Jan and Megan look over the 'American' stuff.   I also have everyone in the office try any kind of candy my mom sends.  They have tried Jolly Ranchers, Girl Scout Cookies and Hershey's chocolate Easter eggs.. Everyone of them loved them all.. its so fun to watch their reaction and talk about how its a great 'American' candy.


Funny Kiwi Sayings....
Doesn't that just rip your panties
Good on you
Pram = Stroller
get shitty = someones being shitty, or being mean. EX:  She got really shitty with me

Hey Sarah.. go over there to take a photo... Me.. AHHH theres a seal!!

Once again, sorry its be awhile since the last post....

Many things have happen since the last post,  We had our makshift easter celebration, booked some Thailand stuff, the Royal Wedding crazyness, I drove for the first time on the left side of the road, and we spent the weekend out at Cape Palliser which is one of the most beautiful places I have seen.


Easter in New Zealand is HUGE.  Not necessarily the religious aspect of it, but the idea of eating candy and having it be a public holiday.  We got a 4 day weekend because good friday is a public holiday, and then it was ANZAC day (like a memorial day) on Monday.   Instead of there being tons of Easter bunnies and premade Easter baskets, there are just TONS of giant and small Easter eggs, all types you could think of. The whole notion of being politically correct and not talking about a religious holiday doesn't apply here, we had an Easter brunch at work, and I got lots of Easter eggs from people at work.

We went to an STA travel night and continued to book our adventures in Thailand!  We booked our three day trek in Chang Mai which is going to be amazing!  We also got free beer and wine, food, a free Thailand lonley planet book ($70NZ dollars) and 50.00 towards more!  All and all it was pretty sweet, which made me start to think about our next adventure... and I am thinking South Africa, a 10 day tour through the country and then a few extra days in Capetown... Don't you worry everybody... IT WILL HAPPEN, though I have no idea how I will make money when I get back to the USA, I will get to South Africa, and many other places around the world! :)


The Royal Wedding happened, and man oh man was it a HUGE event!  I spent alot of time at work talking about what Kate would wear, how it would be hard to be her, and anything else.  Everyone had wedding parties with high tea (Fancy tea party with the party stacked platters and each one has sweeter treats)  Or there were themed parties, or dress up ones for charity which mimicked the wedding events.  it was crazy! I also bought the souvenir edition of the newspaper here! :)

On Friday night we met up with Caro, our friend from Belgium and had dinner, she made us an amazing dinner! The weirdest thing about it is that she had a girl staying with her... and she was from Olympia! how crazy! She was super nice, yet if you wanted to describe anyone as an Evergreener she would be it! (and she is trying to go to school there too!)  But really it was fun to talk about all the signature Olympia stuff and think about how I can't wait to get back and eat Old School and Meconies!

One cool thing we learned from Felix (girl from Olympia)  is how to make an amazing desert!  chocolate coconut balls... it was just avocado, sugar and coco whipped together and then rolled in coconut. oh man it was amazing!  I recommend trying it! and you can add macadam nuts. YUMMY!

Anyways, this weekend we went out to Cape Palliser, its the southernmost part of the north island.  Its on the east coast and there is a 150 year old light house that you can climb up the 250 steps to.  so we rented a car and were on our way!  I got in the drivers seat we headed out of the parking lot.  I immediately turned on the windshield whippers... as they are switched, and got flustered.  It took some getting used to but by the time we returned the car on Sunday I felt better.  Although driving on the left side is odd.. I felt like the part of the car between the two windows (front and side) was so hard to see around!  Only once, and it was in a parking lot, did I accidentally go on the right side of the road.

So we got out to Cape Palliser and it was amazing!  It also known to have a lot of seals, which we saw!  They were sleeping all over the place, like a foot from the road (which wasn't really a road, more like gravel)  we got out and took pictures and then climbed up a huge cliff area to take more.  We figured we were safely away from the seals as we were up very high and Colin told me to go down a step for a cool photo.  I started to walk around and almost got there, when all of a sudden this seal started hissing at me! (and for those who didn't know they are actually really dangerous and can slither around really fast and then your done for...)  I screamed and ran back up.. so basically Colin was trying to get me killed! although really it was hidden behind a rock...


The scenery in this area was crazy.  We were right on the coast but then there were these huge green mountains so close to the water.  The waves were giant and came crashing down onto the seals, and big rocks.  They would of easily engulfed a car and taken it out to sea.  Then looking out there was a soft mist from the water which made it look almost unreal.  I know it doesn't do it justice, but it was beautiful.

So we climbed to the top of the light house and then headed to a small town (the first colonized NZ town) called Greytown.  We stayed in a cute little hotel and had an amazing dinner at the White Swan... It was very good, although we didn't have much of a choice since the ENTIRE town was basically already closed and the whole town was only main street.

We made it home, and spent today going to the market and catching up on things, it was actually a beautiful weekend and day in Wellington with no wind, so we got to air out our shitty house and didn't have to hang out in our sleeping bags (which is becoming quite popular as our house is usually so cold you can see your breath.. cool....)  That is one thing I will NOT miss about NZ!  un heated/insulated houses..




Fringe = bangs
Servett = napkins
Brain Wave = ex; I need a brain wave, or i just had a brain wave, like an awha moment, or the light bulb came on.

Different places throughout Cape Palliser! Enjoy!

I can't believe we have already been here for over 2 months!

Alright, so according to some of my readers (Alex....) I don't put up enough posts... so I am trying to be better!

I have been home sick the past 2 days which isn't any fun... but I found out that I am officially contracted until February with Westfield! and the best part is they are flexible around me traveling, its like the perfect situation!  So we can still go around and see the country, just as long as I don't have a big project or anything.

I love all the people I work with, each one is so nice!  Megan (In picture below) is like a mom figure, she is soo nice I almost feel bad! but that is just the way New Zealanders are.  We met up for the Lower Hutt Duck Race (Phebe didn't win.. she got stuck up the river...) and then she had Colin and I over for an amazing lunch and desert, and then sent us home with carrot cake too! She also helped me win a air popcorn maker (yes Savannah and Alicia, I now have one. THANK GOD!) and even drove out to pick it up!

Everyone is generally curious about different American things, so I get some funny questions.  like Jaime asked about Twinkies because she read about them in the babysitters club when she was little, another one was about how fat Americans really are.  Half of the staff at work hadn't seen a air popper before, ya know for popcorn, so we are now buying one for the work kitchen and I am making them some with brewers yeast of course!  Some of the pronunciation is different as well.  such as advertisement, glacier, garage and aluminum.  Its hard to describe but the 'a' is drawn out so its like gaaarage. or glaaacier, etc.  If i write certain sayings like greeting everyone, or something else they tell me thats very American. :)

Everyone thinks is funny that I say anyways, not anyway.  Also instead of saying "check out below," they say "check out the below."  odd... Also:  the paper size is different here, three ring binders are actually 2 ring binders, they don't use the letter z in words like organize, its organise.  Self checkouts are a new revolution here.

On each Wednesday we have morning tea, which is always fun.  We all sit around the table, have tea and different treats and just talk.  It's a nice break from work, and something Americans would consider odd, I think...

Another interesting thing is the different in food ingredients.  The US standard for food is SOO low (THANKS USDA/FDA)  There is no high fructose corn syrup here, or aspertaime.  Even the cheaper food here has less ingredients in it, just using the basics.  Jaime was interested to hear that I always read the ingredients at stuff back home (and here) because there is such odd thing put in food.  EX.  coca cola here is like the Mexican kind with just sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.  I wish the food standards at home were higher so even if you were poor you could still have healthy non fake food!

We now have a part time flat cat named Kitty... she comes and visits each day and we have no idea who she really belongs to, but we like her.  Our door to the deck has a cat door so she just walks right in and then meows till we greet here.  She is pretty cute, and curious about everything!  Its fun because she is only a part time kitty!

Some other interesting things about New Zealand include:

- on domestic flights there isn't any security checks.
- Heaps is a common word, ex: I hope you feel Heaps better!
- Most guys here were shorts, shoes and tall black socks, its like a fashion trend.
- Clinque face wash $14 US = $45NZ!!
- A palate of 4 eyeshadow shades from YSL brand, was $114!!!!

Below:  our lovely house!!  The window above the red roof is our room.
- Phebe making her way sideways down the river.
- Megan and I with the big duck.
- Phebe after being rescued from the river... she got a little beat up!
- Our cat kitty, stopping by for a nap on our bed.

I'm a big girl now, with a big girl job!

Hello Everyone!

I know its been awhile, I've been super busy!  Since coming back from our last trip, I have been working full time at Westfield Queensgate.  I am the new marketing coordinator, and it is so much fun!  I have my own office, and the people I work with are great.  I am learning alot about the differences between the company within the US and NZ.  There are many cultural differences too, the way you write emails, and my favorite one... wine each Friday.  Yes, thats right the last half an hour of work we relax and end the day with a glass of wine! They all think its funny that you can't do that in the US.  and everyone was in shock to hear we only have 2 weeks paid vacation.  I also found out their maternity leave is 14 weeks too!

Anyways, besides my job which wares me out! we have been planning our next place to visit.  Good Friday is a public holiday, as well as ANZAC day, which is like our Vetrans Day.  so we have a 4 day weekend!  We are going to Hawks bay, which is on the east cost of the North Island.  We are going to do a biking wine tour, which I am so excited for!  I hope to do some more traveling alot, were really just wanting to make some money and then go around the country.  We love Wellington but are feeling alittle tied down, though I am sure it will get better once Colin has a job as well.   It could also be us just missing home and friends/family.

In other news, our flatmate Stephanie is moving out (not really sure why...) and so Greg is most likely moving in with us!  at least until August.. so if anyone wants to come live in NZ for a while, we have a room open! 

Some common sayings:
- Let me have a think about it.
- I can't be bothered.  (ex.  I want some ice cream but I can't be bothered walking there!)  I think its funny.

- Singlet = tank top
- Theater = operating room

Below:  My duck Phebe... for the Lower Hutt Duck races... More pictures to come!! She debuts tomorrow, and I hope she wins!!

The other two pictures are our night out on the town with Greg and his Dad.

I'll try to put up a post more often, as I know I am missing stuff!!  But hopefully in the next few weeks well have more interesting things to tell everyone about!

"An Oreo? Oh thats a real American cookie isn't it!"

Colin and I spent the last week over on the South Island for a little vacation before I started working full time at Westfield.
But first - I have to admit I have come to love my cell phone, though it is the most basic Nokia in the world, not even a camera! I have grown to appreciate it and am glad I have a cell phone, even though no one calls me because we don't have any friends here.... :)  Also all the toilets here have two buttons, but none of them are labeled!! I have constantly wondered what the difference was and finally asked Colin about it... He said the same thing! Were guessing one is for number 2 and one for number 1 but there isn't any kind of indication for which one is which.. its kind of humorous.

Also everything closes so early and it drives me nuts! I can't get used to it! if you work till 5:30 you have at the most 30 min to go somewhere and shop.  Food places stay open but everything else closes.  Even the Mall's hours are 9-6 monday - wednesday.  Luckily some places stay open till 8 on the weekends, but everything is closed by around 2 on sunday.  The lifestyle over here is just different and not so focused on working all the time like in the US.  And women here don't only have their engagement, and wedding band, they also get an eternity band as well, and some even get a baby one! basically, the rings are huge! 

Anyways, We left for Nelson on Tuesday on the Ferry.  It's a three hour ride across to Picton.  We arrived and walked to our hostel.  It was a fun bright blue hostel with a huge porch, chairs, a hot tub and a tree house.  After checking in we went on a hike around one of the coves and walked back along the beach.  as usual the town shut down around 5ish and we walked the deserted streets looking for a place for dinner.  Picton was a super cute town, just really small and not alot going on.

We met a super nice girl from Manchester who gave us some good travel tips.  and we talked about Prince William and Kate, they call him willy.  HA She did tell us though (which proved to be true) that there are 27,000 Germans in New Zealand and no one can apply for a working holiday visa for the next year since its so pack.  two of our 4 roommates in the Nelson hostel were German.


The next morning we took a bus from Picton to Nelson.  There was this older man on the bus talking on his phone, but he would put it to his ear to listen and then move it to his mouth to talk.. it was pretty entertaining.

Nelson is a super cute town! there is alot of fun shops (but alot of them i didn't get to see because they all close!!!) But there is a great I-site station.. I-site stations are all around NZ in each town where they can give you information, book things for you and other fun stuff.  We booked two day events for hiking and kayaking up in Abel Tasman National Park.

So the first day we went to a brewery in this odd old town that was like some weird replica of an early 1900's town.  except nothing was really open and it was deserted... so we just did a beer tasting and then headed to some pizza dinner.

Our hostel in Nelson was awesome! it was the nicest one we have been to by far, and they served free chocolate pudding and ice cream each night! The next morning bright and early and took a boat up to Bark Bay in Able Tasman where we were dropped off on the white sand beaches and to start our hike.  We met a super nice girl from Holland who was hiking as well.  She talked about how cool it would be to live in America and when I offered here an oreo she was so excited and replied saying "This is a real American cookie isn't it!"  Our hike was gorgeous! we would be in a desert area, then to tropical, then to deep forest, and all of a sudden we would be looking out to the beautiful water.

The next day we took a bus up to Able Tasman and set out to kayak for the day.  After an orientation that seemed like forever we were finally on the water and went to two different island and 3 beaches.  It was so much fun, great weather and amazing views, but i was exhausted by the end of the day.  We once again had our chocolate pudding and then headed to bed.

During our stay in Nelson we met a super nice Dutch girl named Tabby, she was so full of life and hilarious to talk to.  We talked about the huge differences between the US and Holland and she told us about her country's celebrations for new years, such as fire works at midnight, but then everyone walks into town and shakes hands with everyone else wishing them a happy new year.  How fun!  We also talked about how much Americans work.  Her impression of Americans was:  "They work work and work all year till they get 2 weeks of vacation and play play play and take lots of fun pictures and then come back really tired."  It was so funny to hear her point of view, because the Dutch get 5 weeks and even New Zealand gets more!

Well we made it back, the tsunami warning in NZ got canceled and we are home in Wellington.  Just in time for me to start my job with Westfield! I am a marketing assistant with a contract right now and hopefully will get to stay on for longer!  It has been a fun 2 days and all the people are so nice.  The marketing and mall operations in general are so different than in the US.  but excited to learn more!

All and All,  it was a great vacation and I am excited to be working.  We are still planning more trips around to the glaciers and a biking wine tour on the South Island and just booked tickets to the World Rugby Cup game, USA vs. Australia!