Sunrise on the Mount

We were out in Mt. Maunganui for another relaxing weekend out at the family bach.  Dale and Amber were out there too, so a party for 6 was on the agenda.

Dale had the brilliant idea to get up early to watch the sunrise from on top of the Mount.  Being aware that it might not be worth it to get up and hike the Mount if the sky wasn’t going to deliver some pretty amazing views, we sent Dale ahead to scope the scene.  The scout came back forecasting conditions for an epic sunset, so the rest of us got up, some more reluctantly than others, and headed out for a morning trek with hopes of an unforgettable show in the sky.

It was 6:20am when our party of 6 began our ascent up the Mount.  By 6:55, we had made it to the summit, and were ready with our cameras to watch the sky light up.

We sat, and waited.

Expecting.

Hopeful.

Then, all of a sudden, the sun made its spectacular appearance over the horizon.

It was a glorious morning sunrise, and totally worth getting up at quarter to six to share these beautiful sights and quiet hours of the early morning with friends.

Sweet, glorious refridgeration

Refridgeration, sweet, glorious refridgeration, is ours once again.  We snagged this beauty of a fridge off Trade-Me last week for a pretty sweet price.  And this one- cockroach free!

Our friends Amber and Dale helped us pick up and move our new purchase.

What was I most excited to refridgerate?

Yogurt.

And a big block of Tasty cheese, known in North America as cheese of the white cheddar variety.  I am pretty stoked to now be able to keep frozen berries in the house too.

Along with a fridge, we also got a couch!  Also a Trade-Me buy.

The addition of a couch has made the hugest difference in helping our place feel like a home.  Finally, something to collapse into at the end of the day!

Our favorite aspect of the couch is probably its dual-napping feature.  The chaise makes it possible for two people to nap on the couch at once. What a marvelous concept!  Mel has tested the couch out pretty much every evening this week, and has confirmed that the couch is indeed great for falling asleep on.

It’s been a big week in the Neilson household, as far as home furnishings go.

The further addition of some bedside tables, fashioned from some wicker baskets, along with a table lamp that was a steal of a deal, have made our place feel like even more of a home, although they pale in necessity to the couch and the fridge.

You may be surprised, but living without a fridge for 5 weeks was really not that bad.  Our friends, Brandon and Kristen, lent us their cooler, which functioned as a fridge when filled with ice a couple times a week.  Nevertheless, we are definitely thankful to have a more permanent form of refrigeration at our disposal now.  It’s funny how you take things like having a fridge for granted, until you find yourself without one.  Now a trip to the refridgerator to grab some yogurt or a cold drink feels like more of a luxury than a right.

A taste of China.

We recently joined our friends, Dale and Amber, for some authentic Chinese experiences.  Are they Chinese?  Yes.  Well, half Chinese.  Before moving to New Zealand a year and a half ago, Dale and Amber spent several years living in China.  While they were there, they opened up their own Chinese restaurant, the name for which translates as “Big Dale’s Chinese Canadian Restaurant.”

For Amber’s birthday, we went out for a Chinese hot pot meal.  Being new to “hot pot,” I envisioned a steaming pot of… something… filled with mysterious animal parts.  To be honest, I was a bit nervous.  For those of you who are also in the dark in regards to “hot pot,” let me enlighten you.  Hot pot is a steaming pot of broth that’s put in the middle of your table, in which food is simmered.  I was relieved to find out that you had full control of what goes into the pot.

There were two sides to our pot- a savoury side, and a spicy side.  We simmered all kinds of vegetables, from bok choy, to lotus (as seen in the pic above), to potato, and lettuce, along with various types of meat and seafood.  After cooking your food, there was a tasty peanut satay sauce for dipping.  It was all quite tasty, I must say.  A new food experience that was most definitely a positive one.  It was neat seeing Amber and Dale speak Chinese with our server.

Our Chinese friends also had us over for real Chinese Tea.  Amber was the “Tea Master,” or so I called her.  She made, and was in charge of, pouring the tea.

Amber and Dale brought over quite the collection of chinese tea cups and pots over from China.  We got to pick out our own little cup, and have it refilled over and over again with pot after pot of tea.   Amber served us some delicious oolong, green, and jasmine teas, which they brought back with them from China.

The tea party action was set out on a bamboo tray which had slots in it, through which water could drip down and be collected underneath.  The imagery within the tea ceremony is probably what I loved most.  The image of water overflowing its capsule, and flowing down the side of the pot was a rare and beautiful sight that caught me by surprise.   It’s not very often that we fill a capsule so full that it overflows.  This is what Amber did with the teapot each time she filled it.  She would keep pouring water in until it overflows down the sides.  It was soothing and beautiful.  Over and over, we would put our little cups on the tray to be filled, then sip the liquid out, and put them back for more.  Over and over, constantly being refilled.

On the tray, Amber and Dale also had a few little ornamental pieces, which they poured water on and painted with tea.  This dragon, when heated enough, squirts water out of its mouth.

The tea changed flavours with each pot.  One pot of leaves would make about 6 or 7 rounds of tea.  This is to say that we drank a lot of delicious, light-bodied tea that night.

While sharing tea, our friends shared stories of their experiences in China.  With the added bonus of pictures, combined with the Chinese music in the background, it was like we were transported back to their time in China, of living and teaching English, and falling in love with drinking tea.

We are so very glad our paths have crossed with these two, and thankful to be able to share in a part of their lives that is a big part of their story.

Hockey Night in New Zealand

The opportunity to cheer on our Home and Native Land in an ice hockey game in New Zealand is a rare and golden opportunity that presented itself to us recently.  It turns out that the U19 hockey team from Kelowna, British Columbia, was in town for a 3 game series against the U19 National Hockey Team of New Zealand, as part of a summer tour.  The players had made their way through the Kelowna minor hockey program and were chosen to represent the Game to the world Down Under.

A crew of about 13 of us, comprised mainly of our Canadian friends and some other Canadians from Dale and Amber’s church, came out in our red and white to cheer on our Canadian counterparts on the ice.

The action went down at Auckland’s finest ice venue, Paradice Skating Arena, which can be likened to your local Kinsmen ice hockey rink in Canada.  The mixed aroma of greasy fries, hot chocolate, and sweaty hockey gloves, was familiar and oddly comforting.

Being a small rink, the stands were packed.  We were surprised at the turnout actually, considering that not many Kiwis know much about ice hockey.  The Canadian fans were loud and a few of them even verging on rowdy.  It was superb.

Canada in black and red, and NZ in blue, it was a match-up that clearly favored Canada’s experience and skill.

We figured was no way that New Zealand was going to beat Canada at their own national sport, but with the way the game started, we realized there was a slight possibility.  Two goals early on by the Team NZ had Team Canada a little worried, and had our fans questioning the goalie’s ability.  Breno harnessed most of his razzing of the goalie due to being the only fans that the Canadian team had in the country.  In all honesty, though, the goalie was brutal, allowing 4 goals on 10 shots in the game.

We got the feeling that the Kiwi hockey players, and especially the Kiwi fans, were surprised and slightly off-put at our enthusiasm for the game. We had been so starved from the sport that this was an excellent outlet for our pent up Hockey fanaticism.

Player number 19, Naka, quickly became a Canadian fan favorite because of his quick agility, and easily-pronounceable surname.

“This is the best fan showing we’ve had on our whole tour,” said the Assistant Coach of Team Canada during break between the second and third period.  “It’s great for the boys to receive such great support in New Zealand.” 

We talked to a few of the players, who said they had a great time surfing in Australia and playing the occasional hockey game. A pretty cool trip for the boys for sure.

At the end of the game, the players took to centre ice for a group photo, as well as a salute to their loyal fan base.

Our friend, Brandon, was the only one out of the Canadian crew to make it out to all 3 games, which featured some more tense action including a fight or two. 

It was nice to see some other Candians, and to watch a game that is so familiar to us. Most kiwis can’t seem to follow the puck, and reflecting on this, I supposed it is a learned skill to follow a game of hockey, to be able to watch the game and know where the puck is, instead of watching the ball constantly like one does in a rugby match.

It was pretty cool to have a hockey night in New Zealand, a once in a lifetime opportunity, you may say.  The hockey was decent, the Canadian crowd was great, and the players were stinky.  The night gave us a temporary transport home- you need that every once in a while.

We miss you, Canada.

A beautiful day in the neighbourhood, a beautiful day for a neighbour

It was a beautiful winter day; a perfect day, in fact, for a walk about our new neighbourhood, in exploration of who and what surrounds us in our new community.

There are some fun shops within just a few blocks of our place that we were excited to discover.

Directly backing onto our apartment, there is a Persian trading company, which sells all sorts of specialty foods and spices, an Italian restaurant specializing in pizza, a liquor store, and a small dairy (convenient store) with an abundance of fresh-cut flowers out front.

Walk another block, and you will find yourselves in front of the Manisha Superette (a larger convenient store), which is next to Wild Wheat Bread.

Wild Wheat appeared to have some nice-looking ciabatta buns going on through the window, which we will have to inspect more thoroughly in the near future.

Another cool store on our street is “Kristen.”  It’s located in an independent building, and had this sweet, vintage Honda parked out front.  Kristen was closed that day, but it appeared through the windows that it was some sort of women’s clothing store that has great potential.  Can’t wait to go back another day when it’s open to fully scope it out.

Oh, and there’s the local butcher.  I guess this is where we will be purchasing our ham and bacon.  Brendon is pretty pumped to walk down and have the neighborhood butcher recommend him a slab of meat.

There’s also a place called “Dulcie May’s Kitchen,” which features the famous recipes of Dulcie May.  Not sure how many of you have heard of Dulcie May before.  She is new to us, but we intend to get to know her quite well.

About a 15 minute walk up Mt. Eden Road, there is a nice little park to stroll through called the Balmoral Heights Reserve.

We marveled at the gorgeous, pink magnolias that were blooming… in the middle of winter.  I suppose that’s one cool thing about winter here; it’s not like everything outside completely dies or turns brown.  There are still a number of plants that bloom this time of year, keeping our hopes for the return of summer alive.

So now that we’ve got our butcher, our baker, and our local Persian grocer, I think we are pretty well set up here in our new neighbourhood.