Random December News

We spent nearly half of December hoping that Scott would get over his mystery illness.  I'm writing this in January, and happy to report that the illness has disappeared.  Luckily, for his 40th birthday, he started to feel well enough to enjoy the best kitesurfing session of his life at Colac Bay in the far south.

We headed west after our ER visit in the southern-most city of Invercargill.  We found plenty of amazing freedom camping spots on the southern coast.  At one of the great camping spots, Scott decided to fish in a small lagoon, right next to the ocean, where he caught his first brown trout.  He ran up the steep hill to get me from the van so that I could witness his catch.  As we were running back down to the lagoon, the conversation about whether we would kill the fish began.  Despite the fact that I eat meat, I still have issues with the idea of someone, especially us, killing something.  After a few moments of back-and-forth conversation about whether we should eat the trout, Scott reminded me of his recent track record, convincing me that this might be our one and only chance to eat fresh NZ trout tacos.  I had a sad feeling all night about the fact that we killed the fish.  Why don't I feel that way about the chicken and beef that I eat?  I think everyone should have to kill their own meat -- it would make us much more thankful for what we put in our mouths everyday.  A few days later, we found this graffiti (pictured) on the pylon of a bridge near a large reservoir.

Fish Feel

Clifden Caves

Not many tourists make the trip all the way to Invercargill.  We benefited by finding some great off-the-beaten track experiences.  One notable find, was the Clifden Caves.  This underground cave system was denoted by a sign on the highway labeled, "limestone caves".  You park along the road, cross over a private-property fence, and climb down a hole beneath grazing sheep.  We found ourselves crawling, shimmying, and climbing through some impossibly narrow, wet, and muddy spaces.  The limestone formations were very cool.  It was surreal to emerge from the caves, 2 hours later, into blazing sunshine, with the temperature 20 F degrees hotter than in the caves.

As we headed back north, we zipped through some areas that we had already visited, including the incredibly scenic area around Queenstown and Wanaka.  We even found ourselves back in Timaru, the little city that had kept us warm and dry during the big northwesterly storms in October.  During our trek northward, we also passed through Christchurch and the surrounding area.  It was fun to be in the area during the summer, since all of our prior experiences in Christchurch were during the wet and cold months.  One of the memorable times near Christchurch was at a "locals-only" free camping area that we found on Lake Ellesmere.  We met Greg, a Kiwi originally from Alaska, his adopted son, and his son's biological father. The three of them were traveling together for the holidays. Greg is a fellow engineer, kiter, kayaker, mountain biker, and all-around adventurer. We kited and kayaked with him for a few days, and we even met up with him a week later, where we learned how to play parcheesi in his recently purchased motorhome.  It's always fun to connect with like-minded people.  We spent New Years Eve at the camping area on Lake Ellesmere where we went to sleep at 10pm.  We were "treated" to a small fireworks blast around midnight, but other than that, 2010 went out with a whimper.

Link to December Pictures

The Three Questions for 2010

Today, I had the pleasure of briefly chatting, electronically of course, with one of my dear friends, Aly.  Since it was recently Scott's birthday, she passed along her "3 birthday questions" that I decided would be a great way to end 2010 on our blog.  Both of us answered the questions without looking at the other's answers.  We also answered them pretty hastily.

The questions Aly poses to her friends every year for their birthday are:  what are 3 things in the past year you are proud of, 3 things you learned, and 3 things you're looking forward to in the next year?  The answers to these questions are really the essence of living. I wish I could hear the answers from all my friends and family --  get prepared.

HEATHER

3 things in the past year you are proud of:

1. Pulling off our move from Australia to New Zealand with hardly any issues, including getting rid of all our "stuff"
2. Finding some great secret adventure spots in NZ -- off the beaten track
3. Making it through a NZ winter, living in a van

3 things you learned:

1. They don't call it the "roaring forties" for nothing -- NZ weather pretty much sucks ass
2. All about how diesel engines work -- thanks to the failures of our campervan after we bought it.  Luckily, all of the issues were fixed and it's running like a charm (I know I just jinxed us).
3. Virgin Blue Airlines lets you travel with 2 pieces of "sporting goods" that can weigh up to 50 lbs each, FOR FREE!

3 things you're looking forward to in the next year:

1. Heading back to the USA for a visit with family/friends
2. Buying a new home (van) and customizing it from scratch
3. Getting better at kiteboarding
4. For the record, I have way more things to say in this category than any of the others

SCOTT:
3 things in the past year you are proud of:

1. Blogging
2. Writing and recording more songs
3. Catching and filleting my first trout

3 things you learned:

1. Way too much about diesel injection systems 
2. The UK should be thankful that the Holocaust overshadows their brutal colonial history
3. New Zealand isn't nearly as clean and green as they want tourists to believe

3 things you're looking forward to in the next year:

1. Outfitting a new van
2. Cheap good beer, wine, and liquor
3. Getting better in the waves, both surfing and kiting 

Happy New Year to all our family and friends.  Wishing you a year full of proud moments, learning opportunities, and great expectations.

Link to December Pictures

Guacaganoush or Babagamole?

by Scott

One of the fun things about our necessarily frugal lifestyle is that it encourages us to get creative with our food. When we are near civilization, we cruise the supermarkets for deals. Often, we end up with perishable items that must be consumed within a day or two. For example, today, we needed to eat avocados and eggplant. Heather sauted the eggplant with onions, salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil, then mixed it with avocado to make a Mid-East Mexican dip we called guacaganoush or babagamole. It was fantastic.

Other times, when we are far from civilization, we have to make do with the items in the cupboard. I've come up with a couple good salad dressings. One was a raspberry sesame vinaigrette made with raspberry preserves, malt vinegar, olive oil, and sesame seeds from the bottom of an empty bread bag. The other one was simply a mixture of the juice from a can of beets and olive oil. Unfortunately, I didn't have any seedy dregs for that one.

If you try any of these recipes and don't like them, go outside and exercise for 3 or 4 hours and try again. That usually works for us.

Sick in Southland

Just as we decided to head into The Catlins region of the South Island, Scott developed an unusual sickness characterized by intense abdominal/back pain and extreme fatigue.  The Catlins is a remote area in the southeast where you are lucky to find cellphone service or radio, much less medical services.  I learned what it feels like to travel alone because during the 5 worst days of his illness, he could barely sit up (much less walk).  Walking alone on a beautiful beach or through the forest just isn't the same when your partner isn't there. We kept thinking he might be getting better because he would feel slightly relieved every morning. On the 5th night of his sickness, he woke up at midnight writhing in pain.  Luckily we had arrived to the city of Invercargill earlier that day, so we were only 20 miles from the nearest ER.

The pain slowly subsided while Scott laid on the narrow ER table between 2 - 8 am. The ER team couldn't find anything wrong with him after a quick physical exam in addition to a general blood test, urinalysis, and stool analysis.  He still has generalized pain in his abdomen, so when we get to the next population center, we will find a GP and request some more specific tests for ulcers.

How apropos that this all occurred as he approached his 40th birthday, which happens to be today!  That $600 New Zealand insurance policy will definitely pay off.  In the meantime, because a possible ulcer is in the cards, no beer for the birthday boy.

Link to December Pictures