Akatarawa Forest

Heading into the unknown ;-)

The Saturday left quite a bit to desire when it comes to exercise and healthy living, as I was quite
careful with the amount of walking I was doing after the kickboxing, but also after spending a late night at Will and Helen's place.

Not to say that I didn't enjoy both very much, but it didn't get me much fitter ;-)

So on Sunday, I decided to try out another park, namely the Akatarawa Reserve some 45 minutes north of Wellington, close to Upper Hutt.

I left way to late, but I was in no hurry to get home early, so it was a relaxed trip.

I think they are some kind of
giant ferns...

The Akatarawa Forest is interestingly enough a so called motorised recreational area. That means that the tracks are classified for tramping, cycling, motorcycle or quads.

I picked a path that was for all of that, so I had to step aside from time to time when people or indeed whole families came pottering on all sorts of vehicles.

It's so refreshing with this relaxed attitude to recreation.

The track started off at the same level as the Hutt River and then climbed up along a mountainside to at least 150-200 meters up and then back down again.

The vegetation and scenery us just absolutely beautiful with a mix of well known bird song mixed up with seriously exotic ones.

What can I say - it's just marvellous!

Rivendell

The movie set may be gone, but Rivendell certainly isn't.

Today's excursion was the Kaitoke Regional Park some 45 minutes north of Wellington.

I had to get up early (before 09:00!) to sort out a towbar for the car, as I need to be able to tow my boat (more about that in a later post), but they've never fitted a towbar on a BMW M3 before, so I have to go to a specialist.

Anyhow, I'm digressing. I headed off in lovely sunshine; the summer is really picking up now!

Left or right?

The scenes from Rivendell in The Lord Of the Rings were recorded in the Kaitoke Regional Park, so I was keen on going there.

The movie set has long since been removed, but they decided to recreate one of the Elfen arcs. It's actually the one where Frodo leads the troupe from Rivendell and asks Gandalf: "Mordor... is it right or left?"

The weather was fantastic and I had a brilliant time. I hurt my toe in the kickboxing so I had to skip the 5 hour hike to the lakes. That'll have to be another day, which, I keep on reminding myself will be possible becuase I'm not just not here visiting - I actually live in this absolutely amazing country.

I'm so lucky - I really am!

This car is bloody awesome!

Kickboxing

I've started kickboxing!

I got bitten by the boxing-bug when I was in London and just had to keep it up in Wellington.

I found a good boxing club 5 minutes away from where I live, but all the boxing sessions were at 18:00, so it was a bit tight to get to from work.

No pain, no gain!

There was, however, kickboxing at 19:00, so I thought that I should try that out. They told me it is exactly what it sounds like - boxing, but with a lot of work-out leg-wise as well.

It turns out that the first few sessions where you really don't know what you're doing can be quite punishing for you poor IT/office legs.

It looks worse than it is and I'm really enjoying it. It's a great workout!

Another one bites the dust...

It was a long time since I had to part from my Sun Workstation with teary eyes. "From my cold dead hands" was an expression I remember being used a few times.

It wan't too bad, though, becuase I worked on Linux after that.

That was the case for a long time until I got sucked into large mega-corporations that somehow lived in a world where only Microsoft existed.

The Mac moves in!

That was the start of using a desktop that was completely unsuited for 99% of the work I did, but if a large investment bank is paying your contract rates, then you're prepared to put up with quite a lot ;-)

So finally, today, was the time for the last bastion to fall - Mr Petzen on a Mac. Wow.

I keep on telling myself that it's really a BSD Unix with a pretty shell, but my experience of the Appli user interface has been less than favourable. When it comes to what I think about the company Apple, then, well, I'll just won't go there. We're talking Sith Lords here.

My employer kindly invested in a spanking new iMac for me, so I just had to give it a go.

...and it may only be a few hours worth so far, but... I... liked it....

Watch out for flying pigs!

Putangirua Pinnacles

 I decided to take the car and go to Aorangi Forest Park in the Wairarapa region where the Putangirua Pinnacles are.

This is the area where 'The Paths of the Dead' was filmed in the Lord Of The Rings, and, for platter movie fans like I, where the pest ridden monkey that cause an outburst of zombie plague was caught in 'Brain Dead'.

Driving there was almost 2 hours from Wellington, but it was a joy to drive on motorways, country side roads and serpentine roads up mountain sides. The roads are fantastic and it's a complete joy to drive, especially with 343hp sports car.

I feel completely justified buying that car after this trip. What a joy it was!

I arrived at the pinnacles and it was as usual in New Zealand well kep, clean, tidy with information, marked paths, facilities and completely free.

Tax money is actually used for the benefit of the public in New Zealand. It's quite amazing.

The area with the Putangirua Pinnacles was absolutely incredible.

There was a huge statue
of my father there for some
strange reason

The pictures doesn't make it justice. Twice I sat down in complete silence and switched between complete bliss and being overwhelmed with awe. It was so beautiful, eerie and gob-smacking - all in one.

Me and my new best friend at a scenic spot going home.

Ett skepp kommer lastat (untranslatable)

My spartan living has left me wondering - where is my stuff anyway?

Marie Maersk steaming towards her goal.

Well, Internet is a wonderful thing. Not only could I pull up hundreds of pictures of the ship on which my container (or half of a container) was loaded onto, but I can also track it in real time.

I can't provide an exact link, as the site uses, well let's not get technical, but undesirable URL's. Sorry it got technical, but search for "Marie Maersk" on http://www.marinetraffic.com/

She was doing 18 knots outside the coast of Sudan/Eritrea and Saudi Arabia when I checked just now (09:00 CET).

Very cool and it allows me to see where all my stuff is!

Edited to add: Maersk ordered 20(!) of these ships: Maersk Triple E class (Wikipedia).

X-mas cookies

X-mas cookies sampling

I think I encnountered yet another slightly odd things today at the office. A woman came in with a huge bucket with mini-cookies.

It turns out that it was sample cookies so that people could make up their mind as to what cookies they wanted to buy for Christmas.

I know we have similar things in Sweden and the UK, but this seemed to be quite a specific tradition taht at least intrigued me.

The people in the picture is my colleague Emma and the brilliant Christmas-cooke-sample-lady that came into our office.

Spartan living

Desk solution
version 0.1 beta

I've carefully navigated around buying things that I already have that are on their way.

Partly I've borrowed a few things from my friend Will (excellent chap!) and partly I've bought stuff I don't already have.

All set for my first cosy Saturday
night in my new apartment

It got a bit too spartan for me (I was freezing my butt off on an air mattress!) so I decided to get a sofa bed, as that is something I'll need for visiting friends in any case.

I also decided to get a second office desk, as I can't work from home or do any admin otherwise.

..and then a more horisontal angle
as the evening progresses

I got the sofa bed for $50 (£20/200kr) on TradeMe (same as ebay/blocket) and the desk for $100 at The Warehouse. Pretty good, eh?

You make do with
what you have!

That was yesterday. Today I complimented these purchases with two radiators. I bought these from TradeMe as well. $10 each!

I dare say my living room set-up is spartanically complete ;-)

The car

I've mentioned the car a few times in this blog. The reason I've been a bit distracted by it is that my economy allowed me one last luxury purchase before reining in all expenses.

This is my baby:

My last luxury item

It's a 2002 BMW M3 E46.

If you're not a petrol head, then let me mention that the M-series are the racing version of the normal BMW. It has a 3.25 liter straight 6 cylinder engine that delivers a whopping 343 hp at 7,900 rpm.

I've just put the pedal to the metal once and that was incredible. You can feel the back wheels spinning. It's mad. I don't even have to use the 6th gear; the fastest you're allowed to drive here is too slow for it.

To my defence, let me say that I really will travel all over this wonderful country and need a decent car ...AND I'm a single 40+ male - these things are inevitable :-)

Internet access!!!

Yes, I have internet access!!!

I'm yet again connected to the world. Helleluja!

It'll be a bit busy today, but I will catch up on my blogging now.

All is well!

I'm finding myself at the end of my first work week in Wellington.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my first week and have excellent colleagues. The work ahead is both challenging and exciting; I really looking forward to working for TechTime and am very, very happy that I made the move. This is completely right for me.

Outside work has been a bit of a challenge, though. Absolutely loads to sort out and I'm forced to do it at the office as I don't have any broadband.

I must admit, however, that the bureaucracy is nothing compared to the UK and the service is phenomenal. Just two examples:

• New Zealand driver's license: I filled in a single form on Thursday and payed something like £10. It took less than 10 minutes all in all. The license arrived the following Tuesday.
• Tax number (IR number): I filled in the two pages with constant assistance at hand on Wednesday and they said that I could come in and get the number in the middle of next week if I hadn't already received the confirmation via the mail.

When I hear Kiwis saying that they don't get what it is with New Zealand that makes it so popular, at which time I just say: "Live in London for one year and THEN say that again."

On the down-side, the broadband is still now working, but they did troubleshooting today after I called them yesterday and will now come out on Saturday to fix it. Yes, on a Saturday with 12 hours notice.

Also, as I've eluded to before, the housing standards are abysmal. The biggest problem right now is that I'm freezing my derriere off at home. I've bought a sofa bed and just managed to arrange to get it delivered tomorrow. I hope that (with an electric blanket) will do the trick!

Anyhow, when I get the broadband, then there will be more frequent updates and picture of the kick-ass car!

Internet Challenged

I'm without internet since I left the hotel.

It's been really busy at work the first day (but really good!)

I'll post a proper update as soon as things calm down and I get access to the Internet again.

Fireworks

Big bada-boom

I bumped into a Swedish family that was staying at my motel.

Anna, Sigge and I want down to see the Guy Fawkes fireworks together.

It was almost 10 minutes where 2,500kg of fireworks were set off.

It was very well orchestrated and a joy to watch.

Car substitution activities

The banks screwed up the payment, so there won't be a car until perhaps Monday. I had to get myself a buss pass and will be taking the bus on Monday morning.

I started off sulking quite a bit over that and then decided that I'm in the country I love and in an incredible city, so I decided to go on full holiday mode, wander around, have a beer at random places and just relax and enjoy myself instead of stressing around.

Wellington quay side

I revisited a few places where I was last time I was here in December last year. For instance, I sat down at the cafe in the harbour again (middle left in the above picture) and had a wickedly good coffee (again).

It's still only 20 degrees and really windy, but the sun is vicious. I already managed to get sun-burnt.

There is supposed to be some major fireworks tonight, so I may have another blog post later on.

All Blacks - Back to Back!

There was a massive turn-out for the All Blacks victory
parade from parliament to Civic Square

 I was caught up in the victory parade for the All Blacks on my way to the IRD (Inland Revenue) last Friday (Nov 6).

Admittedly, I stopped and waited for half an hour for it to start, so being caught up was only half the truth.

I'm all by a sudden in a country where rugby is the national sport. When going to Rome, do as the Romans do ;-)

It was sunny, hot (in the sun) and a fantastic mood. It wasn't like in the UK where events like this get very aggressive, formal and security focused.

Don't tell the Kiwis that I don't have
a clue who these guys are

It was much more about kindly asking people to move here and there, rapid deployment of fences, efficient traffic control and a generally enthusiastic a friendly behaviour.

Then again I'm biased as I'm in love with this country...

I found a place to live!

Finding a place was daunting, but there was a really nice place that I viewed between the condemned summer cottage and a miniature apartment on the 11th floor.

1/6 Moncreiff Street in Mount Victoria

Yes, it does have single glazing and no heating, but this place had proper walls (bricks even!) and was really spacious. It's comparable with a decent Victorian apartment in London (and would probably be condemned in Sweden), but the location is amazing - it's in Mount Victoria, which is a lovely area on a slope on the side of a huge hill.

It's less than 5 minutes to the central pub, bar and restaurant centre.

Yes, it'll be interesting to get to work, but I'll have the car (parking space included) and eventually the motorcycle, so I'll be fine.

I already have the keys, but will staying in the hotel until Sunday, as there won't be a fridge until Monday and I only have an air-mattress to sleep on.

Still, happy days!

Ups and downs

I went to the bank today. I already have an account but they had to do due diligence, KYC and AML (you bankers know what I mean).

It was down on Willis Street in central Wellington. I had almost an hours worth of very service minded, nice conversation setting everything up and making sure I knew how to do everything.

Very good, very different.

I then went to my first viewing. It was admittedly a mistake to walk up to the property in Northland behind Wellington Botanics garden from Mount Victoria. It was 45 minutes of climbing a mountain.

...and this is where I have my first complaint about my host country: the property had a reasonably amount of space and was located on a hill side with a view over the botanic garden, but the state of it!

My first question was: where are the radiators?

"There are none."

"But it's single glazing!"

It was a condemned summer cottage from the 50s. The cost was NZ$1,521, which is £653 and 8,678kr per month. The excuse was that all houses were like that in NZ.

That is unacceptable. I've now given up on houses and will focus on apartments. Yikes!

Happiness

My blogging is lagging behind a bit, but I was out checking out the thermal areas close to Taupo yesterday:

The coolest guy on the planet is checking out the
craters with hissing plumes of steam.

I don' know why, but I'm even more excited being here than I thought I would be. I'm absolutely completely and thoroughly happy.

I arrived at a cold, windy and rainy Wellington today after a 4+ hours drive in pouring rain, but I was still smiling.

I went to have a look at a car today (I'll reveal a bit more about the car in a later post). You would normally leave after inspection, test drive and negotiating the price, but I was invited in and was quite soon after asked to stay for dinner. I spent several hours with the entire family and had a fantastic evening.

I don't know about you, but if that is not a pretty amazing indication of what this country and people are about, then I don't know what is. I know I've only been here for 1.5 days, but this has to be the best country in the world!

The trip

I finally managed to get to the VIP lounge and grabbed some sparkly, food and soft drinks.

All required papers are present and accounted for.

After some 34 hours on two airplanes and stopping in Korea; finally: Auckland!

I had to take a selfie when I was loading all my luggage into the car.

I stopped at a small roadside cafe on my way to Taupo. I ordered an improvised steak beef with salad that was absolutely brilliant. That should be a dish rather than a spur of the moment concoction of a mad Anglo-Swede.

I then had a coffee - please remember this is what would normally be referred to as a road-side greasy spoon - that was fantastic.

I doubt even Taylor Street Barristas would be able to compete with this flat white.

I really don't remember the coffee being this good!

Korea (the south one!!!)

I'm now in Korea. It's seems that the airport (Incheon) has been built on a small island.

I left at 18:35 1 Nov (Sunday), arrived at 15:00 Mon, when the time in the UK (my internal clock) was 06:00 and will be arriving at 08:10 on Wednesday when the time in UK is, well probably 20:00 or something.

Bottom line is that the 12 hour time difference messes with you, but stopping off in an additional timezone makes it quite a lot worse. My only relief is that it makes less of an impact going to New Zealand. It's worse the other way around.

Korea seems nice. 14 degrees and sunshine. I'm only staying another 40 minutes, but I've already managed to have a shower, which is, without understatement, a fantastic experience after some 13 hours on an airplane including sleeping in all your clothes.

Now I only have another 12 hour flight ahead, but it's not too bad in Business Class. They are very nice, it's spacious and you can sleep soundly most of the time.

New Zealand is getting closer!

No turning back

Well, I'm now sitting in the VIP Lounge sipping a nice Chardonnay after a very nice meal.

The trip to Heathrow took 2 hours, which wasn't too bad for London, but fairly unheard of in most other places. Yet again, and I'm sorry to sound like a broken record, but it really is yet another reason that cements my decision that it's time to move away from London.

I love the place, it's been my home for 14 years, but enough is enough. The time is now.

It's really weird to sit here with a one way ticket and a Visa tucked into my passport.The effort to get here has been fairly staggering, but it was all so worth it.

Strangely enough, the thought that crosses my mind most often is whether the BMW M3 I'm test driving when I get to Wellington is still available.

I do wonder how things are wired up there sometimes!