Milky Pool

The Tongariro crossing had so many different signs of volcanic activity. There were stinky steam vents, rigid black rock, red mountains, volcanoes (obviously), and these very beautiful sulfur hot springs. Unfortunately they were too toxic to swim in. But they were mesmerizing none the less. They were this milky greenish blue, like the color of sea foam and they sat up against ridge lines, looking over barren valleys. This is my impression of one of these pools.

Live Birth

We went on a day hike called the Tongariro Crossing. The landscape was very volcanic and fresh. There was this one mountain range that was read and black and looked like it formed very rapidly. Then as it was cooling, it looked as if it just bursted open and out tumbled boulders and silty rocks. So I call this Live Birth because that is exactly what it was, an epic explosion and birth of a mountain

Painting

I've been trying to paint more since I have a little studio in our back yard. I remember living in Berkeley. There were these little artist lofts that you could rent for pretty cheap. We drove by every day and I would think about how much I wanted one. When we moved here I was excited about the studio, but didn't use it too much until I thought back to those little lofts in Berkeley. I thought that if I didn't use the one in my own back yard, then I probably would never use one that I would have to pay for and drive to. I was a little ashamed. So I started to paint and have been doing it nearly every day, except the weekends. Its been great. I'm trying to get ten paintings together. It's hard because I always find myself giving them away. So these are what I have so far.

Dolphins

We rode the Ferry across the Channel to Picton so we could swim with Dolphins. It was a very short trip. On Saturday afternoon we caught the ferry with friends. It's like the Super Ferry they used to have in Hawaii, only so much bigger. They actually drive trains on to it. It's about a three hour ride. When we came into the Marlborough Sound on the South island, it was so beautiful. It looked a lot like Vancouver Canada actually, with all the pine tree forests, little islands, and houses right on the water. It was pretty grey outside, but still so beautiful because we got there right at sunset. So the light was shining through the clouds, making the ocean sparkle. Picton is a tiny little town that thrives on tourism. Since it was the end of Summer, it felt pretty deserted, just a few locals, herds of restless teenagers. To save money, we decided not to bring our car. Instead we found the closest holiday park and camped there for the night. Holiday parks are funny. They are mostly catered toward Camper Vans and RVs. So when we got there, we felt a little out of place. We pitched our tent next to a couple vintage charter buses that had been converted into homes. Above us was a ridge with railroad tracks. By this time, I think we all knew we wouldn't get that good of a nights sleep, which turned out to be true. In fact, I thought it was pretty hilarious. We first were woken up by sirens, you know, the ones that go off in San Luis Obispo every month as a drill, just in case there the nuclear power plant has a melt down. I guess that's just what they use to call the volunteer firemen. Then every possible type of siren imaginable went off, police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and of course howling dogs. After all of that, we fell back asleep, only to be woken up by an occasional train, some feral cats, and a few cars peeling out. At about 4:30, I of course really had to go to the bathroom. I went back to bed and then, at about 5:30am was woken up by bagpipes and Maori chanting of all things. As it turned out they were celebrating ANZAC Day with a dawn parade. Its a national holiday that remembers all of the different soldiers that fought at the battle of Galopoli in World War I.
Then we walked down to the harbour and got on a boat to look for dolphins. It was the last day of the season, so if we didn't catch them this time, we would have had to wait until next summer. After about 45 minutes we stumbled upon them. There were maybe 15 bottle nose in a very curious and playful mood. I had swam with dolphins before. But they were spinners, which is a much smaller variety. But the bottle nose are really big, much bigger than me. They swam right up to our boat. And when we jumped into the water, they swam right up to us. They got so close that I had to turn away so I wouldn't touch them. They look right at you and study you. It was so amazing. I turned and twisted and swam as fast as I could to keep up with them. The most amazing thing was that they wanted to hang out with us. We didn't force them to. For about 40 minutes we enjoyed their company. We ended up swimming into a school of Jelly fish. They didn't sting or anything. But I was surprised at how much substance they had after bumping into them a few times. After a while, the dolphins just disappeared. We got back in the boat and caught up with them. The made right for us and road our wakes and put on a show for about 20 minutes. A fur seal was traveling with them, leaping out of the water like he was one. It was so cute. Then we said goodbye and came home. It was one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had. I felt so safe and calm amongst these wild animals. I felt honored that they were even interested in us. We are such awkward, strange things compared to them.

Easter

We had a great Easter weekend. It started Saturday morning. We woke up really early and drove about an hour up the coast to get two new chickens. Before we got them, we only had one little bantam hen, and our duck Ferdinand. Our other hen flew the coop. She didn't like us very much. So it was for the better that she left. These two hens are Anconas. They are tall and beautiful. We bought them through Trademe. Its like a Craigslist for New Zealand. When we got there, they were all boxed up and ready to be transported to their new home. As we were trying to put them in their new coop, one of them escaped. It took a long time to find her. She lay low and still in a pile or brush in the back of the yard until I found her and chased her into a corner. When I grabbed her by the tail and swung her upside down so she couldn't resist, she squawked like I was killing her. She was so loud. I thought to myself, This is a real chicken. I never really cared for bantams. They are so fast and skittish. I love the little one I have. But she wasn't what I thought I was getting when we bought her. So it is nice to have big, hearty chickens that are loud. Twice these hens have squawked like they were going to lay an egg, and nothing. But finally this morning we found a pretty little white one sitting on the ground. I'm disappointed they didn't use the hen house. But I am so happy that we finally got our first egg.
On Easter morning Morgan and I woke up early and went on a little hike to the ridge above our house so we could watch the sunrise. It was quite glorious. This has been our Easter tradition for about three years. So far this sunrise was the most spectacular.
Later that day we threw a little party. At first we thought no one was going to come. But everyone showed up about an hour late. Then someone told us that it was daylight savings time. So as it turned out, everyone was actually on time. About twelve people showed up. We went looking for plastic eggs so we could put candy in them and hide them in our back yard for our guests to find. As it turns out, there are no plastic eggs in New Zealand. We also wanted to buy white eggs for people to dye and decorate. But you cant find white eggs at the supermarket. So we made cookies in the shape of eggs and had people decorate them with frosting. We also filled up party bags with candy and hid them all over our yard. Morgan made everyone Eggs Benedict, which I was really impressed with since he had never poached an egg before a few days ago. And it turned out great. After all the cleaning and entertaining we went to sleep at about 9:30. We really wanted to sleep in the next day. But because of the new Daylight Savings time, we only slept until about 7:00am, which turned out good because we had time to have a cup of coffee and take Tobi for a walk before Morgan had to go off to work.
In other news. My friend Cat and I are selling burritos at Weta Digital 2 days a week. So far we have sold out every time. Its great to have a little side money making thing going on. I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but I am also working full time at a little cafe in Island Bay. Its great because I am getting to know locals, and am keeping busy.
That is about all here. We are so happy. I love this place and our little home.