Saturday, April 15, 2006

Stop. Hanmer Time!

Tonight we are in Hanmer Springs, New Zealand, having arrived Christchurch via Auckland this afternoon. Dad mentioned that in Bill Bryson's book, the author mentions that Kiwi's are constantly playing 50's music on the radio. Lo and behold, as we settled into our rental house and turned on the radio to hear some good ol' fashioned doo-wop.

Our three hour drive North from Christchurch offered up some fantastic scenery. Further from the equator, NZ seems to be similar to rural Oregon or Washington state. A more dramatic timber line, scenic alps, spanning plains and majestic rivers thus far, and we're only in our first day! The first impression that stood out was that there is no one here, the South island seems very sparse and desolate. The towns that we pass through are tidy, clean and small - albeit stuck in a time warp. Christchurch was quickly in the rear-view and there hasn't been a significant town since. There are 2 million people in all of NZ, a majority in reside in the capital city Auckland on the North isle. Only 340k in Christchurch.

Hanmer Springs is a town at the foot of a ski resort containing a handful of boutique shops and restaraunts and most notably, the Hanmer hot springs. More a community center than anything else, the Hanmer springs are nine thermal suphur pools that have been regulated to different temps, with funky lighting and a diverse collection of bathers. It was more like a swim center than anything else, with its hottest pool reaching 110 degrees fahrenheit. The hotter the pool was, the more it smelled like eggs. By the end of our swim session, we all smelled like omlettes.

Foilage is much more pronounced here, orange and red everywhere because of Fall. There is still snow on the mountains, but the temperature is only in the 60s in the daytime - clear and brisk. More time on the road tomorrow.

posted by ncawthon at 7:18 PM

Friday, April 14, 2006

A Wombat's Brekky

We're departing the Featherdale Animal park after a wonderful interactive experience with all of Australia's unique wildlife. Mum and Dad got to pose with koalas, wallabies, kangaroos and the like. Our favorite was the wombat, who spent most of the morning asleep, and could only be bothered to have a breakfast of cabbages and carrots. He was about the size and demeanor of a furry pig - sans the snout.

We're climbing in elevation towards the Blue Mountains where we will take a brisk hike before settling down for a picnic. Perhaps a short walk after lunch with the obligitory Three Sisters photo vista, then heading home to a barbie on the beach.

The folks seemed to be impressed with Sydney, constantly remarking on how clean and pretty it is. Good to hear that we're taking them to the right places.

posted by ncawthon at 12:36 PM

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Off and Running

We're on the commuter ferry at the moment, just leaving the main harbour. Not sure if you can see it, but over my mom's shoulder is the Opera House. We've been quite busy, having traveled by bus, taxi, monorail, ferry, train and foot. The folks have held up well thus far, showing little sign of jet lag being the experienced travelers that they are. Mom twisted her anlke the week before coming, so she's a bit 'bummed' about that. We're trying to interstitch long stretches of walking with the promise of gelato and coffee to help break up the rigor.

Yesterday started at the airport, folloed by a good breakfast at our traditional Bill's Cafe. On a full stomach, we tromped along the coastal trail 4k to Coogee, then taking a taxi back home for an afternoon swim. Peggy took the wheel after we rendez-voused at the Uni, leaving me to teach by going out for some fish and chips with the folks. They managed to hold on until the suggested 9pm deadline of awake-ness before crashing soundly.

posted by ncawthon at 3:31 PM

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Field of Dreams

It is dusk on Tuesday evening, just waiting around for people to show up to practice. This is the Little Bay basball field, immediately adjacent to the field hockey rink where Peggy plays. I love these warm nights when the floodlights illuminate acres of grass. Makes me feel like I live in Kansas, or somewhere comprable in the mid-west. Beyond those light towers is some brush, a few hundred meters beyond that, the cliffs plunge into the ocean. You can always smell the salt in the air here, with the on shore winds blowing from the East. I think that there is still some storm activity in the Pacific that is causing some turmoil.

Being able to play on a sports team has been such a benefit of living here. That's not to say that we couldn't have back home, but here in Oz there is a more concerted effort to stay active in sports beyond one's teens. The people who play on these club teams are amongst those who compete in the Olympics & other international competitions. Yet, all squads maintain lower grades to ensure funding, participitation and support. Much less commercialization of collegiate sports increases the accessibility significantly, allowing the community to participate. One doesn't have to be a student to even play on the team, as both Peggy and I play for UNSW. When we practice, all grades group together, so us 'lower ranked' players really benefit from the advanced grade's expertise. Difference is, we get to play in our respective games like everyone else. not regulated to just being on the practice squad.

posted by ncawthon at 6:17 PM

Sunday, April 09, 2006

How 'Bout That!

Good day at the sporting fields for both Peggy and I. We started Sunday morning with Peggy's UNSW field hockey match up against the dreaded Sydney Tech. Peggy is the captain of her squad and did a great job on defense, holding her team to a 2-2 tie. She was the stalwart out there, knocking away balls, bumping players off their mark and barking commands. One tough cookie I tell you, I wouldn't have wanted to cross her path while trying to score.

Then it was off to southbound for my afternoon baseball game against the host team, Canterbury. No word on whether the Archbishop of Canterbury was invited. The game was a see-saw, back and forth battle between a scrappy, undersized, international squad of the Waverly Waves and the massive Aussie-bred Canterbury Whatever-they-weres. Not one of them could have weighed less than 200 pounds, they were all just massively huge. I think their diet consisted of solely of Vegemite-stuffed sausages washed down with protein shakes.

The Waves found themselves down quite a few runs in the later innings when Canterbury brought in a pitcher who was both mean and wild. I was first at bat and received all pitches on the right site of the plate - I'm a left-hander, so they were all thrown away for me. After I struck out, the right-handers came up and started getting plunked by some hard thrown balls. He hit the first batter in the leg, the second in the head. The second hitter, whom is a mild-mannered Japanese chap that speaks three languages and wears glasses, went absolutely crazy. With his wife and child perched behind the backstop, he had to be restrained from charging the mound, still with the bat in his hand. It almost got really ugly, as we would have gotten pulverized by these guys.

Next hitter up promptly got hit in the arm as well. Benches cleared and it started all over again, pushing and shoving - general standoffishness and posturing. The pitcher was then removed from the game without any more dramas, but there was certainly tension still abound. Our next batter hit a grand slam to put us up a few runs, and we promptly lost that lead in the next half-inning. In the last inning, I came up with one man on base and knocked a ball over the centerfielder's head, which he circled around to try to track and promptly fell on his bum, knocking his head hard against the turf. Still dizzy, he didn't get up right away and I scooted around the bases for a game winning homerun. Waves win 13-12.

Parents are en route in a few days - the house is as clean as it has ever been. We're trying not to sneeze as to retain this pristine state until Wednesday morning.

posted by ncawthon at 7:14 PM