Christmas in Squidland

So, first and foremost! MERRY CHRISTMAS! Christmas in Auckland is VERY different to those in Canada!

When walking around downtown Auckland, you can't help but notice the holiday cheer. Images of Santa, department store window displays, decorations hanging in Malls... wait... are those guys wearing... SHORTS? What is with this weather! As I am used to the wet and chilly winters of Vancouver during Christmas, I'm finding the Summer weather of the Southern hemisphere is NOT putting me in the Christmas mood. Seriously, who wants to order a hot holiday beverage from Starbucks, when you're slathering on sunscreen?

Despite the inescapable weather, I have managed to partake in several holiday traditions, both old and New.

Heather and I put up a little Christmas tree in our apartment, and made some paper decorations for it, including a squid themed, angelic tree topper! We also made some delicious sugar cookies and decorated them. And finally, hung some stockings on the odd chance that Santa visited our house!

Heather and I went down to see the Santa Clause parade. It was a bit of an odd amalgamation of floats. There was the usual: Christmas trees, Frosty, and Rudolph... as well as several unexpected guests: such as Mickey Mouse, Pikachu, and a life size dinosaur! Luckily, the big guy made an appearence! (I was ready to see him in a hawaiian shirt and board shorts) But it was a good start to December, and really displayed the Kiwi holiday spirit!


The octopus and I walked down to the harbour one night to see the "Telecom christmas tree", which is made out of several hundred LED lights. It is constantly changing color and pattern, and below the tree they have been bag chairs so you can look up and watch the light show. There are also several phone booths with a direct line to Santa, so you can make your Christmas phone call!

This year was my first experience with "Glow", a Christmas concert/service put on by St. Lukes church. It is a huge event, selling 10,000 tickets. Each person gets a glowstick and the whole concert is done in the dark. It has a really cool effect as you shout your favorite Christmas carols at the top of your lungs!

Now, I'm ready to head off to the airport and take a plane ride home for the Holidays! Enough of this sunshine, bring on the snow! (fingers crossed) My bags are packed with the essentials... well, maybe a few more shirts...

"Sir, are you smuggling dophins in your luggage?"
"Noooo, whatever would give you that idea..."

Bon Voyage!

An Octopus for all seasons

Spring has sprung here in New Zealand. The Octopus and I decided to take a trip to the Auckland Botanical Gardens to see what was in bloom.


The gardens are quite expansive. It took me several hours to walk around them, and I'm fairly sure that I didn't see everything. They contain area's of edible plants, native plants to New Zealand, prehistoric palms, and a large strongly scented rose garden. There are currently 21 statues created by logal artists displayed in the gardens, which were inspired by nature. These ranged in size from small water lillies made from recycled plastic, to a giant pohutukawa (the new zealand Christmastree). Interesting journey through nature and art... although sometimes the garden stated the obvious.
So whether it's sitting on a swing, feeding the birds, or just having a think: enjoy these activites outdoors! See what amazing colors spring has to offer. (This offer only available in New Zealand during December... all other locations offer is void.)

The Octopus visits Queenstown

Thank you everyone for your patience. I know it has been several months since I last posted anything. I'm afraid that the joys of school have overtaken my ability to adventure! On my spring break I went down to New Zealands South Island and visited Queenstown! For those of you who live in Vancouver, it would be like visitng Whsitler. It's a ski city! We stayed at a lovely hotel called the Sherwood Manor!
After arriving in town, the first thing you notice is the Mountains! It reminded us alot of the Rockies back home! We spent the first afternoon wandering around town, and took a gondola ride to the top of a nearest mountain. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking!

Day two involved sunshine and more mountains! Can I just say that the weather reports predicted rain for the entire visit we were there, but it was amazing weather! (I guess the weather forcasters are equally as accurate in New Zealand as they are in Canada!) That morning we took a cruise around the lake that Queenstown is situated on. It had a great view of the surrounding area (and the mountains), and the captain even let the octopus drive the boat for a while! We then took a bus to Arrowtown, which is a small village 30 minutes outside of Queenstown. I was established during New Zealands gold rush, so Arrowtown is a very historical area.

Day three involved and early morning. We got on a charter bus and began a 4 hour trip to Milford Sound, on the West Coast of New Zealand. This invovled driving through the mountains (quite literally, we had to go through a tunnel and everything). On the way, we got to see some wildlife, including the worlds only Alpine Parrot: the KEA! The boat ride around Milford was amazing. Tall mountains with huge waterfalls cascading down them. It was very picturesque. We even made some new friends on the boat! We also saw a penguin, and some seals! The boat took us right up to the base of one of the falls! It was close enough to touch it!

The next day we boarded a jet boat which raced up and down the lakes and rivers of Queenstown. It went extremely fast (hence being called a jetboat), and wizzed around rocks and logs! The boat only needs about 3 inches of water to drive, so it can go reeeaally close to the shore!

On our final day, we went up to the ski slopes. I'm not much of a skier, but the Octopus really wanted to make a snowman. Instead we went snowtubing, which is totally alot more fun than skiing. After a long day of snow, we had a quite flight home!

I had a great time in Queenstown, and wasn't able to do everything that it had to offer, I guess that means I'll have to go for another visit! :)

The Octopus in Wellywood!

The Octopus and I travelled down to Wellington to find some squid, and boy did we find them!
Wellington is an amazing city filled with a mixture of classic and modern architecture, and a variety of bright colors! We started our adventure by looking through shelves of jars of squid, to try and find specimens that matched the ones we were all studying. There ended up being alot of jars.... many of which were mine. (I get to go through ALL of them again! oh goody). After our first day, we finished up and walked down to the Te Papa national museum. There we got to see the only preserved Colossal squid in the world!

It was a huge deal! (As made apparent by the "Colossal Squid plush animal". We also looked at the collections at NIWA, and found a few more specimens (some this time that were much larger than those that could fit in a jar).
We then got a chance to travel around the city, and see some of the sights. We walked around Parliament, travelled up the mountain on a trolley car, and then spent the afternoon trying to treck around the botanical gardens ("Follow the Green Arrows" was not a helpful guide!)
After a busy five days we boarded a flight home!

This was thr safety video travelling to Wellington....

This was the safety video travelling from Wellington.....


Well, at least Air New Zealand knows how to make a tedious safety video entertaining, I'll give them that.

I had a wonderful time while I was in Wellington. It reminded me alot of Vancouver. Lots of rain, but a very pleasent atmosphere. I'm sure I will be visiting again, and I look forward to it.

The Octopus is sky high!

So, in a few of my previous posts I have mentioned "Skytower".

We finally had a chance to go up it and see the view. It's a nice 360 degree view of Auckland.
Both the glass elevator, and the oberservation deck have several glass floors in them. But don't worry, its TOTALLY safe! (see, it's as strong as concrete... transparent concrete)!
The view of Auckland is incredible, you can even see where I live! While your up there, you can peruse the various dining establishments you may want to visit when your feet hit the ground!

ROTORUA: cold, wet, smells like eggs...

BUT! It's fun as anything!

We took a chartered bus down to Rotorua, a small town in the central North Island of New Zealand. Rotorua is famous for being built around a geothermal hot spot. It's full of geysers, as well as hot springs. Now, with all the sulphur in the area, the first thing you notice is... it smells like eggs.

HOWEVER! It is still a tourist destination. It's set on a picturesque (totally mis-spelled that) lake, and surrounded by mountains and farmland. Upon our arrival we went to our hostel and checked in, and then stumbled around a nearby geothermal park until dinner time. At this park, we found a covered foot bath, filled with naturally heated mineral water. People communally wash their feet in it. It's really cool, and your feet feel happy afterwards (or at least mine did). We grabbed some dinner and then looked for some evening entertainment.
FUN FACT: Rotorua has ZERO nightlife. Eating IS the nightlife. However, we did find a movie theatre, and watched a movie.

We woke up the next morning and left to find a breakfast location. This is when we found Milly's all day breakfast! What a wonderful place! We visited there several times! The food was basic, but really good. From there, we donned our rain gear, and trudged off into the weather (yes, it poured the first two days). We walked around the Rotorua museum where we learned about the history of the town, and about the local culture. After that, we took a nearby path which led us through the lakeside geothermal fields. Despite the rain, it was probably the most beautiful experience I've seen. Being surrounded by white smoking rocks, and thick bubbling mud on a rainy day may sound a bit dull, but I couldn't beleive how in awe I was of this barren landscape. Due to the rain, the Octopus did not have a chance to explore as much.

On the third day, the Octopus, Heather and I took a bus out to Rainbow Springs Wildlife refuge and Kiwi Encounters. It's kinda like a zoo, except that it also displays the native plants of New Zealand. At rainbow Springs they also raise Kiwi eggs. This gives the young birds a 70% better chance at surviving in the wild. I was really impressed with the work they were doing to help strengthen the Kiwi population. Since Kiwi's are a bit photo shy... we took a picture with this giant Kiwi statue...

After visiting the Kiwi's, we took a stroll through the New Zealand Countryside to go ZORBING!
For those who don't know what zorbing is. It's a huge air filled bubble, that they put you inside of, and then roll you down a hill. If this isn't awesome enough... they also put water in it. It's like a waterslide... on spin cycle! The ride lasts maybe a minute at best, but was a blast!

On the final day in Rotorua, we hiked to the Red Wood Forest. I'm always amazed at the natural beauty of Red Woods, and walking through the forest was relaxing. (Kinda the point of the vacation). Of course, Red Woods are HUGE! You need multiple people just to hug them. We then headed back into town, and took a bus back to Auckland.

If you enjoy the diverse beauty of nature, or the rush of Adrenaline, or if you just really like the smell of eggs... Rotorua is a great place to visit. I would go back there... but remember to bring a book or something to read in the evenings!

The Octopus makes some pancakes

So, as you may (or may not) know, it's St. Patrick's day! Which means wearing, thinking, and breathing green! We decided that the best way to celebrate St. Pattie's day, (besides spending the day at the pub), was to make GREEN PANCAKES! So here are the steps to make AWESOME St. Patticakes!

Step 1: Obtain green food coloring.

Step 2: Add drops of green food coloring to regular pancake batter (and by drops I mean LOTS)

Step 3: Mix in food coloring

Step 4: Put mixed batter on a hot frying pan

Step 5: Flip

Step 6: Serve

Step 7: Admire the fact that your eating GREEN PANCAKES!

We hope that everyone had a great St. Pattie's day!

The Octopus is on top of the World!

The Octopus climbed to the top of Mount Eden this weekend! Mt. Eden is in the center of Auckland, and you can see the entire city, and all its suburbs from the top.

It's also a dormant volcanoe. There are many around the Auckland area! It was a fun hike, and we had a great view from the top! At the crater, there is a compass directing the major cities around the world, so we made sure to find home!

The Octopus goes to the Zoo

The Octopus and I (and Heather) really wanted to visit the Auckland Zoo when we arrived in New Zealand. So one sunny day we ventured out and explored the Auckland public transit system!
The Auckland Zoo is located beside a large park, so it seems very out-of-the-way.
The first place we visited was the Kiwi and Tuatara house, as those animals are both native to New Zealand. This was the only photo I could get of a Kiwi (it's a poster, the actual Kiwi encloser is VERY dark) but I did get to see a Tuatara! They can live to be over 100 years old! Another old thing we saw, was tortises! Who enjoy not moving... and taking mud baths!
The diversity of animals at this zoo was amazing. We saw various birds,

big cats,

monkey and oragutans, hippos, rhinos, elephants, and giraffes...

and this pig! Also, the Wandering Octopus made friends with some wandering chickens that follow people around the zoo!

I really enjoyed the Auckland Zoo. It's definitely engaging, the enclosers are large, and the animals looked well taken care of. If you like animals and are in Auckland, the Wandering Octopus highly recommends the Zoo! (and say hi to the chickens for us!)

The Chinese Lantern Festival

The first weekend we were in Auckland, we found out that the Lantern Festival was being held in the park across the street from our dorm. It celelbrated the end of the Chinese New Year, and has become one of the largest lantern festivals in the Pacific region. There were lots of people, food, music, dancing, and of course lights!

the Octopus gets a sense of History

The Octopus and I traveled to the Auckland Museum. It's a bit intimidation, as the building stands on the top of a hill surrounded by fields.



It's quite large as well! The museum consists of three floors: Maori and people of the Pacific, Natural History, and a war memorial.

The Maori history had alot of indiginous carvings, fabrics, jewlery and even a few traditional buildings. The inside of which are very impressive, because they are completey carved and painted in designs from floor to ceiling. The final wings of the first floor showed the history of Auckland culture through furniture... starting with this... and ending with this.
The second floor consisted of a mixture of animals (most of which were not alive), and geological information. We went into a "house" in which they simulated a volcanic eruption in the harbour of Auckland. It was complete with an actual earthquake and breaking furniture! Very fun! I also saw the biggest Sunfish I have laid my eyes on! Of course, once again, it's not real... but it would look GREAT on my wall! There was also a fossil section, where the Wandering Octopus got to see the remains of a very large ancestor!
The third floor was a memorial to the people who fought in the wars, complete with simulated foxholes and an entire gun gallery.
It took us about 4 hours to walk through the whole museum, and even then I'm sure we missed some things! But it was a really fun outing, and I'd look forward to going back.

The Octopus rides on the Sharkbus!

Ok, so on my first day in New Zealand, we spotted this...


After that day, I needed answers! What is this bus? Where does it take you?
The very next day, we caught the bus, and headed to Kelly Tarlton's, the aquarium in Auckland! They are best known for their penguin excusion tour (everyone loves penguins), in a snowcat, and their shark tunnels (unfortunately, the shark pictures didn't turn out... this is the best I can come up with) But, we also had the chance to see a preserved Giant Squid! Which was really cool! The squid was bigger than I was!



The trip was completed by playing in the kids section (hey, they had a cool submarine), and taking one last picture with the SHARKBUS! (AWESOME)

The Octopus is safe and sound!

Hi everyone! As many of you have heard, judging from the amount of emails I received today, Christchurch had a very destructive earthquake hit it yesterday! Here in Auckland (the north end of the north island), we didn't feel a thing. I didn't even know there was an earthquake until I got home for dinner, and the news was on in the common room. Christchurch is on the South island, so it's no where near me.
I apologize for not letting everyone know I was safe sooner, however as i have mentioned before, the lack of internet here is causing me great stress. Everyone here is fine, and thank you very much for your concern.

Please keep the people in Christchurch in your thoughts and prayers. Last time I looked at the news the mortality count was 65, I can only imagine it has gone up since then. I am keeping the families who have lost loved ones in mind in the coming weeks, and i know that it's going to be a difficult journey to not only rebuild the city, but to also pick up the peices of their lives.

Auckland: Tropical Paradise!

So, I wake up from my first night in Auckland to this:



Which wasn't a big deal at 6:00 because i was still on vancouver time and was awake anyways. This beautiful, bright sunrise told me it was going to be a nice day (turns out it was raining in an hour, but that's besides the point)

Before heading off to explore most of the city, I checked my money situation. And by that I examined the coins to figure out what picture was on each one! I love the dollar coin here... mainly cause it features everyones favorite flightless bird!

Heather and I then went and found the lab we'll be working at. Turns out its just around the corner from where we're staying, literally 40 seconds from the front door! By the afternoon, the sky had cleared up and you could see the ocean from my window (look really far into the distance)
We went out again and found a really nice park, with lots of tall palm trees, and then went back to the apartment, as walking around all day in the sun wears you out!
I also have a great view of the skytower at night!

The Wandering Octopus arrives in Auckland!

So, we've arrived! And due to a shortage of internets, have not been able to update until now!
The octopus and I picked up our friend (and now room-mate) Heather at the Airport, as she was flying in from Toronto first, and then all of us were flying directly from Vancouver to Auckland!

After a 14 hour flight, we arrived in New Zealand at about 6 in the morning. It was still dark out, but at least I could get a picture of the plane!
We were instantly greated by an amazing Maori carving, and then we were greated by the immigraion officers. (Luckily everything went smoothly)
We took a cab to the city center, which seams to be constructed around a large tower, which juts out of the skyline! At about 8 am, we arrived at AUT, and checked into our dorm.
We spent the rest of the day wandering around downtown Auckland, and enjoying the sites and sounds of a new country. Personally I found the New Zealand isn't very different from Canada, it has many of the same stores, restaurants and music that we play in North America.
Fun Fact: New Zealand has Denny's! (What is this world coming to?)

The Octopus gets...

Today, the Wandering Octopus was kicked out of the place he had called home for the past year. No longer being known as the Car Cephalopod gave him no sense of purpose in life. However, the Wandering Octopus is not one to give up!
He went in search of a NEW place to call home! A home that could travel with him overseas, to New Zealand!

Some of the homes were too small and felt cramped, others had a uniqe and slightly childish decore, and then he found the perfect home! A mixture of space and functionality. (Perhaps he will now be known as "Backpacktopus"!

And now, off to adventure!

Just a little update!

In one week, the Wandering Octopus will be on a plane flying to his new home; Auckland, New Zealand! The excitement was really setting in, until I realized how much I have to do to prepare to live in another country. How do you pack for that? Currently I've figured out that I need shirts, shorts, and a change of underwear! I'm sure I'll add to that list in the next seven days!
It's hard keeping my head on straight right now. Amidst the packing, last minute financials, and all the goodbyes, I'm having trouble keeping my life sane! I'm sure all the insantiy will be worth it!
Let the countdown begin!