New Zealand- Taupo

on december 20th, john and i boarded a flight to auckland. we flew overnight and arrived bright and early- 5am NZ time. we hoped on our shuttle and met up with his parents at their hotel. and then we were off! we packed up the car (literally packed!) and sped down the road to taupo. 

the drive to

ok a surprisingly long time, mostly because the roads are quite twisty-turny. we arrived in taupo in the early afternoon, unpacked into our hostel-style accommodation and then went out for a walk. the landscape in NZ is lush and rich looking compared to oz- so green! we miss the canadian green so much in australia, so it was rather nice to see deep greens and blues. 

the city of taupo is quite cool, with a bustling downtown area nestled on the banks of lake taupo. lake taupo is a huge lake of 616 square kms and 164m deep. it is deep blue and looks incredibly refreshing. it's also the site of the largest crater caused by a volcanic eruption, with ash noted as far as greenland and rocks picked up hundreds of kms away.

the most recent eruption in taupo was 181 AD. not long ago by geological standards. this area of NZ is also an incredibly geothermic area. thereare hot springs, geysers and bubbling mud pools abound.

we went for a lovely walk to huka falls that afternoon. it was a short jaunt along a rather nice nature trail. right at the start of the walk, you can find "hot beach", which is where a hot spring flows into the river. the falls themselves were nice but definitely not the best i've ever seen.

the next day we headed to Orakei Korako- a thermal park. it has the largest silica terraces of their kind and has a vast number of boiling hot springs and geysers and bubbling mud pools. there's also a cave with  a small pool at the base. the water in the cave has just the right chemical composition to clean jewelry. and it did. quite well.

we were able to see a geyser blow. they're all quite random, so we were kin

d of excited by it. some of the geysers haven't erupted since the 1950's, but you can still see steam blowing and hear the boiling water. it's amazing to think that the earth beneath your feet is hot enough to keep water at a boiling point.  in some parts, you could actually feel the heat rising along the boardwalk. the mudpools were quite interesting as well. they made a bubbling sound much like what i would expect from a witch's cauldron. apparently the mud is highly regarded as being great for skin and removing impurities. didn't seem like a good idea at the time, but perhaps in the right day spa, with a massage to follow...

the next destination: Tongariro National Park and the small, tiny village of Whakapapa.

xo

Dwellingup

it means "place of nearby water" in Aboriginal. and it's a misnomer. it's 1hr20 south east of perth, which in WA, is by no means close to a large body of water. but it is quite beautiful. and we just happened to be on (small) water.

john and i had the opportunity to stay with friends just outside of dwellingup (pop. 550). we drove down after work on saturday. the drive anywhere outside of perth is painful at

 best. roads are poor, but highly travelled and drivers in WA have no under

standing of "road rules". a drive that should take 45 mins by most standards takes considerably longer. thankfully, we had some tunes (for most of the ride, until we lost the airways) and some snacks, so we managed just fine!

we pulled up to john's friend's place (parent's place, more accurately): it was breathtaking. the property is approx. 25 acres of bush. there is a man-made lake (which they keep referring to as a dam, but i think dam's have rivers flowing into them). the lake was a milky-blue because of the clay and lime in the soil. it looked quite peculiar at first, but was extremely refreshing when we lazed aroun

d on floats with drinks in hand. there are some fish in the lake, brought there by john's friend. and also some marron (marsupial crayfish), which found their way in on their own. some people attempted to catch them. i watched. on my float. drink in hand...

the house itself is an engineering feat which amazes every person who enters. it's a beautiful chalet-style house, timber floors, plenty of windows, decks, modern kitchen, etc. what makes it unique is that it was built on the base of a crane. and it rotates. 360 degrees. you can turn the house to catch or eliminate sun or to allow the breeze to flow through. or you can turn it just because it's dang cool and you want to impress your friends!

john and i camped out on the property for lack of rooms. some 'roos were making noise near our tent in the morning. i went for a run around before everyone else woke. it was a blissful morning but more importantly, i saw 'roos on the trail! a few times! i was so excited, you have no idea. they just never stop being funny. 

unfortunately, we couldn't stay long that morning as my work christmas party was taking place in perth around midday. we left dwellingup but not before stopping to pick some raspberries! i didn't know they actually grew in WA. we didn't have time to pick many, but they were delicious!

we'll head down to dwellingup again. there are a lot of hikes and trails that seem interesting. well that, and floating around a milky-blue lake, drinks in hand. 

xo

Xavier Rudd

Xavier Rudd is a musician. a great musician. a great australian musician. and we got tickets to his show. more accurately, john bought tickets for my birthday (the show was on november 27th). it marked the first day that john was done school for the year, which is also the first day i get a bit of a normal life back (for 6 weeks)

the show was at the belvoir ampitheatre in the swan valley. it is an absolutely 

awesome venue. 

from the  distance it looks like you're just walking onto a field. then you note a small hill. so you keep walking. once you're at the top of the hill, you see the ampitheatre. it made me feel like i was in middle earth. it was all grassy with wooden dividers for all the levels and a big grassy area in the centre for hippies to congregate and play hackysack prior to the gig. a few giant trees added to the scene, not to mention the blue skies, the sunset. 

we got there early. obscenely early. we rented a chalet not far  from the venue so as not to fight with all the cars heading back to perth. so we parked a short distance from the venue and walked in. much to my chagrin, they wouldn't let me take a blanket in (it was a cool night). when i asked why (though it clearly states on the website not to bring blankets...) the lady said "well, some people use them to sit on" *GASP*. WHAT? who ever heard of sitting on a blanket! apparently it means that one person might take up "too much room" or something, but i think it's bollocks. it was chilly. thankfully, the venue is mostly blocked from the wind, thanks in part to it's nifty design.

the show itself was fantastic. the opener wasn't my cup of tea, but had a really raspy voice which i would've mistaken for a man's had i not seen her pink hair and skirt. she was ok. but xavier, oh xavier, was great!

xavier is a multi-instrumentalist. when we first saw him live, he was solo. this time, he had a drummer (canadian) with him. both of them had similar set ups. xavier has 3 or 4 digeridoo's, slide guitar, harmonica, chimes, cymbals, kick drum, etc. all around him. he kind of looks like he's encased in instruments. he moves between them all so quickly and fluidly, you would assume many people were playing. the drummer was much the same, though his set was entirely percussion based.

he is, according to his bio, a full-time barefooter (claiming not to own or wear any footwear). he is a very strong activist for aboriginal rights, animal welfare and the environment. he's not afraid to say so during his performances. and this clearly goes over well with the new-aged hippies that make up the bulk of his fan-base (john and i, for example). he is pretty mainstream in australia now, having had a few successful "pop" releases. and apparently, he is just as popular in canada, having toured many folk fests and having married a canadian.

john's only complaint about the show was that the PA was old. if that's all a muso can complain about, i think the show must have been pretty good. 

if you ever get a chance to see him live, you should definitely go!

xo