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Learn New Zealand Vocabulary

May 2, 2015

Heading to New Zealand, hey? Good on ya! You speak English, hey? Sweet as! Just to be sure you and your mates will have heaps of fun and your mum won’t be worried, rattle your dags and get keen on learning your Kiwi English! When you do, you’ll be good as gold! If not, don’t get your knickers in a wad, she’ll be right.

We have a brand spankin’ new English vocabulary after five months of road tripping New Zealand in our not-so-flash campervan, Bernie, and tramping through the fern filled bush. The drives around the country were filled with hours of admiring thousands of shorn ewes in green paddocks, being spontaneously welcomed into generous Kiwi homes and served heaps of tea, biscuits and mince pies. It's been a corker!

We hope our stories and pictures have inspired you to explore New Zealand for yourself or return to the inspiring views! We have loved it here in this magical country known as Middle Earth. Make sure to use the US vs New Zealand English dictionary below to prepare for your trip. Don’t forget your sunnies, jandals and togs for the beach and your jersey for the cool nights, hey!

American mustard: mustard

bach: vacation home

biscuit: cookie

bogan: redneck

bonnet: hood of a car

boot: trunk of a car

brekkie: breakfast

bush: forest

capsicum: bell pepper

car park: parking lot

cheeky: sassy

cheers: thank you

chemist: pharmacy

chilly bin: cooler

chippies/crisps: potato chips

chips: French fries

college: private high school

chook: chicken

corker: very good

corgets: zucchini

coriander: cilantro

cotton buds: Q-tips

dags: dingleberry

dear: expensive

entrée: appetizer

ewes: female sheep

fizzy: carbonated soda

flash: fancy/ high class

flat: apartment

fortnight: two weeks

“Gold as!”: “Awesome!”

“Good on ya!”: "Congratulations"

gutted: bad luck

heaps: a lot

hens: chicken

hey: used similar to the Canadian “eh”

holiday: vacation

jandals: flip flops

jersey: sweat shirt

keen: excited

knackered: exhausted

knickers: underwear

kumara: sweet potato

lolly: hard candy

loo/toilet: bathroom

mate: friend

maths: math/mathematics

mince: ground beef

mufti: when students don’t have to wear school uniforms

mum: mom

munted: broken beyond repair

nappies: diapers

naughty: mischievous

paddock: field

partner: girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse

petrol: gas

pie: meat filled pastry

plaster: band aid

pram: baby stroller

push bike: bicycle

“Rattle your dags!”: “Hurry up!”

rubbish: trash

“She’ll be right”: all will be okay

shout: pay for something for you

slip: rock slide

sunnies: sunglasses

“Sweet as!”: “Awesome!”

tea: dinner

tea towel: dish towel

togs: bathing suit

tomato sauce: ketchup

torch: flashlight

tramping: hiking over several days

tyre: tire

university: college

walking: hiking

wapiti: elk

wee: little bit

windscreen: windshield

yarn: chat and jokes with mates

zed: “z”

A huge shout out and thanks to the Foresters for sharing NZ with us and teaching us our Kiwi-isms!

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New Zealand's Kepler Track Great Walk with Tuna at the Ready

April 12, 2015

Who loves some TUNA?!? TUNA! TUNA! TUNA! Let's hear it for tuna!

The view at the start of the Kepler Great Walk. This is gonna be good!

We have never eaten so much tuna in our lives! "You are what you eat," they say. Maybe we should lay off the tuna. Who knows if gills are forming under Adam's out of control beard!

This canned fish has become the staple for all of our hikes. New Zealand is the Disney World for walkers. Tramps galore! The stunning views we can only see by foot are why we go walking, but when it gets to ten hours of walking, heck, just two hours of walking, our focus turns to the food we are carting up these mountains on our backs. "Hmm, where's the chocolate?"

Our quick and easy backpacking list:

tent (1)
sleeping pads (2)
tuna
sleeping bags (2)
head lamps (2)
tuna
tp (1 roll- never know what's ahead)
clothes for cold & rain
tuna
water
water filter
first aid kit
tuna, tuna, tuna

Steep trail kept us pushing forward until we hit the golden alpine.

Heading into a wall of clouds and rain:(

For some reason, we have come to feel ready to go hiking as long as we have canned tuna. With a sober reflection on this, why in the world we feel that way, I’m not quite sure. We need new ideas, ya’ll!

"On the boardwalk! We be havin' some fun!"

Well, this post is based on true stories.

“How many tunas we got?”

“Six!”

"Good to go!"

With our tuna at the ready, we snap on our backpacks and a walking we go!

Our regular menu regiment:

Breakfast: tea, rolled oats, apple

AM Snack: granola bar

Lunch: TUNA, crackers, cucumber, apple

PM Snack: trail mix Dinner: ramon, squash, carrots, onion, mixing sauce

Dessert: uno cookie

After three days on tuna, our trail conversations turn to day dreams and cravings of food! Our voices trail off in longing tones, our mouths get watery and our eyes glaze over with visions of dripping cheesy pizza or a delicious juicy hamburger or what about a burrito smothered and covered with sour cream, salsa and guac! As the days continue, the purpose and excitement of our steps change from the new sights we will see to cutting the distance between us and the lasagna we are drooling over in our dreams!

The mountain ranges were so close, but we were only getting eerie peeks through the clouds.

To be fair on ourselves, when prepping for our trip we like to zip in and out of the grocery store with light, dry foods since we are hauling everything on our backs. However, since we have had rolled oats, ramon and tuna so much, we refuse to eat them when we aren’t on the trail. We refuse!

Got into the white out. Smack dab in the clouds. Well, we love to see, so heading back into blue skies.

Anyone out there with lighter, more delicious recipes than tuna? Holla at the Nubern's and share your good news!

Pit stop at Luxmore Hut before making our descent.

We'll be growing gils and flippers til then!

"Blue skies smiling at me! Nothin' but blue skies do I see!"

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New Zealand's Routeburn Track Great Walk: We Burned a Route on the Routeburn

April 6, 2015

“I keep wondering if I really like tramping… The cold and the loneliness and the fear- do they outweigh the magnificence, the terrible impersonal glory of the mountains?” – Charles Brasch, posted in Routeburn Falls Hut, Routeburn Great Walk, New Zealand

We walked the same steps, on the same trail, up and down the same mountain two days in a row. Yep, that’s right. The same 12 km’s up and the same 12 km’s down one day after another. We burned our route on the Routeburn. We knew we were crazy.

"Why’d you do it?" you ask.

The first day was a grey morning with the clouds hanging low and flat. We hoped the haze was just morning fog that would burn off. We were wrong. Those suckers hung on all day without budging. Every now and then along our 12 km climb, a wind would part the clouds and we were able to have a peek at the crests of the mountains that were hiding. My heart ached to be able to see the landscape we were amongst. We knew monstrous mountains surrounded us and we were missing out on seeing their glory!

Our destination for the day was Harris Saddle where we heard we would see a stunning range of mountains with glaciers hanging amongst the peaks. I was hoping, believing that God would part the sea of clouds for us just to see for a moment. He’s done it before! In reality, the moment of reaching the saddle was a huge letdown. The clouds were still looming and concealing what we had heard was the grand view. Only seeing more clouds, we turned back to head down the mountain.

We had to traverse the cliffs of Harris Lake again. We had been alone for a while, now. There were few souls tramping the trail with the poor weather. They had the right idea. Turning back with new eyes, I found Harris Lake to be spectacular in the mist with the clouds wrapped amongst the golden, alpine bases of the mountain walls. It was a mystical landscape. Alone, this spot was ours. We breathed the scene in. I secretly wanted to be in this place again. It was glorious!

An hour into our hike that morning, on our way up, I warned Adam, “If tomorrow’s a clear day, I’m doing this again.” We had hiked from 10 am to 7:30 pm the first day. The initial five hours were all up hill, sweating and clenching our cheeks to get us up and save our calves from exhaustion. The way down was really all down hill. We snagged walking sticks from the forest floor to save our knees. They were over worked as our brakes on the steep decline.

Low and behold, the next morning we woke up to a brand spankin’ new day totally opposite than the day before with an absolute clear sky. Well, dang. We picked the wrong day for our first ascent. My soul ached to see the mountaintops I knew were there. We could see them today without the clouds! My body wasn’t in unison, though. I didn’t want to battle that climb and descent all over again. Adam and I were pretty quiet that morning both independently battling the same inner struggle. Do it again? Or not? Adam finally muttered from the back of the van, “I think you could talk me into doing it again.” With those words, I knew I was in. Knowing Adam’s focus on efficiency, he was struggling with the idea to do the same hike again as anyone would. We already did it! I worked my best persuasive argument. “This would be an entirely different hike than the day before. We would actually be able to see the mountains!” Well, my nonsense worked and we started up the mountain again to complete the exact same hike.

My argument didn’t reign true. An hour into our hike, the clouds rolled in again, but this time it started raining. We continually second guessed ourselves. However, the clouds were high enough that we could see the mountaintops, our new view for the day, so we kept trekking up and up.

My secret wish came true as we traversed Harris Lake again to get to our destination, Harris Saddle.

As we rounded the last bit of the lake, I caught a glimpse of the anticipated grand view we had worked so hard for. I saw a tiny bit of clinging snow on a black, jagged mountain and a blue sky as the backdrop! A blue sky! The mountaintops! We can see! I started yelping and running. I was so excited and couldn’t get to the saddle fast enough! The view was a true gift! To have worked so hard to see this view with disappointment the day before and to do the same hike without the guarantee of seeing it again, oh, it was a Christmas morning experience! What a gift to see such a stunning view.

We scurried up Conical Hill to get a grander view while we had a chance with the clouds at bay.

Our second day, we hiked til 8:30 pm and got into camp near dark, but on such a high.

The gifts of the day didn’t end at Conical Hill, though. Debriefing in the van after a rushed dinner, we were silent. Adam was looking out into the sky and saw curious vertical bands of white light forming like the laser beams of spotlights shooting into the sky in the cities. But, we were in the wilderness at the end of the road at the base of the mountains. It couldn’t be those brilliant spotlights. We sat there watching as the sky transformed and a band of red and fucsia began to grow. We jumped out of Bernie giddy and dancing. We were seeing the southern lights!

To answer the question posed in the quote found in Routeburn Falls Hut, the magnificence and glory of the mountains mightily outweigh the pains and exhaustion that accessing the beauty brings.

Keep on tramping, ya’ll! We’ll be out there with you!

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Sheep Shearing in New Zealand: Ewe Need a Haircut?

March 24, 2015

Surprisingly, our sheep farming days weren't entirely over yet!

We had missed an opportunity to shear sheep and be shed hands during our first go 'round in Invercargill, New Zealand when we were captured at the launderette. So, we jumped at the invitation to be shed hands during a shearing at Gay and Ron's farm, Manuka Mire. Once we received her text, away we flew to Invercargill to get our hands in that wool again! As we were making our way to the farm riding down the familiar country roads we both looked at each other. It hit us at the same time. An overwhelming sense of comfort had over taken us. Warm and fuzzy memories of wooly ewes, overalls, gum boots, green paddocks, home made jelly and mince pies all started flooding back. We were pumped to be heading to the farm again!

Fulfilling our role as shed hands was quite an adventure. Can't say we have helped give a sheep a hair cut before! We were all smiles all day (probably from Gay's wonderful hospitality of keeping us loaded on hot tea and delicious biscuits)!