Hiking Taylor's Mistake and Godley Head

The first trail






We drove through the road in the mountain near all those houses to get to the carpark


Oh no! Dangerous! LOL




Kayaker down below




The trail we walked on carved out of the mountain


More of the trail


The lonely tree





Steep but worth it





The bird was totally unfazed by us


What a view? This is truly God's land! Ocean, snow-capped mountains...what else can you ask for?


View and more trail you can see in the mountain.






Trey almost at the top!


Love this sign!


YAY!!!


View from our tunnel walk


The tunnel/cave - look to see the light on the other side.....


More views from tunnel hike


Inside the tunnel - flash makes it look a lot brighter than it was


Holding up the cave with super powers!


Trey in one of the light ways in the tunnel


The other side of the tunnel


Happy couple at end of tunnel


View from where we ate lunch at the top


He was a very friendly and very loud sheep! BAAAHHH!




Black sand beach



Saturday was our first real hiking trip in the nearby Port Hills and it was a lot of fun. We packed a backpack with snacks, lunches, extra clothes, and lots of water in preparation for a full day hike. Although the start of the hiking trail was only 12 miles from our apartment it took us about 45 minutes to drive there. This is because the last 3 miles or so is on a very narrow and steep road that winds its way up and down a Cliffside. I took the road pretty slow but it was crazy how fast some people took the blind turns. Once we got to the car park right next to the beach we started out on our first hiking trail “Taylor’s Mistake.” Legend has it that the area got the name Taylor’s Mistake because in the 1800’s a ship captained by a Mr. Taylor, turned into this bay thinking it was either Lyttleton Harbor or Sumner Bay. The mistake proved costly when the ship ran aground. The first part of the trail let us up into the foothills along a cliff right above the ocean. As you can see from the pictures we were surrounded by beautiful views of the ocean, beach, hills, cliffs and snow capped mountains in the distance. One of the questions Jocelyn had before the hike was what is the difference in a walking trail and a hiking trail. About 1 mile into the hike she got the answer as the trail left the ocean side and turned into a moderately steep climb to the top of the hill. About half way up this climb we were both getting a little tired and took a short water and snack break. We then finished the climb reaching the top of the hill about 1.5 hours after we started. At the summit, approximately half a kilometer higher elevation than the beach where we parked the car, we were able to see sweeping views of the coast line and Port Hills. This was the perfect place to stop and have the picnic lunch that we packed. And of course like anywhere in New Zealand, we were joined by a few sheep! A little history of the Port Hills is that they are actually the northern rim of one of two ancient volcanoes that make up Banks Peninsula near Christchurch. Also the particular hill “Godley Head” we were on was part of New Zealand’s coast defense system in WWII. Where there were two 15 mm guns stationed at the summit with duty of protecting Lyttleton Harbor from any possible naval attacks from the Japanese. This leads us to the next hiking trail we took called the “Tunnel Path.” This path was part of the military installment during WWII and first took us past the plotting room and engine room for the compound. The path then made a very steep and a little bit muddy descent towards the ocean. As we neared sea level we found out why it was called tunnel path. The last part of the descent took us through a 110 meter long tunnel/cave through the cliff side. The only means of lighting inside the tunnel was via 4 holes carved from the cliff side to the tunnel allowing sunlight to leak in. After the tunnel we were right on the ocean where there were two military installments that used to house large searchlights that would scour the waters for enemy vessels. It was now getting later in the day so we headed back through the tunnel and up the path we had come down. We were able to do the steep climb back to the top of the hill in a little under thirty minutes but this tired us both out a lot so once were at the top we figured it was best to start the hike back. For the way back we started on the “Crater Rim Path” which travels along a very steep and rocky hill side that was actually the inner crater rim of the ancient volcano. This part of the hike I think gave Jocelyn a little bit of vertigo because during the hike you can see the moving water below! She said it was a really off sensation. We then met a few more sheep and like I said, they are everywhere just roaming around. We turned on to the last trail of the day “Godley Head Pathway.” This trail differed from the paths we were on before because it is shared between hikers and mountain bikes. Neither Jocelyn nor I liked this much because the mountain bikes make a small rut in the middle of the trail so it feels like you are walking on a curved pathway. Also you have to keep a look out for bikers speeding down the trail. I think it is smart that most of the paths in the Port Hills are divided for either only hikers or only mountain bikes. This path led us down back to the ocean and the beginning of Taylor’s Mistake. We stopped here at a bench on top of a cliff overlooking the bay and beach and had our last snack as we enjoyed the scenery one last time before walking down to the beach. The beach itself was quite a site to see since the sand was very fine but black in color. I assume this coloring is due to it being right next to the old volcanoes. We also went and felt the temperature of the water and although it was cold it was not too bad considering this is still just the end of winter here. All in all we walked about 9km/6miles! We then headed back to our apartment where we took showers and then headed to a nearby pizza place to grab something to eat. It was not pizza like we know it in America but it was decent. We also got potato wedges and Jocelyn found her new favorite combo: sour cream and sweet thai chili sauce on the potato wedges. Over all it was a very fun but tiring day. I think Sunday we will enjoy a full day or relaxing!

Engagements parties and the job search continues.......

Well, we have officially been here about a month now and things are really settling in. Jocelyn is still on the job hunt and has a few things in the pipeline: Leukemia and Blood Foundation, NZ Foundation for the Blind and a few other things. Jocelyn has also been looking into part time gigs in the meantime to fill up the day. It is a great city but most of the awesomeness of the country is a drive away so the boredom is setting in.

We are also really enjoying the food here. When we go grocery shopping it is just sooooo fresh!! It is unreal. So far, we have made, eggplant with goat cheese and a roasted red pepper sauce, cod with zucchini (courgettes here!), mushroom, potato, carrots and onions baked with rosemary, thyme and olive oil, and a seafood marinara mix with pasta sauce (mussels, squid, salmon, prawns). The fish is unbelievably fresh and most if it is pretty cheap. Yum-O!

This past weekend we went to Babs and Gordie's engagement party and Jocelyn went shopping during the day with new friend Lily for a dress. The dress was magnificent and we had a blast at the party. We went to a place called Toast is the SOL District (South of Lichfield Street). There are basically an alleyway of bars that open up to a courtyard. There is also a large screen tv in the courtyard where people were watching rugby (of course!)

Rugby is huge here to say the least. For those of you in Boston, it is like Red Sox fans on crack! Yeah.....pretty freakin' scary! The team in NZ is the All Blacks which we are not really sure about the origin but from an American perspective we find it quite funny since we have seen exactly 2 black people since we have been here and we were pretty sure they were tourists :) LOL Our building is pretty quiet except when there are rugby games and then all you hear are random outbursts from neighboring apartments (Bollocks! Crickey! A*$ Hole!!, etc.) Ha ha

Back to the party.....there were a ton of people and we made even more new friends. The drinks of choice seem to be beer and wine and it is rare that people order cocktails or liquor I am finding. Ahhhh but there is plenty of good wine and beer here so ....no worries as they say! :)

This weekend we are planning to do a hike in the port hills - not sure which trail we will take yet. Trey is very excited about this and Jocelyn is looking forward to challenging herself. She cannot wait to break in her new, pink hiking shoes. Fab! Hopefully we will have lots of photos to post.

Other than that, all is well in New Zealand and the weather is really starting to perk up and feel like Spring. Still cannot believe in Winter we can sit on our balcony and type these posts with t-shirts on.

Hope you are all enjoying the posts and having as much fun on this "journey" as we are!

Love and hugs!

Sorry for the lack of posts

So sorry for the lack of posts this past week. Jocelyn has been ill (just a cold) and Trey has been busy working. Sadly, we can report that Jocelyn did not get the job at the hotel, but in positive news, we will be signing our new lease tomorrow for a place....you guessed it.....on Peterborough Street!!! How funny? We are going to take one final peek at it tonight before we sign. It is less than we are currently paying and a lot more cozy and functional. It is also a 2 bedroom so for you people coming to visit we will have a private place for you to rest your head!

Also this past weekend we cooked green lipped mussels. They are very common here and VERY cheap!! We bought 2 dozen for $3! Crazy. They are also HUGE! We steamed them in garlic, onion, butter and cream. So yummy. And we went ice skating in Cathedral Square at the temporary skate rink and drank yummy NZ hot chocolate.

Other than that, we are gearing up to go to an engagement party this weekend and then next week back on the job search again for Jocelyn. Next week Trey will be looking into getting involved in a tramping club where they go on planned treks and whatnot. Hopefully next weekend or the weekend after we will be going to Mt. Hutt to ski.

More to report soon.............keep following our adventures!

A very Kiwi 30th birthday!! - Jocelyn

So, it has been a few days since our last post. It has been another great week in New Zealand. We are finally finding our legs and making some really awesome friends.

My days are mostly filled with walking around and learning the city and drinking ALOT of tea at cafes that line the streets. I am hooked on Earl Gray which will hopefully make me fit in quite nicely here. I have also been looking at a lot of apartments in order to find us a suitable place for long term stay. We think we may have actually found a place in the building next door to where we are now. If we take that place we would once again be living on Peterborough Street!! How wacky? From Peterborough Street in Boston, USA to Peterborough Street, NZ. Ha! We will keep you posted on what happens next.

My 30th birthday was great! Trey woke me up with a card that turned into a crown and cupcakes with sugary/edible GLITTER on top!! YUM! Surprisingly the best cupcakes were their special passionfruit cupcakes. Passionfruit seems to be popular here. I also got a wake up call from new friend Babs who wanted to wish me a happy birthday and my parents skyped me and sand happy birthday as they do each year! Out of tune, but lovely ;-) LOL Love them. I also got cards and gifts from Mom and Dad Holzwarth, Grandma Shirley, Aunt Carol and Uncle Steve and the best of all from Heather, Ashley, TJ and Justin (sisters and brother in law) a Beef a Roo t shirt AND Beef a Roo salt!! I have already worn the shirt and used the salt on some mashed potatoes!!! Even my Asian nail guy gave me a gift....when I told him it was my 30th birthday he added some funky jewels to my nails and insisted that it was a gift for my birthday and free of charge. SWEET!




I had a nice relaxing day and later on Trey and I went out to dinner at a place called Hay's which is also a cooking school and winner of a wine spectator award for their wine list. They rely on local, fresh ingredients and it shows. Once again - no surprise - I had lamb!! Trey and I also split more of those yummy green mussels. They were steamed with coconut milk and chiles. So delicious. Trey had a delicious white fish that was unfamiliar to us but also very yummy. I am considering looking into cooking classes while we are here in NZ since I love cooking.

After dinner we met up with friends for Lily's birthday party (her b-day was a few days prior). Also there were Babs, Gordy and Mark. They had a private room at a Thai restaurant. Afterwards we all moved on to another bar that seemed upscale and there was an area outside that had heaters and a fire pit. Imagine standing outside at a bar in winter!!

Next week I already have plans to go shopping with Lily and we have been invited to Babs and Gordy's engagement party! We truly have a life here and it is really exciting.

Trey is making progress at work and obtaining all the parts he needs in order to set out on his project and enjoys all the people he is working with.

We are also looking in to trips that we want to go on. Soon we want to do a trip (before October) to Mt. Hutt to go skiing and we picked up some brochures on Fiji, Australia, Cook Islands and NZ day trips. We plan to do at least one swanky holiday and the rest we may try to go on budgetish trips. There are a few tiny islands in the South Pacific that we have never heard of that are of interest to us and a little less expensive and touristy as Fiji and Tahiti. We are hoping that for the next few years we can just set up a Jocelyn/Trey travel fund for birthdays and holidays :) Feel free to contribute! LOL Your American dollars go far here! Ha!

In other news, the temp agency is still looking out for me but in the meantime I have a job interview on Monday at the Millennium Hotel for a conference and event manager position. It is a 5 star hotel and the nicest one in Christchurch. I am excited especially since I got the interview on my own and not through the agency. Nice.

This weekend we are thinking about going ice skating in Cathedral Square and possibly checking out the beach which is only 10 minutes away!

More to come.......and many thanks to all my American and Kiwi friends who made both my birthday days so special.