Two Americans emigrate to New Zealand from Colorado,
USA.
We talk about
our life in Nelson, New Zealand.
September 2009 | Blog home | November 2009
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We've not shown many pictures lately, mostly because it's been a cold cold winter and we've not wanted to get out much into neighbouring areas. But last Saturday we took off for the day to Kaiteriteri beach, one of our favourite spots, and then we drove over to Marahau where we took a 90 minute walk at the starting point of the famous Abel Tasman National Park. It's the one place pretty much everyone who comes to 
Nelson wants to do see and do. We've shown it to you by water on a few occasions, getting dropped off to tramp between bays, but this time we started at the very beginning and went in for a wee while.
We started off traipsing around Little Kaiteriteri beach (left) and wandering over the rock formations. After the hours drive and the beautiful sunny day that had us in a full-on relax mode, we moved over to the main beach and I proceeded to fall asleep in the sun midday for about an hour. Dreamy.
After lunch at the cafe just outside the DOC (Department of Conservation) border with the park, we headed off on the start. This view is just as you get started to cross an inlet toward the hills that sway in and out amongst bays and beaches.
As we head out toward the hills, the inconspicuous start point is behind us, which is the shot below. You will find poster maps for viewing here (get any detailed maps you need to carry with you in advance, you can't get them at this starting station) and reminders that if you haven't booked your huts for staying overnight, you may be in trouble because the Abel Tasman is one of the most used of the nine Great Walks in New Zealand. Always book your huts in advance, if that's what you want to do. By the way, it's pronounced Abel = able, a fact I still forget myself.
If you've not prepared in advance for a hut, many have areas around them for tents as well, so if you'd prefer to carry in a tent along with your sleeping gear, then there's also room and you won't need to plan ahead so much.
A couple we know prefers to tramp this way because sometimes the huts can be filled with single people who are keen to stay up long nights and have a good time - fine for them, but for others who prefer to go their own route, this obviously doesn't always work if you want to hit the sack at 11 and be up to tramp early. Something to keep in mind.
The first part of the tramp is pretty flat actually, we did about 45 minutes in and then back out, and it was mostly flat as we walked around bays and hills.
Of course we took note at the first beach that you come across, Porters Beach, but we did not find our evil precious kitty cat Porter here because he lives with my mom in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Someone thought of him and named a long beach after him. They must not have known his evil side.
This is lovely Tinline Bay, and lucky for us the tide was in during our walk so we could see the gorgeous greens and blues in the water.
I woke up yesterday morning and checked my email to find a NY Times News Alert announcing Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Huh?? I was dumbfounded, and when I told Don he was dumbfounded. We got up and read the news about it and learned the rest of the world was equally dumbfounded, including the President himself.
I decided to immediately tape all the Fox News blowhard TV shows for the day - Friday in the States - to see what they would think. Don and I agreed on the probably reaction, and I told a friend of mine what I thought too: regardless of the surprise of it all, the right wing and these days even many Republicans would see this as a negative. They would find a way to use this to bring the man down a peg yet again.
New Zealand didn't see it as a negative. Yesterday the New Zealand Herald reported a pretty straightforward story, saying the choice was 'stunning.' Indeed it was to pretty much everyone, so no big deal there. I saw a few stories later in the day in print and on the news on the subject of whether Obama deserved it or not. The idea of questioning whether he deserved the award or not is just in my opinion, particularly since the man himself felt he was undeserving. There's obviously lots of room for debate, but in the end, don't we all have to do as Obama does and accept the fact of the award with gratitude and humility? New Zealand didn't question much farther, deep down don't you think they're glad it's not the Bush era any longer?!
Apparently my gut feeling about American right wingers was pretty spot on, as later in the day I learned more and more about what was being said. Bill O'Reilly feigned pride in the country for a few seconds then questioned the award up, down and sideways while still finding a wee bit o space on that fence for him to still seem American. The stupid prick showman Glenn Beck insisted Obama decline, give it back. And by now we've all heard Rush Limbaugh. My goodness, who's not American now?
I am ashamed that these people can call themselves Americans just as I call myself an American. I don't recognise them! Where do they come from, what moral code do they follow???
Between the ongoing rhetoric (too nice a word) on the health care debate to yesterday's idiotic idea to reject a great world honour that only enhances America's image abroad, I continue to be made speechless and feel ashamed by the 'opposition voices in America.' No Republican congressperson has yet stood up and called any of them out for their remarks. They all should be ashamed, it is shameful, I am embarrassed by these people. How can you blatantly reject the rest of the world? Have you no idea what the last 8 years did to the country's reputation? No, because the Glenn Beck types think the rest of the world can go to hell, America doesn't need them.
I admit I had a thought in 2008 when Obama was rising in the polls and winning primaries along with hearts and minds. He is so inspiring, I told myself that maybe I was missing out not living in Obama's America. He would make America a place people would want to live in and not leave, unlike his predecessor (not that we left for political reasons, we did not).
But, just like when Clinton was in office doing good things (over time, big change takes TIME people!!!), the right wing machine is geared up and full steam ahead now, and it's unbearable. I can't decide if I could more easily bear living during a Democratic administration or a Republican one - at least the machine gets its way under the Republican times and we don't have to deal with the devisiveness or the slander and lies or the complete lack of rational intelligent thought - well, not nearly as much anyway. Wishing a president and a country will fail, cheering on the loss of the Olympic games as a good thing, shouting to the President 'You Lie!', the complete and utter lack of caring about basic human rights - I just can't take it.
I think if I lived there now I would be more despondent than I was under Bush - to go from so much hope to constant despair because the monster always, always seems to win. I can hardly tolerate it from afar, to be in the midst of it would break me! When will the dragon finally be slayed!!??
Congratulations to President Obama, who has done well for America on the world stage for the last year and earned the adulation of the Peace Prize. I'm a realist, and I think the award will make his work very difficult indeed. But when you're being beaten down to a pulp at home by the very people you love most in the world, the very people you're trying to help, sometimes it's a relief to know there's someone down the block who has your back and thinks you are trying to do good things and is willing to give you a pat on the back. The rest of the world is still behind you President Obama. Keep going if not for them, for us.
It's only our hometown paper, but it's worth putting up for you all to read. The Nelson Mail posted an editorial reaction to President Obama's award of the Nobel Peace Prize. I suspect a lot of the rest of the world feels this way, especially as their interests are linked to the success of the US. I think they call it: hope.
Editorial
13 October 2009
The Nelson MailPrize for potential
It would be easy to dismiss US President Barak Obama's surprise Nobel Peace Prize as a mere political gesture, awarded for his celebrity status and rhetorical powers rather than achievement. He is, after all, still settling into life as leader of the free world - a period more about creating his agenda than following it. His attempts to restructure the American health system have generated little peace in his own country and his foreign focus appears to be in boosting troop numbers in Afghanistan. The award, then, is primarily about hope and potential.
The prize itself is frequently political - previous recipients include Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climage Change, the United Nations and its previous secretary general, Kofi Annan, and even Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin, who shared the award in 1994 for their efforts for Middle East peace. In its efforts to forge a more peaceful planet, then, the committee does not always get it right. However, Mr Obama and his stated aspirations clearly fit the committee's mould. The world waits to see what he can deliver.
When we moved into our current house, one of our friends said something that's stayed with me: "My gosh this is a big house!" Don and I looked at each other, we didn't think it was that big. In fact, our furniture would pretty much fill every space very nicely. It certainly isn't as big as our house in Colorado (from which we halved our furniture). In the electric glance that held my eyes to Don's, we both thought but didn't say, "you've not seen house sizes in the States!!"
Houses in New Zealand are vastly smaller, even the houses built in areas on hills with views where you'd think rich people would build huge monstrosities. Nope. Still small. This is not to say that there aren't massive houses in every town and city, there certainly are. But overall, houses are smaller than most in the States. In fact, I think our friend made his comment about our house because we have two lounges, essentially, two living rooms. That's unusual.
I'm often asked how much furniture to bring in a move or if people should buy new or ship. My reaction is always the same: when you come to the country for a visit, have a look around at the houses. Go inside as many as you can, see what size the rooms are, what size the lots are, and count the rooms. Overall, plan on bringing less and plan on living in less. With less storage and less overall.
This is one of the more interesting examples of a kiwi house. It is not unusual for it's size, this is a typical size house. What is interesting is that six months ago it was a plot of land at a busy intersection and then one day the owners clearly up and moved an existing home from somewhere to this site. Since that time they've painted it green, added the fence, put those long green slats to cover the lower portion of the house, which is on poles (not on the ground), and done some gardening work.
The typical kiwi house has one bathroom. One. It will have three bedrooms, one living area (called a lounge) and a kitchen. Garages are not automatic, storage space is often sparse, and outlets are likewise not plentiful. In fact, in our bathroom in our four-year-old house, there is not even one dual outlet, there is only ONE socket in the bathroom!!
Just like the house above, people will divide their lots and sell them off, and owners will build a house of whatever size to fit in the land. This house to the right is a bit tough to see, but it's on a great piece of land with views off to town on the right (you can see it in the distance) and then similar views to the left as we have at our house. But look at the shape of it, two rectangular boxes on top of one another, and on a platform. It looks pretty tiny, but it fits!! Because they are fitting it in, you can bet that it won't have any more space than the wee green one above. And the owners are perfectly fine with this.
Houses are being built near us frequently because it is an area of recent development. The house in the picture below is being built just a walkway above the house in the picture above, so it has similar views. The owners have a larger plot of land but they've built a house of a very ordinary size. The whole bit of house on the right side ... two garage doors. So the living space is only the bit from center of the image to the left. There might be a small downstairs but it's hard to see just yet. Even so, it's not very big. You might think that houses with great views on valuable plots of land would build large and gorgeous - not nearly the case. I'm sure this house will be lovely, but Americans would likely not find anything special about its size.
We've called this house below near us the big white monster. It is larger than it might look in the photo, primarily because it sits on a part of the hill where it sits up tall. It is definitely bigger than most. What you wouldn't know at first glance is that the third garage door on the far right and the entire space above it is a 'granny flat' live out. They aren't doing a bed and breakfast I don't think, but they have another family member living in a separate residence. So it's been partitioned!! Kiwis simply cannot justify having more space than it necessary.
I think people here just don't need so much ... so much space, so much stuff, so much to hoard, so much to buy. They live on less and are fine with it. As exemplified in their houses. Houses they have to heat : ) another topic entirely!
For those wanting to move from America, let me summarise some key points:
Oh, and gardens are luscious and grand here, no matter the size or state of the house - people are gardeners here and nearly every house has a lovely garden that I'm sure absorbs what they don't spend on the house itself!
We spent time in Duncan Bay last Sunday for a few days of rest and relaxation. Duncan Bay is a small community (12-15 regulars) at the end of one of the side roads that juts out into the Marlborough Sounds. I think the main activity there is boating and fishing. Well it ended up raining almost the entire time we were there so the pictures are a bit limited, but we enjoyed the remote getaway regardless.
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Here's the view from the top of the hill as we descend in to Duncan Bay. Typical side road into the Sounds - very steep and curvy. |
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This picture shows a bit of the surrounding area as we head to the bay. The land seems to be dominated by farming - plenty of sheep and cows (go figure). |
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Side of the house, entrance to the left. One of many woodpiles. |
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Here's the inside. Very spacious and warm once the fire was going. |
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The main source of heat is this little fireplace. I used many of the fire managing skills learned from my dad while growing up to get this fire going and keep the house warm. The fire became our main source of fun ... that sounds pretty scary, actually. |
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A view from the deck. We were only was able to spend about 15 minutes sitting out here during one of the rare times the sun peeked through the clouds. The wind picked up and the rain came so we had to move inside. Still, we had a huge front window that allowed us to stare out at the fantastic view. |
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A final shot on our way out. We'll probably come back and hopefully get better weather so we can spend more time walking some of the trails in the area. |
