Tongaporutu - bombs and mudslides

Taranaki, 13th-15th march

After spending a few days in Wellington and Feilding, catching up with friends and saying goodbye, I set off to Taranaki, on the west coast. An absolutely gorgeous part of the country, with some of the most impressive bush I've seen yet, beautiful black sand beaches, and snowcapped mountains in the distance. I spent the weekend with Mark, a friend of my good friend Diccon. Mark is a stuntman, and has decided to take his career choice to a new level, by building a luxury outfit on the top of a hill to accommodate groups of guys (or adventurous girls) who want to play around with extreme sports, bombs, firearms and cars....

After a risky climb up in a 4WD you arrive at the building site, where the house already gives a pretty good idea of the amazing times they are going to have here. The views from each room are breathtaking.

Fun times... This biscuit is so hard to hold on to when the driver is a maniac that does every thing he can to tip you off!

Mark is organizing a big bash for his 30th in a couple of weeks, and there were plenty of preparations to make. So even if I won't be there for it, I got a sneak preview of what could happen. One of the main attractions will be a mudslide, so the weekend project was to build it, and blast out the landing pool, which was a bit too shallow.

Placing the bomb... Carefull now!

Better safe than sorry! We look cool I reckon!

3....2...1...

A job well done...

Now this is what I call a mudslide!

More fun - after rebuilding the jump and fixing the flat tyre - we were good to go!

Mark and his girlfriend Nat - a happy couple!

Well, at least she lasted 15 minutes!

A last look from the top - Thanks for a awesome weekend Mark and Nat, I won't forget it in a hurry!

Motueka

Motueka, 14th feb - 8th march

My readers must be wondering what I have been up to since I have been so bad at keeping this blog for the past many weeks. I mean, I was not busy traveling, so I should have had plenty of time... The truth is that working 40 hours a week seemed to keep me pretty busy, and weekends were spent chilling at the beach, or recovering from massive hangovers.... Being in one place for so long was a really good experience, and the friends I made - not backpackers for a change (!) - gave me a much more authentic kiwi experience! So this past month I have very few photos to post on the blog, but I have some awesome stories to tell.... Sorry, though - it would take too long and be slightly embarrassing if I was to write all!

Mot is a small town, coloured by the differences of it's inhabitants. Despite it's main aspect as a fruit and veg production area, with massive orchards that attract seasonal workers from all over the world, it has also long been a haven for a flourishing hippie culture of free thinkers and artists. Tucked away behind the orchards, at the bottom of long gravel roads, small settlements and collectives lead an alternative lifestyle. As it happens in most small towns, after you've been there for a few weeks, you get to know people - and the friendly south island mentality of folks here makes it easy to blend in... But if I had stayed here much longer my liver would have started to complain, and my kiwi vocabulary would have shocked many of my more reserved friends.....Lol!

David, my flatmate, who always was up for a discussion at the end of a days work....

So, it was with a heavy heart (and head) that I left the south island on the ferry from Picton, and headed north, to say goodbye to more freinds, and go exploring a bit more with my small savings from Ormond Nuseries.