So one day after work, in late July, I was checking my email and lo and behold, there was one from Peter back in Onetangi. (For some background info., check out my previous post.) Basically, Peter asked us if we wanted to go over to Waiheke for a month and housesit for him while he and his family went back to Newfoundland on holiday. Living in a lovely house, near Onetangi Beach on beautiful Waiheke Island, for free...with Peter's old Cruiser to drive around in? "Yes please!" we said. So on July 25th, we hopped on the ferry again and headed back over.
The island life was very good to us. I spent most of my days writing (some of which was paid, some just for fun) and reading (and watching the Cosby Show of course!), while Jay worked on his own thing. Here's a snap of him, at the "office."
Jay working away on Peter's deck.
Our first week on the island, my lovely Swedish co-worker from SkyJump, Martina, and her Irish boyfriend Paul swung over to visit us. We all went out to Stony Batter, which has a bunch of gun emplacements and maze-like tunnels from WWII. The tunnels look like the kind of place where the zombie apocalypse will eventually go down, which is a direct contrast from outside the place, which is peppered with beautiful rolling green farmland and (very friendly) sheep everywhere!
Hellooooo!
Martina and me...say hello to our little friend...
Hey little dude!
Paul and his new, furry friend. Looks like love at first sight!
Another highlight from our time on Waiheke was the weekly Ostend Farmer's Market, where you can buy everything from fresh honeycomb and handmade soaps to pizza, fresh German rye bread and assorted bric-a-brac.
Our haul from the Ostend Farmer's Market. My first time trying fresh honeycomb! It was soooo good...
We also got to visit Whittaker's Music Museum, where a lovely volunteer named Reg played some tunes for us (we were allowed to play the instruments too!) and showed us all the instruments - everything from an "antique jukebox" of sorts to the pianolas (a self-playing piano that uses pneumatic pressure - very cool) and much more.
Reg tickles the ivories, or um, wood.
Another cool place is the Waiheke Woolshed Museum and Historic Village. We only planned on spending a half hour so there, and ended up staying around two hours! They have lots of cools stuff...but here are a few pics of their more quirky items.
Forget How to Train Your Dragon...It's How to Train Your Moustache!
Check out the classy gentleman!
An antique laptop!
This one's for my mum...antique vacuums!
Mmmmm...tasty tasty ox tongues!
Another one for mum - an antique dishwasher!
But the absolute highlight of our time on the island, however, was getting to witness the dissolution of the sand mandala of the Medicine Buddha. Basically, a group of Tibetan monks spent two weeks at a Maori marae making this mandala out of tiny grains of coloured sand. It is said that anyone who looks upon the medicine mandala receives good health.
At the dissolution ceremony at the end of August, the monks then swept up (literally) the fruits of their labour and then sent it out to sea - a metaphor for the impermanence of life. (Click the images to watch the videos.)
The ceremony consisted of lots (and lots) of chanting, and at the end, everyone joined in a large circle and held hands for a huge hongi (the Maori greeting that consists of touching your nose and forehead to the other person's) while they sang Maori songs. It was quite the experience and we felt so lucky to be a part of it. George Gardner at the Waiheke Marketplace was kind enough to send me this photo. Jay and I are pretty much in the middle.
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Peter and Tanya arrived back August 31 and we spent the next two weeks at the beach apartments again.
Now, we're here in Auckland, getting ready to fly out to Bangkok tomorrow, then onto Cambodia...then the rest of Southeast Asia!
I'll do the best I can to post regular updates, though they won't be as rambling as usual. Until next time!
