#orewa is up near auckland kinda

[fictional-worlds-are-exquisite]

agajsksns not gonna lie being 10 feet tall sounds awesome. i have no idea how tall that is because the only thing i know about feet (that sounds so wrong) is that google is telling me that i'm 5'6 (sorry to disappoint). which is. average height right? well it doesn't feel like it coz my best friends are giants. they're both 180+ cm tall and they constantly make fun of me for being short. but honestly i win because i can always make them reach things for me.

thank you! that's very sweet, i actually only saw your reply like 20 minutes before the new year so it was right on time! i loved writing to you and waiting to hear back as well, you're a really fun person to talk to!

i know you probably won't see this for a couple of weeks before going on holiday, but have fun!

i laughed really hard at the picture my brain conjured up when reading about you dropping the vampire act and starting to pretend to be a mouse, just straight up scurrying up to the houses on all fours in a bathrobe is hilarious. i'd pay to see that. and yeah! me either. the number of times i've gone outside at night is probably like 3. that's counting that time when i went for ice cream at 11pm to the store on the other side of the street in my pajamas and then had to turn back because it apparently closes at 10 pm. that was a pretty big disappointment

a halloween themed birthday party sounds awesome! it's sort of disappointing though that you can barely remember it. the only themed birthday party i had (or at least the only one that i remember) was princess themed because i was on my princess faze back then (i was 5 or 6 i think). i still remember the sheer joy i felt at being able to wear a long fancy dress. it was brilliant

oh yeah! i'm still slightly scared of blenders because of that time. now anytime i even put my fingers close to the blade i unplug it first. also i saw you got a blender? i think we have one that's similar to the one you described. so i have a couple of suggestions! i like to make banana "ice cream". you just cut up a banana into pieces and freeze it, (i have no idea how long it takes to freeze i just generally always have frozen bananas in my freezer) then you take them out, let them sit for 10 minutes (to not break the blender when you use it) and blend them. i sometimes add frozen berries or peanut butter too! depending on what i want that day. it's great, especially because i'm slightly lactose intolerant too and i absolutely love ice cream. you can also make smoothies as you said. i usually put in mine whatever fruit we have, generally apples, bananas and oranges or grapefruits. or if i'm making one for breakfast (which i know you can't, but this is just a generally more filling option i think?) i also add spinach. you can't really feel the taste but it's supposed to be good for you and it fills you up more (it does make the smoothie super green though!). but yeah i pretty much just mix and match anything i have! also: milkshakes. ice cream, berries (optional) and milk! super easy and my little cousins love it when they visit!

ohhh your grater also seems to be out to get you. i bet it's really painful if it actually falls on your feet, because like metal. on foot. ouch. especially if it hits you with a corner! and i would definitely also get surprised every time it happened no matter how many times it did! bifocal glasses do not sound fun either tho. i would constantly forget how to use them and probably would just get headache really fast too! i get a headache from my normal glasses when i wear them (i usually wear contacts) so bifocal ones would be even worse i bet.

exactly. i had no idea what "hot" means. i thought you were supposed to use it when you thought a person was aesthetically pleasing? or like you thought they look cute? i dunno. i used it a couple of times before i realised that was not what that meant and then i was just like uhhhh yeah i'm gonna delete that word from my vocab. yeah! i think that ace and probably aro too are pretty hard to figure out because it's the lack of something.

ahahsksns i can imagine tiny Lindsey waking up on Christmas morning and running to the window expecting snow in the middle of summer and it's so funny! i can't say anything though because we have this saying in lithuanian which is used essentially when someone does something unexpected and unusual for them so you say "it's gonna snow tomorrow". as in "wow, [name] did [something super unexpected from them], it must be snowing tomorrow" (because like those are equally unexpected things i guess? but it's said in winter too so it's just something you say whenever, i'm sorry it's hard to explain!) but yeah a figure of speech. and anytime i heard that, even in the middle of summer, the next morning i'd run to my window and look for snow and when there was none, i'd just stare accusatorily at my parents. like wow, i can't believe you lied/let someone lie to me

horse races sound fun, i've never been to one though! and a picnic luch sounds awesome! i love picnics but we have them very rarely, i definitely think we should have them more often

and yeah, i get that acid reflux more of an annoyance than a problem but still! i completely agree with you about peanut butter though. it's amazing, i could eat it everyday

I know exactly how tall 10 feet is purely because I’m 5 foot so two of me is 10 foot. I barely know feet but I got used to people being confused when I was like oh, I’m 155cm! so I learnt what my height was in feet but I can really only visualise heights when I put them into centimetres. Someone can be like I’m 6 foot! and that’s great but I don’t have the faintest idea how tall that actually is. 182cm on the other hand is easy. that’s just like one ruler above my height. I can picture that. 5 foot 6 is probably average but as a short person, I consider you tall. That really isn’t saying much at my height but still sdflshdfks. Biggest benefit of tall best friends is indeed making them reach high things though. 

And now we’re almost three weeks into the new year. Time seems to be flying this year. This is a very late reply indeed sdfjhskdfs. I did see this before I left but didn’t have time to reply, thank you though! I did have lots of fun. I had some birds try to invade the unit up in Orewa and I had a dotterel (I think) follow me along the beach at Ngarimu Bay playing some sort of red light green light game with me (it only moved closer and started following me again when I looked away) and I think a blackbird started some sort of mating performance at me which was flattering but uhhhh I’m a bit of a big bird mate. Maybe choose someone else. there was also beaches and gorgeous views etc etc but birds, y’know. birds.

i would 100% do that for money with no regrets. on one hand I could get a job and contribute to society. on the other hand I could do that as my main income. not a hard choice. hire me by the hour to freak your family and friends out. i have no respect for myself i’ll do it to anyone for the right price. damn. only closed one hour earlier. that’s a massive disappointment. i was out at night willingly for my high school prom and for a creative writing night at my uni and inside a car if that counts when I think my family was travelling back from the south island when I was younger. So three times that come to mind. Oh. And if stupid camp burma trails count then add a few times to that but those were not night outings I did willingly.

I can barely remember most of my life, I just assume it happened and I wasn’t just planted here at 12 years old as an alien spy. Anything’s possible though. I remember my birthday cakes more than my birthday parties to be honest with you. My mum always made the cake and when I was young she’d make fun designs. A bee, a bat, a swimming pool and a cat come to me off the top of my head. They were mostly just sponge cats but she cut them and iced them expertly. A princess-themed party seems like a very fun type of party for kids who like that. Kids always seem very happy to dress up in pretty dresses and cool outfits to attend those kinds of parties. I can imagine the joy. I know my little cousin looooves that sort of thing, and her brother isn’t willing to be left out either

thank god you unplug it first now sdfjhsdf that’s incredibly reassuring. Ooo thank you for those suggestions!!! this is great!! I was wanting to try something with bananas and that sounds easy enough. I had an apple and feijoa smoothie while I was away on holiday and all I want is another one of those. So I’m very very very interested in trying out fruit smoothies now because they seem like they can be very very tasty. Spinach seems like such an odd thing to add but I’ve heard that several times now so clearly it’s a thing. I don’t think I’ve ever even had spinach. I’ll keep it in mind though. I suppose if I just try whatever fruit we have on hand eventually I’ll get something that tastes good. I have dairy free ice cream and dairy free milk so it seems like this could work out for me in a way where I’m not regretting my entire life. Normally when I go near a milkshake I regret the day I was born.

It isn’t a super heavy grater but I have intense survival instincts every now and then so it hasn’t actually hit my foot yet. I go diving in the other direction. But I think if it did I’d probably curse a few times before moving on with my life. I don’t think it’d be THAT bad. But I live in fear regardless. oh no. do your normal glasses have a slightly wrong prescription or is this just a thing that happens when you normally wear contacts,,, I’ve never worn contacts because I fear touching my squishy eyeball and also I think my shitty eyesight is too awkward for contacts so I have no idea if that’s a thing.

oh yes haha hot has been solidly deleted from my vocab for many years except in terms of temperature. It has a word that has never naturally come to mind and I’m sure it never will. It just seems weird when I use it. 

I was a fool of a child and absolutely nothing has changed there! I mean I know how hemispheres work now but I’m still a dumbass at heart. Hahahahahaha oh nooooo. That’s incredible but oh noooo. I get what you mean by the saying though, that’d make a lot of sense here honestly since it never snows ever. Locally, at least. 

i think horse races are just a form of betting and losing money that is frowned upon less than actual buildings based on gambling and such. I mean I only ever attended those ones, idk if all horse races are like that, but I know there was buying tickets for whatever horse you thought would win, and if they did you got money, if they didn’t you lost money. I don’t think it was a whole lot of money ? just like a few bucks ? but maybe you could choose to bet more ? I really don’t remember how it worked, I just remember accidentally finding a ticket on the ground and handing it in only to receive some money because the horse won. I think it was like 5 or 10 bucks which seemed like a LOT to my kid self. picnic lunches are fun though. my family keeps a tartan blanket in the back of the car that we use whenever we have picnics and also whenever we get takeaways (we put it in the middle of the lounge floor as the rest of my family eats fish and chips and I eat sushi, normally). But we don’t have as many as we used to. They are fun though.

can confirm i do eat peanut butter everyday and it goes brilliantly.

[roseknows20-blog]

Advice for Te Araroa Hikers

Updated and complete tid bits of info regarding the North island! North Island Cape Reinga 0 km to Wellington 1702 km Places we stayed/camped (It was hard for me to find information about camping and such, so I thought I would relay our experiences to help fellow TA trampers out) 1) Twilight beach campsite (13 kms from Cape Reinga)-shelter, toilets, and water available (FREE) *Go all the way to the end of the beach and up the stairs and the campsite is at the top of the hill 2) The bluffs campsite (20 kms down 90 mile beach)-Basic toilet and green space for tents (FREE) *Take a left into the sand dunes and there will be a sign for a campground and just make yourself at home. It says to pay $10 but there wasn't a place or person to pay. We camped right behind the toilets to protect us from the wind. 3) Utea Park (approx 50 kms down 90 mile beach)-great campground, full kitchen, toilets, hot shower, cabin beds, and/or tent space ($10pp for tent or $15pp for bed) *You will see a New Zealand flag and take a left into the sand dunes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED because Tania and Paul are awesome! 4) YHA Ahipara- basic hostel with full amenities, including, hot shower, laundry, basic shop, free wifi, and dorms or private rooms. Very clean! About a mile from "town", where the small convenient store and cafe are. ($25pp for a dorm bed, cheaper if you are a member + have the low carbon discount) *Take a left onto Kaka st from the beach and then another left onto Takahe st and the YHA is part of the Ahipara holiday park and will be on your right. 6) Freedom camped after the Herekino Forest- We set our tent up off of the old Forestry Road (after you take a left onto the road, there will be a nice flat grassy area around km 125-126 on the left hand side)> free of course, right next to a stream for water filtration, ground was a little wet but plenty of flat space for laying down tent(s) and we were able to have a camp fire! 7) Freedom camped in the Raetea Forest- Not ideal spot in the Raetea forest but doable! I would say camp before the 580m peak because we hiked the peak first and looked for a stealthy spot afterwards and it was a bit hard to find! 8) Room right next to the Mangamuka Dairy- Knock on the door if no one is there. Eliza is the owner of the dairy and will help you out with accommodation for Koha (donation). We stayed in a room with a bed and pull out couch! Toilet and sink are at the back of the house! We gave her $10 ($5 each). *FYI: the trail notes we have mentioned Mangamuka bridge hotel, but it has been closed for 5 years! 9) Tent camping at the RSA in Kerikeri- free of charge, actually a caravan park, but they just asked us to buy a drink or food at the RSA. (We just camped on the grass in front of the RSA building). 10) YHA Paihia, Bay of Islands- basic hostel with full amenities, including, hot shower, laundry, free wifi, and dorms or private rooms. Right off of Kings St, next to other hostels, restaurants, and bars. ($15 for a dorm bed if you are a YHA member and low carbon traveler) 11) Freedom camped near km 266 on the lawn of a guy (Marc) who said we could sleep there! 12) Wooleys Bay (320 km)- the bay was mentioned on Campermate, and has a public toilet. There were other people camping and several caravans as well! 13) Riverbank homestead in Ngunguru- lovely garden area for TA walkers to camp at for Koha (donation). Hilton and Melva are the owners and such lovely genuine people! 14) Cell Block hostel in Whangarei- kinda expensive for us $30 per bed, but it's the only hostel in the CBD in Whangarei and next to all of the shops. The hostel itself was great though; clean, full kitchen, showers, and free wifi! The owners Chrissi and Rian were sweet people also! 15) Freedom camping at the beginning of Ocean Beach 16) Freedom camping (km 383)- near the ww2 radar station off of the Bream Head trail. Great flat place that semi blocked the wind. Also, a picnic table near by for cooking/hanging out! *Call Peter Cross for a ride to Marsden Point ($10 per person) 17) Couchsurfing in Waipu 18) Couchsurfing in Mangawhai 19) Freedom camped at the start of the Govan Wilson trailhead (km 490)-flat ground, but not well sheltered if it's raining! We met the people that live next door and they were fine with TA trampers camping there! 20) Fiona and Warricks house at the top of Krack Hill in the Dome forest, they allow TA walkers to use a space in their lawn for camping! 21) Met some nice people and slept at their house in Orewa 22) Freedom camped in Centennial Park in Forest Hill, North Shore, Auckland 23) Freedom camped on Mt. Victoria in Devonport, Auckland *Ferry from Devonport to Auckland was $6.20 24) Surf N Snow Backpackers in Auckland-cheap hostel with full amenities, you get what you pay for though because our room smelt horrible! 25) YHA International Auckland-full amenities, and will store your bags as you walk around the city, people in the hostel weren't very social though and it had a hotel feel 26) Puhinui Reserve Freedom camping (Also, I met a fellow TA walker who just slept at the airport which I thought was a good option) 27) Totara Park Freedom camping 28) Clevedon-Scott Hydes house km 664 (fellow TA walker who will let TA trampers camp on his lawn, awesome guy!) 29) Lower MangataWhiri campground (Hunua Ranges)- basic flat grassy field with toilets and a stream for water near by *FREE. Also, we passed the repeater campground first, and then the upper mangatawhiri campground where you can stay in the Hunua ranges! 30)Mercer: Podge's Place-awesome Motel that lets TA walkers camp in their yard and take hot showers for FREE! Sandy and Podge are such genuine people to support TA walkers like that! They just ask that you buy a beer or pizza from the bar, which we thought was a fair deal. 31)Hamilton-stayed at a friends house/ lots of hostels and/or hotels though! 32) Pahautea Hut in the Pirongia Forest (km 847 off of the trail and just after the Pirongia summit)- first backcountry DOC hut along the trail, lots of beds, mattresses, sink and rain water, toilets 33) Freedom camping at km 885 (on the Pehitawa track)- nice flat grassy area next to a stream 34) YHA Juno Hall in Waitomo (1km east of the town)- cozy hostel with full amenities and relaxed atmosphere. The only downside was you had to pay for wifi. 35) Mangokewa Reserve (km 917)- great campground with a toilet and river for water *FREE (we also saw many places to camp along the river track after the reserve campground) 36) Ngaherenga Campground (km 969)- DOC Campground right outside of the Pureora Forest, portable drinking water and toilets at both sites (there are two areas to camp) 37) Bog Inn Hut (km 985)- small, quaint hut, 1st that you pass along this section of the trail, had a toilet, rain water, sink, 4 bunks, and a wood burning stove 38) Waihaha Hut (km 1003)- gorgeous, modern DOC hut in the middle of the bush. There was a toilet, stove, fire wood, and plenty of bunks/mattresses. 39) Huahungaroa Hut (1014)- cute little hut overlooking the forest, has the same amenities as the first two huts and most standard backcountry ones. 40)Taumarunui-Freedom camp outside of town 41) Owhango- Freedom camp 42) 42 Traverse - freedom camp 43) Basic campgrounds and/or full amenity huts in Tongariro National Park 44) Mangahuia Campground (km 1158)-basic Campground with a shelter, rain water, sink, toilet, and picnic area. Also, right next to a river! 45) National Park- YHA and other backpackers, hotels, and lodges are available Whanganui river trip: We made arrangements for Whanganui River Canoes to pick us up in National park (because of a time crunch). It was $245 per person to rent the canoe for 5-7 days from Whakahoro to Whanganui. We resupplied in Taurmaranui and sent packages to the company, which they brought along with the canoe so we didn't have to carry it all the way to Whakahoro (where you enter onto the river). 46) Ohauora Campground- right off of the river, and it has a shelter, rain water, sink, toilet, and picnic tables 47) Mangapurua Landing Campsite 48) Pipiriki freedom camping-right next to the dock (bit sketchy, but doable, also toilets near the DOC shelter) 49) Downes Hut 1325.5 km (wasn't shown on the map given to us by the canoe company but an excellent hut with 6 plus beds, table, toilet, rain water, fire place, and very close to the river bank) 50) Hipango Park 1350km- there will be a boat ramp on the right hand side, walk up to the park, where there are toilets with TP, shelter, and picnic tables. The place was a bit abandoned and Erie but definitely a great flat spot to camp and shelter to get out of the rain! 51) BBH in Wanganui 52)Couchsurfing in Bulls 53)Mt Lees Reserve 1442km- nice flat FREE area to camp, run by a guy who supports TA walkers. There are toilets, picnic tables, potable water, and a small shelter as well. 54) Couchsurfing in Fielding 55) Couchsurfing in Palmy North 56) Freedom camping 1520 km-small grassy flat area right before/across the way from the Mangahao Car park 57)Tararua ranges-Waiopehu Hut (1st hut ) 58)Te Matawai Hut 59) Nichols Hut 60) Parawai Lodge 61) The River Pa- mentioned in the trail notes, a km or so before Waikanae, beautiful place with hot showers, full kitchen, tons of mattresses in the chapel where you sleep, for only $10 a night! One of my favorite places we slept! 62) Paraparauma YHA 63) Wellington- Wild Zebra Backpackers, I'm sure Couchsurfing is also an option Restaurants/food sources visited Ahipara: 1) Northdrift cafe-had delicious burgers and coffee, breakfast menu looked great too but we didn't go until the afternoon 2)Bidz takeaway-was mediocre for burgers and overpriced, definitely not the best, the seasoned wedges were tasty though, and the portions were big and anything would satisfy us besides trail food after that freakin beach *the small superette in town is super expensive Mangamuka Bridge: 1) Dairy-Good espresso/coffee, bacon egg sandwiches, and burgers, relatively small store and wouldn't recommend for resupply (Closed on Saturdays during the winter) Kerikeri: 1) Black Olive- Great pizza and not too expensive! We split a medium pizza and salad and it was enough for 2 people! 2) Bakery-Free wifi, excellent coffee with small brownie, and bacon and egg crossaint for $4.50 *Also a Countdown here for resupply! Paihia: 1) small Countdown for resupply or cooking your own meals 2) Titos Bar and Restaurant- $10 meals from 5pm-1am, not the best burger/curry I've ever had but definitely good for the price 3) Vinnies Takeaways- great $5 Bacon egg and cheese sandwiches on a bun 4) Upperdeck cafe- good coffee and nice view of Paihia marina 5) Sushi place on the main strip was also a treat! Opua: General store: ice cream and great pizza, get the smoked chicken (has Brie and mozzarella cheese!) Also, good shop for drinks, chips, or snacks before heading into Waikare/Russell forest where there is nothing Whananaki: Simple store in town (next to the holiday park): we had corn dogs, soda, and seasoned wedges. They have a small takeaway menu of mostly just fried food, but a full store for snacks and other goodies. Matapouri: Small Dairy: Meat pies, gatorade, and coffee (expensive$$$) Whangarei: Grocery stores: Pak n save, countdown, new world *also a ton of restaurants but we wanted to be frugal with our money! Marsden Point: Cafe: relatively cheap and decent burger for the price, also had other lunch items (its mostly a place for the workers from the oil refinery to come eat at/buy food during their lunch breaks) Waipu: 1) Pizza barn: great for gourmet pizza and beer! A must do if your going through Waipu, the best craft beer and pizza we've had in NZ (although a bit expensive)! The Scotch Ale was super tasty! 2) Foursqaure- if you need any food/resupply, this is the only "supermarket" in town. Mangawhai Heads: 1) Atomic cafe: good feijoa smoothies 2) Sushi place had great sushi pieces for $1.30 per piece! Mangawhai 1) Q cafe: good strong coffee from a really nice guy that needed the business 2) four square for dinner supplies ($$$) Pakiri Holiday park store: snacks and iced coffee (very expensive$$$) Top of the Dome cafe: Great coffee and lovely service from Emma! We also had a large order of chips! They have a full breakfast and lunch menu, as well as some fresh pastries and pies in the display case! Puhoi: 1) General store- coffee and cute small shop (very expensive though) 2) Puhoi Pub- one of the oldest pubs in NZ, we both had burgers and beers that were well worth the price! Orewa: Four square, Countdown Tapakuna: 1) Tons of cute coffee shops and restaurants! Look out for cafes that have the "supreme coffee" sign, because it's the best (as you can see, we love coffee) 2) Crustys Bakery- good and cheap pies/ premade breakfast sandwiches! Devonport: 1) Rita's Fish and Chips- lots of locals there so thought we'd give it a go and was great besides the fact they make you pay $1 for the tiniest bit of tomato sauce! Auckland: 1) The coffee school- pay koha (donation) for your coffee! What a bargain! 2)crab shack-dece food but not worth the money/portions were small 3) Sals pizza-$4 a slice Clevedon: Small superette in town if needed (expensive though and not good for a resupply! I just got a bag of chips and a coconut water. Mercer: 1) Pokéno bacon- good for breakfast sandwiches 2) Podges Place- awesome pizza (especially if you pair it with free accommodation ;))! Huntly: Countdown (huge grocery store) Hamilton: Paknsave, countdown, new world Waitomo: All of the food was very expensive at the dairy, so avoid resupplying here if possible! Te Kuiti: New World Taumarunui: 1) Jasmines cafe- good burgers and fries for a Thai restaurant haha (we just got the cheapest thing on the menu). Also, good strong coffee! 2) Taumarunui Bakery- big delicious meat pies 3) New World National Park: 1) Four Square 2) Cafe next to the gas station had great coffee and free wifi! Along the Wanganui River: There aren't many shops or places to buy food/supplies so make sure you come prepared! 1) Bridge to Nowhere Lodge- Right across from the Tieke Kainga Campground, they have some beer/wine options at the bar and chips/nuts for sale! We got a beer and bag of chips each! Wanganui: 1) paknsave 2) Tasty India-great lunch special for $9, we both got the butter chicken, which came with the curry, rice, naan, and a papadum! Bulls 1) McDonald's 2) Four Square Fielding 1) countdown, new world 2) dominos 3) Rosebowl Cafe- great coffee and large selection of desserts Palmy North 1) countdown, paknsave 2) Brewers Apprentice- burgers and beer, a bit pricey but always nice to treat yourself to a "real" meal Waikanae 1) countdown 2) Relish Cafe -GREAT COFFEE Wellington Lots of grocery stores and food options! Food List Tip: Only pack what you need, we learned this the hard way! Breakfast: 1) muesli and powdered milk (heat up some water and have it hot and it's even better), 2) oatmeal and honey, 3) granola bars, and most always coffee/tea Snacks: 1) trail mix (peanuts, raisins, white chocolate chips) 2) beef jerky 3) muesli bars 4) bhuja mix Lunch: 1) peanut butter and jelly sandwich on pita bread 2) crackers or tortilla with salami and cheese 3) tuna packets on a tortilla Dinner: 1) Ramen/2 minute noodles 2) mash potatoes and dehydrated peas 3) instant pasta pouches 4) couscous dehydrated, dried veggie stock, dehydrated peas 5) Kaweka meals - prepackaged/cooked dinner meals that come in a pouch and you just place in boiling water for 10 minutes that taste really great (only problem is they're a bit expensive $5)!