I am now in Warkworth. About an hour north of Aukland on the East coast. This is SCUBA territory. Too bad I won't have time to enjoy it. The diving around here is some of New Zealand's best. More specifically, I am at the Mahurangi Institute and at the "hostel" they run nearby.
This has been a great experience so far and makes me glad that I have left Auckland. The locals here are so nice and friendly. Upon arrival I was supposed to call the manager of the hostel to pick me up from the bus. But, in my usual fashion, I decided that the walk would be nice. With my 2 big wheeled bags dragging behind me I started heading up the highway towards the Institute. Yes, there is a sidewalk, which in NZ is called a walking path, no matter where it is. As I rounded the turn onto Wilcotts Road there was a steep climb up to the road. When I got to the top, I stopped to catch my breath, those bags of mine total about 60-65Kg. A woman who was just pulling out of a drive at the top of the hill asw me struggling. She backed up to where I was and offered me a ride. I was glad to take it. The walk was longer than expected (the bus driver made it sound like it was close by) and the ground around here is all steep hills. She was a very nice lady by the name of Doreen and I will call her during the week to meet her and treat her to a coffee/tea outing.
Tim, the hostel manager, met us at the main building and directed us to the "girls' building" where I'm staying. The place is brilliant. Everything is brand, spanking new, clean and well maintained. Tim is doing a great job. He and his wife, Petra (Hungarian) and their brand nwe baby boy, Jaime, live in the bottom of the main house. That is also where the co-ed and couples rooms are along with the common and dining room. It costs $20 per day which includes self-catered breakfast and a hot cooked meal every evening. This evening was a tuna/past/cheese casarol and mixed veggies in cream sauce. Quite yummy. I had seconds. I passed on the ice cream for desert.
Each of the three houses has 8 double rooms and two full shower rooms. There is also a lounge and kitchen with TV in each house. Our house does not have a dish hookup yet so we only get 2 channels and they aer snowy... or so I am told.
There is free internet access (phoneline modem connection) in the common garage where the ping pong table and laundry are. That is where I am now. A young 18 year old girl from India, Suzanna, is sitting next to me. She is our 'house rep' this week. Suzanna is studying Marine Technology at the Institute and will be here until the end of the year. Her courses started in February.
I am the oldest person in the entire place. All of the other resident students are 16-25. The 28 year old was kicked out a few weeks ago following a rather rowdy party. Alcohol is now strictly forbidden in the hostel. Tim runs a very tight ship here. His son is only 12 weeks old and he wants this place to be nice and homey. There is actually a committee headed by the neighbour across the road to get rid of this place. That is why the owner and the Institute decided to get a nwe manager... to change the reputation of the hostel so that the neighbours will dissolve the committee and stop making the owner's life a living hell.
Anyway. After Tim gave me the tour and history of the hostel and I got settled, I took the 15 minute walk into the centre of town. Warkworth has a population of about 2500. I checked out the tourist Info office, got money to pay for my course and dropped into an arts and crafts gallery. The owner and I got to chatting (who? Me?) and she is a very pleasant lady. She has asked that next time I am in town, I should drop into the shop and we will have a coffee/tea together. This is much better. A town with friendly folks. Sally has a soon to be single brother of 55 who she thinks I might enjoy meeting. Maybe I will. Hey, who am I to turn down a perfectly good opportunity.
Then I was off to the Nwe World grocery store for, what else, groceries. A few supplies for lunches and the usual assortment of non-dairy, wheat and gluten free products. Walked back to the hostel. Took a bit longer with a load of groceries and mostly uphill... about 20-25 minutes. Met Suzanna then had a nap befoer supper.
Well, I will write more later. It is getting cold out here in the garage as the sun sets over my right shoulder.
Posted by gailene at March 28, 2004 06:49 PM