Tim Tams and Vehicle Common Sense

As one may imagine New Zealand has a number of products, specialties, interesting items, and just plain oddities to which no other country, well, at least America, has any hint of. One of the more amazing delightful products that this land holds is a product actually imported from Australia (go figure) - it's called a Tim Tam. These are a variety of chocolate biscuits (or cookies for you North American types) that are perhaps the greatest thing ever to come out of Australia, apart from their cheap, quality wine (at least from my limited viewpoint having not been Down Under quite yet).

So, what may you ask is a Tim Tam exactly? A chocolate sandwich of two chocolate wafers with a chocolate mousse spread between, then dipped in chocolate for a tasty and chocolaty snack, or meal depending upon on many one cares to eat. Did I mention they contained a bit of chocolate? Now, the packages of ten Tim Tams do go very quickly, however, the speed of consumption increases exponentially when one performs what is affectionately referred to as a Tim Tam Slam (check out this definition). Such an event is this that it requires a full and steaming cup of coffee or hot chocolate (preferably coffee and none of that instant coffee crap). Two diagonally opposite corners of the rectangular Tim Tam are gingerly bitten to expose the sandwiched biscuit from beneath the chocolate coating. Then, carefully biting the midst of the biscuit between one's teeth, much like a straw would be used, dip the exposed end of the biscuit into the mug of hot drink and drink as much of the beverage as possible until such a time as biscuit just begins to fall apart. Now at this point in time, if there are no hands involved, the key is to tip your head back and enjoy the now quickly disintegrating biscuit. It is a must to advance to the stage where no fingers are toes are used in the Tim Tam Slam - certain authorities suggest the use of such extremities, however, the real experts go solo - no hands or feet. In any case this is a biscuit that is hard to ignore no matter the method of ingestion - ah the simple pleasures in life. Go out and get a package if you haven't yet (unless of course you are not located in Australia or New Zealand or the few Asian countries to which they are imported...).

The other wonder of this southern island world is the choice of SUV's. The Kiwi's are amazingly smart in that they also choose to drive Isuzu Trooper's - well okay, that Trooper model is actually called a "Bighorn" down here - however, the point still remains, Kiwi's have some good sense about them. Back home in the states my vehicle is, as one may have guessed with the heavy previous endorsement, an Isuzu Trooper. Of the many SUV's here on the road in NZ a large percentage are Isuzu Bighorns - this is one of the larger SUV's (or vehicles for that matter) that are driven on the roads here (not including the camper-type vans which are also very popular). In fact, I have only seen one full-size truck (in the American sense of the word) - it was a beast for these parts. Also deserving note is that the Bighorns are also offered with a diesel engine - why in the heck can't we have diesel Isuzu Troopers in the states?! I am glad there are some countries out here with a bit more car sense then the states...

Okay, so I have said my peace on two of the many things that I really think highly of here in Kiwi land, there's more, but that would require some more rambling of which I don't have time for as I would then be late for this mornings continuing lecture...

Greymouth and beyond...

So, I feel as if the updates to this site are trickling in - well I suppose that is because they are. In any case, this particular update is going to be a tad lengthy - reminiscent of the England musings of some time ago...

Where to start? There have been a number of questions coming in and so maybe I will try and summarize things here to answer a few of those questions then we can jump into a more rambling approach at this past weekend's adventures - of course some of the following may be a repeat from earlier posts - I can't remember what goes on from day to day...

So, we are currently in the midst of beginning Monday for Week #4. The "routines" of the weeks have been well established such that we can now know what to expect, within at least the framework of time allotted for activities. The weekday mornings are set with either a time of worship or prayer followed by a number of hours of lecture (though a tea break is held halfway through or so). The afternoons of the weekdays have various activities - a free afternoon, outreach preparation (learning intercultural things or children's songs or traveling items), weekly work duties, small group activities, and free time in Christchurch. Evenings hold some free nights and some activities, most notably is a time for outreach team meetings on Monday and outreach activities in Christchurch on Friday evenings. Weekends encompass a day of activity out in New Zealand (location and activities vary) on Saturday and a free day on Sunday - one which is much needed.

It is difficult to attempt to describe why time seems to be so busy here. I don't mean to put a negative connotation on this busyness and it is certainly not a busyness without purpose. However, the days fly by and it is hard to believe it is now nearing a full four weeks since we have arrived in this place. I liken the activity and bustle of this Base as something similar to a mixture of college, church, summer camp, and missions.

Our topic this week is on the Nature and Character of God, however, the speaker is more in tune with teaching about the Life of Jesus and so it is a combination of such subjects, and actually, really is the same topic. Previous weeks have held topics of Hearing God's Voice, Life Evangelism, the Kingdom of God, and Relationships. Each week has been challenging. Challenging not so much in a physical way of accomplishing certain assignments, rather, challenging on a personal and spiritual level - pushing our comfort zones beyond our reality and wrapping our minds around concepts that both excite and dare.

The living arrangements for the guys are quite nice. We have our own house down the street that serves the purpose very well. All told there are 16 guys - 5 staff and 11 students. In this house of five bedrooms the students are split six and five in the two larger rooms. The staff are split up with two guys in two of the remaining rooms and one staff with his own room. There is one full bath, a toilet, and then a shower sink combo - we actually manage better than I thought with regards to the bathroom use - guys don't apparently require much time there except we could use more air freshener at times... There is a full kitchen as well as a large lounge/library area and a spacious backyard off the lounge patio. It really is a nice place to shack up for a bit.

I share a room with five other guys. Funny in that the room arrangements worked out such that my room of six guys are the older unmarried guy students (this same "unplanned" arrangement also took place with the girls that live in the Base house, 5 of them). The ages range from 23 - 32 with 4 Americans (Alaska, Oregon, Chicago, and Indiana), a South Korean, and a guy from New Caledonia (sp? - an island nation just north of NZ). We have taken to living together quite well and I think we actually shocked the staff in the general tidiness of our dorm room - maybe that is because we have all had the independent living experience in life as opposed to some of the younger students who are here. It's a good group of guys - we have become fiends quickly and have little issue with one another other than the wayward alarm clock.

The living arrangements for the girls are a bit varied. The staff girls (four plus two admin) live in the main Base house along with 5 girl students. Eighteen (I think - I lose track easily) girl students live in a place called the Ghetto (a separate dormitory right near the base) - I haven't decided if that is an appropriate name or not for the girls dorm. Let's just say they end up with a few more living arrangement issues than the guys house. There are three married couples as well here - they share a number of separate bedroom cabins near the Base house.

All told there are 40 students (22 girls and 14 boys - I think I don't dare try and add them all up) and nine staff (4 girls including school leader and five guys). The average age of the school is 23 - ages spanning from 18 - 32. There are actually quite a number in the late twenties and early thirties, especially when one includes the staff, however, there are plenty who are in their late teens and early twenties, thus swaying the average to the low twenties. We have a grand time here.

One last thing about daily life to add for now - the food is awesome and healthy. We have a chef who does an amazing job - I don't think anyone is losing weight during the lecture part of our experience. Each day I swear I am not going back for seconds, however, that hope is quickly dashed when the food is so nice to eat... I suppose it is best that we gain a bit of weight now so that during outreach we have a bit in the reserve tank, so to speak...

So, this past Saturday morning I had signed up to travel to Greymouth (on the west coast of the South Island). A few minutes after 8 am we departed in two vans with a total of 17 people looking for a day out and about in NZ. The plan was to drive to Greymouth (a bit over 3 hours drive), check it out, and then continue up to Pancake Rocks (just under an hour north) and then drive back to Oxford the same day. It was likely going to be a long day's drive, and everyone had prepared for that (I think) - more so it would be an opportunity to see a bit of New Zealand that was as of yet untouched by the eyes of most of the students here.

The drive to Greymouth ascends and descends through Arthur's Pass; a beautiful mountain drive with one-way bridges, steep and sharp corners, and even a section of protected roadway (rockslides). The road to Arthur's Pass is the same road which takes a person to Castle Hill and Cavestream - places that had been visited a couple weeks ago. The road to Castle Hill and Cavestream is beautiful enough - continuing on through Arthur's Pass is so much more.

It's difficult to describe the natural beauty present here - even the pictures don't quite do NZ justice. However, eventually, there will be pictures posted depicting the trip's adventures. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, there were 17 cameras taking pictures this past weekend - many of the same poises taken like 7 times with different cameras. Anyway, some day were going to sort through these photos and pick the best of the best - maybe some will get posted - at least that is a far off dream...

Ok, back to the story at hand. Our route into Greymouth took us through the enchanting Arthur's pass shooting us out into the tropical rainforest of the west coast. Now, this was perhaps the striking feature upon reaching near Greymouth - the change of foliage. This side of the South Island carries more of a dry characteristic with distanced foliage, whereas the west side of the island (the Southern Alps separating the two sides) carries a heavy handed rainforest completly reminiscent of a tropical island (Kauai of Hawaii comes to mind). It's amazing the sharp contrast of foliage and variety of geography within this South Island.

Once arrived in Greymouth we searched out food. Gangs of YWAMers spread out across this small city area looking for the best deal on the varied cravings of the individuals. A number of us struck gold at a west side cafe with fish and chips (English style with malt vinegar - mmmm) for $NZ 5.50 ($1.00 NZ for every $0.70 US) - we thought it was a good deal anyway. This lunch feast was enjoyed at a sidewalk table under a cloudy but comfortable sky.

Nearly two hours after arrival in this quaint seaside town we found our way up the coast to Pancake Rocks - a location of geological significance regarding the rock formations - they look like pancakes. To tell you the truth I didn't think the rocks were that cool - it was more of a tourist destination than anything. We did have a good time walking around checking things out and taking pictures. It's quite a tourist attraction - did I mention that yet...

While we were there someone thought it would be a good idea to keep going (it was after 4 pm) - that is forget driving back to Oxford (at least 4 hours from where we were at) and continue to parts unknown. So, after a brief prayer and haggling over who would be the one to call back to Base to seek approval from the proper authorities we received some much anticipated approval to continue on our way. This now became our adventure, the costs of which would be born by the students and the destination of which would also become our destination. We didn't know what God had in store for us.

About the time we received permission to continue the weather cleared - the sun now breaking through the cloud cover and storming the country. We drove north in glorious sunshine with the coast sparkling in an aqua blue and forest green blanket. We couldn't have asked for better weather - views as far as the eye could see - even a hint of Mt. Cook far off to the south. There were a number of stops made at various viewpoints - had we not been spurred on we may have remained at one or two of these indefinitely.

We pushed north in the direction of Westport - a town on the northern end of the coastal hugging road system in this part of the island and our possible destination for the evening, although, we were open to anything. Somewhere nearing Westport one of the vans decided to try a hard left onto a narrow, gravel road. The road was in the general direction of the coastal beaches, however, it remained questionable for a bit as to whether or not there would be a beach at the end of the grey gravel road... Now, as if the day wasn't already keen enough (learning those Kiwi terms) the gravel road eventually (it wasn't that long really) brought us to a small beach - a small beautiful beach with a rock outcropping that divided two bays. This was our spot - well, if we could have stayed here I think we would - amazing sunshine, bright teal water, and waves crashing into the beach - a NZ tropical paradise.

Now, on the west coast of NZ, along the Tasman Sea, beaches are not generally recommend for swimming. Apparently the surf succumbs to a rather strong riptide pushing in across the Tasman from Austrailia. There are probably beaches that could be considered swimming beaches (no signs posted one way or another) - however we chose not to try out any theories this day - wading in calf deep water was cold enough as it was.

Something eventually came up about dinner and a place to stay for the night (understand that the west coast is not particularly populated along the roads in these parts) and so we had to depart from the beach. Along the way to the now planned destination of Greymouth we did make one last stop at a seal breeding area to view what we could of the baby seals - cute little tykes but a bit noisy and smelly.

Somewhere in the mid-evening we rolled into Westport and set about finding a place to stay - 17 people don't always fit nicely into accommodations. Thankfully, however, our second attempt at finding a hostel for the evening worked out as a fine place to crash for the night. A quaint hostel that with our burly (or not so burly) crew pushed the capacity to the max - check out TripInn Hostel.

Westport is not exactly a large town (well, neither is Greymouth) and as things generally go in NZ (even in Christchruch) everything shuts down in late afternoon or early evening. Thus, we had to do a bit of scrounging for food but made out okay and found a nice little joint that served just about anything deep-fried (hey, who's here to lose weight?).

Sunday we awoke and held a small church service of sorts in the hostel before heading on our way. Again, it was a beautiful day for a drive east across the mountains and down southeast through Lee's Pass and into Oxford. We departed Westport at 11 am and arrived in Oxford at 5 pm - the day was pretty solidly spent just driving with a few breaks mixed in. Thankfully the mountain passes were beautiful in the partly sunny weather - only did it begin raining once we arrived on the east side of the mountains...

So, that is our trip for last weekend. Hard to do an adequate job describing how nice it was, but, as it was Adam's birthday Saturday, I think he captured the essence of the trip when he said that the day on Saturday (and trip) was "the best day of his life". Christina posted a crayon trace of our route which is kinda cool to see - however the map is a bit hard to read. Maybe next time I will have a few more comments on the school, however, there is just so much that could be said and seeing as how it's time for dinner, well, you know where my priorities lie...