my friend, i’m sad to report i’m back in the city, wellington. got here yesterday, 28th. apparently, my timing is so wrong as i’ve suspected long before. being in hastings in between christmas and new year is a no-go if you want to find any job. if you are not aware of it, i’m actually in the haunt for non-it jobs, something about farming just to check if i have any career in agriculture, hehe. but to be honest, i haven’t started finding IT jobs from the moment i landed down here. i had several email applications to agencies back when i was still in st.paul and the philippines, but realizing that if i could find myself a job in a kiwi city, then, i’ll get stuck in the urban and it defeats the purpose of moving in this amazing country at all.
so now, i’m hoping to become a farmer. 
well, there is only one worry that i have in working in farms and i assure you that is not because i might get my skin any darker. to work here in nz, one must have an IRD number for taxation purposes. it’s similar to TIN # back home. my IRD number is probably coming soon as i applied for one in hastings. now, the thing is that i am on a work-to-resident visa and that permit was given to me on the basis that i work in my trade, which is information technology, and obviously farming is far too different trade with IT (although milking rhymes with programming, and well as encoding). after several months of wandering, i plan to establish myself here more, and find appropriate long-term jobs, and i worry that immigration would not grant me the residency if they found out i worked in a totally different area. so, i’m really undecided if i should pursue looking for farm/fruit-picking works after the holiday, or go WWOOFing, which is another good option. no, that’s not barking like a mad dog just like it sounds, hehe, but it’s Willing Workers On Organic Farms. basically, it’s a volunteer programme where you work and help in the farm and in exchange for that, you receive free food and accommodation. at least in WWOOFing, i won’t be getting use of my IRD number, so there’s no risk of breaking any immigration law.
i don’t really know, let’s just see what happens.
to say something about hastings, there’s really nothing much to do around in area if you don’t have a job or a car. and me having none of these, it was such a bore. my christmas eve dinner was a full-foot subway sandwich, and a yakisoba instant i brought here..and saw twilight in cinema during the boxing day (dec 26). we actually had a christmas gathering in the hostel, sharing foods and drinks but nothing really compares to spending christmas back home. see, this was the first christmas i spent without my family, and although i’m used to be far from home, there’s still enough family-ties sense left in me to feel homesick. every time i pass by travel shops, and see their ticket listings, it feels weird. i could easily buy a ticket and be back home, but then again, i might regret for the depressive failure is more remembered than the euphoria of success, and the last thing that i would want to be is a failure. well, who would want to be?
Oceania → Australasia → New Zealand → Hawke’s Bay → Hastings
i’ve been out of updates, but right now i’m not in the capital city anymore. i’m here in hastings, a small city in hawke’s bay some ~300 km north of wellington.
so i left the german group in wellington (benny, nico, alex, and felix) as they were heading to south islands. new zealand is actually divided into two major islands, called north island in the northern part and south island, well in the southern part (how creative is that?)..plus a couple more smaller islands around. my first point of entry, wellington, is actually in the southernmost part of the north island, and i’m basically making my way up.
wellington’s been my place for 6 days, and i find the city very compact. walking around lambton, willis, to courtenay and cuba street is very easy. i didn’t have a problem finding my way to the main bus and train station, or to the libraries (but i haven’t been inside) or museums. i find it very safe as well walking alone is no major risk, and people are helpful if you ask for directions.
apart from te papa, there’s another museum in wellington worth mentioning. the museum of wellington city and the sea at the entrance of queens wharf. like the te papa, entrance is free, but unlike it, this museum looks more traditional and old-style being housed in a victorian store. wellington’s maritime history is displayed early from native maori to european settlement. a mini theater is attributed to the wahine disaster of 1968, where an inter-island ferry sank along with 51 lives. the disaster, with more than 700 passengers onboard the ferry, happened in one of new zealand’s most violent storm. in another theater, there’s an impressive holographic projection on maori legends about the creation of wellington harbour.
with some friends from the hostel (the germans), we hiked for the botanical garden, all the way up the steep road, and then finally reaching the top where the cable car ends. then, walked the way down and to a cinema for rock and rolla.
when i mentioned that wellington’s nightlife is about as expensive as greenbelt. i think i made a mistake, or my currency conversion is not working properly, it’s probably twice as much. for example, a glass of tap beer is about $8, or 240 pesos.
i forgot to mention that i’ve seen ben hana. that famous, destitute-looking maori. he is so renowmed and respected that even the government can’t take him away!
and the silly bucket fountain, an iconic display installed in 1969 and still splashing unsuspected passersby. also, the capital city is home to parliament buildings, the seat of new zealand’s government. the most distinct infrastructure is probably the beehive (executive wing) designed by a british architect, and took as much as 13 years to finish.
going north to hastings, is taking a bus of up to 5 hours with a stopover in palmerston north, and passing by dannevirke. the view along the way is awesome! for the first time in nz, i’ve seen wild and live sheeps! and cows! the green hilly terrain backdrop added to the dramatic sight, but i guess the picture i have of it didn’t make any justice. arriving at hastings, all tired and starving, i followed the direction to the first hostel in sight, the rotten apple hostel (i remember reading this from LP..), where a night is $24. hastings is more of a quiet laidback (well, i found the whole nz laidback!) city compared to its bigger touristy brother napier, a bit up north. hastings is also the dwelling place of a lot of fruitpickers and orchard workers. dec 25, and today, 26 is a holiday. the 26th being boxing day. no, not that sport where pacquiao excels, it’s boxing, as in boxing or wrapping something up. the history about it? i still have to find out..
so, happy boxing day!!
more pics of welly
Oceania → Australasia → Australia → Sydney
with a layover of 12 hours in sydney, a dozen hours is too long to wait and sit idly in the airport, however, it is too short to try anything more than just the city..so after the immigration and customs (nothing much), as quickly as i can, i head to the forex to get some australian money, and then hop on the express train to circular quay. i’ve got a picture of what i’ll do in my day (thanks to lonely planet). circular quay station is the gateway to the famed opera house, and the sydney harbour bridge. to be quite honest, there’s nothing grand about the opera house. well, i’ve only been to the outside and no nothing about its design and architecture, but superficially, it’s just an infrastructure shaped oddly.
the harbour bridge is more picturesque with black heavy metal frames connecting sydney cbd and north shore. i haven’t been upclose to the bridge though. so after just wandering along the rocks, several pictures, and walked around near the opera houses, i hopped on wharf4 enroute to watson’s bay for the gap.
the gap is a cliff ocean ridge, famous not only for the pleasant view it offers (the expansive pacific ocean) but also for the reason that it’s a favorite suicide spot in australia. more than 50 deaths are reported each year, and recently they’ve put in fences along the sides, and additional surveillance camera in an attempt to lessen its infamous reputation.
it’s a bit tiring going around as first, sydney is hot. it’s summer at the moment down here in the southern hemisphere, and the beating sun in ever drenching my energy. second, i’m lugging my big heavy backpack handcarry. that’s even quite a fortune as i originally have 2 heavy handcarries and just at the gate in naia, an attendant offers to check-in my 2nd backpack.
from the gap, i took a bus to another famed destination in sydney. the bondi beach. walked around, had my first authentic australian fush and chups (i had it grilled), which is good but just too much for me! of course, the scenery is beautiful along the shore..hehe
then, hop to bus back to circular quay, and onwards to airport.
Oceania → Australasia → New Zealand → Wellington
cheers mate!! it’s been 2 days since coming here to wellington and now i’m staying in a hostel. i came in the early hours of dec 18, and spent the night until dec 19 in the afternoon at tita ning’s place, a friend of an officemate in sun life. they’re just so hospitable and kind, accepting a stranger in to their home, sharing their meals, using their bathroom, and even getting me from the airport, and onto this hostel! really really big thanks to tita ning, tito joel, and of course to the referrer, miss leah!
i’m afraid to say that i haven’t done anything productive yet. 
i don’t even have a single kiwi centavo that i’ve been relying on my credit card since day 1. i was suppose to go to a bank earlier today, after going to te papa museum, but banks are only from mon-fri! anyways, met some cool people from the hostels. of course, the room i got is the cheapest, which is a 10-bed dormitory type, with shared bathroom. it’s quite good, clean, nothing fancy or posh…and as a bonus, they have free dinner every night, which is a pity portion of fish and chips. better than nothing still.
so, among the people here. there’s one from england, another one from holland, and several kiwis. most haven’t been to wellington long, so we just hang out after dinner last night, and bar/beer-hop from various clubs along courteney and cuba street. well, night life in here is not as bad as you might think, and drink prices compares to those in greenbelt, so really not bad at all. music is good, though i haven’t spotted any live one, which is pretty much common back home. a bit tipsy, we walked our way back to the hostel around 3ish in the morning, and saw a man lying on the street, apparently beaten up! we actually saw the guy who kicked him, and there’s another guy trying to get in between them. somebody then called the police and ambulance, and after a few while, interrogated what happened (yes, we were witness! but nothing serious, they didn’t even get our names..) we headed back to the hostel.
today i woke up past 11am, and the weather being drizzling cool, it was even harder to get up. we had breakfast in a nearby corner, i got back to the hostel for a quick shower, and then to te papa (museum of new zealand). it’s a massive museum of anything about new zealand, some geography, maori cultures, etc. i believe i haven’t even seen all the exhibits. the entracce is free, but some attractions require you to purchase a ticket. there are some temporary exhibits as well as paintings, art, and photo gallery. in the earth section, there’s a room that simulates an earth quake, and of course being from the philippines, i’m quite used to it.
so, i’m waiting for the free dinner, which is from 6-7pm later, and probably head to the bars again with oli, and polly. sadly, i haven’t seen any other filipino apart from tita ning’s family. i haven’t even seen one from the plane from sydney to welly. i might have to enjoy this city life for a couple of days, because who knows, if i go further north or south, all my eyes could see from miles are greens, and more greens.
so, until next time! cheers mate!
