“Mana” and the wonders of Easter Island

3. Mar 20159. Mar 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

You can feel the “MANA” just about everywhere on this beautiful island, situated in the middle of nowhere in the Pacific Ocean (it is in fact the worlds most remote inhabited island). Mana is what they call the spirits that can evolve from anything, a person, object or nature. The Island’s nature is, despite its small size of only 163 square km, very diverse. The breathtaking view from the edges of the extinct volcanoes onto the freshwater crater lakes certainly makes you feel the mana of those places!

Rano Raraki

Orongo crater lake

And then there is the “Moai”, massive statues carved at the Rana Raraku Volcano, which were then schlepped and put up in various places on the island. Many of them still lay face down, but a lot have been reerected in the past 60 years and they, too, exude a lot of mana, which is why you’re not allowed to come close to them.

Now, I can alraedy hear some of you, screaming “now she’s trying to lecture and bore us with Rapa Nui culture and history”! You might just want to stop reading here. I’m far from lecturing anyone with the little I learned, but it’s just too impressive to not mention it.

In short: Some 100 Polynesians arrived with their canoes ages ago and the 12 or so sons of the arriving polynesian chief formed different clans that all lived happily for some hundreds of years in which they created a strong culture based on polynesian beliefs. What is special, though, is that they carved and put up hundreds of Moais, most of them looking inland towards their villages to protect them with mana. These Moais represent respected elders and were created to resemble them. As time went by the Moais created appeared less human and more god-like and they got bigger and bigger. Somewhere along that line the birdman competition evolved, meaning that every chief sent off one warrior to a motu (small island 1km from the western cliffs) in order to bring back the first sooty tern egg laid by the migrating birds. The winner’s chief was declared Birdman (thus having loadsof mana) and his clan took command of the whole island for one year. This cult was probably a result of the failing ecosystem, as the growing population outpaced natures capacity to renew itself. This also resulted in fights among the tribes, who toppled many of the almost 300 Moai statues. All other statues fell as a result of tsunamis and other natural disasters. The missionaries ended the Birdman cult in the 1860s. Slavery, diseases and other catastrophes led to a decimation of the population to only around 100. Although Easter Island officially belongs to Chile, the Rapa Nui culture is still strongly influenced by its polynesian ancestors, especially the language, music and dances.

I had plenty of time to explore the island’s volcanoes, quarries, Moais, caves, beaches and the (only) village by foot, bike (really needed to be active again after that lazy week in French Polynesia and luckily the climate is much more pleasant with a high of only 27°C) and with a small group tour (photos to follow). It is amazingly “empty” and you can walk for at least two hours without meeting anyone! They only have 90.000 visitors a year, but tourism is increasing, so you’d better visit this amazing island sooner than later…

When it comes to food, there is a great Chilean influence: tasty tuna empanadas, Ceviche (raw fish), all kinds of seafood, most definitely accompanied by Pisco Sour – love it! What’s best though, and this came as a surprise, is Mikafe’s ice cream parlour at the small pier! The ice cream is by far the creamiest and tastiest I have had in ages and they have a great variety, e.g. “Piña” made from the small and sweet local pineapple. To die for!

We’re gonna indulge in seafood and icecream again tonight before we’ll watch the sunset!

Stand up paddeling

24. Feb 201524. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

On my last day on Moorea I finally got onto one of the B&B’s stand up paddle boards. I probably wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for M., who – being a surfer – easily made his way out into the bay. I avoided the shallow water at the shore to stand up and instead paddled to the deeper water kneeling on the board. I am proud to say that I managed to stand up and paddle for quite a bit, despite the wind and the waves (and according to M. looked rather stable even though feeling a bit wobbly). Rookie mistake: I paddled out with the wind and getting back through the wind standing up proved to be difficult and I eventually had to get back on my knees. I did not fall once, though! Now that I’ve tried it I can say that, yes, it forces you to tense up every part of your body, which makes for a good work out. But it also proved to be rather dull and I definitely prefer a sea kayak over a stand up paddle board – it’s faster and much nimbler.

Snorcheling with stingrays and sharks

24. Feb 201525. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Moorea’s “Lagoonarium” is sited at a “motu”, a little island close to the Moorea reef. Every guest is assigned with his own little hut, snorcheling equipment and a pair of those pretty plastic sandals – stepping onto a poisonous stonefish is said to be a very unpleasant experience. Every hut has a view of the sea, the adjacent bar area is formed like a ship and everything, even the bathroom (which is equipped with a flushing toilet!) is tiled with shells. Several buoys are fixed to the reef area, all connected by a rope, allowing guests to safely make their way around, as the current is quite strong. At 10 am there was no one else in the water and I enjoyed fabulous views of the underwater world with plenty of fishes. But the real adventure started with the 11am feeding session! The guide arrived with a bucket full of (dead) little fish. Attracted by that, a growing number of large stingrays already made their way into the shallow water. He fed them like riding a donkey with a carrot: by holding the fish close to their mouth he lured them around and the soft stingrays touched us gently while passing by. They even seem to enjoy being padded. This is not a zoo, though. And even though the animals are obviously used to being fed and touched by humans they are still wild animals. I found it a bit scary, but I must admit that for the most part I was simply amazed! After a white the guide asked us to make our way along the rope from the shallow 1,20m into the deeper water (about 5m deep). There he rode the stingrays by holding onto their front with a fish in his hand – sourrounded by at least ten 1,50m long reefsharks, anxious to get their piece of the cake. Obviosly, there were plenty of colourful fish, too. It was truly spectacular! The downside is that these beautiful animals get used to being fed and might thus lose their hunting skills, being increasingly dependent on humans.

I tried to stay away from the sun, as far as possible, and protected myself with a t-shirt to protect me from getting burned. I “only” have a factor 50 sunlotion, which I constantly applied to my body until it was empty. I’ve now learned that the locals use a factor 110 (!) sunlotion, which is indeed very useful in this kind of sun. The UV index is 14! A UV index higher than 11 is considered extreme. In Brisbane, for example, the current UV index is 12, whereas german summers usually don’t see anything higher than 8.

Making my way back to the B&B was a bit tricky. Taxis are rare and strangely enough the drivers don’t seem to like far drives. Their names and numbers are listed in a leaflet and you have to call them directly. One of the Lagoonarium’s employees kindly lend me her phone (my smartphone does not accept any of the local providers and is thus useless as a phone). But after I was turned down by two and couldn’t reach a couple of others I decided to hitchhike instead. That’s not a big deal here, as there is only one road going around the island. Luckily, a local in a crappy Peugeot soon stopped, though driving the other way. He was going to pick up a parcel at the dock, thereafter returning to Haapiti, which is exactly where I wanted to go. As it turns out, Nico (coincedence, that he’s named like my brother?!) picked up a box full of mangos and handed one to me as a present. I love mangos! Needless to say I indulged in the sweet fruit right after he dropped me off at home.

The Magical Island

22. Feb 201522. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ 2 Comments

Friday, 20 February. This is my third day on Moorea, the cute heart-like shaped island next door to Tahiti, French Polynesia. The first two days I felt virtually brain dead because of the heat. I still suffer a bit, especially now, at 3pm, when the sun is unbearable and there is no wind to cool me down, let alone water (it is bathtub warm). Don’t get me wrong, this place is beautiful! The volcanic mountains that soar behind me, covered by deep green rainforest. The turquoise blue water that I’m looking at right now, the waves breaking on the reef at the horizon. The tranquillity. The smell of trees and fresh fruits. However, all I can think of right now is an ice bucket and how much I’d like to empty it over my head… Look at the “Feel” section:

One hour later: I think I’ll have a cold beer now…

Three hours later: It is cooling down, sort of…

So what have I been doing so far? I’ve done some serious hanging out. I don’t mean reading a book or anything. I mean SERIOUS hanging out, doing nothing, thinking of nothing, waiting for the day to pass by. I flew in from Auckland – I stayed there just for the night (thinking how much I’d loved to stay in NZ). I probably was a bit wistful. I left Auckland on Wednesday morning, 18 February. Now here’s the weird thing: I landed 4h later at Papeete airport, Tahiti, on Tuesday, 17 February. Crossing the date line really is bizarre. I still can’t get the days straight. It was pouring with rain when we left the plane over the gangway. After all, it’s still rainy season. But the rain vanished as soon as it came and it hasn’t been raining ever since the first day. Europeans get their own line through the passport control and no stamp in their passport. Feels strange to sort of entering the EU so far from home (technically, French Polynesia does not belong to the EU, but its citizens are French, so it is EUish).

I caught the 5pm ferry to Moorea, Tahiti’s “little sister” and am now staying at a Family B&B, meaning that the guesthouse is on the same ground and next door to the owners family and his brothers family. Even though M. , a Canadian guy staying here, and me crave for spending some time in an airconditioned room at one of the beautiful (but very pricy) resorts once in a while, I am glad to stay where the real people are and to get a glimpse of how they live (surfing at the reef is a very important part – apparently there are some of the worlds best waves breaking along the reefs surrounding the islands).

Yesterday afternoon I took a bike ride along the road. The newer parts even have a bikeline, but the crappy parts have no tarmac and countless potnoles. The people are incredibly friendly. They remind me of the Malawians in that they waved at me, shouting a happy “Bonjour” along my way.

This morning we did a 4×4 tour with the owner around the island:

The water is not as turquoise where I am staying, because there is no sand, but at least we can see the sunset from here.

Tonight, we’ve had fresh Mahi Mahi from the local fish market (actually its just a small shop) for dinner. Luckily M. rented a Vespa – it is quite far and there is virtually no public transport.

DELICIOUS!

Brisbane – the joy and pleasure of being with friends

20. Feb 201520. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I had the pleasure of meeting up with friends in Brisbane. Esther and Cass are actually friends of my childhood friend Henny and I met them at her wedding in Germany in June last year. I was lucky enough to be placed at the same table. It was a marvellous eve that involved lots of laughter! Half-jokingly, half serious I said I might becoming to Brisbane this year. Back then my Sabbatical was not fixed, yet a route already formed in my mind.

I do meet a lot of people on the road and I enjoy that a lot. But to meet these two, their families and neighbours was special to me. It’s so good to be taken care of, sometimes! Thanks to Esther I spent six days at the beautiful, cozy and airy granny flat of her neighbour Linda (and family) in Paddington… furnished with a huge bed, ensuite bath (with a rain shower!) and a kitchen – in short : PRIVACY! Those of you who’ve travelled like I do probably know how good that feels once in a while! But to top that I was welcome at Esther’s all the time, getting to know her family and indulge in great food, especially at the sunday BBQ 🙂

While I explored the Brisbane CBD by myself (partly accompanied by P. :-)), Cass took me to the New Farm neighbourhood for a beer at the local bowling club (as it turns out bowling on the green is a popular sport…) and an iced coffee at the powerhouse, both with pretty views of the river. Later that day we enjoyed the view from Mt. Coot-tha and a spicy japanese noodle soup in St. Lucia – hot, but yummi! I really appreciate the BYO culture, but the poor young japanese thought we wanted to drink all the alcohol we had just bought at the next door bottle shop (two bottles of sparkling wine, one bottle of red wine and six beers). Hilarious.

We spent a lovely morning at Lone Pine, watching the cutest coalas and kangaroos, dingos, wombats, birds….

Thanks so much, gals, hope to be back!

Travelling and Toilets

19. Feb 201519. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

You surely agree that toilets are a huge issue when travelling! You can never be sure if you find one when you need one, what it looks and smells like and if it is well-equipped or not.

Well, let me tell you this much : NZ is a toilet haven! Every tiny village (and I also mean the ones where you don’t have to slow down to 80 km/h, let alone 50km/h, when driving through) has a public toilet that’s well-signposted, open 24/7, clean, equipped with toilet paper, water and soap and most of them also provide disposable towels!!! What’s more, they even provide public toilets at the starting/ending point and often also along the walking tracks. Some of them might be a little less luxurious, but even most long drops are OK, because of their ventilation systems.

Australia seems to be quite the same. At the Sydney International Airport I even found this: It’s a mother and child cabin that contains a normal size toilet for the mother and a smaller size toilet for the child. Wonder if they provide the same at the men’s toilet?!

I seriously wish we had a similar approach to public toilets and they’d be valued just as much in Germany … Instead, the few free public toilets out there are best avoided and many others are strictly guarded by some unhappy cleaning person that rubs its dirty cloth over the toilet seat and expects me to pay for the service. Admittedly, the job sucks and I would not want to do it myself. But it seems to work well in NZ and I’d happily pay more taxes to contribute to better public toilets at home.

Rounding up and down – the missing coins in NZD and AUD

19. Feb 201519. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I still can’t get used to the fact that rounding up or down is not only common in NZ and in Australia, but a necessity. While Australia lacks 1 and 2 cent coins, NZ further lacks a 5 cent coin. Meaning that all cash transactions have to be rounded up or down. If you pay in cash in an Australian supermarket for a bill of 10,02 AUD it will be rounded down to 10 AUD. If you have to pay 10,03 AUD you’d have to really pay 10,05 AUD. This is due to the withdrawal of the 1 and 2 cent coins in the 1980/90s (and later withdrawal of the NZD 5 cent coin). However, if payment is made by credit card, no rounding is necessary.

I’ve now learned that this practice is called swedish rounding, as it was first introduced in Sweden following the removal of 1 and 2 öre coins from circulation in 1972. Surprisingly, coins at the denomination of 0,01, 0,02 and 0,05 have been removed in many countries and although I’ve definitely visited some of these I cannot recall it. The Swiss Reserve Bank, for example, removed the 2 Rappen coin in 1978 and the 1 Rappen coin in 2007 (because it cost 11 Rappen to produce it).

I find it strange, though, that shops in NZ and Australia do not simply avoid the need to round up or down by having all prices divisible by 0,05 or 0,10. However,it seems that it works well and that its balanced out.

Chilling out in Byron Bay

11. Feb 201511. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Byron Bay is said to have a special vibe. It was originally called “meeting place” (Cavvanbah) in aboriginal language, indicating that it was a place to gather. It is a sacred place to Aboriginals and the spirits are said to proceed from Mt. Wollumbin, an ancient volcano, which erupted 23 million years ago and which can be seen from many points in Byron Bay. It was not an aboriginal settlement, because they believe that the area’s spirit is too strong and therefore people would go crazy if they lived here. That seems to be true, as there are loads of crazy people to be found in Byron Bay! It has been a hippie haven ever since the 70s and I imagine it could be quite similar to Goa… Apart from that there are plenty of surfers (pro’s and wannabes) around. Even though locals keep telling me that I must learn surfing I have yet to try it. But 1) I don’t have enough time and 2) one surfer has been killed and one severely injured as a result of two shark attacs in the past week. I was brave enough to join a sea kayak tour by the local “Go Sea Kayak” company, though. As opposed to NZ the sea was calm and warm. We went along the shoreline to the more secluded bays and saw sea turtles popping up their heads as well as a small group of the resident bottlenose dolphins (including a baby!). THIS truly is a sacred place.

Yum Cha

11. Feb 201511. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Sydney has the biggest chinatown of Australia, which boasts of Chinese restaurants, especially “yum cha’s”. Yum cha is a southern Chinese style morning or afternoon tea, which involves drinking chinese tea and eating dim sums (steamed, fried or baked sweets), which are wheeled around in heated trolleys to pick from. The main street through chinatown felt like a tourist trap, with “schleppers” trying to decoy passers-by into their restaurants. I remembered having read an article on M. Winnemuths Blog about a yum cha restaurant in Sydney. Funnily enough the said restaurant was in the building complex around the corner where I had just purchased my birthday dress. “The Eight” on the third floor of the market city complex was just what I wanted: chinese customers only (besides me), friendly staff and loads of dim sums to choose from. Of course I picked far too many (about 1/3 went into a doggybag), but it was just too tempting! Big thanks to my dad who taught me how to eat with chop sticks when I was a kid! With all the staff staring at me (will she make it?) it made me feel much more comfortable, besides being able to actually eat what I had been served 😉 …

Unfortunately chinese new year will only start in mid February and I’ll miss out on the big celebrations in sydney.

Here is what the chinese horoscope says for those born in the year of the dragon for the upcoming year of the sheep: “Might we suggest a pause for a refresh? Here’s some good news: In a Sheep year, it’s okay to pamper yourself. Take some time off. Do what you have to do.” Now that’s reassuring :-)!

Manly, beautiful Manly!

11. Feb 201511. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I payed Manly another visit last Saturday, this time with my bike (which you can take onto the ferry for free). Arriving in Manly around noon I made my way up, up, up the steep hill to get to North Head. When I finally reached it, I was rewarded by this:

What a stunning view of the city and the sea! I also rewarded myself with an iced coffee at the cute café up there (probably the 20th during my travels, but as long as I keep active it hopefully won’t show)…!

Going downhill to secluded Shelly Beach was so much more fun. A quick change into my bikini and “ziiiisch …” I joined the saturday crowd for a swim to cool down on this hot day.

The Australian Open of surfing started off that day, too, and later that afternoon I watched the juniors (girls) riding the waves from Manly Beach. Another reason why Manly has become my favourite destination around Sydney is the fact that they have 6 beachvolleyball nets at the beach. Today they had a fun tounament going – just like every other saturday. Wish I could have joined them…

The 30 min. ferry ride back to Cicular Quay at 7.30 pm was spectacular, as the sun was setting behind the city: