I made a video of the experience. CLICK HERE to view it. Enjoy!
See you soon!
Love,
Melissa and Matt
The Down Under Adventures of Matt and Melissa
02 June 2015
The Smiths' New Zealand Adventure
Over Christmas (yes, 6 months ago...I know, I am horribly late posting this), Matt's parents came out to New Zealand to spend two weeks gallivanting around the South Island with us. We had an epic time and stayed in some of the most beautiful locations on earth!
07 October 2014
We didn't start the fire
Happy October!
While things are cooling down into autumn in the States, things are heating up here as spring comes to New Zealand. We spent a weekend in Rotorua, a "hot" New Zealand tourist attraction, full of thermal pools, natural springs, smoking mountains, and Redwoods!
Watch our video full of all the natural wonders here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIouH0XvuMo
In other news, Matt's parents have booked their flights to visit in December, so we're super stoked about that! We have a whirlwind 12-day trip planned all across the South Island with them, hitting a different town every day. Can't wait! We hope other friends and family will book their visit soon!
Miss everyone!
xoxo
Melissa
While things are cooling down into autumn in the States, things are heating up here as spring comes to New Zealand. We spent a weekend in Rotorua, a "hot" New Zealand tourist attraction, full of thermal pools, natural springs, smoking mountains, and Redwoods!
Watch our video full of all the natural wonders here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIouH0XvuMo
In other news, Matt's parents have booked their flights to visit in December, so we're super stoked about that! We have a whirlwind 12-day trip planned all across the South Island with them, hitting a different town every day. Can't wait! We hope other friends and family will book their visit soon!
Miss everyone!
xoxo
Melissa
19 September 2014
Men Who Stare at Goats - Election Day in New Zealand
I'm up at the ass-crack of dawn, sipping a flat white, unable to sleep on this momentous Election Day in New Zealand.
Since I am ineligible to vote, I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to the political landscape here, but that isn't to say I haven't learned quite a bit. Here are my general observations and interesting factoids regarding politics in New Zealand:
Campaigning on Election Day is a criminal offense (or "offence" as the Kiwis spell it).
No one -- not the politicians themselves, the press, or your Tweeting grandma -- is allowed to campaign for any one party or politician on Election Day.
Cost of political campaigning in New Zealand to sway public opinion: millions of dollars. Making everyone shut the f*ck up so Kiwis can think for themselves for just a second about who they want running the country: priceless. (USA, take note. Oh, and make sure you bring your goat to the polls for a picture, because voting selfies are illegal, too! Take THAT, narcissists!)
Who the hell are all these people?
Coming from the United States with its woefully lacking two-party system, I am overwhelmed by the plethora of parties here: Labor, National, Green, Internet, ACT, Maori, Mana, and United Future. Seriously, can get a girl get a reference chart up in here?
Can you imagine the Primary debates in America if we had that many parties? There'd be like, 34 people up on stage. Oh, wait, we DO have that many parties in America, for real? Fooled me.
Voting on Saturday makes sense (more than the above picture does)
One thing I never understood about the US is why they make their election days on Tuesdays. I mean, come on, how can I vote on a Tuesday when I'm too busy waiting for my two-for-one Tuesday pizza deal to be delivered? I'm hungry, and those election lines are long....
But, seriously folks, to vote is an American right. But in our bass-ackwards country, it's also the right of any company to deny time off to its employees to leave to go vote. Moving election day to Saturday would free up a lot of voters to hit the polls, especially poor / minimum-wage voters. Now who do you think they would vote for? Food for thought...... okay now I'm hungry again. Where's my pizza?
I love you, New Zealand, but stop whining about your "dirty politics"
As an Ameri-Kiwi, I walk a fine line when it comes to talking about dirty politics. In conversations with Kiwis, I try to sympathize with their feelings about the country's "dirty politics." But inwardly, I roll my eyes, because, sorry guys, your "dirty" politics ain't got NUTHIN on America. So your country's squeaky clean image has never been more tarnished, and there has never been so much mud slinging as there has been in the last campaign. But, trust me, that shit is child's play compared to what we've had to endure in America for over the last, oh, CENTURY.
Not to say you are't entitled to your griping. And, ya know what, good on ya for bitching about it when it's still relatively good. Holding your politicians to a higher standard will hopefully prevent New Zealand from devolving into the ludicrous political circus that the United States has become.
Life's a beach
Since I can't rock the vote, guess I'll go rock my boat (video).
Since I am ineligible to vote, I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to the political landscape here, but that isn't to say I haven't learned quite a bit. Here are my general observations and interesting factoids regarding politics in New Zealand:
Campaigning on Election Day is a criminal offense (or "offence" as the Kiwis spell it).
No one -- not the politicians themselves, the press, or your Tweeting grandma -- is allowed to campaign for any one party or politician on Election Day.
Cost of political campaigning in New Zealand to sway public opinion: millions of dollars. Making everyone shut the f*ck up so Kiwis can think for themselves for just a second about who they want running the country: priceless. (USA, take note. Oh, and make sure you bring your goat to the polls for a picture, because voting selfies are illegal, too! Take THAT, narcissists!)
Who the hell are all these people?
Coming from the United States with its woefully lacking two-party system, I am overwhelmed by the plethora of parties here: Labor, National, Green, Internet, ACT, Maori, Mana, and United Future. Seriously, can get a girl get a reference chart up in here?
Can you imagine the Primary debates in America if we had that many parties? There'd be like, 34 people up on stage. Oh, wait, we DO have that many parties in America, for real? Fooled me.
Voting on Saturday makes sense (more than the above picture does)
One thing I never understood about the US is why they make their election days on Tuesdays. I mean, come on, how can I vote on a Tuesday when I'm too busy waiting for my two-for-one Tuesday pizza deal to be delivered? I'm hungry, and those election lines are long....
But, seriously folks, to vote is an American right. But in our bass-ackwards country, it's also the right of any company to deny time off to its employees to leave to go vote. Moving election day to Saturday would free up a lot of voters to hit the polls, especially poor / minimum-wage voters. Now who do you think they would vote for? Food for thought...... okay now I'm hungry again. Where's my pizza?
I love you, New Zealand, but stop whining about your "dirty politics"
As an Ameri-Kiwi, I walk a fine line when it comes to talking about dirty politics. In conversations with Kiwis, I try to sympathize with their feelings about the country's "dirty politics." But inwardly, I roll my eyes, because, sorry guys, your "dirty" politics ain't got NUTHIN on America. So your country's squeaky clean image has never been more tarnished, and there has never been so much mud slinging as there has been in the last campaign. But, trust me, that shit is child's play compared to what we've had to endure in America for over the last, oh, CENTURY.
Not to say you are't entitled to your griping. And, ya know what, good on ya for bitching about it when it's still relatively good. Holding your politicians to a higher standard will hopefully prevent New Zealand from devolving into the ludicrous political circus that the United States has become.
Life's a beach
Since I can't rock the vote, guess I'll go rock my boat (video).
Cheers!
07 August 2014
Winter is...leaving?
It's been a while since I posted a blog. Life got in the way, as it always does. So here's a little update from Middle Earth....
It's August, which means while the States are baking in 95 degrees and 158% humidity, we're enjoying what the Kiwis call "winter", which is just so laughable to us because most of these people don't know what a real winter is. Winter for North Island Kiwis involves eight weeks of not being able to go swimming. But kite surfing, sailing, hiking....no problem. Just throw on a wind breaker and you're good to go. And snow? What's that? Don't get me wrong, I am LOVING it. I just laugh when a North Island Kiwi complains about the weather here. It's like someone who's never lived in L.A. complaining about the "traffic" in Cleveland. Puh-lease. ;-)
When we weren't thawing our butts off, we did some hiking to Kaiate Falls, the most quintessential waterfall swimming and jumping hole you've ever seen, and we hiked out to the point at Mt. Maunganui to watch the surfers on a beautiful day. Check out the fun little video we made here.
By the looks of this, you might think we never work. But, we do, I promise. Lately my hula hooping has completely blown up. I have two (soon to be three) classes at a local gym for women, a private rhythmic gymnastic student, and by November I plan to have a DVD made. Matt meanwhile has been slaving away at work trying to get their product launched, with many interesting twists and turns in the process.
We're gunning to buy a little rowboat soon, and our resolve to get a good deal on TradeMe has been bolstered by the fact that we just learned that ORCAS (killer whales) frequent the harbor and bay where we live. They literally swim in our back yard!!!!!! Oh yeah and there are sting rays, octopus, sharks, and seals. Click here to watch the AMAZING VIDEO shot by my new friend Nathan of his close encounters with Orcas where we live! (You need to be logged into Facebook to watch the video)
In other news, my ornithological photography interest continues. Here are some shots I got recently:
Wild Pukeko
It's August, which means while the States are baking in 95 degrees and 158% humidity, we're enjoying what the Kiwis call "winter", which is just so laughable to us because most of these people don't know what a real winter is. Winter for North Island Kiwis involves eight weeks of not being able to go swimming. But kite surfing, sailing, hiking....no problem. Just throw on a wind breaker and you're good to go. And snow? What's that? Don't get me wrong, I am LOVING it. I just laugh when a North Island Kiwi complains about the weather here. It's like someone who's never lived in L.A. complaining about the "traffic" in Cleveland. Puh-lease. ;-)
When we weren't thawing our butts off, we did some hiking to Kaiate Falls, the most quintessential waterfall swimming and jumping hole you've ever seen, and we hiked out to the point at Mt. Maunganui to watch the surfers on a beautiful day. Check out the fun little video we made here.
By the looks of this, you might think we never work. But, we do, I promise. Lately my hula hooping has completely blown up. I have two (soon to be three) classes at a local gym for women, a private rhythmic gymnastic student, and by November I plan to have a DVD made. Matt meanwhile has been slaving away at work trying to get their product launched, with many interesting twists and turns in the process.
We're gunning to buy a little rowboat soon, and our resolve to get a good deal on TradeMe has been bolstered by the fact that we just learned that ORCAS (killer whales) frequent the harbor and bay where we live. They literally swim in our back yard!!!!!! Oh yeah and there are sting rays, octopus, sharks, and seals. Click here to watch the AMAZING VIDEO shot by my new friend Nathan of his close encounters with Orcas where we live! (You need to be logged into Facebook to watch the video)
In other news, my ornithological photography interest continues. Here are some shots I got recently:
Wild Pukeko
Tui
We still miss all of our friends and family greatly, and we're really hoping to see some of you this Thanksgiving or over Christmas/New Years. Come on over!
Till next time....
Melissa and Matt
08 June 2014
Crazy cat lady (and proud of it)
I'm the crazy cat lady without any cats. I spend most of my time working for Happy Cat Sanctuary in New York. Though I love it so much and I consider it my lifelong mission to help the cats in the sanctuary and feral cats wherever I can, it doesn't lend to much interaction with cats. So when Matt told me about the Geyserland Cat Club show in Tauranga, I dragged him there, much to his dismay, to get my fix of fury felines, and I was not disappointed - Maine Coons, Birmans, Siamese, Ragdolls, and even a Sphynx! Watch the video here. Warning: extreme cuteness!
Though these cats are loved and pampered, we must also remember our less-than-perfect feline friends who are left to fend for themselves as strays. If you are interested in adopting a cat, opt to adopt one from a shelter, not a breeder. And heed Bob Barker's message - spay or neuter your cats! And please make a donation to Happy Cat Sanctuary, thank you.
19 May 2014
11,315 days without dying
Holy crap, I'm 31. When the hell did that happen?
Maybe that's why I haven't had kids yet -- because I've been too busy reclaiming some of the fun I'd missed during my own kid-hood. (Don't worry would-be grandmas and aunties, the kiddies are coming.....but don't go storming Babies R Us for crocheted beanies and nipple shields just yet.)
The Coromandel Peninsula really portrays New Zealand's tendency for dichotomies. Ya know, the kind of place where you stumble upon a farm tractor parked on the beach.....
....or banana trees across the street from a sheep farm....
When I turned 10, I was excited to finally reach double-digits. At 12, my mom let me go to the mall and put two pieces of metal through my earlobes. At 13, I earned the lofty rank of "teenager." When I hit 17, the state of Delaware thought I was responsible enough to operate a large motor vehicle on my own (hahaha, idiots). At 21 I was finally able to (legally) drink. When I turned 26, I rejoiced when my car insurance premium dropped.
But at 31, all I really wanna do is get the hell out of town for a little while and have some fun, 'cause the next "important" life marker's gonna be just over the hill at 40, so I have nine more birthdays to act like a slightly irresponsible psuedo-adult, which looks like this:
In all honesty, I did not revel in my childhood; the first fourteen years of my life weren't my favorite. When I finally did start having some fun and calling the shots right around age 15, I realized (though not consciously) that, hey, life's pretty awesome, and I need to make up for lost time.
Maybe that's why I haven't had kids yet -- because I've been too busy reclaiming some of the fun I'd missed during my own kid-hood. (Don't worry would-be grandmas and aunties, the kiddies are coming.....but don't go storming Babies R Us for crocheted beanies and nipple shields just yet.)
So what did I do to commemorate my amazing feat of surviving 11,315 days on this Earth without dying? Hit the BEACH, of course! I made a little video of our trip to the Coromandel Peninsula, where we visited three world-famous beaches: New Chums, Cathedral, and Hot Water. Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdKZ3w28rqw
The Coromandel Peninsula really portrays New Zealand's tendency for dichotomies. Ya know, the kind of place where you stumble upon a farm tractor parked on the beach.....
....or a peacock begging like a dog for your lunch.....
Thirty-one, here I come!
21 April 2014
For the birds
Hey everyone,
Sacred kingfisher
Oystercatchers
It's been about a month since I last posted a blog..... I just didn't have the energy after Amber died. But things are starting to smooth out for Matt and me.
My tour to Hawaii was really good, though very sad with Amber's passing, and lonely because this year I didn't have any of my bandmates with me. But I made a lot of contacts and new friends. I had about 9 gigs, including the 33rd Annual Hawaiian Scottish Festival, the 20th anniversary of the North Shore Country Market, and St. Patrick's Day at Kelly O'Neil's Irish Pub. So all in all, a great tour. When I wasn't performing, I communed with the turtles in Haleiwa and spent as much time in the water as I could, asking the Pacific to wash away my sorrow.
When I got back to New Zealand, Matt and I moved down to Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, which is 3 hours southeast of Auckland. We are renting a house on the bay from a lovely family that we met through Airbnb. They are fantastic people and we are so lucky to know them.
The house backs to a park area where tons of birds can be seen from the window. I was lucky enough to get shots of white faced herons, oystercatchers, and even a sacred kingfisher. It's a bird lover's dream!
White faced heron
White faced heron in flight
Matt loves his job with the dental engineering company. He rewarded himself by getting a new Breville espresso machine which is AMAZING, and a surfboard (long board).
As the Starks say, "Winter is coming" - even in New Zealand - so there are precious few beach weeks left.
We hope that our friends and family will plan to come visit us this Christmas break. December will be here before you know it, and it's summer in NZ in December! Start planning (and saving) now to come visit us down under! We miss everyone so much!
More blogging to come.... until then,
Love,
Melissa and Matt
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