Settled down, climbed a volcano

I have to admit I temporarily lost my motivation for writing this blog when Tom and I moved into our flat and started working.  Although it was nice to have a hot shower and be able to pee at night without needing a flashlight, it was also a bit disappointing to leave our travelling lifestyle behind.  We no longer have the excitement of not knowing where we’ll sleep tomorrow night, but our adventure has by no means come to an end.

We still enjoy fishing and surfing, we just have to fit it in to our work schedules.  Tom is working for a party hire company where he sets up marquees for weddings and events.  It’s not always full time, so he fills his other days working through and employment agency.  I am waitressing, tutoring and substitute/supply teaching, although it’s called “relief” teaching here.  I've just been offered a full time job as a long term relief teacher, which I will begin in June and keep until it’s time for me to leave New Zealand in August.  It feels like we only just arrived in New Zealand, but it's already time to figure out where we'll go from here.  It's a bit daunting and will be a lot of hard work, but we're hoping to come up with a good plan in the next few months.

We still spend a fair bit of time with Mitzy (the van), but we spend our nights in a small flat in the Westown area of New Plymouth.  We live in an apartment underneath the home of an elderly man named Alan.  He’s really nice, and keeps a lovely perennial garden.  There are always quite a few flowers in bloom, and every time one flower dies, another blooms to take its place.  The apartment itself is quite small but it’s close to the city centre and all our bills and furnishings are included in the reasonable rent.

John and Angela, above the clouds,
on our way to the top

Tom and I, looking a bit cheeky considering we're
standing in a crater that was once a river of lava,
and has collapsed 5 times

Shortly after we settled in New Plymouth we decided to climb Mount Taranaki.  Our friends John and Angela came, and we found out when we met up at the base of the mountain that it was John’s birthday.  When we set off we were all very enthusiastic and expecting it to be a fun day.  Although it ended up being one of the more rewarding things I’ve done in my life, and in hindsight I’m really glad I did it, I certainly wouldn’t call it “fun”.  It was one of the most physically challenging things I’ve done, and there were times I thought my legs were going to literally give out on me.  Fortunately, standing on solid ground above the clouds, and getting to the crater at the top, was well worth the effort.  It wasn't until we got home and I did a bit of research to find out how tall the mountain is (2,518 meters) that I found out that, in geological time, Mount Taranaki is due for an eruption sometime soon.

The "conquered" Mt Taranaki, taken the following evening from John and Angela's back garden

We hadn’t been settled in New Plymouth for long when my mum came to visit.  That, however, deserves a blog in itself…