WanderLust Kaitlyn Jayne: Oh The Places You'll Go...

Thurs 5/9

Best purchase I've ever made: my purple rain jacket. Out of all the inanimate objects I have with me here, purple rain jacket is the most practical, trusty, useful, dependable. I'm bulletproof against the heaven's arsenal. I watch the droplets bead up as I walk, little pearls hitting my hood like rain on Totoro's umbrella.

Jamie is baking bread to bring to a potluck dinner tonight. Whole meal flour with walnuts, goji berries, chocolate chips and honey. She's a natural. Before dinner we're going to Puja meditation at the Buddhist Monastery. This is what wikipedia says about it: In Buddhism, puja (Sanskrit & Pali: pūjā) are expressions of "honour, worship and devotional attention." Acts of puja include bowing, making offerings and chanting. These devotional acts are generally performed daily at home (either in the morning or evening or both) as well as during communal festivals and Uposatha days at a temple.

Puja begins promptly every evening at 6pm. We arrive at 6:23. The monks are persuaded to postpone until we arrive. No one ever said monks weren't amenable, eh? We enter, shoes off, eyes open. They grow even wider as the reds and golds and blues swirl before them. Eight exquisitely embellished pillars hold up the room, directing the line of focus to an alter where lotus lights illuminate ornate works of sugar art created each year by the monks.

We greet our waiting friends and take a seat against the wall on the side of the room.

A voice, steady yet lyrical, sounds from an alter. We sit in meditation for 50 minutes, alternating between live chanting, total silence, and recorded music. Back straight, palms up, eyes closed. I try to focus on my breath. That lasts all of 15 seconds until my thoughts begin to paint pictures on my eyelids. I'm 13, running through a neighborhood with friends on halloween, trying to track down the houses that give out whole candy bars. Haven't visited that memory in ages. Holy shit that was 10 years ago!!! My brain scans, a reel plays, a movie of fleeting moments archived long ago. Interesting what your mind blows the dust off of when it's got nothing else to do. Be present, focus on your breath. In out, in out. Full empty, full empty. Remember when we ran out of gas on the drive to Yellowstone? Out in, out in. The gong sounds, I stretch my legs. Time to eat.

Men cooking, girls sharing stories and heat around the fire stove.

That's more like it. Laughing. There's something about being with good people in a new place that makes you a little extra giggly. Like camping or going to Water World. We eat each other's cooking. Kiwi's, England's, Canada's, America's. Yum.

Then we take the narrow path through the monastery grounds to a little hut with vaulted ceilings, a tiny antique fire stove, a chest full of tea leaves, and a California King sized bed. Five girls, one bed. Five girls, five laughs as unique as the beings that generate them. The Soot Sprites would have packed their little bags and floated off into the night after all the laughter resonating from corner to corner in that room. Five little spoons, five little girls channeling summer camp. Guitar playing, fire roaring, tea sipping, full bellies in stitches. The stars are much brighter up here. We let them guide us back to the car. I can only imagine how epic a sun rise or sun set would be from this perch.

Fri 5/10

Highlights of the day: Rain showers turning into a sunny afternoon glow. Working a double (6 hours) for Saturday off, and having the gray drizzle during morning indoor work, and the low, warm sun on our faces as we skewer forkfuls of moist, steaming mulch that smell of fruity tea unto Tony's tractor trailer. Loudly singing ridiculous made-up songs and wielding our pitchforks while riding our tractor chariot.

Having the afternoon to work just the two of us, outdoors, spreading mulch on a muddy hiking trail in the bush next to a stream, the sun literally filling our hearts with song, as cliche as it may sound. After work we climb up to Heroe's Mountain for a breathtaking view of Kawai Purapura as the sun sets.

Cuddling up with all the WWOOFers for a movie night. All the couches pushed in a semi-circle around the projector. Everyone snuggled up next to someone. Family time. The raw Australian cult classic Mad Max it both hilarious and visually stunning with its car explosions, lanky bandits in tight red leather get-ups or with one eyebrow shaved off, baby snatching, and non sequitur sign language.

Followed by My Neighbor Totoro, the Miyazaki classic we all grew up with, or wish we did. It's magical as usual, but even more so because since I've been in NZ, I'm happily nostalgically reminded of that movie at least once a day. When it rains, when I see a massive tree rising above its juniors, when I walk through one of the glades. Even better, Sina has a Totoro onesie. Really brings it all together.

Sat 5/11

Now this is more like it. Sleep in 'til 10am. Jump in James's van with Jamie, Sina and Jack and head to Botany for honest to goodness real authentic Dim Sum. It's worth the 30 minute drive to a town where most of the signs are in Chinese characters, and we are by far the whitest people in the whole place. We order unrecognizable items off of carts that are pushed past us teasingly. Most of it ends up being pretty standard: shrimp and pork dumplings, eggplant, taro cakes. All delicious. Jack and I spontaneously order chicken feet. I've eaten some weird things before, including a dried mouse, but I found chicken feet to be quite possibly the most unnerving. It's literally just skin and bones with a light glaze on top. Yuck.

Fo Guang Shan, the most visited Chinese temple in New Zealand, awaits us with its ornate pillars, outdoor gardens, blinged out effigies, and incense a-plenty.

It is welcoming, serene and absolutely gorgeous. We wander around for an hour or so, breaking off on our own for deep solo contemplation, then regrouping for lighthearted connections. I love unprompted day trips.

We make a pit stop to grab towels and whiskey and we're off for sunset at Long Bay beach. The light is low in the sky and casts a romantic orange glow over all it touches. It makes our faces reflect a nostalgic kind of love, a bond over this shared experience.

We hike up our pants and plunge our hairy legs into the cool ocean water, splashing about in a sea we've not yet seen.

Silhouettes of yoga poses.

Jack's epic photo shoot.

Whiskey giggles and serenading.

Finish with another relaxing family movie night and I'd say that's our best day yet.

Sun 5/12

Manifest it. Say it out loud. Put it into the universe and it will come. "We will find a camper van today." Freedom. Open road. Home base.

James picks us up at 9am to go to the Auckland car fair. It's essentially a parking lot where people come and park their cars in long rows and potential car buyers come to examine, pick and choose. We're there for 3 hours pacing up and down rows of kitted out vans of every made, model, year and color imaginable. Some have wood flooring and leather couches, some are rubbish and other are mechanical masterpieces. We leave with a 1991 Mazda E 1800.

It's in great shape mechanically and has low kilometers. We're so excited we can't help but be obnoxious Americans and hug and sing and jump around in a circle. Little Tin-Tin, you'll serve us well! The remainder of the day is spent ecstatically planning our voyage north whilst eating Udon noodle soup and sushi. Sunday fun-day. We leave Wednesday to stay on Alec's farm in Hokianga, Northland!

Some more lovely photos: