New Zealand Travels (2003-03-12)

"Woke up in plenty of time for my first trip on a Magic Bus. I chatted to some girls who were on a planet trip - they had just completed a journey through Vietname and Cambodia. I was most impressed since the Asian culture one that I have very little knowledge of. One interesting point that they made concerned the Vietnam traffic. Apparently cars rule the roads, while bikes and mopeds rule the pavements. This only leaves the middle of the road for pedestrians! So, if one wishes to cross the road in Vietname one has to just walk out in front of the endless stream of cars. And then they stop. Massice culture shock for these two English girls, especially when they found themselves stepping out in front of cars and walking down the middle of the roads in New Zealand.

So I organised my trip on the Magic Bus which just involved chatting to Dennis the Driver and him going "She's all right. Hop on, mate." We cruised along the road to Kaikoura and I became engrossed in my book (looking up every 2 minutes to admire the beautiful scenery). I became aware of the existence of both the observing ego and the transcendent ego. The observing ego is concerned with ones sense of self being aware of the emotions currently experienced. The transcendent ego is concerned with the control of these emotions. A good analogy is that of a conductore directing an orchestra of competing instruments. If the conductor is gifted then a harmonious interepetation of the music is brought forth, with appopriate and necessary instruments creating the mood. One step along the path is to develop a strong transcendent ego - or emotional intelligence.

About halfway through the trip to Kaikoura the bus threw two fan belts causing us to stop by the roadside. I ended up having a deep conversation with a woman called Beth who made the observation that I have a strong imbalance between my right brain and left brain. I have spent the majority of my adult life cultivating left brain through patterns - logic, analysis, organisational thinking. For me to become balanced I need to spend time on my emotions, intuition, creativity and overall spontaneous thinking. Without exploring this part of me, I will never become whole. I will forever be locked into acquiring various rules for handling situations that Life throws my way. To this end I have resolved to find out more about myself through many means: learning a new language, drawing, paiting, meditating on mandalas, learning about chakras. The list has only begun. :)

So, what happened after we got to Kaikoura? After soring out our accommodation (Dusky Lodge) Beth and I walked into town to organise our events. In my case this was a fishing trip, and then swimming with dolphins early the next day. After that it ws a short stroll to the beach for a bit of sunbathing, juggling and, in my case, yoga.

The fishing trip was great fun. Jason, our guide, had us eating crayfish (boiled, chargrilled and raw), mussels (huge) and the very expensive New Zealand delicacy paua (pronounced pow-ah) which is a sort of mussel cum barnacle cum sea-slug thing. I cannot adequatly describe the taste of paua - the best I can come with at short notice is a fish flavoured Wispa bar. The trip ended with a presentation of a paua shell - beautifully iridescent.

After I got back to the lodge, I went straight to bed since I was going swimming with dolphins and had to be up for 0500. Oh yes - Oh my God it's early."