play - Curious Karibella

2023-01-292023-02-11

A Day Zip Lining on Waiheke

Bright Orange Fungus Growing on on the side of a tree on waiheke

When I woke up this morning, I did not know what we would do or if we would do anything. I went downstairs, and Mom and Dad were talking about some place we could go. I soon figured out that we could go zip lining on an island that Mom really wanted to visit. I remember our last zip-lining experience in Mexico with some very good friends. Me Zeb, B, Mom, and Dad were in the car and off to Waiheke! Dad said we had to leave in fifteen minutes, and I was still eating breakfast! Fifteen minutes is plenty of time to get out the door if you are not going slow.

The Ferry

You usually take a ferry to get to an island by a car. Thankfully our car could transform init a boat, so we did not have to deal with the annoying discomforts of a ferry. I’m completely joking! I don’t think any machine can transform the way I was talking about. We did take the ferry, and it was very comfortable sitting in our car for forty-five minutes. 🙂

Batch vineyard and Restaurant

For lunch, we went to Batch Restaurant. It was also a vineyard, but we did not taste wine. The Venue was super pretty, and the service and food were terrific. It was a restaurant where you ordered a couple of shared plates. We got Duck and short ribs. In my opinion, the Duck leg was way better, and it tasted like a holiday. We had a Gluten Free red velvet doughnut and Hokey Pokey Ice Cream. Hokey Pokey Ice Cream is Vanilla Ice Cream with honeycomb toffee in it. It is so good, and I would highly recommend it! We went to the Zipline after lunch and waited for a little before the adventure.

Eco Zip Zip Lining

Hills of Jungle and vineyards surrounded Eco Zip, there were only three Zip-lines, but they were still really fun. The first line was called Vineyard cruise. It was a very creative name, given that you cruised over a vineyard. The second line was called Jungle Cruise because you were cruising over Jungle. These people were very creative with names. The third one was the biggest and longest, so it was named shorty. I’m joking, it was called…. I don’t remember, but from now on, it is named Shorty.

After we flew through thick air ( I don’t know why people call air thin if you are not at high altitude, it is rather thick near sea level) we took a long walk through the Jungle. We saw 400-year-old trees and a one thousand and something-year-old tree. Near the end of the hike, we came to a tree about two feet wide and fifty or so feet tall. Our guide told us it was a tree that the Maori used to build canoes, and at its oldest, it grew to eight meters wide and so tall that I can’t remember the number! After we saw the big tree, we came across a large pile of rocks. We all thought it was a grave marker of somebody who had died while ziplining, but it was just a pile of stones that people had made. It was not very interesting. The exciting thing was a palm tree. I am not pulling your leg here; these palm trees were OLD. A baby one that had not even formed an actual trunk was TEN years old and only to my knees. About two and a half feet tall. There were lots of these palm trees, and they were all so old. Older than cars and even the united states. It’s a little funny when you think about it, one of the trees was about six hundred feet tall. When it was about 200 just trying to stay alive and grow, meanwhile some hotheaded blokes got a crazy idea to start their own country.

“All alone, across the sea, when your people say they hate you, don’t come crawling back to me.”
-King George, Hamilton Broadway play

After ziplining, we took a rocket to the moon (we took the ferry back home). Zip lining was fun, the ferry was excellent, and New Zealand was Rainy! It was fun, but my other adventures that you can read about in New Zealand Update were totally tubular! For all who love Zip Lining, the BEST zip lining is in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It is called Vallarta Adventures, and it is a once (or 100) in a lifetime experience; every person should do it.

Mom and dad coming off of Shorty the zip line

2023-01-242023-02-23

Don’t Read this Post :)

Don’t Read this post because if you do you will find out that YOU can Subscribe to my blog and get Live updates whenever I upload a new post! My Blog content will no longer only be Travel stories, I will be Posting funny stories about my school, or my dogs, or any random topic that comes to mind! I try really hard to make my posts as funny as possible to bring humor to this sad world. Some funny posts to try are, How Brother Fox Caught Brother Rabbit and, Analysis’ of the Asian Pear and Don’t Read this Post 🙂

Thank you for taking the time to read “Don’t read this post:)” 🙂

2023-01-162023-01-29

The Dive in Bora Bora

I have to admit Scuba Diving was not my favorite activity. My Scuba training was not a good experience, Thankfully my wonderful Mom Scuba dives and makes sure I have a good time and go slow. The first dive I ever did outside of training was amazing thanks to Mom. The dives this time around were both pretty awsome too!

I always wake up nervous before a dive so I did not eat much. When the dive boat came to our boat to pick us up I was ready.

Our first dive site was pretty close to our boat and it was called Anau. A-na-oo. The dive was roughly 40 minutes long and we went to 32 ft or roughly 12 meters. The coral was beautiful and my favorite part was the fish.

There were so many bright fish and things. Most people don’t know this but colors disappear underwater. They don’t actually disappear you just cant see them without special lights. Red is the first to disappear at around 20 ft then orang at a little over 50. Since we were only at 30ft I could see orange and all the other colors of the rainbow (except red and pink). One interesting thing that happened with colors is, I had hot pink nail polish on and it looked purple underwater.

Back to the actual dive. Have you ever seen a Giant Manta Ray? They can have a wingspan of up to 30ft wide! Note: Manta Rays are Not birds They are fish, they look like a sting ray. Sadly the rays we swam with were not that big, only 7-8 ft wide (roughly 2.5 meters) Manta Rays have big “ horns” on the front of their heads. They are not actual horns but fins. Reef manta rays have curved horns also know as devil horns. Manta Rays predators are large shark and Orcas (killer whales). A great show on Disney plus is called Secrets of the Whales. It has a very interesting episode on Orcas that I would highly recommend.

All in all the dive went really well, I saw a Barracuda (oooooooo Baracooda). that looked like it should be in finding Nemo, i saw lots of zebra looking fish and bright orange fish. I even cracked a joke about Deforestation because parts of the coral were all knocked over. I have to say, I was a little disappointed on my first dive when the coral was not all bright colors and the water wasn’t absolutely clear (Thanks a-lot Nemo 😒 tricking kids into thinking that the sea life talks 🙁 :). It is true that Disney movies don’t depict the real world to a T.

The Second Dive

Teavaniu was our second dive site and, you wont believe, We Went Beyond The Reef! Dun😦 Dun 😲 Dun! 😱 If you don’t know, I’m referencing to the movie Moana. A girl surprisingly named, Moana, goes beyond the barrier reef of her Island to explore the ocean and find Maui, demigod of the wind and Sea. Great movie for All ages and if you have not seen it and you love pineapple 🍍 you have to watch it!

Back to the dive, I can really get sidetracked with just a little bit of humor! 😏 No more Jokes (for now) this dive was deeper by ten ft and seince we were right next to the reef and there was huge swells above us going to crash the party on the reef ( crash onto the reef) we had lots of fun swaying in the swells forty ft below the surface. The sea floor looked like it had roads running through it big enough to fit a car. All I had to imagine was some power lines and you get an underwater dessert. There was a shark and the usual bright fish. I kept seeing fish with weird patterns and crazy colors! Fish no matter how small are very fascinating!

Great Dive Site

I think diving in Bora Bora was the best diving I ever did. You don’t have to go deep and you can see some pretty awesome fish and sea life! We used Bora Bora dive Center but one of our instructors was not nice at all. One key thing for divers is you Can Not rent gear, you have to dive with an instructor even if your certified.😒 I can also now say that I dived at Bora Bora witch is a famous dive place. If you Scuba Dive, Bora Bora is a must visit. 😁

2023-01-132023-03-11

How Brother Fox Caught Brother Rabbit

In this post I will tell a story that I read for my school subject, Writing and Rhetoric. At the end I wrote an adventure that Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit go on with another friend. Please keep in mind while reading that animals don’t talk but it is a fable and animals don’t go fishing. It is a fable and you must go along with it.

How Brer Fox Caught Brer Rabbit

Note: Brer is a contraction of the word brother. Also I am citing the next 12 paragraphs from chapter 7 of Writing and Rhetoric book 5.

One hot summer day in the South, Brer Fox actualy did catch Brer Rabbit. He got some tar and mixed it with some turpentine and shaped it into a figure about the site of a fat baby. Brer Fox took this Tar Baby and set him in the middle of the big road. Then he hid in the bushes to see what would happen.

Well, he didn’t have to wait long. Down the road came Brer Rabbit lippity-dipity, dippity lippity – just as sasy as a jaybird. Brer Fox lay low and Brer Rabbit came prancing along until he spied the Tar Baby, just sitting there.

“Good morning!” said Brer Rabbit. “Nice weather this morning.” The Tar Baby didn’t say anything, and Brer Fox lay low.

“How are you doing today?” asked Brer Rabbit. Brer Fox, he winked his eye slow, and lay low, and the Tar Baby didn’t say a word.

“How you come on, then? Are you deaf?” demanded Brer Rabbit. “Cause if you’re deaf l can always holler louder. HOWDY, I SAY! The Tar Baby stayed still, and Brer Fox, he lay low.

“You’re stuck up, that’s what you are!” cried Brer Rabbit. “And I’m going to cure you, that’s what I’m going to do!”

Brer Fox, he sort of chuckled in his stomach, but the Tar Baby didn’t say anything. “I’m going to teach you how to talk to respectable folks if it’s my last act!” Shouted Brer Rabbit. “If you don’t take off that hat and tell me howdy, I’m gonna bust you wide open!” Well, that Tar Baby stayed perfectly still, and Brer Fox lay low.

Brer Rabbit kept asking questions and the Tar Baby kept on saying nothing. Presently, Brer Rabbit drew back his fist and hit the Tar Baby up the side of its head. Right there is where he got into trouble. His fist got stuck and he couldn’t pull it loose.

The tar held him fast. But the Tar Baby sat still and Brer Fox lay low. “If you don’t lemme loose, I’ll knock you again!” cried Brer Rabbit. With that, he fetched the Baby another swipe with the other fist and that stuck too. The Tar Baby didn’t say a word and Brer Fox lay low.

“Turn me loose! Turn me loose before I knock the stuffing out of you!” shouted Brer Rabbit, but the Tar Baby didn’t say anything. It just held on while Brer Rabbit kicked. He lost the use of his feet this way. Brer Fox just lay low, chuckling to himself.

Then Brer Rabbit started squalling and saying, “If you don’t turn me loose I’ll butt you with my head! So he butted, and his head and that got stuck too. Then Fox sauntered forth looking as innocent as one of your mother’s mockingbirds.

“Howdy, Brer Rabbit,” Brer Fox said. “You look sort of stuck up this morning.” And then he rolled on the ground and laughed til he couldn’t laugh anymore. “I expect you’ll take dinner with me this time, Brer Rabbit. I’ve laid in some calamus root, and I’m not gonna take any excuse this time.”

Completely my opinion

As you can see the caricatures in this story are not exactly virtuous. Fox is clearly trying to catch Rabbit to eat him. Rabbit is portrayed as a gentlemen at first but he quickly loses his temper. This story was written by Enid Blyton. The version I used was an adaptation by Joel Chandler Harris. Note: This paragraph and beyond are my own work.

Refutation

This Refutation is about the story How Brother Fox Caught Bro Rabbit Adapted by Joel Chandler Harris. The parts of the story that are improbable and improper are when Rabbit thinks the tar baby is real and alive. An Unclear part is how Fox was able to make and shape the Tar Baby without getting himself stuck. The Improper part is Rabbit Punching, Kicking, and head butting the Tar baby.

At the start of the story Fox is crafting a tar baby that he puts in the road. Rabbit comes along and greets the baby. Being made of tar the baby did not respond. Rabbit quickly got very flustered at this and became angry enough to punch the baby. He got stuck (duh) and was even angrier. He punched and kicked the baby until he was fully stuck then finished it off with a grand finale of Head Butting the baby and getting completely stuck. Fox came out and shrewdly asked Rabbit if he would join him for dinner.

It is completly unbelivable that Rabbit would be stupid enaugh to think that the Baby was alive. It is also Improper that Fox was trying to catch and eat Rabbit. Even though fox’s intentions were not pointed out it is clear what he is trying to do. Since the animals behave like humans lets think about this story as if the charactures are human. Fox would be cannibalist and Rabbit would be put in jail for beating up another.

The author intended to write a childrens story but it (in my opinion) it turned out to be a improper fable. However if you are looking at the fable from a non critical mind you would see it as a funny life lesson. I only had to think about how to criticize it for my school assignment which I am more than happy to do.

Bro Fox, Bro Rabbit and Bro Bear go fishing

Situation: Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit and Brer bear decide to go fishing together. They walk to a nearby lake. They all want to catch the biggest and most fish.

Brer Bear: “Good morning Fox, Rabbit. How are you this fine morning? For your information I am quite well for I plan to catch the biggest fish today.”

Brer Rabbit: “The biggest fish!? How could a silly fool like you catch the biggest fish amongst us? Thats a ridiculous notion! Im going to catch the biggest fish today!”

Brer Fox: “Ha! Neither of you could come near catching anything! Brer bear is too stupid and Brer Rabbit, your Far to small to even use an oar! Im going to catch the biggest fish today!”

Brer Rabbit: “Okay since i am the only one here with any brains, I propose we have a contest and whoever wins gets to eat the others!” Note: I am sticking with the theme of the previous story. 🙂

Brer Fox: “Thats fine with me, for I know both of you will be delicious and you are to stupid to win!”

(Brer Rabbit said to Brer Bear “ Do you think if he eats us then he will become fat and stupid?”)

Brer Bear: Thats all fine by me because both of you clearly don’t have any brawn, let alone enough to haul a big fish.”

All three said “Let the Contest Begin!”

Narrarator: Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit, and Bro Bear all went to different spots on the lake and began to fish. Little did they know that all of their boats were slowly drifting to the deepest part of the lake. Fox looked up from his fishing and shouted

“ Hey you! Don’t drift so near to me, you’ll catch onto my line!”

At this the other two looekd up and realized their positons. All three fishers paddled away from each other. Then out of the blue Brer Bear shouted,

“I’ve got one, I’ve got a big, huge one!”

Then Fox shouted,

“I have one too! A ginormous one!”

At this Rabbits blood turned to ice. Only for a moment though because he felt a sudden, hard tug on his line! He too then exclaimed with joy his find.

Brer Rabbit: “I’ve got one, a huge Colossal one!”

Then all three Cotten Headed ninny Muggins started reeling in their lines but as they were, somehow, without them noticing, all three boats were quickly “drifting” toward each other.

Within seconds the three boats crashed together and capsized. A few seconds later all three fishers came spluttering to the surface and in realizing their folly they all swam to the shore and walked home in shame.

Alternate ending: Within seconds the three boats crashed together and rapidly sank below the surface. Bear, Fox and Rabbit were never seen again and there was never any quarrels of disruptions in Animal Oppidum Loquentes.

2022-10-032023-10-01

My Last Day in South Africa

Starting Off with Signal Hill Paragliding

I woke up sad, not feeling ready to leave Africa. In addition to packing, we were all getting ready for paragliding. I was not going to participate in the activity because I was too scared, but I was happy for my siblings and parents to do it.

First, we drove to the top of Signal Hill. At the top, the wind wasn’t right for launching the paragliding, so we got some rooibos tea and waited. When the wind was good, I got in a car to be driven down to the bottom and my family got geared up to fly. I talked to the driver all the way down and when I got to the bottom, I arrive just in time to see mom land. The landings were so smooth! You just floated right to the ground and stood up.

In hindsight I wish I had done the paragliding now that I know that it is fun and safe to do. I just get timid sometimes about new experiences that sound scary, like running as fast as you can towards a cliff overlooking the city and jumping off of it (which is what you do to launch paragliding off Signal Hill). Sounds very safe, right? Next time though, I think I will be up for it.

Before Africa I did not really have a favorite place in the world. Before Africa I was sure that Africa would be the last place our family went and we would all be bitten by snakes. Just FYI we did not see a single snake besides the snakes in the museum. I have decided that Africa is my Favorite Place in the international world! The people are amazing, the food is great, the climate does not completely kill you and it is an amazing continent!

Heading Off the Gluten Path

After Paragliding we started walking back to the house we had rented, but then mom remembered that there was a gluten free bakery nearby called Off the Gluten Path. It was a little far to walk, so we got an Uber, but when we arrived at the place, it was just an apartment complex. We figured out that the location on Google Maps was outdated and the real bakery location was on the opposite side of Cape Town, about a 30 minute drive away. When we arrived, it was not an apartment complex – it was heaven! I kept asking “is that gonna be gluten free?” because I wasn’t used to things like croissants, French bread, donuts, cupcakes and cake being gluten free.

For lunch I shared some pizza with Zeb and Bardez. I also got a slice of the red velvet cake. Me and Bardez were allowed to get some little things for the plane ride later that day, so I got a carrot muffin and a croissant. When we had to go, we were all sad, but I really did have to pack, so I was kind of glad to go.

Leaving for the Cape Town Airport

After getting back to the house from our Gluten Free adventures, I finished packing my bags. We had a lot to try and stuff in to our bags, and several boxes of souvenirs we had collected along our journeys in Africa. Dad got the boxes taped up and then it was time for goodbyes and calling an Uber.

It was sad to say goodbye to my dad and older brother and sister, who were going to stay for another week in Africa, but I was also kind of excited to have a break from them and go on an adventure with just mom and Bardez. We were heading back and going all the way to my grandparents vineyard in Oregon to help with the grape harvest which had just started.

22 Hours of Flying: Cape Town to Newark, Newark to Portland

Once we got to the airport and checked our bags and boxes we headed through security and into the airport. My mom was able to take us in to the British Airways lounge even though we were flying on United Airlines back to the US. The lounge was very nice and it was a great place to have a break before the long flight. They even had macaroons, delicious brie cheese, and Appletizers. You might be asking, what is an “Appletizer”? Good question. In the US we would call it sparkling apple juice. It’s like Martinelli’s. But, these come in convenient cans and are extra tasty. I was sad to say goodbye to Africa and Appletizers.

When it was time we boarded the plane for our flight to America. We were flying United Airlines this time, not Delta. The plane was great, but the flight attendants were not very nice. They were downright mean, as if they hated that there were customers on the flight. I did not like that. If I am ever a flight attendant, I would like to be a nice one. Maybe they were just having a bad day, or maybe they should not be working on a 16 hour long flight if they can’t be polite to their customers. Hopefully United Airlines will figure out how to get its staff to be happier, like Delta Airlines staff usually are.

Finally, Arriving at Zenith Vineyard in Oregon

After flying for 16 hours from Cape Town to Newark and then 6 hours from Newark to Portland we finally arrived to Oregon! We got in our car and drive to Zenith Vineyard. My mom said we had to stay awake until 7pm so we would not jet lag too badly. I tried my best, and made it just barely to 7. Tomorrow, it’s harvest time!