do you want tomato sauce with your chips?

Although New Zealand is an English-speaking country, I find that I have to be 100% present, totally engaged, with my head tilted (better angle for the ears), and my eyes reading their lips, to be able to understand what kiwis are saying. And even then, I can't get it sometimes. It's embarrassing to say "What?" more than two times for the same word. Most of them have little trouble understanding me, however, due to the proliferation of American TV and music here. Most TV programs that kiwis watch are from the States: the food channel, Discovery, ... I saw a billboard for Desperate Housewives yesterday. I walked by a car dealership today and they were broadcasting the Backstreet Boys' "As long as you love me" over the lot.

Speaking of cars, somebody was driving a classic car with the steering wheel on the left, just like American cars, and it reminded me of home. Most cars here are compact little hatchbacks. Few sedans and SUVs. Although the makes of the cars are similar to the US (Honda, Mitshibishi, Toyota, Mazda...), there are very few models that I recognize. It's an entirely different car market here. I wish they would sell these cute little cars back in the States!

Back to my not understanding people, sometimes it's not my hearing, it's that words and phrases are different or used differently. Tomato sauce is ketchup, chips are fries, a car park is a parking lot (that's actually a good one, it saves three letters), "easy as" is an expression you see and hear a lot...I think it means "it's simple", or "it's that easy", a chilly bin is a cooler (Hi Bob!)...people go have "yum char", not dim sum. You go "trekking" or "tramping", not hiking or backpacking. The latter is used generically to describe young travellers moving their stuff around using backpacks, not necessarily in the wild. And "backpackers" are also hostels.

By the way, there are three forms of kiwis that I know of here: kiwifruit, kiwi the bird, and kiwi the New Zealander.

I found a coconut at a beach in Eastbourne today...and we brought it home...and my aunt just opened it up and it's perfect! She's putting it in a soup with abalone and chicken for tonight. I just had a piece of it and it was deliciously nutty. I wonder where the coconut drifted in from...probably asia or somewhere in the Pacific? There are no coconut groves that I know of in New Zealand. I wonder how long it journeyed for.



Terry and the coconut we found at a beach in Eastbourne.

The beautiful coconut being prepared by my aunt for soup.

We went downtown today and had "yum char". It was good! Pretty much the same selection of dishes as back home. The service was 120.9 percent better than that of dim sum places in San Francisco Chinatown, even without the tip! I love that there's no tipping in NZ. All prices displayed, whether in restaurants or shops, are exactly what you pay, as they are inclusive of taxes (12.5%) too. So there's no guesswork at all.

Yesterday I wento "Beervana 2009" at Wellington Town Hall, an annual event that highlights NZ and Australian beer, and learned how to pair food and beer, cheese and beer, and about the "sensory" perception of beer. The seminars were quite nice, but I didn't like how the whole thing was set up, where you pay an entrance fee, plus you have to pay to try the beers. so you pay 3-5 to try a beer, and it's a full glass of beer, so I personally can't try more than one or two before it's time to stop. I wish they had set it up where you pay an inclusive entrance fee that allows you to try little samplers of beer (there were a couple hundred different beers), whatever you wish.


A few random photos from the last couple of weeks in the Wellington area:

Native "bush" along a stream and riparian area.


Somebody was having a bad day at work? ...or are there bigger forces at work here...?


The bucket sculpture at the Cuba St pedestrian mall. Three hoses feed the top three buckets at different rates, so the buckets tip at different times, pouring down into the other buckets. It's awesome!

A beautiful day for sailing around Somes Island in the Bay.

Still hanging out in Wellington...

... busy creating a rough framework for the next few months of play. I'm planning on taking the ferry down to the South Island on Monday to do a few tramps that are coastal or lower elevation; the first one's going to be the Queen Charlotte Track, which traverses a long ridge separating Queen Charlotte Sound and Kenepuru Sound in the Marlborough Region at the top of the South Island. Then it's on to Abel Tasman Coast Track and the Heaphy Track. The logistics (hostels, buses, shuttles...) take a long time to shake out, because most of the tracks are one way, not loops. So arrangements have to be made for being dropped off and picked up, as well as accommodations before and after. As this is still winter season, many operators are not in business yet, so options are more limited too. It's taken me most of today to learn the details I need to know to be able to do the three tracks mentioned above! Still, I am hesitant to reserve everything just yet, because there's a very large variable to consider: weather! The MetService (like our Weather Service) provides 10 day forecasts, but the weather changes so rapidly in this country that any attempt at a forecast more than a couple of days out is wishful thinking. September is supposed to be one of the two wettest months in the northern part of the South Island...so I get to test out my rain jacket...which I already know is more rain-"resistant" than rain-"proof". So I'll just get out there and deal with it, I guess! :)

NZ: Wellington!

Wellington waterfront on a glorious sunny day. Mt. Victoria is in the background.

I left Auckland a few days ago. Took an eleven hour bus ride down to Wellington, so it was pretty much a tranverse of the whole North Island. It was at night, so I couldn't see much. But I saw stars, STARS! You wouldn't believe how exciting that was for me. I hadn't seen them at all in Auckland. They were brilliant, and so comforting. I think they reminded me that no matter how far from home I am (wherever home is), those same stars are looking down at and connecting me to people and places I love.

A poem inscribed on a concrete slab amongst the rip rap lining Wellington Harbour: "The harbour is an ironing board..."

Funny aside: Over the years, the harbour has gradually been filled in on the sides, because they were deemed too shallow for ships to use, so might as well make marketable real estate out of it. A bumper sticker appeared, reading: "Save the moat around Sommes Island".

Sommes Island sits within the harbour.




I went up to Mt. Victoria and there was this sculpture there to honor an American, Richard Byrd. Mr. Byrd was a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy and a peace-loving man, an "internationalist". He was instrumental in developing the Treaty of Antarctica, which reserves everything south of the 60 deg line for peaceful purposes, including scientific study. This sculpture is pointed towards Antarctica. The sides depict the Aurora Australis, the southern counterpart to our Aurora Borealis. Lovely!

I went for my first real hike today and found a friend!

I am staying with relatives in Lower Hutt, a suburb of Wellington. Near their house is Belmont Regional Park, so I went up there to see some native bush and for the awesome views.

This is looking southwest towards the city and the mouth of the harbour to Cook Strait, the body of water separating the North and South Islands.










I'm going to hike those mountains in the distance - the Tararuas!

...when it warms up a bit!













Korokoro Dam, one of the oldest in the country. Neat spillway!




You see those wind turbines in the distance hills? There's near constant wind that blows here. Wellington's by far the windiest place in the country. I'm glad they're making good use of it.

NZ: the last of Auckland

This is restful spot in Davenport, a short ferry ride from Auckland. It's a peaceful little town and feels a world away from the bustle of the city. I spent my first day in New Zealand exploring Davenport, walking up high to familiarize myself with the landscape. It was a really good start.

Looking back at the city from Davenport.

I ended up buying a car in Auckland, not the cute one I described earlier, and it was a bad one. Here it is being hauled away by the wrecker. I learned a lot from this experience, namely, trust your instincts, and always have a qualified mechanic check it out before you buy it - especially when you don't know anything about cars! This may be the only Suburu Legacy I ever own! It looked so nice on the outside...that's another lesson - whether for cars or people...always look on the inside first, then out.






I like my new camera! This is a flower common around Auckland. Beautiful. Spring is in the air in Auckland.

Auckland...

Downtown Auckland, viewed from the crater of Mt. Eden, one of the 40+ extinct volcanoes that the city is built on. The terraces are remnants of cattle grazing.

At a local beach in Auckland.

New Zealand: Auckland

Greetings from New Zealand! I've been in Auckland for three days now. Still a little jet-lagged and feeling a bit dizzy now and then for some reason. But I've been getting to know this city of 1.3 million people and am finding a lot to like. I just went to a little Farmers Market in Parnell, a neighborhood of Auckland, where I am staying at a hostel. It's actually quite a posh neighborhood, and while the hostel isn't quite maintained to the standard of its neighbors, it's comfortable and I've been meeting really nice people there. Actually the house was once owned by the Queen of Tonga. Probably a long time ago. Anyway, I got some delicious bread and garlicky hummus at the farmers market and had some for lunch. I've been out walking quite a bit - through different parts of town, at the local beaches (beautiful!) and up a few of the extinct volcanoes (all smallish and eroded) for terrific 360 views. One was particularly amazing - Mt. Eden - it's got a deep little crater! And the inside of this crater is all terraced because cattle grazing occurred til very recently. I went up there with a local named Suzie and she says she missed the cows! It's been sunny and warm during the past few days - the winter is evidenced only in the mornings before the sun comes up, 5C, whatever that is in F. I am going to need to learn that conversion very soon. That, and going from liters per kilometers to gallons per mile. BECAUSE, I am thinking about buying a car! There are a couple for sale by travelers going home at the hostel right now. I saw a FORD Telstar this morning, a kind of station wagon, and I will look at a Mazda hatchback this afternoon. Both are manual, and with the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car, this could be a little tricky. I'm barely proficient with stickshift with my right hand! We'll see. I am exploring the car option because from talking to fellow travelers, this is the best way to go for a stay of several months. I'll be able to see much more than the routes offered by buses. Plus I won't have to hitchhike, which I am sure my family back home will be thankful for. =) This traveler car buying/selling industry is very big here as it's a very common thing to do. People are usually able to sell back the car without a huge loss at the end of a journey. I am trying to accomplish a few logistical things, like finances, and communications, during my stay here in Auckland. I'm also trying to make arrangements for the near future going up to Northland, which extends from Auckland up to the northernmost tip of the North Island. Some of this is a little stressful, but it's all part of the package. I am in good spirits though. It's still hard to process that I'm in NZ! I'm excited to leave the city for a slower pace soon. Just tried loading a picture and it's not working. I'll try again next time. I'll be in touch soon!