Auckland

We can’t tell you much about Auckland. Hunter was tied up with the ICSEI Conference. His session went well and the sessions he attended were worthwhile. I found that the comfort of the hotel and the two days of rain that we had combined to lull me into “rest mode.” One exception was the say we joined friends from home for a lunch on top of the Sky Tower.

Our first day in Auckland we were returning to our hotel when we heard this blood curdling scream … a scream as though she were about to be killed. I looked in the direction of the noise and saw a person hurdling through the air from the top of the Tower. It was, of course, a form of Kiwi entertainment akin to the bungy jump. I was not prepared for this. So when our elevator opened at the restaurant level of the rotating tower and a person flew by the window, I was not phased.

Some of the heroes in the baggage nightmare are our friends Chuck and Susan who with the help of Donald from Foer’s Pharmacy (another hero) hand delivered us an important medication that was prohibitively expensive here in New Zealand.. It was they and their traveling companions whom we joined for lunch. We were able to stretch lunch out to almost two full rotations of the restaurant and got to appreciate this city that has coastline to the east and to the west. About ¼ of New Zealand’s population lives in Auckland, which goes a long way toward answering the earlier question posed here: Where are all the people? They are in Auckland.

This may also explain my reluctance to engage Auckland. I have enjoyed the rural feel of this trip so far. I didn’t WANT to put on my “city armor” and do battle with the world. But the smells of really good Asian food wafted my way, and I did eat a few fine meals one of them at the Green Grasshopper .

Now it is time to head on to the Bay of Islands and back to tranquility.

A very livable city

We spent a total of three days and four nights in Christchurch. What a lovely town. First off it is small. Second, there is this lovely little river, a stream really, meandering through the heart of it called the Avon. Huge weeping willows drape over it and you can get a boatman (a punter) to take you on a half hour ride downstream. Third, there is this glorious Botanical Gardens in town that you could visit everyday and never tire of. We just hit some of the highlights. For example, there is this tree planted by Queen Victoria’s second son Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, in 1869. He was the first member of the Royal family to ever visit new Zealand and you can almost imagine the ceremony there in the Botanic Gardens. This tree is now gargantuan, it is a kind of cedar. I rather think I should like for people to plant trees in my name than wage wars in my name after seeing this amazing specimen.

Here are some other views of the gardens.

Food Notes

rack of lamb
steak frites
Pavlova

So I told the hotel desk in Christchurch I was in search of a good rack of lamb. They sent us to Hay’s Restaurant and we were not disappointed. Not only did they serve mouth watering lamb that could be cut with a fork. They are one of the few places I know that can serve a plate of shoestring fries to perfection. Le Steak in Georgetown used to be able to, the Le Relais de l'Entrecote in Paris, and perhaps the best I have ever eaten the nightly fare of steak frites at Hotel Etoile in Saas Fee. Then I decided that since we were still within the 12 days of Christmas, I should order that great down under Christmas dessert the Pavlova. Oh my, it was good.

A Side Trip

Our last day in the South Island we decided to visit the small village of Akaroa. It is NOT easy to get to due to the dramatic landscape, but it makes for excellent views.

And this just in ...

From the front page of the Otago Daily Times on January 30, 2007.

“A naked man’s exploits with the merino ram statue at Omarama will result in a court appearance.

Senior Constable Bruce Dow said he saw a young man drop his trousers and straddle the statue about 12:20am on Saturday. The man later reappeared “absolutely starkers” to repeat the act.

The 18-year-old man from Omakau will be summonsed to appear in the Omararu District Court on a charge of offensive behavior.”

Road Signs

When we checked out our car last week we were given a set of rules of the road for New Zealand. Countrywide the speed limit is listed as 100 km/ hour. I thought it would be something honored in name only … until I saw the roads. 100 is very generous really. And in all our time here we have only seen one accident despite its being the busiest time of the year.

The road warning safety signs don’t mince words. Try these on for size.

The faster you drive, the bigger the mess

Drink and DrIvE

One is simply a picture of an unbuckled seat belt and the caption reads

You don’t use it? Maybe you are already brain dead.

Wine Tasting Down Under

There is a wine tasting bar in Queenstown on the order of the one at Whole Foods in Chantilly. Only this one is all New Zealand and Australian wines. There is even a Penfold’s Grange up for tasting. $30 NZ to taste 25 ml of the legend.I also stumbled onto a quirky little bottle called Haan. The label gives away nothing … “estate wine” is all it says. When I commented to the staff of the wine bar how much I liked it I was rewarded with the news that it has been a favorite of Robert Parker’s for many years and he has given it a 98. Here are two Pinot Noirs I liked.

And apropos of nothing except that Pinot goes with lamb … I am bewildered by the scarcity of lamb offerings on the menus here … particularly rack of lamb. You can get lamb rump for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But I have only seen rack of lamb once. Maybe all the legs and chops are excised for export?

The 45th Parallel

I got my first glimpse of the Southern Cross the other night … early morning on January 2nd I think it was. I wandered out onto the balcony of our room in Queenstown and there it was as unmistakable as the Big Dipper. The night sky … it is a comfort to look up into a familiar set of stars … a dominant Orion in fall and winter … a dominant Dipper in spring and summer. There was nothing familiar about these heavens. I am a stranger here.

On the road between Wanaka and Queenstown there is a marker carved in stone telling you that you are crossing the 45^th parallel. It FEELS like I am at the bottom of the earth down here with penguin colonies a mere days drive away. So I looked at a globe to see where the 45^th goes in the Northern hemisphere. I was surprised to see Augusta, Maine and Lyon, France riding the line.

The drive from Queenstown to Tiramu was through what we might call in the States “Big Sky Country.” Sometimes it looked like California … sometimes like Montana. It called for big music. We had picked up a two CD set of Pavorati and we let him fill the wide open spaces with arias as we drove along in this wide open place.

We are now back down to sea level and out of the high country. A few days rest in Christchurch and then on to the North Island.

Spectacular Scenery

The road form Queenstown to Glenorchy ranks up there with some of the lovliest I have ever driven … the Banff – Jasper Highway … the road from Como to Bellagio. … the Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier.

We started the morning taking a nature walk on the shore of Lake Wakatipu near Bob’s Cove. We learned about the local flora from little signposts on a nature trail.

For example we learned that the Australian brush tailed possum, introduced to New Zealand in 1837 cause sever damage to certain trees like the Fuschia Tree by tripping its bark and leaves. There are some 70 million of them now in New Zealand and they have no predator ... no natural control. Their fur is the only politically correct fur one can own. So when I found this shop in Glenorchy that sold goods made from their fur, I bought this little neck warmer. There IS something magic about fur ...

Then we headed north along the lake and that is when we were just blown away by the beauty at every turn.

This is the time of year that a Scotch Broom like flower is all over the mountain sides it is called Kowhi which is pronounced "Koe - fee" (like Kofi Annan's first name)

You CAN traverse the lake by boat if you prefer, but the road was pretty spectacular.

Wanaka ... the lake ... and on to Queenstown

We spent New Year's Eve in Wanaka. We dined on local lamb and beef and washed it down with a local Pinot Noir.



Fireworks exploded on cue at midnight and we could see them out the back door of our room and welcomed in the New Year a good 18 hours before the rest of you.


On our way to Queenstown we stopped at Puzzling World. Very enjoyable and mind bending world of illusions.
Even the bathrooms are a little "puzzling," but Hunter fit right in !
The cherries are in season and we stopped at a fruits stand and got a bag of "rain damaged" cherries for $7 NZ. Also bought some golden kiwi fruit ... much sweet than the green variety.We arrived in Queenstown and found we had a lovely view of the lake and the mountains.