8 Interesting, funny, or just uniquely Kiwi tidbits:
1. Strange roads: As if driving on the left-hand side with all the car controls backwards wasn’t challenge enough. We drove 3,500 miles and saw many…
- One-lane bridges. Courtesy granted right of way. We don’t think this would work in America. Some were on blind corners and had railroad tracks down the middle.
- Roundabouts. Better than 4 way stops. They’re simple – if a car is approaching your driver’s side door, you stop. Otherwise, go.
- Not a straight road in the entire country. A carsick passenger’s nightmare.
- Funny signs (see photo below).
- Interesting road safety campaign. Many “DEAD” billboards such as “You’ll be DEAD a long time, what’s the hurry?” and “Is it DEAD clear to pass?”.
- Sheep provide entertainment if you’re bored driving – honking at them causes them to stampede.
2. Popular food. Contrary to their reputation, Kiwis enjoy more than just meat pies and lamb chops.
- Love of beetroot. This is on everything unless you request it to be removed. We thought, “Why put something on your plate that turns everything purple?”
- Mmm…Tip Top ice cream. Per capita, Kiwis consume more ice cream than any other country.
- Savouries – we still haven’t been able to get a straight answer as to what’s inside these pastries.
- Yummy wines and loads of wineries offering tastings.
- Lack of French influence (the French are very unpopular since they began nuclear testing in the South Pacific and bombed the Kiwi Rainbow Warrior anti-nuclear peace ship). We never found baguettes, crepes, or French wine. French fries are called ‘hot chips’ and French toast is called ‘egg bread’.
3. Sand fly bites itch more and last longer than mosquito bites.
4. Mail is still delivered by bicycle and Kiwis will lend a complete stranger their car.
5. Only 3 T.V. channels. One consists only of American re-runs.
6. Every Kiwi is an ambassador for their own country. They’re always excited to help visitors with friendly tips.
7. Fun phrases such as “Good as gold” (often shortened to “Good as”) and “Good on ya”.
8. Possums: Pests turned to profit. Kiwiland is being over run by them, so Kiwis have begun a resourceful solution. Possum fur is now made into sweaters, foot & nipple warmers, and stuffed animals, which are commonly sold at tourist shops.
Summary of places we visited on the North & South islands:
We always hoped to meet up with friends during our 14 month trip, so we were happily surprised when Michelle Colling (my childhood friend) made plans to do so in New Zealand. Michelle’s 10 day Kiwi experience was enhanced by having her own personal native New Zealander (friend Alan Tinsley) as a local-knowledge tour guide. They scheduled their trip beforehand, emailed us their itinerary, and we adjusted our plans so we could tag along in the back seat of their rental car to see New Zealand at 120 kilometres per hour.
An American ‘working stiff’ vacation proved to be a more difficult adjustment than anticipated…we were always scurrying to keep up. Maybe a few months of lazy South Pacific life and my tropical ‘bug’ affected us more than we realized. In 10 short days we zig zagged from Auckland to Queenstown (similar to travelling from San Diego to Vancouver, B.C.), experiencing as much as possible. We enjoyed not having to sort out the daily details and the instant upgrade to our travel style. Michelle & Alan were short on time but not cash; dining out, staying in Bed & Breakfasts, and nice lodges became our new standard. The value of our U.S. dollar vs. the NZ dollar made splurging even more tempting (a B&B that was $100 NZ dollars cost us only $44 U.S. dollars). One of the best B&B’s we stayed at in New Zealand was Queenstown Windsor Heights (Phone (03) 442-5949, fax (03) 441-8989, Email: windsor.heights@queenstownholiday.co.nz).
The first night the four of us spent together saw lots of fireworks…we coincidentally happened to be in Christchurch on the eve of its 150th anniversary celebration. The cathedral square in the center of town lit up with a multimedia show that included a hodgepodge of live Maori dancers, military helicopters, sheepherders, building rappelers, and a fireworks finale.
Kea bird with Mt Cook behind |
The next day we drove over a scenic alpine pass stopping for a quick hike to the Franz Josef Glacier. Dale reluctantly traded his flip-flops for boots, which promptly gave him blisters (he hadn’t worn shoes for months). Our day of driving from the east to the west coast of the south island ended in Hokatika, a tiny coastal town. The B&B hosts recommended dinner at Trappers, the nicest restaurant around, which served a wide variety of wild game food. Maybe we should have been concerned that we were the only diners in the restaurant (we had recently seen lots of road kill…). Our next stop was the glacier area of New Zealand’s highest peak, Mt. Cook (12,300 feet).
Upon arrival at the luxurious Heritage Lodge, we were surprised to get our budget room upgraded to a mountain view room so we could be close to our friends. The bigger surprise was that everyone in the observation lounge had a perfect view into our room. Of the many adventurous activities around Mt. Cook, we spent half a day doing something educational: a glacier tour. Our guide brought us on a small boat across a glacial lake for an up close view of the icebergs and Tasman Glacier. One iceberg was so large we climbed on it.
Tasman Glacier |
Our final destination while travelling with Michelle & Alan was a town similar to Hood River, Oregon – Queenstown, the adrenalin capital of the world. In addition to the many activities we enjoyed (see future entry for details) The double espresso tour ended even quicker than it began, and we were sad to say goodbye to Michelle & Alan.
Since we’d already blown our New Zealand budget, we decided to splurge for the holidays.
A summertime Christmas was a unique experience for us. The radio stations still played I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas, but everyone’s mind was set on planning their holiday on New Zealand’s white sandy beaches. We found a great B&B in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city: Wellington Edgewater (Phone (04) 388-4446, fax (04) 388-4649 Email: edgewaterwellington@xtra.co.nz). Our hosts were a former chef and restaurant owner who cooked a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas breakfast and BBQ lunch.
Staying with the Christmas tradition (eating way too much) we met up with Jay (dreadlock surfer) and ate dinner with his ‘adopted’ Kiwi family. This feast ended with ‘Bombed Alaska’, an ice cream filled berry morraine-covered mountain they lit on fire. Although we missed our family and friends during the holidays, the warm Kiwi hospitality made our Christmas away from home special.
With the gluttony of the holiday season behind us, it was time for us to tighten our belts (ouch!) and find creative ways to recover from our budget blowout. New Zealand offers a plethora of innovative lodging options. One of our more memorable experiences was at Big Bird farmstay near the Waitomo caves (see Adrenalin activities entry for details on our caving adventure).
“Hurry, Andrea, take the photo before he pecks my eye out!” |
We stayed in a converted bunkhouse including a kitchen, bathroom with claw foot tub, and room for about 15 people to sleep! Luckily, we had the place to ourselves. Some farmstays require guests to help with the chores, but at ours we just tagged along with the owner, Ross, and ‘helped’ him feed the ostriches. As an added bonus, Ross took us on an informative nighttime bushwalk to see glowworms. These fly larvae glow in the dark to attract their prey, creating a beautiful celestial effect against the black canyon walls.
Camping at holiday parks are a more popular alternative to expensive motels. They can provide kitchens, outdoor BBQ areas, full bathrooms, laundry facilities, and very small ‘camp sites’ clustered together with no privacy and lots of screaming kids. To be fair, most Kiwis take vacation between Dec 26 to Jan 26, so everyplace was crowded. A few of our camping highlights included being woken up by horses galloping by our tent at the ‘Racetrack Holiday Park’, and staying nearby thermal springs and a hot water beach. During low tide at hot water beach everyone searched for the best spot to dig a hole in the sand to create a natural thermal hot tub.
In Rotorua we visited two thermal hotsprings which looked similar to Yosemite National Park in the U.S. The best alternative for budget travel accommodations is staying with ‘family’. Before we left the States, Dale had written a letter to Peter Bootsma who was supposedly related on his mom’s Dutch side of the family. We received a prompt email response that Peter was not related but nevertheless invited us to come stay at his Auckland home. We spent two nights at his house and were treated like family with wonderful dinners and friendly conversation.
With our budget back under control, we could now experience the excitement of those crazy Kiwi activities.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét