Week One in Paradise

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Hello Everyone! Here are some perspecies from our first week in New Zealand.

First stop on the North Island: Auckland (2/24 - 2/26) Carol commented that the long, dreadful flight from LA to NZ is rather like giving birth. The agony of the process is quickly forgotten in light of the spectacular outcome. Though Auckland is reviled by Kiwis from other parts for its harried pace and "yuppy" trendiness, we found it similar to the best season in Seattle, but with fewer cellphones and less traffic. Surrounded by the seas, breathtaking beaches, and mountains, the city is covered with late summer flowers (especially hibiscus), tree ferns, and huge gnarled trees with a 6-syllable Maori name. Most of the housing is well-maintained Gree Lake sized cottages, many with lots of Victorian gingerbread. We explored in our rented Toyota and were charmed by the calmer pace, the soft background of cicadas, and the tranquil beauty of the water. Two Auckland standouts for us were an afternoon in the extraordinary Auckland MUseum, where we got oriented to Maori history and culture and an hour spent under one of the gnarled trees watching the end of an amateur cricket match in a lovely park.

New Plymouth (2/26 - 3/2): Five hours SW of Auckland, we arrived at this dazzling jewel of a town wedged between the Tasman Sea and Mt. Taranaki--a Rainier-like spectre that is the tallest peak in NZ. We settled into a delightful hand-made cottage, where a basket of first-rate breakfast provisions were delivered to our porch each morning. Bill made several memorable dinners in that tiny kitchen, and he took advantage of the bathtub under the stars. (We'll enclose a photo if we can!) Though low clouds prevented much exploration of the mountain, we loved the gleaming and uncrowded surfing beaches on the Tasman Sea. One evening we were invited to dinner with friends of Joe O'Mally, our friend from UU church in Shoreline. This couple, Phil and Maureen Hutchings, have visited Seattle and helped us ground our perspectives about NZ politics, culture, and social customs. What a huge treat to be in a local home!


A word about the people we are meeting: Perhaps the most remarkable difference from the US is the social interaction here. Every routine purchase in a grocery store or petrol station results in a conversation of some minutes. (Once it took Bill 15 minutes to come back from a stand selling farm corn because some older women had buttonholed him into a looong conversation about preparing corn.) But these chats don't seem formulaic. People see genuinely interested in telling us about themselves and learning about us as well. When something goes wrong, folks are quick to reassure us with the phrase, "No Worries" befoe they help us find the solution. Another telling phrase is "Good on ya!" which translates as "good idea!" or "Way to go!" or something else that is cheerful and encouraging.

The exception to all this human warmth is the drivers. For Bill and me, driving on the left (and with the driver to the right of the passenger) is an extreme sport. Every roundabout or right turn draws a bit of adrenalin. And even though Bill is usually the driver and has made this transition quite smoothly (says Carol), we do receive occasional honks and scowls.

Lake Taupo Area (3/3 - 3/10): We are spending Week 2 in Turangi on the south coast of the huge Lake Taupo, reputed to be trout capital of the world (though we notice several NZ areas claim that title). The accomodations are large, luxurious, and "free" because of our timeshare membership, but we miss the charm of our last cottage. Bill leaves tomorrow for a two-day raft fishing trip with a guide he booked on line. And this afternoon we're exploring some thermal areas (bubbling mud pots and geysers) with a Maori guide. More about all of this on the next entry...

Note: We may not be adding to our blog very often because NZ is less wired han we expected. We're finding internet places to be somewhat scare and pricey ($5-$10NZ per hour). Yesterday we spent $20 and two hours preparing the second blog entry--then lost it irretriveably! Ah for a tech geek!

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Comments

[Ted]

Aha
"though Bill is usually the driver and has made this transition quite smoothly (says Carol)" - let me just say that mom is the best disciplined person with a crazy driver I've ever seen. I know because she taught me how to drive. So i believe that driving is truly an extreme sport for you there, and it must be exciting! So sad that you lost the second blog entry. It's risky to compose stuff for long periods online - sessions time out, connections get lost, etc. Without a laptop though the only way to avoid that it to compose in a word processor or save it on the computer or a usb memory stick and and then connect, paste the text and upload photos, updating the blog without being connected long. Maybe they won't charge you for the time your not actually on the internet, if you just want to write the blog - but do they have Microsoft Word? Notepad could be an option - it's on all windows machines under applications - but I'd try it first with a short blog because sometimes when you cut and paste from notepad you have to do some text reformmating. It's no small task what you are doing. The blog website your using looks good, (good job matt) the photos look good, the writing's excellent and I can even leave comments! Good on ya!