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Published: April 11th 2006
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Wellington to Picton ferry
next to no mark up on drinks! Hi Darlings,
Well NZ has started to work better, been on some lovely walks - until jb’s bod seized up! The ferry, which I was dreading was fab! yes luvs I really enjoyed the ferry. They had 2 bars, a shop and a theatre showing Walk the Line - how fab is that? Watched the lovely scenery with glass of wine and then as night fell the moon on the water was magical. We stayed at Picton which was so pretty, the people were friendly! Set off for Kaikoura, the drive was really wonderful scencery, driving along by the sea thought I saw a seal, stopped the car at the next layby and there was a seal colony. So cute - baby seals playing in rock pools, others laying and rolling around the beach. Turned the next corner and there were snow capped mountains! just fabulous. Pam & Ali you’d love it! - so funny, still try to listen to radio - after all they play 70’s & 80’s and very occassionally 90’s music (that’s what the dj boasts!) and what came on but Black Night - Deep Purple!
Arrived here in time to look around the town and
Claudia
in her work clothes fill the fridge with wine, all the shops sell the most amazing shell jewellery - frequently feel like sobbing - due to lack of funds! but today this huge shop had covered the walls in complete paua shells, also on the wall was a paua shell surfboard, the only other one I saw was in the Te Papa museum in Wellington! honestly Botts it’s amazing! Have booked for whale watching tomorrow (weather permitting) and am shitting myself, all that sea, and things much bigger than me in open water! bet there isn’t a bar on board! Takes bloody hours too!
Barb’s right, it is starting to work, the south is markedly different. As is frequently the case it took a chat with someone who lives here to bring things into sharper focus. In this case it was Claudia, a Jamaican girl from Manor Park, Kingston who studied Tourist management, or something equally ludicrously named, who did the focussing. We only bumped into her because the hotel breakfast, as usual in these parts, finished at 9am and we had barely started, so off we went into town to sort some food. The first place we came to looked OK so
in we went, to be greeted by a beaming face topped by dreads who wasn’t at all fazed by being asked for something off menu. All three of us ended up dissecting NZ society, starting off with Claudia’s observation that ‘these people just don’t get dressed up’ followed by ‘it’s a land of great opportunity’ then ‘but the kiwis don’t want to work’ and finally ‘and the Maoris are even lazier’. She didn’t mean in an absolute way, but in the same way that shiploads of immigrants came to the UK to do work that we didn’t want to do. Then again, she was like most blunt Jamaicans I know, describing herself, and other Jamaicans as ‘When we’re good we’re really good, and when we’re bad we’re really bad, but you always know where you stand, we’re never in the middle’. She too was appalled by the music on offer.
Claudia came to the UK to study, achieved her qualification and is now working her way round the Pacific - due back in JA 2007 to find a good man to make babies with! At one of her jobs here she was asked why on earth she wasn’t going to
stay, given her qualifications and experience, I can understand. We had a good chat about the relative merits of fried egg and hash browns or ackee, saltfish, breadfruit and dumplings for breakfast. I think she’s right about that too. Staying on the subject of food there is a strange item that appears on just about every breakfast menu I’ve seen - mince on toast! Truly bizarre. Latest barbie advice from the magazine ‘Next-the voice of NZ women’. ‘Make your barbie more sophisticated - instead of the humble sausage try racks of lamb, or a whole chicken. Use marinades if you must, but use sparingly’. Says it all really. Back with Claudia, it seems that she is one of the most popular people in the small town of Picton as she has parties and cooks the food, also when she dances people find it amazing that she moves the WHOLE of her body. A really worthwhile encounter.
So the jury’s still out on NZ, everything I’ve written about the north island I stand by, but down here has persuaded me to give the country a a fair go. I may still come away with good feelings about this country. Picton and
On the road
State highway 1 Kaikoura have started to change my view.
ps; the other good thing is this motel has a recycle bin,( not council run). pps Must remember not to let jb put the tv on the morning - there is the most annoying couple on, the guy is akin to how the v. irritating mike smith used to be on radio 1 (I would play records, but first lets talk about me) - honestly he had someone on to review Massive Attack today - he’d never heard of them - and he was so rude, she actually said (what I’m sure most people were thinking) “this isn’t just a vehicle for you”, how she didn’t slap him - wish he’d interview Grace Jones! The female counterpart, who looks a bit like Judy Finnegan - but is far more doopy - just looks at him like an indulgent parent.
JB’s ps.,
There’s an ad on TV at the moment that confirms an observation I made a few entries back about another country. To promote a new route to Adelaide, the destination is being sold as ‘the best thing about Adelaide is the places that are twenty minutes away’ . I agree,
Seals
at their swimming pool but I’d extend the circle a little.
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