I've A Feeling We're Not In Kansas Anymore

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Today we didn’t head out until 9am - what a treat! First stop was The Coffee House for a yummy breakfast. Seeing a drink called “Spirulina - A New Zealand Favourite” on the menu, I had to order it. Turns out it’s green and made from seaweed, which may sound strange but was quite delicious - it was cold, sweet and fruity like a smoothie.
Next we went to the nearby Arts Centre Market, a collection of outdoor stalls selling various crafts. We we ready for it to be cheesy stuff, but were very pleasantly surprised. It turns out that all products sold there must be made in New Zealand, which made for good quality and originality. You could buy everything from clothing to artwork to jewellery to dinnerware, much of it hand-crafted, all original and reasonably priced. We had a lot of fun shopping here and talking to the vendors. One Maori woman was selling pendants made of NZ greenstone/jade (95% of jade sold in New Zealand is actually made in China) and explaining the meanings behind the designs, made by local Maori and depicting classic Maori symbols.
Following the Arts Centre, we went into the town centre and shopped for some clothes and music; Ben and I once again made some finds in the local Real Groovy store. The proprietor of another record store launched into a monologue of reasons why New Zealand’s relations with the U.S. are a bit strained; he reminded us of Rex from yesterday, who had good naturedly taken the piss out of the U.S. and Australia since that’s where we were all from. Not sure if the transborder ribbing is just a typical part of NZ humour, but we had a hard time fighting back as many current criticisms of the U.S. are ones we’ve made ourselves.
Ben hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before so he decided to take a nap while the rest of us trekked out to the Banks Peninsula. It took about 3.5 hours to drive out there and back, and it was spectacular. The road wound up from the plains into a curvy ascent, finally running along the spine of the peninsula to reveal views of bays and ocean before dropping down into Akaroa Bay and the town of Akaroa. Akaroa is interesting because it was originally settled by the French, who sent a ship there to colonize New Zealand in 1841. Unforunately for them the British had beat them to it, having signed the Waitangi Treaty with Maori chiefs in 1840. The town still has a French personality with French names on many of the streets and shops. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on the waterfront as angled sunlight streamed across the town. Then it was back over the hills for one last view of the Southern Alps in the distance, floating on a lake of fog.
For our last dinner in New Zealand we chose Dorothy’s restaurant, located in a gay-owned B&B near the town centre. When we got there, we got yet another taste of Olde-English Christchurch as we rang the bell and the large arched wooden door was pulled open to admit us. Dinner was scrumptious and the Wizard-of-Oz décor was over the top. Our soup bowls even had ruby slippers painted on them!
Tomorrow we’ll have just enough time for a final wander around Christchurch and some last-minute shopping before we undertake the biggest challenge of the entire trip: actually showing up for our flight home. Does it really have to end?

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Comments

[David Kelly]

SLR?
Did you let Rich buy a digital SLR -- or is he still using that little Sony?

[musosf]

He doesn't want one yet - waiting for more megapixels. Still using the Sony H1, had a lot of fun with it on this trip. It actually felt a little ostentatious; several Kiwis remarked about how fancy it was.

[musosf]

Big Camera
It's funny how when you put the sun shield on the H1 that is suddenly seems like a professional camera.