More thoughts on New Zealand
In so many ways NZ is like being at home. I think as Rhyse, our Milford Sound driver stated, " It must be the Commonwealth connection." Listening to the news here it seems that there are some of the same problems as at home. A young man was thrown out of a bar and fell, bumped his head and died. The bouncer got a 1 year suspended sentence. The boy's family was outraged. In Canada we also rail about he ridiculous, light sentences that are handed down. The father stated that you get jail time for killing a whale, but a slap on the wrist for killing a human being.
Another news item that could have been on Calgary's Global News. A school canceled Valentine's Day in oder to protect the tender feelings of children who might not get the same number of Valentine cards as their classmates. Oh paleeezzz! Give your touque a spin!!!
The NZ accent is not as pronounced as the Aussie accent. Also, they don't use as many colorful expressions. The only difficulty is that so many of the place names are Moari. You can never remember where you have been or where you are going.
There is one 'expression' New Zealanders use that will make Canadians feel at home. You guessed it, "Eh."
NZ, like Canada, has a large multicultural population. The mix is different, however. There appears to be more people that come from the east Asian countries; places like Viet Nam, Thailand, Philipines, and Korea. Also, people that would have come from the far-away islands like Fiji, Sandwich, Samoa, and the Cook Islands.
Stark Naked
It seems to me this expression just might come from NZ. One of the entertainers on Auckland's civic Theatre was Freda Stark. Freda is said to have regularly appeared wearing nothing more that a coat of gold paint (the cafe at the Civic bears her name.)
The Southern Man
The 'Southern Man' has a special niche in the Kiwi mind. The typical speciman lives in the country, has a trusty dog by his side, is a rabid rugby fan, and adheres to a rugged lifestyle of farmwork, fixing the ute (pickup truck), and hitting the bars for pool and beer. Speight's beer has gotten a lot of mileage from this icon, using it for a successful Southern Man ad campaign.
Speight's Gold Medal Ale is the flagship beer made at the historic brewery (several of the buildings date back to the 1800s). This is the beer that immortalized the Southern man legend, celebrated in story, song and deed in the south for 134 years.
Now doesn't that sound just like some of the good old boys you'll encounter on the Prairies?
Auckland, City of Sails
We are in Auckland from Saturday, Feb. 12th to Thursday the 17th - when we fly to Sydney, where we will overnight before our flight home to Calgary, via Los Angeles.
The welcoming guide to Auckland, states that, 'Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world with a distinctive cultural flavour.' Not only does Auckland have a distinctive flavour, so does all of NZ. After spending time in Australia and New Zealand never again will the countries be linked in my mind. They are as different as chalk and cheese.
Almost a third of New Zealand's population lives in Auckland.
Auckland is volcanic country. There are about 50 extinct or dormant volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field - all within 20 kms of the city centre.
Sunday Ramble
We managed to get out of the hotel by 10:15 - destination the Parnell Heritage Area.
We walked less than 50 meters and we encountered the Auckland Baptist Tabernacle where a service would start in 15 minutes. Why not?
The Baptist church seems to have evolved in the same way all over the world. There was no chour and no hymnals. Instead there was a band with two singers and the words to the hymms on Power Point. The message of the service was 'the Tragedy of the Unfulfilled Self'. In the program the example given was Elvis Presley and Sir Edmund Hillary. Elvis was lost after only 42 years; while Hillary, a simple bookkeeper, went on to accomplish so much for mankind in his 80 plus years. The Biblical examples of unfullfilled promise were Samson and Judas. I know a bit about he Bible, but I didn't know that Judas committed suicide. Interesting.
Next we came across a park with three cricket matches in progress. We sat down in the shaded bleachers to watch. One of the games included a Tamal Christians team. When the game ended there seemed to be some area of discontent. A few players to the stands and started a heated discussion with a small group of their countrymen who sat watching. Soon the whole team was on the steps. Some engaged in the argument, most just pushed in and listened. We never could figure out what they were angry about.
Across from the park was a row of upscale condos. One was for sale and there was an Open House. It was easy to tell that it was a very good address and the price tag would be hefty. Again, why not? We removed our shoes and went in to snoop. As you can imagine very beautifully decorated but way over-done with heavy antiques pieces. We chatted with the realtor. He had been to Canada. He told us the price tag was $1.085,000. We promise, we didn't steal the silver ware.
We had almost reached our original destination, the Ewelme (pronounced, 'You Elm') Cottage when we were way-layed by the The Kinder House Museum (2 Ayr Street), the first and largest of three stone houses built in Parnell in the late 1850s. It is the only one that is a true two-story. The house was built for Dr. Kinder , headmaster of the church of England Grammer School. He haad no children of his own but adopted the two children of his younger brother. The brother's wife was having an affair with her dentist and the dentist killed her husband. I don't know why, but it always surprises me to hear of such bad behaviour in times that seem so gentile.
At 14 Ayr Street we find Ewelme Cottage. What a gem! I would have flown all the way to NZ just to see this house. Ewelme Cottage, was built between 1863 and 1864 by the curiously named Reverend Vicesimus Lush (vicesimus is Latin for "20th," his birth order) and inhabited by his descendants for more than a century. The house contains much of the original furniture and personal effects of the Lush family. The house is as intact as if the the original family moved out yesterday.
The Lush family were great readers and there are over 900 books spread throughout the many bookshelves. Some of the books are very rare dating from the 1600's. Lastly, the drawing room, veranda, and garden appeared in Jane Campion's film, 'The Piano.'
AN ASIDE: Beyond the Waitakere Ranges, a half hour drive to the west of Auckland lies the black sand beaches of the rugged west coast, including Piha - famous as the setting of the movie 'The Piano'.
We finished off the walking Tour of the Parnell Heritage area by having a gelato at Casa Del Gelato.
By the time we returned to our room it was 4:00 and time for a well-deserved rest.
Monday - Down and Up
We started the day by going to the Kelly Tarleton's Underwater World and Antarctic Encounter which is built into the side of a cliff and goes under a busy highway.
This harbourside marine park is the creation of NZ's most celebrated undersea explorer and treasure hunter and offers a fish's eye view of the sea.
Opened in January 1985, the acquarium was a huge success. After only seven weeks Tarlton shook the hand of the 100,000th visitor, an image captured in the last photo image of him. He died later that night of heart complications.
Later in the day we went up. Way up. The 1,082-foot Sky Tower is a great place to go for a bird's eye view of the city. For an adrenaline rush you can: 1. pay $100. which allows you to walk (harnessed) on an outside walkway that rings the tower, or 2. for $195 you can actually take a controlled leap off the tower. Don and I were happy to watch.
Tuesday - Hauraki Gulf and Islands
Island hopping is a favourite pastime for the locals so Don and I decided to join them for one more day on the water. We did a harbour cruise that went to the three main islands - all within 40 minutes of downtown Auckland.
Signing Off
Barring any unforseen event, exciting or other wise, this will be my last blog for this trip.
I have enjoyed sharing our experiences with you. Thank you for coming along for the ride.
Other
Something to leave you with:
This was posted on the library bulletin board in the samll town, Kaikoura.
Despite the high cost of living,
It's amazing how popular it remains.
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