David: Week in New Zealand

Sorry about this LOOOOONG post, but it's covering the entire week in New Zealand....

New Zealand ended up being a great way to start this trip because it reminded me so much of the Northwest, I felt like I was still at home. My friend Neil (who is from NZ) told me he chose to live in Portland because it reminded him of home. Now I see what he means. "The Lord of the Rings" movies did a great job of showing the majestic beauty of this country. (Yes, movie set tours were available, but they looked sorta cheesy...so we declined.)

We had to plan this trip to NZ at the last minute, so we decided to spend our time divided among 4 areas on the south island: Dunedin, a college town of sorts; Queenstown, a resort town; Mt Cook, an area of immense power and beauty; and Christchurch, the largest city on the island.

Dunedin (pronounced done-EDEN) looked somewhat neglected and worn--perhaps from many years of hosting students, most moving on after their education was complete. Many shops were already closed at 5:00, but we still enjoyed walking all through town, stopping to admire the beautifully restored train station. The Cadbury Chocolate Shop was closed, which was probably a good thing--I didn't need to load up on free samples! We found a funky vegetarian cafe to eat dinner at, Circadian Rhythm, and savored every bite of our delicious corn cakes. A young gal from Germany sat next to us. She was on a year long "working holiday" (can you imagine? Why don't we do this in the states?) and was about to begin looking for a job at a farm or cafe...whatever she could find. She wasn't vegetarian, but stopped at the cafe thinking it would have more gluten free options. But in New Zealand, gluten free is quite common. We see signs for it everywhere! Even regular bakeries have a gluten free section. The next morning we went to New Zealand's only castle (Allan has a way of finding them!) called Larnach Castle. It was a 20 minute drive from town, up on a hill overlooking all of Dunedin and the coast. The views were fantastic, and the scale of the castle was quite "livable", meaning it wasn't cavernous, but more like a home. It had quite an interesting history, and if you'd like to read more, click here.

Queenstown reminded me of Park City, Utah, or Whistler, Canada. It was a beautifully done resort town with lots of fancy shops and restaurants. It was sunny and warm when we arrived, and people were out en mass, wandering the streets. We booked a great hotel right on the main road in front of the lake, with mountain views--which were spectacular! We walked the entire downtown, window shopping and restaurant hunting. Just as we thought we had made up our minds where to eat, we stumbled upon this little pizza place called The Cow. The place was packed, and smelled divine. We knew we had to eat there, even though we'd have to wait, and share a table. But that turned out to be such a treat--we were seated with a young newlywed couple from Bombay, India! The bride still had her henna tattoos on her hands and arms, and they had just gone sky diving earlier that day. (Queenstown is a destination for adrenalin junkies, and I believe bungee jumping originated in Queenstown. The bride said she'd definitely do it again, the husband said he loved it, but would not...) It was evident that they were from wealthy families, raised upper class, educated in Catholic schools. I asked them what they thought of "Slumdog Millionaire", and they both said they thought it was accurate....that they too have seen mutilated children on the streets of Bombay, begging for money. Coincidentally, they were also vegetarians, so we had a great conversation about that, and Indian food.
The next morning, it was raining hard, so we spend the morning in a chocolate shop, drinking delicious hot chocolate and using their free wi-fi. My friend Marty, and my Mom, were both on Skype when I logged in, so I was able to have a video conversation with both of them. (Neither had cameras, so they could see me, but I couldn't see them.) It was a really cool, unexpected treat! Free calls on our computer--how great is that?

It was a long drive to Mt. Cook. (Poor Allan has been doing all the driving--4 to 5 hours worth each day!) Even though it was raining, we did get to see some beautiful scenery. Unfortunately, when we did arrive at Mt. Cook, the entire mountain range was concealed by clouds. We checked in to the Hermitage Hotel, staying in our own little chalet. We ate a vegetable pie at the nearby pub, then went to the 3-D Imax theatre to see several short films on everything from Mt. Cook to Black Holes--4 films in all. I really enjoyed them, but the Black Hole movie really did a number on my head. Many times in the movie, I thought, "does this really make sense to people??" but at other times, I felt like I kinda understood what black holes are. I found it most fascinating that as you near a black hole, time slows down and eventually stops. Considering that at a black hole, everything becomes nothing, and large mass fits on something the size of a pin head (if I understood all that scientific jargon) I wondered if a black hole was really God, or a metaphor for God....But thinking too much about it made my head hurt, and I wondered about the kind of person that has the job of studying black holes. Do they have a sense of humor? What made them interested in black holes? Do they really know anything, or is this all speculation?

During our drives between towns, I've been reading aloud from the book "Mistakes Were Made, but not by me". This has been a great way to pass the hours (except I do miss some of the amazing scenery) and Allan and I have both enjoyed the concept of the book--that when we do something that is contrary to the belief we have about ourselves or our community, we experience dissonance. And to deal with this dissonance, and to try and bring ourselves back to a place of inner harmony, we justify our actions, even if they are wrong. (It really explains George Bush, and his administration...and yes, also myself.) This picture is of us on the road...we don't always eat in fancy restaurants! Here's leftover pizza, eaten at a toilet stop!

Christchurch was a welcome destination because we knew we could actually stay and relax for a few days. That night, we found a lovely vegetarian restaurant in Cathedral Square, The Lotus Heart, which is run by the Sri Chinmoy group--they have restaurants all over the world. While it had a definite Indian food influence, there were also other options on the menu, and we really enjoyed the food and service--so much so, that we went back for lunch the next day. The next morning, market square was open, and I bought a sun hat and a few souvenirs. (Mind you, I can only buy little tiny things because my suitcase is FULL, and I have to carry what I buy for 13 months....) Allan noticed a beautiful Gothic building on a postcard, and we decided to check it out. It was a 20 minute drive out of town, and was a restaurant with an amazing view of Christchurch. From there, at the advice of our hotel desk clerk, we drove to Lyttelton, the nearest port town. To our surprise, they were having their annual Lyttelton Summer Festival, and the streets were swarming with people, checking out all the art and food booths. There was live music, and everyone was in a happy mood. Such serendipity!
On Sunday, we took a nap on the square, in the sun. It was a lovely day, just taking it easy, going through museums and the Art Center. The people here seem to be very open and friendly. Later that evening, we took in a movie, "Doubt", to compare it to the theater version we saw last year. Of course, it was excellent, and I recommend it to those that like to have post-movie discussions. Did he do it? Was she wrong?

I only experienced one negative thing in New Zealand...when Allan and I were window shopping one day, several groups of young men in cars were driving aggressively through town. (We found out later that there was a car show that weekend, and the masses of young men dragging the strip clogged the roads for several hours, and many arrests were made.) Anyway, one group of guys stopped at a light, and started shouting anti-gay statements at us. We just ignored them, but it left me unsettled for a few hours afterward. It had been a while since I'd had anyone shout things like that at me, and I had forgotten what it's like to live with that sort of thing...

We spend the remainder of our time in Christchurch wandering through the botanical gardens. It's a wonderful city, and I highly recommend a trip to New Zealand to everyone! Allan will soon catch you up on Sydney....