NEW ZEALAND: PART III

With the exception of a visit home in April 2019, we have been on the road non-stop since November 2018. By the time October 2019 rolled around, we were really missing friends and family back home. So, we were stoked when my parents met up with us in New Zealand in early October. They landed in Auckland on the 4th and joined us on the 6th to stay with us for the last week of our stay in Whanganui.

As mentioned in the “NEW ZEALAND: PART II” blog entry, we really liked Whanganui. In the very limited time we had with the home owners, Janice and Terry, we developed a friendship and we have kept in touch. We made several friends during our regular Friday night visits to Somme 25, which was a restaurant right on the other side of the back gate of the house. Janne made a couple friends that we saw outside of the Friday night meetups including Jennifer and Jen. Greg developed a great friendship with Whanganui native, Robert. About every other morning, Greg and Robert would meet up when Greg was walking Ergo, and the three of them would grab a coffee at the Jolt café downtown.

Janne and Jen Janice, Terry & Ergo Greg and Robert

Part of what we enjoy about traveling to different places around the world is learning about different cultures. Initially, we were unsure how culturally enriching a trip to New Zealand might be given that it is a society based on a western culture that is very similar to our own in the United States and we share the same language. While we wouldn’t characterize the New Zealand culture as exotic, we did find some aspects of the NZ culture quite interesting and different from our own. I’ve already written about the “rugby culture”. Another thing I found interesting was the Maori culture.

The Maori culture is interesting in its own right. How the Maori people arrived here, how they lived, similarities to Hawaiian and other Pacific island cultures, etc. Also interesting is how the New Zealand people are making a real effort to not only live peacefully with the Maoris, but actually embrace their culture. An example of this is the wide spread use of some of the Maori language such as “kia ora”. There is even a push going on right now to make learning the Maori language in primary schools if not compulsory, at least universally available, by 2025. From what I can see, while certainly not perfect, New Zealand has done a far better job incorporating the Maori into their society than the Australians have done with the Aborigines or the U.S. has done with Native Americans.

Sometimes it is the little things that make a place interesting. Some little thing you never knew or a surprise you never expected. Here are some examples. Kentucky Fried Chicken is huge in NZ. McDonald’s is referred to as “Macca’s”. While they retain the McDonald’s name and logo, etc., “Macca’s” is the name used in radio and tv commercials. The word Macca’s is even trademarked. They have car brands in NZ I had never seen before like “Holden” and “Ssang Yong”. They have a term in NZ called “Jafa”. It is used by those outside of Auckland to describe people from Auckland. Jafa stands for Just Another F’n Aucklander (you can choose what adjective to use that starts with “F”). In America, WWII is clearly the war that has had the most profound effect and lasting influence. I found it interesting that in NZ, from my perspective at least, WWI seemed to have a greater impact on society than WWII or Vietnam or any other war. Those of you from SoCal are familiar with the ice plant that grows some places along the inland edge of some beaches. They call ice plant “pig face” in NZ. Ice plant is actually a very invasive species that is native to South Africa. It was brought over to California to aid in stopping hillside erosion but then spread out of control.

One thing that we have always enjoyed about traveling is checking out the money in different countries. I remember traveling to western Europe in the early 1980’s and tripping out on having around 100,000 Italian Lira in my pocket. Unfortunately, the growth of the EU and the transition to the Euro ruined that part of enjoying travel in western Europe, but most countries in other parts of the world still have their own currency. NZ runs on the New Zealand dollar. At the time we visited, the NZ$ was worth around .65 cents U.S. The NZ paper currency is very beautiful. The “tails” side of NZ coins are interesting but the “heads” sides are rather dull - all sharing the same profile of Queen Elizabeth. There are no $1 bills but there is widespread use of $1 and $2 coins. Another interesting thing about the money in NZ is that they have done away with the 1 cent and 5 cent coin. They just round up or down to the nearest 10 cents.

One last interesting thing relative to money, or at least relative to paying for things, is that NZ is ahead of the curve compared to the States when it comes to paying with your credit card. Pretty much anywhere you use your credit card, be it a retail shop, barber shop, fast food place or restaurant, you will be handed a handheld credit card terminal to use for payment. They are ahead of the States in the type of credit cards used as well. You know how you hate it when you go to the grocery store in the States and you get stuck in line behind someone who is taking forever to pay with a check? You think to yourself, "Come on, get with the times!". Well, that is how we felt in New Zealand using a credit card that required a signature. Half the time, the cashier at the grocery store didn't even have a pen on them and had to ask around. You could just feel the people in line behind you thinking "Come on man, get with the times!". Most people in NZ have credit cards that you just insert and are done or even better, you just tap the terminal and you are done. I know this technology is starting to be used more in the States but it is ubiquitous in NZ.

When you are at a restaurant in NZ, and you are done eating and ready to pay, they don't bring you your bill. You go up to the counter to pay. We liked this because there was no waiting around to receive your bill. We also liked it because you didn't feel that pressure to leave your table like you sometimes do in the States after receiving your bill at the table. Another thing we liked is that there is pretty much no tipping in NZ and prices are listed with tax included - not just at restaurants, but everywhere.

We had a good time showing my parents around Whanganui. We visited several beaches, walked along Victoria Avenue in the charming downtown area, took a road trip up the Whanganui river, visited the Saturday market and introduced them to all of our new friends at the “Friday Fries” meetup.

At the beach in Whanganui Meringues at the market Downtown Whanganui

On October 13th we said a bittersweet goodbye to Whanganui and headed south to the capital of New Zealand: Wellington. We only had a couple of days in Wellington but we had a good time. Among other things, we found a killer Belgian restaurant with good food and beer, we visited the world class Te Papa museum, walked along the Wellington Harbor and caught a ride on the Wellington cable car. We visited just a day or two after the World of Wearable Art (WOW) show was in town, so there were some unusual art instalations set up in various places around the CBD (central business district).

Cheers with Belgian beer! Putting the wow! in WOW Wellington cable car

One cool thing we came across in Wellington, that none of us had ever seen or heard of before, was a “sundial of human involvement”. This is a sundial that uses the shadow of your own body to tell you what time it is. There is a rectangular plaque on the ground that has the months of the year listed at different spots on a large figure eight. You find the month that you are currently in, stand on it and raise your hands. Look where your shadow falls and you will know what time it is. We tried it at about 1:10PM and found it to be pretty accurate. It is easier to show you than it is to explain it:

Yep, it was just about 1:10pm

After a couple of days in Wellington, it was time to head back to Milford Sound. Janne and I had tried to cruise the Sound in August but were unable to do so because the road to the harbor was closed due to avalanche warnings. Not easily dissuaded, we were heading back in October with my parents in tow. While you might think the chances for avalanche are higher in Oct than in August, you have to remember that we were in the southern hemisphere where August is winter and October is spring.

We had a GREAT trip to Milford Sound. We could not have asked for better weather. I cannot convey to you in words how beautiful Milford Sound is. Pictures are not able to capture the beauty either, but they do a better job than any words I can come up with (more pictures in the “Gallery” section of this website)………..

The road to Milford Sound from Te Anau. For scale, check out the tiny cars on the highway on the lower left.

To give you an idea of scale, that is a very large ship on the right.

As we neared the end of the cruise, I took a quick video to try and capture the scenery as we headed back to the harbor.

One last post-cruise shot from land, before leaving the sound.

After Milford Sound, we flew from Queenstown to Christchurch, where the four of us visited our friends Laura and Leicester. Laura is an American that we all became friends with when we lived in Omaha in the early 1990’s. Laura moved on from Omaha, married Leicester (a native kiwi), had a son and has lived in NZ for 25 years now (give or take). Laura and Leicester used to live on a sheep farm a couple hours north of Christchurch, but now they lease the farm and live in Christchurch. We visited them in Christchurch for a few days and then we drove up the coast to stay a few days at their farm up north.

Christchurch has had a very tough row to hoe lately. In 2011, there was an absolutely terrible earthquake. It was a magnitude 6.3 that killed over 160 people and damaged or destroyed many, many buildings. Then, in 2016, another quake struck a bit further north in Kaikoura. For those of you in SoCal, the distance between Christchurch and Kaikoura is about the same as the distance between Manhattan Beach and Santa Barbara. But the 2016 Kaikoura quake was a massive magnitude 7.8. That is about 30 times stronger than the 1989 earthquake that struck San Francisco (6.9) and about about 50 times stronger than the 6.3 Christchurch quake in 2011. Even though it was around 110 miles (180km) away, it was still felt strongly in Christchurch and it shook the psyche of people in Christchurch that were still coming to terms with the 2011 quake. Then, in 2018, Christchurch suffered the tragic mosque attacks. I have to say the people of Christchurch seem quite resilient and I have no doubt that they will build their city back up to where it was before these tragedies hit - and then make the city even better than it was before.

Steel reinforcing a structure Punting on the Avon Quake damaged church

After a few days in Christchurch, we drove north up the coast to Laura and Leicester’s farm. The farm is leased and worked by some of Leicester’s cousins, but Laura and Leicester retain a home there and that is where we stayed. At the time of our visit, they were building a new home after a decision was made to tear down the existing home due to earthquake damage. So, Laura & Leicester stayed in a mobile home on the property, my parents stayed in a comfortably converted shed with a kitchen and a bathroom and Janne and I crashed in an RV trailer. It was a beautiful location. Green hills and beautiful coastline. A couple thousand sheep and I don’t know how many head of cattle. And a very, very cute dog named Molly.

On our drive up the coast to the farm, and in exploring the coast around the farm, Leicester and Laura showed us several areas where large rocks covered the beach or jutted out of the water. They told us that before the 2016 earthquake, those same rocks were all under water and hidden from view. The earthquake had raised the land more than 3 meters in some areas in a matter of a few seconds!

We enjoyed our time at the farm. Much of what we saw was very new and alien to us “city folk”. During the day, we would check out the farm and hike on the beach, and then at night, we would hang out and play cards. A very “chill” way to end our time in NZ and also a chance to see another side of kiwi life.

Just chillin' Cheryl, Laura, Janne & Molly Home for a couple nights

So ended our 4 months in New Zealand. It went fast and we really enjoyed it. We made friends in the north and south, and even more in the middle in Whanganui. We definitely hope to return one day. The nature in NZ is the most spectacular we have seen so far in our travels. If it wasn’t for the remoteness, and the high cost of living, I think NZ is a place where we could live for quite a while.

Here are a few final random pictures from our last month in New Zealand. Many more photos can be found in the "Gallery" section of this website. Special thanks to my Dad for catching some great shots. The downside to being the designated photographer is that my Dad didn't get to be in too many pictures.

This is one of my favorite shots that my Dad captured. Check out Ergo on the bottom right. A great black and white shot of a beautiful beach and a happy dog. Doesn't get much better than that!

It just wouldn’t make sense to visit New Zealand and not go to Australia. So, that is exactly what we did. On October 29th, the four of us flew from Christchurch to Sydney. Stay tuned for our “Australia: Part I” blog in the near future. Kia ora!