New Zealog

Baaaaa.

We're back home in San Francisco. We still have a few more photos to post, but for now we'll leave you with two short movies we made on our last day in NZ. We were driving across Arthur's Pass in the Southern Alps when we happened upon a bit of an obstacle. We couldn't decide whether the first movie or the second one was more entertaining, so we posted both. Turn up the volume for maximum effect.

-Ariel

Mailbag

We're back in Christchurch, and I'm sad to report that we're heading back home to SF in just a few hours. We have really enjoyed posting here and reading everyone's comments, but we haven't been very good about responding to what everyone has to say. So in an effort to maintain our high customer satisfaction ratings, we're going to give some answers, all at once, to the questions you've posted over the past few weeks.

Q. Did the parents take their daughter with them or is she still with you? Did you have to feed her, too? Will she fit in your bike box?

A. The girl followed the parents out the door, although they might not have noticed if she had stuck with us. We did not feed her -- she had already eaten, and she proudly showed us her empty plate. She did want to know exactly why we ordered each item on our table. I guess four-year-olds are like that. As for the bike box... probably, but the girl plus the 19-lb. box would have tipped the scales past the weight limit on baggage.

Q. Had any more tasty scones, or something else besides fish & chips?

A. We have eaten fish & chips six times, all since arriving on the South Island. Two of those times were in one day. (It was Dave's fault.) We may post a f&c review later on. Something odd about NZ eateries is that often you don't get tartar sauce and ketchup (or "tomato sauce") for free. At the best, and cheapest, f&c place, we had to pay 50 cents for a small pack of tartar sauce. We sprung for the large $2 can of tomato sauce to go with the enormous pile of fries we got. It was barely enough. Sometimes they do give you a little "cup" full of tomato sauce for your fries. The cup is a joke -- maybe enough for 1-2 fries.

As for the scones... ah, the scones. Kiwis know their sweets. I can't imagine that low-carb mania will ever hit this country.

Q. Have you read The Bone People?

A. I bought a copy before leaving SF and I haven't even opened it. I slept on the plane and honestly, I have hardly read anything other than our Lonely Planet guide since arriving. There's too much gorgeous scenery to see outside for me to keep my eyes on a book. I'll probably read it after I get back when I'm pining for the Fiordlands.

Q. In the photo of Ariel wearing her medal and beaming, I note the weird-assed creature in the xerox just to her left. What on earth is that?

A. I have no idea.

We still have more photos and some hilarious videos to post, as well as many more thoughts on our visit to share with whoever is still reading. We'll be back in the states in about 24 hours. Wish us safe travels!

-Ariel

Glaciers

We've been on the west coast for the past few days, and we've seen some amazing scenery. This morning we took a helicopter ride over the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers. Very very cool.

Here are some new photos. Also, you can check out the short movie (~10MB) we shot during our helicopter ride.

-Dave

The helicopter ride was AWESOME!

-Ariel

"Kind of alternative"

We had dinner at a pizza/pasta place in Arrowtown (former gold-mining town, beautifully preserved) the other night. A 4-year-old Kiwi girl at a neighboring table ditched her parents and asked if she could sit with us. We obliged, and she proceded to entertain us for the next 45 minutes. Or maybe it was we who were entertaining her. The whole time, not even a look in our direction from the parents -- they clearly weren't too concerned about their daughter talking to strangers.

So then, as her parents were getting up to leave -- they were sitting right behind us -- we naturally expected them to give a smile and nod in our direction, if not a word of thanks for giving them a break from looking after their little kid. But they just got up and left. Walked right by us and didn't even look over or say a word.

After they left I asked the barman what he thought of this behaviour. (At one point earlier in the evening he'd come by our table and asked if we were annoyed by the little girl -- we said no). "Oh, they seemed kind of alternative to me, like they live on a commune and encourage their children to roam around a bit."

I guess that might explain the 45-minute visit. But does it explain the cold shoulder we got? Hmm.

Yesterday was a big travel day -- we drove from Queenstown out through Glenorchy and the beautiful pastures of Mt Aspiring National Park. Got caught in a sheep traffic jam -- several hundred of them. Forded several dozen streams & dirtied up the rental car right good.

Public enemy #1 along the coast is the sand fly. These are ruthless little twerps, smaller than mosquitos. When you open the car door for 2 seconds, 2,000 of them get in. Then you spend the next two hours killing them one by one and wishing you had bug spray. We're both covered in itchy little bites.

We're going for a hike on Fox Glacier this afternoon.

-Dave

Photos

Here you go!

-Dave

Dunedin to Bluff to Te Anau to Queenstown

Hi everybody,
Sorry about the radio silence there -- we needed a few days off from blogging. Since we last talked to you, we've been around the far southern tip of the South Island and come up around to Fiordland and the west coast. Really really cool. We pulled into Queenstown this afternoon.

We have pictures. They are coming soon.

-Dave

Oamaru to Dunedin

Last night we stayed in Oamaru, a sleepy little coastal town that time has (mostly) forgotten. It's famed for its limestone buildings, blue- and yellow-eyed penguins, and its historic harbourfront area.

We had dinner at the Criterion Hotel, which was serving few patrons when we entered but soon showed itself to be the preferred watering hole for local drinking professionals. (We were the only ones in there actually eating.) I had an excellent meal of bacon-wrapped local mussels, chips and salad. (When in doubt, I get something with bacon and/or chips.) Speights Lager flows freely here -- their tagline is "pride of the South" -- and it is very very good.

As we were settling the tab, I fell into conversation with a wild-eyed gentleman at the bar, who divined from my accent that I am not from these parts. We had a lively chat about American and world politics, and I was reminded of how much the world knows about America and how little we know about them. To me, New Zealand's anonymity is kind of an asset -- then again, a little more recognition wouldn't hurt the economy. (Which, incidentally, seems to be doing very well. The unemployment rate is 4%, which is effectively zero. Farmers have had a rough couple of years, but in general everyone I've talked to thinks things are going ok.)

This morning I went for a sunrise run over the hills and toward Bushy Beach -- amazing views -- and saw a couple of yellow-eyed penguins waddling along. This was quite a find -- they're pretty rare in number and can be tough to spot in the morning hours. During my run I had another find -- on the little gravel road from the beach I spotted our friends Sarah and Tara, who we'd just said "ta" to in Taupo a few days ago! We all had a little reunion breakfast at a local cafe in town. What can I say, it's a small country.

We did the short drive to Dunedin this afternoon. Dunedin is a bustling college town -- tons of cafes and shops and young people. Also: MAN, is it windy here. And cold. We're going to seek out some live music tonight.

Ok, now I'm going to put up some photos for your further entertainment.

-Dave

Race report

I have finally put together my IMNZ race report. It takes almost as long to read as it took me to finish the race!

-Ariel

Christchurch

Yesterday we got the bus from Taupo to Auckland, then flew to Christchurch (principal city on the South Island). We had drinks and dinner with locals Sonya (whom Ariel had met through Hal Higdon's V-Team message board) & Peter in downtown Chch. Wow, what a relief after a solid week of mediocre food (sorry Taupo)! We ate at the Tap Room, which exclusively serves locally preferred Monteith's beers. And good, interesting food.

Incidentally, I know some of you are worried about whether I am getting good pastries and such. Here's my intake for yesterday, which was a pretty typical day:

(1) savoury scone (tomato/cheese/bacon) - NZ$1.30 - doughy, not crumbly - v. good
(1) date scone - NZ$1.00 - nice doughiness, lots of dates, but not too many, eaten with butter - excellent

This morning at our B&B we got the full Kiwi treatment (muslix fruit eggs bacon & toast). We are fortified for the day.

-Dave

I cannot believe this

We're listening to a morning radio programme (sic) during which the topic of conversation is whether it's still appropriate to dunk biscuits in your tea/coffee. Also, apparently there's been $150K of research into how long you should dunk your biscuit so as to make for the the ideal amount of sogginess (3.7 seconds, apparently). They've had people calling in with their opinions. It's all a bit tongue in cheek.

-Dave