Child of the Planet

Spent a night in a hostel in Picton to have a look around. Really pretty little sea side town. Picton is hidden all the way down the back of a maze of fjord like geography. Nice to get a break from the flies that seemed to be at plague proportion back in Oz. lots of fat bumble bees blasting around though and they seem to be a bit short sighted cause several have collided with my head. Had my first taste of the national dish in Picton. Fish n Chips.  Some footage taken of the InterIslander ferry leaving Picton. Its destination is Wellington on the lower tip of the north island. Got sunburnt and when I got to Wellington, the people I was meeting rightly guessed, that I had spent the trip up on the deck.

Off the train and straight to the tourist info booth (have I mentioned how really organised the tourist biz is in N.Z?) and made the sort of request that I really hate… ‘Can you find me somewhere to stay that is interesting?’ We spent five minutes working out what she thought I meant by ‘interesting.’ A booking was made and I walked along the esplanade past a bay full of crystal clear water, right to the edge of town. The address I was looking for was an old pub perched almost on the right hand tip of the bay. This was the view from the beer garden… Simple old world accommodation upstairs, and really decent food in the restaurant down stairs. It had been bought and renovated by a guy who used to work for a huge motel chain but he had decided that he wanted to do something more personal and something he could call his own. I hate the carbon copy hotel rooms that have spread across the planet following along behind the MacDonald’s plague and this place felt really co

Continuing the write up on my trip to New Zealand. I kept forgetting I was in an other country, this seaside town Kaidoura Especially Reminds me of Oz. Exit the train station and walk to the right, and the road becomes a wide highway lined with chain hotels and eateries (the worst of Oz.) But hang a left, walk through the town, and down the tree lined esplanade beach road, past tiny holiday batches (N.Z. for cottage,) and lapping surf (the best of Oz.) Originally established as a whaling town, but now the locals make more cash from whale watching and other touristy type activities such as fishing expeditions and scuba diving. Got sunburnt a second time. I keep forgetting that N.Z. has less ozone layer then Australia. There is also a Huge blister on my foot from all the ‘tramping’ (N.Z. for walking around) that I’ve been doing.

Last of the seal videos and I’m struck by how much seals reminded me of dogs.

This guy (or could be a girl) was basking in the sun. Humans are required to give the seals about ten meters of personal space and all of these videos were shot with a 10x zoom.

While I was staying in Kaikoura, I spent a bit of time down at the seal colonies. Two seals have a bit of a disagreement.

While I was staying in Kaikoura, I spent a bit of time down at the seal colonies. This video is of the little guys frolicking in the water.

You’ve seen the stills. Now experience the colour, movement, and sounds of the Oz Day Antique Car Show (wish I could bring you the smells too.) Lot’s of people, and music, and there was a fly past by one of Australia’s three jet fighters (I think that only one can fly at any one time.) Music clip to follow in a couple of days.

...up to Wellington where I was going to spend Christmas. I boarded the TranzCoastal train at seven the next morning. Was impressed to see that a free shuttle bus service was doing the rounds of the tourist accommodations, and picked me up from the hostel. Found my seat and was chatting with a couple of locals, and we all agreed that (despite the odd shuttle bus) N.Z. isn't a cheap country to travel in (well possibly it is if you travelling with British pounds or Euros.) I had some friends who decided not to hire a camper van (really popular way for people to travel around this country) this year, cause once the numbers were added up, a visit turned out to be too expensive. The locals I was chatting to wanted to hire a camper and drive around the islands, but they found it was cheaper to ‘jump the ditch’ and visit OZ instead.

Aotearoa (indigenous name) is possibly even more isolated from major western societies in a geo political sense, then Oz is. Really nice place. Bit more like the U.K. in the same way that Australia is a bit more like North America. Probably why so many movies that are set in European environments are being made over there. That and the value of N.Z. dollar is even crappier then ours. The accompanying photos were taken in Kaikoura New Zealand   I will write about this place in a later entry. Bailed out of the last of work’s Christmas celebrations in the pub on Friday afternoon, and got a lift to the airport. Landed in New Zealand a couple of hours later. It was after ten and the airport was pretty quite. Caught a taxi to the hostel and on the way, and had a nice chat to the Russian driver. I've noticed a lot of Russian types around these days. I guess the walls have fallen down properly and the Russians are stretching their legs. He pointed out sites of interest such as

It runs for a couple of weeks in the summer, with great music and activities. Especially good are the free events. Backpackers must love Sydney in the summer. Golden beaches, northern winter gear forgotten, and free gigs all over the place. Last week the festival opened and a big chunk of the city had its roads closed, and stages were erected. Huge range of music, and a trio of couples had public weddings. I ended up with a couple of mates down at the Domain Park where a local musician, Paul Kelly was playing a warm up set for an international. Brian Wilson. Weather was a bit crap, but the intermittent showers were really light and refreshing. Mr Wilson seemed to be very distant and kept scratching himself. He looked like your dad sitting on the couch at home but suddenly transported to a stage in front of an audience of thousands. Huge video screens amplified every movement. The crowd loved the music and everyone was dancing and singing along to songs which seem to have embed