Recap of the New Zealand FF Trip

What a Trip to New Zealand

Here is a short listing what we did on this Friendship Force Holiday - details in all the following entries.

Friday – October 26 – left early to get to LA to catch a late plane – 8 hour layover where we worried if everyone would make the connection.  Wonderful flight to Auckland on a new 777 – good food, good leg room, 50 movies

Saturday – Oct 27 - where did that go? We landed on Sunday – it must have something to do with the International time line.

Sunday  –  Oct 28 - Customs was a breeze in New Zealand, hardly any security getting on internal flight to Christchurch, no security getting on the flight to Dunedin. Warm welcome from the whole Dunedin club with sandwiches, soups, sweets, wine. Then the afternoon with our host and their family – home for dinner.

Monday – Oct 29 - Breakfast with Ian and Joan – oatmeal and toast. Olvestin House tour, lunch at the University of Otago, Museum tour. Big Bar-b-que prepared by the Men-In-Kitchen at Jane’s house for everyone.

Tuesday – Oct 30 - Nature day – Albatross colony and red-bill gull colony, lunch at Rona’s beach house, then the buggy ride to see Penguins – this was cool. Went to Jan’s for dinner with the Knights and Crosses and their hosts.

Wednesday – Oct 31 - Tree planting ceremony at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary and then down to Port Chalmers for a short small town tour and then High Tea at Carey’s Bay historial Hotel, drop by the Botanical gardens for Birds and Rhododendrons, then a short nap before we went to the Mosgiel train station  where our Ambassadors took their hosts to dinner.

Thursday – Nov 1 - drive up to the gold country that made Dunedin large and wealthy. The gold digging were covered over but we toured the area, had lunch at the antique farm implement and car club, and went to Black’s Brewery to be entertained by Lusty Busty Dusty telling and singing about the old days. Dinner was large helping of fish and chips.

Friday – Nov 2 - Today our hosts had the day off and we took the Taieri Gorge train. It was a great day on the train going up to this very small dusty town that was really happy we came. The ride was very scenic. When we returned we hit the thrift shops for unique souvenirs. Then the big farewell dinner where we had the Tribute to the Haggus.  We gathered in a big circle and sang Auld Lang Syne.

Saturday – Nov 3 - We stopped by the farmers market on the way to the train station where we all got on the transport to the airport. No security as we boarded the plane to Wellington, the capital.  Toured Wellington in drizzly weather and had a bar-b-que at a woman’s house who had visited one of our club members years ago in Austin.

Sunday – Nov 4 - we had contacted the Unitarian Church and met with them that morning. There were only five of them but they made us feel at home.  Then off to Lunch on the harbor with the Wellington Friendship Force who decided to have their monthly meeting there to honor us.  We went to the Zealandia Wildlife preserve at dusk to see the night creatures including the Kiwis and Glowworms in the wild.

Monday – Nov 5 - took the bus to a 150 year old botanical garden where the fern forest was right out of the movies. Lunch in town and then a boat ride to Mateu Island, an island cut off from all invasive plants and animals. Back for dinner a lovely Italian Restaurant and the fireworks for Guy Fawkes day.

Tuesday – Nov 6 - All aboard for the scenic train to Hamilton. Reception by our hosts and dinner at our new homestay.

Wednesday – Nov 7 – Breakfast with Richard and Sue, then a bus into the city to explore and visit the Op shops (thrift stores). The afternoon we went to the Dairy Milking shed.  The evening we spent following the US presidential election results at home.

Thursday – Nov 8 – Bus to Rotorua, a volcanic lake hot tourist area – we went to the nature area/Kiwi experience. Had lunch in the park, and off to the Agrodome performance, shopping on the way home and dinner at home,

Friday – Nov 9 – Breakfast by Richard, tour beautiful Hamilton Gardens and judge the roses, then off to the Cadet Training Facility (Profession Pilot Training).  Group dinner of Lamb Roast.

Saturday – Nov 10 – Off to the Coast with Day Hosts – Bridal Falls and Raglan beach and harbor where we took a boat ride. Back for dinner with our day host.

Sunday -  Nov 11 – Antique Car show, farmers market, local park and goodbye luncheon with all hosts and ambassadors. Then taking our host out to dinner.

Monday – Nov 12 – Goodbyes to hosts, bus to Auckland and tour the city.

Tuesday – Nov 13 – City touring, shopping, Art Museum, Maori performance, Sky Tower, Auckland Museum, off to airport.

Tuesday- Nov 13 – (13^th again?) land in Los Angeles and a stayover at La Quinta to rest up rather than push for eight more hours.

Wednesday – Nov 14 – Home again – Home sweet home.

Short stop in Auckland, and then Back home.

 We took the very orderly bus from Hamilton to Auckland after having one last group get together at the bus station. Goodbye to our hosts Sue and Richard. One note is that every bus or train conductor loves to give a running commentary on the sound system of what we are passing. It really livens up the ride, but also if you are in conversation, a mild irritation. We pulled in the Sky Terminal and much to our pleasant, it was less than two blocks from our hotel.  

 

  The Hotel was really nice. It was Indonesian and had very interesting amenities, like a very good restaurant  And three space heaters in the king-sized bed room. Our window looked out to a 15 story apartment building that looked like a dormitory with single rooms all with glass walls. It was bee hive of activity after dark. It must have been a peeping Tom’s dream.

Auckland holds about one half of New Zealand’s population, and much of it is Asian or Islanders. It has a 75 story space needle that housed a very big Casino, movies, theater, and the bus station. It can be seen all over the city, even though the city is full of modern, tall very creative buildings.  The waterfront is a totally functional high end wharf; tall ship, pleasure crafts, ferries, and tour boats. Queen street is busting, but just up the hill is W-street  where one might fine the shadier side of life.  In New Zealand prostitution is legal, and liquor stores are open 24 hours a day.  But the style in more polite areas seem so orderly British. The city council’s hot topic was if they should permit a 15 story brothel in an historic building on Queen Street. The council concluded that they must allow it as there is now law against it. 

Zosia and I went on the hunt for a Merlo and possum sweater for Christmas present. The Possum was introduced about 100 years ago from Australia and has been a very successful invasive species, killing off the birds and reptiles indigenous to New Zealand. They have a bounty on killing them. But I have to saw their fur is dear. The sweaters were hard to find and appropriately expensive.

So we traveled to city by public transportation – lost much of the time, but people were very friendly telling us where we were and where we were going. 

We went to the Auckland Museum and finally saw the Maori dance performers (we like the one on the boat where the mate gave his rendition much better).  But for exhibits, the best was in the Art Gallery, a traveling American show called – Who Shot Rock and Roll . 

 It showed seven large rooms of R&R stars photos over the years with stories on many.

So now it to the airport and to Los Angeles. The plane, food and drink was equally satisfying as the trip over. Customs was smooth in LA, and we had opted to stay at a hotel near the airport rather than phus for 9 more hours to get home. Yahoo – a six pack of beer, McDonald’s Hamburgers and salads, lying on the bed watching movies, flipping channels, excellent WiFI – Back in the USA.

Weekend in Hamilton

On Friday we started off by going to Hamilton Gardens which is considered one of the 10 most beautify gardens in the world. We are not sure who designated them as such, but they were beautiful. It was divided into counties, England, China, Japan, USA, India, Maori,  Australia, herb and veggies, and fantasy.  And the USA one was mainly stonework and glass with a modern poster of Marilyn Monrow – that was unusual compared to other gardens.  Then off to the rose garden that spanned a couple acres. This is where we had our picnic lunch including hot tea. But now we were to select our top five rose varietires for the rose contest. There were only 100 to choose from as most were not in the contest.  This was great fun and I based it not just on their beauty, but primarily for their smell. It was interesting how few had fragrant smalls to my disappointment. They seemed to be bred for beauty alone. And what was more amazing, all of the people I talked to there also judged them for smell. My favorite was “love me do” and Zosia’s was “Climbing Blackberry Rip”.  We’ll get an eMail on who the winners were.

Off to the CTC – Cadet Training  Center, the professional pilot training facility  where their train potential pilots for Europe and Asia. It is ideal for cadets because there is so little air traffic here. It is expensive also - $27,000 a year for school alone. The selection process is very strict. Fewer than 2% of the applicants get admitted.  These are mostly young men, less than 5% women and really need to show initiative. It is an 18 month course. We heard all about the school process and saw the hangers and simulators.  Then off to a group dinner for delicious lamb, potatoes, wine and dessert.

You know much of the benefits of traveling with Friendship Force is the interchange with people. We sit in the morning over coffee, paper, and breakfast, and post dinner with tea and chatting or telly with Sue and Richard Harrington discussing our pasts, futures and the differences in the environments that form our lives. We talk about what drives our society, experiences with homes, cars, neighbors, pets. One would never get this in depth experience in a hotel lobby or a restaurant – I don’t care how good the food or service is.  You can get good food, beds, stores, or entertainment anywhere in the world, including home.  It is the personal contact over a week that is so valuable.

Saturday Zosia and I are off to the beach with our day hosts, Beverly and Brian, while Sue and Richard have a day off and a wedding later in the day.  We drive for an hour to Bridal falls, a wonderful 60 meter waterfall that is right out of the travel magazine. A walk to the bottom stimulates the legs, but not as much as the one back up.  Now off to lunch and the boat ride in the Raglan harbor. The owner of the boat is an aging surfer from LA who has lots of business around this beach town. They came to visit back in 1990 and never went home, sold his house, quit his job, and cashed in their stocks, never to look back.  Everyone was laid back on the boat, which was slow to say the least, but what’s the hurry. The weather was beautiful as it has been every day.  The mate gave us a demonstration of the Maori Haka or greeting. It may not look like a challenge/greeting as he yelled with threatening gestures and finally laying a flower at our feet to see if we would bow to pick it up avoiding his glare, exposing our head to their spears and clubs. If we responded correctly, we were friends.

The beach is known for the longest left handed curl wave and was featured in the movie “the Longest Summer”. The sand is also black because of the iron content. The Japanese have been mining the sand for years a little south of there – two ship loads a week. The Maoris have a grass runway near the beach and there 100 private planes rallying and flying about. A stop for ice cream and then a trip back home.

They have bad drivers also. Here they can call *555 and report them to the cops who will intercept them down the road. We had one passing people a fast speeds on double lines around corners. People would honk at him and be disgusted.  Ah, but sweet justice – we pass him a couple of K’s down the road with a black and white writing him a ticket.  Back at Brian’s we had coffee and biscuits, then off to Beverly’s for dinner.  She drove us home where we heard all about the wedding. 

Today is Sunday and we went to an antique car show where there were all sorts of old cars mainly GM and Ford products. They had both right-hand and left-hand drive. They were in great condition and we felt like we were in Havana again. We selected which Ford, Chevy, or other we thought should take the prize. I selected the cars I drove, 67 VW Bug, 63 Fairlane 500, and 64 Chevy Belair. Zosia picked the 34 ford.

We had our goodbye luncheon today with the Hamilton Club. We sang Texas songs and gave their club a gift. What nice folks. They are quite differnt from us, yet very much the same. We will remember their hospitality for a long time.

We have become sensitive to importing foreign food and plant products into a county. Hopefully we will come in clean except packaged food we bring in (yogurt and custard powder, and honey). We are going to leave our raw sheep wool here, and bring no plants.   Tonight we take our hosts to dinner – hopefully for fish and chips. 

On the third day in Hamilton we took a bus to Rotorua, a like district about 1-3/4 hours away. We went to Rainbow springs featuring animals and birds of NZ, but best of all the Kiwi experience where they take the eggs from Kiwi around NZ and breed them in captivity.  The size of the egg is amazing as it takes about half the size of the mother. She can also lay a second egg two weeks later. The male sits on the egg after the female lays the egg, and she disappears until next year. We saw the whole operation of incubation and raising them in captivity. We were very impressed.

Next it was off to lunch in a park with boiling mud pits as this is a volcanic area, and then to the Agrodome for the sheep and dog show. It was hilarious with 21 kinds of sheep and sheep dog tricks. But Zosia and I were both involved with audience participation.  Zosia was asked to guard a sheep until Keith asked her to release the gate – the sheep immediately jumped over the gate to everyone’s amusement. I volunteer to milk the cow on stage and got a Certificate of Udderance.  We did a little shopping at the store and I got the dog whistle that I still cannot produce sounds on.  Back to home for a fine coconut chicken stir fry on rice and homemade cake and ice cream.  Tonight we watch Downton Abbey and Mrs. Brown’s boys (really funny British Comedy – I watched it last week also).  So early to bed for a tour of the city with Sue tomorrow.

Zosia on Food of New Zealand

George asked about the food  in New Zealand.  The first thing that came to my mind, after being here 10 days is Pavlovas!  For those unfamiliar with this versatile dessert, the heart of any Pavlova is the baked meringue.  The meringue could be the size of a large cookie , or the size and shape of an angel food cake.   The other must ingredient is whipped cream, lots of  it, layered between the cookies or in a side bowl to be generously scooped onto the meringue.  The third ingredient could be any sweet thing, fruit, sauce, preserves or any combination.  There you have it.  And in New Zealand one can buy a stack of the meringue cookies in a grocery store.  There is however a long and spirited controversy regarding the origin of this popular desert.   Was it first made in New Zealand as the Kiwis claim or in Australia as do the Aussies?  The search for old recipies continues to this day.

Another noticeable item in the food department is lamb.  Yes, indeed, lamb is popular, readily available and well prepared.  At our first barbecue we had lamb koftas, lam b ribs, and lamb patties.  The last were declared not fatty enough when compared to our good old American hamburgers.  Today on the Northern Explorer which is taking us from Wellington to Hamilton we had Roast Lamb with Mint Aioli Sandwiches which were unanimously declared delicious. Also on the train dining menu was a hot meal of Lamb Shanks braised in a rich full-bodied sauce, with carrots and mashed potatoes.  Since no one in our party tried that I cannot attest to its taste, but it looked tempting.

Because of the nature of  our activities we have had many sandwiches marked by freshness of ingredients and ingenuity of their combinations such as ham, cheese and pineapple or egg salad and caramelized onions.   The best part of the sandwiches have been the wonderful breads.    The British influence is very evident in staple foods like porridge, broiled tomatoes and mushrooms for breakfast.  Our one meal of  fish and chips was from a Chinese takeaway.  You can see we are well fed and enjoying every meal.  One food item which the Kiwis served us consistently deliciously prepared was the humble potato.  Whether it was boiled and buttered or roasted to a perfectly crisp outer cover the New Zealand potato is a winner.   

Hamilton Arrival

Hamilton Arrival
We were picked up by our host families at the train station and driven to the local Methodist church for a dinner reception. They had four kinds of homemade soups, breads, and meat muffins. It was not the type of wine reception we had in Dunedin, but after all this was a Methodist church.

We went home with our prospective families about 6:00. Richard and Sue have a beautiful home on the far western part of the city. Their back yard, which is a wonderful garden, abuts fields as far as one can see with cows, horses and sheep. Yes, they come up and munch on their roses on occasions.  After a walk in the neighborhood, we spent the evening with tea, biscuits, and a nature show on the television. The neighborhood has a wetland, and big park for the kids, and best of all a bus stop at the end of the road, a block away. 

We had the morning free, and Sue had her volunteer work, so after a good breakfast of porridge, fruit, toast, jams, and homemade yogurt, Zosia and I took the bus downtown which took about 15 minutes. When we arrived we asked a woman on the bus where we might find a thrift store, she told us about the free downtown bus that brought us all around downtown. We stopped at not one, but five Op shops (thrift stores), buy clothes, trinkets and of course a computer bag from the Dunedin College to carry all our goodies in. For $12 we thought we struck a gold mine. Back at home we had a delicious lunch of sandwiches and home-made relishes. Then off to the Milk Shed– we had no idea what this would be but assumed it had to do with cows. We stopped by Richard’s old farm and the city where Sue used to live with the most amazing rose garden – everything is so orderly and well maintained.

It was amazing seeing this high tech milking operation. It was a large lazy susan that held 46 cows. They would cue up to enter because they really wanted to be milked and they were also fed with grain and nutrients. They would hose them down, slap on the utter hoses, and the computer chips on their legs would coordinate information about what cow, and they would like everything about the cow. After the merry go round went around they gave about 15 liters of milk, the hoses would automatically drop off and when they reached the exit point, they cows would know that should back out and move on down to the pasture. They milk 600 cows in three hours twice a day, operated only by a married couple.  Amazing! The owners could check on any cow knowing the quality and quantity of the milk, and how much the cow weighed that day. 

We dropped by the food store on the way home for beer and snacks, and then home for dinner. We needed some beer because it is election night. Yahoo, Barack Obama won his second term and the Democrats  retained the Senate.  We were glued to the telly wanting to hear every piece of information. Romney made a wonderful concession speech and Obama has a powerful speech with hope for the future. I really hope the country comes together and learns that we must compromise and work for the whole country, not one party line.

Off to Wellington

Off to Wellington - goodbye to Dunedin

We needed to be at the train station at 10:30 to catch the transport to the airport. It was market day so we had an opportunity to see the local produce including beers, wines, cheeses, breads and fruits. If I lived here this is where I would get my weekly groceries. The plane was a dual prop engine. We came to Dunedin as spring was just coming out. It had horrible weather just the day before we arrived, but changed to beautiful weather the we did arrive. Ah, so here we are leaving and taking the weather with us. It snowed the night before we left, and I hear it has been miserable the three days we are in Wellington.

When we arrived Wellington it was pouring rain and don't even think about taking out your umbrella. As soon as you open it the wind takes it and flips it upside down. By the time we settled in at the hotel, it stopped and the clouds parted. Ah, we brought the good weather with us for three days. The big adventure for the day was trying to find a grocery store for supplies - snacks, beer, and cider.

Our friend Mae was staying with someone from the Wellington Friendship Force who had visited Austin six years before. She invited all 15 of us to her house for a bar-b-que that night. Since it had been raining that day and was still chilly we had to move it back indoors. Her apartment was quite small, but we had a great dinner. She also had very unique and beautiful art displayed. I really appreciated an oil painting of a complex city scene (cars, signs, trash, wires) with such detail, it looks like a photo, such details were amazing, and no texture marks. I need to try this. Our group is being transported by a large van everywhere which makes it very economical. I sure wish they had that in Austin. It would revolutionize the movable party.

Day two in Wellington was Sunday, so we arranged to meet the Unitarian Fellowship. They only meet once a month and we were warned that there are not many members. Yvonne arranged the service and it focused on Guy Fauckes, the 1610 rebel that conspired with other Catholics to blow up Big Ben and Parliament. The plot was discovered and the gang was tortured and killed. Well, the service was indeed small - seven including Zosia and me. We sang songs lit candles of joys and concerns and ended with tea and biscuits. Art drive us to a seafood restaurant where we met with the Wellington Friendship force. They were a great lot, giving us presents and things to do while in town. What a great organization this Friendship Force is. And what a wonderful pleasure it was to have a couple of hours where we had nothing to do.

That evening we went to Zealandia, another isolated nature preserve with a big fence that kept out invasives. This was a night tour to see things that only come out at night - like "flip-flop" the clumsy Kiwi, and glow worms, that are so small one need a magnification glass to see them. It was wonderful and the sky was crystal clear to see the southern stars.

On Monday Zosia and I took a bus into the countryside to 150 year old botanical garden with a fabulous fern forest. We spent a couple of hours looking for more birds, and then back to the city. We really wanted to get on the water so we went on a cruise into the inlet to Mateu Island that is now another isolated wildlife preserve, but has been both a war internment prison camp and a quarantine facility in the past. The weather was great as usual.

But tonight was Guy Fawkes day where through the commonwealth they had bonfires where they threw effigies of Guy. This is also their big fireworks celebration. Zosia and I opted for an Italian restaurant with a great view and nursed our meal for 2-1/2 hours. We met really nice couple (veterinarian and lawyer) from Hamilton and we hit it off so well, they wanted us to come stay with them. We'll see if we have time to hook up. Maria and I were the only people cheering the fireworks on.

Tuesday and it is time to leave again on the scenic train up north to Hamilton. We got to the station in plenty of time only to discover that one of our own had left all of her vouchers and papers for the trip at the hotel. I jumped back into the van to retrieve them, the driver took my back pack and threw it in the back. I got the papers and he drove me back to the station. I was so pleased with myself as the driver drove off with my pack. Zosia asked where it was and I went off running after the van. I caught him two blocks away. Wow, what a way to start the day. I caught the train with 10 minutes to spare. The train ride and train accommodations are wonderful. Off to Hamilton.