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Ron's Adventures
Hiya all
Final postcard from New Zealand.
From Queenstown we went to Christchurch, NZ's most English city. They have lots of parks and you can go punting on the river Avon.
I was quite excited about reaching a new city, but unfortunately the weather was a bit crap. It was freezing cold and blowing a gale. Did the tourist stuff like go in Christchurch Cathedral which had some mosaics of swastikas on the wall, climbed the spire for a view of the city, took a tram round the town which was very quaint etc
By the evening I went hunting out Christchurch's one and only gay bar to see if there was any gay life in NZ. The bar was called Cruz, but was empty (tuesday night). I went back the next night and got chatting to the barman, determined to talk to at least one Kiwi gay guy.
Next went to Kaikoura, where I went Whale Watching. This was very exciting as we all piled on a boat that was in contact with spotter planes, other boats and had special sonar equipment all to help find whales. If the captain got a sighting the boat would speed to the spot and we'd all pile onto the deck to take pictures. The sea was quite choppy that day and when that boat went fast oh my god did we bounce. However we were rewarded with sightings of 3 hump back whales and 4 sperm whales, dolphins, sea lions and an albatross. Another Thing to do Before You Die ticked off!
From Kaikoura it was now a dash back up to Auckland for me to catch my flight as I'd used up all my spare time in Queenstown. The only other point of interest was Wellington which wasn't windy this time around. As I'd seen Wellington already I decided to also hunt out its one and only gay bar - 'Pound'. This was a much more lively affair (being a Friday and all). The bar expanded into a club. I played pool with the locals, beating all challengers and met a nice Kiwi guy called Adam. The club actually became crowded so there is life in NZ after all!
The rest of my time in NZ was pretty quiet, just travelling on the bus and getting back to Auckland in time for my flight.
A few overall impressions:
- Kiwis vs Aussies -
Aussies are generally cuter and brighter. I seemed to meet alot of Kiwi locals who were a few slices short of a loaf. I realise this is gross generalisation but hey, it's my impressions of the people I met at the time I was there.
- Would I live there? -
Probably not. The weather reminds me too much of Ireland.
- Cities - disappointing.
The towns are much nicer, though that's a general truth anywhere I think
- Countryside - VERY pretty.
Got a bit desensitized to the stunning scenery. Have LOTS of pics of mountain scapes.
- Winter -
Weather was a bit crappy and stopped me doing some things. I was lucky in places to get to do things like the Tongariro Crossing. Though accommodation was less busy. Would like to come back when the weather is better if I ever get the chance.
- It's so much smaller than Oz! -
After the huge long drives in Oz it was a novelty to drive for a couple of hours and reach the next stop. You could drive round yourself quite easily.
- Mauri culture -
The Mauris are much better integrated into NZ society than the Aboriginals are in Oz. I think by the time they got to NZ they realised that killing the locals off wasn't the best thing to do and made a treaty with them buying them off effectively. Mauris are also very blessed in the handsome stakes and don't compare favourably to aboriginals - by western standards of course. They also seem to be able to have a drink without going mad.
- Gay scene-
After a poor beginning (remember the newspaper headline 'A world without gays'.) Well the bishop who made the comment has since apologised and said it was taken out of context. I did eventually find a gay scene in Wellington but apart from Auckland they are mostly one off bars and remind me a bit of Belfast. In general the people I spoke to thought that NZ was quite accepting and friendly in that regard. They are certainly going through the process of a Civil Union Bill at the moment. I didn't come here for that of course and to be honest you wouldn't, but I know a few of you will be curious.
- Rugby -
It's very important here. I watched the England - All Black matches in the bar and there was alot of excitement. The locals were generally generous winners and good natured about it all. Also I have a little rugby cum Lord of the Rings anecdote. I've heard this story more than once so it must be true. When they were researching the location for Hobbiton in LOTR they found a piece of land where they wanted to build Hobbiton (which they started a year early to let the plants grow in and look natural - it's in a place called Matamata and there's a pic in the photos section). Anyway these Hollywood moguls turn up to the house of the farmer who owned the land in a big black limo. The wife answers the door, tells her husband who is watching the rugby that there are all these men in suits and a limo to see him. He says they can wait until half time as he's watching the rugby. So they wait in the car until half time when the farmer speaks to them, they tell him their plans for building the Hobbiton set on his farm. He says he'll think about it and speak to them after the game is over. Eventually after the game is over they clinch the deal having waited patiently in their limo in the rain chequebooks ready. Said farmer now charges peope to come and tour the site of Hobbiton but don't think you can see much of it now.
I'm back in Sydney now and I was quite excited about coming back to Oz. Despite being winter it's up to 25 degrees during the day (unusually warm I'm told for July) so much better weather than NZ.
On 15th July I'm off to Thailand. What I'll do there I haven't decided yet. Any ideas or suggestions welcome but I don't want to come home just yet...
Take care and see you all soon-ish.
Ronnie
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