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
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
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
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
