Arieh here. We are in Napier, North Island, New Zealand on the East coast of the island. We just spent a lovely day driving a grand total of 110 KM from Wairoa to Napier. After a Noon departure from the gracious hospitality of Rhonda's friends, Ron and Sue Janes, we stopped at a bird wildlife sanctuary and walk around a bit. Black swans, mallards, some kind of beige duck, and a few other different birds were the order of the day.
Arrived here around 3PM to our pre-booked Youth Hostel twin room--doubles were not available. Because of the very poor lunch we had on the road we were forced to go straight away to a coffee and scone (pronounced "scon") break. No clotted cream (that came the next day), but the butter was good. We have been in N.Z. one week now and have rented a 1995 Corolla car for $13 CDN/day, bought our air tickets to Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Bali, driven 1000 KM, and picked up one Swedish hitchhiker. We have also decided to forego the South Island and stick to the North Island only and that is because of the driving conditions (more later).
The major comment on N.Z. is not all the geographic beauty, which it has from rolling hills (with or without trees) to planted forests to beautiful beaches. What sticks out is the hospitality of the people. It is simply astounding and almost overwhelming (in a good way). Many of you know that Val and I have an "open door" policy. We are rank amateurs compared to the Kiwis we have met. One couple, the Listers from Auckland, we met in Fiji at one of our hotels. The morning after having dinner with them they invited us to stay with them in Auckland AND use their beach cottage for as long a we wanted. We were in e-mail contact before we left Fiji and they met us at the airport in Auckland, we stayed with them, and the next day we were on our way down to their beachside cottage, by ourselves. The same day, in a cafe, the owner offered us the use of his behind-the-counter computer for some Internet searching. After that he then offered us the use of his cell phone--all unsolicited; it just came up in conversation and the offers extended. (As an aside, all those worry-warts who told us we NEEDED a cell phone---you are all crazy! This piece of hardware is useless, even though it will work anywhere in the world). The third instance is the warm welcome accorded by the Janes and their friends. Remember we have never met the Janes--he is a "friend of a friend". Not only did they open their house to us, their friends ensured we were royally treated at dinner time. (Many of them were teachers and Val probably could have landed a job in Wairoa if she had wanted to).
The second major comment about NZ is about the driving conditions. The drivers are fine and seem safe and logical (unlike in Fiji). However, the roads are a different story. They are mostly "sealed" (paved). Some of them go through gorges--gorgeous gorges, very narrow and winding and hence slower. They also only seem to have white broken "passing" lines down the centre. In other words, go ahead and pass if you dare--the decision is yours without guidance from the Ministry of Transportation. Fortunately, there are not a lot of cars on these roads. Of course, driving on the "wrong" side of the road took some adjustments (Val is still walking around to the driver's side thinking it is the passenger's side of the car) and requires much more attention on my part. All this adds up to staying on the N.I. and spending less time driving in the car and more time in Wellington, Rotorua and Auckland. The revised schedule will also allow us to be in Wellington and Auckland on Fridays and Saturdays and experience shul in both cities.
In addition to meeting all these hospitable and friendly Kiwis and seeing some interesting scenery, we have also had some different experiences. One outstanding event was to go to the "hot water beach", dig a hole in the sand at low tide and sit in the hot thermal water while it was raining slightly. Bear in mind, this was not only us, but about another 40 to 50 other crazy people--most of them local islanders.
One other memorable event was watching the sunrise. This time (5:30AM) the sun was rising from the Pacific Ocean (1st time for me to see that) into a cloudless sky AND there was not ring of brown (air pollution) on the horizon. Think about that a minute. By the way, if one sails east from here the next piece of land is.....Chile. Finally, the picture of the person running on the beach is NOT me!
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