Musings on Kiwi Quirks

Friday, 26th January, 2007
10:30ish PM
Christchurch, South Island

We've left the mountains and gained the coast again. I won't bore you with too much of a narrative today, as we've mostly just backtracked what we drove on our way to Queenstown. The main differences were that this time it was done in an orange Holden Viva (very slick car, I want one. Also getting much better at driving on lefthand side- very instinctual now) after very little sleep (had to stay up late because our half-done laundry got locked in the washroom at our backpackers, and us with no other clothes than what we had on and had to get staff to let us finish drying our clean ones), and that we took a bit of a different route. We cut east at Omarama and took Highways 83 and 82 through to Timaru at the coast, then north on 1 to Christchurch. Staying in a really cool lodge here, and after Thai food for dinner went to see "The History Boys" at a really neat old cinema. It's a film I would recommend to anyone.

Because today was mostly just driving, I thought I'd provide you with some more notes on life in New Zealand, some of the interesting differences between NZ and the States and some interesting factoids and stories we've gathered along the way.

Firstly, Amy emailed asking what was the strangest/most interesting thing I've eaten while down here. Food is slightly different here, taking on a very British air most of the time, but with some distinctly Kiwi treats. My favorite new things are the single-serving pies, my favorite being bacon and egg. These pies are about 3 or 4 inches in diameter, filled with various foodstuffs, usually a meat and cheese or the like. They're served either warm or cold, and are quite good depending on your tastes- I had a steak and cheese one that was gelatinous and disgusting, but the egg ones are great. Another new find is a drink called L & P, or Lemon & Paeroa. Paeroa is a town somewhere in NZ where early settlers discovered a mineral spring. At some point someone decided to mix the springwater with lemon and some sweetener, and thus L & P was born. It's delightful and advertised as "World Famous in New Zealand."

Some other notes on food: 1) Like England, take-out or "to go" food is "takeaway." It's not uncommon to see a sign reading "Fish and Chips Chinese Takeaways". You can get chips (fries) on their own here, at any little stand or grocery, without them being a side dish. 2) Bacon is what we would call Canadian bacon. What we staties know as bacon is dubbed "American streaky bacon." 3) Similarly, pecan pie is popularly called "American pecan pie". 4) Coke can be bought in glass bottles, and most streets have recycling bins next to the rubbish bins, for pop bottles. 5) Kiwis don't know what granola is. Down here, it's muesli.

Kiwis say "eh" at the end of almost every sentence. Also, I've never heard a single New Zealand native say "thanks" or "thank you." It's always Cheers or Ta.

New Zealand and Australia have to get along well because they're the only countries in this corner of the ocean. However, they have a very strong rivalry when it comes to rugby. The All Blacks are the New Zealand national team, and there's something of a mania about them. I saw a t-shirt today that said "Support 2 teams: New Zealand and anyone who plays Australia." On a side note, today is Australia Day. The DJ on the station Provo and I were listening to as we drove was urging listeners to Hug an Aussie.

Apparently, marijuana is legal in NZ. I don't know what else could explain the apparently legal shops we have seen in the main shopping districts of several towns, selling multiple types of hash and advertising herbal highs.

Vocab of the day: "Daggy": scruffy, unkempt, smelly or slightly dirty. Bit of an interesting story here (Disclaimer: not for the weak of stomach). This is an Aussie term, we learnt it off an Australian-British woman on the Routeburn Track. It is derived thus: when a sheep has, let's say, a very explosive and easy bowel movement (common when one's diet is entirely grass), it tends to collect effluent on the fur around its bum. Flies are then attracted to the excrement, and the sheep can become "fly-struck": eaten from the inside by flies that have entered through the hind orofice. In an attempt to prevent this, sheep farmers burn the wool off the woolies' bums, which prevents the "dags," or what some would refer to as cling-ons. So if one is daggy, one is perhaps not as clean or well-kept as one could be. It conveys a sense of being not quite put together, not a state so severe as that which the sheep can be in.

Fact: New Zealanders commonly breed deer and elk on farms. We've seen paddocks full of both, and a sign near Burkes Pass advertising a Deer and Wapiti Stud Service.

Most recent Lord of the Rings sighting: on the drive out of Mt. Aspiring National Park yesterday afternoon, the van driver showed us a photograph of Isengard, and pointed out that we were driving right along the valley in which it was situated. We could see exactly where it would sit if it were not computer generated, and where the mountains stood in orientation to the tower. The Lord of the Rings mania in the high country is not as pronounced as I thought it would be, but nonetheless there is an entire store on Shotover Street in Queenstown dedicated to the films, and most gift shops sell Lord of the Rings Filming Site guides.

Said van driver made a really cool point that the best way to get to know a country that is not your own is to get to know its natural world, and to spend time learning about its natural history. It makes me feel good to know that I have done a good deal of that in Aotearoa, what with tramping through its mountains and surfing in its seas. I've tried to pay attention to its plant life as well, and have noticed that, like many other places in the world, New Zealand is inundated with Scotch Broom and Lupine. Apparently the early homesteaders thought that there needed to be more colour and that lupines would do the job nicely.

The van driver also told us an interesting story about the aforementioned kea, which is the smartest member of the parrot family. Van driver (known as Van from here on out) was skiing in the Remarkables and was eating lunch on the lunch deck of the ski lodge. People at a neighboring table had left chips and pieces of burger out on a table, and several keas came right in and started eating up the leftovers extremely gleefully. Upon further investigation, Van noticed that there was one kea who was not taking part in the fun but was perched on the aluminum roofing above, peeking over and watching his mates eat up all the food. After some contemplation, said observant kea hopped down the roof a little ways, and then bent his head down and began to hop back up the roof, rolling a snowball with his head and beak as he went. (Van gaping the whole time, not believing what he was seeing). Kea reaches the crest of the roof again, this time in possession of a snowball the size of a grapefruit. Kea peeks over the edge of the roof, checks out his mates' progress through their dinner, and then nudges his snowball over the edge of the roof. Snowball hits table where kea party is occuring, sending partying keas squawking and shrieking in every direction, obviously fussed that they've been targeted. Smart kea on roof is obviously incredibly proud of himself for playing a joke on his mates, and flings himself on his back, obviously laughing, flapping wings and squawking with his little legs waving in the air. Van said that all witnesses were completely flabbergasted, and continued to be amazed as the kea pulled of his snowball trick 3 or 4 more times before the dining keas got tired of being pelted with snow and took off for more peaceful climes.

I think that's about all for tonight, tomorrow we have a day in Christchurch before flying up to Wellington to begin the final stage of the trip. As has always happened with me while traveling, home is beginning to sound good at just the right time. I can't believe I've been away for two and a half weeks- it seems like a year or so by now, I've seen so much and met so many people. But after so much time on the move, my own bed and kitchen and more than 2 changes of clothes are beginning to sound quite good. Besides our first week, we haven't spent 2 nights in the same place. I miss having space to spread out and have some privacy, but I'll miss the freedom from winter and my cell phone. I've gotten used to not being tied to any one place and not worrying about checking my voicemail. It's extremely liberating, as is summer. I've also become very used to sunshine and warmth and my tan, and having daylight from 6 AM till 10 PM. I'm again accustomed to having foreign accents of all kinds around me and explaining to people where Oregon is. Just the same, as travel is wonderful, so is home and the familiar people and places that I can take stories back to. I'll be ready to head back by the time the time comes, but until then I'll continue enjoying the new sights and sounds, some of which I am already used to but many of which are still foreign.

Kiwi phrase for the day: "Can't be stuffed" = Can't be bothered, not a big deal.