A day and a half ago, we flew from Hawaii to Auckland, New Zealand. Tomorrow we leave for Sydney, Australia, and within a week after that we will fly to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Tasmania. Entries may get fewer and farther between and start to lag a little. But I’ll try to stay on top of things as best I can. Getting weekly reminders should prevent you from getting too far behind in our following our trail.
Yesterday, we walked up to the Parnell neighborhood and met a wonderful couple who own a store selling artworks from the South Pacific (I hope I haven’t made a faux pas in calling the work that).
Andrew was very knowledgeable. We spent a long time talking, and they were delightful fellow travelers. In my previous trips before I met Mary, friends joked that they didn’t believe I had gone to where I claimed because I was never in my own photos, and others noticed I tended toward landscapes and objects, so here are Andrew and his wife in their shop.
The night before, we had a welcome-ourselves beer at a bar with windows that opened onto the street. The bartender struck up a conversation with us, and we chatted a long time about our travel plans. One thing that strikes me as indicative of New Zealand is this friendliness. On the ferry we took today,
a couple who also struck up a conversation with us said that New Zealand is “parochial, in a good way.” And I had likened this willingness to chat for a long time with strangers to the American South or rural areas, where people are known for “settin’ a spell” to get know visitors.
We also stopped that first night at a Night Market and had Asian food (good but VERY spicy) bought from food stalls. There was a wide array of people there and a great show of good will: people would offer others seats at their table, make sure others in line weren’t ahead of them, etc.
Tomorrow, we head off to a nation much bigger in size and population. With less parochialism, there may be less chatting, but we are looking forward to the natural wonders of Australia.
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