Day 3 - Adventures to NZ, Part 2

Day 3: 1-1-05 Going to New Zealand, part 2. Auckland layover.
ARRIVAL: So we arrive in Auckland, New Zealand at 7AM in the morning. The first thing that struck me as odd was that it didn’t feel like 7AM, and the sun was completely out. The days in NZ are extremely long, the sun comes up at about 6-6:30AM, and doesn’t set until about 10PM. That’s right 18 hour days. Bonus time!

LAYOVER: We had a 6 hour layover to deal with. Somehow, me and a handful of others from the group got lucky and got our bags checked on the flight before the people stopped taking bags because the flight wasn’t for 6 hours. To kill the time, we decide to trek into downtown Auckland, a 25 minute ride from the airport. We took a bus, $22 in New Zealand cash.

I met an interesting bloke, Justin, who happens to be from Charlotte. Small world. Even weirder, his father built and owns Columbiana Grande, the theatre that is minutes from my house. He’s in some sort of mid-life crisis, between jobs, 31, and backpacking through NZ and Australia. I meet another guy on the same bus from LA who is just hanging out with random people. Those kind of trips must be luxury. I have a new life goal, and it's to be like these guys.

DOWNTOWN: We get downtown to Auckland, and the city is impressive. While not overly huge, in fact a smaller city, it has all the nice qualities of a good city: cleanliness, wide variety of shops, good scenery, etc. I am a little suspicious of the lack of bad neighborhoods we see – either the bus drivers are good at avoiding them, or in this quaint part of the world, they are few and far between. It’s the morning of New Years day, so needless to say the city is almost deserted, but we see a few random drunk people finishing their forays into the new year. Auckland has this great big space-needle-like tower, similar to the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, but not as tall nor as prone to take your money. We grab a ride to the top and snap some great photos around the perimeter. I think the tower only exists as a tourist attraction, but being a tourist I don’t mind.

SNAFU: At this point, my stomach twists itself into a firm sheepshank knot. I realize my carry-on bag has continued its journey on the bus without me. With our flight leaving in 3 hours, I seriously doubt I’ll see it again. Shoes, socks, and the majority of my underwear were in there, so I start making plans for washing my drawers in the sink every night and making my way around barefoot. I wonder if New Zealanders wander around barefoot like hobbits. After all, the movie was filmed there... Looking at the other half of the glass, I realize it will be one less thing to lug around, as I tell the other students when I recount the incident.

My strife takes a back seat when we spot a Kabob shop. For 9:30 AM on New Years day, this is indeed an unusual sight and our curiosity gets the better of us. We mostly order Lamb Kabobs, which consist of slabs of tender and deliciously fatty lamb piled on homemade bread so warm its hard to hold. They smother the whole deal with tasty hummus. I am in love. The things are amazing. This will not be the last kabob I eat, I decide. With the huge amount of sheep in NZ, it’s no surprise that Lamb is a staple meat here.

A NEW HOPE: The lost bag saga takes an interesting turn. As we get onto another bus to go back to the airport, I figure it wouldn’t hurt to ask about the estranged bag. The bus driver, a very kind native New Zealander, radios the other bus, and it turns out the driver had the sense to drop the bag off at the airport after he realizes it was left. I run and grab it, and quickly make my way to the flight and barely make it onto the plane. The security check guy tries to give me crap for my bag being too big, but with the plane boarding, there’s no time to check it. He reluctantly lets me go on, mumbling for me to “mind the bag” next time. I think he’s mad at me, but it doesn’t bother me. It’s really hard to take a mad Australian/New Zealander seriously, because their accents come off as quite funny when they’re agitated.

We land in Wellington, where will be staying for the next six weeks. We’re all excited at least on the inside. The exhaustion from traveling for over 30 hours is clearly taking its toll. Someone notices there is a giant statue of Gollum from Lord Of the Rings reaching for the ring on top of the airport terminal. I think NZ is proud of their movie (most of it was filmed here). At this point, my camera is really starting to prove its value; I’ve already taken over 100 photos.

The air quality contrast from Atlanta is simply amazing. Perhaps you can tell from the pictures -- the skies are crystal blue, the air crisp, and everything feels untainted. The only downside is the smog did a good job of blocking sunlight...

Interesting things about New Zealand:
As I observe interesting facets of New Zealand Culture and other tidbits, I'll throw them in at the bottom of my narratives. Enjoy. --P

MONEY: The exchange rate in New Zealand is quite favorable. $0.73 American gets you a shiny, slightly thicker and somewhat smaller in diameter NZ Dollar coin. NZ currency rocks. The smallest note is $5. The denominations are different sizes (for handling in the dark), and for security they have plastic windows in them which makes them virtually impossible to counterfeit. They are much more colorful and the texture is much different from the cloth bills we use. There are coins for $1 and $2, which are gold-colored. The silver coins are for cents. There is no NZ penny that I have seen yet, but it might just not be in heavy circulation. Either way, I don’t miss them.

TIPPING & TAX: You don’t tip here, unless you experience exceptional service. To make things even better, all sales tax is built into the price of the item. If a pair of shoes says $89.99, you will pay exactly $89.99 at the register for them. Brilliant.

For food and drinks, this works into almost a 50% discount. Basically, a meal here that is worth $15 NZ is the same amount of food and quality as a $15 US meal (Which actually costs you $20 for tax & tip), but in reality only costs you about $12 US after the conversion.

RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT: One thing we Americans take for granted is driving on the right hand side. NZ, like many countries colonized by the British, opts for the left-hand drive method. You would think this doesn’t really matter because we’re walking every where. However, when you look left, and start walking, and hear a bus honking at you as it swerves out of your way from the other side, you learn real quick which way traffic is coming from. Several people have had narrow misses already, and I suspect more are to come. So, while in America, you look left-right-left before going, here, you gotta look right-left-right, and then double check. NZ drivers tend to be jerks, according to the locals.

KIWI: A New Zealander calls himself/herself a "Kiwi", as in the endangered bird from the area. It rolls off your tounge much easier than "New Zealander". "Kiwi" is also what they call their dialect, an interesting modification of Australian/British dialects with a few catch phrases thrown in.They don't have any problem understanding American, as far as I can tell.

Kiwi Dictionary: Here are the interesting phrases/words I’ve seen so far:

• “Toilets” = Restrooms/bathrooms ("Where's the toilet?")
  
• “Give way” = Yield. Often seen on signs at intersections.
  
• “Do up” = Buckle or fasten. "Do up your seatbelt low and tight."
  
• “Brekkie” = Breakfast. "I could go for some brekkie right now"
  
• “Mozzie” = Mosquito.
  
• “Bugger” = I’m not quite sure on this one. Seen in the context of “No Buggery in the Hot Tub” but also in reference to annoying things. Possibly a universal word like “fuck”.
• “Cheers!” = the equivilant of good luck.
  
• “No Worries” = You’re welcome.
• "Aussie" = Used when referring to Australia. "Oh, you're going down to Aussie, eh?"
  
• More to come...