I really don’t want to hear about the cost of gas in the U.S. Nope. I can assure you whatever you are paying, I am paying more. They sell gas by the liter. There are 3.785 liters to a gallon. At the time of that photo, where the price was “only” $3.50NZD per liter, I paid $141NZD or $85USD for about 10 gallons of gas, a little over a half tank. OUCH! To put this in perspective, I used to pay about $5 USD per gallon and I could fill my car for around $85USD. At this point, the price has risen to about $3.82NZD per liter. Based on my math, at $3.82/ltr, that adds up to $14.46NZD per gallon. In U.S. dollars that is $8.55USD per gallon. I am regularly shelling out $100NZD ($60USD) to top off my tank.*
The good news is that Matt drives an electric car and I only drive locally so, despite the cost, we are not feeling this too much. The more concerning point is that New Zealand is trying to not run out of gas. The government says that there is enough supply, but New Zealand imports all of its gas, getting it through other Asian countries like South Korea and Singapore. If they run short, so do we. I keep topping off my tank in case there is a complete meltdown of supply. Diesel is much worse, the and the cost of jet fuel is depleting the finances of the airlines. At this point Air New Zealand is pretty much out of jet fuel. They tell us that the cost has doubled and they just cannot afford to buy what they normally would. So they are cutting flights and costs where they can. This is significant because New Zealand has two main islands. Without a plane, getting from one to the other is doable, using a car and ferry, but it would take time. What a mess.
*Just as an FYI – I am terrible at math and I could be entirely wrong with my calculations. But you get the point.
We have now said goodbye to summer and the Southern winds are bearing down on us. Summer was not great. We had weeks of wind and rain. I only made it into the ocean to boogie board four times. The good news is that I no longer have to think about the people who are walking around with bare feet. I don’t mean at the beach. I mean on city streets and, yikes, at the grocery store. As I understand it, this is considered a right and a New Zealand tradition. There are many Kiwis who disapprove of this particular tradition. But I haven’t seen any store or establishment with the guts to put up a sign that says, “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” (Okay, those are Hobbit feet. But that is what I think about when I see bare feet on the street!)
I don’t particularly like running as an exercise. I am not sure why but I have never taken to it. But not to worry. I have a better option—day hikes. There are numerous tracks around New Zealand most headed up into the hills and mountains where I can get sufficient exercise, particularly the aerobic variety.
New Zealand takes their trails and tracks seriously. They are well maintained and offer everything from day hikes to back country hikes that last for days on tracks that are described as only for experienced back country travelers. These tracks are not well marked, and you better know how to read a map and a compass. Some tracks have huts available for an overnight stay. Given the changeability of the weather, you also need to be prepared to face four seasons in a day.
I’m not interested in that kind of difficulty. I’m at most a glamper. So I stick to the day hikes. These trails take me into the bush, preserved forests that look like New Zealand probably looked before settlement—massive trees, palms, ferns, vines. I love going into the dark green forests and marveling at the densely packed flora. You expect a dinosaur to pop out any minute. These also give you an idea of the effort settlers had to make to clear the bush for farming. A Maori friend of mine told me there are photos of settlers burning hundreds of acres of forest to clear for crops and grazing. But the clearing is not necessarily permanent. Any place that is not attended to regularly will eventually be taken over by the bush. Everything grows here on a large scale. The sun is intense and the weather is temperate. It would only be a matter of time.
Saving these environments is important since a lot of land in New Zealand is being taken over by pine forests. Logging is one of the main economic drivers now. Sheep pastures are being turned into logging operations. This is problematic because pine seeds travel on the wind which means that pine trees end up in places they do not belong. There is a huge effort here to combat what they term “wilding pines.” Much like invasive animals and plants, pines can take over quickly if left unchecked. There are community groups that go out on eradication forays, cutting them down, even better digging them out roots and all. So let’s celebrate the wild forest where we can.
Here are some pics from some recent hikes. This is the Hemi Matenga Scenic Reserve where there is a think jungle of palm, ferns and vines:
This is the Barry Hadfield Nikau Reserve, one of the few remaining untouched forests of Nikau palm. This trail is primarily steps up the hillside:
This is a trail along the Otaki River through native bush where they have reserved an area of cabbage palms along a stream at a place called Chrystall Lagoon. It is really beautiful back there.
All really lovely and so much better then running.
We learned something important. If we want to feel like we are in a cosmopolitan place, with energy and diversity and mountains of things to do, we have to go to Australia. This is particularly true if we want to see concerts. Few artists come to New Zealand, and those that do usually play in Auckland (the largest city) and leave. We folks here in Wellington are often forgotten. We now know how to fix that. Go to Australia.
One of our favorite bands, Mariachi El Bronx from L.A., has a new record out and they were coming on a tour to Australia. Mariachi El Bronx is the alter ego of the punk band The Bronx. Every so often they release a mariachi record, which is great fun. They get dressed up in mariachi clothes and entertain us with Mexican music. I have no idea how I discovered them, but I am glad I did. They just make me happy. What is not to love when you listen to a band that has horns, a violin, and an accordion? (The accordion is particularly close to my heart since I am Polish.). We never had the chance to see them in the U.S., so when we had the opportunity, we jumped on it. We bought tickets to see them in Sydney and Brisbane. Off we flew to Australia for a mini-tour.
We like Sydney. There is plenty to do and see. But we had no time to dawdle. We walked around the Darling Harbor and that night we saw the show. It was fantastic and a good time was had by all.
MEB Sydney – They were great
Then we had a plane to catch to Brisbane. Brisbane (pronounced Briz-bn) is the capital of Queensland. If you visit Australia, Queensland is usually on the list of places to go to visit the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest. You might go through Brisbane to get there. Brisbane is more like a city in Florida–tropical, hot, and humid. Did we see any part of Brisbane? Not really. But we did not care. Our focus was seeing MEB. And see them we did. It was a blast.
MEB Brisbane -They were great again!
And then what did we do? We went back to Australia two weeks later for another concert. Another of our all-time favorite bands, Fat Freddy’s Drop, a band based in Wellington, was on tour. About six months ago, the leader of the band, Chris Faimu (DJ MU) died. I was heartbroken. Many wondered what would happen since he was a driving force in their music. The remaining band members decided to do a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their first album, something MU wanted to do. They hired some musicians to take his place (an impossibility really) and announced they were going to first appear in Australia. We bought tickets to see them in Melbourne. (And I am not ashamed to say, we later saw them in Wellington.)
For this visit, we also made sure we had time to enjoy the city. Melbourne has become my favorite place to visit in Australia. People tend to go to Sydney because that is where the international flights end and everyone needs to see the opera House. But Melbourne, a city of six million and counting, it is now the largest city in Australia, beating Sydney. It has so much energy and so much to do—restaurants of all kinds, museums, shopping, parks, and markets. And shows. Lots and lots of shows. If there were a place in Australia I’d live, it would be Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bn).
On this trip, we walked the laneways. Melbourne has been around a while and as the city has grown, rather than tear down old buildings to make room, they use them, preserving many of its older buildings and that history. The laneways are part of that history. This is a fascinating and fun walk through narrow alleys full of restaurants and shops. There are also arcades, old indoor shopping centers from the late 1800’s that shine with art glass ceilings and dark wood paneling. I strongly recommend taking this walk if you visit Melbourne.
Here are some pics:
This is a Japanese restaurant located in a laneway. We ate too much and enjoyed a bottle of sake.Shopping arcade – Part of the laneway tourAnother shopping arcade
A Yank Among the Kiwis 