Another Slow Evening In Greymouth
Tick-tock, tick-tock....
Ate at a downtown Greymouth eatery.
The fellow at the convenience store helped me with another 2-for-1 1.5 L special regarding diet soda and water.
Lame TV on Channel 1.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Six Degrees Of Separation
Jacques The Penguin's bearer was Dr. Sally E. Walker, Professor of Geology and Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia. We began conversing at the Punakaiki's Pancake Rocks, in part because we both had American accents, and because I began getting interested in Jacques the Stuffed Penguin. Dr. Walker described herself as a geologist interested in Antarctica.
What are the chances? What are the chances? Women geologists interested in Antarctica....
So I said I knew another geologist interested in Antarctica: Rebekah Shepard. Dr. Walker's mouth dropped open in shocked surprise: we both knew Rebekah! "Why I just wrote a letter of recommendation for her to enter NASA's astronaut program," she said. She added: "Being an astronaut is Rebekah's lifelong dream!"
I know Rebekah, of course, through DMTC ("Grease", "Anything Goes", "Mame"). Rebekah had been working on her Ph.D. in Geology at UC Davis while doing DMTC shows.
Rebekah currently is in Canada learning how to pilot one-person submersibles, in order to do research in the pristine ice-covered lakes of Antarctica's Dry Valleys.
Of course, being an astronaut was always my dream when I was a kid, and the dream of my classmates, but Rebekah may be the only person ever in my acquaintance ever to have a real shot at threading that needle, and actually becoming one.
The best to Rebekah: one multi-talented woman!
Jacques The Penguin's bearer was Dr. Sally E. Walker, Professor of Geology and Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia. We began conversing at the Punakaiki's Pancake Rocks, in part because we both had American accents, and because I began getting interested in Jacques the Stuffed Penguin. Dr. Walker described herself as a geologist interested in Antarctica.
What are the chances? What are the chances? Women geologists interested in Antarctica....
So I said I knew another geologist interested in Antarctica: Rebekah Shepard. Dr. Walker's mouth dropped open in shocked surprise: we both knew Rebekah! "Why I just wrote a letter of recommendation for her to enter NASA's astronaut program," she said. She added: "Being an astronaut is Rebekah's lifelong dream!"
I know Rebekah, of course, through DMTC ("Grease", "Anything Goes", "Mame"). Rebekah had been working on her Ph.D. in Geology at UC Davis while doing DMTC shows.
Rebekah currently is in Canada learning how to pilot one-person submersibles, in order to do research in the pristine ice-covered lakes of Antarctica's Dry Valleys.
Of course, being an astronaut was always my dream when I was a kid, and the dream of my classmates, but Rebekah may be the only person ever in my acquaintance ever to have a real shot at threading that needle, and actually becoming one.
The best to Rebekah: one multi-talented woman!
Paparoa National ParkSpent the day at Paparoa National Park, based at Punakaiki. Hiking on the trails, I saw the Pancake Rocks there, as well as venturing down the Truman Track, and taking a short jaunt into the Pororari Valley.
The blowholes at the Pancake Rocks weren't blowing today, even though I was there at high tide. The Tasman Sea was pretty placid today (despite the approaching storm) and so the two conditions of operation weren't met (high tide AND big waves).
I was down on the scenic, cliff-surrounded beach at the end of the Truman Track just after high tide, and I worried that all it would take would be one big wave and I'd be hustled off to the Kingdom of the Undertoad.
Wonderful bird life everywhere (saw white-fronted terns on the coastal rocks). There were New Zealand Pigeons (bigger than standard pigeons) clumsily flopping through the thick foliage. Ducks were present too.
Thick, thick forest included red & black pines, Nikau palms, cabbage trees, a variety of ferns, and other exotica. Supplejack vines gave a special Tarzan feel to the place.
In the Pororari Valley, I heard a sound that was much like a tea kettle bubbling, or perhaps a toilet tank filling, just uphill of the trail. A passing elderly German couple identified the birds who were responsible for the noise. It turned out to be two adult, and one baby, weka. The weka were rummaging around through the leaf litter as if they had lost a set of car keys. Cute!
High cirrostratus (from the warm front of the approaching storm) and maritime humidity meant a perfect day weatherwise for the hiker. This place ain't Arizona in the summer! It was like wandering through a surreal garden of utmost comfort. Just a few sand flies - no other pests. And no dangerous animals or plants.
With the temperate climate and the Dr.-Suess-style of jungle filled with fun birds, it's easy to see how people conceive of New Zealand as a version of Paradise!
Left: A weka.
Greymouth On A Saturday NightLeft: Downtown Greymouth on a Saturday night.
Pretty slow! (Population 13,500).
I took a 4.5 mile walk that took 4 hours to complete, circling the airport, getting lost downtown, doing a bit of blogging (at the Regent Theatre's I-office), and wandering along the motel strip along High Street.
Saturday night, and the louts are out. Walking along a very broad street, I swung into the street to give wide berth to a man and his dog (friendly), and a passing motorist in a van shouted "Get out of the road!" Even though the road was so wide it could hold four lanes of traffic!
Saw two dances in progress, one at the Anglican Church, and one at a private hall. Walked up to one dinner/dance and spied in: a big Pacific Islander was dancing with a woman in a blue evening dress - pretty scary!
The fellow at the convenience store said "There are four parties I know of tonight, but I'm going home before any of them show up here." I asked if the bank was open Sunday and he said "Should be, but people often just close up to do their own hobbies on the weekend. Not me. I have to make a living."
He helped to get a deal on the 1.5L diet soda: half-price with the 1.5L size mineral water.
Auto exhaust smells quite a bit different here than in the U.S.: a lot like burning rubber. At first I thought it might be because someone was burning rubber tires somewhere, but the burning tire smell can be found even in the country, as long as cars are present. I suppose the petroleum here comes from Indonesia, but likely it has to do with the method of refining (California with its restrictive regulations, and all that).
By the time I got back to the Alpine Rose, I was exhausted!
Greymouth, On The Sunny Tasman SeaArrived in Greymouth and checked into the Alpine Rose Motel on High Street (note the signature Alpine Rose in the photo, made of folded towels and washcloths).
The clouds that surrounded the mountain peaks weren't present near the coast. Instead, sun on the beach! At the coast, a pebbly-cobbly beach with a mud flat, with interesting wave action across the mud flat between surf zone and cobbly beach.
Pretty Tasman Sea sunset!
Journey From Arthur's Pass To The West CoastAndrew lent me his car to explore Greymouth and the west coast of the South Island, while he entertains Canadian friends this weekend at the bach (aka crib; hut; shack; cabin) at Arthur's Pass. The descent down the Otira Gorge was lovely! The road parallels the railroad. The road often narrows to one lane at bridges, and there is one bridge where the railroad joins the pavement for a single lane across the water.
It's astonishing just how broad these valleys are, with their wide, wide gravelly beds with intertwined channels. These rivers can, and sometimes do, ferry vast volumes of water to the sea.
Still, the mountains are somewhat vague about their glacial past. The hanging valleys are small and obscure, and there are no U-shaped valleys, suggesting that even in Ice Age conditions, this location isn't heavily glaciated (unlike the conditions in the SW South Island of Zealand, in Fiordland).
Approaching the coast, the vegetation changed, from beeches and tussock, to cabbage trees, Nikau palms (the southernmost palms in the world), and a wide variety of ferns (sometimes alive and sometimes as vast beds of crumpled dead and dying ferns). More jungly. Epiphytic plants grow on all the trees.
The west coast is typically wetter than the east coast, but people are complaining all over the South Island about how dry things are now. Still, it's all relative - it's pretty wet by AZ/NM standards.
Kea Attack!Left: The kea starts taking a chunk out of Andrew's car.
The Kea is a large, highly-intelligent, mischievous parrot. They love to explore new tactile sensation with their beaks. New Zealanders know them for their vigorous efforts to rip wiper blades off windshields. They perch on cars, looking lovingly at the upholstery inside. So, when I pulled up in a bright red open convertible, the keas were overjoyed!
Left: Let's make baby keas! No? Well, let's rip rubber trim off of the cars conveniently parked here!
Left: Unlike many kinds of parrots, this kea seems less interested in its own reflection and more interested in what's in the car.
Arthur's Pass - Land Of The Great Spotted Kiwi
As we passed into the mountains, I had the eerie sensation that I was Idaho, or Montana. The high mountains, covered in tussock and bare of trees, only needed some elk to make the illusion complete. I wondered if we were in a rain shadow, or if the mountains had been burned or logged (all three are possibilities). The rivers had immensely-wide alluvial beds reminiscent of glacial outwash channels like you might see in Canada, but no glaciers here. We passed a rock climbing area.
Eventually, though, we entered the park proper and found ourselves in forest. We found the cabin (or "bach") and moved our stuff into it. We walked to the townsite, saw some keas in a parking lot, and had dinner at the Wobbly Kea Cafe. I yearned to see the nocturnal Great Spotted Kiwi that live at Arthur's Pass, but with only 18 to 22 individuals, the chances were too small to see this amazing bird. We walked back and tried to fix the TV.
Disagreeable digestion followed in the night. Travel can be risky!
As we passed into the mountains, I had the eerie sensation that I was Idaho, or Montana. The high mountains, covered in tussock and bare of trees, only needed some elk to make the illusion complete. I wondered if we were in a rain shadow, or if the mountains had been burned or logged (all three are possibilities). The rivers had immensely-wide alluvial beds reminiscent of glacial outwash channels like you might see in Canada, but no glaciers here. We passed a rock climbing area.
Eventually, though, we entered the park proper and found ourselves in forest. We found the cabin (or "bach") and moved our stuff into it. We walked to the townsite, saw some keas in a parking lot, and had dinner at the Wobbly Kea Cafe. I yearned to see the nocturnal Great Spotted Kiwi that live at Arthur's Pass, but with only 18 to 22 individuals, the chances were too small to see this amazing bird. We walked back and tried to fix the TV.
Disagreeable digestion followed in the night. Travel can be risky!
Flight To Christchurch
I took the Airbus to the airport and caught the flight to Christchurch on Air New Zealand. The flight was uneventful (I had an aisle seat). Approaching christchurch, the fellow next to me looked out over the browning lansdcape sectioned by hedges and complained about the drought.
When I arrived, I didn't see Andrew sidle up to me while I was standing at the baggage carousel, and he startled me. We packed my stuff into his overstuffed car. I also found a wallet in the parking lot, full of cards and cash, and turned it in at the parking lot exit booth.
We quickly headed west from Christchurch Airport, passing fields full of amazing hedges, towards Arthur's Pass National Park, in the Southern Alps. We talked about the effectiveness of hedges at catching spray drift (Apparently not very effective, according to Andrew's colleague Tom W., from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, contrary to all previous understanding).
I took the Airbus to the airport and caught the flight to Christchurch on Air New Zealand. The flight was uneventful (I had an aisle seat). Approaching christchurch, the fellow next to me looked out over the browning lansdcape sectioned by hedges and complained about the drought.
When I arrived, I didn't see Andrew sidle up to me while I was standing at the baggage carousel, and he startled me. We packed my stuff into his overstuffed car. I also found a wallet in the parking lot, full of cards and cash, and turned it in at the parking lot exit booth.
We quickly headed west from Christchurch Airport, passing fields full of amazing hedges, towards Arthur's Pass National Park, in the Southern Alps. We talked about the effectiveness of hedges at catching spray drift (Apparently not very effective, according to Andrew's colleague Tom W., from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, contrary to all previous understanding).
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Travel Day
Last night, I surfed the Internet, and blogged. Today, I was thinking of going back to the Auckland Museum to see the Maori singers, and even bought an expensive sightseeing bus pass for that purpose, but I've got cold feet: there just isn't enough time to see the singers and be assured I have enough time to get to the airport and board the plane to the South Island, to Christchurch, and see Andrew.
So, once again, I'm here on Queen Street, enjoying the cosmopolitan city crowd....
Last night, I surfed the Internet, and blogged. Today, I was thinking of going back to the Auckland Museum to see the Maori singers, and even bought an expensive sightseeing bus pass for that purpose, but I've got cold feet: there just isn't enough time to see the singers and be assured I have enough time to get to the airport and board the plane to the South Island, to Christchurch, and see Andrew.
So, once again, I'm here on Queen Street, enjoying the cosmopolitan city crowd....
A Whirl Of Roommates
Since I've been eating out, I don't participate much in the social life at City Garden Lodge, which generally revolves cooking and mealtime. That's when the Germans and English and everyone else sits around in the common rooms, and gab.
Neverthless, life at the City Garden Lodge means new roommates each day, and I meet new people all the time.
When I first got into my room, there was someone with long hair sleeping in one of the beds. Never got a chance to meet them, or even establish what their sex was.
Then there was Dagma, the Austrian. She was nice and soft-spoken. I notice the backpacker crowd is very polite to each other, and soft-spoken (have to be, when you are always amongst strangers in close quarters).
Then there was Christoff, who I also think was Austrian. He disappeared this morning.
Then, there was a pretty woman in the bunk below mine last night. I have no idea who she is: she was gone all night, arriving to sleep only at 7 a.m., and so the only impression I have of her is as a sleeping beauty.
Then, tonight, Tzvi the Israeli arrived. Very nice guy!
A real international eye-opener!
[Update: The sleeping beauty wasa woman named Clare, from the UK. She had spent several months in Patagonia, and is making her way across the South Pacific to Sydney, AU, where she hopes to work for awhile.]
Since I've been eating out, I don't participate much in the social life at City Garden Lodge, which generally revolves cooking and mealtime. That's when the Germans and English and everyone else sits around in the common rooms, and gab.
Neverthless, life at the City Garden Lodge means new roommates each day, and I meet new people all the time.
When I first got into my room, there was someone with long hair sleeping in one of the beds. Never got a chance to meet them, or even establish what their sex was.
Then there was Dagma, the Austrian. She was nice and soft-spoken. I notice the backpacker crowd is very polite to each other, and soft-spoken (have to be, when you are always amongst strangers in close quarters).
Then there was Christoff, who I also think was Austrian. He disappeared this morning.
Then, there was a pretty woman in the bunk below mine last night. I have no idea who she is: she was gone all night, arriving to sleep only at 7 a.m., and so the only impression I have of her is as a sleeping beauty.
Then, tonight, Tzvi the Israeli arrived. Very nice guy!
A real international eye-opener!
[Update: The sleeping beauty wasa woman named Clare, from the UK. She had spent several months in Patagonia, and is making her way across the South Pacific to Sydney, AU, where she hopes to work for awhile.]
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Plastic Boobs Finally Located
I was worried about this:
I was worried about this:
MORE than 100,000 pairs of missing inflatable breasts intended for an Australian men's magazine promotion have turned up in Melbourne.
The shipment of plastic boobs from China had been missing for more than a week after Chinese officials lost the paperwork and put them on the wrong boat, a Ralph magazine spokeswoman said.
They had been due to dock in Sydney last week, but have since turned up at a Melbourne dock, where they've been sitting for a week.
Workers are now frantically working to put them in bags to go out with the December 15 issue.
Ralph editor Santi Pintado said the incident had cost the magazine $30,000.
"If we'd found them a day later, it'd have been too late to get them on the next issue," Pintado said.
Queen Street At Night - And In The Day
Wednesday night, I came back downtown, walking along the central traffic corridor of Queen Street.
Queen Street is a very vibrant place, and reminiscent of similar places (Market St.) in San Francisco. Big Asian presence, backpackers everywhere, businessmen hustling, fashionable young women giggling in large groups - what more can one ask for? Auckland is the San Francisco of the South Pacific!
I haven't done much here - eating, window shopping, looking at things. This Internet cafe is warm and inviting - so much so that I missed the last bus last night, and so had to walk the couple of miles back to Parnell (and, in true bus transit fashion, I hadn't actually missed the last bus - it was just late, and I saw it pass by on my walk).
Similarly, today is getting off to a slow start. I ended up back downtown, walking along Queen Street, eating, shopping at a gift bazaar, looking at things. I tried entering the Civic Theatre, used by Director Peter Jackson in his movie "King Kong", but it was closed (and there are no shows tonight. Maybe I'll take a ferry ride.
Wednesday night, I came back downtown, walking along the central traffic corridor of Queen Street.
Queen Street is a very vibrant place, and reminiscent of similar places (Market St.) in San Francisco. Big Asian presence, backpackers everywhere, businessmen hustling, fashionable young women giggling in large groups - what more can one ask for? Auckland is the San Francisco of the South Pacific!
I haven't done much here - eating, window shopping, looking at things. This Internet cafe is warm and inviting - so much so that I missed the last bus last night, and so had to walk the couple of miles back to Parnell (and, in true bus transit fashion, I hadn't actually missed the last bus - it was just late, and I saw it pass by on my walk).
Similarly, today is getting off to a slow start. I ended up back downtown, walking along Queen Street, eating, shopping at a gift bazaar, looking at things. I tried entering the Civic Theatre, used by Director Peter Jackson in his movie "King Kong", but it was closed (and there are no shows tonight. Maybe I'll take a ferry ride.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Sky Tower Casino
After lunch at an Afghan restaurant near Sky Tower, I returned in search of a bathroom, but found the casino instead. Dare I? I'm a bit short of money... What the heck!
The blackjack here has notably different rules than in the States: no double-down when aces are present, no tips to the dealer, and bets far away from one's own chips. Plus, if you are on a winning streak, others can place bets on your hand as well. Since I took off on a winning streak immediately, I had lots of friends joining my action.
At one point, starting from NZ$100, I had NZ$500 (a gain of NZ$400), but the luck changed. Still, I got out early enough.
Win: NZ$280 - NZ$100 = NZ$180.
After lunch at an Afghan restaurant near Sky Tower, I returned in search of a bathroom, but found the casino instead. Dare I? I'm a bit short of money... What the heck!
The blackjack here has notably different rules than in the States: no double-down when aces are present, no tips to the dealer, and bets far away from one's own chips. Plus, if you are on a winning streak, others can place bets on your hand as well. Since I took off on a winning streak immediately, I had lots of friends joining my action.
At one point, starting from NZ$100, I had NZ$500 (a gain of NZ$400), but the luck changed. Still, I got out early enough.
Win: NZ$280 - NZ$100 = NZ$180.
Two Cheeky Lads From Wellington (draft)Left: Vertiginous view of Auckland's Sky Tower.
At the extraordinarly tall Sky Tower, Auckland's most-famous landmark (taller than the Eiffel Tower!), I encountered a grandmother with two kids (ages about 11 and 13). She asked if I could accompany the kids as they went to visit the observation deck (an adult's presence was required by regulation, but she had just had a pacemaker installed and worried about the consequences). I said sure.
We watched two base jumpers plunge off the side of the tower in a controlled manner on cables down to the ground far below. Quite thrilling! The windows of the observation deck angle out, permitting one to look directly down to the ground hundreds of feet below.
Left: Stunning views, with the volcanic cone Rangitoto in the background.I also noticed that my two charges were sitting on the floor next to the window, slipping behind the guardrail, leaning on the glass, and using their leg muscles against the floor to put outward pressure on the window. Not wanting to explain to a coroner's inquest how it was that the glass pane popped out, I told them to cut it out. They complied.
We went back down, and located the grandmother. I told her that the kids were pleasant and well-behaved.
Left: The Sky Tower at night.
Tourist Bus Around Downtown
Today I took a tourist bus around downtown Auckland (the City of Sails), visiting Sky Tower and the Auckland Museum.
I'm still having a bit of trouble with the New Zealand accent. For example, the bus had a recorded voice explaining the various sights. The narrator's voice was rotund and muffled, and the bus was loud.
Passing near Auckland's yacht marina, I thought I understood the recorded voice to say "And here is the center of the orphans, baitings, and rottings industries." I don't like to give unsolicited advice, especially to foreigners, but these seem like thin reeds upon which to build a city's economy.
Today I took a tourist bus around downtown Auckland (the City of Sails), visiting Sky Tower and the Auckland Museum.
I'm still having a bit of trouble with the New Zealand accent. For example, the bus had a recorded voice explaining the various sights. The narrator's voice was rotund and muffled, and the bus was loud.
Passing near Auckland's yacht marina, I thought I understood the recorded voice to say "And here is the center of the orphans, baitings, and rottings industries." I don't like to give unsolicited advice, especially to foreigners, but these seem like thin reeds upon which to build a city's economy.
The Disadvantages Of Sleeping In The Top Bunk Of A Bunk Bed
Noting that my blood pressure medication is a diuretic, and makes it almost impossible to sleep a full night without a bathroom break:
It hurts my sore groin to jump from a chair to get in and out of bed; It's really hard to jump from a chair to get in and out of bed when the lights are completely out and everyone's asleep. Jumping onto an invisible chair is a bit scary!
Factors in my favor:
It's summer, so nights are short; I go to bed when the night's half over anyway; the room's window faces east and so admits first light.
I finally remembered I brought a small flashlight, so maybe last night's dilemma won't be tonight's dilemma.
Noting that my blood pressure medication is a diuretic, and makes it almost impossible to sleep a full night without a bathroom break:
Factors in my favor:
I finally remembered I brought a small flashlight, so maybe last night's dilemma won't be tonight's dilemma.
Kylie Southern Hemisphere "X" Tour Kickoff - Vector Arena, Auckland, NZ, December 9th, 2008 (draft)A few pictures for now.....
Left: As an American, Kylie's ode to that exotic sport, American football, seemed really odd. But hey, she looks good as the ultimate cheerleader!
Left: "Your Disco Needs You".
The Exasperating Journey Into Central Auckland (draft)
I think taking public transport in a strange city helps educate you about the city faster than if you rely on taxis or friends to help you through. It's like throwing you into the deep end of the swimming pool. That's all fine and good, if you don't drown, or the traveling equivalent, completely lose your sanity....
At the Auckland airport terminal, someone took my bags off the baggage carousel, in order to make room for bags from another flight from Dubai. They weren't trying to cause problems - quite the opposite - but I didn't know this had happened, and I thought my bags were lost, and so it was 1.5 harried hours at the airport trying to figure out where all my posessions went. So, even though there was a four hour buffer between arrival and concert, much time had been burned already, and I was getting anxious.
The City Bus finally arrived, and off we gaily went - right into the snarled mess of big city rush hour.
Late, late, we arrived at the central Auckland Britomart terminal. 1.5 hours before show time! Would I have enough time? Hurriedly I dragged my stuff over to catch the Link Bus to the Parnell neighborhood, where the City Garden Lodge was located. I was reassured that the Link Bus came every ten minutes.
Now I was wondering if the Parnell neighborhood idea had been such a good one. I'd already be there if I had chosen downtown instead. One thing I liked about Parnell, researching it in the Lonely Planet guidebook, was that it seemed like a quaint place somewhat removed from who-knows-how-nefarious a downtown by an intervening rail line. In contrast, downtown is described in the guidebook as "grim and generic". But somewhat removed also means somewhat harder to get to, and time was a-wasting!
An ominous 40 minutes later, the Link Bus finally arrived, packed to the gills with annoyed commuters. Traffic all over town was snarled. I overheard the bus driver's radio as the dispatcher asked another driver "Have you or anyone travelled down the XXX road in the last forty minutes?" The driver responded, "Sorry mate, I'm out-of-service." The dispatcher replied "Well, bugger that then," then followed up with a broader announcement to all drivers to "do their best." And what more can anyone be asked to do, but that?
I located the City Garden Lodge and hurriedly checked in. The place is a backpackers type of place (hikers, bungee jumpers, adventurers of all sorts from all continents), but picturesque, since the house was originally built as a residence for the Queen of Tonga. But there was no time to change, or shave, or wash, or anything (sad for a Kylie concert, where fashion is highly-prized - stubble will have to do). Off to the concert!
Walking hurriedly down Parnell Road to Vector Arena, I realized I needed food. But where can I get fast food amongst all these Asian eateries? Aha! "Burger Fuel"! An American-style place where I can get food fast! And where they understand speed!
Except Burger Fuel was facing a backlog of orders. I would have to wait for a simple burger. Aaaarrrggghhh! So much for American efficiency! Eventually the burger arrived, and I sloppily wolfed it down, beet slice and all (like the Aussies, the Kiwis use beet as a garnish) as I trotted down Parnell Road.
I got to Vector Arena, pushed my grubby way through the glamorous crowd, got my ticket, and got into my seat, exactly on time, at 8 p.m. Amazing! I pulled off "The Impossible Dream" by finishing off MOLM in Davis, circling the Earth on a complicated journey, and arriving in the nick of time!
Bless her tardy little heart, Kylie started her show twenty minutes late!
I think taking public transport in a strange city helps educate you about the city faster than if you rely on taxis or friends to help you through. It's like throwing you into the deep end of the swimming pool. That's all fine and good, if you don't drown, or the traveling equivalent, completely lose your sanity....
At the Auckland airport terminal, someone took my bags off the baggage carousel, in order to make room for bags from another flight from Dubai. They weren't trying to cause problems - quite the opposite - but I didn't know this had happened, and I thought my bags were lost, and so it was 1.5 harried hours at the airport trying to figure out where all my posessions went. So, even though there was a four hour buffer between arrival and concert, much time had been burned already, and I was getting anxious.
The City Bus finally arrived, and off we gaily went - right into the snarled mess of big city rush hour.
Late, late, we arrived at the central Auckland Britomart terminal. 1.5 hours before show time! Would I have enough time? Hurriedly I dragged my stuff over to catch the Link Bus to the Parnell neighborhood, where the City Garden Lodge was located. I was reassured that the Link Bus came every ten minutes.
Now I was wondering if the Parnell neighborhood idea had been such a good one. I'd already be there if I had chosen downtown instead. One thing I liked about Parnell, researching it in the Lonely Planet guidebook, was that it seemed like a quaint place somewhat removed from who-knows-how-nefarious a downtown by an intervening rail line. In contrast, downtown is described in the guidebook as "grim and generic". But somewhat removed also means somewhat harder to get to, and time was a-wasting!
An ominous 40 minutes later, the Link Bus finally arrived, packed to the gills with annoyed commuters. Traffic all over town was snarled. I overheard the bus driver's radio as the dispatcher asked another driver "Have you or anyone travelled down the XXX road in the last forty minutes?" The driver responded, "Sorry mate, I'm out-of-service." The dispatcher replied "Well, bugger that then," then followed up with a broader announcement to all drivers to "do their best." And what more can anyone be asked to do, but that?
I located the City Garden Lodge and hurriedly checked in. The place is a backpackers type of place (hikers, bungee jumpers, adventurers of all sorts from all continents), but picturesque, since the house was originally built as a residence for the Queen of Tonga. But there was no time to change, or shave, or wash, or anything (sad for a Kylie concert, where fashion is highly-prized - stubble will have to do). Off to the concert!
Walking hurriedly down Parnell Road to Vector Arena, I realized I needed food. But where can I get fast food amongst all these Asian eateries? Aha! "Burger Fuel"! An American-style place where I can get food fast! And where they understand speed!
Except Burger Fuel was facing a backlog of orders. I would have to wait for a simple burger. Aaaarrrggghhh! So much for American efficiency! Eventually the burger arrived, and I sloppily wolfed it down, beet slice and all (like the Aussies, the Kiwis use beet as a garnish) as I trotted down Parnell Road.
I got to Vector Arena, pushed my grubby way through the glamorous crowd, got my ticket, and got into my seat, exactly on time, at 8 p.m. Amazing! I pulled off "The Impossible Dream" by finishing off MOLM in Davis, circling the Earth on a complicated journey, and arriving in the nick of time!
Bless her tardy little heart, Kylie started her show twenty minutes late!
Flight To Auckland (draft)
Sat next to a Maori woman named Karen on the Boeing 767-300, and we talked about this and that, and tried unsuccessfully to get the hyper-sophisticated personal entertainment system to work.
I'm going to have trouble with the Kiwi accent. A member of the air crew announced that each of us would have to fill out a 'rebel' card and submit it to the immigration authorities. I liked that idea: rebels must be approved by a bureaucracy devoted to that specific purpose, or they will suffer some consequence, like a fine, or impondment of arms (reminds me of the movie "Brazil"). Turned out he said 'arrival' card.
I was getting groggy and making mistakes: 16 hours in the air will do that to you. Boarding the flight, I sat in the wrong seat. Later, I failed to recognize an open lavatory, and stood in front of it, blocking it, until two impatient teenagers alerted me to my lapse.
Sat next to a Maori woman named Karen on the Boeing 767-300, and we talked about this and that, and tried unsuccessfully to get the hyper-sophisticated personal entertainment system to work.
I'm going to have trouble with the Kiwi accent. A member of the air crew announced that each of us would have to fill out a 'rebel' card and submit it to the immigration authorities. I liked that idea: rebels must be approved by a bureaucracy devoted to that specific purpose, or they will suffer some consequence, like a fine, or impondment of arms (reminds me of the movie "Brazil"). Turned out he said 'arrival' card.
I was getting groggy and making mistakes: 16 hours in the air will do that to you. Boarding the flight, I sat in the wrong seat. Later, I failed to recognize an open lavatory, and stood in front of it, blocking it, until two impatient teenagers alerted me to my lapse.
Pictures Of Sydney And The Airport (draft)
Amazing polyglot cosmopolitan crowd - Chinese businessmen and women reading Chinese magazines like they understood them, plus Korean students on some kind of field trip, plus Buddhist monks in saffron robes - just everybody!
I was anxious about my checked luggage. Did I understand correctly the ticket agent in San Francisco when he said that I would have to manually transfer my bag, since my return flight had not yet been acknowledged by NZ authorities? (NZ folks are worried about hordes of foreign welfare bums scamming the generous Kiwi welfare system, so you are required to have a return flight home before entering the country, and I had a separate flight back home, not a return flight, and I would thus have to present myself to the authorities for their approval. So, I ended up in an obscure queue in the airport, where, after an interminable wait, it was established that my fears were unfounded.
I heard a chirping bird, like a budgie. Then I saw it flying through the terminal - some kind of bird. Like what sometimes happens in big box stores, there was at least one bird within the terminal.
Shopped a bit; exchanged some money; boarded the next flight.
Amazing polyglot cosmopolitan crowd - Chinese businessmen and women reading Chinese magazines like they understood them, plus Korean students on some kind of field trip, plus Buddhist monks in saffron robes - just everybody!
I was anxious about my checked luggage. Did I understand correctly the ticket agent in San Francisco when he said that I would have to manually transfer my bag, since my return flight had not yet been acknowledged by NZ authorities? (NZ folks are worried about hordes of foreign welfare bums scamming the generous Kiwi welfare system, so you are required to have a return flight home before entering the country, and I had a separate flight back home, not a return flight, and I would thus have to present myself to the authorities for their approval. So, I ended up in an obscure queue in the airport, where, after an interminable wait, it was established that my fears were unfounded.
I heard a chirping bird, like a budgie. Then I saw it flying through the terminal - some kind of bird. Like what sometimes happens in big box stores, there was at least one bird within the terminal.
Shopped a bit; exchanged some money; boarded the next flight.
The Flight Across The Pacific (draft)Left: In the dawn, a very vivid haze layer was present above us (I had guessed at first at 60,000 feet). Then, I realized it was probably the tropopause, separating stratified air above from aerosol-laden air below.
Dinner was first up, at midnight CA time, as soon as the Boeing 747-400 cleared San Bruno Hill and reached cruising altitude heading SW across the water. The food was good (meat loaf, corn, mashed potatoes and a brownie), but I was famished, and it wasn't enough.
The on-board movie was "Mamma Mia!" starring Meryl Streep. Great! I wanted to see this! Except the conditions were adverse for a musical - the deep turbine whine of the engines drowned out almost every song. Slow plot development seemed to kill my interest, and my suspicions obad singing couldn't be verified over the roar. Sigh.
Fitful sleep on the plane. Sitting directly behind an infant meant unusual, periodic odors.
6:45 a,m, meant it was time for a snack (smoked turkey roll)!
More fitful sleep.
The aircraft flew over one Fijian island (Tana?) and passed just south of another (Lifou), and clipped off the southern tail of New Caledonia.....
Left: East of Australia, a contrail of an aircraft below ours (heading from Brisbane to Auckland, or vice versa?)
Left: The city of Sydney, NSW, AU in the morning light.Then, suddenly, we were near Sydney and the crew frantically tried to fling breakfast out to everyone before we landed. As I pondered whether or not I would get OJ before we hit the tarmac, a stewardess sprinted down the aisle on some errand, encountered a dallying child, and expertly brushed him aside with "Sorry-sweetie-I've-got-to-get-past-you!"
The small children and infants in steerage were now in full squall. A four year old in the crowd in front of me had his face pressed against the window and said, "Mama, is that blue thing out there Australia? Mama, is that blue thing out there Australia? MAMA, IS THAT BLUE THING OUT THERE AUSTRALIA?"
Distracted, Mama said, "those are clouds," before apologizing for the racket.
Looking out the window, I thought I could see the Australian coast in the distance, but it was still very indistinct and almost lost in the haze and clouds. That "blue thing out there" I think they call the Pacific Ocean....
Now In Auckland
Here's an update on the current situation:
Left Sacramento (the flight from SMF to SFO got bollixed up, and so Bruce Warren had to drive me to SFO instead).
Flew to Sydney overnight (long flight!)
Flew to Auckland (yet more flying!)
Arrived in Auckland and had all kinds of delays. My luggage was set aside and I thought it was lost. Plus the rush hour traffic was horrendous. Arrived late at my lodging (City Garden Lodge Backpackers), barely had time to eat (a very generic island called Burger Fuel in a sea of Asian eateries) and so just barely arrived in time for the Kylie concert.
Bless her heart, she was twenty minutes late herself!
Fine concert! Lots of fun cheering with the Kiwi Kylie fans!
Slept the night in a room with two other people. Because I was the last to arrive, I got the top bunk. Awkward bed, but hey, the place is pretty interesting and eccentric, just as I thought it might be!
Today, will travel to the Auckland Museum, and become acquainted with the city. I hope to post more, but that means working with the lap top (don't know if I can make it work, plus one of the other people is still sleeping and so can't interrupt).
Toodleloo!
Here's an update on the current situation:
Left Sacramento (the flight from SMF to SFO got bollixed up, and so Bruce Warren had to drive me to SFO instead).
Flew to Sydney overnight (long flight!)
Flew to Auckland (yet more flying!)
Arrived in Auckland and had all kinds of delays. My luggage was set aside and I thought it was lost. Plus the rush hour traffic was horrendous. Arrived late at my lodging (City Garden Lodge Backpackers), barely had time to eat (a very generic island called Burger Fuel in a sea of Asian eateries) and so just barely arrived in time for the Kylie concert.
Bless her heart, she was twenty minutes late herself!
Fine concert! Lots of fun cheering with the Kiwi Kylie fans!
Slept the night in a room with two other people. Because I was the last to arrive, I got the top bunk. Awkward bed, but hey, the place is pretty interesting and eccentric, just as I thought it might be!
Today, will travel to the Auckland Museum, and become acquainted with the city. I hope to post more, but that means working with the lap top (don't know if I can make it work, plus one of the other people is still sleeping and so can't interrupt).
Toodleloo!
Sunday, December 07, 2008
"Man Of La Mancha" - Last Show Approaches This Sunday Matinee!Left: "The Missive". Aldonza/ Dulcinea (Lauren Miller) and Sancho Panza (Jason Hammond).
Below: "The Vigil". Don Quixote (Tae Kim), The Inkeeper (Steve Isaacson), and Sancho Panza (Jason Hammond).
Left: Aldonza/ Dulcinea (Lauren Miller) and Don Quixote (Tae Kim).Below: "The Vigil". Don Quixote (Tae Kim).
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