Travels with The Rayman

Admittedly this sounds like it could have a double meaning. I report. You decide.

Flying at 15,000 feet, I came upon this. A list of definitions.

Spiral: style of kicking perfected during the psychedelic era.

Coathanger: Dressing room equipment which doubles as a car aerial as required:; Also an illegal tackle in which an outstretched arm catches an opponent under the chin causing a sudden and spectacular rotation of his body – making the crowd go “ooh!”

Box kick: When a kick is hoisted over the line out, scrum or breakdown to theoretically land in an imaginary box with no defenders in it. Hardly ever comes off. Not to be confused with a “chip”, “grubber” or “dink” which hardly ever come off either.

And finally:

Down his throat: Directly into the arms of the opposition fullback. See “box kick”.

This is an illustration of how fun the kiwis are. They are absolutely obsessed with rugby, but they don’t take it too seriously. Of course, they haven’t lost yet. They compete tomorrow night in the semi-finals against Australia.
This was just before landing. It was harrowing. Many mountains to miss. But what a beautiful sight even in the overcast. On the way from Christchurch to Queenstown (seen below), I observed lots of meringue in the sky. Example.
These are the Southern Alps and they run all the way down the island.

We left this morn at 5:45 a.m. to the airport. Upon arriving we couldn’t find any of our paperwork. And that’s all I’ll say about that. No telling where it is.

We got in our room early and went to get our car nearby. We jumped in the car and OMG…a standard transmission. It was the only car they had and we got it. Soooooooo…Ray managed to drive us to Lake Wanaka shifting from first to third, thereby bypassing second gear about 25 times. Of course, it didn’t help that we were taking hairpin turns that required constant downshifting…so that allowed Ray the opportunity to miss second gear on the way down too…many times. And while doing that as we approached intersections, he always signaled his intention to turn with his windshield wipers and on occasion, he tried to turn into oncoming traffic. He was very tense (an flagrant understatement) and so the other thing that he did was he kept veering toward to the left when oncoming traffic appeared thereby putting me in the position of closely examining any variety of weeds and shrubs that might be on “my” side of the road. Oh, and the drops in the gorge area caused a bit of concern on my part so that toward to the end of our outing I announced that I would definitely be driving tomorrow…with Rayman strenuously objecting…with words like damn, dead body, and my ass. But I will not bore you with the details.

The Welch captain just got ejected for slamming another player into the ground. He was “sent off”. Oh, dear.

But I digress.

The highlight of our day must be reported at this point…lest the casual reader think that Rayman’s driving is the end of the story. Au contraire. Bungy jumping has always been at the top of our bucket list. So this was our chance.

Part of the charge for the jump is free video of the jump. We welcomed that because we decided on a tandem jump. That way if anything went wrong…well, you get the picture. Problem is I screwed up the video and can’t seem to figure out how to rotate it. So, just turn your computer 1/4 rotation and you can see it the way it really was. Oh, and this is the movie so just click on the arrow on the left side to view.

So…well…we did the jump. How fun was that? Oh, you protest do you? Do you think we are crazy? No, we’re not. We tease you, dear reader. Wasn’t that fun???? Well, it turns out that trying to publish my blog with the movie was causing a problem. So, in order to get published, I have dropped the movie. I will figure out another way to share it with you. And you just have to see it.https://www.me.com/gallery/#home Click on the link and it will take you to my mobile me gallery. Then click on bungie jumping. And this is how much it costs. What a deal. The picture below is the building that is undergoing renovation at the bungie site. Rayman wondered aloud what they might be building. I chirped, “The mausoleum for all those that didn’t make it.”

 

 
Some of the other things we did:
I singlehandedly lifted this tower by myself. And we came across this giant fruit.

 

Ray seated in the car which has no scratches on the outside…but as we arrived at the hotel it became clear that the clutch was half gone based on the burning smell permeating the air.

 
And this is how we started the day. On our way to get the car, we observed this guy running up the stairs (behind us) with his behind in front of us as he did. (yes, it’s a thong). By the time I recovered from the shock of it all…he was already back down the stairs and I politely yelled out, “I’ve got to get a picture of you.” At which time all his buddies cheered as I snapped. You don’t see this every day. Oh, and he was wearing lipstick…like it mattered!!

It’s official. I got Ray on a train. It was touch and go…but he did it!!

 
And as you can see, shooting photos didn’t work so well. Too much glare. However, it did make for an interesting picture in this case. Ray, vineyards, mounts, clouds. C’est bon.

The trip was 5 1/2 hours straight south. Most of it hugged the Pacific coast which is on the east coast of NZ.
So, here’s a shot…most had more glare but you get the idea. We are right on the beach. And then as we proceeded further south, you could view the coast on one side and this on the other.

 
Yep. Snow capped Southern Alps. It was extraordinary. This picture came out because I was standing outside. What? Yes.
The train had an open car where you could go to freeze and get totally wind blown. This was helpful, say, if you had a glass of wine to accompany the cheese and crackers and fruit…and then you felt a bit sleepy. It would wake you right up!!
Here’s Ray by the open car before leaving Picton for Christchurch.

And, as you might have noticed, we did have sun so the it made the trip all the more special. You do know that there is a reason for all that green grass.

 

Two pictures. One looking back, one forward. Miles and miles and miles of this beauty. With no development. NZ is sparsely populated. And my apologies for that cable in the bottom photo. I don’t know what it is. There were no phone lines. Maybe a crack in the window?
Finally, a picture of the surf and the snow. Enjoy.

As we approached Christchurch, we saw evidence of the earthquake. However, it wasn’t until we checked in that the true enormity of the devastation became evident. The entire downtown has been fenced off. The lady at the front desk showed us on the map. We plan to investigate this today.

We met some people from Minnesota and sat near them on the train. They may book the same cruise of Doubtful Sound as us since their travel plans include the same itinerary as ours. Or…it might be doubtful because they only had one night’s lodging arranged in Christchurch (we have 2) and every hotel/motel we passed had ‘no vacancy’ signs lit. The earthquake rendered so many downtown places useless…that it is hard to get a booking here. We are lucky to have ours. Blind luck, but, luck nonetheless.

We couldn’t even get close to downtown. It is all fenced and it was so cold today, we declined to walk and buses are diverted away from city center. So, alas, only one or two opportunities to snap pics from the bus that we took to Antarctica. We just couldn’t get over the fact that entire downtown was reduced to an unusable city because it was built on swampy land and they had never had a strong earthquake anywhere near this large before.

What you say? We decided to visit the exhibition that Christchurch has on the Antarctica. Fun exhibit. We saw Blue penguins. And we learned that the name penguin originated from welch ‘pen gyin’ or something like that and it means white head. We learned that Antarctica is the driest continent on earth and lack of water is a very big problem for scientists etc. that work there (think Fred and Desiree).

C130 transports are used to fly between Christchurch and the base camp in Antarctica and instead of wheels, the planes are outfitted with pontoon-like gizmos (a technical term) so they can land on ice…and perhaps more importantly, take off from ice. You will always want to leave is my suggestion here.

The continent of Antarctica doubles in size as the sea around it freezes and when the ice melts in summer (remember, they have almost continuous sun in December/January), the rocky mountains are exposed. We saw a movie of the change of seasons (speeded up, of course). It is quite a place.
Here is Ray in the room that can be adjusted temperature-wise down to about 20 below or so. The kids loved it. Coats were provided for use in the exhibit.
In kilometers, distances to far off places. Some surprises, really.
And here are the adorable blue penguins. Very small. All of them had been rescued and are living out their lives at the exhibit. One was 23 years old. They mate for life which might explain why we witnessed so much haggling. Just kidding. But they do fuss with each other. They had a cut out of an Emperor penguin and they are really big…like 4 feet high or a bit more.
Walking back from the temporary bus stop (because of the quake), I noticed this sign hung up in front of a, well, port a-potty. You see the darndest thing when you walk. In a car, this would have been missed. The sign was associated with a little coffee wagon on the sidewalk. Too funny.
And then there was this. Today was the Garden Party at University. All the kids were dressed up or down for the occasion. It felt like it was going to snow today. This women have got to be freezing. Anyway, it was quite a fun bus ride because every where you looked, kids in strange clothes were out and about. Made a gray day quite lively.

So…tomorrow we fly out really early to Queenstown (to our west) for a look at fjords and other natural wonders. High of 64. Low of 31.

 

Oh, I almost forgot. Rayman and I split a burger and fries for dinner. Their burger had bacon (which is much different than ours, more meaty), cheese, tomatoes, beetroot and lettuce. Beetroot. Yes. Beets. It was delicious. Who knew? Oh, the kiwis knew…we’ve seen beetroot on lots of menus.

Went wine tasting today on a tour. Here’s half the group. It’s us and the Brits. The two far left are on a world tour, backpacking. The people next to us are from London and he’s a chef. Much to discuss!!
Big Fred there was really, really tall. 6’11’. He ducked everywhere he went. And get this. He and his girlfriend, not pictured, just arrived from Antarctica where they lived and worked for 15 months. And that was their 3rd stint. We ended up having dinner with them. Interesting stuff. He was a biology teacher in Kansas before the Antarctica which prompted me to say, “I get the impression Kansas is anti-science”. Fred laughed and said the problem in Kansas is that people don’t vote. There are a lot of immigrants he explained. I didn’t quite understand his point, but hey, I met a man from Kansas and he was reasonable…and very, very, big. His girlfriend, Desiree, hailed from Texas. I didn’t bring up Perry because I’m not sure of Perry’s status now. Haven’t seen any news in a days. For all I know he’s said enough stupid things to get himself either out of race or leading the race. Incidentally, Fred and Desiree ascribe to global warming.

Here’s a few more pictures.
Looks a bit like CA.

 
Me out standing by the vineyard.

Hate to leave Picton. It is very picturesque and small and our room was wonderful and warm and comfy. However, it is time to move on to Christchurch on the train!!

This a.m. it was raining in Wellington and awoke to a sound akin to blue whales mating because the hotel is busy retrofitting for earthquakes and the machinery used was, well, noisy. So up we jumped and went out to hunt down some food and landed up in a french cafe and spoke some french and ate quiche and salad with a flat white for breakfast. And we bought some fabulous macaroons for takeaway which we had later with hot tea in the lobby of our hotel before heading to the wharf to catch the InterIslander ferry and that’s where I am now composing my blog…in the upgraded lounge, sipping wine and looking out at the sea and a some land approaching. The ride takes about 3.5 hours and we are comfortable as can be having just eaten lasagne and curried chicken with rice for lunch.

Editor’s note: the picture on top of this blog was made possible by a man who worked for the department store. We came across some of these flowers and I said, “Photo op, Ray”. Ray said, “Here, I’ll take a picture of you then”. At which point the nice man said, “Wait, let me arrange these flowers for you”. And he went about bringing along several more big flowers and arranging them into what you see. The flowers will be placed in the big windows of the department store but for that bit of time they served as my own personal backdrop thanks to Fred. (I made up his name.)
Here’s the North Island in retreat as we head south.

 
Here’s me and the South Island in view. A bit windy, shall we say?

We had a few hours to kill so we road on a trolley up a high hill just to see what was up. While up there we watched a movie or two because it started raining pretty good so into the museum we ducked. Seems in Wellington, there are over 400 private lifts from various streets to houses and that is the only way owners can access their property. Does steep mean anything to you? Very creative problem solving. That is also testament to the steep terrain surrounding the harbor.

 
A bit like San Francisco. The vibe was more like Portland.

But I digress.
Entering Marlborough Sound. Beautiful.
While checking into the Harbour View Motel, the owners of the motel said, “Quickly. Come. We’ve something to show you”. And this picture was taken from the balcony of their home. A Holland American ship just leaving. Quite a nice view. And so typical of the NZers. They are so kind and thoughtful. To invite us into their home for a peak of a ship leaving the harbour…priceless.

And so is this pic of the Rayman from our balcony.

 

 
Our room was fabulous. We got an end unit so we had windows all around and we slept like babies.

Today we prepare ourselves for a wine tour for the most famous wineries for white wines on the South Island. Ray is VERY excited. So am I because I don’t have to be designated driver and because I don’t have to ride a bike in the impending rain…it’s cloudy again.

We ate breakfast at Gusto Cafe. Here’s a picture of my breakfast along with a flat white, our favorite coffee drink that I’ve been sputtering about all this time.
Oh, and we met a newly graduated mechanical engineer from Oklahoma in front of the library and he confirmed to us that we can get free wi-fi in libraries and Mobile gas stations throughout NZ. Who knew? We have been having a bit of a problem finding free wi-fi but now our problem is solved!!

It’s Saturday here and we had quite a day. After cleaning house, I called the business ‘On Yer Bike’ to inquire about hiring a bike for a ride through the vineyards. No problem. They would outfit us. After giving me directions, the Rayman and I headed out for the place and somehow managed to get lost. But we didn’t stay lost too long. Only a little late. Mike, the proprietor, gave us a map, instructions for where to go, which wineries to stop at and a lunch to eat. And off we went.

So, let me jump to the end. Mike knocked on the door of the nice people I had just met and told them he was there to collect me. I had “slipped the collar and gotten away”. This meant that I couldn’t finish the tea that my new NZ friends had just made me. I thanked my new found friends and gave my hostess a hug and jumped in the truck with Mike to head back to his place of business. So…the way I met my new NZ friends is that my legs gave out. And the reason my legs gave out is that I was riding an old tech bike, only 3 gears, we took a wrong turn on the way back, rode an extra mile or so out of our way to get back to the road we should have been on in the first place. In the meantime while being lost, a 45 mph wind came up which we found ourselves riding into and I just hit the wall (not literally, of course) and I announced to Ray that I could not go another mile. Oh, and it was starting to rain. So, Ray yelled against the wind and told me to stop and wait for him and he would ride to the place and get the car and so I immediately turned into a graveled driveway (not the easiest surface to navigate) and made my way to the front door and knocked. A wonderful woman (can’t remember her name, I”ll call her Dorothy) answered and I asked if I could stand out on their porch to wait for my ride and escape the rain. Well, she wouldn’t hear of it. So in I went and met the whole family. Her hubby, Murray, the daughter, the son-in-law and three grandchildren. Dorothy immediately brewed me a cup of tea and insisted that I sit down in the kitchen to wait for my rescue. We had a great time until she saw Mike in his truck driving down the street slowly. Well, what happened was Ray ran into Mike on his way back and he told Mike I had fled into a driveway…and so Mike went out to look for me and there I was having tea. It was great. My new NZ friends were wonderful and they added much joy to my life…because I was really, really tired and cold having gone out biking with a Gap t-shirt and modest fleece top because it started out warmish and comfortable but as we progressed from one winery to the next the clouds were gathering and the weather changed in a nano-second… the wind started blowing and there we were miles away from Mikey’s.

When we reunited, Ray and I, we had to laugh. Before I turned into that driveway, we had visited about 4 wineries, Ray bought 4 bottles of wine and a cool t-shirt, had lunch at one of the wineries, met people that had worked in the wine business in CA, an owner than made his money as a currency trader with UBS, a couple whose son was their winemaker who offered Ryan a job in the spring…I’m telling you, we can’t get over the kiwis. They are fabulous. And you find out how really fabulous they are when you get lost!!

 

Where we had lunch.

I think it was the fact the road started to climb that led me to question Ray’s map reading abilities. This ride was billed as a flat ride which was really enough for me on my bike. Words were spoken. I threatened to quit. Ray was getting “louder”. Finally we road down a driveway and knocked on a door of an empty house. That is when we decided (with the hill looming) that we must be on the wrong road. No phone to call with, we turned around and headed back. Well, when I told my new NZ friends that I figured we were on the wrong road because of the hill, Murray exclaimed, “What hill”? That is when I explained that my legs were so tired, the wind blowing so fierce that the slight incline looked like Mt. Everest. With that everyone got a giggle.
We came across two democrats grazing today.

So, basically that’s what we did today. It’s now 8:45 p.m. and we are firmly planted in front of a roaring fire with our laundered clothes hanging on a rack next to the stove while we sip wine and eat chocolate and watch the French play the British in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup.

I was going to say that Charlie, the cat, was sleeping at my side and then I remember that we did our good deed for the day today. As we were starting out on our bike ride (did I mention it was about 15 miles), I saw a lamb with it’s head caught in the fence. She had mistakenly thought the grass was greener on the other side (of the fence). So. I enlisted Ray to help me extract her from her situation. Easier said that done. Her head would not come out. Ray rode to the house associated with the sheep. No one home. So, I rode to a nearby house and found some people sitting on a patio and I enlisted their help.

When we returned from our ride the sheep was gone. That made me feel good. It’s the little things in life.
C’est moi velo!! (this is my bike)