A Toast to New Zealand

Blog4NZ, running March 21-23, is an initiative by travel bloggers to share memories, photos and stories from New Zealand in order to bring awareness to the fact that, despite the Feb. 22 Christchurch earthquake, the country is still very much open for business

I’m all in favour of helping the 4,290,347 fine folks in New Zealand in whatever way possible. The latest earthquake is a real setback to Christchurch but it doesn’t mean the country isn’t open to tourists.

I propose a toast to the health and welfare of the New Zealand people – and have purchased a dozen bottles of their fabulous wine – to make the toast and to do my bit to help their economy. I could have bought a lamb roast or a new sheepskin rug for my dog to lie on but toasting and drinking wine is a lot more fun.

New Zealand packs more into its 267,710 square kilometers (about the size of Colorado) than many countries do that are five times the size.

I visited in 1979 – and spent 2 ½months traveling from the tip of the North Island to the city of Dunedin on the South Island.

It was a memorable trip. I was traveling solo and had just graduated from university. Money was tight but my enthusiasm was high and the famous Kiwi brand of hospitality was always in evidence.

Much has changed since 1979 but the fabulous landscape has not – and I can only hope that the Kiwis are as friendly now as they were then.

Here were some of the highlights in my day.

• Waiheke Island is only a boat ride away from Auckland. It had a fabulous youth hostel and gorgeous beaches.

• A trip to the mudbaths of Rotorua was a steaming experience on a grey, wet day.

• The Queenston area so impressed me with its beauty. At the time I didn’t have the money to try one of the jetboat rides and bungee jumping hadn’t even been invented. I also missed hiking in the Southern Alps which I would absolutely do if I was to return.

• An airplane flight over Milford Sound was great fun. Now I’d make the four day trek on the Milford Track.

• I loved my time spent in Kaikoura – at a youth hostel steps from the ocean. There was a seal colony to explore and now you can swim with them.

• A trip to the North Cape was a desolate experience and made me feel like I was at the bottom of the world. I’m not so sure I’d get the same feeling anymore.

• I hitchhiked alone all over the North Island. One day I was picked up by a sheep farmer (there were 3 million people in New Zealand at the time and an equal number of sheep) and taken to his home. He and his wife put me up for the night and gave me a tour of the farm. This sort of hospitality was extended to me time and time again.
• Getting a letter at the Christchurch Post office – and running into someone I knew from university – was a thrill. Remember readers – this is in the day when you never made a call because of prohibitive costs, you didn’t email and the only contact with friends and family was via letters sent to Poste Restante – a service where a post office holds mail until the recipient calls for it. So over 5 months of total traveling I might have received letters on 5 occasions only.
• Visiting the 45th parallel was a cool thing to do in 1979. (Do I sound like a loser?)

• I had hooked up with a fellow Canadian and she had bought a Mini. We had great fun tooling all over the South Island – going wherever the wind blew us. I remember staying at $5 places – a car park sort of affair where you could pitch a tent abut they offered cooking facilities. Wonder what they’d cost now?

I’d go back to New Zealand in a heartbeat. Only this time I’d trek by day and drink wine by night.

Leigh McAdam

HikeBikeTravel

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