In the week since I have returned home, I have woken in the night more than a few times, bidden by my bodyclock to be doing something other than sleep. The first few seconds of wakefulness have been typified by uncomprehending confusion for, no matter how familiar the surroundings of my bedroom might appear [...]
Archive for March, 2005
The supermodel in my bed
March 20, 2005
Vox pop
March 15, 2005
Christchurch
Christchurch is often held to be the most English of New Zealand’s cities but I have to say that I really can’t see it. I’ll freely admit the River Avon, which runs a curling course through the city, has a certain Oxbridge flavour, but I’d venture that most folks wouldn’t make the the connection [...]
South into autumn
March 9, 2005
Picton – Kaikoura – Christchurch
The Interislander Ferry advertising around Wellington asks potential passengers how they would prefer to cross the Cook Strait – ‘zip across or cruise across?’ I had originally intended to ‘cruise’ across in three hours on a traditional ship but I was informed that the crossing I wanted wasn’t sailing (though [...]
Trapped wind
March 7, 2005
Wellington
Like most other things here, Wellington’s views are dependent upon the weather and it’s not for nothing that folks here refer to the city as Windy Wellington. A Kiwi explained to me that, given the predominantly hilly nature of New Zealand, the winds roaring between the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea seek the path [...]
Sitting on the dock of the bay
March 5, 2005
Wellington Harbour
Wellington is a city that hangs between land and water. Whether looking out from a viewpoint on the steep hills surrounding the downtown area or sitting with your legs dangling over the blue water, one is always aware of the sea and the hills. As with many coastal cities around the globe, Wellington’s [...]
In-A-State Highway
March 3, 2005
Auckland to Wellington by road
To anyone used to the motorways of Britain, the Interstate Highways of the U.S. or the autobahn of Germany, New Zealand’s State Highway 1 might come as a bit of a surprise. In around 660 kilometres, it takes you from one thrusting urban streetscape to another, via bland suburbia, through [...]
