North Island Wrap Up

It’s just after eight in the morning and we are about to set sail for the South Island. Over the last 11 days we have traveled the North Island from Auckland down the west coast to Wellington. Our journey on this island was fantastic. While we didn’t get the waves we had hoped for the countryside and the cities we have seen have all been spectacular. More importantly the people that we have met have been really amazing. Everyone in this country seems so willing to help us out. Whether we are looking for a wave, searching for a place to sleep or hill starting our camper van when we stall it, we always feel that some friendly Kiwi will come to our rescue.

Yesterday we spent another day in Wellington and while the weather wasn’t the greatest; the cold, wind and rain gave us an excuse to check out some of the cities indoor offerings.

Our first stop for the day was at the Te Papa Museum. Te Papa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand and has a broad array of things to check out with displays covering the history of New Zealand’s, geography, animal life and people. As a history minor I particularly enjoyed learning about the past of New Zealand’s people and I couldn’t help myself from drawing parallels between New Zealand’s history and present day existence and the history and present day existence my own country, Canada.

In our travels thus far all of us have said on numerous occasions how similar we have found New Zealand and to be to Canada. The people, culture and general feel both countries have almost mimic each other. In both countries it’s not uncommon to be overly thanked or apologized to for the simplest things, or to hear a sly quip about a larger neighbouring country. Similarly, the pride that comes over a Kiwi when you mention how good their nation is at rugby is not unlike striking up a conversation with a Canadian about hockey, although both countrymen will humbly admit that the rest of the world probably doesn’t care as much about their respective sport as they do. At Te Papa it was cool to see first hand how historical similarities have shaped two countries on opposite sides of the world to be so alike.

After Te Papa we set out on foot to cruise parts of the city that we had missed on our previous days excursion. During our walk through of Wellington’s Cuba Street District we stumbled into a small bar that was hosting a few comedy acts that evening as part of the 20^th Annual New Zealand International Comedy Festival. By chance as we passed through the front doors one of the evening’s acts was leaving and after a quick introduction we found ourselves on the free guest list – score!

We returned that evening to the club and over a few beers laughed the evening away. Our new comedian friend, Nick Gibb, had some really funny material and the following act, which was a Flight of the Concords like show, had us in stitches. After the show we shared drinks with the comedians before heading on to a university style pub with lots of free pool tables. Another great day in NZ.

The ferry ride

Graffiti wall at Te Papa

Comedians in Wellington

NZ Dino