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A
fistful of Kiwi links:
(all links open in a new window)
Hiking
New Zealand
I've done three tours (Volcanoes & Rainforest, Secret South,
and Eastern Epic) with this company over the two trips I've made
to NZ and all three have been great. I'm not one to sign up for
a tour, but HikingNZ offers a way to cram some great hikes and less
accessible scenery into a visit to NZ without the hassle of organizing
a vehicle, tents and stoves. Their prices are right, and the people
who sign up are not the sort of yobos you'd get stuck with on some
lame bus tour. It's not a pub crawl, and you do have to be in pretty
decent physical shape. The Eastern Epic was particularly demanding,
but totally worth it.
Raglan
Surfing School
I had a great time learning to surf, but I still suck at it. Next
time I go back to NZ, I'm going to spend a week at Raglan. The Karioi
Lodge is a decent place to stay—removed from town—and
the instructors are fun, but very safety conscious.
Museum
of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
I'm a museum nut—one
of those people who reads every blessed tag and presses every button
and pulls every lever. I love Te Papa. I still haven't gone through
the whole thing and I've been there twice. And it's free!
Wellington
City Gallery
The two exhibitions I've caught at the City Gallery (Parihaka:
the Art of Passive Resistance and Colin
McCahon: A Question of Faith) have been excellent. Like Te Papa,
it's also free.
Budget
Backpacker Hostels
I refer to the BBH guide
far more than Lonely Planet when in NZ. On my last trip, my LP guide
was dead weight and I wished that I'd left it at home and just photocopied
the maps. The BBH offers a percentage system rating guide and is
an excellent reference when choosing a hostel. If you're staying
for an extended period in NZ, a BBH member card is worth it for
the discounts and phone card. However, I still use the YHA
(Hostelling Int'l) hostels if I'm not in the mood for a "character"
hostel. Note that in Wellington, the YHA is the best place to stay,
unless you're looking for "a story to tell". All other
hostels in Wellington are unbelievably grim and are among the worst
rated in the BBH Guide (unless someone has taken advantage of the
gaping hole in the market since I was last there).
Specific
hostel recommendations (followed by the date I most recently stayed
there):
- Opononi
(Northland):
Okopako
Lodge YHA (2000) quite a nice farmstay place, way up on a
hill, so it would be a bit of a jaunt to get down to the water.
However, it is on the major track system that winds through the
forest in that area and it's a short drive from the major Kauri
forest attractions. I was there in the off season and I was the
ONLY person in the whole place as the owners lived in their house
several hundred metres away. It was a bit spooky, especially when
folks were out possum hunting in the dark. But then I was joined
by a car load of international wanderers and we spent the next
several days exploring Northland together. Okopako was a nice
base for that. Plus you can buy homemade bread and farm fresh
eggs.
- Auckland:
International
YHA (2003) Your usual, large, rather impersonal, but clean,
organized and comfortingly predictable YHA (allegedly the best
of all of the YHAs in Auckland since it's the newest).
- Wellington:
Wellington
City YHA (2003) Your usual, large, rather impersonal, but
clean, organized and comfortingly predictable YHA.
- Picton:
The
Villa (2000) The apple crumble is great and the hammock is
hard to get out of. Picton is pretty in an "excellent location
for a Hitchcock film" sort of way. Decent place to chill
and gateway to the Queen Charlotte Track. However, next time I'm
in the area I'll head for one of the water-access-only hostels
instead, I think. But if you have to catch an early ferry, The
Villa would be the place to stay.
- Kaikoura:
Sunrise
Lodge (2003) The owners are great. They run a wild animal
rescue. It's quiet. Except for the magpie that does an excellent
car alarm impersonation.
The beach is just out through the hole in the back fence and yes,
you can watch the sun rise. Just take care not to get run over
by a train as you cross the tracks.
Cray
Cottage (2001) I stayed at Sunrise because I couldn't get
into Cray this time around. Nice and quiet. Twin rooms available.
But actually, the Sunrise Lodge proved pretty close in quality.
- Christchurch:
Vagabond
Backpackers (2001/2003) A bit removed from downtown but therefore
quieter than the pub joints right on the Square. The owner bakes
fresh bread every morning, available for free with butter and
jam. They also have a DISHWASHER. Nice place to stay if you have
to be in Christchurch, but next time I go to NZ and I'm in the
CC area, I'm going to head for the coast, like Akaroa.
I was in other
places around NZ, but either the accomodation isn't worth mentioning
(not necessarily bad, just not above average), or (more often)
I was tenting or staying with friends.
Black
Grace Dance Company
I've had the great pleaure of seeing Black Grace on both of my visits
to NZ. In March I was able to catch the Surface/Human Language
double bill. Surface is a stunning performance inspired by
the traditions, mythology, artistry and physical pain of the Samoan
tattoo. Human Language is the humourous response of an all-male
dance troupe to the inclusion of women in their production. Black
Grace have amazing strength and agility, but also a great sense
of humour. I hope they're able to tour it in the rest of the world
in the not-to-distant future.
Icebreaker
Fantastic merino wool gear that looks good, wears well, doesn't
get stinky very easily and is machine washable. It's available in
Canada (see
Icebreaker website for dealer locations), but you can generally
get better selection and prices in NZ.
Hubbards
Foods
They make my favourite cereals and have a socially-responsible business
model.
Craig
Potton Publishers
Craig Potton publishes beautiful books and calendars on New Zealand
art, music, culture, wine, food, social and environmental issues,
tramping, travel and landscape photography. They published the catalogue
for the Colin
McCahon: A Question of Faith exhibition.
www.nzbooks.com
This is an excellent source for books by NZ authors. I've ordered
about a half dozen titles from them and delivery to Canada has been
prompt and reliable. If it's still in print in NZ, it's probably
available through this website.
Music
retailers
Please note that I haven't tried ordering online from any of these
folks. I've only shopped at their real world stores in person. Echo
Music: I made some good finds with decent prices on Kiwi bands
at the Dunedin and Christchurch stores when I was last there. If
you're looking for Kiwi artists who are not yet available overseas,
or hard-to-find vintage Kiwi music, you might find it here. For
the really hard-to-find stuff, there's Records
Records, located just up from the Octagon in Dunedin. They have
scheduled online auctions rather than direct online sales. There's
also Real
Groovy in Auckland and Wellington, but I found them generally
more expensive than Echo and their selection remarkably limited
in spite of the size of the stores. However, I don't know how they
compare for online sales. Finally, for NZ music news: nzmusic.com
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