When a 'later in life' OE becomes something more ... burgers become pies, peanut butter becomes Marmite, French Toast becomes spaghetti on toast, friends become mates, and perspectives change.
Spring is really on us now in the South Island. Growing up in Southern California, I used to see photos of signs of Spring. These were obviously not taken anywhere near where I lived. I read this is in a book recently - Southern California has a climate. It doesn't have seasons. So I suppose I never really experienced what Spring means ... the blooms, the warmth, the sun, and the animals. Ah, the animals. Spring is gorgeous and so are the lovely things that come along with it.
Queenstown is not a big place, and I came to New Zealand from a city. A big city. So every now and then, I need that "city fix". I'd been wanting to go to Wellington, the country's capital, since I arrived in NZ. Mostly because I'd heard it was a cool city, similar to San Francisco, and seems to be the country's centre for technology, advertising and design. It's the home of WETA, which has been drawing comparisons to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in Northern California.
In September I had the opportunity to stay with some friends in Wellington - a Radio New Zealand personality, his wife and their kids. Soooo much fun and great people to sit down with for conversation over a glass (or more) of wine. From their lovely home, we moved to the Museum Hotel. This may sound weird, but I love nice hotel bathrooms. And the bathroom in my Museum Hotel room was gorgeous! It's a lovely hotel very central to the most popular areas most people want to see including the great Te Papa Museum.
If you only go into one museum in New Zealand, it should Te Papa. There's also a short cable car ride that you can access from one of the busiest shopping areas. It will take you up a hill past a university to the Botanical Gardens.
Wellington will definitely be a place I visit time and again. The only problem is that flying domestically in New Zealand is quite expensive - especially between Queenstown and Wellington. Recently, JetStar and Pacific Blue starting flying into NZ from Australia. I'm hoping that with this new competition, that the domestic airfares will drop in New Zealand.
New Zealand is known for its birds. Birds one doesn't find anywhere else on the planet. There's a huge story to tell here about how the introduction of possums, stoats, domestic cats and more have changed the land and the birdlife. Until I'm educated enough on the topic, I will refrain from writing further about it. In the meantime, I thought people would be interested in seeing this BBC footage of this gorgeous Kakapo. Incredible they are!
... that is what they're saying since I received the call a week ago from Immigration New Zealand that my Residency application has been approved. Woohoo! I don't know about that as most Kiwi women I know have some qualities that haven't yet surfaced in me, but I'm on my way.
One of the important things about establishing myself in New Zealand was to open a bank account. There are a few large banks with locations in Queenstown. I chose to go with Bank of New Zealand. Like a friend of mine said about herself, I guess the piggies reeled me in as well.
The advert above was first emailed to me from a friend, the General Manager of a local luxury tourism property. I love advertising! However, I do have to admit that the ad raised my eyebrows. But that is what good advertising does, doesn't it? We are bombarded every day by all forms of media to the point of being overwhelmed, where some of us are becoming desensitized. So when an advert provokes an emotional response and makes us remember the instigator, hasn't it done its job?
Apparently, the design firm attempted to create an emailable viral campaign that delivered the message that its client (the restaurant) uses the best local suppliers and provide people with "a wee giggle".
Considering the facts that it was emailed to me, that there is a Facebook group around the restaurant, and that the advert has made local news, I'd say it has been effective. Oh, and by the way, the advert has since been changed. The woman and carrots have been replaced by a deer with "Grown Down South" stamped on its rump.
"Take art off the wall and out of static display & adorn the body in wildly wonderful ways. Celebrate creativity in lavish and unique onstage spectaculars-that inspire all." - Susie Moncrieff, WOW Founder/Artistic Director
Fantastic!! I've wanted to attend WOW since I heard about it last year upon arriving in NZ. I've now missed two years worth of wearable art! Next year is the year!
"Lady of the Wood" by David Walker of Alaska won the top award at this year's event. Walker, a carpenter, apparently designed and made the 18th century-style ballgown entirely of all-American timbers. Walker's entry was the first international entry to win the competition, which began 21 years ago in Nelson. Click here if you want to read more detail of the event and Walker's winning entry.
