Travels with Ian to the South Island

Greetings from the Christchurch gondola.

Izzy's 27 year-old son, Ian, was our first visitor from the States. He was in New Zealand for 10 days and then continued his adventures in Sydney for a week. We had a wonderful time exploring parts Wellington and parts of the South Island with him. Ian's favorite activity was our trip to Parliament. New Zealand has only one parliamentary body, the House of Representatives. It is modeled after the British House of Commons. We were there during the questioning period. It is interesting because any member can submit a question to governing party. There was a lot of shouting, chuckling and laughter from the opposing members. Finally, the Speaker had enough and she evicted 3 members. What we could understand of the questioning was fascinating, but the accents and fast speaking did make it difficult for us.

I just couldn't resist this picture at the Wellington zoo. The ostrich kept posing for me and then she did a wild and crazy dance that was hard to capture on film.

Ian pretending to be one of the animals at the zoo.

The ferry crossing from the North Island to the South Island. The body of water is the Cook Strait - the crossing takes 3 and a half hours. The ferry is very modern, complete with restaurants, bars and two cinemas showing current releases

Ian shunning the paparazzi. Ian is a rep for eye glass frames and always has the most stylist shades (or sunnies in Kiwi-speak).

Following the ferry, we took the TransCoastal train to Kaikoura. This beautiful coastal town on the east coast of the South Island is famous for whale and dolphin watching and delicious lobster. We plan on swimming with the dolphins this summer when my sister and her husband visit.

We spotted four sperm whales on our whale watch. I got lots of great pictures because the guide was able to tell us when the whales were going to dive.

These small Hector's Dolphins are some of the rarest in the world.

We sampled some wonderful wines at the Kaikoura winery.

After spending the night in Kaikoura, we took the train to Christchurch. The coastal views were spectacular.

These cute Little Blue Penguins were at the Antarctica encounter in Christchurch. Kiwis love Antarctica and are very proud of their station in Antarctica called Scott Base - it is near the US Antarctic station, McMurdo. Most of the early explorers of Antarctica left for their journeys from New Zealand.

Christchurch is the headquarters of the US Antarctic Program. All scientists prepare for their trip and leave from here.

Christchurch is the most English city in NZ and filled with art. It is known as the Garden City. We plan to go back in the summer when my sister and her husband visit.

The old college in Christchurch transformed into the Arts Center.

Izzy and Ian sample some of the great Kiwi wines. Pinot Noirs and Sauvignon Blancs are the most popular wines. The wine industry is booming. They use screw tops instead of corks except on exports to the US. We still enjoy the allure of opening a fine bottle of wine with a cork, but screw tops sure make it easier. The wine growers are convinced that screw tops preserve wine better than cork.

We took a scenic 8 hour train trip through the Southern Alps. There were thousands of sheep all spooked by the train.

Spectacular scenery!!!!!!

More Christchurch art.

The Avon River in Christchurch.

In addition to raising 40 million sheep in NZ, they raise deer. These deer are running from the train. Every menu has venison on it. Izzy and I have not been tempted by the venison but Ian had pasta with venison meat balls.

We really enjoyed Ian's visit.

It was a sad day when he left.

Our next mini-vacation is at the end of August when we will visit Auckland and the Bay of Islands.

Kiwi Speak

Even though New Zealanders allegedly speak the same language as Americans, at times, we simply have no idea what they are saying. To begin with there is the Kiwi accent - they tend to elongate their e's and, on some words, they put the emphasis on a different syllable than we do thus making certain words unintelligible. For example, inventory is inVENtory, controversy is conTRAvesy, aluminium is ALuMINium and so on. News broadcasters are pretty easy to understand and we usually are OK talking face-to-face. But – over the phone it can be very difficult. When we attended a session of Parliament (or should I say a shouting match between the members of parliament), we missed at least 25% of what they were saying. Coming from California, we don't have any accent (yeah, right); after all, we speak the same English as the Hollywood movie stars. But, here in NZ, all we have to say is two words and they ask what part of the states we are from. Once at a food and beverage show, I asked for a taste of Amber Ale – all I said was Amber Ale – and I was immediately asked where I came from and could I keep talking because they loved my accent. Izzy must have a very strong accent because he is frequently asked to repeat himself. Then, there is the whole metric system thing. Americans were too lazy to learn the metric system, thus we are stuck with a system no one else understands. Temperatures, mileage, food weights and quantities of gasoline are just a few things we have to try to convert back to a system our simple minds will understand. Even when I asked for an inch to be cut off my hair, I got a weird look. About 99% of the words and expressions are the same, but we have accumulated the following list of uniquely Kiwi words (some of which must have been inherited from the British).

Across the Ditch = across the Tasman Sea to Australia (sometimes the reference is just to The Ditch) All Blacks = the much-loved National Rugby Team – on track to be 2007 World Champions!! Anzac Day = National holiday similar to Memorial Day Aotearoa = land of the long white cloud (Maori name for New Zealand)

Bach = small holiday house (pronounced batch) Beehive = the Parliament building in Wellington Biscuit = cookie Bloke = ordinary guy Booking = reservation at a restaurant or a theater or for travel Boot / bonnet = car trunk / hood Bubbles = champagne

Capsicum = red bell pepper Cheers = thanks, goodbye, good luck ("cheers mate") – heard at least 100 times a day Cheeky = rude / brave-confronting Cheeky monkey = a wise guy Chemist = pharmacy, drug store Chips = French fries – served with everything (even pizza) Chocolate fish = a chocolate covered marshmallow in the shape of a fish, sometimes given with coffee or tea; also a famous café in Wellington College = high school (college is called university) Cool = OK, fantastic (probably over-used) Crayfish = lobster

Dairy = convenience store (selling a lot more than milk) Dear = expensive Dub Dub Dub = www (as in an Internet address) Duvet = (pronounced duvay) bed cover (inner filling with a removable cover) – we couldn't find any bedspreads Drink driving = drunk driving (if caught, your name, age, blood alcohol percentage, occupation, city and fine is printed in the newspaper) eftpos = pronounced F POS – a bank card system with a PIN (either cash or credit) to pay for everything, cash is rarely used – it's a great system, you don't even have to sign for credit card charges Entrée = appetizer course on the menu En Suite = a bathroom attached to the bedroom (this adds to the property value)

Fair go = appeal for fairness (give us a break) Fags = cigarettes Fine = when referring to weather, a sunny day (as in, Wellington is fine today) Flat = apartment Flat white = coffee with a thin layer of cream on top - very popular Flatmate = someone you share a flat with Footie = rugby Football = soccer Fortnight = an interval of two weeks (used all the time_ Fringes = bangs – like in a hair style

Gas hobs = gas cook top Gidday = hello Good as Gold = everything is OK – used mainly by men over 40 Good on you = you've done a good job GP = primary care physician Gridiron= American football Guy Fawkes Day = pronounced Fox – a semi-holiday celebrating the failure of a plot to blow up the British Parliament in 1605. Celebrated with elaborate fireworks.

Haka = dance done by All Blacks before each rugby game to frighten the opponents Hangi = traditional Maori earth oven – method of cooking food Hokey-pokey = pieces of golden sugar candy or a caramel like ice cream flavor Holiday = vacation Hospital = never "the" hospital; as in "I took my sister to hospital" House surgeon = an intern at the hospital Judder bars or speed pacers = speed bumps

Keen = strong desire (used a lot) Kia ora = Maori greeting - hi, hello, thanks Kiwi = a New Zealander Kiwi = NZ native flightless bird. The kiwi is unusual in at least two respects. First, it is the only bird in the world that has its nostrils at the end of its beak. Second, the female kiwi has the largest egg, in proportion to its body size, of any bird in the world. Kiwis are about the same size as chickens, but their eggs are almost as big as those of ostriches! Kiwi = "The Kiwi" means the NZ dollar Kumara = A type of sweet potato unique to NZ – served everywhere – we love them!

Lemonade = 7-up or Sprite Lift = elevator (an elevator is an escalator) Life Style Blocks = a self-sustaining plot of land where you build your house Lolly = a lolly pop Loo = toilet (they use portaloo's instead of porta-potties) Lounge = living room Lovely = feminine version of "good as gold"

Maori = Polynesian race that settled New Zealand 1000 years before Europeans; approximately 15% of the population are Maori's Mains = entrees (on a menu) Mate = man Message minder = voice mail Mister = a surgeon at the hospital Mobile = (pronounced moBILE) cell phone Morning tea = short break from work mid-morning MP = member of Parliament Mufti = a school day when you don't have to wear the regular school uniform (most private and public schools have uniforms) Mum or mummy = mother

Nappy = baby diaper Netball = women's basketball without backboard and no dribbling No worries = not a problem, easy (used frequently) Nose to toes = bumper to bumper traffic N Zed = New Zealand

OE = overseas experience (working holiday abroad) – some people say My Great OE or the Big OE On the dole = on welfare Oz = Australia

Pakeha = Maori term for person of European descent Partner = person you share a romantic involvement with – married, gay or straight Petrol = gas Peter Jackson = academy award-winning director of Lord of the Rings and King Kong (a virtual god in New Zealand) PM = Prime Minister – Helen Clark for the last 10 years Postie = postal carrier Pram = baby carriage Queue = a waiting line (the queue for open heart surgery is one year!) Rates = taxes Registrar = a resident at the hospital Return = round trip Roundabouts = a traffic circle used in many places instead of traffic lights or stop signs – sometimes you go round and round before you figure out how to get out Sultana = raisin Scheme = plan (used a lot for government programs – there is no negative connotation) Scott Base = NZ's base in Antarctica (next to the US base, McMurdo Station) – a real source of national pride. They do a lot of research in Antarctica.

Scrum = a bizarre group hug in rugby where all the players of both teams form a tight circle with their arms around each other (needs to be seen to be believed)

Sickie = sick day Silver Ferns = women's national netball team Smoko = short break from work Sorry = excuse me (they never say excuse me) Sparkie = an electrician Sunnies = sunglasses Surgery = a GP's outpatient clinic Superannuation = retirement plan Sweetener = Equal or Sweet & Low Ta = Goodbye/thanks - used in emails alot

Take-away = food or drinks to go Tall Blacks = National basketball team Tea = evening meal Test = a game (as in rugby or basketball) Theatre = operating room at the hospital To let = for rent Toilet = public restroom (you never see signs saying restrooms, only toilets) Torches = flashlights Trade Me = a web site similar to Craig's List Tramp = hike (a verb and a noun) Trim milk = low-fat milk (extra trim is non-fat milk, but it is hard to find) Trolley = shopping cart Two seater = love seat Three seater = sofa Try = to score in a rugby match Tyre = tire

Vege = pronounced veggie (vegetables) Wee = small (used a lot) Whilst = while (often seen in print) Whitewear = kitchen appliances Won't be a moment = whenever they say this, it will be a long wait Yeees = yes - pronounced with a very long e

Zed = the letter Z, as in N Zed

Zinfindel wine= an unknown word in Kiwi speak - too bad for Jo