Te Anau

Te Anau

14 February 13, 2010

I drove down to Te Anau today. Nice drive. I saw some “domestic” elk. I don’t know of any other country other than New Zealand that raises elk for meat on farm… fairly domestically.

I left Balclutha in a drizzle which was disappointing as the morning had so much promise. The drizzle soon turned ominous as angry clouds filled the sky, naturally, to the direction I was heading. Hopefully this wasn’t an omen. I’ve rarely seen omens. I suspect things are omens from time to time as any true pessimist might but rarely to they truly portend anything unless I let them. As omens go I’m sure there are those that are more worth than others. Black cats, for instance, naturally a bad omen. They never worked out that way for me as far as I can remember but you I never poke fate in the face with a stick if I can help it. I have tempted ladders. I mean if they are in your path and the only reasonable way around them in under them, then why not. Honestly, who can ever say that a ladder has caused them a great deal of harm? The ladder thing has lost its oomph over the years, you have to admit. Black cats on the other hand… well that’s just common sense really. Spilled salt is another one that it is best just not to mess with. Take it from me… why take the chance, just throw a bit over your shoulder… what harm can it do? Dark clouds on the horizon are a certain omen of bad fortune… it is very likely to rain and that is a fact no one can deny, superstitious or not. The clouds did bring rain but not so much that it spoiled the day.

On arrival at Te Anau, the weather was warm and pleasant. The omen did prove itself out though. My cheap rental car’s trunk leaks. Now I must do two circles, counter clockwise while holding my nose to ward off the evil eye. Hey don’t judge, I didn’t make the rules.

As I drove through Gore, Clinton and a whole slew of places I can’t pronounce I came upon the verdant, undulating field and they caused me pause… not much, just enough to wonder why the sheep were so damned white and what sort of git uses the words verdant and undulating in the first place. The time is long past where verdant has ever cause to be used in the modern vocabulary even literary or poetically. I mean really… how many people actually know what verdant means? Undulating they get, thanks to Daniel Steel I’m sure but at least that is still in use. All the same… it does sort of work for these particular fields. I have to wonder what the geography was like prior to Europeans terra-forming it to something more similar to Ireland or Scotland. Possibly verdant, but certainly undulating I’m sure.

In due course I passed a scenic preserve boasting of an apparently rare red tussock. To be sure, I’ve rarely heard of the tussock in general much less the red which I have to assume is an infinitely more rare variety. I believe the demise of the tussock came around about the time of the diminished paddock for surely one is most rare without the other.

Eventually I passed the verdant hills, the angry and brooding clouds and ventured even passed the famed tussocks and made my way to Te Anau. Te Anau reminds me a bit of someplace akin to a Bavarian village or perhaps a mountain village Ansel Adams might have stayed in while photographing the Sierras. I can almost see model T Fords mucking about in the streets. Of course there are the latte shops and pizza parlors and at least three ATM machines in the few blocks I walked plus two internet shops… one in a laundry which is a clever idea. The place is quaint but I have to warn you I can piss you off. It did me. I don’t like touristy and Te Anau is a bit touristy. Not badly, the Kiwis seem to have managed the fine art of giving gift shops a legitimate place without seeming tacky. The place is crowded, so crowded in fact that I almost had to turn around to find a hotel in another town, which would have put a crimp in my fishing plans. As it is “T” town as I shall now call it, may yet be a bit far. We’ll see tomorrow. How dare they not have a room for me, don’t they know who I am? Sadly I’m traveling incognito this trip. Had they known I was coming, I’m sure they would have saved me a room. I have a good bit of information for you. The next time you are in New Zealand and looking for a room and there seems to be none. Go to an “I” site. I must mean information but they do all sorts of booking from ferries between the North Island and the South Island to room bookings. I did find a place to stay. Time will tell if it was a good one but after all the mangers I’ve stayed in, bugs are sort of common place. I shall soon see if this place has bugs as well.

In fact I’m in a backpacker joint. I’m not sure if it is appropriate to call all backpackers hippies or all hippies backpackers but there are some striking similarities such as lack of a job or decent hygiene. I have to confess I’m a bit jaded on this topic and possibly quite biased and probably ill-informed.

I’m not sure when it all started but hostels have been around for years and years in Europe. Kids after “high school” but before university and come from reasonably well off parents are armed with a backpack, some clean linen (to stave off bed bugs and other body vermin), the basics in clothes and an allowance, generally modest enough to bring them home is a few months, set off in search of adventure, sex and booze and generally a good time. These parents with their good intentions send their little ones off to see the world. It was generally Europe in the early years and now pretty much global with the possible exception of the Americas. I haven’t heard much about the hostel scene in the US. There are a few but the public transportation system isn’t so advanced and hostels seem pretty spread out if in existence at all. I suspect hippies started it all with their Katmandu trail and destinations in Asia. So in the end, I suppose hippies and backpacker are not so much different.

It is a sin for a backpacker to have money in anything remotely resembling abundance. Apparently hygiene is also frowned upon. I have never been a backpacker so I’m unfamiliar with the specific rules of the fraternity but it seems being smelly, nearly naked and drunk for a large part of their time is a common trait. Perhaps it is a good thing. I’m sure it allows them to be better students and gives them a wider world view. Perhaps that makes them better bankers and insurance salesmen in the future, having sowed their wild oats.

So my backpacker experience, as to this room. $105NZD/3day is certainly better than $150/night from anyone’s point of view, unless there are bed bugs involved or when I have to go take a wee in the middle of the night and forget my keys. I’ll let you know about that tomorrow.

I was at a pub earlier, shocking I’m sure. I was hungry and the restaurants don’t open until 5pm. I had a few beers, sat outside in the chill wind having a cigarette and listening to Charlie Daniels. It always amazes me how American culture or perhaps I should say pop culture travels. I remember being stunned while at a German festival of some sort and finding a German country and western band playing. I wonder if it still translates to the typical theme of “my wife ran off with my dog and took all my stuff so I’m drinking because I miss that dog.” I didn’t speak German well enough to tell for sure.

The hostel turned out to be fine; actually it was a nice clean place to stay if you are on a budget and who besides perhaps Donald Trump and Paris Hilton aren’t. All jaded musing aside. A lot of back packer places are good for families when traveling. Many have separate rooms and facilities for cooking your own meal. I generally associate them with hippies but anyone can stay, many are geared more toward family travelers or budget travelers of all ages. I met a middle aged lady that stays at them almost exclusively when she travels. Many Australians and Kiwi’s prefer to cook their own meals thinking restaurants aren’t healthy, which they probably aren’t. I’m not very domestic so I’m more of a restaurant kind of guy, I can’t see a diet of top ramen nearly exclusively being any health benefit and I wouldn’t want expose my culinary inadequacies to the general public. Besides, why spend my time washing dishes? Hostels can also be a good wholesome place to meet people and talk about your travels, get ideas for different places to go and see or just generally meet someone from other countries and cultures.