One of the luckiest folk in the world, here, reporting on her return from one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Did you know the Maori only found New Zealand 800 years ago? People have been in Australia for 60,000 years, but New Zealand…? Even the indigenous people have been there just eight centuries.
Have another amazing fact—while scientists argue about exactly how New Zealand became so isolated, they are quite certain that only two mammals are native—and they are each a species of bat. (The fur seals don’t count, despite being super cute, as they live in the ocean and haul up on land.)
So. Super fascinating, check. Astonishingly beautiful, check. Home of some super cool stuff? Oh yeah.
One thing this country is not? Always on.
There was a 24-hour kebab place near our hotel in Brisbane. (Australia.) I didn’t see anything twenty-four hour in New Zealand. Even the Denny’s (Yes, Denny’s) that had a “24 Hours!” sign, had a small paper sign next to it that they were open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. holidays excluded.
Also, they sold booze at the Denny’s.
In Christchurch, there was a pedestrian mall around the corner from our hotel, full of cafes, bars, restaurants, and souvenir shops. When I went in search of coffee one morning, the café I’d IDed from the internet that opened at 0730 wasn’t open at 0800. I walked on, desperate for coffee—and found several more cafés, all closed. I came back…and the one I’d been looking for had someone bringing chairs out. Thankfully he recognized the hopeful pleading on my face, and waved me in where I acquired coffee.
It’s a thing. We found a grocery store in Franz Josef Glacier that was open 10-4 each day. Many places don’t even post “trading hours.” They’re open when you come by, or they’re not. One presumes the locals know when they are likely to be open, but for us it was very much hit or miss.
There was a night we ate shortbread for dinner, as every restaurant had been a definite miss. Another night we identified a bar (assuming only a bar would be open after 8 p.m.) that served pizza (have I mentioned none of us had a working phone? It was mostly less of a problem than you’d think, especially as even having internet doesn’t mean the place is actually open…) but arrived and found it “closed for private function.” We walked on, found another bar—and they had already shut down the kitchen. But they sent us on to another place they thought was open. We didn’t find it, but on the way found an Indian place where (again) our desperation was recognized and we were fed. (yum…)
I respect it. I honor it. I think it’s GREAT that people here don’t seem to be expected to work all hours. But geez. Sometimes it was really hard to get a cup of coffee.
Kind of makes me understand this guy a little better.
