We weren’t planning to stop in Picton. Then we saw a brochure about swimming with dolphins. Plans changed. It turns out that Dusky dolphins respond very well to Away in a Manger.
I’ve mentioned before that pretty much every road in New Zealand takes you through countryside with beautiful serene pastures full of grazing cows and sheep. Usually you just drive past them, but not today.
Until yesterday, I thought that 90 mile beach was the longest beach in NZ. And apparently I’m not alone — if you Google the longest beaches in the world then 90 mile beach comes out in the top 10 just about every time. But not only is 90 mile beach not 90 miles long (it…
I got a voicemail from a recruiter about a role with a company called “In Zed Bus.” I Googled it for ten minutes before realizing she meant NZ Bus. Welcome to Part 1 of How to Talk Like a Kiwi.
On Highway 2 between Auckland and Tauranga sits the small town of Paeroa, birthplace of L&P — New Zealand’s most beloved soft drink and the source of the phrase “World Famous in New Zealand.” The giant bottle on the main street used to be a space rocket. Of course it did.
Wellington Kiwis will sneer at your Starbucks cup. Auckland Kiwis couldn’t care less. And at the bottom of the South Island there’s a store that claims to be the southernmost Starbucks in the world.
A three-minute film about two Chinese refugees who came to New Zealand as children, became the country’s largest kumara growers, saved an entire crop from extinction, and refused to be paid for it. Watch it.
William Larnach built New Zealand’s only castle in the 1870s. His last wife had an affair with his son. He shot himself in parliament. The castle is beautiful. The story is a lot.
Whanganui has an underground elevator built inside a hill. It has been running since 1919. There is an operator. It costs $2.50. At the top are 176 spiral steps and one of the best views in New Zealand.
Tirau has a population of about 800 people and a giant corrugated iron dog, sheep, and ram on its main street. It calls itself the Corrugated Capital of the World. It’s not wrong.