foodstuffs

We leave for Castlepoint early(ish) tomorrow morning, and it's decently late (well, 11:00, but that's late for us now), so I'll make this short. Maybe.

The last few days have contained a lot of "here & there" type things--and, unfortunately, it takes a fair amount of driving to get from "here" to "there," so I know the inside of our vans pretty well.

1. Bush tramping was spectacular. There are over 150 kinds of ferns here, and I believe it. There are some that look like palm trees. I've been trying to figure out a way to describe the bush here, but the best I can come up with is a combination of Point Defiance, the Hoh, and Hawaii (but that's still missing something). We hiked in a couple of different places, and, at the first, we had to cross a gorge to do any sort of real tramping. On a suspension bridge. Did I mention I hate heights? Yes, it was worth it, but I had a few moments of feeling like my tonsils had dropped to my hips.

2. We toured Barry Kempton's farm (he's a friend of Brian's) and got to see his dogs round up the sheep. I love the sheep. I obviously did not grow up on a farm.

3. After the farm, we went wine tasting (and I learned there's a reason New Zealand is known for its whites and not its reds) and then stopped at Schoc Chocolate. Forget Swiss chocolate. Schoc has all different kinds of really unique chocolate, from rose to smoked paprika to white lemon (the chocolate is white) to sea salt to my personal favorite, Earl Grey.

4. We got the chance to visit a Marae, which is the meeting place for the Maori. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, beyond maybe...enlightening? but that's the wrong word. It was one of those "this is a really old place" (not the Marae itself, but the culture and the country).

5. Last night, we went to a reading of two NZ authors, Charlotte Grimshaw and Paula Morris. And I, of course, bought a book. But I haven't finished it yet!

6. Tonight, we went to a one-man show called "The World's a Stage" that was a reflection (an on-stage essay, almost) of Shakespeare's works. He did it all (Hamlet, Lady M., Mercutio, Lear, Falstaff...), and he did it all very, very well.

7. And, lastly: everything I ate today was wonderful (hence the title). Coffee in the morning (they've got great coffee here). Lunch was sushi (tuna, salmon, and crab). Dinner was fish & chips (and the strips were massive--longer than my hand). Some kind of white fish (whatever was caught this morning) with a magical batter.

And, around 3-ish, I had gelato. Kiwi gelato. And I do believe that is all I need say on that.

m.