East Eats West

May you recover quickly, Christchurch!

One month ago I was myself in the now earthquake-ravaged city of Christchurch in New Zealand. Devastation and despair entered the city in-expectantly. May the citizens of Christchurch find their strengths in trying times! My heart is with you!

Weather vagaries in New Zealand

Picture: Driving on the west coast of the South Island. 

At the foot of Franz Josef Glacier is a wonderfully lush rainforest. On a rainy day, which happens quite often on the West Coast (or wet-coast) of New Zealand, the rain forest is shrouded in a thick mist. I left Franz Josef on exactly such a very wet day and made my way east in order to escape the rain. There is a saying about the Southern Island: if it rains on one side, the sun will shine on the other side. On that very day I drove across the mighty Arthur's Pass that connects Greymouth with Christchurch, this was true. Up to the peak raindrops were my constant companions. As soon as I reached the peak the weather changed with the scenery: the land became more arid and the sun started to shine.

I experienced a similar pattern when I drove from the normally very sunny northern tip of the South Island, Nelson, to Kaikoura on the east coast. Nelson is touted as the sun-shine capital of New Zealand, unfortunately not when I visited. So I drove a small mountain pass to the east coast. Immediately the sun smiled on me again. A few weeks later I learned that the area north of Nelson experienced heavy flooding, the worst in hundred years! Visiting New Zealand therefore means having enough flexibility for abrupt weather changes!

Picture: Arriving on the east coast of the same island. 

The sound that is a fjord

Romantic Milford sound on the South Island of New Zealand.

The last sock-making machine

Picture: A collection of historical hand-operated sock-making machines. 

New Zealand's television commercials are perfect for red-necks: power tools, fishing kits, car repair machinery and other “real-men” toys are advertised. No wonder Kiwis are experts in fixing cars, boats and other machinery. It is not unusual to come across cars that sport more than 300'000kms on the clock! In Hokitika on the Southern Island I came across another skilled craftsman, or more craftswoman: Jacky. Jacky has been collecting sock knitting machines for decades and her shop-cum-museum sports a dazzling variety of vintage machines, some dating back 250 years. There are also a fully functional vintage textile machine and antique sock knitting machines. I can highly recommend Jacky's possum-merino-blend socks! Jacky is also the last person in the world that still manufactures a hand-operated sock knitting machine that is sold for NZD 2'000. The New Zealanders continue to amaze me with their inventiveness and persistency!

Sock World & Sock Knitting Machine Museum, 75 Revell Street, Hokitika, Southern Island, New Zealand (open 7 days).

Learning to fly

In the 1987 Pink Floyd video “learning to fly” a young man fixes a feather at his arm, runs over a cliff and starts to fly over a vast canyon. He then gracefully hovers above the canyon, watching his shadow following him on the ground. At the very end of the video the man can be seen in a hang glider, slowly circling the sky. That was my first memory of a hang glider and it has been with me ever since. Now, decades later hang gliders are almost extinct as paraglider have taken over. However, the picture of the graceful glider still lingered in my head, together with a wish to fly alike. After waiting 20 years, my dream was about to become true. On a sunny and slightly windy day in Queenstown, NZ, I drove up a smaller mountain, donned a harness, attached myself to my French pilot Jan. After a brisk walk we were airborne and only the sound of the passing wind could be heard. Like in the Pink Floyd video we circled in the sky, overlooking breath-taking mountains, distant lakes and green pastures while hawks were preying underneath us. Then my French pilot caught a thermal uplift and we went higher and higher while the Pink Floyd song played in my head. After a 20 minutes flight Jan banked heavily and we rapidly spiraled downwards. I felt the pressure in my stomach while my eyes got all watery. The landing was soft and gentle and this is when I felt that my my legs were slightly wobbly. It is true what they say about the first flight experience: before take-off you feel uneasy, then during the flight you feel the adrenaline rush. After landing the stomach feels woozy for a couple of hours while the endorphins started to flow and one enters a bliss. So I spent the whole afternoon in the glow of the flight, while the Pink Floyd song kept playing in my head. Awesome!

Sailing with dolphins in colonial Akaroa

A native from Christchurch told us that Christchurch used to be an ugly city. Now, after the recent earthquake it just got worse. Driving in from the quaint mountain hot spring resort of Hamner Springs Christchurch was indeed an eyesore! Therefore I drove another hour south to the unspoiled Banks Peninsula. Akaroa, a small town situated on the southern side of the peninsula, reminded me a lot of Russell on the Northern Island, another historic European settlement. Interestingly it was the French who settled first in Akaroa, before the British. But the British claimed New Zealand for their own two weeks before the French wanted to do so. So Akaroa together with the whole of New Zealand became British. Today there is only one building standing from the French period, all other buildings are British wooden houses. Nevertheless, the unique mix of sea, history and charming architecture makes Akaroa a prime destination to spend a few leisurely days, swimming with dolphins, sailing the Pacific or walking the many scenic tracks.

Two Argentineans, one bike and 200'000kms

In Wellington, New Zealand, I came across an Argentinean couple who have been touring the world on a souped up motorcycle since February 2002. So far they have been to 69 countries and are touring around New Zealand. Not only have they been to Switzerland but also to the Fürstentum Liechtenstein (you better look up where this tiny country is)! Travel safely, muchachos! http://porsiemprelamoto.terapad.com/

 

Save the trees with possum fur

Are you feeling cold in Europe? What about some soft, warm and environmentally friendly New Zealand possum fur? The possum was introduced to New Zealand from Australia. Today there is an estimated population of almost 70m possums in New Zealand. A possum weighs about 4.5kg and six of them eat as much as a sheep. But it is not only the quantity that is a problem, also what they eat. They eat the roots of local trees, killing them in the process. They also eat the endangered Kiwi bird. The possums are nocturnal animals and visitors will most likely encounter them dead, overrun by a car, laying on a stretch of road. The upside of a dead possum is its warm and soft fur. The fur gets made into Russian hats, fur-covered vests, gloves and blankets. So help the environment and buy a possum hat! Products can also be ordered online at www.glenorchyfur.co.nz.

Queenstown going up-market in tourism

As written about before New Zealand experienced a property bust recently. The bubble before was mostly fueled by overseas buyers, for example from Hong Kong, investing into the local market while receiving cheap financing from Australian-owned banks. With the global financial crisis the bubble burst and at the same time the property market tanked, tourism took a beating. Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand and located at the shore of a beautiful lake and surrounded by breath-taking mountains, is trying to get out of the funk in targeting more up-market clients. After years of backpacker-tourism Queenstown is eyeing tourists from India and China. Tourists from Asian countries have grown up to 40 percent in recent years. However, what Queenstown lacks are international hotels, world-class shopping and spas. The government is currently developing a new neighborhood in Frankton, targeting more up-market developers. At the same time the city is trying to attract international hotel chains like Hilton, who will open a hotel in 2011. What will be an additional boost to tourism is the AirAsia budget airline connection to Kuala Lumpur and onwards to France. Even today walking the streets of Queenstown makes it clear where the future growth will come from: India and China.

The ascent of the deer in New Zealand

When it comes to market liberalization no one can quite match New Zealand for speed and brutality. New Zealand supported a heavily subsided agriculture industry for the longest time that cost the tax-payer billions. When it became clear in the eighties that the budget deficit was unsustainable, the labour government cut the subsidies in 1984 to nil, overnight! This created a life-or-death experience for farmers and many feared for their future. The effects of the regime change were drastic and New Zealand became a study for many market liberalizations (we studied it at university). The drastic medicine turned out to be a success and New Zealand nowadays is the biggest dairy exporter in the world. And this is why.

Before 1984 sheep farmers got enormous subsidies per sheep. That led to a huge increase in the sheep population and unsustainable practices in farming like chopping down of trees, depletion of water and erosion. At times New Zealand had up to 60m sheep. Due to the cut of subsidies farmers had to diversify into deer and diary farming. The number of sheep was reduced to under 37m and they started to export their produce all over the world. Deer meat (called venison) is nowadays sold to Germany, Belgium and France and merino-wool clothing has become a household item. At the same time due to improvement in efficiency the number of people working in farming has dropped dramatically.

The success of New Zealand agricultural products of late is largely due to the enormous demand from China. Farming has risen from the ashes like a phoenix but there are some dark clouds on the horizon. Diary farming for milk uses a lot of water and fresh water has become a sought-after commodity on the South Islands. With more droughts and more unstable weather New Zealand is also affected by global warming. So cows might have been increasing in numbers on account of sheep, but the race is not finished yet.