Thursday, April 20, 2006

Calling All Milfs!

After a restful night in Te Anu, we're preparing to board an overnight cruise to Milford and Doubtful Sound. There will be kayaking, dolphin and whale watching as well as presentations by the surrounding local residents, cheekily called 'Milfs'. This area in the South is called the Fiordland, not to be confused with the Scandinavian fjord. We're also driving a Ford around the fiords adding to the confusing chaos of spellings.

We've done a decent job of staying away from email thus far, usually checking it once every few days or so. With the prominence of backpackers and tourists, every small road town features a gas station, pub and internet cafe. Somewhat inversely reminiscent of South Africa, where every town featured a KFC, morturary and petrol station. Driving has been fantastic thus far, the kind of driving people do for pleasure - scenic mountains, autumn leaves scattering the road, smooth pavement and absolutely no one around.

We've also been fortuate to have some great meals whilst on our trip. Venison and lamb are popular meats both in the pastures and on the plates, we have had a bit of each. I had had chicken last night served topped with salmon topped with calamari rings. The trifecta! Lemon fish, prawns and whiting comprising the seafood category. Lunch is usually comprised of apples, crackers, peanut butter and Nutella taken at a picnic table on the road somewhere. The morning (and afternoon) coffee has been phenomenal, the Kiwis take pride in its quality and presentation.

Tomorrow arvo after the cruise we're meeting the Roger Washbourn of the southen hemisphere, my grandfather's namesake. He's been found as a long lost relative of the Washbourn clan, the name of my mother's side of the family. Earlier this month, my aunt paid a visit to Roger the Second's family and performed some on-site geneology research.

The company that we're using for our scenic cruise is Real Journeys. In such a underdeveloped place like EnZed, this outfitter certainly has the tourism industry dialled. Coach buses, boats, sea planes - all well branded, maintained and operated. Word is that they are the second largest company in the country, second to only Air NZ, we surmise. Not surprising as there doesn't seem to be many other companies in the area with this kind of backing and reputation. They are either well funded or extremely profitable, a sharp contrast to the mom and pop industries that seem to dominate the landscape.

posted by ncawthon at 7:18 PM