Roads, Maori Names and other Musings

I am convinced that there are no straight roads in New Zealand. Zip zero none nada. Don’t get me wrong, the roads aren’t bad just narrow and full of hairpin curves. Coupled with driving on what is for us the wrong side of the road, it made for some near death experiences pour moi. Well, I exaggerate a bit of course but after riding shotgun a few times, I decided that riding in the way back was preferable. Eating brush and seeing trees way too up close and personal on “my side,” may have improved my abs due to the constant muscle tensing, but was not good for the blood pressure. By the way, the Fella was and remains in deep denial about how close he really got to the bushes, trees, and road signs. Round abouts are a great way to control traffic and eliminate the need for stop lights. Although there are traffic lights in the major cities, round abouts are a cool way to keep things moving. You just need to remember the rules, which is pause or stop, give way, all clear and go. As said previously, the one lane bridges are also a unique way to save money on bridge building but also have rules of the road. The red arrow in your direction means that you DO NOT have the right of way. You must give way and wait for the all clear. The black arrow means you can proceed if of course the red arrow people headed for you are off the bridge. This ahem was a bit of a lesson for us …because we were bigger did not mean folks would back-up off the bridge and let us pass first. The one lane bridges are not in the major metropolitan areas –at least that I remember. Kiwis driving habits seem to be sensible and they have a great deal of patience with the plethora of tourists using the roads.

Ok, I never figured out how to pronounce many of the Maori place names. There are too many vowels strung together with an occasional consonant thrown in for fun. I only knew how to say Ngunguru( nungooroo the ‘g’ sound is barely uttered) because I asked. Hawiian is full of vowels but they are all uttered. Some of the Maori place names are shortened or blends like ‘wh’ are spoken as if it is a ‘f,’ then again sometimes not! I could live there for years and still be struggling with the language and that brings me to the Kiwi accent.

There were times, as I listened carefully to our B&B hosts or store clerks that I felt English was my second language. Kiwis seem to talk a lot –part of their friendly nature- but fast and have a lilting accent that is a hybrid of English cockney, Scottish, Irish, and a Texas drawl. I found myself asking people to repeat themselves or I would nod as if I knew what had been just said to me. Often times I had NO clue.

One can travel in New Zealand for three months on just your passport. I would really enjoy doing some of the tracks especially in Abel Tasman and the Milford Sound region. Another kayak trip and maybe the bungy swing would be fun, too. When we return it’ll be for at least four weeks. There is so much that we missed.