Author Archives: d4vid

Kids

Was able to meet up with five of my favorite ex-ODW coworkers.  They were all TDs back in Shanghai.  I call them “the Weta kids” because they left en masse for Weta. More slightly bizarre Kiwi Mexican food, but the … Continue reading

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Comfy

Stayed in this comfy, apartment-like hotel in Downtown Wellington my last couple of nights.

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Indy

My New Zealand Air flight from Christchurch back to Wellington was in a prop plane!  I felt like Indiana Jones! The crew, however, did not appreciate it when I yelled “Nice try, Lao Che!” out at the tarmac and slammed … Continue reading

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Simulacrum

Back in Christchurch, I was in a bad way.  It had been nearly two whole weeks since I had had any Mexican food and I was jonesing hard.  I found a place with the promising name of “Mexicano’s”. Yeah, um, … Continue reading

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Castle

This spooky outcropping of rocks is called Castle Hill. Undoubtedly haunted.

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Skid

I saw this road sign all over New Zealand.  (And this was the best picture you could get?  Well, I’m sorry for the potato quality, but if you don’t like it why don’t you go to New Zealand and spend … Continue reading

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Watershed

From the South Island’s west coast, I headed east, straight through the mountain range at the heart of the island.  It felt very much like driving through the Rocky Mountains. A rainbow ended a the small town of Arthur’s Pass … Continue reading

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Aviary

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the birds.  Now, IANAO (“I am not an ornithologist”) but even I was gobsmacked by the sheer variety of birds throughout New Zealand.  I saw more species of birds in two weeks in … Continue reading

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Feast

Before venturing through Arthur’s Pass back to Christchurch, I spent the night in a small coastal town called Hokitika.  Grabbed a bottle of New Zealand Pinot Noir from a liquor store and a pepperoni pizza from Fat Pipi Pizzas before … Continue reading

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Glacial

Didn’t have time to get very close to Fox Glacier.  Took this shot looking through the valley with the glacier in the distance. I was able to get much closer to the Franz Josef Glacier, but it started raining and … Continue reading

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Gnarled

I reached the west coast of the South Island, looking out over the Tasman Sea.The landscape often struck me as looking like a particularly well-watered version of San Diego.  But then there were these strange, gnarled trees everywhere which made … Continue reading

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Decor

Had a surprisingly tasty venison lasagna at the Hard Antler Bar & Restaurant in Haast. In my head, Gaston kept singing “I use antlers in all of my decorating!”

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Riparian

Cutting through the mountains driving westward to the coast of the South Island, I kept crossing and recrossing crystalline rivers like this one.

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Postcard

Every inch of the Sound Island felt worthy of a postcard.  This was just some random mountains by some random lake.

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Avalanche

The road to Milford Sound was treacherous.  It had just been cleared of the snow which blocked the road and kept me in Glenorchy those extra two nights.  The mountains were so steep, so snow-covered that the entire area was … Continue reading

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