So 6 weeks in and what grand inspirations have I summoned?

New Zealand is a poor country relative to the States. Not desperately poor, but the 1/3 lower GDP than neighboring Australia does show through. Buildings are old, fixtures are old, the vehicle fleet is pretty old. Plumbing is very old. People keep and maintain items much more than in the non-Mexican parts of Norte Americano. Living is not cheap and wages are relatively low.

Yet the absence of wealth has inspired a definite DIY mania. Everybody has a shed with some secret project brewing. Perhaps a panel-beater rig, maybe a pipebender, maybe they brew beer or slaughter stock in their spare time. Everybody has a second skill, or at least the parts of the south island I have seen reflect this.

Items are reused to a great extent as well. Trademe.co.nz has items that would never appear on ebay, things not worth the postage but still up for grabs. The usage of trademe is huge as well, a very healthy segment of the population uses the program to maintain a national near-freecycling program. You can take used soda bottles to the brewery and have them filled up from a tap on the wall. Granted, you can do that in the States but you have to have the fancy growler bottles Can you imagine the look at some upper-class brewpub when you bring in an old plastic Sprite bottle for a couple of liters of oatmeal stout? Wine can be purchased this way as well. Not good wine, but wine.

Kiwis are not generally dog people. Considering the extent to which they identify with Britain this surprised me, since the poms are dog fanatics. But between the risk to stock (sheep) and the damage dogs and cats have done to the indigenous wildlife the culture just doesn't seem too keen on them. Makes for cleaner sidewalks.

They drink like Russians. With tans.

The cops are amazingly tolerant. While most countries in the West have a stronger tradition of tolerating street protest than the States, the Kiwi police's ability to tolerate general street drunkenness never ceases to bewilder me. Apparently they don't care much for public micturation, however. Consider yourself warned.

They aren't Australians. There is enough in this topic alone for a future post.

For a place that produces some of the best dairy products (cheese) in the world, the stuff is damnedably expensive. Since most is exported the local prices match world prices. With the weak Kiwi dollar, that makes for very unhappy French students used to their daily frommage fix. It makes me a sad, or poor, boy as well.

The sense of the land in the people I have met is wonderfully strong. Most Kiwis seem to realize what a beautiful place they live in. Not that there aren't drunken assholes breaking trees or irresponsible jack-bastards dumping garbage at campsites, but as a whole the environment is seen as worthy of protection. It is treated like family. Not always well, but still something you protect.

The people are accepting, good natured, tolerant, reasonably industrious, and family oriented. Reminds me a bit of Utah, at least on Utah's good days. The folks are curious about what you think of NZ as well. Want to make them beam, compliment the place right off. Not that this is difficult.

Finally, the roads. Dear god, the roads. Gravel roads heading everywhere, frequently sign-free one lane vertiginous wonders leading off into glorious, glacier carved pocket universes. You can get almost anywhere in the country on them, and traffic is a minimal concern. Nothing beats turning off on to a random trail and ending up at some isolated beach or river, knowing no one else is likely to show up and that this is in none of the guidebooks. Personal paradise for the cost of a few litres of diesel.

I am lonely, stressed, flailing, and occasional bored. But no regrets yet. This place is worthy of exploration, and I am lucky to be doing it.

Now off to Milford Sound and the Southern Alps.