Tuesday, March 18
Picton to Wellington. No riding today. Arrived via ferry from the
South Island. It is quite a shock to be back in a big city. Everything
seems very loud and busy -- even though, from what I can tell,
Wellington is a pretty mellow place. Lots of traffic signals too.
Probably didn't run across more than half dozen traffic lights the
whole time we were in the South Island. It even seems weird to see
people walking around in suits. Wellington is very cool -- a little
like San Francisco. Lots of very cool shops and cafes (I hear, more
cafes per capita than New York). Lots of very hip people.
Walked around a bit. Stopped in a shop to listen to the new U2 release
(New for here). By the way, music is insanely expensive here (CD -- $30NZ!). Yikes, that's about US$20 a CD! (US$1=NZ$1.44) Although, things look pretty darn prosperous around here, so I would guess that this is not a real problem. Oddly, all the cars seem to be new here. Apparently there is a law that mandates all clunkers to be shipped to the South Island (especially orange ones).
Anyway, walked around a bit enjoying the urban scenery and then hooked up with Paul Kennett (of the famous Kennett Brothers Empire). For those of you who
aren't already familiar with The Empire -- the Kennett Brothers seem to
be the all-around mountain bike gurus of New Zealand (covering
everything from racing to race organizing to publishing -- www.mountainbike.co.nz).
After checking out the Kennett Brothers nerve center in downtown Wellington, we dashed off to the unveiling of the New Zealand Government Online Web Page (www.govt.nz). Schmoozed a little bit with some very important people (you know who you are) and enjoyed some complimentary beverages courtesy of the NZ government. The site is actually pretty cool -- definitely worth a view. Paul was kind enough to put us up for the night. But, before slipping off into slumberland, Paul disappeared and then miraculously reappeared with a couple of truly amazing tofu burgers. (I realize that to a great number of you this does not sound very appetizing, but these burgers rocked!) Mike and I were just lamenting today that we did not have the foresight to pack away a couple dozen for the road.
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