A Rain of Signs

Proud Bread

Now, This Is Advertising!

Everything Is Bigger in New Zealand

Printed on a Sidewalk

Anyone for a Game of Thrones?

Hmm…

A Maori Tribute

An Artistic Depiction of a Maori Story About a Whale

Windmill

Uitsmijter

Oreo Cookie Cow Family

Well, goodness me, I guess time really does fly by when you’re having fun! It’s March 27, and we’ve just ended our first full day in (windy) Wellington. The weather is cooperating, which is more than I can say for our time in New Plymouth, where it rained off and on for almost 36 hours. Fortunately, we had a good wifi connection and spent the time binge-watching “Stranger Things” on Netflix. I would say our most valuable item in our luggage is a cable that connects my computer to the TV so we can watch Netflix comfortably.

Upon leaving New Plymouth, the weather gave us enough of a break to drive to Egmont National Park. We both saw the local waterfall, Herman got a hike in, and we managed to settle into our room at the Dawson Falls Mountain Lodge before the heavens opened up once again. Our next destination was Wanganui, which is a nice town near the sea. Due to earthquake upgrades, two of the buildings we had hoped to visit were closed, so once again, Netflix came to our rescue. We also had a lovely conversation with a New Zealand couple that we met at an Irish pub, and they promptly invited us to come visit them upon our return to the North Island in May. That’s the third person/couple we’ve met that has invited us to their home. New Zealanders are right friendly people!

Yesterday, we drove to Wellington. On the way, we stopped in Foxton, a little town with a windmill. There is a large expat Dutch population in the country, many of whom settled here after World War II. To help with assimilation and prevent a weakening of the New Zealand culture, Dutch immigrants were spread all across the North Island and probably the South Island, too. But in Foxton, the local community has built a museum that honors both the Dutch and Maori history of the area. Along with the museum and the windmill is a small café, where we had the best uitsmijter (an open-faced ham and cheese sandwich with two fried eggs on top). The Dutch eat uitsmijters for lunch, not breakfast.

Today, in Wellington, we took a tour of the New Zealand parliament. It was so interesting to learn about the country’s form of coalition government, which consists of a 120-person House of Representatives. The prime minister is a woman, Jacinda Ardern, and she’s only 37 years old! Did you know New Zealand was the first country to give women the right to vote?

Considering the weather and a lot of time on the road, Herman brings to you via some of his photos something most common in New Zealand: three-dimensional billboards. We’ve also seen some interesting memorials and city artwork. Also, thanks to the artistry of our friend Rick Yenofsky, we bring you an Oreo cookie cow family. Well, dear ones, adieu until the next update.