RetrospectionNow that we have completed out tour of all but the southern end of the South Island, I find that New Zealand is a hard country not to like. The countryside is spectacular. The cities are small (except for Auckland which is relatively large and very cosmopolitan). The airports are even smaller and the planes that connect the cities are still smaller. Although I prefer cities when I travel, if I had only gone to the cities in New Zealand I would have been disappointed. The countryside, which is less than an hour away from any city, is beautiful. If one were interested in extreme sports or even hiking and serious fishing, the place is tailor-made. Hotels give way to lodges. The lodges are quite nice and the people who run them very solicitous of their guests. The technology, defined by the internet connections, is pretty primitive even when they are using the best available. For cutting-edge technology of all sorts, one would likely have to shop by internet as the local stores, even in many of the smaller urban areas are pretty basic. The residents are, to a person for those we talked to, proud of their locale and a few even went so far as to say they had a good life where they lived. Taxes are high but government services are plentiful. Except for housing which is booming even in the most rural areas, the rest of the cost of living is pretty reasonable.Although a marvelous place to have visited and as I reported about Australia, a place that an American would have little trouble is fitting in, I am not sure at this stage in my life I would want to do so. The dampness and raw cold is hard on arthritis. There are a few places I would not mind visiting again, Taupo and Cass for example. I would also like to see the western side of the Southern Island and the southern tip of the same island. But I would not like to live permanently in either place. Weather is bad for arthritis, particularly in New Zealand. On the other hand, the music is from the 60's and 70's in the States - really, the folk tunes of that era. My favorite music time. In all, it has been a wonderful trip. Carol worked hard to see to the details' as I tried not to flunk-out of law school, and deserves all the credit for the success. We have learned much about travel using an agency and know how to deal with this beast more successfully next time (check even the smallest detail before you get on the road). Fortunately, both of us have travel extensively and are able to take care of ourselves so we were never really in any serious trouble when a glitch occurred. On the positive side, we could never have seen so much in so short a period of time without having people in each of the areas guide us around and make arrangements for us before we got there. Again, a great trip. But, I am glad to be going home. I miss familiar places and faces. |