American...A good vintage

After a nights stay in Napier on the Hawk's bay of the North Island (great little sea town that is all Art deco due to an earthquake that leveled the city in the 30's and they had to rebuild in the style of the time) we made our way to Wellington. This is where David and I finally parted ways. It was good to travel with someone for my first week and a half to get all those jitters out about traveling in a new place by yourself. But by the time Wellington came around I was ready to go out on my own.

Wellington is probably New Zealand's most liberal city. It reminded me a lot of San Fransisco with it's steep hills and young vibe. Its the capital of New Zealand, but leave it to Kiwi's to understate their importance to build a capital building that "underwhelms" the national spirit. It basically looks like a big 1970's beehive. I actually had to ask someone where the capital building was and they pointed it out. I said, "THAT?". Wellington also has one of the greatest free things in NZ. The Te Papa National Museum. They have on display there the worlds only Giant Squid. This was the one that the Japanese caught live last year. I also had my first couch surfing experience in Wellington. A guy named Robert put me up in his flat with his three other flatmates. He was actually really great. He took me out one night on Cuba street for what's called a Sunday roast. If i were to guess...I would say that there was enough meat on this plate to account for just about the whole pig, a few cows and a chicken or two. I didn't eat for three days afterword.

The next day I crossed the cook strait and for the first time saw the hills of the south island watching in the distance. I think that is when I started to relax a bit. I have been uneasy the past weeks trying to figure out if I have enough time to do all the hikes I want to do. This is the real New Zealand I came for. And each day I become more excited at the possibility of mountains, glaciers and enough scenery to make you bow down and worship the boulders, trees and small woodland creatures. But before that a little drinking first...

My first stop on the south island was a little town called Renwick. Its right in the heart of New Zealands Wine country. (Thank you Aaron and Claire for this wonderful suggestion). I took a day and rented a bike and visited about six wineries in the area having several tastings at each. I hadn't eaten lunch or breakfast. Lets just say I was "pissed" by the end of the day. What I walked away with that day, besides a splitting headache large enough to move the mountains ,was two-fold.

One. I have discovered Fromm wine is now my favorite NZ label. They make an amazing Riesling that I am going to try very hard to find in the States when I get back.

Two. I had a really great conversation with the lady a the Fromm Wine Tasting. She was very much versed in American politics and we were talking about the worldwide economic problems. She was very much Pro-Obama and she was pro-fix America's economy. (mind you she was a Kiwi) Her Point. Simple. America is still very much still the super power. If America goes down, the rest of the worlds economies goes with it. It made me realize just how interwoven the American grape is in the world. Traveling abroad and being American is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand we are very much respected for our importance in the world and looked to for our leadership. On the other hand we are very much looked down upon for our importance in the world and our backward leadership. (and sometimes the way we act..case in point -the two drunk Americans being rude at the Maori Cultural experience I attended in Roturua). But one thing is for sure. Everywhere I have gone thus far the Obama umbrella of "hope" seems to be blanketing over the countryside. And it seems the American election is much more popular than their own politics. That is a sign of our involvement in the world and the littlest changes that vibrate throughout our country has twice the repercussions in other countries.

Maybe I can use some of that Obama umbrella to shield me from the ozone hole that is sitting on top of New Zealand and slowly cooking me from the inside out.