Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Goodbye from Auckland

Auckland, Jul 27th, 63 degrees, sunny and blinding

Sam Porter returned yesterday from Queenstown...having smoothed the feathers of a VIP client. He then devoted a wonderful day to me, taking me to his birth house in Parnell (ultra poshy....a bit like Vancouver near UBC), then for an anthropological jaunt to the with-it quarter called Ponsonby (lots of counter culture-gays-trendy boites etc) then to a marvelous volcanic caldera overlooking the city with astonishing views all furrowed with former Maori fortications. Remember the Maoris fought brutal intercine wars long before the Anglos arrived. Then we went to lunch at the OCCIDENTAL, a wonderful pub off Queen St (the main drag) for spectacular mussels - huge ones the size of marshmallows at home done in garlic and something which tasted vaguely like fenugreek. Ultra down-home atmosphere, great Steinlager beer (or boutique belgian brands). Sam showed me Auckland Univ. which is the poshest currently...all spread about through the city a bit ala Harvard.

Sam was a GREAT and NZ-known athlete: rugby (all national team), tennis, windsurfing champion and on and on. He was competing in a tennis final at the Royal Auckland Tennis Club last evening. It is such fun to be with a great jock in that everywhere we went everyone wanted to speak with him....perhaps the equivalent of a minor Lance Armstrong? THEN Sam broke his leg and decided to go into travel instead of into sweats.

We then drove through a marvelous forest of indigenous trees and ferns to Phia...a wild beach where the film THE PIANO was shot where despite the temperature and yesterday's rains there were tons of surfers out...glorious day.

They are about to call my flight to Singapore....11 1/2 hours of it. I hope it is clear over New Guinea and Borneo! I leave NZ having accomplished rather a lot. It is maybe the best country in the Pacific if one is into the outdoors. Less good for those who find their joys within walls. The utter jock nature of the place is rather amazing.

-FRED

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