Road
Trip February 2021 – and is New Zealand good value?
In the absence of overseas visitors owing to Covid-19 issues
Kiwis are being encouraged to travel their own country and support struggling
tourism. Okay it sounds good. New Zealand certainly is an appealing country.
But I am hearing discord: New Zealand is too costly,
putting tourism out of reach and attractions are not geared to local
people. I was, almost by default, able
to see for myself.
I was away just three days and principally to visit
two friends:
Sally Fodie lives at Kakanui, 18 km. south of Oamaru.
I had written about her on two occasions. The first was some years ago when she
was a skipper on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour ferries and more recently when
she and her hubby, Tony, had a popular gallery retail business in Omamara. So
it was great to catch up. Tony had died a short time previously and Sally was
getting her life together without him. Her location was helping with its broad
views across the eastern Pacific Ocean, along with a house packed with
memorabilia. –Sally’s nautical interests and Tony’s fascination for 1950s
motoring.
The second friend, Scottish-born Hazel Agnew, had
recently taken early retirement from her Christchurch job and relocated to
Oamaru. Despite having been there only since a day or two prior to the 2020
Christmas, her home appears as if she has been there forever. Oamaru was ideal
for Hazel, it not being a big city while being larger than a typical town.
Already she is working part-time with Cycle Journeys,
assisting people riding the Alps2Ocean trail. Having never owned a car, Hazel
gets about by bicycle. Her home is magnificently cycling-themed.
My mate Ken Henderson did the driving to Oamaru and
Kakanui and back (Owing to medical issues I no longer drive).
We set off thinking of a coffee stop after about an
hour on the road. We stopped at the cafe attached to Ashford Handicrafts in
Ashburton. This was as good as it gets with pricing we would expect anywhere
along with pleasant outdoor seating. Quality of my long black and generous muffin
was up with the best.
Next stop was Nosh, a café at the Waimate turnoff from
State Highway 1. Again all good.
Ken was keen to detour through Waimate where he once
lived. That was okay with me. I had recently heard of the town’s Silo Murals at
the Empress Roller Flour Mill (built 1890). The silos were built in 1934. I am
fascinated by street art.
At 35 m high, we could not miss the silos. Local
artist, Bill Scott, has depicted people relevant to the district. One silo has
a portrait of Margaret Cruikshank next to WW1 hero, Eric Bachelor. The former
was the first New Zealand woman to become a registered doctor. She worked
tirelessly in the district until she died from the Influenza pandemic in 1918.
Another silo features Maori associations. Yet another shows former Prime
Minister Norman Kirk who died in office during the 1970s. Kirk (Big Norm) had grown
up in Waimate. The eye-catching murals are appealingly presented in sepia. The
day was fine, features interesting and I was learning something new.
We overnighted in Kakanui, Sally being the perfect, delightfully
quirky, host. Wine, accompanied by cheese nibbles, went down well as we gazed
across the ocean. Stories exchanged were entertaining and even mostly true.
Next morning we caught up with Hazel in Oamaru. While
she went to work for a few hours in the afternoon, Ken and I visited the
magnificent Oamaru Botanic Gardens. We entered via the Chinese Garden pavilion
opened in 2008 to commemorate friendship with the large population of Chinese
spread through the Waitaki District. A striking feature was a ceramic dragon
five metres across and two metres high. The Chinese Garden was the inspiration of 86-year-old Yvonne Cox of the Oamaru Mail. Her husband was an accountant. Yvonne remembered Chinese market gardeners from Totara, south of Oamaru, bringing vegetables to the accountant's wife. The Ceramic Dragon, a symbol to ward off evil spirits is the work of Christine Black, an honours student at the University of Otago. Nothing would be good enough to acknowledge this work.
Impressive ceramic dragon
Another memorable
feature was the Craig Fountain constructed in 1915 from Italian Marble. It had
recently been restored and returned to working condition.
Hazel, who had been involved with the NZ World Peace
Bell movement I had founded in 2004, had said it would be great to have a Peace
Bell in Oamaru Botanic Gardens. I told her it was possible and would complement
the NZ World Peace Bell is in Christchurch Botanic Gardens. Ken and I found two
or three spots in the Oamaru Botanic Gardens where a World Peace Bell could be
located – providing local authorities agreed to it. It would certainly go well
with the many existing themes in the Botanic Gardens. Oamaru is also the
Steampunk capital and location for stylish buildings made from Oamaru white
stone quarried nearby. We were thoroughly enjoying our break. How could anyone possibly
complain about travelling closer to home?
Then that evening we went out for dinner. We
chose a pub restaurant conveniently near the town centre. Mains were $38 which we
thought expensive. My fish of the day dish was at best, average. Most favourable price for
a bottle of wine wad $55. Despite the
venue being well patronised, I thought its pricing over-the-top and quality less
than expected.
We then went to see the Blue penguins come ashore as they do every evening. After I paid $36 (that included four dollars discount for being a YHA member) the first thing I spotted was a sign demanding No Photos or videos.
If visitors pay an exorbitant fee and cannot record their visit, it all seems pointless. We sat for over an hour on hard seats overlooking the dimly-lit arena. It was also a seal colony with the accompanying stench. We heard a stylised commentary as the tiny creatures (97 all up) made their landfall. Had they not been moving they would have been too small and far away to see. Hardly a value for money experience. And I wondered about the moral issues of fencing off a natural environment and making a high-priced tourist attraction of its wildlife? Tourism did not score any better than the pub restaurant we had frequented earlier. I found myself reluctantly in agreement with the discord associated with locals supporting New Zealand tourism. Facilities are arguably woefully falling well short of matching the excellent places and landmarks of our country.
