In the wild, at least. I saw Return of the King on opening night, though. Given the film's strong New Zealand ties, I expected a wildly enthusiastic crowd to drown out most of the film's dialogue with cries of "that's our grassy tussock, baby!", and "you go, Remarkables Mountain Range!". I was sorely disappointed. I mean, the whole country is dripping with LoTR propaganda and tie-ins; you'd think Gollum was the fucking prime minister ("Nasty, wicked Labor Party, trying to take our precious wheat tariff away!"). The least these damn Kiwis could do is show a little national pride! Still, the film was enjoyable in spite of the fact that the earth's continents managed to hold a Pangea Reunion (Asia: "Dude, I can't believe South America got so wasted!") and re-disperse before anyone left theaters.

Reams of research failed to convince Dubya that greenhouse gases are a problem - not sure what we can do about that. But if he doubts the decay of the ozone layer, we can just bring him to Christchurch, NZ on a sunny day. I was sunburned literally 30 minutes after leaving the airport, and at least half of those minutes were spent in a bus. Yes, this is attributable at least in part to my fair, supple, enchantingly milky-white skin, but the sun really is more potent Way Down South. I swears it!

Flesh-charring UV Rays and Omnipresent Posters of Orlando Bloom Melting My Heart With Those Elven Bedroom Eyes aside, Christchurch is a pretty nice place. I stayed at a backpackers' hostel called the Vagabond, a lovely little place full of lovely normal-sized people.

OK, that picture makes it look like a halfway home for recycling zealots, but it's a really great place. And it's across the street from the Christchurch [Lawn] Bowling Club, with its unexpected Dragonball Z-themed fence to boot!

Anyway, at the (aptly-named) Vagabond I met several other people in my boat - the S.S. I'm Touring NZ Alone But That Doesn't Mean I'm Socially Inept and Incapable of Making Friends, OK? God, Just Leave Me Alone! - and, contrary to our poorly-christened boat, had a great time with them. For the day before we all went our separate ways, anyhow. I haven't done much travelling that involved frequent stays in hostels, but I'm guessing this is sort of the norm: meet cool people, have a fun day together, exchange email addresses, never see each other again. Still, better to be friends for a day than not at all. It's refreshing to know that the world is full of cool people - especially Germans. What the hell? Every German I met was fucking awesome. It's gotta be the beer.

Speaking of which, unlike the Japanese, Kiwis have realized that there are types of beer other than lager, much to the delight of my developing gut. Really, it was nice just to be in a Western-ish country for a little while. Sure, I'm pleased as punch to be back in Japan, but there's something nice about being able to comprehend a menu without resorting to Sesame Street-style sounding out of words. (See the section on Katakana in "Nihon-golicious" for more info - holy shit, I just referenced myself.)

Oh. December and January are the peak tourism months in NZ. Me being me, I had almost nothing planned when I arrived; I just knew I wanted to do a bunch of backpacking (tramping, in Kiwi-ese). Amazingly, I managed to throw together a quality itinerary hours after arriving. After an extra day for pre-tramp prep, I broke up a marriage and hopped on a bus bound for the St. James Walkway with the bride, the tune of "Scarborough Fair" playing all the while. Does anyone else think The Graduate is a really unenjoyable film? Just curious.

Will Brian survive the dreaded swinging bridges of the St. James Walkway? Will the cattle that graze along the trail be lowing, or feasting on his candy-like entrails? To what degree can he overplay the fact that "beech" (tree) sounds like "bitch" in a Hispanic accent? All this and more will be revealed in Episode II: The Spirit's Willing, But The Knees are Genetically Weak or Why The Fuck Did I Bring Penne Pasta? Coming soon!!!

Hmmm....I heard opening night for LoTR in New Zealand was pretty damn crazy. Did you surreptitiously plan your vacation around this fact? One has to wonder. Oh, and are you sure it was a convention of Pangea, and not Gondwana?
Heh heh...At any rate, I will hang on the edge of my seat waiting for the sequel. Of your trip, that is.

So I returned a week before Christmas from 2 months in Thailand, and have simply come to the conclusion that us northerners aren't meant to venture that far south. We just don't have the kind of skin that somehow protects us from rays so intense it makes me swear that God is holding a magnifying lens in front of the sun and aiming the beam directly onto my beach chair. I spent US$18 on freaking *SPF 60* sunscreen which I applied liberally and often, and still walked away with a blistering burn. Next business trip will hopefully = Norway in the winter, or I'll be risking skin cancer by 30.
Sounds like you had a fab time regardless :)

Oops. pardon my grammar. *we* northerners. darn it. anal.

Brian,
Happy New Year!! Sounds like you are doing well. Keep entertaining us!
Laters,
Val