White Plains’ 4th Best Personal Blog

Even if I would have written this in April, as soon as I got back from Australia and New Zealand, I don’t think I would have been able to fully capture all of the things we saw and the adventures we had there. So I don’t feel too badly about recapping now, hopefully getting to most of the high points from an amazing three-plus weeks and giving you faithful readers at least some sense of what we did and saw.

(I haven’t managed to get all my photos from the trip uploaded yet, but eventually they’ll be on my Flickr page for all to see — well, if you’re my friend anyway.)

First off, I have to thank Brianne for inviting me to join her (and her company for footing most of the bill) since the trip really came about when she chose Australia and New Zealand for the destination of the extended sabbatical her company allows its employees to take every five years. I think that’s such a smart thing for a company to do because it not only makes for happy employees, but also allows them to broaden their life experience — and, as a result, come back and be a more valuable asset to the company. So good on you, Brianne’s company.

(And while we’re on the subject, kudos to the Internet as well because we certainly wouldn’t have been able to plan this trip from scratch without it. I sometimes wonder how people used to take extended trips to far-flung places without being able to book a room online or map out the distances between points. I know that travel agents used to take care of a lot of that stuff, but did they really arrange everything? I guess there was a good deal more adventure involved as well, but personally I’m glad to have at least some idea where I’m going to be staying and how long it will take to get where I’m going.)

Like I said, it would be impossible to capture everything about the trip without writing a really, really long — and probably boring, if you weren’t there — account from touching down in Sydney to taking off from Auckland. So I’m just going to try to capture some of the flavor of the trip by grouping some of my memories into a few sub-categories:

*Music: The first part of the trip was, in some ways, dictated by Wilco’s itinerary. For instance, we almost certainly wouldn’t have gone to Brisbane if Wilco hadn’t played there (and I’m glad we did because, for whatever reason, that show probably wound up being the best one we saw on the trip). We didn’t make every show the band played in Australia and New Zealand, but five of the seven wasn’t too shabby. Although Brianne actually started the trip in Melbourne without me, we didn’t see the Wilco show there because it was the last one on their tour and it wasn’t practical for us to go back to Australia once we had gotten to New Zealand. So we continued on to the South Island after Wilco’s final New Zealand show in Wellington on March 24, which was definitely the right decision. But before we headed south, we hung around Wellington an extra day to see our final show of the trip: New Zealand’s own legendary Split Enz, who were on a reunion tour. It was particularly fitting that we got to see them since we both had been singing the lyric “Aotearoa, rugged individual…” (from the song “Six Months in a Leaky Boat”) practically since we landed in “In Zed.”

*Rock pools: Since I had read a New York Times article about rock pools a few weeks before our trip, I had been a bit obsessed with visiting at least one while we were in Sydney. I’m not sure what it was, but just the idea of a pool carved out of rocks at the edge of the ocean intrigued me. Like it’s the ocean, but in a pool! Or maybe they just looked really refreshing, I don’t know. Anyway, the quest to find one happened on a Sunday afternoon after we had spent the morning touring the Sydney Opera House and walking around a bit downtown. We took a bus out to Bondi Beach — probably the most famous stretch of sand in Australia — but instead of staying there, we found an easy walk that hugged the nearby cliffs and decided to follow that for a while. After passing a couple of smaller beaches, we eventually wound up at Bronte Beach — sort of a low-key sister to bustling Bondi — and went into the rock pool there. It was just a glorious, sunny day and we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and walking and exploring. What a day; I’ll remember it for a long time.

*Natural beauty: Oh God, I could write pages and pages about this. From the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney to the volcanic island of Rangitoto near Auckland, I saw some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen on this trip. Just New Zealand alone provided sensory overload. There was the couple of days we got to spend on the Coromandel Peninsula — about two hours drive from Auckland — where we hiked down to Cathedral Cove and dug in the sand for hot springs on Hot Water Beach. There was the gorgeous Otago Peninsula, just a short drive from Dunedin, which dead ends at the Royal Albatross Colony. And of course, there was the drive along the Southern Scenic Route from Dunedin to Te Anau (or vice versa). There are so many different scenic viewpoints and other points of interest along the way that you can’t possibly see them all. At least not in one trip.

*Fiordland: When it came to natural beauty, though, this region in southwestern New Zealand pretty much took the cake. One rainy day, we drove from Te Anau up the Milford Road to Milford Sound. There are a number of points to stop and admire the scenery along the way (Mirror Lakes, The Chasm), and despite the drizzle, we definitely took advantage. A day or two later, we took an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound that was not only one of the highlights of this region but of the whole trip. Along with six other people and a crew of two, we spent a memorable afternoon and evening aboard the Waverley, cruising in and out of the arms of this very isolated waterway. We saw more rainbows and waterfalls than we could count, helped catch fresh fish for dinner and even took a night swim (well, some of us). The only regret was that we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife, but it was nonetheless a really fantastic little trip within a trip.

*Cities: Although we got out into the countryside as much as we could, we also spent a good amount of time in urban centers. Of course, Sydney and Auckland are both world-class cities but a pleasant surprise for me was Wellington. I said this at the time, but it reminded me of San Francisco in a lot of ways. They’re both fairly hilly, have a bohemian streak and feature some stunning settings. We spent a memorable afternoon climbing up Mount Victoria and being rewarded with some phenomenal views. Before that, we took the requisite stroll down Oriental Parade (with ice creams in hand, of course). It was a pretty glorious day. I think we also visited the national museum of New Zealand, Te Papa, that morning. And I would be remiss if I failed to mention the early dinner we had at the Maori-themed Kai in the City, where we sang a couple of Maori songs with the owner/troubadour — “E hine e, hoki mai ra…” Another morning was spent all-too-briefly exploring the area around Cuba Street, kind of like Wellington’s version of the Haight. Sadly, we did not have any Flight of the Conchords sightings. Nevertheless, looking back, I could have happily spent another day or two in Welly.

*Eating and drinking: One thing we didn’t often skimp on was food. Some meals I distinctly remember: a fab brunch at bills in the Surry Hills section of Sydney (I believe I had some sort of corn fritter, made with fresh corn); sand crab lasagna for lunch in Brisbane; a gorgeous plate of natural (raw) Bluff oysters and fried blue cod and chips in Bluff; ridiculously good fast-food noodles at Otto Woo in Auckland; a heaping seafood platter with just about everything you could imagine in Dunedin. Oh, and we had one wholly unexpected but very memorable dinner at Wagamama in Sydney. Seemingly countless pastries and flat whites (like a cafe latte) were consumed, as well as several scoops of New Zealand’s famed hokey pokey ice cream. The dairy products in New Zealand, as we had been forewarned, were indeed amazingly delicious. On the beverage front, in addition to the flat whites, I also consumed copious amounts of a mysteriously tasty soda called Lemon & Paeroa — L&P, for short — whose trademarked slogan is “World Famous in New Zealand.” I also enjoyed many of the beers I tried in New Zealand, notably Mac’s and Speight’s.

*Lodging: We stayed in a wide range of places, everywhere from backpacker hostels to business-class hotels, but a couple of places definitely stood out. One was The Oystercatcher’s Cottage, pictured above, in Bluff. A tiny town at the bottom tip of New Zealand’s South Island, Bluff is where most people go to catch a ferry to Stewart Island. (We wanted to do that, but decided that we didn’t have the time to make it worthwhile.) We had been looking for a funky place to stay somewhere along the Southern Scenic Route and, after some Internet searching, found this place which is essentially a guest house run by a family. Luckily, it was available for the night we were going to be in town so we booked it (the “booking” was just a simple e-mail agreement — no confirmation numbers — and we paid in cash). And personally, I’m so glad we did because it turned out to be just the coziest place you could imagine. If you’re looking for the sterility of a chain hotel, this isn’t for you. But if you want a place with some character, stay here. Another great place we stayed was a B&B in Auckland, the Great Ponsonby. Aside from being located in a great neighborhood and featuring a cozy common room with all sorts of books and music and free WiFi, this place raised the art of hotel breakfasts to a new level. You could have a cooked-to-order breakfast that wouldn’t have been out of place in a restaurant, plus they had muesli, fruit, breads, etc., for the taking. I think my personal favorite was muesli with yogurt and fresh feijoa (a guava-like fruit that the innkeepers grew in their garden). Mmmm. One other place I should mention was the Harbourside Apartments in Sydney. What a view we had! This picture was taken from our window the morning we checked out:

*Last but not least: I must mention that I overcame my fear of heights (at least momentarily) and bungy-jumped off a bridge at the original commercial bungy site just outside of Queenstown. And without hesitation, I might add. While the girl before us had to be coaxed into taking the plunge, I am proud to say that for me it was 5-4-3-2-1, go. Somewhere there are pictures…

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Wilco//3-18-08//Enmore Theatre, Sydney, AUSTRALIA//support: Bridezilla

Sunken Treasure/Reservations>/Remember The Mountain Bed/Company In My Back/You Are My Face/Hell Is Chrome/Handshake Drugs/Pot Kettle Black/A Shot in the Arm/Side With The Seeds/Via Chicago/Impossible Germany/It’s Just That Simple/Pick Up The Change/Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway(again)/ Jesus, etc./Theologians/Walken/I’m The Man Who Loves You//e: Hate It Here/Heavy Metal Drummer/The Late Greats/Red-Eyed and Blue>/I Got You (At The End of the Century)>/Monday>/Outtasite (Outta Mind)

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Wilco//3-19-08//The Tivoli, Brisbane, AUSTRALIA//support: The Mess Hall

A Shot in the Arm/Radio Cure/You Are My Face/Impossible Germany/Handshake Drugs/Pot Kettle Black/Side With The Seeds/She’s A Jar/Misunderstood/(Was I) In Your Dreams/Forget The Flowers/A Magazine Called Sunset/Jesus, etc./Too Far Apart/I’m Always In Love/I’m The Man Who Loves You/Poor Places>/Spiders (Kidsmoke)//e: On and On and On/Walken/Hate It Here/Can’t Stand It/Casino Queen/I’m A Wheel/Hoodoo Voodoo

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Wilco//3-22-08//Dakota Fields, Whitianga, NEW ZEALAND//[1st annual Coromandel Blues and Roots Music Festival]

You Are My Face/Side With The Seeds/Handshake Drugs/A Shot in the Arm/Jesus, etc./Impossible Germany/Via Chicago/Hate It Here/Walken/I’m The Man Who Loves You/Kingpin/I’m A Wheel//e: Monday

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Wilco//3-23-08//Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND//support: Miriam Clancy

Sunken Treasure/You Are My Face/Muzzle of Bees/Handshake Drugs/War on War/Side With The Seeds/A Shot in the Arm/Radio Cure/Shake It Off/Pot Kettle Black/Impossible Germany/Via Chicago/California Stars/Forget the Flowers/Jesus, etc./Walken/I’m The Man Who Loves You//e1: Hummingbird/On and On and On/Spiders (Kidsmoke)//e2: Hate It Here/Kingpin/The Late Greats

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Wilco//3-24-08//Wellington Opera House, Wellington, NEW ZEALAND//support: Miriam Clancy

Sunken Treasure/Company In My Back/You Are My Face/Side With The Seeds/IATTBYH/Hell Is Chrome/Handshake Drugs/A Shot in the Arm/Reservations/Impossible Germany/How To Fight Loneliness/California Stars/Jesus, etc./Walken/I’m The Man Who Loves You/Hummingbird//e1: The Late Greats/Hate It Here/Heavy Metal Drummer/Red-Eyed and Blue>/I Got You (At The End of the Century)/Monday//e2: Spiders (Kidsmoke)

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Split Enz//3-25-08//TSB Arena, Wellington, NEW ZEALAND//support: The Phoenix Foundation

Shark Attack/Poor Boy/One Step Ahead/Give It A Whirl/Nobody Takes Me Seriously/Double Happy/I Hope I Never/Message To My Girl/Dirty Creature/Years Go By/Stuff And Nonsense/Devil You Know/Matinee Idyll (129)/Strait Old Line/Pioneer/Six Months In A Leaky Boat/I Got You/What’s The Matter With You/I See Red//e1: Take A Walk/Charlie/My Mistake//e2: Bold As Brass/History Never Repeats*

* — setlist courtesy of frenzforum