Page
15
Wellington, New Zealand
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The
country of New Zealand is made up of many islands. The largest two are
called the North and South Islands. Wellington, the capital of New Zealand,
is located on the Cook Strait which separates the North and South Islands.
The residents of these islands are very particular about their beer which
ranges from 5.0 to 11.0 % alcohol. In order to investigate the mind set
of the locals, Donna and I did our duty and instead of going to the local
museums and botanical gardens proceeded with good purpose on the ship
sponsored "PUB TOUR". Our guide, Frank Simpson, a Wellington
native, was quite helpful in explaining the various brews available. According
to Frank the North Islanders prefer Tui and the South Islanders prefer
Speights. As to the relative quality we were advised to make up our own
minds. So from 2 PM until 5 PM we trudged from pub to pub in search of
the the truth about New Zealand beer quality. The research is now done
and we will publish soon in all the usual prestigious journals.
The
harbor of Wellington (above) being in the narrow gap between the north
and south islands sees very rapid changes in its weather daily. The narrowness
of the gap between the islands creates a situation where high winds are
common. The morning we arrived the winds were really blowing (well over
60 Knots). It was little dark with a chill in the air from when we arrived
until after 9 AM. But the day turned out to be beautiful. Here is picture
of the harbor about 7 AM.
The place is spotless.
While walking around Wellington,
I saw some interesting furniture for sale. Now I know how Donna feels
at dinner.
The most British Burger
King in the world!!!
The mix of old and new is everywhere.
Donna meets a producer on the ship. Yea right .....
Actually George is preparing a documentary on the better cruise ships
of the world. What a gig!!!
Our pub tour guide,
Frank. He also has a tough job. He was diligent in making sure the brew
was up to national standards.
A really beautiful piece of retail
hardware. Home depot would do good to add this to their available home
improvement accessories
We 're on our way to the next joint.
We're ready for more....We've
got a job to do..We're serious. "Work first", that's my motto
for today.
These gadgets come in all sizes and
shapes.
Now here's one worthy of a place
in my den. The beer is served "bloody cold". You can't see it
well, but that's sweat running down the spigots.
We share a brew with
two of the ships pianists. They've got to rush off to play after this.
Good luck...
Two of our local hosts. Everyone
we spoke to was unbelievably nice.
We didn't speak to everyone, although this fellow did give Donna a high five after she threw back her skim milk capucino.
One of the locals filling
us in on the history of the pub. It seems according to the pictures on
the wall , the pub was originally on the waterfront. Now after decades
of filling in this area, the pub sits nowhere near the water.
We were told this dude was known
as a bad sort, but even he was cordial to us. I'm glad we got out before
he realized we were not from the hood.
Ah, hardware when put to good purpose
is a beautiful thing. This is what engineering is all about,
the application of scientific principles to the betterment of mankind.
(or after a few tall cold ones, at least the betterment of the way mankind
feels).
After our first month
together we agreed to express some of those really warm deep feelings
we have for each other publicly. I felt we sort of had the warm fuzzy
thing going, until Donna started to wear this T-shirt around the ship.
Perhaps I should listen more carefully.
I told this sad story to the local
T-shirt impresario and he suggested I sport this little job about the
vessel during those times that Donna's at the Gym.
Our debarkation piping. Very British.