The problem with buses is that they only go where all the people go. So, if you’re looking to say travel along the Southern Scenic route of New Zealand… total population circa 1,000. You’re out of luck.

I don’t fully endorse hitch-hiking, but as an environmentally friendly way to travel places that don’t have public bus service, it has its perks (If you’re with a strong man who will protect you from getting kidnapped and murdered of course… or if you can just run faster than whoever you’re travelling with).

So thumbs it was. We stuck ours out on the outskirts of Balclutha and got a ride within 15 minutes to Surat Bay, where we camped overnight at this awesome little campground. I was admiring some fine-looking home-made veggie burgers being cooked by a nice Irish lass and we got to talking. Turns out her and her fiance had a campervan and were travelling along the Southern Scenic route as well. They had some spare seats. We had some spare wine. It all worked out.

Travelling with them was like being in a coach bus that stopped at all of the sites we wanted to see anyway. Those stops mostly included beautiful sea-side vistas and short hikes to waterfalls. (Pictures to follow at some point). We all decided to camp at Curio Bay, another gorgeous sea-side campground that we shared with a few aggressive sea lions. So agressive that after dinner we were all trapped in the campervan. (Video to follow). Then this morning they drove us to Invercargill where we are treating ourselves with a night in a hostel. Woo hoo!

Best part is that we convinced them to go down to Stewart Island, so they’ll be dropping us off at the ferry tomorrow morning. Sweet. Can you call it hitch-hiking when you end up getting door to door service to all of the best sights along your route?

So, tomorrow us and the irishmen will take a ferry ride across the tumultuos sound to Halfmoon Bay where we will spend three days tramping through native bush and searching for kiwi birds. So far South Island = Fabulous.

A bit windy, but sunny. Here are some pics from our first two days in the South Island.

Two days into our south island holiday and things are going grandly. Yesterday we went on a wildlife tour and got up close and personal with fur seals, sea lions, albatrosses, and penguins. Penguins were not afraid of us at all. I can now assert that it may in fact be plausible to pick on of the cute little guys up, but they are bigger than you think. And way noisier.

Pictures once we get on a computer that doesn’t cost us $2/ 15 min.

Heading to the Fiordlands for three weeks of penguin-spotting, kiwi-hunting, tramping, and cuddling. Yes, those last two are separate and distinct activities. Will keep you updated as best we can.

Tonight Nelson competes in the final round of The University of Waikato’s Three Minute Thesis Competition. He is one of eight finalists out of a field of 60. The prize? $5,000 towards research-related expenses. (A wedding is research related, right?) I would say “break a leg”, but he already has a possible broken rib after a rough surf session two days ago, so I’ll just say “Wish him luck!”.

Hooray for 350 actions all over the world! Hooray for 350 people getting together and choreographing a dance! Hooray for that being 10% of our town’s total population! Hooray for living in a town with all of these zany fantastic people!

Want to know what I’m talking about? Check it out!
Raglan (Whaingaroa)’s 350 Action organizaed by the Whaingaroa youth movement.

By the way: Two of the main dancers- Connor, the boy in the blue shirt, and Molly, the dark-haired girl in the white shirt- are part of our Solscape family. Hooray for them!

Today is the International day of Action for Climate Change sponsored by 350.org. (Well at least it is here already, those of you in other time zones still have a few hours left to prepare your action). Actions will be going on all over the world to let politicians and big business know that we are serious in our demands for action regarding climate change. I hope that everyone has a fantastic 350 day. We certainly did here in Raglan. If you don’t have plans yet, don’t worry there is still time. And, likely there is an action going on right in your neighborhood. Go to the 350.org website to check it out.

Here’s how we spent our day:
Of course we rode down…. And got dressed up for the occasion.

Hooray for the market… No pesto though, boo.Hmmm… lots of people around. Must be the start of summer. But it kind of looks like they’re all waiting for something. What’s going to happen? … Stay tuned.

Since we have consistent internet, no tv, and no radio, we listen to a lot of internet radio. New Hampshire public radio, the BBC, and the KunstlerCast are some of our favorites. Recently we came across a new one called AgroInnovations.

And guess who they invited to be their guest this week? That’s right, your favorite kiwi farmer/teacher/student (and mine). You can listen to Nelson’s world wide web debut here. He’s trying no to let it go to his head.

So I open up the internet browser at work and Google home page pops up with the latest headlines. While I normally skim them and move on to complete my always reception-related duties quickly, yesterday two headlines caught my eye (delaying my Lexulous moves for at least a half hour).

Bottom left: A woman let go of her baby carriage on a train platform allowing the baby to fall over the edge just as a train pulled into the station. Don’t worry the baby is fine, but I watched the video about a dozen times and still don’t understand how the kid survived. Unbreakable?

And center right. I’ll zoom in so you can read this one yourself. Top headline from the NZ Herald.

Didn’t the elves and the dwarves team up when it really counted? When the ring was going to fall into the hands of the wrong crowd, didn’t they band together to keep it safe? I wish I knew more about the Lord of the Rings to keep this parable going. On second thought, no I don’t. I’ll have to switch to terms more appropriate for middle earth(?).

You see, here in the real shire there has been a bit of a skirmish brewing between our two local populations. What’s on the line? Is it nuclear testing? Nope, we all agree on that one. Is it the importance of fish and chips to a regular diet? Nope, we agree on that one too. What issue could be so important that it has fractured parliament and furthered the rift between the two cultures of this peaceful nation?

The Rugby World Cup, of course.

You see, apparently World Cup rugby is so important that it is every kiwi’s right to watch it. That is why the National (conservative government) just had to step in when the tv station that won the right to air it could only provide free coverage to 90% of the population.

Wait, the government stepped in by funding other two other companies’ bids with tax-payer money?

Wait, they told the other companies how much the first company had bid so that they could make sure to win?

Wait, the first company was Maori-TV and the others were pakeha (white) networks?

Ummmm… so all this amounts to illegal activity by the government to spend tax-payer money to ensure that a Maori owned tv station does not win rights to the biggest sporting event in the nation. Quick John Key… back track, back track.

Could you imagine if the US government gave one of our major networks millions of dollars in public funds to block a black network or women’s network from gaining coverage to a major event? It’s crazy. It would never happen.

It’s pretty overt racial discrimination. Luckily, Merlin realized this and took things into his own hands before riots broke out in the streets over the quiddich match (wrong fantasy reference, I know). Let all elves, dwarves, orcs, and hobbits enjoy and be merry.