Farewell to South Island from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken bids a fond farewell to South Island. Catching the ferry from Picton.
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Farewell to South Island
July 22nd, 2011Masculine tendencies
July 22nd, 2011"Like being in ****** Berlin" explained Franz. He was Dutch. Sharing a room in Nelson Youth Hostel, I’d mentioned I’d never had to look to hard to spot the odd German. In just about every country I’d passed through. He didn’t seem exactly smitten by them.
If he felt frustrated by them, this quickly faded as we discussed our missing room mate. Neither of us having actually seen her. For this was mixed accommodation. And the belongings strewn across the suggested a woman. Or a very effeminate man.
Whoever it was returned about one in the morning. Still asleep when I left to catch the bus north. Buried beneath the duvet. A woman I thought. Or a man in a wig. Can never be sure these days.
Away with the ladies
July 21st, 2011
Today’s Kiwese word or phrase: "wrist arrant". Somewhere to eat out
"You the drunken Irish bird who got arrested?" he’d asked of a young woman on the bus. She’d earlier explained she was from Ireland. Limerick. Started to describe roughly where that was. Abruptly interrupted. Said he knew. Dismissive.
He was from Paisley. North of Glasgow. Lowest social demographic in Scotland. Said so. Doubted if anyone on the bus would have disagreed. He’d been in Christchurch the previous day. Couple of earthquakes that afternoon. Coach he was on shaken violently.
We stopped briefly at Punakaiki. Asked if was going to visit the nearby Pancake Rocks and coastal blowhole. No, I replied, I’d already done that. Was he? No, he explained, he’d been there five times already. Whilst others went to the viewpoint close by, we both wandered into the village cafe. He wanted someone to talk to. It wasn’t going to be me.
He got off at the next stop. Westport. Small backpack. No one to meet him. For all his brashness, his loudness, I thought him terribly insecure. Lonely. Sad. Felt sorry for him.
Jockeying along
July 21st, 2011Today’s Kiwese word or phrase: "cuds". Young people
Still bouncing about. Steve. Greymouth bus station. Would he be our driver to Nelson? No, he explained. Heading south to the Fox Glacier. I was disappointed. Told him so. Would miss his commentary I said. With a grin. He’d worked on radio. Talk radio, I asked. But too slow. He’d bounded off. Passengers to shepherd. Bags to load.
Heading north
July 21st, 2011Today’s Kiwese word or phrase: "Munner stroney". Type of soup
Greymouth struck me as a place to get things done. Small town. Haircut. Swim in the local pool. Haberdashery. I’d a boot to repair. A convenient stop on the journey back north. Not somewhere you’d want to send a postcard from. Shame in a way. For the hostel at least had character. Might have been an old Rectory. Wooden panels. Small chapel inside. Locked.
Overcast. I’d arrived at lunchtime. Heading off again on the same bus service the next day. Barely checked into the hostel when I’d felt a couple of small tremors. The result of an earthquake on the other side of South Island. Causing further damage to the city of Christchurch.
I’d felt a bit lethargic. Pottered around for a bit. Window shopping. Then when in search of a coffee. Contemplating the inevitable. Heading north. Back to Wellington and the return to the road in Australia. Volcanic ash clouds permitting.
Differences of opinion
July 20th, 2011Brief rest stop. Chance for a quick coffee before continuing the bus journey back north. I’d missed the signs. Failed to register our driver’s comments. Nothing fancy. Any colour you liked. Just so long as it was black. Add your own milk if you wanted. Ask for a double frappe skinny latte at your peril. I’d gotten away with ordering a couple of long blacks because, well, that’s what you got. Shared with Gurnam.
We’d met the previous evening in Franz Josef Youth Hostel. Hadn’t been an auspicious start. There’d been differences of opinion. Confidently asserted on both sides. Nepal. Gurnam favouring foreigners rates for visitors. Whereas I was vehemently against such things. Resolute in wanting to pay only what a local would. No more. No less. Not to be seen as a meal ticket. A cash cow. Eventually conceding that if, as she’d suggested, tourists consumed far more resources than a Nepalese ever would, paying more wasn’t unreasonable. A fair charge.
If I’d feared a frosty start, my nervousness soon allayed. Instead chatting until gone midnight. Continuing the next day on the bus. Librarians. Her profession. Suggesting they seemed generally reluctant to recognise the inevitable waning of print media. The need to see themselves as managers of information rather than custodians of books. Lest they soon be marginalised. Which’d be a shame. Because few know how to best exploit the knowledge they have. Problem is, most people think they do. She’d agreed.
Into the Wild
July 20th, 2011Today’s Kiwese word or phrase: "Veerjun". Fast footed French lass
Thought I might have seemed a bit abrupt. I’d been late to bed. Engrossed in conversation with Gurnam in the hostel lounge. Retiring close to midnight. Room mate Johanna already in her bunk. Quickly extinguishing the light. Drifting into conversation. Until I’d said I’d really needed to get some sleep. Early morning bus to catch.
Had I heard of a little-known film "Into the Wild" she’d asked? No doubt to her surprise, I explained I had. Brief synopsis of the story. I’d enjoyed it. Brief anecdote. Anonymous friend who’d not been so taken by it. Watching it alone. Save for a bottle of whisky and a handgun. His only companions in an otherwise inhospitable place.
She’d plans to visit London before her eventual return home to Germany. I’d suggested she might like to stay at Holland Park Youth Hostel. Peaceful spot, not too expensive, and well-placed for exploring the Capital. And be sure to pick up an Oyster card for getting around on public transport. Sensed a smile. A fellow hosteller proffering the same two pieces of advice.
Off to Franz – final instalment
July 20th, 2011Off to Franz – final instalment from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken heads off in search of "Avalanche Girl". And the mouth of the Franz Josef glacier.
Twenty-minuters
July 19th, 2011Twenty-minuters from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Franz Josef village. Blink and you’ll miss it. Few miles from the glacier of the same name.
Sunset in Franz Josef
July 19th, 2011
Franz Josef. On the western side of New Zealand’s South Island
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