Having just returned from New Zealand after a two week break, a birthday celebration, and a fantastic convention, I feel almost as relaxed as I did after the break at the Smoky Mountains writing retreat.
It was my Dad’s 70th birthday, and it was lovely to share it with him. I also managed to catch up with some cousins I haven’t seen for years.
It reminded me that it has been nearly five years since I moved to Virginia, and the world has not stopped. Nothing like seeing children sprout up to remind you of that.
Apart from that New Zealand is still somewhat the same, although there seem to be more cafes and craft breweries. Tee was pretty happy about that.
In Wellington we visited the Garage Project which is in a converted gas station that I used to actually fill my car up in. Tee much prefers the liquids they have there now. Then we moved onto the Little Beer Quarter, which seemed like the ideal place to drink beers, and have a meet up with friends, writers, and people it was a joy to catch up with.
After Wellington I drove us up to Rotorua. This is probably the second most concentrated tourist hub in New Zealand, but despite that it hasn’t lost its New Zealandness. Being on a thermal area, there are plenty of hot springs, warm mud, and a little sulphurous gas. The convention Reconaissance, was lots of fun, the panels were well attended, and Tee and I ran a one day course on writing. We also got to spend time with Gail Carriger, who we haven’t seen for a couple of years either.
To top it all off, we ended up with a delightful steampunk gathering in the Government gardens. There was croquet, tea and little baked things.
From there I drove us to Auckland (still not quite ready to let Tee drive on the left-hand side), we hopped a plane, and landed in Christchurch. Then after picking up a car, we drove to Oamaru.
For years we’ve been meaning to go there, since it is styled the Steampunk Capital of the world. After doing a whirlwind visit thanks to the kind steampunk folk of Oamaru, I feel like that might be an understatement. We’re going to do a series of posts about our experiences there, but I will say that it was amazing, and took awhile to process.
So New Zealand has changed. I set sail for America in October 2010, and shortly after steampunk took hold there. Seriously took hold. From what I saw steampunk has grown in cities like Wellington, and in small towns like Thames. I think steampunk is this popular because New Zealand has a long tradition of making do. Like most islands, you learn to make do with what you have, or changing it to serve your needs. Steampunk and the maker culture as a whole have a similar ethic.
Still reeling from the huge gulp of steampunk culture, I drove us through the bottom of the South Island towards Queenstown. In the growing twilight it was actually kind of eerie in places since there were not settlements and no cellphone reception.
Queenstown is New Zealand’s most touristy town, and as beautiful as it is, on a lake surrounded by mountains, I don’t like it as much as Rotorua. Still we had fun looking at kiwis, drinking wine at a tasting room with a soda machine like setup, and watching a man with jets on his feet hover above the water. Yes, it is wild and wacky in Queenstown, but Tee didn’t get to bungy. So I suppose we might go back.
Now, back to reality and the pile of work I need to do. However, New Zealand we will be back. Thank you for taking us into your kind embrace.
