OWZAT!! And the kindness of strangers

Challenge fulfilled - here's me and my new mate Steve Harmison! I think you owe me at least a steak pie and chips at the Griffin, and maybe even a Smirnoff Ice, Steve, - after all, he is not just ANY old England cricketer, I think I chose my 'victim' well!
This last ten days has been a less strenuous period. The first couple of days were spent in the Catlins, which is a remote area in the deep south of the South Island - no mobile phone network or internet, just deserted beaches, bush, native wildlife and small dwellings. I stayed with a German girl in a cottage which should have housed 6 backpackers, in an idyllic hilltop spot. There was a small shop two kilometres down a steep hillside, but otherwise just farming. So peaceful; bliss! We had been preceeded there by a group of campers, 30 Contra dancers from the USA. The cottage owner went to a lot of trouble to find out their onward schedule for me!
I took a walk here through the bush - clambering over huge tree roots and pools of mud - thank goodness for the orange markers to point the way - essential for an easily lost girlie like me... The path eventually opened out onto a beach from paradise - not a soul on it, no sound except the waves breaking and the birds singing... like a dream. Aaaaaa...
I wish now that I'd stayed longer, but then things would have turned out differently, and I've had such a great week that I can't harbour great regret.
My driver (Ian) through the Catlins was the usual knowledgeable, helpful type to which I've become accustomed. He informed me (how did I not know this?) that the song "Cecilia" was an allegory. Cecilia being the patron saint of music, Paul Simon was singing about the fickle nature of the music business... so you see, it's not about me going round breaking people's hearts after all!!! When I asked Ian if we were going to stop off at the McLean Falls, which I'd heard were beautiful, he changed his arrangements and took the whole busload of people there!! I was relieved to find that they were indeed worth the trip;
we arrived 90 minutes late into Dunedin!
This is a very Scottish city, lots of Scottish road names, and haggis on offer; all the schoolgirls wear kilts. The boarders look like something out of the thirties - their kilts reach to below their knees. Very smart, but hot in the current temperatures of late twenties centigrade!
Continuing the theme of kindness of strangers, I had a lovely experience on Sunday. I had taken a taxi to change lodgings - I've moved to a quiet hostel with my own room for the princely sum of $35 per night (about 14 pounds) as opposed to the normal $20-$25 for a bunk. This hostel is up a steep hill, and so justified a short taxi ride ($6.10). After unpacking I went out to explore, and was greeted by the same taxi driver (Graeme) who offered me a free sightseeing tour of the city. Long story short, (so much to tell, I could ramble on for pages) he spent 90 minutes with me, driving me around the sights, up to lookouts, showed me university buildings, churches, best places to eat, and finally the botanical gardens with a lesson in botany thrown in. No catch at all; he said it was enough that I'd enjoyed it and said 'thank you'. What a lovely thing to do!
Later in the day, I went back to the botanical gardens. I always feel very close to my mother at these places - she loved, and was knowledgeable about, flowers; I imagined her here when she and my father visited NZ in 1985. I then wandered up the 'Steepest street in the world', Baldwin Street, and chatted to a mad Dunedin resident, who RUNS up and down it 30 times a day (he says). Once again, very proud of New Zealand and his city in particular.
That evening I followed up the lead given me by my landlady in the Catlins, and caught up with the Contra dancers. They were a group from all over the States, visiting folk dance groups in New Zealand. I was the ethnic minority for the evening, but everyone made me most welcome. After 4 months away from ceilidhs it was a delight to be swung around by expert dancers; I was feted by both Americans and Kiwis, and didn't sit out a single dance... This led to drinks later in a local bar for gentle jazz with local kiwis, and an invitation to join the Contra group again on the Monday for their last 'gig', which I took up and again had a wonderful evening of dance. What serendipity - if I hadn't stayed in the same backpackers in the Catlins...
My other treat in Dunedin has been a trip out onto the Otago Peninsula on a wildlife tour. This was very well run - a small group led by a very knowledgeable guide. We went first to see albatross flying, and were lucky enough to see two very close by. Their wingspan was over three metres - smooth fliers! Then on to a beach area, where we saw yellow-eyed penguins coming in from the sea to feed their chicks. These are very rare, an endangered species. Forget 'Happy Feet' - these are not gregarious - you see them only one at a time or in couples at most, and they hide their nests from each other. What a treat to see them close up. Then we came across some sealions. These usually stay segregated, males on one beach, females on another except in the mating season. We were fortunate enough to see a female on the male-dominated beach. We had to be very careful not to walk between them, as they can move very fast and cause injury. Then to top it off, we saw a huge colony of fur seals on the rocks - the babies playing, splashing in and out of the water. Even for a non-naturalist like me, it was a fantastic experience, seeing some creatures unique to this area.
After this, I have spent two days very restfully after completing the challenge that had been set. England are playing two pre-test invitation matches here, and I have enjoyed sitting in the sunshine for seven hours each day, listening to that wonderful sound of leather on willow; gentle - or even genteel - applause; and the tactical discussions of spectators, both English and Kiwi. This is a small ground, entry $10, with a grandstand holding about 500 and patches of grass where people set up their chairs and picnics. Lovely lovely. England won the two dayer easily, by the way. The three dayer starting tomorrow will include more NZ internationals, I understand, so may be more of a stretch. I haven't decided whether to stay in Dunedin for the whole match yet.
Tonight I'm off to another ceroc class - by chance, a couple sitting near me at the cricket yesterday are ceroc-ers, so I got all the local gen, inbetween overs of course!
All in all, another eventful week, and a sociable one. So many kind and interesting people; so much to learn about a land different enough that it could be on a different planet, and yet similar in culture...

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