penkwins

ba ba ba baaaaaaaaa. baa.

it is true what they say about new zealand. it is chocko with the sheep. i'd say there is about one sheep for every blade of grass, give or take. also, every ewe has just delivered at least one lamb. lambing season!

man are those lambs cute. and tasty. cute and tasty. they win your heart AND your stomach! double-trouble!

we just got back from our ten day tromp around the south island. we took a billion and a half pictures, some of which are actually good. we had the fun and did a lot of oohing and ahhing.

we also, i'm glad to say, had a vakanky in our lodgeh. i'm not sure precisely what that means, but it's good news.

let's see... what can i share with you? highlights included a meal at Cook 'n' with Gas (thanks sassy) despite their inexplicible double-apostrophed "n". does that mean the restaurant is really called Cook and with Gas like rock 'n' roll means Rock and Roll? i'm unsure. what would Cook and with Gas mean? is that cook, and do so with gas? if so, thas coo'. kiwis seem to be less concerned with grammer than they might be. whatever. they have glaciers instead.

which were the second highlight. glaciers. have you ever been to a glacier? you should go. it's like a mountain barfed up a mile of eight-story high ice and you get to go poke it and hope it doesn't fall on your head. ice, by the way, is really cold. maybe you didn't know that, but it is true.

also highlightable was milford sound, which is actually not a sound but a fjord. fjord has a "j" in it, which makes it exotic and fun to say. fjords are created by glaciers over long periods of time so if you don't have a fjord handy you're going to want to pack a lunch or something 'cause it will take a while. we sailed around on this boat and saw some dolphins and a billion waterfalls and for a brief moment sailed out into the tasman sea into the roaring forties.

the slideshow presentation we saw on the roaring forties was not a highlight of the trip. frankly, i've seen more exciting commercials for lawn implements.

we drove around the south coast, called the catlins, where it wasn't as dramatic but where everyone was so friendly it made you go a little wonky. we rented an entire guesthouse for $75 bucks and watched the delicious little lambs. than i played the worst game of scrabble i've ever played. i swear, i picked the Q my first turn and at the end of the game i lost ten points because i still had it in my hand. fuck you Q. fuck you.

then, we saw some penguins. those things are damn goofy. they're all "flapflapflap... flap. huh. i can't fly? flapflapflap. flap. what was i doing? was i leaving the sea or going in? hmm. flap. guess i'll just stand here until i recall. did someone say tacos?" like that. but with a fishier smell.

all in all, it was a grand adventure and i'm glad i don't have to get back in a car today. i'm pretty chuffed to be back in wellington which is all familiar and almost-homey, and to know that in ten days we'll be on a plane to melbourne which hopefully will be actually-homey.

i also mailed in my crossword puzzle to the new york times so wish me luck.