New Zealand days 11 and 12

            Day 11 was a transit day, as we drove to the ferry docks and took the three-hour ferry across to Picton, at the north end of the South Island.  We were told we had missed the visit of the famous actor Peter Jackson, who was being visited by the equally famous Kate Winslet at his simple home on the beach in Wellington.  Speaking of famous people, how many of them from New Zealand can you name?  Sir Edmund Hillary must come to mind—he’s even on the $5. note here (which, by the way, is the smallest denomination bill here, as in most of the rest of the world).

            I took a look on the Internet to see what other famous names I could come up with, and it is an interesting list.  Ernest Rutherford is famous for splitting the atom, one of the early nuclear physicists.  There are actors Russell Crowe and Sam Neil.  Richard Pearse is claimed to have designed and built the first airplane, remarkable according to the Kiwis because he didn’t employ skilled engineers or have government backing (Wilbur and Orville would have been surprised to learn that).  Then there is Alexander Aitken, known as the Human Computer. He could multiply two 9-digit numbers together in his head and render fractions into decimals to 26 places in under five seconds. His extraordinary abilities were studied by psychologists in Britain during the 1920s.  And what about Harold Williams, listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's greatest linguist, said to have spoken over 58 languages fluently?  That’s about it, folks.  Now you will be able to recite from memory the names and accomplishments of every single world famous New Zealander.  Drop me a note and tell me how you are impressing the cocktail circuit crowd with your newfound ability.

            But back to Picton.  It was a lovely bayside town, with lots of shops and places to eat, and we ate at a little Irish pub before walking about.  While Tricia perused some shell jewelry, I dropped into the local ice cream store and had a small cone of licorice allsorts.  It was so named because swirled in with the black licorice ice cream were all sorts of flavors, including chunks of fruit.  I must tell you that you have to be a real connoisseur if you are to enjoy the licorice allsorts flavor.  You may use your imagination, because it cannot possibly be described properly.  Please do not tell Tricia about this.

            We spent the afternoon driving over to and visiting Marlborough Country.   Not the cigarette place—one of the leading wine producing regions of New Zealand.  If you have ever partaken of this country’s wines, chances are good some of them come from this region.

            On day 12 we are doing a bicycle tour of the local wineries.   There are about a dozen of them within 5 miles of our B&B, which itself is located in the middle of a vineyard.  We’re in a huge valley surrounded by mountains; it’s a scene that might well be located in California.  Bicycles are recommended here because of the area’s history.  Part of the history involves free wine tasting at the wineries, often involving as many as 8 or 10 different wines, with no limit on the number of wineries one may visit.  Bicycles do much less damage than cars when their drivers lose control, you know.  Anyway, we plan to visit Giesen Winery,  Wairau Winery, Nautilis Winery, Georges Michel Winery,  Hans Herzog Winery, and maybe Cloudy Bay, Hunter’s, and Saint Clair.

            While we’re out bicycling, you might be interested in a couple of facts regarding New Zealand’s mammals.  Before the Europeans arrived, the only mammal on the islands was the bat.  Now there are cattle, deer, hogs, sheep, and other mammals.  Someone apparently counted the sheep, as it is reported that approximately 36 million of them are currently being raised--9 sheep to every 1 human.  And the deer population grew so rapidly that the government once hired marksmen to slaughter them; a proficient shooter could kill more than 100 in a day.  That practice has ended, and now there is open season on them and almost no limit on where you can hunt them.  So you hunters who are coming up short in the fall at home can come to New Zealand any time of year and fill your freezer with venison the first day.

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            (much later)

            We are really drowsy, so will have to complete the day4 report quickly.  We har a lot of winr today.  Thre was saveyon sauvnno sauvignon, _veeonyay  veoinee ^vognne  viognier, peeno gree, and chardennay.  Thre were also sosme white wines, like ppino noir and shirah.  i think we hd a cone of hokey pokey, too.  We cant remmmber how to move phots from the camra, so will wait ujntil net time to show ou pictrues.