By Phil Jarratt
If the weather was a bit better and the water a bit warmer, you’d have to give serious consideration to spending more time in New Zealand, even though they don’t speak very good English.
What a green and pleasant land it is, and what a sensible outlook the Kiwis have on life.
Even their politicians seem quite reasonable, as evidenced last week by their election of the reformist Jacinda Ardern as their third woman PM.
Ms Ardern is going to have to tax the bejesus out of the country to implement her reform agenda, but leaving that aside for the moment, as well as the fascist teenager who just took over Austria, at just 37 Ardern joins the ranks of a new generation of world leaders, like Canada’s Justin Trudeau and France’s Emmanuel Macron, who are charismatic, youthful and exciting.
The Australian media has been so preoccupied with trying to work out just how many of our own pollies are actually New Zealanders themselves, that they seem to have given Ardern short shrift, but the rest of the world is paying attention, and I think it’s part of a general trend towards increased recognition of the two little islands at the bottom of the world.
I’ve been going there quite a bit over the past few years, for work and play, and I’ve come to realise that there’s a lot more happening in NZ than just sheep shagging – a hoary old joke that the Kiwis keep fuelling by telling it against themselves (or at least I think they’re joking!).
So here’s just a few snippets of what I liked about this trip:
1. Their appreciation of culture. All kinds of culture, even that which revolves around a crusty old surf dog from Noosa talking about his latest book. In our second trip to the Tauranga Arts Festival, my first favourable impressions were improved upon. At music, theatrical and literary events, audiences were warm and enthusiastic, and well-informed.
2. Maori architecture and design. Although we didn’t get to Rotarua this trip, we saw plenty of examples of the whare whakairo or Maori meeting houses – old and new – in country towns. I love how such simple structures can be made so beautiful.
3. Their sense of humour. One Kiwi journo introduced me to the New Zealand public in a weekend feature article in this way: “The voice has a broad Aussie twang and is surprisingly calm, given that he’s in a hotel room in Bali and a massive volcano is threatening to blow its lid just up the road. His body, I imagine, is tanned, leathery, as wrinkly and tough as a rhino’s scrotum, and lightly crusted with salt.” Rhino’s scrotum indeed, and how did he know so much about them?
4. Mount Maunganui. We spent a few days at a mate’s beachfront “bach”, and although there wasn’t much surf about, we loved walking the long beach, and even tackled the Mount itself in a vain attempt to dust off the pinot gris cobwebs.
5. Their pinot gris. Tassie pinot gris is pretty good, but the Kiwi variety tops it easily for that wonderful combination of earthiness and fruit, particularly the Marlborough ones. I liked The Ned, but they’re all good.
6. Their restaurants. Auckland is full of good ones, whether you’re after a bowl of mussels on the pier or a full-on dining experience. We didn’t really know what to expect when we stumbled down a flight of stairs in the old brothel district of Fort Lane and discovered Cassia, a beautifully-appointed basement where a vast wait-staff looked after a full house of happy punters as the smells of modern Indian cuisine drifted from the open kitchen. We squeezed onto stools at the bar until we lucked into a small table just being vacated. What followed was the best, most succulent and most innovative Indian food I can remember eating. Anywhere.
Home for a nano-second
But that’s enough about them. What about us? Well we managed to spend enough time in Noosa to put a load of washing on and pack the bags for the next trip. Oh, and present Men of Wood and Foam at The J last Saturday night as part of the Noosa International Film Festival.
The screening was one of those rare treats in which the Band of Frequencies plays parts of the original soundtrack live on stage.
We’ve only done a handful of these, and I’m always a little worried that the band will miss the critical cue, but being consummate professionals, of course they never do.
And the energy they give to performing their songs that track our surfing history is always incredibly exciting.
If you were there, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
