Running Around

Usually when I visit somewhere I try to find a book to read that takes place in that location, usually fiction, maybe historical fiction if it's appropriate.  Sometimes it helps me to understand the geography, sometimes I'm able to better picture the scenery in the book, and sometimes it helps with the culture.  Before we left I did a couple of searches for books that take place in New Zealand but I kept coming up with next to nothing.  I was even able to get Amazon to specifically search for New Zealand, and all it would find would be quick read romance books (that can take place anywhere and are not something I like, anyway)....except for The Luminaries.  It won the Man Booker Prize, but the "regular person" reviews were just okay.  I decide to try it. 

I get through about 300 pages (of 850) but then a library e-book I had on hold came available.  I have to switch to reading the library book, because of the limited check out period.  And I just can't get back into The Luminaries afterwards.  It wasn't awful, but to remember the dozen characters and their interactions was too much effort after a week away from them and while on vacation.  The book takes place during the gold boom in 1866, and is written in the style of a book from that period.  So paragraphs last longer than three chapters in a James Patterson book (an author I don't like).  It's well written, and descriptions are incredibly precise, and there is some action and mysteries, but it takes five pages to get to the point of a single question a character might ask (after lighting a cigar, having to close a window, poke at the fire, etc, etc).  However, if I hadn't been interrupted, I probably would have finished it.  And if you love the writing style of the mid-1800s, you'd probably enjoy it.

New books to read!

More books to read!

Flash forward - at the Auckland airport before flying home, I stopped by a bookstore and saw shelves & shelves of books with many authors I've never heard of (Is it like the good wine?  They won't export the good books?).  I'm going to look up some of these to read at a later date!

Still beautiful scenery!

Back to our trip, our luck with the rain runs out the day after we return from Milford Sound.  We wake up to an overcast drizzle.  The original plan was to rent bikes and ride along a bike trail from Arrowtown to Gibbston and visit some wineries there.  Instead, we decide to drive about an hour over the mountains (different range from the ones to Milford Sound) in the hopes that it won't be raining on the other side.  We want to see Rippon Vineyards, supposedly the most photographed winery in the world due to its beauty.  Unfortunately the rain follows us here, too, so we don't get the pretty picture. And we thought the wine was just okay, too.

What we saw...

What we should have seen...

All is not lost, however!  Near by is one of my favorite attractions - a maze!  So even though at our B&B we have two umbrellas and two very nice ponchos sitting in our luggage (and yes, it was raining when we left) we have to pay $3 each for cheap plastic so we don't get soaked in the maze.  

Just a small portion of our maze.

What's funny about mazes is that I love them, but I'm so bad at them.  I was born without a sense of direction (much to my father's frustration when he tries to give me driving directions) and it carries over to mazes.  One time in a corn maze my mother had to come find me after I'd been in there 45 minutes longer than the rest of the family (and I was in my thirties at the time).  On another occasion my 5-year-old niece had to help me through a Christmas light maze (I'm not exaggerating...and yes, I was the adult in our partnership).  This time Steve takes the lead, and it only takes us an hour to get through it.  I didn't think it was as fun though, so next time we're going in separately.  Hey, with all the time I spend in the maze, at least I always get my money's worth!

Thanks to Steve's amazing (couldn't resist) skills, we still have time to drive to Arrowtown.  Previously it was a mining town that has now become a nice tourist destination.  The old miner cottages have been turned in to shops and restaurants and creates a picturesque downtown.  We finally purchase some New Zealand wool items while we're here - another souvenir item on our list!