Skipper vs. Barbie: the Battle of the North Island

When I was a little girl I had a Skipper doll. Skipper was Barbie’s younger scrappier cousin.  She wasn’t nearly as glamorous as Barbie but she what you’d call “spunky” and was the kind of doll that could probably throw a good softball pitch.  I SO wanted to love Skipper but Barbie was the one with the cool beach house and metrosexual boyfriend. How could you resist her charms?

That was how I feel about Wellington. It is the Skipper of New Zealand’s north island, living in the shadow of glamorous and well-heeled Auckland. Both have beautiful waterfronts dotted with sailboats and breezy restaurants. While Wellington lacks the population and size of Auckland, as the country’s capital it has a substantial government center. Its local universities give it a youthful quality with areas full of ethnic restaurants and pubs for watching “footie” games. While Auckland’s movers and shakers enjoy cocktails at trendy locavore restaurants, Wellington’s after-work crowd gathers on lawns at local rowing clubs along the quay. Our favorite time in Wellington was spent walking the miles of nature paths in the city’s Botanical Gardens. Their outdoor café in the rose garden was a perfect spot for brunch and a glass of crisp wine.

To get to the south island, the most practical way is via ferry. The boat is huge- full of people on foot, in cars and in caravans (the Kiwi equivalent of RVs) as well as large trucks hauling goods between islands. The four-hour journey was pleasant- they even have a kids’ play area, a casino and show two movies on the crossing. It took a good hour to load us all onto the vessel and they strongly reminded travelers to note where their vehicles were parked- much like a Jersey shopping mall parking structure. I can only imagine the honking if we were to lose our car among the many decks and bring disembarkment at a standstill.

Our first stop on the south island was a special one.  We’ve settled in to a lovely cottage tucked into the countryside in the south island Marlborough wine country. Run by a lovely couple, we’re staying in a sheep-shearers cottage on a small property complete with sheep, deer and chickens (who are kind enough to supply eggs for our morning breakfast). We can barely bring ourselves to leave the idyllic property (but I did get a special run and bike ride through the vineyards!) The owner, Paul, has taught me how to make a flat white coffee-a complex procedure that includes warming cups to the optimum temperature before filling.  He would cringe if he knew I had CoffeeMate in my suitcase. Paul has a ’55 red Morris convertible- a cross between a Mini and Alfa Romeo. We were so taken with the little sportster that he gave it a washing and chauffeured us to a special dinner at the Hertzog vineyard. What a memorable evening!

After a side trip to the famous west coast Pancake Rocks with their powerful blowholes, we’re now settled in to Franz Josef, getting ready for tomorrow morning’s helicopter ride to our glacier walk.