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Ryo hits North
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A red-eye flight from Narita, Tokyo to Auckland was a torrid affair. Getting to Narita from home was a long-drawn nightmare. Transferred to another plane at Seoul. Then an overnighter to Auckland. Felt like it took me ages.
Rainy in Auckland. The locals appear to be joyful because NZ was going through a drought. From Auckland I caught a bus to Whangarei. At Whangarei I met up with Mike, with whom I taught Japanese in Pietermartizburg, South Africa, nearly ten years ago. Landed to a decent meal. he took me to a local buffet place. My eyes were fixated on the most precious and high priced items in Japan - vegetables. The sight of celery, beans and salads were just enough to get my heart rate racing and mouth watering.
Mike took me around to Bay of Islands. The scenery was fine, but the weather was not co-operating. We stopped at Kawakawa, a place noted for colourful tile works.
Whangarei is a town of about 50000 people. But its streets are full of churches. Some solid buildings, some prefab-ish churches. Locals despair "tagging" - marking and graffiti on walls and public buildings. Locals say that this was a grave concern and complain about the lack of discipline, employment and meaningful raison d'etre amongst the Maori. This is one area where the National Radio - the voice of the reason in NZ - receives weak reception.
When I arrived in Whangarei and whilst I was waiting for Mike to come and pick me up, I saw a couple who carried seasoned suitcases. Their faces looked weatherbeaten. The man's polo shirt said "Air Zimbabwe". Upon striking a small conversation the couple had fled Robert Mugabe. The man could not conceal his amazement when he commented on the breakfast he had eaten at his hotel in Auckland in the morning.
"I saw so many things that I could not see back in Zimbabwe", he said.
"Like what?" I asked,
"Eggs, cheese, bacon, bread...." he went on.
On my way out from Whangarei to Auckland I saw the couple again - this time in distance. Wandering around, windowshopping. We are both beginning to make NZ our new homes.
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