Tag Archives: Selfish Years

Finally Back in the States: Wandering Around LA

22 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Los Angeles, North America, United States

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Mrs. Selfish and I touched down back in the ol’ US-of-A three weeks ago in sunny Los Angeles. A massive departure from the tiny hamlet of Queenstown, we were immediately overwhelmed by American English and the shear diversity of the States.

With 19 hours of jetlag between our bodies and sunny California, Mrs. Selfish and I co-opted my sister’s car and hit the mean streets of LA.

Hollywood and the TCL Chinese Theater

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Our first stop was Hollywood’s iconic Chinese Theater. Built in 1927, the theater has a regal, exotic feel, which is only slightly diminished by the tourist shops and people dressed in costume. Still, it’s an excellent place to people watch!

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From the excellently decorated mall next door we even managed to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood sign.

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8 Observations about Gorgeous New Zealand

21 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by in New Zealand, Oceania, Rant

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Mrs. Selfish and I spent 2 weeks driving through friendly, jaw-dropping New Zealand. From bustling Auckland, to devastated Christchurch, to awe-inspiring Queenstown, New Zealand is a beautiful country with a very small population.

Here are some of the differences we noticed.

*Disclaimer * These observations are purely things I noticed after driving through New Zealand for 2 weeks and may not be entirely accurate. If you have any explanations or stories, please share away.

1. Everyone hates JAFAS.

JAFFAS are a very popular candy in New Zealand, and are a type of orange chocolate ball. JAFAs are “Just Another F***ing Aucklander.”

Where Sydney-dwellers hate Melbourners, and Northern Californians hate Southern Californians, EVERYONE in New Zealand hates people from Auckland.

While Auckland isn’t a big city per se, it does have 1.5 million people, which means it is THE BIG New Zealand city with slightly over 1/3 of the population.

2. Native New Zealanders are still part of New Zealand culture.

New Zealand Maori rowing ceremonial coreography

While Americans and Australians settlers crushed their native populations and forced them into reserves, the New Zealand natives (Maoris) are still a very large part of New Zealand culture. Maori art is prolific, many street names and sites have Maori names, and the Maori people seem very well integrated in New Zealand society.

3. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way.

New Zealand Observations 003

As a pedestrian, I have never felt more in danger than I did in New Zealand. Not crossing motorcycle infested streets in Vietnam. Not running across rural towns in China. Drivers in New Zealand just don’t seem to care about pedestrians, and it feels like they have the right of way at nearly all times.

We asked some New Zealanders why that was the case and were told that New Zealand doesn’t have any civil lawsuits, so pedestrians don’t have much recourse if they get struck by a vehicle. Apparently several North Americans are killed every year while crossing the street.

If you are from the States and you’re visiting New Zealand BE CAREFUL. New Zealanders will kill you.

4. You can still hitch hike across the country.

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That being said, I have never seen more hitchhikers than I have in New Zealand. They are EVERYWHERE. Especially in the Queenstown area. It felt like America in the 70’s.

5. New Zealand (feels like it) has more sheep than anywhere else in the world.

And it probably does. There are sheep everywhere: fields, vineyards, hills, mountains, roads, etc. You can even see them in the city, like we did on the outskirts of Dunedin.

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You Only Live Once: Flying to the Milford Sound

20 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in New Zealand, Oceania, Queenstown

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Mrs. Selfish is not much of an outdoor gal, so spending 2 weeks in New Zealand during the winter was a little bit of a stretch for us. Especially in Queenstown, which is known for skiing, bungee jumping, hiking, paragliding, and pretty much any other extreme outdoor sport you can think of.

But we knew we had to go to Queenstown when we saw pictures of the Milford Sound.

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One of New Zealand’s most naturally beautiful sights, the Milford Sound is a whopping 10 hour round trip drive from Queenstown. Jucy offers a bus service for around $100 NZD round trip, but driving 10 hours for a 1.5 hour ferry ride didn’t sound like a good deal to me.

Instead, Mrs. Selfish and I opted for the flying option under the banner of YOLO (you only live once). Coming in at $400 NZD per person, it definitely wasn’t the cheap option, but it was much, much faster – taking only 1 hour per direction.

The plane is not for the faint of heart. With only room for 4 people, it is a very turbulence prone flight.

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Climbing the Lovely Queenstown Hill

18 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in New Zealand, Oceania, Queenstown

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On a wonderfully sunny day, Mr. Selfish and I decided to hike Queenstown Hill, which takes about 1.5 to 2.5 hours round trip (sans photos). With lots of photos, it takes closer to 3.5 hours. It was a surprisingly steep walk but quite enjoyable.

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I wish I was still relaxing at the Hilton Queenstown

17 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by in Accommodations, Hilton, New Zealand, Oceania, Queenstown, Travel Hacking

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After the disappointing stay at the Hilton Auckland, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to give the Hilton one last go at the Hilton Queenstown.

From everything we’d heard, Queenstown is the most beautiful city in New Zealand, and the Hilton Queenstown is one of the best hotels in the city.

Neither disappointed.

Queenstown Hilton 01

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Dilly Dallying in Dunedin: Penguins, Haggis, and a Farmer’s Market

16 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New Zealand, Oceania

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One of my top priorities on our selfish trip was to see penguins in the wild. I did lots of research to determine whether we should see the penguins in Australia or wait until New Zealand. Since we were in Australia during the winter, we weren’t likely to see hoards of penguins ascending from the beach at dusk, which is more typical during the summer. I therefore opted to see the rarer yellow-eyed penguins in Dunedin.

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These yellow-eyed penguin only exist in New Zealand, and there are only an estimated 3,000 left. These penguins are different from every other penguin in the world, because they are quite anti-social. They do not live in large colonies. In fact, each penguin has one long-term mate, and they can only mate when they do not see any other penguins. Other than mating and raising their offspring with one other penguin, they do everything individually. Hence, they go hunting alone and come up from the beach one by one.

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The Devastation that is Christchurch

15 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New Zealand, Oceania

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Mr. Selfish and I had heard about the 2011 earthquake that hit Christchurch but we hadn’t realized the extent of the devastation. Following an earthquake in 2010 that had a magnitude of 7.1, the 2011 earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3. Due to the succession of these earthquakes, Christchurch suffered immensely.

We had thought that by the time we visited Christchurch that the city would be mostly in repairs. We were wrong. The city center of Christchurch is still devastated. Apparently, other subsequent quakes have occurred, which kept setting the city back.

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The Drive between Marlborough and Christchurch

14 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New Zealand, Oceania

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The coastal drive between Marlborough and Christchurch takes about four hours and is quite lovely. Based on advice from our Highlight Wine Tour operator, we made two pit stops. First, we stopped at the Ohau Stream Walk, which is about an hour and a half away from Marlborough, to see the seal pups. Second, we had lunch at Pegasus Bay winery, which is about 50 minutes away from Christchurch.

The Adorable Seal Pups at Ohau Stream Walk

Mr. Selfish and I were lucky enough to visit Ohau Stream Walk during the height of the season for seal pups. During the winter, momma seals leave their pups at Ohau stream and waterfall while they are out at sea hunting for food. The pups frolic and play in the stream with the other pups while waiting for their moms to come back.

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The Selfish Wine Tour in the Marlborough Region

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New Zealand, Oceania

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Mr. Selfish and I spent two days in the Marlborough wine region. We rented an Airbnb apartment in Renwick, which is a perfect home base for wine tasting. We booked a tour through Highlight Wine Tour and the rest is a Sauvignon Blanc blur. We visited nine wineries and below is the summary of our impression of each winery.

1. Saint Clair: Best Sauvignon Blanc

While in the States, we loved drinking Fault Line, which is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region. We learned that Fault Line is actually produced at Saint Clair winery, so we knew we had to do a tasting there. We learned that the Fault Line is one of Saint Clair’s multiple labels that is sent to the States.

Saint Clair

The Fault Line was not available for tasting, but we tried the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc Wairu Reserve and ended up buying two bottles. It is the one of the best Sauv Blancs I’ve ever tasted.

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Heading to the Shire: The Hobbiton Tour

11 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in New Zealand, Oceania

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Having been raised on the Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings, I was a pretty big fan of the Lord of the Rings movies. Mrs. Selfish, on the other hand, fell asleep during the 1st movie and refused to watch the rest of the series.

So I was completely taken by surprise when she told me she wanted to take a tour of Hobbiton!

Actually, I think Mrs. Selfish was mostly interested in the photo-ops.

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The Awesomely Touristy Waitomo Glowworm Caves

10 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by in New Zealand, Oceania

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Mrs. Selfish and I rented a car from Auckland and proceeded south to Cambridge, New Zealand on the way to Rotorua. Although Cambridge itself didn’t have any significance, it was roughly halfway in between Hobbiton, and the Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

The cave system has really picked up steam in the last few years and now seems to be a major tourist attraction. Having visited my fair share of caves, I wasn’t exactly rearing to go… until I heard they had glowworms.

Mrs. Selfish and I bought tickets for the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, and the Aranui Caves. Tickets are $67 NZD per person, though they were having a discount on their family pass which we ended up getting for roughly $105 NZD – score!

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The Top and Bottom of Food in Auckland

09 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by in Food & Drinks, New Zealand, Oceania

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Mrs. Selfish and I ended up flying into and out of Auckland’s international airport, which left us with a gastronomic dilemma: eat at the same (delicious) place twice, or try for a broader sampling of Auckland’s foodie delights?

While my policy has normally been to spend my last night in a city enjoying the greatest hits, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to vary things up with Auckland. First, we tried Food Alley, a collection of small Asian eateries. For our second and final meal, we ended up eating at something more upscale, the Orbit Restaurant in Auckland’s iconic Sky Tower.

The Bottom: Eating at Food Alley

Only a 10 minute walk away from the Hilton is the awesome Food Alley. A collection of 13 little Asian restaurants, Food Alley is a food court located at 9 Albert Street. The food there is ethic, cheap, and above all delicious.

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They have pretty much every Asian cuisine you could want: Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Malaysian, Indonesian + a few more. Basically everywhere we ended up visiting on our trip, oddly enough.

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Food Alley has a slightly dodgy vibe, but is actually really clean. Alcohol is allowed on premises and can be purchased from the drinks vendor.

Mrs. Selfish and I decided to go with a Chinese sausage and chicken clay pot dish from Chinese Clay Pot Rose and seafood pad thai from Thai Noodles.

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One Night is All You Need at the Hilton Auckland

08 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Accommodations, Hilton, New Zealand, Oceania, Travel Hacking

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Mrs. Selfish and I arrived in Auckland on a late flight from Melbourne for the start of a two week drive from north to south. With limited time, Mrs. Selfish and I hit Auckland with two things in mind: good food, and a good point redemption.

After a little research, I stumbled across the Hilton Auckland, a category 7 redemption with a central location downtown – only a 20 minute walk away from our car hire company.

The oh-so-tasteful lobby

Getting there and Checking In

The Hilton Auckland is located on Prince’s Wharf, which is roughly a 30 minute drive into town. Since we couldn’t pick up our car rental until the following morning, that left us with very few options.

Fortunately, we found Super Shuttle, which ended up costing $43 NZD (~$35 USD) for the two of us and took approximately 45 minutes to reach the Hilton.

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Two Weeks of Glorious Driving in New Zealand

07 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by in New Zealand, Oceania

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For the final leg of our international trip, Mr. Selfish and I spent two weeks driving around New Zealand. Here was our itinerary: (1) Auckland, (2) Cambridge, (3) Rotorua, (4) Wellington, (5) Renwick in the Marlborough wine region, (6) Christchurch, (7) Dunedin, (8) Queenstown, and (9) Milford Sound.

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And we drove all that in this amazing car:

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Yes, it was a 10-year old Mitsubishi that didn’t even have powered locks. But I must admit it did get us around, albeit with very little horsepower.

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24 Observations About the Land Down Under (Part 2 of 2)

06 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Australia, Oceania, Rant

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*Disclaimer * These observations are purely things I noticed after wandering Australia for 5 weeks and may not be entirely accurate. If you have any explanations or stories, please share away.

Also, to prove we’re not (too) biased I’ll be doing a list of US observations after our cross-country drive in September!

13. Crickey! Strange grammatical differences.

On top of the abbreviations, there are also some strange grammatical differences between Australian English and other forms of English, and while “G’day Mate” appears to be fading in popularity, I found “How ya going?” to be equally charming.

14. Australian-ifications of foreign words.

To make things even more complicated for the ambling North American visitor, many of the ways in which Australian English speakers pronounce foreign words is confusingly different. The Spanish dish “paella?” Pie-el-ah. The French meat cut “fillet?” Fill-it. The Korean car “Hyundai?” He-un-day.

15. There are tons of candy stores.

There seems to be even more of a penchant for sweets than back in the States. I was particularly surprised to see row upon rows of Willy Wonka sweets lining the shelves of every convenience store.

16. There are very few options for food customization.

Maybe they size up customers as they enter the door, or maybe because they make such damned good food. Either way, I was surprised at how little food customization there was. Whenever we ate at a Thai or Indian restaurant we were never asked how spicy we wanted our food. Similarly, no one asked us how we wanted our meat cooked.  

17. There are animals everywhere.

Animals Crossing

Australian animals have almost no natural predators, except for the dingo, and foxes which were brought over by the British. As such, there are TONS of animals once you get outside of the city, and tons of road kill – especially in less populated places like Tasmania.

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