This morning I repacked to go camping. I put camping clothes & stuff in my small bag. We washed more clothes & hung them out to dry. Nina, Frank, Tansy, Alison & I went to Ron & Cindy's down by the ocean, for lunch. He's a friend of Frank's & is from Durban, South Africa. Cindy, in her late 60's, is about to graduate with a BA in fine arts.
They had prepared a delicious meal of steamed asparagus in garlic butter, pasta w/basil & butter, hot french bread & butter, & sugared strawberries with a cream sauce. This was the only place on the trip where we were given napkins. It was all very elegant. We ate outdoors under a vine-covered porch with plants & flowers all around us. The weather was perfect.
Ron talked about his life as a kid in South Africa. It didn't sound like a very good childhood. He also talked about his "man cave", a room off the garage that he goes to shut out the world & do what he wants to do. No phone calls or chores or anything for a certain amount of time. He keeps a file with quotes, art, & whatever he likes in his "man cave", also books, videos, & whatever. I want one.
He was such a courteous host. He was very watchful if we needed some more wine or another piece of bread. He made sure to ask everyone a question about themselves & it felt real nice.
After lunch, Alison, Tansy, & I went back to town to go exploring some more shops & galleries. I bought a few beads at a bead shop & a poncho for my friend, Carolyn, from a street vendor. We went to the Refinery Gallery. It's a place that artists use recycled junk to make pieces of art. It was amazing. We met a couple guys hanging up a lizard made of thin metal. One of them knew Alison from sometime in the 80's. She didn't recognize him. Tansy got some names of artists down in Dunedin to contact for jobs. Took a picture of the bathroom. It was very unique.
In the early evening, we took off for Golden Bay. It was close to dark when we pulled into Shambhala, a backpacker type hostel. A friend of Alison's owns it & gave us a good deal. It had a strong Buddhist flavor in decorations & the owner's dress & demeanor. The main house had two bathrooms & a shower but we were asked to use the compost toilet outside unless it was the middle of the night because they use rainwater for their water supply.
Alison & Tansy slept in a tent on the front lawn, Nina & Frank slept in a cabin up the hill, with a double bed, & I slept in a dorm upstairs in the main house, with one Japanese & two German women.
The young Japanese woman kept to herself so when the other women left for a while, I asked her where she was from. She didn't speak much English but she had a hand held translator. I found out that she's from a small village called, Chiba & her name is Kaori. She has a mother, father, grandmother, grandfather & one sister living at home. She's been in NZ backpacking & just started working at Shambhala. She'll be there for a month & then she's going to Thailand, Cambodia, & another country right above that which I can't remember. She said I'm the first American she had met. She was so excited about that. She was so nice & had such a beautiful smile & sparkling eyes.
Alison came upstairs to give me a torch (flashlight). After she left, she came back up to tell us about the moon that just rose. It was awesome. It was large & very orange, & I could actually see it rising above the ocean. My roommates all took pictures of it.
One of the German girls was reading a Harry Potter book. I didn't check to see what language it was in.
