It's Astounding, Time Is Fleeting

The drive from Taupo to Auckland is not at all like the drive from Wellington to Taupo. Although there are short hills in the way, there aren't the fun winding bits, so it's a bit dull. Except for the stunning scenery, but really, how much of that can one person take?

We re-packed (we hope) for the last time our suitcases such that we wouldn't need to look into the big ones in Auckland, and they could go straight from being packed into the car in Taupo to being loaded onto the 747 bound for L.A. After a gas/coffee stop in Taupo, we made it to the road by 10:30 and made excellent time to Hamilton, a small city with no apparent reason to exist other than there isn't another city nearby.

Here is where kismet steps in (for those not in the 35-50 age range, this next section might not make much sense, but trust me when I say it's plenty strange). We had decided to lunch in Hamilton early, but having no knowledge of the area, decided we would simply head for the city centre and see what we saw.

We followed the signs leading us through the outskirts, but still following Hwy #1, and when the directions finally diverged between Hwy #1 and the city centre, we chose the latter. Passing from suburbs into downtown buildings, we drove randomly, looking for a "restaurant row" type of street we have in the last few weeks come to expect in just about every town in this country. We eventually found the street and also found a convenient parking spot in front of an appealing street front cafe.

We settled in to our table and after ordering our drinks and lunch began to look around. Directly across the street I noticed a couple of people taking each other's picture in front of a bronze statue that looked for all the world like a Flash Gordon statue. Debbie and I discussed the possible connection between Flash Gordon and NZ, and because we came up with nothing, decided to investigate after lunch.

After lunch (Debbie had a standard steak salad, but I had a very weird pizza, but not the weirdest on the menu) I went inside to settle up while Debbie went across to investigate. When I approached, she was all smiles. We had found the hidden shrine to Riff Raff. Yes folks. That's right. This was a life sized bronze statue of Richard O'Brien in full Riff Raff regalia from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Just to prove that we are not completely bonkers, here is the plaque on the ground in front of the statue ...


... and here is the statue in its full glory. Please do click on this picture so you can admire the detail with which the sculptor modelled this figure including the pantyhose hold-up clips and straps.



Now to those of you who have never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show, do not let me put you under the impression that this is art worth pursuing. It is a very twisted, surreal look at the evil that absolute power can create. It is also, for those with a (very) open mind and an appreciation for modern musical theatre, an entertaining romp, and when it first appeared in theatres and for decades thereafter the movie was a genuine unqualified cult classic. I personally find several of the songs really catchy. As soon as we got into the car to continue along, Debbie started singing the most popular song, the opening lines of which are the title of this post.

The rest of the trip from Hamilton to Auckland was slow and filled with construction delays and inopportune passing lanes. We arrived safely but later than we had anticipated and checked into the Sky City Hotel room which we had, as you may recall, reserved. This motel room is the most expensive we have rented, and the most disappointing. Here is a picture of the harbourscape from the hotel.


This is not, however, the view from our room. This is the view from our room.


The rooms are very spacious (there are 2 plus the bathroom), but the furniture is kind of old and worn and very uncomfortable. In addition, they are in the "charge for every damn thing" mode as many major hotels are in the developed world, but it's not what we have become accustomed to in quality accomodations here in NZ. I would not recommend this hotel.

We settled in and then headed back down to the viaduct harbour area for dinner. After a few drinks at the Loaded Hog of previous posts, (but what's another pub pic between friends) ...


... we shuffled a few doors over to the Stonehouse Grille for dinner. Most of the meat items on the menu are served basically raw on a thick, extremely hot stone tablet. You are expected to cut your meat up and cook each piece on this stone tablet. It's a fairly creative extension of the fondue concept, and although we had a passable meal, I'm certain a second visit, knowing what we now know, would be much more enjoyable.

Given my success with previous night shots, I tried a couple more, with moderate success. As a result, you are now forced to view one more shot of us (keep in mind the exposure time was about 4 seconds, so although we don't look particularly jolly, we were under pressure to look the same for an unusually long period of time)


... and here is a picture of the SkyTower, which is kinda scrawny compared to the CN Tower, but still pretty big. They sure do light it up with gay (you know - cheerful) colours though. Tell me you don't think the art director was a smurf?


We cabbed back to the hotel and after a half hour in the casino (after losing most of her $20 and me losing $10 of my $20, Debbie won $50 while I was in the washroom on our way out) we retired back to our room.

Friday is our last day here. Our flight is at 7:30 pm, so we will have to see what trouble we can get up to before then.

Don