Spring is in the air

I have just finished celebrating my third Labour Day of the year. Working around the world has some advantages! The weather in Wellington is quite variable. One day it is sunny and not too windy and feels like summer, then next day the wind picks up, the clouds come and it feels like the middle of winter.

On Saturday night, I attended my first rugby match here with some of the people that I paddle with. It was the Air New Zealand Cup final between Wellington and Canterbury. Unfortunately the home team lost, but it was fun anyways.

On Monday after our paddle, the club had a Sausage Sizzle to raise some money. It was a beautiful day; it was really nice to be bare footed and wearing my shorts. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera, so I have no proof!

Kiwi English is quite different than Canadian English or even British English; I am rapidly learning to speak this new language. So far I have been much more successful at learning this language than Danish; my New Zealand guidebooks have proven as an invaluable resource on the matter. I have decided to introduce a new feature as part of my blog entry each week. It’s the Kiwi word of the week.

This week’s word is Sausage Sizzle. It is the Barbequing of hot dogs and serving of them in a slice of white bread with tomato sauce, mustard and sautéed onions.

Bonus word of the week: tomato sauce. A condiment used to dress your sausage that resembles and tastes like ketchup, but don’t say this too loud or the Kiwis will loudly declare “It is different!”. The term is commonly shortened to sauce.

In honour of the long weekend Te Papa, the national museum had a special event relating to natural disasters complete with various rescue demonstrations.

Someone repelling out of the helicopter

Returning to the helicopter with the 'victim'

Rapelling down the inside of the museum

Te Papa from the outside

I got a deal on flights, so this weekend I am heading to Auckland for one night to check out the area. Apparently flying domestically in New Zealand is hassle free; we will find out how my experience is soon enough! Apparently, there is minimal security, no need to arrive at the airport more than 30 minute ahead (reduced to 20 minutes if you have no checked bags) and are allowed to take as much liquid/gel in your carry as you want. Apparently New Zealand doesn’t feel too threatened by terrorist and the government only put in more security measures on their international flights to keep the rest of the world happy.