WHAKAPAPA, New Zealand – Because it’s there, I know I shouldn’t be. “It” is the volcanic Mount Ruapehu, looming and with the appearance of a gigantic molar with cavities. “Looks like a sweet climb,” enthuses my friend, Aurelio, who would never deny that a mountain goat teeters somewhere on some altitudinous limb of her family tree. Looks like a sweat climb to me. So, … [Read more...] about CLIMBING A VOLCANO IS FUN, FOR SOME
Archives for January 1999
A WISE WAY TO SETTLE THE “GIRL’S WAR”
RUSSELL, New Zealand – An elderly survivor, a 33-foot whaleboat, is cradled in the yard of the local museum, and Russell does have the look and air of a small, unrushed New England whaling town. Old, well-risen-and-wide-reaching trees guard the handsome white frame houses that stand behind whitewashed picket fences lining the quiet waterfront. But Russell, originally known … [Read more...] about A WISE WAY TO SETTLE THE “GIRL’S WAR”
A MAORI WITH A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE, AND SHE DOES
WHANGAROA, New Zealand – You’ve heard of faces that could stop a clock? Not Hog’s. His is as complex and intricate as the insides of a Swiss watch – a face that would stop traffic anywhere but New Zealand. You’ve heard of face lifts. Hog’s has been raised to an artistic level that may seem bizarre to an alien but is really a throwback to a prouder time when their country … [Read more...] about A MAORI WITH A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE, AND SHE DOES