Hi Mook,
I have a funny feeling that Swaylock’s membership in the South Island is pretty limited, especially among industry, backyard builders and surfers in general. My guess is that membership down here would be generally be in the older age group, I enjoy Swaylocks because I like innovation.
We fancy our “Number 8 wire” ability to make something from nothing and do not take advice readily, unless totally impressed by the strangers ability to surf or ski or drink beer, have the best chemicals or whatever grouping you are in. Maybe we like to make our own mistakes. My surf buddy was saying yesterday that one of his wive’s friends, from Thailand, made comment on the large number of non-bed, hopefully, skills he had compared to her husband from overseas, who couldn’t swing a hammer. We thought it might be based on our distance from technology 100 years ago and the need to make the part rather then be able to order it. Bruce Mclaren being one of our favourite sons who built racing cars, Britten Motorcyles. However we are not arrogant, we just don’t like to be told how to “suck eggs”. We possibly are not as individually competitive as our West Island cousins from Australia, except in Rugby, Cricket and Netball (google it, girls game with a roundball, meant to be non-contact like basketball. The English think we play dirty, something we had to learn from the Aussies to beat them at their own game)
Mook, I know we are a hospitable nation and will take any traveler under our wing especially if she is…My advice is do what you do anywhere else in the world, find a group of similar aged people and strike up a conversation. The obvious places are Kaikoura, Waikuku, Kaiapoi, New Brighton, Sumner, Banks Peninsular, Timaru, St Clair, Dunedin, Porridge, Cobden Tiphead, Tauranga Bay, and you probably have done it. Where are you now? Might be able to point you in the right direction. Start a conversation with, “hi, is there anyone locally that does ding repairs?”.
The Freedom Camping thing is also uncool among the older set. Travelers in vans sleeping anywhere and using the great outdoors as a toilet is starting to grate. Some 59 year old weirdo from Christchurch attacked a van over the holiday break screaming that they were sh…ting everywhere. The victims were NZers?
There aren’t a great number of industry guys down here, with Kaikoura, Kaiapoi, Christchurch and Dunedin being probably the only centres where boards are made. There are a number of backyarders, again a good conversation starter. You probably have seen a lot of surftechs amongst the older guys.
I’d invite you around but I have daughters…
Oh yeah, we are hosting the Rugby World Cup 2011, so we might be holding a bit of hospitality back for the big one.
MrT
