What makes The Pines in Wanaka, Otago, South Island, New Zealand the nicest timeshare I can remember? The 2 bedroom, bath and a half townhouse is so thoughtfully put together and the quality of construction is so high. Furniture is high quality wood throughout from the kitchen cabinets to living room credenzas, bedroom dressers and night tables, and even the patio set. The kitchen ceiling is wood. Recessed lighting and reading lights are throughout. 2 late model TVs and a stereo entertain. A tidy foyer with hooks makes this a nice place for skiing in winter (June, July and August). 4 saucepans in the kitchen have polished copper bottoms. Not only did it come with every possible appliance, it also had instant coffee, tea, hot chocolate, salt, pepper, a pepper mill with peppercorns, and a bottle of milk was in the fridge. An iron, ironing board, laundry tub, drying rack, washer and dryer with lots of detergent are just like home for even the most fastidious. The 2 story townhouse has 4 foot wide sliding doors without screens. We can leave those doors open all day or night to let in fresh air. Only an occasional house fly appears. When Mike sits outside a few little birds snatch any crumbs he offers.
On Wednesdays guests are invited to attend a mixer; a BBQ sausage lunch is served. Unlike huge Massanutten, a timeshare in Virginia no water aerobics class or organized baseball games are offered but The Pines has size appropriate amenities.
The Pines provides an array of handy stuff at no charge. Included are bicycles of every size in good condition, bike helmets. Golf clubs and carts include left hand clubs. The extremely nearby course charges $60 per person for 18 holes. A sun room includes a heated pool, sauna and hot tub. The game room has ping pong and a library. A stream with a water wheel with ducks and trout entertain young and old. Tennis courts, trampoline and a chess board with large pieces amuse the inbetweens. BBQ grills complete the offerings.
This timeshare is most family friendly. Included are sugar packets with little sayings; the saying that fits in here is by Bill Cosby. "Parents are not interested in justice. What they want is quiet." The activities here give parents a fighting chance to lounge around while their children have lots to do.
We are on the same latitude in New Zealand as southern Alaska but we see occasional well established palm trees. The Pines has bushes that include azaleas. Obvious pockets of year round warmth are here. The water is the bluest I've seen since the Finger Lakes near Cooperstown. I tried a swim in Lake Wanaka but water is too cold. I entered up to calves and decided to bike back to my heated pool in resort. Considering proximity to the South Pole the cold water is understandable. It is also wine country. We sampled excellent wines from Rippon, a vineyard started in 1982.
I'll repeat Mike's assumption that if you visit Australia, turn your watch back 30 years. Some old fashioned notables in NZ: only 9 TV stations, 2 travel agencies, no internet cafe (no McDonalds) but the internet office is jammed and charges $5 NZD for first hour. The Otago Daily Times is printed 6 days per week and is a compliment to timeshare residents. Nice blasts almost forgotten from our recent past. We were comfortable here even if we missed the fiords. Our sit bones are in shape for bicycling in Asia. We leave with clean clothes, fresh and rested for Singapore tomorrow.
More on The Otago Times and NZ media in general
As I looked for the daily Sudoku puzzle I couldn’t help but note the classified ads in today’s Wednesday paper. Four solid possibly 5 not so solid pages of classified advertising include a wide category of job openings. Sex ads are still in print here and not only on Craig’s List. Farm work ads are as follows: Herd manager for950 cows with 2 years current experience (danandbridget@farmside.co.nz), dairy worker for 600 cows (mia@3.net.nz), relief milker, please phone 03-415-7782, Bread Plant Supervisor in Christchurch (night shift for Tip Top Bakery) and a warehouse and logistics manager for a wine making and bottling firm are a few standouts. Of course construction jobs in Christchurch. Find the usual retail ads including grocery and restaurant including chef. Apply here the sugar packet with an old Chinese saying, “Of all the 36 alternatives, running away is always the best.” NZ is somewhere I’d run to if I were in the market. Mike was surveyed and asked if he’d return here and he said, Hell, yes!
Emirates Airlines has an open house in Dunedin. If I were younger and without interest in a degreed occupation and just wanting to travel, I’d immediately apply to work as Cabin Crew for Emirates. They ask for a resume, passport size and full length photos. The interview is in the Scenic Hotel Southern Cross on Jan. 26 at 9 AM sharp. I would not have any tattoo visible for that interview. Emirates Airline is apparently an expanding airline (makes sense since they pay a lot less for their jet fuel than anyone else) and their uniforms look so smart. Stewardesses wear a red beret with an elegant white scarf on the side and nice pleats in their skirts. Mike questions what a person can learn when confined to an airplane for weeks at a time. While attending Sci Fi conventions in Romulus Mike cannot help but see the crews arrive in the hotel late and leave early. I agree that domestic flying is brutal but if someone does not want a degree international travel might be a good experience for the attractive go-getter.
Angel in Wanaka (Woman spray Painted herself Gold and bestows Blessings mostly upon Charmed Children. She moves very slowly to give angelic effect.)
Forgive me if I repeat my comments on Qantas and then add LAN (Latin American Airlines). For this trip we fly a variety of airlines. Since we are not trying to accumulate air miles since we do not expect to be frequent flyers, we try a lot of different airlines based purely on price and destination. Their service is so good. Baggage is not extra. Seats are not extra. Food is not extra. Individual TVs with lots of programs including The Big Bang Theory pass the flight time. We finally watched this recommended show on the plane and laughed and laughed. Head sets are complimentary.
Air New Zealand and Jet Star charge for everything. Air Zealand has a safety video from the World Rugby Competition held last October, 2011. It features Richard Simmons doing exercises (like fastening seatbelts) and the winning New Zealand All Black Rugby Team. Otherwise they are the same profit driven fanatical airlines that we have in the US.
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