Going barefoot and kiwi encounters
We stayed for two nights on the west coast near the town of Franz Josef . It rained much of the time. Not surprising since the westerly winds off the Tasman sea dump eight meters of rain a year onto this part of the world. No one in this country seems to own a dryer by the way. Of all places, this rainy location could use some dryers. I don't think there are too many "good days for the drying" here, as some Irish travellers we met in Vietnam would say. Instead Kiwis for the most part seem to hang their clothes to dry on the line. We learned this time and again when we only found a washer at our accommodation. Maybe it seems strange to say, but I can't say I have hung many clothes on a line before our trip to New Zealand. It's not rocket science, but I learned on windy days that everything needs a peg or two to stay above the dirt below. A unique custom we've noticed in New Zealand lately is people walking around barefoot. We've only seen it a few times si...