Thursday, January 27, 2005
Cats on a hostel's tin roof, part the second
I had to publish the last post really fast because my computer had just made a hideous beeping noise and was about to shut down and I didn't have any more $2 coins and I wasn't going to let Blogger eat another post (there was one I had written about pedestrian traffic laws in NZ that has disappeared forever - or at least until I get the energy to write it again)...so here's the second part...
I didn't get to meet and greet the Rotorua hostel cat - the hostel I was staying in was stupidly huge and there were more than enough people for the cat to get sufficient scritches without me seeking it out. However, I did spot the little tabby stretching luxuriously in the morning sun whilst I was waiting for the shuttle to take me on a tour.
The cat in Rotorua that I did get to have a chat with was the cat at Te Whakarewarewa - it was a long haired tortoiseshell, and sat out the back of the park's cafe. After it deigned to allow me to give it a tickle behind the ears, it did the rounds of the outside tables, standing at people's feet and staring fixedly at them until they gave it a pat. If people didn't respond to the staring it would mrroorrww in an imperious manner and then, when they bent down to give it a pat, would move just out of the way just before they could touch it. Wily animal. It's name was Whaka (which is the short name for the park) - keep in mind that "Wh" is said as a soft "F" in Maori, and say the name out loud and have a bit of a giggle at the thought of shouting that out at dinner time.
I stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast in Hamilton, which cost less for a self contained unit than the room I had been in at Lake Taupo!! But then again, there's not a whole lot to do in Hamilton (except go to Matamata/Hobbiton), so that's kind of understandable. The cat there was a crotchety old black and white long hair called KC. She really didn't like people, but did decide to own my left leg with her tail.
And those are the cats that I have met so far in Godzone ("God's Own Country"). I love the fact that the hostels and parks have resident cats, and the way that the cats own a commercial establishment and the many people who come through the same way that my girls own their home and humans.
I didn't get to meet and greet the Rotorua hostel cat - the hostel I was staying in was stupidly huge and there were more than enough people for the cat to get sufficient scritches without me seeking it out. However, I did spot the little tabby stretching luxuriously in the morning sun whilst I was waiting for the shuttle to take me on a tour.
The cat in Rotorua that I did get to have a chat with was the cat at Te Whakarewarewa - it was a long haired tortoiseshell, and sat out the back of the park's cafe. After it deigned to allow me to give it a tickle behind the ears, it did the rounds of the outside tables, standing at people's feet and staring fixedly at them until they gave it a pat. If people didn't respond to the staring it would mrroorrww in an imperious manner and then, when they bent down to give it a pat, would move just out of the way just before they could touch it. Wily animal. It's name was Whaka (which is the short name for the park) - keep in mind that "Wh" is said as a soft "F" in Maori, and say the name out loud and have a bit of a giggle at the thought of shouting that out at dinner time.
I stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast in Hamilton, which cost less for a self contained unit than the room I had been in at Lake Taupo!! But then again, there's not a whole lot to do in Hamilton (except go to Matamata/Hobbiton), so that's kind of understandable. The cat there was a crotchety old black and white long hair called KC. She really didn't like people, but did decide to own my left leg with her tail.
And those are the cats that I have met so far in Godzone ("God's Own Country"). I love the fact that the hostels and parks have resident cats, and the way that the cats own a commercial establishment and the many people who come through the same way that my girls own their home and humans.
