Aha!! I have found a nest. I will get very comfortable, for obviously this is My nest.ย
But wait, there is a human watching me. It must be jealous, for I have never seen it in aย nest.
I will wash. I will wash and ignore it and it will go away.
This is not working. The human is not going away.
I must come up with a plan. Let me think.
Aha! I will stick my leg out. Everything knows that when a cat sticks its leg out, it is obviously washing. And the universal law of cat washing says that a cat washing must be left in peace.
Hmm. It is not going away. Okay, I will act nonchalant. Everything knows that a cat being nonchalant must be left in peace.
Not working. Okay, I will sniff. Everything knows that a cat sniffing something is busy and must be left alone.
This human is not leaving. It is obviously ignorant of cat law. I shall put it to sleep. I will yawn and it will go to sleep.
Drat! It is not going away. Then I must go back to my nesting.
Perhaps it will leave me alone and go and inhabit the other nest I have left for it. Then it will not be jealous any more.
It is seriously ridiculous what a cat has to do to keep a human happy.
Mount Ngauruhoe, Central Plateau, North Island, New Zealand. Ngauruhoe erupted 45 times in the 20th century, most recently in 1977. Now you can see why ‘Lord of the Rings’ was made in New Zealand… ๐
We’re used to seeing ‘road snails’ travelling in our country, and although we’re really pleased to see travellers coming here, it’s common for us locals to heave a sigh when we pull up behind a ‘movan’ on the road. We know our country is beautiful, but you have to know that while you’re bumbling along trying to manoeuvre our twisty, hilly roads and look out the window at our gaspworthy scenery at the same time, it’s very possible we’re stuck behind you, envisioning various scenarios IN WHICH WE STRANGLE YOU and toss you over one of our exquisitely scenic hillsides. You see, you might be on holiday, but we’re trying to get to work, to the hospital, return our late dvds to the video store, or any other number of crucial scenarios that occur in everyday life.
New Zealand roads don’t have a lot of passing lanes, you see. So until they invent cars that have helicopter rotors attached to them, we often have to wait for many slow and laborious minutes before we can pass you and get on with our missions. And if you times that by three or four camper vans per trip, then perhaps you can begin to comprehend our strangling fantasies. It’s nothing personal, you understand, we just want you to MOVE OVER!!
What sparked this post off is that I’m subscribed to a fabulous blog whose author does hilarious cartoons to illustrate her stories, and in one of her recent posts she describes a trip she and some friends took to New Zealand, a post I’m sure travellers to New Zealand will find quite useful. You can read it here:
Renting a campervan in New Zealand: Tips and tricks to avoiding utterย chaos
Upon perusing this highly entertaining post, I realised that this gave me an opportunity to pass on what Kiwis want tourists to know when they come over here. Please don’t kill us!! This was my message on her post:
ย “Kia ora Vy.
Well done for choosing the South Island to go to. All us kiwis ask tourists when we see them โ โAre you going to the South Island? You HAVE to see the South Island while youโre here, itโs the best of New Zealand scenery!!’
Iโm really sorry you got a lemon camper van โ this is a good thing to know, so we can advise others ourselves.
A word to tourists heading our way โ there is quite a big fuss being made in New Zealand at the moment about tourist drivers. Several have caused accidents lately that have killed New Zealanders, and weโre not very happy about that. Many kiwis are calling for a special driving test for overseas tourists before they can drive on our roads. Because they ARE very twisty and narrow a lot of the time, not what drivers from countries with straight roads and many lanes are used to. There are two things us locals want you to know:
PULL OVER!! If you have three or more cars behind you when youโre driving, pull over as soon as you can do so safely. You may be on holiday, but weโre probably trying to get to work. Not pulling over can cause people to get frustrated and do dangerous overtaking manoeuvres to get where theyโre trying to go. Potential accident!
If youโre tired, DONโT DRIVE!! Tiredness can lead to you pulling out into wrong lanes in confusion. Potential accident!
We love having tourists here because weโre very proud of our country and want you to see it. But please donโt come over here and kill us. Thank you, and happy holidaying.
Regards, New Zealand locals. :D”
So that pretty much encapsulates what I’m trying to say here. There are only four million or so of us Kiwis, and it’s pretty sad to think of tourists coming over here to view our gorgeous scenery and bumping off us locals at the same time. So if you’re thinking of coming our way, please try to keep these things in mind – we’d really appreciate it.
Thanks and Welcome to New Zealand. ๐
PS: If you want to learn more about our country, here’s another post of mine that will give you a bit of info. Contains photos of gorgeous scenery. Please pull over before reading…
Beautiful New Zealand โ My Middle Earth and a Habitat forย Hobbits
One of locals in the midst of a strangulation fantasy…