Here it is full of black coffee with breakfast at my hostel in Franz Josef, Westland (south island, New Zealand):
As I wait to be “shuttled” to the ferry over the Cook Strait, I’m wolfing down a sandwich accompanied by a soft drink and suddenly realise that my Ecoffee cup has a straw hole! Never noticed that before!
Waving a fond goodbye to New Zealand’s south island as the ferry heads north from Picton harbour, making its way up the sound to the Tasman Sea:
And here we are in Wellington – a bright, colourful and altogether lovely coffee house called Zumo, where they correct what you thought you knew about the relationship between the strength of the coffee (i.e. caffeine hit) and the strength of its flavour (fullness, body). Apparently the two are INVERSELY proportional?!
While in Wellington I made a point of visiting the fantastic nature sanctuary “Zealandia”, just outside the city (see separate blog entry, explaining among other things the significance of the Fort Knox-style fence!). Here at the entrance (see pic, above) I pause to take on vital fluids (hee hee) before walking around the park’s trails for what turns out to be three hours! I’m sure most people do it in an hour, but there were so many superb tracks to wander...
This next one really needs no explanation ;) A quiet night in, with an old friend and a room to myself (luxury!). Followed by a snap taken at the Cadillac Cafe in Turangi, near the bottom of the mighty Lake Taupo:
Breakfast at a little rented “bach” (= holiday cottage) in Waimarama, Hawke’s Bay:
And finally! An indulgent moment at Scott’s Epicurean, a fantastic eatery in Hamilton:
And so ends a wonderful trip around one of the world’s most far-flung places (in relation to the UK, anyway!). On my return to London, I had time for a coffee before my train, so went to the nearest place and handed over my ECoffee cup as usual. To my delight, the cashier keyed in an “own cup discount”! To quote an annoying American phrase I’ve been hearing recently, “I didn’t know that was a thing” ;) And today at Prêt à Manger at London Stansted, I received a coffee on the house! Another goodwill gesture and at last, a little incentive for people who are trying to minimise the stuff they put in the bin. I think the next step should be to include on receipts a little nudge, something along the lines of “your drink would have been 25p cheaper if you’d brought your own cup”. Yes? No? :)
I’ve just spent almost two weeks in Devon, catching my breath and planning the European leg of this trip! Tonight (April 14th) I'm in Pisa, and in a few days I'll be getting down to work in a volunteer placement near Florence. I'm expecting mainly gardening-type stuff at this one, with a definite lean towards permaculture! My movements over the next three months are becoming clearer as I research, pan and organise the various bits :) One thing is certain: my ECoffee cup isn’t ready to live in a cupboard just yet...