| The West Coast is a portion of the
South Island that is extremely isolated from the rest of the country.
Consequently, the people living there have developed a fierce sense of
independence from the rest of the country. Expressions of independence
reminded me very much of the resistance to government, and to regulation,
that one would find in West Texas, or in the Rockies. About two hours north
of Franz Josef, is a town called Pukekura. One man, with a sense of humor,
decided to make his little town a stop on the route for the tour buses
coming to and from Franz Josef. So he made a little restaurant, with the
museum about shooting possums, and other artifacts of West Coast lore. On
one side of the road is a restaurant, with the gift shop and museum. On the
other side of the road is a bar entitled "the puke pub". |
| And there are several bus companies
that provide transportation services for backpackers traveling through New
Zealand. They generally sell a pass, and then the backpackers use these
passes to gain passage from destination to destination. Many of the
backpackers that I've seen in New Zealand are, actually for the most part,
Caucasian, and from affluent north American or European cities. A number of
these people are still at the point where they have idealized visions of a
world where they can be vegetarian, and live a lifestyle of renewal or
sustainable resources. I suspect that many of these signs at the puke pub in
such as these menus, are written to shock and upset this audience. I imagine
the proprietor had a good laugh writing of these menus, expecting that he
would have the result of indignation that is manifest in a unique form of
self-righteousness that one encounters from the people who think that the
diesel is a viable replacement for petroleum, and cannot understand why the
world won't use composting toilets. |
