Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 169

View From Above

A view of Akaroa Harbor from the pass above. The bay and its towns are situated in the caldera of an extinct volcano. To get there we had to drive along the crater rim, which meant ordering up a slice of road with Extra Twisty.

Akaroa was the place where 57 French colonists landed in 1840, unaware that the British had claimed the island a few days before. There are only a few French families left, but the town still trades on its French heritage, flies the tricolor, and gives French names to i...

Steampunk Town

File this under Serendipity.

We had a long drive planned for today, leaving Te Anau in the southwest for a drive across most of the South Island toward Christchurch. We weren’t even planning on stopping in Oamaru, but Kathy wanted to stop by the information centre and see if we could book a room farther north. But once we got into Oamaru, we saw the zeppelin and the sign for the Steampunk Exposition, and there we were.

Oamaru is a once-thriving Victorian port fallen on harder times. The main pa...

Above the Fjord

Lo! A photo of Doubtful Sound taken from the pass above.

In the morning, the sound was socked in with rain, cloud, and mist, and it was romantic and mysterious. In the afternoon the sun appeared, and the sound opened up to the world, and was brilliant. Best of both worlds.

New Zealand is a part of the First World in all but the Internet. Bandwidth problems continue to plague me, and I can’t work out what will upload at any given instant, and what won’t.

I’ll just press the button and hope.

In the Fjord

Here’s your takeaway photo from Milford Sound, which is not a sound actually but a fjord, carved as fjords are from glaciers.

New Zealand is very excited over the Hobbitpremiere, which is going on even as I type.

How excited are they?

During this morning’s news, the weatherman dressed as Legolas and gave the forecast in Elvish. No, he really did.

Bowing to the Inevitable

One thing I’ve learned about New Zealand is that there is one Great Inevitable: Peter Jackson. You just can’t avoid the guy.

For one thing, the North Island was covered with posters having to do with the premiere of The Hobbit, which happens Wednesday in Wellington— the rest of you have to wait till December, I believe. The newspapers are full of articles about the movie, and the bookstores are full of Hobbit-related material.

(My thought was that on Wednesday I’d go to a really popular destina...

Taos Toobox

It’s only a little over a week before you can submit your applications to Taos Toolbox, the master class for science fiction taught by Nancy Kress, special lecturer Melinda M. Snodgrass, and yours truly.

Toolbox students have had an admirable record of sales and reward nominations and victories. If you’re serious about being a writer, you should be serious about Taos Toolbox.

Mystery Plane

I won’t say where in my travels I encountered this, but it’s a most unusual aircraft.

What do we see here?

Beware My Wrath, Mortals!

I visitthe Tongariro volcano, and within 24 hours THIS happens!

If I don’t get over this cold, I’m gonna get all Armageddon on this place.

Welcome to Mt Doom

Behold Mount Doom, or as it’s known locally, Mount Ngauruhoe. This, wreathed ominously in cloud, was the (still active) volcano used by Peter Jackson to stand in for Orodruin in The Return of the King.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of interaction with the local geology for the last few days.

Kathy was down with a cold yesterday, so I left her in the capable hands of Ann, the owner of the Big Bird B&B in Waitomo, and promptly dived underground.

First up was “blackwater rafting,” which is to say raf...

Things You Can Learn From New Zealand Road Signs

Roads in New Zealand are so dangerous that the right and left wheels of your car can spontaneously change places!

Trees in New Zealand are so rare that each is marked by its own individual sign!