* * Day 5, Hamilton

Grab a pen and paper. Write your description for the perfect country. A stunning natural setting. Clean, clear rivers. Stunning mountains. Endless vistas in crystal skies. Exotic wildlife. Absense of snakes, poisonous plants, or insect pests. Spotless roadways. Beautiful cities and prosperous towns. Pristine harbors. Friendly people… who speak English. This is New Zealand, the most charming country in the world. It’s Christmas day. We’ve just spent the best day of our lives in the most appealing country on earth. How could life be better?

On the continuation of our couch-surfing of the North Island, I’ve not had any more interaction with anyone than Libby Gairdner. Virtually the day she learned we were coming, she invited us to share Christmas dinner with her, her husband Tim Anderson, and their blended family.

Libby’s son Jared was there, newly back from several years living in Canada. Israel was there, the boyfriend of Libby’s daughter who is studying in Georgia and couldn't come. Tim’s two daughters were there, Cloe and Adele, along with Cloe’s husband Joel and baby daughter Ava and Adelle’s partner Sam. We were all one big happy family, sitting around a large, square wooden table on the patio behind the house, although until moments before we’d never met them. Thus are the friendship habits of Kiwis.

She fed us a scrumptious meal of beef Scotch fillet, roast lamb, bean salad, pasta salad, roast vegetable salad, broccoli salad, fresh garden greens, and three desserts, including chocolate raspberry fruit trifle, kiwi fruit pavlova, and hot Christmas plum pudding with brandy crème. There was a breeze that lent a slight chill to the otherwise muggy, summer air. There were no insect pests whatsoever.

After a brief rest, Libby arranged for a friend of hers, Jim Galt, to take me motorcycling. Jim borrowed a motorbike for himself from the local Honda shop (an 800cc Crosstour, a bike that isn't imported to the states) and let me ride his ST-1300, which was almost identical to my own. While everyone else rode in cars, we followed on a longer, curvier route to a small harbor town called Raglan. At one point mere minutes into our ride, I almost ran into the back of Jim's bike as he stopped for a roundabout and I was looking right to assess oncoming traffic. But afterwards, all went smoothly. For most of the ride on a curving, winding road, there was a car in front of us, governing our speed, which perhaps was a good thing. Birds flitted about and Jim almost hit one with his shoulder. The road had several road kills of birds and other indistinguishable wildlife. Blooming wildflowers were all about. In places, the air was fragrant with summer scents. It showered intermittently and it was fun guessing whether the grey clouds to our left would be closer or further with each oncoming kilometer. We were rained on a bit but not enough to dampen my enthusiasm and fun.

We gathered in Raglan where we planned to have a picnic, but with the still threatening skys, we returned to Libby's house in Hamilton where we ate sandwiches for dinner. Thus are the friendship habits of Kiwis.

Jim is a solicitor, what we would call a lawyer, and Tim is in law enforcement. Jim asked me how it could be that America was infested with so many guns and how extraordinarily lethal weapons could be in the hands of everyday citizens. He was astounded to hear our NRA president say the solution to mass killings in schools was more armed security. Tim said that even most of the beat cops in New Zealand didn't carry guns. Gun violence in NZ is astonishingly rare. Shrug. Libby and I talked about our Rotary experiences leading Group Study Exchange teams overseas, hers to India and mine to Bolivia, and how we'd gotten ourselves in trouble by being blunt and honest about what we'd seen.

Tomorrow we move on, flying to Christchurch on the South Island. The people on the North Island say the South Islanders are much friendlier. We can’t even imagine. Our adventure in the world’s most appealing country continues.