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The alarm goes off on cue, and I've managed a solid 10 hours sleep. With time to check my email, I receive a note from a fellow Brit in New Zealand for the premiere, who talks of a 'very mixed' response to the premiere from those on the Red Carpet tour. That seems to be a common thread here, and I'm constantly amazed at how two people at the same event can have such spectacularly different viewpoints - never more so than here, whether we're discussing the Ringers party or the parade or the red carpet premiere itself. These contrasting and opposite views on many matters is to become a bit of a theme when I join up with my fellow Red Carpet tour members.
		I arrive at the agreed hotel pick-up pount in plenty of time (a side effect of being a natural pessimist), and decide to try the hotel's breakfast. By 8.50am I'm worried - there's no sign of anyone, whereas for The Ringers party there had been tens of people in the lobby half an hour before the advertised departure time. 9.00am arrives and there's nobody. A phone call to the tour operator, Vic James, keeps breaking up but after three attempts I get a phone number for Erica Challis from TheOneRing.net who's leading my group. It turns out that there are only two other people in this particular hotel on the tour. They've checked out, but there's no sign of them. I'm advised the coach is stuck in traffic and will be about 15 minutes late. It arrives at 10am and I guess I've experienced, at first hand, the only real criticism of the tour that I've heard from my fellow travellers (some of whom are very negative about this particular aspect, some of whom are quite accepting of the organisational problems because it's hard to get 48 people to actually do what you've told them to do on time): that there's too much wasted time organising people onto the coach, particularly when several different hotels are involved. Hopefully this situation will improve when the tour is out of Wellington and only two hotels, and sometimes just one, are used for all tour members. Personally I'm just grateful I'm in the second party of 48 and not the first party of 120 - I can't imagine what the logistics for that must be like! We get to the airport and things seem pretty much under control with our flight due to board at 11.15am. The check-in desk seems very leniant on overweight luggage. My case weighs in at 28 kilo's, even with my papparazi zoom lens strapped to my waist and heavy camera hung around my neck, but is allowed through without surcharge. I catch up on the gossip from my fellow travellers and as the earlier email had hinted, reports of the premiere experience are mixed. Those who paid over NZ $100 for a grandstand seat are pretty consistent in their opinion though: "We got screwed", as one eloquently put it. I have to say it's hard to disagree with that comment and the whole thing cast Wellington Council, who were responsible for promising what they couldn't deliver and charging a lot of money for it, in a poor light. Those who hadn't paid for the so-called "see the celebrities up close as they get out their vehicles" prime seats had mixed reports depending on the luck of the draw (or the luck of choosing where to stand by the barriers). One traveller got pretty much everybody's autograph and was very happy with the experience. Others reported not a single autograph or photo and a crush from behind, so were understandably unhappy as a result. Our plane eventually leaves Wellington about half an hour late. Our tour party is divided into two groups: 'standard' accommodation and 'superior' accommodation. The 'standard' accommodation is right in the centre of Christchurch. The 'superior' accommodation is 'The Elms' hotel at Papanui. We're told it's a 20 minute walk into central Christchurch and we're better taking a bus for just NZ $2. A quick check with the reception desk at the hotel says it's a one hour walk and 15 minutes on the bus, so the bus wins out even though I need some exercise. Papanui, where the hotel is based, reminds me very much of small town America, reminiscent of little shopping areas in Belmont or San Matteo in California. Christchurch central however is much more like an English suburban town. A very chatty New Zealand girl, spotting me reading the bus timetable, comes to my rescue and we discuss life in New Zealand (she was born here). 'There are two things crucial to every New Zealander's life', she tells me. 'One is saving enough money to buy a house. The other is taking a gap year and touring abroad'. This appears to explain why every New Zealander I've spoken to seems to have been to London and other places in Europe. She's proud of her country ('There's nowhere better. We all believe that, and we've all travelled') and regales me with stories about why she loves her home town and why her views are typical of most, if not all, Kiwi's. She then talks about how government seem determined to mess things up, but when they really screw up the people have always successfully fought back, going on to explain a bizarre story about 'the tax on cows farting' which was introduced because of the Kyotu (spelling?!) treaty on gas emissions. She recounts a famous incident where things were changed when a farmer drove his tractor up parliament steps in protest. An elderly gentleman, hearing our conversation, nods in agreement. 'This is the best place in the world to live. I've been everywhere. Even went to Europe for several years in 1965, but nowhere beats this place. Nothing changes here. My old school's still there. All the buildings are still there with the same numbers. You can't beat New Zealand. That's why everyone always comes back'. I have to admit I haven't seen anything to contradict what I'm hearing. My fellow traveller alerts me when we're at City Exchange, effectively the city centre, and points out the city's most famous landmark, a cathedral. She also points out a favourite meeting place, The Square, and directs me to a clothing store and a book shop. Christmas decorations are everywhere, which just feels plain wrong when it's such a warm sunny day. My new friend explains that in late December there is an event where The Square is usually filled with fake snow and activities like snowboarding take place. It all strikes me as most bizarre! I'm looking for a clothing store because we've been advised to get hold of some sandals - the cheaper the better - as tomorrow we visit Mount Potts, the location used for Edoras in 'The Two Towers'. The trip apparently involves crossing three streams which will result in water up to and above knee level. We have quite a hike planned and several of my fellow travellers decide to opt out, which seems a terrible waste of a wonderful opportunity. I'm looking for the book store because today is the day Ian Prior's unofficial biography of Peter Jackson is due to hit the shelves. My friend Brian Sibley is currently writing the official biography and I should probably show more loyalty to him and await the offical biography - I know it will be well written and full of fresh insight. But I'm intrigued by Prior's offering. The man is apparently a respected journalist who used to be close to Peter and Fran, and yet, according to the papers, New Zealand's favourite couple have tried to legally suppress the book which allegedly shows that Peter is far more calculating and controlling than the persona that is presented to the public via the mass media. Alas, it's a wasted trip to the book store as apparently here in New Zealand the day of publication means 'in the city of publication' only and I'm told it's likely to be another week before the book appears on The South Island. The store already has 29 copies on order so there's clearly interest in the book, even though all the indications are that it will contain a lot of information the average fan will not want to hear. After a bite to eat it's back to the hotel. The hotel is rather unprepossessing and has clearly seen better days - equivalent to a two or three star hotel in England, but this is more than made up for by the friendliness of the staff and the cheapness of the bar! Internet connectivity once again proves to be a bugbear. New Zealand seems to be awash with so many excellent internet cafes, but so few decent hotel connections. The connection in my room doesn't work at all, but reception allow me to use the reception phone free of charge. Despite a connection speed half that of The Duxton in Wellington, files upload in about a twentieth of the time with no dropped connections. Hoorah! After that it's a case of writing up the day and getting an early night ready for a 6.15am rise for 'Edoras' tomorrow. Stay tuned for future reports (indicated by a photo appearing in the main Itinerary calendar) Back to Day 9 report Forward to Day 11 report
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Email: ian@iansmith.co.uk