The safety announcement was even livened up (I actually paid attention for the first time) with the revelation that the life jacket's light was 'for attracting hot sailors'!
And so began a lively weekend in friendly Wellington for the Cuba Street Carnival...
Lashing rain made our plane an hour late and having never flown to Wellington before, I was unprepared for what others have now told me was a completely run-of-the-mill landing but which felt like our little craft was going to be blown sideways into the ocean as it bounced down the runway.
Once we'd made our way into the city centre, we calmed our frayed nerves with a drink at the Good Luck bar - much hilarity ensued when my friend ordered a drink called a Fejina (it's pronounce fe-jeena, not the way he said it apparently) and the giggles continued late into the night.
Saturday dawned bright and sunny, and we kicked off with a fair trade coffee at People's Coffee on Garrett Street. Then it was off to the Victoria Street Cafe for some fried breakfast nourishment and then we hit the carnival.
After a quick reccy along Courtenay Place where nothing much was yet happening, we headed back to Cuba Street and checked out the Asia Bazaar where I was amazed to pick up a vintage kimono for just $5, but not before we spent a while watching some fantastic drumming from a troupe of Korean youths which was mesmerising stuff.
We spent most of the afternoon meandering about in the sunshine from stage to stage, people-watching and occasionally dropping in to our friends' flat which happily overlooked the main stage - judging by the crowds, the Wellington International Ukelele Orchestra is definitely a favourite choice. Perhaps like me they were hoping that founding member Brett McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame would make a special appearance?
I like my food and the carnival certainly didn't disappoint. A few hours after breakfast, we were ready for more and tucked in to the fare on offer from the Hare Krishna stand near the main stage which was great, healthy and super-cheap. We also made a pit-stop at The Flying Burrito Brothers for a few pitchers of their frozen margaritas which put us in the party mood nicely!More time was spent at the main stage, watching Dam Native and then it was time for more eating - this time at the Jamaican Me Hungry stall on Courtenay Place. We'd seen them cooking their jerk chicken and pork earlier in the day and couldn't wait to try it out but sadly it was sold out by the time we got there. However their curried lamb and goat helped ease my disappointment.
A bag of mini-doughnuts later, I felt like I would never be able to eat again but a short rest back at base camp while listening to the fantastic sounds of Olmecha Supreme float in the balcony doors soon revived me, though it could have been the (strictly medicinal) red wine that helped!Then we were off to the parade itself, although sadly the crowd was ten deep by the time we took our places so it wasn't quite the visual extravaganza we had hoped for. But some friends perched atop a nearby catering van reported back that the costumes had been fantastic, in particular a few flower fairies being pursued by a spookily lifelike giant praying mantis - thank God for stiltwalkers - and a very smiley Bollywood-style float. First prize for the best costumes went to the Batacuda samba group with their underwater theme, featuring some ingenious brollies-as-jellyfish and some cool goldfish hats.
And what is carnival without samba? After the parade, the evening culminated in an incredible drumming display at the Havana Club Square with 150 drummers led by a Brazilian maestro on stage. Courtenay Place was packed and the atmosphere was electric, and even more so when the dancing girls took to the stage clad in the briefest of spangly bikinis and with moves to die for.However by that point, the amount of food and beverages consumed started to get the better of us and when the samba fiesta drew to a close at midnight I'm ashamed to say we threw the towel in too. But what's carnival if you can't indulge a little? Or a lot?
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