Scrumptiously Salty Sea Snacks

Two days ago I took a bus to a little surf town called Raglan. It’s a laid back place with amazing waves. I decided to buy a surfboard, but as my French traveling companion Alex pointed out, I was too gung-ho and didn’t realize that the price I paid was completely negotiable. Even still, the board and board-bag was at least $200 less than I would have paid in California.
I met Alex in a hostel in Auckland along with two other guys who are coming to Raglan today. I also met a surfer from Maine named Erin, here in Raglan, who has been nice enough to drive me to the surf beaches twice a day.
The first day out riding, the conditions were epic. Although Erin told me that the swell was fairly small for Raglan, compared to Santa Barbara the waves were not small at all. 3-4 foot swells rolling in consistently = Happiness, and although I struggled riding a different board than I am used to, I had a great day. Getting out of the water proved to be a bit tricky because low tide left 100 yards of treacherous tide pools and malevolently mossy rocks exposed. As I was precariously balancing/falling on the rocks, two Kiwi men noticed I was having a hard time. They were fishing for pāua and uni (Abalone and Sea Urchin) in the tidal pools and felt bad for me when I ate it hard on some rocks. They offered me some tasty samples of their catch and I have to say that having never eaten sea urchin or Abalone before, getting them five minutes after they were caught was quite an experience. We chatted for a while, mostly small talk, but I noticed that as soon as I mentioned that I had just come from Auckland a slight sense of bitterness emerged in the overly friendly Kiwis. It has become apparent to me, not only from this experience but others as well, that while people who live in Auckland love it quite literally most everyone else in the country hates not only Auckland, but also the people in it. These particular Kiwis told me that they thought that Aucklanders were extremely snobby and “high to do” and one said “I regret it every time I go there”. Alex told me that in France there is a similar feeling of resentment towards Paris. My own opinion is that Auckland is no different than any other big city in the world: there are more people so generally people are less friendly.