The Picnic Table Wars, originally uploaded by LeeLeFever_TwinF.

In many campgrounds, there are picnic tables, but they are not provided in a 1:1 ratio. We have to be nice campers and share, or take as it were.

Being a scarce resource, the tables have value over and above their wood and nails. Campers sit ready to pounce as soon as one comes available, creating a passive aggressive competition among campers. Who will finally own the table?

When we arrived at our campsite here in Kaikoura, we found a single picnic table between two sites, positioned a bit closerto the other site. So, we nudged it back over to our side, clearly laying our claim. We left for the day and came back to find new neighbors and a picnic table conspicuously moved to their side, so close we would intrude if trying to use it. They had very clearly snatched ownership of the table from our grasp. We let it go. When they left, the table moved into the center once more. We let it be, even though we had a chance to claim it again.

The next morning we left the campground and returned to find new neighbors that had staked there claim in an unprecedented way. The table was situated in the far back corner of their site, unreachable by any mere mortals. The message was clear and we stood down. They were tent campers and we have a campervan, they need it more, we'll let them have it. We prided ourselves in our attitude but it still bugged me that they would be so brash.

This morning we awoke to a cold, hard rain and our table-claiming neighbors packing up to leave at 7AM. All I could say to Sachi was "It's such a shame that picnic table can't keep them warm and dry, isn't it?"