South Island Sojourn: Part III

So, the result of the extended family Youth Hostel stay at Mount Cook is in….it was officially a blast! Nine of us in one dorm room, eating breakfast in the communal kitchen….what could be a better kid experience? Ethan said he wanted to stay there for the rest of the vacation! We might have, if we hadn’t had other things to move onto! We woke up in the morning to a bustling kitchen, Rice Crispies, Corn Flakes, grilled cheese sandwiches, yogurt and granola, checking in for the first time on the internet, and off we went on a hike up the Hooker Valley trail. It was the only day we’ve had on this trip that wasn’t punctuated by absolutely glorious weather. Instead what we had was a taste of the extreme wind that we know can be characteristic of the New Zealand weather picture. As we hiked up the valley toward Mount Cook, we were awed by the ever-changing view of the mountains that resulted from the movement of the clouds. We were also awed by the fact that the wind gusts nearly picked us up off the ground a few times! The landscape of glaciers, moraines, and glacial lakes reminded me of my earliest backpacking trip, when my family went for a 6 day trek in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana…barren, windy, beautiful, and glacial! It really brought me back. Needless to say, it was a good and invigorating morning.

The rest of the day---well, basically just a slog from Mount Cook to Christchurch. Slog is probably a bit unfair, as the 5 hour drive does take you through a plethora of different landscapes and climates, as it moves from high alpine terrain to rolling hills to lowland agricultural landscape and finally to the South Pacific Ocean. We stayed in a little town just out the Banks Peninsula from Christchurch proper, where we could stroll to the beach in about a minute. At 6:30 pm when we finally arrived, we unpacked our swimsuits and the kids took their first ever dip in the South Pacific Ocean. The adults found it a little too cold to entice them in, but the children loved it.

Jim here now. Wherever we go, the Kiwis say that this summer has been the warmest and most beautiful summer they can remember for a long time. This is also true in Kairoura, where we swam with the dolphins. In fact, the hotel manager said that they have not had any appreciable rain since October. That seems like a long time for anywhere except a desert. He also said that they had almost a meter of rain in Milford Sound today. I guess we timed that just about right.

So after a nice morning in Christchurch, we took off for our day with the dolphins. Carolyn and Lori asked me what I expected when thinking about swimming with the dolphins, and I told them I thought that there would be few dolphins around and that it would be pretty cool to be around them. I was not prepared for the incredible experience that we had. It was a beautiful day! The water was calm with no wind to speak of, and as we approached Kaikoura on the coastal highway, we had a good omen as we saw a couple of pods of dolphins not too far from shore. As we boarded the boat, I asked the skipper what the prospects were, and he said “clear, calm, and hundreds of dolphins out there today!” It actually turned out to be a pod of 300 – 400--one of the largest pods the guides had ever seen. The dusky dolphins (the type of dolphin found here) were very interested in interacting with swimmers. They would swim around and under and next to us each of the five separate times we swam with them. It was awesome, stupendous, incredible, scary, emotional, and… I can’t really describe it. Nor do the included pictures do the experience any justice.

In case you’re wondering why the dolphins flip and twist as depicted in the picture, who the heck knows? Researchers have spent decades studying these amazing creatures and still know very little about their social habits. Jim likes to think that they do it just because they can!

There is so much I will not say in this blog, so Carolyn can help. Needless to say, I had tears in my eyes from the primitive and raw feelings I got from this. I actually thought of my dad at one point, knowing how much he loves things like this.

South Island Sojourn: Part II

Prior to our coming to New Zealand, when we would frequently tell anyone who would listen about our upcoming adventure, people would inevitably say, “you have to go to Milford Sound.” Well, today, we did. This was the day we had been looking forward to for almost 8 months, and it was everything we could have hoped for and more. The thing we hadn’t anticipated was that when you talk about Milford Sound, it’s so much more than just the cruise on the Sound itself. All 120 km of the trip from Te Anau (the town where we stayed and where most people stay as a launching point for the Sound) is absolutely spectacular. It’s indescribable, really, but, having said that, here I go trying to describe it. You begin by driving north along the shore of Lake Te Anau, the largest lake on the South Island. Just when you think you’ve seen beauty, you come up over a rise and look out over a vast valley surrounded by mountains. It’s all you can do not to stop at every lookout point to take pictures, but after a while you wonder if you really can do it justice in pictures (believe me, we tried!). There’s also the tension of not knowing exactly how long it will take to get to the Cruise dock and not wanting to miss your launch time, but suffice it to say, there are lots of photo ops. After a while of that, you begin to climb up over a pass called The Divide, after which you begin to drop sharply into yet another valley surrounded by yet more spectacular mountains. Suddenly, traffic stops as you wait your turn to go through the one lane tunnel through the mountain at the far end of the valley and 5 tense minutes later, come out on the other side, looking down into the deep, narrow valley that promises to end at the beginning of Milford Sound.

And then there’s the cruise through the Sound itself. Wow, is really the best I can say about it. Waterfalls tumble over vertical walls, canyons open up into glimpses of the towering peaks behind the towering peaks. All of this is especially interesting to me, having grown up in a place whose beauty can certainly hold its own in the world (Jackson Hole), because the landscape here is a combination of very high, rocky peaks covered by glaciers, but augmented by very steep, very high mountains that are covered with an almost jungle-like vegetation. In Wyoming, mostly what you get is a lot of granite with much less and different kind of flora. It’s a beautiful world. These turned out to be beautiful pictures, as well. The first is of an unknown mountain (to us) on the drive to Milford. The second is of Mitre Peak (I think).

We were all exhausted as we made the two hour drive back down to Te Anau, wondering why we felt so tired. We really didn’t get much in the way of physical activity, we thought to ourselves. In the end, we all decided that the day was such an orchestra for the senses that it was really all too much to absorb and that, mostly, our senses were just plain spent from the experience. Did I mention the 5 kids in tow? They may have a little to do with the exhaustion as well.

Tomorrow, after two relatively relaxing nights in two beautiful family cottages, we’re off to Mount Cook, where we plan to have a giant slumber party while we stay in a nine bed dormitory at the Mount Cook YHA Hostel. The kids will love it, even if the parents don’t sleep much. That’s what we do…help to make memories!

South Island Sojourn: Part I

Pictures to follow when we get a faster connection....

This entry will be the first joint entry by the blog writers in the family. Because we don’t have immediate access to the internet we will be making entries and posting later. It might be days later, so here it goes. After taking the train yesterday morning (Saturday the 22nd, Jim’s birthday) from Paekakariki to Wellington, then the bus from city center to the airport, we flew to Christchurch on the South Island, one of the largest cities in NZ. We stayed long enough to get a car, get some traveling groceries and go to the bathroom before finding our way to Lake Tekapo (teck-a-poe), the halfway point between Queenstown from Christchurch. I have never seen water that was the same green as that in Lake Tekapo. Apparently, because it is fed by a glacier that deposits granular rock into the water as part of the process, it stays closer to green than to blue. Because it was getting dark and there was a heavy cloud cover, we could not get pictures that looked as green as the naked eye could see.

We stayed at a backpacker hostel. It was pretty simple, but cool, because there were people from all over the world who liked the simplicity of being able to cook meals, sitting by a fire (wood-burner) and generally “roughing” it. Each of us slept in our own single bed in one medium sized room. It was neat, for sure, but what was even neater was the appearance of the Easter Bunny. She (if you know the book The Country Bunny, you’ll know that there are five Easter Bunnies, one of whose name is Mrs. Cottontail, who wears golden shoes to hop half way around the globe) came to Tekapo, left three clues for each of the children to help them find their toys and lollies, and didn’t wake us up in the night. She’s good! We had a quick breakfast in the morning and took off for Queenstown by 8:30 AM.

Because it was Easter morning (or perhaps just because this is New Zealand and there aren’t many people here!), we had a lovely, solitary, drive from Lake Tekapo to Mount Cook on a spectacular, crisp, early autumn morning. The morning began with low clouds hanging around high peaks and later cleared to a brilliant cloudless sky. We arrived at Mount Cook Village (for you Lord of the Rings fans, Mount Cook is the famous “Mount Doom”) before 10am and, after much oooo-ing and ahhhhhhh-ing, took a quick walk through an open field looking directly at a massive glacier. The kids kept saying “We’re in Narnia!”

It was a short visit because the day’s big event was to be meeting up with Cal, Lori, Emily, and Ethan, who had arrived from the States just this morning in Queenstown. We knew they’d be tired and that our job was to keep them entertained and awake until bedtime so that they could avoid jet lag. We finally got to Queenstown around 2:30 and went off to look for them at a café where they said they’d be. Suddenly I heard a familiar voice….”Carolyn!” It was Lori. After many hugs and ice cream cones, we all headed up the gondola to a spectacular view of Lake Wapatika and luge rides for the kids (including the Dads).

I’m not posting a picture of the Cal Harris family today, because they might not want their jetlagged photos shown to the world!!! Everyone has hit the hay now, and we’re looking forward to heading off to Te Anau, the starting point for our cruise on the magical Milford Sound. We are so grateful to have some of our beloved family here with us. The kids are overjoyed to see each other….strangely, we didn’t get any pictures of them all together today, but stay tuned…..

This video captures the wonderful mundaneness of life. As you know, one of the things we were so looking forward to with this trip was the opportunity for the kids to go to school. It's a different system, with different students and teachers, and a great way for our kids to do the kind of thinking I have a chance to do here (thanks Peddie). I would suggest to all who are reading this (and thank you for doing so) that you take the risk and get out and do. Get yourself to the edge of what you usually do and then take the next step. I didn't really know what was on the other side either, but I am glad that I'm finding out. I have only been here for two weeks, and I feel as though I have been here for years. It will take me the whole summer to gather my thoughts about the three months here. It will probably take years to fully appreciate how it will change and has changed me.

Anyway, enjoy the video. Remember, I said that it is mundane. Somehow, though, I pushed pause instead of record when I walked into Abby's classroom. I then pushed record instead of pause when I left the room. Oh well, life is like that. Look for a later installment on the all-school triathlon. Yet another afternoon released from classes to do something as a school. I find myself saying, a lot, that it feels so civilized here. This is especially true when it comes to kids having the chance to be kids. Ask yourself, is it really so bad to have less (or no) homework and more play time? That's a no-brainer for me.

A final note - Cal, Lori, EG, and Ethan will be here in three days! Cal and I will be here on our birthday. How cool is that?

Family at the beach

This is an experiment with video. We've been having trouble downloading, so here goes. We took this about a week ago outside the Ames St. address. We have moved since then (tonight is the first night in the house) and it is much more comfortable. We'll see if we can get a video of it for you, so you can "live with us" for awhile. Cal, Lori, and the kids come out in five days. What a great trip this will be for all of us! At the end we will probably see it as one of, if not the best, trips we have ever been on and still feel like there was so much more for us to do. Maybe there will be another trip out here. A message for Dad, this is a dream come true, especially for the kids.

Sorry if this is redundant from the video ( I can't remember if we said anything to that effect), but the island you see in the background as I begin to pan left is Kapiti (cap-a-tee) and if you look closely as I pan further to the left you can just make out the northern end of the South Island. This is an area of the island named Golden Bay. The small hill at the far end of the beach (all the way to the left) is a place called Pukerua (Poo-ka-roo-a) bay. We will try to get a better picture of all of this on a clearer day. Not bad as it is, really. We hope you enjoy this and feel like you are with us.

Yet more excitement

Each day in this quiet, wonderful town seems to bring more excitement than I would ever expect. Dolphins a couple of days ago, new bird species for me (Carolyn is excited for me!) and local people visiting our house.

One of the great things that the house provides is a wood burner (a fireplace) to keep ourselves warm on cold nights. It really hasn't been that cold yet, so we haven't had the chance to use it. Tonight we did. Tonight we met the local Fire/Rescue (The Fire Brigade). Nothing serious, but I think the chimney has not been cleaned in quite some time. We lit a fire as we have done 100s of times growing up, and the neighbor came by to say that there were flames coming out of the chimney. We doused the fire, the neighbor panicked and called the fire department and we got this picture. Sorry it isn't better. I wasn't close enough to them all. The kids were really excited... so was I! We were disappointed that there was no fire to enjoy, but are glad of the chance to meet the neighbors.

Swimming

The last two days have happily been filled with swimming of different sorts. First off, the weather has been unusually warm, and we're enjoying every minute of it. So the first sort of swimming (aside from the "swimmingly" wonderful time were having) is swimming after school and/or before or after dinner. There's been lots of that this week. The second sort of swimming is of the kind that the kids do virtually every day at school. Swimming is a big part of life here, so therefore swimming is a big part of school. For that matter, physical activity in general is a big part of school...sadly, unlike in the United States, where all they seem to care about is standardized testing to the detriment of all else....including the care and keeping of the body. As an example, this week, Abby's class spent all day Tuesday participating in a sport festival at Westpac Stadium in Wellington and half the day today in an all senior school (mandatory for all students) swimming competition. Can you imagine a U.S. public school taking 1 1/2 precious days out of "learning" time to actually exercise the vessels in which their minds and emotional well-being reside? Blasphemy!!! And on top of that to require every single student to get in the pool and swim??? There's a lawsuit waiting to happen! Not here. Here are a couple of pictures of Abby as she happily swam her heart out today with all of her classmates.

The other kind of swimming that took place this week was us waking up on Thursday morning to dolphins swimming in the sea down on our beach! So our day began with us running down to the beach in our jammies to look. Here are a few pics.

And now it's bedtime. Life is good.

A picture says a thousand words

I will probably being doing quite a few blogs that are mostly or are only pictures. I think they do say a lot, certainly more than I could say, and much more eloquently. So, here are 3000 words!

Picture one - A Variable Oystercatcher (black phase) that I saw on a morning walk.

Picture two - all of us at "the rocks" where we were searching for various aquatic and bird life. I look as tired as I felt.

Picture three - the kids in the Rose Garden at the Wellington Botanical Garden.

For bird watchers, I have also seen an Australian Magpie and a Pukeko. I will get pictures of both.

For those who don't know, you can click on a picture to make it bigger. I hope you enjoy my first pictorial installment.

It's a wonderful life

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What a whirlwind life has been. After a 1.5 hour drive to JFK, 3.5 hour wait for the plane, 6 hour flight to LAX, 3 hour layover, and a 12.5 hour flight to NZ (pronounced EN - ZED), I was toast. Even with a Tylenol PM I didn't sleep for more than three hours total. Even though I generally don't sleep very well, 3 hours is still not much for me. Maybe it was because I expected to get no sleep that I didn't (the NZ portion of the trip is the one I most dreaded). It didn't help that I felt really sick four or five hours into the NZ trip. I think I had a bad piece of chicken. I woke up feeling really queasy. I had a cold sweat, my skin was clammy, I was shaky, and at it's worst I saw a flash of purple. It felt like I was going to pass out. I never did, not did I vomit, but, wow, it sucked. One of the flight attendants gave me a cold cloth and it felt better. After four hours of undulating recovery I felt almost new. I didn't have much to eat, though. Note to self, drink many more fluids while flying half way around the world.

So I arrive in NZ, must recheck my bags (backpack, camera, 46 pound bag, and an 83 pound bike box [thanks Chris]) and hurry up to wait in the international airport in Auckland that is much smaller than I thought it would be. If you look at the previous blog you will see the end of the trip to the Wellington airport. Boy did that feel good. It still does.

Upon arrival, and in order to keep me awake, we did a "small" tour of Wellington. This tour included a ride up the tram to the Botanical Gardens, a great playground for the kids, a view of the harbor (see previous post and the picture of all of us) and a stroll through the rose garden. It also entailed getting lost, driving back to Paekakariki, and getting stuck in some really bad traffic due to construction. It is my understanding that traffic doesn't happen here like it does in America. I pushed through dinner, which consisted of a wonderful baked honey and oat bread, fresh caught tuna on the grill, tasty salad, Kiwi beer, and incredible company hosted by Jennifer and Michael. I was able to stay awake until 9:15. Sleeping until 7:15 was nice! Day two was a nice walk on the beach, to the dunes, to "the rocks" (pictures to follow), and a nice dinner at home. Carolyn really is as good a cook as I think she is. I was again in bed before 10:00 and woke up at 7:00ish.

I missed home a little. It's not so different here that I feel lost, but it is different enough to feel unfamiliar. Home is familiar and comfortable, NZ is not...yet. The major theme of my trip is to experience the unfamiliar; to try things and think about things in a different way. To think about myself in a different way. I know I have written this before, but tough noogies, you're going to see me write this a lot. On the next entry you will get a look at my first dad/sabbatical opportunity to get into experiential education.

The first picture you see is of Kapiti Island. On a map it looks so small, and I guess that it is, but it dominates this area. It's a cool thing to see outside the window of our house. The next picture is of a great young woman I met on the flight to LAX. She is from NYC and is engaged to a New Zealander. She really helped me transition from USA to NZ. I thought she needed to get a shout out for her incredible kindness and help getting me through to the new world. I still need , but don't worry, I won't have an entry for each day to write about day three. (no promises) Wow, it's a wonderful life!

All together again!

The picture says it all.....

Do you think these people were happy to see each other? There was one other very happy person present, but she was taking the picture!

After his on time arrival, a sleepless Jim rallied as we kept him awake by dragging him around Wellington on a gorgeous day.

Take a close look and see if you can tell the difference between this picture and the one in last Sunday's blog... did you notice the extra person in the picture? We love him.

And not to be outdone by the kids' happiness at seeing their daddy, here's me being happy to see my husband.

The day was topped off by an incredibly tasty dinner at Jennifer and Michael's house of freshly caught tuna, salad, and homemade bread. MMMMM. And now off to sleep. It was an emotional day.

A Day in Wellington

First of all, I said that my wonderful friends and hosts, Jennifer and Michael, would make the blog next time out. So I'm making good...here they are!

This will be a short one, as I'm very tired after a full, but very tiring day. The kids and I caught the 10:13am train today to Wellington. The second picture was taken from the very front of the train, where the friendly conductor let us sit for a while "so the kiddos could see the tunnels straight on." Upon arrival, we went to the Te Papa Museum, New Zealand's fabulous and not at all crowded national museum. We spent a couple of hours there but could easily have spent all day or more. Afterward, off to meet the Bergers to take the Cable Car up the hill, from where the first picture is taken, then wandered down through the Botanical Gardens for a few hours. The last picture is taken in the Rose Garden. What is not to like about this place?

Train home, leftovers, showers, and ready for another week.

To the top of Paekakariki Hill and Beyond

Since the last post, in which David and Becky lost their teeth, my big excitement has been exploring high places. On Thursday, my friend, Melissa, suggested a bike ride up to the top of Paekakariki Hill, which looks pretty darned long and steep from where we live.....but David said the first day we were here that he wanted to climb it, so I figured I'd better do a reconnaissance mission to check it out. So for two days in a row, I chugged and huffed on my bike up the 3km road from down here to the top of the hill. 25 minutes of solid up, up, up...and I figure...not bad for an old lady. The view is well worth the effort. Most of the way, you're riding along the edge of a hill paralleling the ocean, and it's impossibly beautiful. Coming down is even more surreal....flying down effortlessly staring straight ahead at the blue, blue water. The first picture is of Melissa at the top (by the way, she claims she's out of shape, but seriously kicked my butt).

Today, after two kidless trips up the hill, I took the kids for a drive to the top, where the second picture is taken. Nice view, huh? After much ooh-ing and ahhh-ing, we continued on another 7 km to Battle Hill Farm Forest Regional Park, a working sheep farm that has a number of tramping trails. Because of David's obsession with climbing to the top of something, we chose the Battle Hill Summit Trail, a trail that begins as a leisurely walk through the sheep dung and then climbs up very steeply through a dense, dark forest that is an interesting mix of things temperate (ferns, something oak-like) and tropical (palm-like trees!). Just when you think you can't climb anymore, you come out onto a wind-swept hilltop surrounded again by sheep! The third picture is just below the summit. The kids really enjoyed it, with very little complaining and lots of squeals and laughter. The whole thing took about two hours.

As if that weren't enough adventuring for one day, we continued on down to a town about half way between Paekakariki and Wellington, called Porirua, to check out their very cool Aquatic Center---recommended to us, of course, by none other than the Bergers! For a family total of about $US10, we all went swimming in this huge aquatic center that has two pools (including a wave pool), 3 hot tubs and a hydraulic slide...the best I've ever been on. We felt like real locals. The adventure was topped off when we returned to the car, soaking wet from the rain, to find I'd left the lights on in our old borrowed car and the battery was dead. Luckily, we were right next to an auto parts store, and I once again used my incredible powers of persuasion (read...pleeeeeaaaase!) to get one of the sales people to come jump start the car.

Day topped off with my daring to cook a vegetarian meal for the likes of Jennifer and Michael (who have fed me repeatedly and deliciously for the past two weeks). Now we're all tired and happy. I'm thinking I can't imagine what could happen between now and June to make me actually want to leave this place. Except of course, family and friends.

Six days and counting till Jim's arrival. I was so happy to see the picture of him and the Harris boys with their Dad (Feb 29th blog). I am so sad not to be there with him, but the kids and I have called him a few times in his hospital room, which seems to cheer him up.

My next post, I swear, will include pictures of our wonderful friends and hosts, Jennifer and Michael. I'm ashamed we've come this far without giving them visual coverage!