More Memories

Hi Everyone!  When we last left off, I was about to head up to Kaikoura for a few days.  Here's a little preview:

Kaikoura, if some of you recall from previous visits, is where Trond's father grew up.  They have a house there, which we used during our two-night stay.  Apart from planning our wedding to take place there in 2015, we generally relaxed and saw some local sights. We have planned tons and left the rest in the hands of our capable friend (GODDESS, really). 
A couple of highlights:
1) Seeing dolphins from the beach (we swam with them a couple of years ago).
2) Cave exploration just south of Kaikoura.  Barry the guide is wonderful.
3) Trond and I went up alone the first night, then were joined by a friend and his parents for one more night.  We ate, drank, and played games.  I enjoyed, "Articulate" (The more you drink, the less articulate you become)
4) Driving up the coast about 20 minutes to see the seal colony and take the short walk to see Ohau waterfall.

We are really looking forward to the wedding we will have in this area.  There is so much to do, we are hoping people will be keen to make a week of it in the region (those coming from the USA, anyway).  Not just the seals, hiking, and dolphins, but there's also helicopter tours, skydiving, and horseback riding.  Kaikoura is also a hub for artists.  In fact, a Kaikoura-based artist recently won a prize in an international competition in Rome.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/9651643/Quake-inspired-art-nets-prize-in-Italy

And, of course, you get to look at this all day:

First sunset of our arrival.  Taken on the beach just in front of his parents' place

Although the drive to Kaikoura takes about 2 hours from Christchurch, it's a very pleasant drive.  First you head through Waipara (wine country) and then north through the green hills to the coast.

Back in Christchurch, I worked my butt off all week (actually worked a full day Sunday as well, turning it into a 6-day work week).  That didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the summer evenings though.  The sun is up until about 9:30PM, so after work, we would generally go out to spend time with people or go for a sunset hike in the hills overlooking Lyttelton Harbour (a favorite!). 

Coming back down through the trees, I always try to spot local bird life.  This day, I was hoping to see a Wood Pigeon.  They are about twice the size of a normal pigeon, but have a lovely green color.  Although they blend into the green around them very well, they are quite loud when they flap their wings and not very skittish.  Luck was with us that day!

Over the weekend, it was another 6-hour lunch with began with 6 bottles of port and ended with me rolling around on the ground with the dog.  I was also introduced to this gem of a music video.  It gets a little violent at the end, but it is about a group of ducks who get revenge on a bunch of gang members.  I laughed a LOT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_BGKyAKigs

I really enjoy the time I spend in Christchurch.  I always see or experience something new.  :) It's also interesting to see how things are evolving since the quakes.  I have a unique point of view in that I am almost seeing snapshots of the city as a year goes by.  I can really tell what has changed each time I arrive.  The red zone is shrinking around the CBD, and more businesses are coming back to the area.  In the meantime, though, little gems like this appear when you least expect them:

The Pallet Pavilion.  A small outdoor music venue just beyond the Red Zone (those taller buildings are abandoned since the quake)

The last full day we were in Christchurch, we went to the Botanical Gardens with Trond's parents.  Would you believe I still hadn't been there yet?  Their rose garden and dahlia garden are fantastic.  All a-bloom this time of year, of course.

While I could have spent all day in that section alone, we really did need to move on.  We stumbled across a choral performance in a nearby field, PACKED with spectators.  After a couple of songs, we moved on to see the peacock fountain and the curators tudor-style house on the corner of the grounds (it's now a quaint cafe).  Looping back to the car, we passed the Japanese peace bell, some truly massive eucalyptus trees, and most intriguing, the native forest land:

No matter how many times I see a New Zealand tree fern, I still giggle.

Though the silver fern may be more poetic and "sleek," to me the true symbol of New Zealand is the tree fern.  That, or this T-shirt:

Until next year, wishing you a wonderful 2014!

...and Back Again

Greetings!   It's time for the yearly return to New Zealand and the newly-reinstated sheep comic!

It's good to be back

As some of you know, I had a bit of a rough time getting here this year.  My flight out of Honolulu was forced to turn around due to the leaking of hydraulic fluid (from the back-up system).  Our plane was too heavy to land, so we had to circle over the Pacific, dumping fuel for 45 minutes.  It's quite an eerie sight to see it shooting out from the wings.  Back on the ground (a landing accompanied by uproarious applause), we were towed back to the gate by emergency personnel and informed a new plane was being lined up for us.
In the meantime, the airline provided everyone with a $20 food voucher for use in the airport (we all got stiff drinks), the reimbursement for my missed hotel stay in Auckland, and a free flight to Hawaii.  So all in all, they took good care of us.

After a completely uneventful 2nd journey out of Honolulu, I arrived in New Zealand.  Even though the sun wasn't up, I decided to walk from the International Terminal to the Domestic Terminal, a now-familiar route.  Even at night, the smell of New Zealand hits you with a force.  The sweet smelling air instantly places me in summer.   But that's alright.  At least I didn't miss the blooming of Trond's parents' garden.  What an amazing array of dahlias!

My first day is a blur of napping, reading, and catching up with Trond's mom.  For dinner, Trond took me to a really tasty Chinese restaurant he's been telling me about for the last month.  After a great meal, we left the building and saw what a lovely sunset we were having.

The next day it was all work, work, work.  The office area I'm using is great.  I even managed to have two calls with India, right into the night (10:30PM) my time.  It's nice to know the transition to working abroad has been so seamless!  As a nice treat, between the end of my work day and the aforementioned call, Trond and I drove up to the hills for a view of Lyttelton Harbor.  The weather wasn't great (in fact it hailed on us at one point), but it's such a nice place to just sit and read.  We inevitably go here several times during my yearly visit to New Zealand.

Friday I took off work so we could go to Canterbury Faire up in Waipara.  After I was provided with appropriate garb, it was a leisurely day of watching blacksmiths, woodworkers, and weavers do what they do best while others watched and learned a little something. 

Handmade lace weaving is a bit mesmerizing, but I don't think I'd have the patience for it myself.  I enjoyed watching a few mock battles and even took a few shots at a knight, using blunted arrows.  I had a couple of solid hits, but Trond managed a few headshots, which was impressive.

Later in the afternoon, I took a walk up the hill on my own and discovered that we were right up against a vast vineyard.  Waipara is only second to Marlborough for New Zealand wine production.  After climbing a rise, I was rewarded with this view:

In the evening, we stuffed our faces with period-appropriate food (cured meat, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, veggies, and fruit).  After dinner we wandered from campfire to campfire, catching up with people and just chatting about life.  We were even offered a few tastes of stew and a dram of whiskey, which was being passed around.  Very relaxing and enjoyable before heading back to Christchurch.

Dinner at the faire

Saturday was actually a full work day for me, to make up for missing Friday.  Since it was Friday in the USA at the time, it really worked out, too.  There was a LOT to do that day, as everyone was pouring items in at the end of the week/month.  It's taken me all my willpower not to log back into work for the rest of the weekend, but I take comfort in the fact that my Monday is the USA's Sunday, so I have a little buffer space to work on some ongoing projects.

After a long work day, I had a rather eventful evening.  I attended one birthday dinner out (at The Flying Burrito Brothers), one additional Mexican-themed dinner party at a friend's house, followed by ANOTHER friend's birthday party.  I found it very strange to be having Mexican food in New Zealand at all, let alone twice in one night.  While I can say the food at The Flying Burrito Brothers was tasty, I'd have to call it "Mexican" food.  There were tortillas, but the sauce was basically tomato soup.  I had an "enchilada" but the person sitting next to me had fajitas, which looked tasty.  I also like they way the dish was presented:

The food at our friend's house was much more authentic.  He had slow-cooked a pork roast in chipotle sauce all afternoon, and whipped up some tasty guacamole.  In fact, I was greeted at the door with a nice, icy margarita.  Would you believe I haven't had one of those in years?

The party down the road was fun.  I was able to catch up with a lot of people I hadn't seen and I talked to a friend who is about to have JET interview here in New Zealand.  We talked about my experiences teaching in Japan and what to expect.  Enjoyed some b-day cake.  Danced the night away.  I love that all these parties ALWAYS have a dance floor and a well-thought-out playlist.

LATE the next morning, Trond and I got up and headed over to a friend's house for a picnic.  It was meant to be held in the Botanical Gardens, but the weather prevented that.  Instead, we picnicked on her living room floor, which was just as nice and BONUS, hot tea.  A co-worker of hers had given her a HUGE box of fresh cherries for her birthday, so we munched those for 3 hours before heading back to Trond's place.  And here you find me!

This evening we are meeting up with people just back from the closing of Canterbury Faire (it's a week long).  Then it's bed and Monday morning!  I am taking Wednesday-Friday off work this week for a road trip north to Kaikoura.  We think we have a venue picked out for our January 2015 NZ wedding and it's time to start planning!

Catch you next week!