Hello and Good Day to you!  As is tradition, I am back in New Zealand for my yearly visit. Honestly, skipping January and February in Seattle is GREAT.  Christchurch really is starting to feel like a second home, and not just because I went ahead and married a kiwi.  That's right.  Trond and I are officially hitched (twice!).  2014 - 15 was the 6 months of Marriage Stuff.

After a USA wedding in August, it was straight into planning the NZ Kaikoura wedding for January 5th.  Mentioned in my last post, we had solidified the gorgeous venue and there wasn't much to be done beyond that apart from arrange some lodging and food for the reception down at Trond's family's house.  We had a great team of people, including Trond's parents, but as a rule, I don't mention people by name without their permission.  You know who you are, and THANK YOU!!!! :)

It was a beautiful day, in more ways than one.  The weather was great, we had my parents there and 6 USA friends were able to join us (including two USA bridesmaids!).  Everything went very smoothly and a few friends of ours offered their considerable skills as photographers.  There are many captured moments!

The wedding celebrations actually felt about 2 weeks long.  Why?  Because I arrived along with the USA friends on December 30th.  After the NZ New Year's Party (nice and warm out!), we had a week in Christchurch before heading north to Kaikoura.

In Christchurch, we were able to share a lot of great experiences with our USA friends, not least of which was introducing them to many of our NZ friends.  Activities included walks along the ridge above Lyttelton Harbour, Orana Park, high tea, the combination Stag/Hen cocktail night, and numerous evening walks in the Travis Wetlands.  We even took a day trip to Akaroa and swam among the sandbars in Okains Bay.  Our only regret is that our dolphin swim was canceled due to bad weather (too windy).

Hiking with friends on our first evening in NZ

Feeding giraffes at Orana Park

High Tea in Lincoln.  The boys were there, too ;)

In Kaikoura, we arrived the afternoon before the wedding, so after we mapped the ceremony with the bridal party, we all got a good night's sleep.  The Clifftop, owned by Trond's friend's parents, was the perfect venue.  They rent it out for holiday accommodation!
http://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/properties/55496.asp
My parents were staying in the apartment upstairs, which is where the bridesmaids and I got ready.  I was amazed at the turnout of so many NZ friends on a Monday afternoon and so happy they all could be there.  It was great to see some faces in the crowd which had been standing up with us in the USA wedding, too.  I had three amazing ladies join us from the NZ side as bridesmaids as well as my friends from the USA (one of which is my lovely maid of honor).

The ceremony was a mirror image of the USA ceremony which felt rather poetic, actually.  Instead of a ring exchange, we had a small hand-fastening ceremony, which was quite nice.  After some mingling, the bridal party and parents went off to three photo locations together (general hilarity ensued).  Later, we changed out of the formal wear and met everyone down at Trond's parents house for the garden party reception, which was wonderful.

The Lookout, Kaikoura

For the rest of the week, we did as much as we could in Kaikoura with our USA friends, and some NZ friends who were able to stay part of the time as well.  Highlights include the Peninsula Walk, a trip to the seal colony and Ohau Point waterfall, a cave exploration (Barry is still great!), kayaking in South Bay, and a trip out onto Trond's dad's dinghy.  In the evenings, we had a couple of home-made dinners, backyard cricket, and a LOT of fun playing "Two Rooms and a Boom" with a group of about 16 people.

Kaikoura Peninsula Walk

Ohau Point Waterfall Walk

Caught a fish during the dinghy ride!

On the way back to Christchurch, we stopped in Hanmer Springs for the day before finally collapsing back at the house.  That Saturday, we had a full-on house party reception in Christchurch at our officiant's house, which was the last bang before the USA folks returned home.  Awesome time!

It was back to work for me on Monday, and I've since worked two full weeks here in New Zealand.  I can't believe how much has happened in just about a month's worth of time!!!!  We've been relaxing a lot in the evening during the week, trying to catch our breath.  That doesn't mean we don't go out a couple times a week for walks.  Lately, our favorite is to go down to New Brighton beach after dinner (or before, if we plan to swim).  Last week there was the most amazing double rainbow.  It was so big, I couldn't even get the whole thing in one photo.  The best was the reflection on the wet sand.  It looked like a double ring.  You don't see that every day!!!  I remarked to Trond that I felt like I was looking at the entrance to another world, it felt that surreal.

Double Rainbow!  All the way across the sky!

We've had another nice walk with a big group of friends over Lyttelton Harbour this week.  I even remembered to bring the GoPro!  On Saturday, we went to the beach for a few hours, boogie boarding and laughing like maniacs.

Today was a b-day celebration for a good friend (and NZ bridesmaid!).  She invited us to Willowbank, which is a NZ Native Wildlife Reserve.  Their Kea aviary is AMAZING.  We fed a bunch of eels some mince meat as well, which was creepy and hilarious.  Best of all, though, was that we each paid the additional fee to do a Lemur Encounter.  That's right. We got to go in the enclosure and feed banana slices to ring tailed lemurs and they CLIMBED INTO OUR LAPS.  SO CUUUTE!  Not going to forget that for a while!

Feeding ring-tailed lemurs at Willowbank

Nice checking in with you!  I'll post again soon, but I'm sure my docket of events will finally start to slow down.  Don't fret, though.  Trond and I are doing a road trip in the second week of February which is sure to be amazing!

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!

First Week Back

Hello!

Firstly, I do not have time to create new sheep comics this time around, so I apologize.  Here's a little of what I've been up to this week!

Flights are flights.  No one has fun on them past about 3 hours.  Add ten to that, then add 2 more flights and extra long layovers coupled with flight delays and you'll have an idea of what I went through to get here.  Totally worth it by the way.

I arrived at about 3AM local time on Monday morning.  Went promptly to sleep and got up around 1:30 in the afternoon.  Trond and I went for a lovely drive and sat on our own, overlooking the mud flats.  After a brief stay there, we moved to New Brighton Beach, where I warmed my feet in the sand.

Happy as a clam.

That evening we had a nice dinner at "Gorilla" with Trond's parents, where we ate nice bbq and salads.

Tuesday, Trond and I went out to lunch with our friend who works at the Polytechnic here in Christchurch.  She does event planning for exchange students on campus, so we had lots to talk about.  We ate at a bistro called, "Black Betty" which had AMAZING breakfast/lunch food.  Their bread was terrific.

Eggs Benedict.  Hollandaise sauce was scrumptious.

It was really nice to catch up with her and hang out for a while.  Trond and I spent the rest of the afternoon at our regular spot on the hill overlooking Lyttelton Harbor.  The weather was a bit drizzly and blustery, but the view is still spectacular.  We talked, read books, and napped for a couple of hours.  I took a little walk along the trails on the back side of the hill through the dense woods, which was wet and dark, but fun.

Lyttelton Harbour from The Sign of the Bellbird

That evening, we met up with some friends and had drinks/dinner at a local brewery.  Here's a link to their website: http://www.pomeroysonkilmore.co.nz/ Really great food.  I drank their Tuatara Hefe on tap.  They had a nice range of beers to choose from, all of which I hadn't tried before.  Two of Trond's friends we had actually met in Seattle a few months ago.  They were doing a road trip and had passed through at the time.  It was fun to hear about all their adventures that happened after they left.

Antics while waiting for our table to be ready.

As some of you know, Trond had to renew his visa this year.  We are all familiar with the nightmare that is the US bureaucratic system.  We had to fly to Auckland so that Trond could have an interview in person while he handed in his paperwork and passport.  We flew up there on Wednesday morning and instead of being confined to city center, we rented a car. On a whim, we drove out to the Woodhill Forest, a reserve on a peninsula to the northwest of Auckland. The South Island has the lovely rugged landscapes of mountains and plains and rough rivers, but the North Island seems more tropical, with green rolling hills.  Hobbit geekiness seeped through a bit.  Matamata is where they filmed Hobbiton and the Shire (complete with Hobbit Holes in the hillsides), but that was 2 hours south of Auckland.  However, much of the countryside we passed through on the way to Woodhill Forest looked very "Shire-like."

Determined to go back to Auckland by a different route, we hopped across to the east coast and found a nice picnic spot along the beach in Long Bay Regional Park.  Wide, flat, sandy beach with calm water.  Off the beach, I saw something that made me very jealous.  I swear that catamaran was going 30 knots.

That night, we went out to Korean food near the hotel and then took a walk down to the harbor.  Auckland is called, "The City of Sails" for a reason!  TONS of sailing yachts, America's Cup boats and catamarans in Auckland's numerous marinas and coves.  Here is a taste of Auckland from the sea.

How is that even allowed???  I guess it's name was apt: "Imagine"

The next morning, Trond popped out for about 25 minutes (including walking there and back) for his interview at the US Consulate.  Apparently he handed them the paperwork, they asked him two questions that were already answered on the paperwork, stamped and sent him on his way.  His passport with the renewed visa is already in the mail.  WOW what a waste of time.  But I did see a lot of the North Island I would not have otherwise.

The rest of that morning and afternoon, we traveled along coastal areas around Auckland and saw some great views of the volcanic island Rangitoto in the harbor.  Extinct, but pretty.  You can apparently take kayak tours across the bay, climb to the top, and kayak back.  Sounds fun, but we didn't have that kind of time.

We arrived a bit early to the airport for our return flight to Christchurch, so we played a little mini golf nearby. 

In the bag!

On Friday we traveled with Trond's parents to Akaroa, the nearby scenic peninsula (and where all the cruise ships go now since Christchurch has been closed off).  We took the pretty route along the interior of Lyttelton Harbor before we shifted across to Akaroa.  Stopped here for a picture:

Yeah, I could stay there a while.

In Akaroa, we went to Trond's cousin's restaurant, The Trading Rooms.  It is based on a store that their grandpa had in Kaikoura.  Trond's cousin is the co-owner and head chef.  DELICIOUS food.  I had a tasting platter of different types of salmon.

After lunch, we took a short walk around Akaroa.  There were 3 cruise ships in the harbor, so it was bit crowded.  On our way back to Christchurch, we stopped at  Barry's Bay Cheese and Birdlings Flat, a smooth rocky beach with dangerous water.  Definitely not a place to swim, but pretty and covered in very round rocks of all different sizes.

Trond and his parents looking for agate.

In the evening, Trond and I went with a couple of friends up into the Cashmere hills, where we parked the car and climbed to the summit of Bowenvale Park to overlook Lyttelton Harbor.  Trond tries to do this walk with friends about twice a week.  It's very pretty if steep at times.

Made it!

The views from the top were (predictably) spectacular.

Friday evening found us at late night Dim Sum.  We met up with some more friends and ate from about 10 to 11:30 in the neighborhood of Riccarton.  Most of the restaurants from downtown have relocated to this area and it has quickly become a hub for night life and "foodies."

Today is Saturday.  Our plans are to go to New Brighton Beach with friends, where we will spend the afternoon swimming and boogie boarding.  The evening has a Beach Party in store for us at a friend's house, which should be lots of fun.

On Sunday Trond and I are starting our West Coast adventure road trip.  A whirlwind three days, we are still poring over maps to plan our route, but have a pretty good idea of what we will do.  We might even have time to pop by his sister's place to see how the girls are doing.

Feeling Sheepish

Groundhog day is very American, I've discovered. There was a brief blurb about it on the news (reminding me of the "holiday") which had everyone in the room furrowing their brows incomprehensibly.  I explained the tradition, which strangely seemed to confuse them more.  For some, the confusion went something like this:

You begin to see the problem.

Well, just a couple of days left and I'll be on that couple-of-days series of flights.  It does become a bit bothersome when one's travel exploits almost always mean trans-oceanic flights.  I always complain about them, but in the end, they usually aren't that big of a deal.

I've had a wonderful two last weeks in New Zealand.  Trond and I went to Wellington for a week for a gaming convention called, "Kapcon."  The ferry ride from Picton to Wellington took about 3 hours.  The way there was against the swells, so it lumbered a long a bit, but the way back was clear and fabulous and we basically surfed the whole way.

The way there

The way back

 It only has about 150 participants, but even so, it was a nice couple of days spent experimenting with new games.  The first one (and most memorable) is called, "Fiasco."  There are very little materials involved in the game.  Everyone sits in a circle at a table and has a piece of scrap paper between each person.  Using dice (an a manual for reading the rolls), you define things (relationships, locations, objects, etc) between each pair of people before the game starts.  The game portion is more like performing mock "scenes" as you try to reach the goals of your defined character.

What made this game particularly hilarious was the theme: Harry Potter.  We decided to be second-generation characters.  I played, "Morag Malfoy" who was a Slytherin, but not evil.  She had daddy issues (well, wouldn't YOU if Draco was YOUR dad???), misplaced affection on a teacher (Trond--I didn't make the rules), and was looking to start a relationship.  I was also a member of a secret society on campus.

One of the most amusing aspects of the game were the three Potter triplets: Barry, Larry, and Elvis.  Even they couldn't keep each other straight, which was doubly funny because they started the game not knowing what had happened to them the previous two weeks.

Barry and I were both members of the secret society which, as it turns out, was trying to abolish the House system by destroying the Sorting Hat.  I also had a crush on Barry.  By the end, my character had pretty much gotten everything she wanted out of the other characters (except she accidentally destroyed a fake sorting hat, so that plan failed).  Trond's professor character turned out to be a werewolf, but hey, so did every other professor in Hogwarts, who then went on a rampage at the end of the story, killing or turning all the other characters.  One big, happy, crazy, werewolf family.

In a similar vein, I played a game written recently by one of the attendees.  It's called "The Silver Kiss of the Magical Twilight of the Full Moon."  You can gather fairly quickly what the parody is.  It was pretty funny, too.  We lived in "Fork, WA"  (That one-fork town?) which was neighbor to "Garden Chair, WA" (not sure where that came from).  Our supernatural problem was dragons.  Garden Chair had demons.  It all culminated in a highly unsuccessful Homecoming Game between the two schools.  I was playing the "human best friend" to the love-struck human obsessed with supernatural-dragon-boy.  Other than losing my cat, Sergeant Snuggles, to one of the demons, I turned out to be pretty awesome.  Turns out my Olympic fencing skills hid a private agenda for dragonslaying.  Sorry best friend! Didn't meant to kill your dragon-boy in an epic battle.  Actually, it turned out okay for my friend, because she ended up being a lesbian anyway and flew off into the sunset with dead dragon boy's female dragon friend....presumably to be eaten.  Just to confuse you further, the human love-struck girl was, in fact, played by a man.

Perhaps the most amusing part of that game was how you receive experience points:  On the table in front of everyone are face-down pieces of paper with "emo" quotes on them.   At any time during your dialogue, you can grab one and incorporate it into what you were saying.  Some examples include: "In life we are doomed to being misunderstood, so why even try?" and "You make my soul bleed a thousand red tears."  I could go on.  After using a quote (I used one to describe the problems I had with my hairdo) you'd get a piece of candy!

I played other, less ridiculous games too, but they aren't as fun to relate.  I played one that had me in a group of ronin (lordless samurai) that had come to a village only to find that it was plagued by demons.  Some pretty crazy stuff happened there and we kept having to roll our dice for sanity levels.  I was a gibbering idiot by the end, but I lived!  It was much more structured and less "story-telling" than the aforementioned two, but that's just because it was a different type of game.  I played another one with Trond that involved a party of fantasy characters investigating the recent stop in communication from a mountain temple.  There was a quasi Pandora's Box incident in that one, involving genies.

The last game I played was Artemis.  I think I've mentioned this before, as I played it during Big Gaming Week.  You basically set up five computers and link them to a big screen TV.  The group simulates a spaceship bridge, much in the same vein as Star Trek.  It was a lot of fun.  I got to play as the Communications Officer ("They refuse to surrender, Captain!") and Science Officer ("Space Station D4 at 182, distance 40.") who talks to the helm and weapons officers.  Lots of fun.  There's usually a guy (or girl) standing to the rear of the computers who acts as captain.  His role is harder than it sounds because he can't see any of the screens but the big one that displays the ship in space.  But as a bonus, he gets to wear a funny hat.

Also while in Wellington, I was able to do some Lord of the Rings geeking.  A tour took me to Mt. Victoria Park along the border of hilly Wellington.  This is where the hobbits find mushrooms and Frodo famously says, "Get off the Road!"  The tree under which the hobbits hide was, in fact, a fake tree that was built HUGE to make the hobbits look small.  Obviously, the tree wasn't there, but the ditch was!

We were taken up into the Hutt valley by our tour guide.  He was actually in The Return of the King.  you know the Oliphants?  The guy that is steering the one that Legolas completely destroys?  Yeah, that was him.  Totally looks like him, too, minus all the crazy make-up of course.  He says, "People say that's Orlando Bloom's scene, but really it's mine."  Turns out a lot of the extras for Peter Jackson films do tour guiding on the side, presumably while they wait for him to film something else.

Todd the tour guide

None of the sets were still at any of the locations, but it was easy to feel the ambiance of say, Rivendell, when tucked into ancient forests in a national park.

Well, I won't bore you with any more details on that score.  After a brief stop off back in Christchurch (and a Mirror Universe Party--many fake mustaches), Trond and I went on a little anniversary interlude to Mt. Cook.  My parents had bought us a night's stay at The Hermitage resort, which provided sweeping views of the nearby mountains, with Mt. Cook as a centerpiece.  We arrived in the evening and enjoyed dinner at the Old Mountaineers Cafe.  The sunset lit up the glacial peaks in pinks and peaches.  So gorgeous! 

Sadly, the sunrise proved to be cloudy, but by the time we checked out, the sky had cleared.  We even went for a walk along one of the many trails in the area.  On our way back to Christchurch, we took a small detour to see the Clay Cliffs:

 The drive back to Christchurch offered one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen:

 Wednesday proved interesting.  Ever heard of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)?  They are a group of medievalists who take their fairs very seriously.  It's not like your average Renaissance Fair, in that only members/participants/invitees can attend.  Trond and I were cool by association and someone once again provided us with appropriate costumes.  I saw a lot of interesting things that day, including a scribe making ink, a trebuchet being built and used, really impressive archery, pantomime theater, and watched Trond help the blacksmith (actually the same man as the scribe) put together a forge.  Dinner was fantastic and consisted of a whole roasted pig for the main course.

Scribe's toolkit

Lastly, just Saturday morning, we went to a KAOS (Killing As Organized Sport) function that annually mock-battles the Elves, a much older-gentlemen organization made up of a regiment of redcoats.  I was in charge of filming instead of participating.  I enjoyed watching them run around, efficiently whacking away at opponents with foam weapons, or shooting really heavy-duty nerf guns.  As people "died" they would be revived by the "medic teams" running around giving fallen soldiers M&Ms.  In a stroke of brilliance, some of Trond's friends found and assembled semi-large shark balloons which had remote-control tails.  Attached to their heads were, you guessed it, laser beams.  It was almost sad when one of them got deflated.  Other amusing additions to the battle included a chariot with inflatable pool alligators instead of horses and a Shoggoth, which promptly ate Trond, a mad scientist, several redcoats, a Valkyrie, and William Wallace, consuming them into its body an "activating" more grasping limbs.  It is customary that no one wins the battle.  Just a lot of good fun and, for some of us, side-splitting laughter.

A contrastingly calm afternoon followed.  The evening promised my very last party in New Zealand.  It was an uncharacteristic cool, drizzly night, but that didn't stop the party from spilling onto the street.  Many people from the day's battle were present and regaling each other about their numerous, glorious deaths.  I'm going to miss this crowd.

And here we are, the day before we leave, doing laundry and generally packing stuff up.  At the beginning of this trip, it felt like I'd been here for a long time since we were packing our days so full of activities.  Now I feel like it all went by so quickly.  Funny how time perception plays tricks.  This really was a great way to spend two months.  I met a lot of nice and interesting people, saw a LOT more of New Zealand than my previous visit, and had far too much fun making sheep comics.