Happy Australia Day!

Australia Day, I found out, is basically a day to celebrate being Australian. There was no breaking away from England or communing with the Natives for food and blessings. It is just a good day to be happy to be from Oz. The date was picked because it was on January 26, 1788 that Captain Arthur Phillip brought ship loads of convicts here to live. That's what we celebrated today. And we did so in the typical way--carnival rides that cost a ton of money and made my children whine and scream because they didn't get enough, food stand food that didn't look as though any health organization had dropped by in a while, low budget ethnic dancing on the portable stage, and a whole lot of people. Here's a picture of what the Goodman's thought of all that:










We left that scene relatively quickly and drove to the beach to spend the rest of the day. Much more our speed. However, we had visitors at the beach today whom we hadn't met yet. They are called Blue Bottle Jellies and they are not friendly. Here's what they look like:

They are not deadly but apparently, their sting hurts like the dickens. They are very tricky in their stinging approach. They are small--the round, jelly part is about the size of a marshmellow or a bit larger. But their stinging threads are as thin as hair and can hang several feet from their bodies, essentially invisible in the water. These little guys are no strangers to Australians but we Americans were having a heck of a time trying to come to terms with who they are and where we stand in relation to them.

Here's what we found out: They usually come with the nor-eastern winds (offshore), when it is warm and when the tide is coming in. Although today the tide was going out. They hurt really bad but won't kill you. If you get stung, you will cry, especially if you are young, and you will go to the life guards who will alternate putting heat and cold on the sting and it will hurt for a few hours and then itch for a few days. If you are young and/or panicky, you will try to get it off you and then you'll get stung on your hands too. The lifeguards do alert the swimmers of their presence and some people get out of the water. But many people don't. And this was what confused us. They were saying that if you keep an eye out for them, you can see them in the ocean and just avoid them. But, they added, it's the ones you don't see that get you. Right. We saw them lining the beach at the water's edge as they were washed up. You couldn't go for a leisurely beach walk with them there because there were enough that you had to commit to watching your step as you walked. So we had a hard time imagining how all these people were swimming if we were having a hard time walking. And the swimmers weren't watching for anything. They were just swimming and surfing like normal. Maybe, we surmised, the sting isn't that bad. But when we asked about it, people said, Oh, yes, it hurts really bad. Maybe, there aren't that many out there. But yes, we were told, there were many out there. Maybe these people just don't care? Maybe they don't get it? Maybe getting stung by jellies is just part of life. Maybe it's just us.

So now, my sweet weather-man husband not only has to check for temperatures, humidity, and cloud patterns but also the direction of the wind. For when the nor-easterns come our way, we may just have to stay in bed.

Oh, one other thing. We have been seeing these Lawn Bowling clubs around and have wondered what that is all about. Well, today we got to see one in full attendance and the men playing with great vigor and celebration. Here, for those of you who are unfamiliar, is lawn bowling. Sadly, you have to be, it looked like, at least 65 before you can join them so we were not able to partake.

new friends

This is our house. It's not really tilted.










A few quick stories for today. This morning, Mark went and played his first real round of golf since we left home. He had a great time and is looking forward to playing again with his own clubs if they ever arrive. We were told that all our stuff was loaded into a big container in Los Angeles and then onto one of those monstrous ships that defies every law of physics as it stays afloat with all its girth and heft. The ship allegedly then sailed across the Pacific Ocean and was supposed to arrive in Sydney sometime last week. I've been here on the Tasman Sea for about a month now. Every time I've been at the beach, I've seen between six and ten of those monstrosities sitting out there, way off shore, not moving a millimeter. Their omnipresence makes me feel like I'm being watched. I was curious about why there are so many ships out there, not moving, every day. And I'm absolutely convinced that one of those ships has my stuff on it. So I spoke with my stepdad about it, as he knows a little bit about everything. He said it is possible that they are being "docked" out there. Sometimes, he told me, when there isn't enough shipping work going on, they keep the big ships out there rather than dock them onshore where they take up too much room.

So I'm thinking, if they are that short of work, why not go ahead and make themselves busy by bringing in our stuff???

Anyway, my point is, Mark had to play with rental clubs today and found those clubs, in combination with the thick air and the yardage marked in meters to add a bit of challenge to the otherwise effortless game. He really enjoyed the course and had a good story about his chat with an older gentleman, originally from Scotland. After this man learned where Mark was from, he asked, "Have you had the operation yet?" Mark said, "Excuse me?" The man asked again, "Have you had the operation yet? They'll have to remove about 90% of your brain if you are going to stay here." There's this sterotype that Australians are stupid--the 'all brawn and no brain' kind of sentiment. I've found it hard to remember not to confuse the laid back, 'no worries' kind of attitude with dim-wittedness, not because I find the people here lacking in intelligence but because I hear that sort of joke about them so frequently that I am starting to look around to see if it's true. I've never heard of an entire culture dubbed dumb--drunks, yes, but not plain stupid. I'll keep doing some research and let you know what I find. So far, I'm not seeing it.

I wanted to share a story about a conversation I overheard between Gabe and Jordan. It is a great illustration of how they are processing all the new things they are learning. We were driving and an ambulance wailed by us with lights flashing. Gabe said, "I only see ambulances here, not fire trucks." Then he thought for a moment and said, "It's because it is so humid here, there are not really any fires." Jordan countered, "No, it is because the cars in Australia and skinnier than the ones in America and so the fire trucks are too big." I'm sure I've come to similar sorts of conclusions about strange circumstances here as well.

While Mark was playing golf this morning, the kids and I went to a party in the park by the lake and got to meet a whole slew of families we'll be going to school with this year. Very friendly folks with very happy children. Really, it seemed like a slice out of the 1950s at this park today. The kids played tug-o-war and parachute games and whacked at the pinata for a good 20 minutes and hunted for chocolate treasures in the bushes and trees. The dads managed the games and the moms congregated around the food, nursed babies and the random injured child. Everyone got along beautifully and both the children and the parents welcomed the three of us into their world easily. Gabe disappeared from my side within 30 seconds of our arrival and joined in with a group of probably 15 boys he'd never met before. He did check in with me once--when he got thirsty. Jordan stayed with me for some time until we found a little girl named Eve that will be in her class. Eve's mum and I asked her if she'd like to take Jordan to play and off they went with two other girls. Jordan did check in with me quite a few times while we were there but was always eager to return to playing when invited.

I realized while I was answering all the questions from these new people I met today that this transition has been amazingly smooth. The bumps have been so short-lived that they don't seem to take up much stage presence in my mind when I think of how things have gone so far. I know things haven't run perfectly, but the little bumps would probably be categorized as par for the course. The ease and flow has been far more remarkable than any of the knocks we've had so far. And when any of us struggles, Mark and I seem to be able to see things clearly for what they are and navigate our way through. Like Mark said early on in our travels, "We can't alienate each other (like we are sometimes want to do) because we are all we have." For the most part we haven't and, as a result, when it is time to change tack, we consult and do so together relatively quickly. I am so grateful for that ability as I think it is what will make or break this experience.

So we got a phone number for a playdate next week, Jordan has met and likes her teacher, Gabe will be fine with just about any teacher, I know what I have to pack in their lunches and what time to bring them next Tuesday--I think we are all set. Ahhhh.

Tomorrow is Australia Day. We'll be downtown and at the beach celebrating with all our mates on this very special day. I'll let you know if I find out what Australia Day is!

nelson's bay

Hello. I am not hopeful that I am going to be able to catch you up on what we've done the last week as we keep adding new stuff. I want to ask you to remind me to tell you about Bats and Blackbutt Reserve but then I'll get a bunch of emails reminding me and that won' t necessarily buy me the time I need to write about them. So I'll start with today and I'll get all the important stuff in over the year.

Now that we feel pretty settled here in our new home, Mark and I noticed that we only have 6 days left until he starts school (kids start the following week) so we decided we better get day tripping now while we have the time.

Today we went only about an hour north to an area called Nelson's Bay. There are a bunch of little towns and beaches along the penninsula that many people from Newcastle apparently have little cottages and weekend getaway homes. And I understand why. It was a short drive along marshes and lowlands with lush vegetation and not very many cars. We drove through a few small towns which, frankly, are beginning to all look the same in Australia. Here's the thing about Australian towns, as far as I can tell. They contain the following stores, no more, no less: petrol station, restaurant which is usually a bar/grill, a cafe with the same sandwiches, muffins, scones and drinks as all the other cafes, a little food store, a butcher, a bakery, a fruit/veggie stand and sometimes, an ice cream store and a tourist/gift shop. That's the totality of what we have found in Australian towns, including each little suburb in Newcastle (though in this bigger city there are plenty of larger stores catering to just about any other need we may have.)

Anyway, we passed through a few of these towns along the gentle bay and checked out their beaches but opted to go around to the side of the penninsula that was on the ocean so we could rendevous with the real thing

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We found a gorgeous beach with rocks on both ends and big waves full of boggie boarders and surfers. We spent a marvelous day playing in the water, each of us boogie boarding at the level we thought we could handle, reading, walking, playing in the sand, climbing on rocks, napping and picnicking.




We left the beach around 4pm, intending to drive home in time for a reasonable dinner. However, we decided to just drive by this other beach that we might want to visit next time and as we pulled into the parking lot, we saw camels walking along the sand dunes. We followed them down to a lower parking lot where we saw a big trailer and a sign that said, Camel Rides, with two adorned and saddled camels laying next to the trailer. Long story short--we did not make it home in time for a reasonable dinner. But we had a blast with our new friends, Israel in front and Jasmine behindl. The photogenic girl down below is Sheba. And that's Jordan who bonded the most with Jasmine.



































Tomorrow we are going to a birthday party for two nine-year olds on whom we have never laid eyes in our lives. These boys attend the school Gabe and Jordan will be going to. We are very grateful for the generous invitation by the parents who have no idea who we are. We have essentially been begging everyone we have met from their school to hook us up with some families so our poor children can play with somebody, anybody besides each other and their parents. So this will be our first encounter with such potential families and we're all hopeful that we'll meet some friends.

Love to you all!

back home

Hello to you from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Our home. We arrived here last Friday afternoon in a rain storm that apparently had been going on for a week and wasn't slated to stop anytime soon. I loved it. It was so loud and beautiful and not cold and we could keep our doors open and go out on the covered deck and watch the sky douse the land with water.

We were all happy to be back here. I was amazed to see how attached the kids are already to this house. I'm sure it was in comparison to all the hotels we were in--this house was the first familiar thing they'd seen in 3 weeks and the most amount of space we'd had to play in. It's all relative, isn't it?

Mark and I spent the first few days getting all the practicalities of our life in order including cell phones, internet, car registration, batteries, moving furniture and stuff around to make things work better for us, finding grocery stores and stocking up, etc. The kids spent that time playing mostly happily together in the living room.

The rain and clouds have been with us since we got home but not constant so we have been to the beach several times since we've been back. The beaches here are quite remarkable. They are the jewel of Newcastle and may likely end up being the best part of our year here. We'll see as the summer turns to fall if we still spend most of our time there. The sand is white, the beaches expansive, there are rocks sticking out at low tide and the 4-8 foot waves are turquoise blue at the crest. The other day we went to Bar Beach (10 min drive) which had flat rocks to walk on at low tide and little tide pools in between the rocks to explore. Today we went to Caves Beach (20 min drive) because we were told there were caves there. And there were, indeed. At low tide, you could hunch over and walk through the dark and mysterious rock caverns that were clearly carved out by the pounding waves right outside. There were also tide pools left behind for exploring--we could see little fish, crabs, and all kinds of shells with creatures inside.




At the beaches here, the currents can be so strong and the waves so big that each beach has a life guard and red and yellow flags planted in the sand that you are supposed to swim between because that is the area that is being patrolled by the life guards. If you swim outside that area, you are at your own risk and it is not recommended. I didn't tell Mark this but I heard on the radio the other day that there were 2 shark sightings at Newcastle beaches in the last few days. With one, they alerted the swimmers to evacuate the ocean. With the other, they didn't alert the swimmers because the shark was only 2 feet long.

The kids don't have any sand toys yet (though they aren't complaining) but they do each have a boogie board. Gabe has spent much of his beach time here with his boogie in the most shallow part of the ocean that still has water, on his belly, letting the waves wash him up on shore. He's getting slowly more and more brave and starting out a little deeper each time.
He has always been the type of kid to know his own limits, so we feel comfortable with him out there in the big blue but it is a little weird to see our tiny little son way out there playing around at the foot of 6 foot waves, knowing there may be 2 foot long sharks that they aren't telling us about. Jordan has also gotten attached to her boogie board but she is more likely to be found sitting on it watching Gabe or standing on it on the sand or, like yesterday, standing on it in the little river that feeds into the ocean. She's not ready for prime time yet.




Mark and I get to read and talk and go for walks on the beach but when it is only partly fine and not even 70 degrees out there, like today, we aren't all that keen on swimming. We do get in though when it is hot and we've had a blast playing in the waves as well. Surfing lessons are on the list for me and Mark is thinking he might stick to boogie boarding to protect his back from getting slammed around by the waves.

Our life isn't all about the beach, you understand, but that is the theme for tonight's blog. I look forward to telling you about the bats and koalas, cockatoos and kookaburras, our house, the people we've met, our plans, kids' school, and some other things that have come up this week. More to come...

the end of the trip

Leaving Hokitika on January 16^th, it was time to make our way back to Christchurch. The trip would soon be coming to an end and I could feel the sadness looming. Mark and I talked about how much we didn’t want this trip to end. It hadn’t been idyllic. There were, of course, many limitations to what we could do. Mark and I butted heads a few times (shocking). There were a few times when, for everyone’s benefit, one of us walked away. One time both of us walked away at the same time and the kids were left there without any parents. Just for a second though. No worries! But that is our life whether we are in Lakewood, Newcastle or Queenstown so why not be in Queenstown? It was such a beautiful country, so open, so easy. If we had all the money in the world, we both could imagine going home for a bit (not sure where that is at the moment, but you know what I mean) and then finding the next country to romp around in for a month or so. It’s really a great way to spend time. But our time was nearing an end. Our job was to make it from the west coast that morning back to the east coast that evening as we were to spend 2 more nights in Christchurch before we flew back to Sydney.

If we were to have left Hokitika and driven right to Christchurch, it would have taken about 3 ½ hours over a big mountain pass in the middle of the country. But we decided to go up the west coast a ways to a town called Punakaiki because there were some rock formations there called Pancake Rocks that we’d heard good things about. And we’re so glad we went there.

The drive was fun as Mark and I had a mission. We set out to take pictures of all the things we saw a lot of in New Zealand that we might like to remember years from now like sheep.
And cemeteries.
And hawks. And how the trees are all wind-blown even when the wind isn’t blowing--like someone used hair spray to keep their branches sticking out to one side.
And times when Mark or I played the troll, asking the kids riddles before they crossed the bridges.
And the adorable little farm houses, so different than the often neglected ones I’ve seen along the lonely stretches of highway in the US.

So we slammed on the brakes a lot during this drive in an effort to capture all the little New Zealand goodies.

Pancake rocks were very interesting. Scientists aren’t totally sure why they are the way they are so don’t expect any intellectual commentary here, but I can tell you that they looked like drip castles with thin white layers of limestone in between the layers of dark rock. The ocean waves crash and boom in and around and under the layered formations and evoke awe from onlookers of all ages. That powerful ocean again.

We also found a beach with a river , the ocean and foam in the waves all for one great price. A little bit of heaven for each of us.

We finally got back in the car a bit reluctantly because we knew we had one more long haul to go before we rested. What we didn’t know was how long the haul would actually be. We’d already driven about an hour to Punakaiki. Next we drove about 2 hours inland to Arthur’s Pass, halfway to Christchurch. We were stopped by a road works guy (they call construction “road works”) who told us that there was a brush fire just down the way and we’d have to either spend the night in Arthur’s Pass and hope that the road cleared the next day or we’d have to turn around and take another route to Christchurch. We pulled over to have a think and decided to push through. So we drove back to the west coast and up north a ways to another pass that took us to the east coast. Logistically speaking, it was a quite a disappointment to arrive in Christchurch at 11:00pm instead of our anticipated 7:00-7:30 arrival time.

But scenically speaking, we drove through gorgeous country. This wasn’t a tourist road we were on. On all the other roads we’d driven on, I utilized the passing lanes to overtake RVs and other looky-loo tourists in rental cars. On this road, I hugged the left (slow) lane the whole way as the Kiwi’s zoomed by me, clearly knowing every curve of the road.

Mark described the landscape this way: “Even though this country is small, the land within it seems so big.” The valleys yawned wide. The rivers snaked for miles. The mountains jutted up majestically. Each lake was larger than many towns put together. The canopy of sky seemed very high above us. The green was rich. The forests were thick. If I had a few hours of detour, that would have been exactly the place I’d want to be.

January 17^th

Today, our last day, we decided to spend at the beach.
We were back in Christchurch and the weather was fabulous. It was 26 degrees and fine. That is how they describe sunny days in Australia and New Zealand: Fine, mostly fine, partly fine, and fining up (if the clouds are supposed to pass later in the day.) This day was fine and warm and we were so happy to be back under a warm sun. New Zealand is not Hawaii. It feels more like Alaska to me weather-wise.

Our last day was pretty low-key as we were completely over driving so we didn’t have the motivation to go adventuring. We also had to go to bed early as we had a 5:00am transport to the airport which we made and the return home was safe and uneventful.

So the New Zealand adventure has come and gone. We are back in Newcastle now and I have a lot of catching up to do with how that has gone. But the NZ trip will remain forever in our memories as a very good one. Compared to what I expected, it was colder, less populated, just as gorgeous, a bit less friendly, just as accessible, and less likely of a place I’ll move to. I had a feeling that once there, I’d never want to leave but I don’t think we’ll move there. I could have traveled around there for weeks on end but living there year-round might feel a little too far away. A rental on Stewart Island to visit a few months a year might be the closest I ever get to residing there which surprises me and actually makes me a little sad. I thought I would find NZ to be utopia but once again, I’ve learned that nothing’s perfect. The upsides are the beauty and the space, the activities and the freedom. The downsides are the weather and the subtle distance I felt from the people, (not that I blame them for not wanting to encourage foreigners to join them in their pristine home.) I intend to go back. We’re considering visiting the north island and parts of the south island we didn’t see at some other point this year.

Thank you for joining us on our journey and for all of the responses you’ve sent to these blogs. I have thoroughly enjoyed having an audience with which to share this experience. Next stop: Newcastle.

the west coast

January 14^th

Today was a driving day. We left Queenstown, biding adieu to our 2-bedroom apartment. We stopped for lunch in a town called Wanaka about an hour north of Q’town. It was said to be a sort of mini-Queenstown—shouldering up to a huge lake, mountains within reach but the feel of the town was much less Aspen-like and more manageable. We stopped here to have a picnic lunch by the skate park. It seemed to me that the kids who were practicing on their bikes and skateboards on the half pipes and ramps were significantly less intense than the kids in the US that I’m used to watching. They were chatty and had some sort of turn-taking system that everyone respected. Of course, they can’t help that their lilting accents take away from their adolescent edge, but it was more than just the sounds of their voices. They were kind to each other. They seemed to be having genuine fun rather than working at self-conscious posturing. They were engaged with each other rather than separated by their own individual angst. It was odd to see, though I imagine they must be so much happier than the skaters I’m used to seeing. Gabe was so mesmerized, as he always is at skate parks, that we probably called him a dozen times before he broke out of his trance and ran to catch up with us.

We were all in great spirits and ready to take on the road after having a luxurious 3 nights in one place. It was on the west coast that I was most taken by how open this country is. They have not bulldozed or conquered or tamed very much of it at all. I’d love to see the stats on this: the proportion of untouched land to impacted land in the US compared to the south island of NZ. There were these tiny little towns of 1000 people, give or take a few hundred, separated on all sides by 50, 75, 100 kilometers or more of nature in her natural state. Of course, the US has uninhabited land, but most of it is either above 12,000 feet, or up to its knees in swamp, or laying low and flat in Iowa (no offense, Dean.) This land out here is gorgeous, very inhabitable, but it just isn’t. I spent a lot of time thinking that I might know a bit about what the natives and the pioneers encountered as they spread out across America hundreds and thousands of years ago.

As we moved further north, we entered the rain forest. The west coast of the south island is known for its torrential rain falls. That afternoon, it rained torrentially. And boy does that land wear it well. The rocks were leaking with waterfalls and I think if we’d have stopped and stood still for a few minutes we’d have heard the trees slurping. It also allowed us to cover a lot of ground because anytime the kids said they were bored, we just said, “Okay, let’s stop and get out here!” And they’d look out the window and find something else to do.

We arrived at our next hotel in Fox Glacier a bit road-worn for, as fabulous as it was to be in the thick of the forest in the rain, the narrow curves and steep ups and downs took their tolls on us both. Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier are two big spots for out-of-towners to get their hands and feet and eyes right on the glaciers, which we intended to visit the next morning. We arrived in the late afternoon and because the rain was still drenching the world outside, we hung out in our hotel room and played games and ate snacks for dinner.

But one can only hang out in a car and hotel room for so long when one is five or seven years old, no matter how hard it is raining. So…we put on all the waterproof clothing we could find and ventured out. The town was tiny so there wasn’t anything to do but walk around outside. We came upon a hiking trail just outside of town that brought us into the heart of a rain forest in the middle of a rain storm. It was dark and magical. Everything dripped. The little creek that ran through it was swollen and gushing. It felt like the tiny green things on the trees and ground were growing right before our eyes. And we got to run around. This was certainly the highlight of the day for all of us.

January 15th

We fell asleep with the rain and woke up to a blue sky. We got ourselves up and out and drove to the base of Fox Glacier. The sad thing is that the other night, when Gabe and Mark were learning all about rugby in the park in Queenstown, Gabe hurt his leg. At first we brushed it off as sore muscles but here it was three days later and he was limping. We thought he may have stretched a ligament so we decided that a big hike was not in the cards for the Goodmans on this day. (I can tell you now that Gabe’s leg has since healed so it was probably just a stretched ligament or muscle that needed some rest.) We got to a place where we could see the glacier but we didn’t quite touch it.

They are quite a sight, glaciers. I have been to St. Mary’s Glacier outside Idaho Springs and spent some time hiking around up there so the scene was not completely foreign to me. Nonetheless, this glacier was a monstrous, frozen, blue, chunky river taking up an enormous amount of space. They say it moves up to a foot a day either up or down but it looked pretty solid there to me.

The problem was the clouds. Though we woke up to a blue sky, there were a few clouds that hung up high in the sky. These clouds were so skilled at concealing their mountains that I wasn’t even sure they were there. I finally asked Mark how there could be glaciers at such low altitude with no mountains around. Mark said they were all there, just veiled.

We visited Franz Joseph glacier as well and took a very short walk to a lookout point. Same thing—a great river of ice in between two big clouds.

And they remained veiled the rest of the day. It felt like the clouds were like toddlers, hiding their favorite toys and refusing to show them to anyone. I felt a bit cheated. Right in front of me were glorious 9,000 foot, snow-covered peaks that I couldn’t see. I realized we were probably really lucky to have gotten such a good view of Mt. Cook when we visited there 10 days earlier. But I figured out the secret. If you get up really early in the morning to go for a run, the clouds will not be expecting you and you will be able to see the peaks. That’s what I did and it worked. By the time Mark was up and running, the clouds had already come in to hide their bounty.

We drove north to the town of Hokitika and were back on the coast. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before but if there is one word that could describe the entire south island of New Zealand it would be windy. Not that that is the most important characteristic but it is certainly the most consistent. Hokitika was no exception. We had a hotel right on the beach (which sounds much more exotic than it actually is in a town of 4000 people.) But because we were in a hotel right on the beach and because we hadn’t really seen the ocean since we were on Stewart Island, we wanted to go play there. But the wind made it pretty formidable so we went and walked around in their little town. Their claim to tourist fame was glass blowing and jade stone jewelry. But they close the town at about 5:00 so we missed most of it.

After dinner, the winds died down which is something to write home about. We bee-lined for the beach so the kids could play and Mark and I could talk. That seemed to be the way it was on the beach. This evening’s beach time was memorable because of the lighting. This was the latest we’d been out on a beach and we were now on the west coast. So the sun was low in the sky and just beginning to shed a pinkish glow on the sand and white ocean spray. It was beautiful. The kids were thrilled to be up on the little sand dunes digging tunnels to each other through the mounds of sand. I can’t say that they ever reached the other side of any of the hills but they were very happy trying.

January 12^th

Morning in Queenstown. Mark went for a run and found our activity for the day. We drove about three minutes to the lakefront and followed it into the center of town where there was an art fair going on. Then we followed our noses to an ice cream shop and then to the water’s edge because it was time to, you know, bring out the wooden boats. It was a leisurely day spent doing whatever we felt like doing next and those days are always easy because the focus is mostly on finding things the kids will enjoy. We went for a good hike along the lake outside of town and enjoyed more wooden-boat-floating. Dinner at a fabulous Thai restaurant and then I went to an internet café while Mark and the kids learned to play rugby in the park and fed the seagulls. Touch-rugby sounds like a very fancy game of keep away. But I’m sure there’s more to it than that.

January 13^th

I got to go for a lovely long run to start my birthday off right. The morning was spent distracting myself from thinking about the clock as I was both very excited and very nervous about my sky-diving date in the afternoon. Since I already told you about that, I’ll skip over it to the evening. We had a booking at a sushi restaurant for dinner and along with their having spicy tuna (even though Japan doesn’t DO spicy sushi) we also got to order our own rolls the way we are accustomed to in the US and the food was exquisite. After dinner they brought over a luscious chocolate cake (that Mark said he didn’t order) and sang to me. And they gave me a little birthday gift when we left. It was very special. Mark ate the cake because the kids and I had our hearts set on ice cream which we fetched after dinner. Then we hung out and watched a highly entertaining street performer with about 150 other folks. It was a great birthday even though I didn’t get to see any of my friends. I missed you.

Milford Sound

January 11^th

Our activity of the day was to take a two-hour cruise on Milford Sound (which is actually a fjord, not a sound and I can’t remember the difference.) This activity would require 2 hours of driving in the morning and then 5 hours in the evening to our next hotel. The first drive was spectacular as we got higher in elevation. We drove through and between and amongst the dramatic mountains that they have here. I was told at some point that this country’s landscape is really young and that is why the mountains are so dramatic and craggy and sharply peaked—they haven’t worn down and softened yet.

There is a tunnel that goes through one of the mountains that is very primitive—nothing like the Eisenhower. It is a cement-lined, upside-down horseshoe-shaped hole in the side of the mountain with one lane inside and from our side, it went straight downhill. Before you could go in, you had to wait for the light to turn green which can take up to 15 minutes. Once it turns green, one direction of traffic goes through. The ceiling was dripping and the sporadic floodlights did little to illuminate the way. Then add in the downhill slope and it makes you feel a lot like Alice in Wonderland.

The cruise was gorgeous and we really enjoyed ourselves for about the first half. The second hour got a little tedious as those sorts of tours often do for me. The scenery was truly stunning as the waters were turquoise, the mountains high shooting right up out of the water and covered in trees. We learned that there is no soil on those rock faces and that the trees are rooted in lichen that grows on the rocks. The trees’ roots are all on the surface of the rock wall and they are intertwined with each other’s roots so when the rains get strong enough and one tree lets go, it starts a tree avalanche all the way down the side of the mountain since they are all connected. The rains in this area are impressive too as it rains 10 meters a day.

Oh, that reminds me, when we were on the boat on Lake Te Anau, they said that on one side of this lake, where the town was and the landscape was mostly brown with some spots of green scrub bushes, that it rains about 1 meter a year. On the opposite side of this skinny lake, only maybe a kilometer across, it rains 3 meters a year and that landscape is very lush and dense with trees. The reason for this just has to do with the climatology which means about as much to me as having no reason at all. But I thought it was interesting that you could turn your head left and see thick forests and turn right to see parched, sun-burnt hills.

Anyway, so with that perspective, in the Milford Sound, 10 meters a year of rain means that it is raining most days. We happened to be there on a beautiful sunny day so we enjoyed the fruits of the rain without having to suffer through it. I was happy about that.

The most exciting part of this cruise was when the boat’s captain drove the boat right up and almost underneath this towering waterfall. The mountain it was sliding down was so steep that the water wasn’t touching any surface area by the time it was halfway down—it was just spraying down as out of a unruly faucet. The boat people suggested we put on one of their complimentary rain coats which we did. And good thing because everything not covered with the rain jacket—my hair, Mark’s head, our legs—were soaked through and through. The bow of the boat was crowded with rain-jacket clad tourists to start, including our kids. But within seconds of sneaking up to the edge of this waterfall, all the spray sent 80% of the folks running for cover, including our kids. They were safely inside while Mark and I and a few others stayed out to bask in the effects of one of nature’s powerful tricks. It was exhilarating to feel the force of the water and mist thundering down from hundreds of feet above our heads. That experience made the cruise.

After the boat ride, we all went to the bathroom before we started off on our five hour drive. (You may think I’m getting too detailed with these blogs but this beginning is leading somewhere so stay with me.) Jordan and I went into the women’s bathroom where we went through our usual routine—she asks me if the toilet flushes automatically (because it scares her when it flushes before she’s gotten off the seat) and I tell her that you have to flush it yourself and she turns around to check and make sure I’m not lying to her. Then she asks which button you push for half flush and which button is for full flush and I told her that on this particular toilet, there is only one button. She saw a word written above the toilet and she asked if it said “full.” I said no. I noticed her really staring at each letter so I asked if she knew what it said. And she said, “Flush?” Yes! She read her first word!!! Sure there was a little context but that was real-life reading!!! We were both so excited! There was another word on the little trash receptacle in the stall so I asked her if she knew what that word was. She stared at it with the same intensity, looked at me after a few seconds and said, “push?” Yes!!! She read two words!!! I couldn’t believe it. It is fascinating to watch when kids’ brains become capable one moment of something they were incapable of the moment before and reading is one of those things for most kids. It is just as exciting to me as when they take their first steps or say their first word. We came roaring out of the bathroom to share that with Gabe and Mark and she was so proud! Because we aren’t pushing it, we haven’t asked again for her to read anything but it sure was fun to see a little glimpse of what’s to come for her.

Okay, enough about the bathroom. We drove to our next hotel room which was in Queenstown and it ended up only taking four hours with a break for dinner in the middle. We were a little overwhelmed by our first impression of Q’town as we drove right into the middle of it during dinner time on a Friday night. It was crawling with people. This city really is like we’d heard—the Aspen of New Zealand. It is known as the adventure capital of the world and it attracts all the young people out looking for the rush of their lives. It also attracts other various and sundry tourists as the city is cradled by green hills and bordered in the forefront by a vast lake and in the background by the craggy Remarkables mountain range.

There is a busy night life here and the daytime activities are infinite. We’ve heard more American accents here than everywhere else in NZ put together. It may be that Americans need a bit more stimulation than the rest of NZ offers and so we come to Q’town. I don’t think I’d like to live here though when I see pictures of what it looks like in the winter when people flock here to ski, I can imagine coming back.

As we walked in to what will be our most spacious accommodations for this entire trip, we gasped. We have a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-story apartment. Ahhhhh…space.

Flying

I did it!

It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done. Giving birth was the only thing that trumps falling out of an airplane 15,000 feet above the earth. First of all, the only scary part was heading up in the airplane thinking about what I was about to do. From the moment my tandem master (the guy strapped to my back) hung me out the door of the plane for about 5 seconds before he pushed me even further out into the wild blue sky, there was no fear. I screamed because that was the least I could do to express what I was feeling. Let’s see what the thesaurus has to offer: exhilaration, joy, delight, glee, euphoria, jubilation, exultation. There should be a separate word that means, “the feeling of exhilaration one gets from falling out of an airplane.”

I think I’ll have a contest to see who can come up with the best word. You can enter as many times as you like and the winner gets a prize.

Sky diving is all about that moment of falling out of the plane. There’s more to it, obviously, but that is the pinnacle of the whole experience.

I didn’t jump, by the way. I had no more choice about jumping out of that airplane once I was in it than I did about giving birth once I was pregnant. The free fall was amazing and I tried my hardest to stay as aware as I could. I wanted to burn the experience into my brain so I’ll remember it between now and the next time I jump. I saw the earth below me but it wasn’t zooming in on me so I had no fear of going splat. Apparently, I was falling at 150 mph but that fact was completely lost on me while it was happening.

The wind was strong pushing up against me and I was looking all over at the earth. It felt like I was on some sort of ride. I didn’t get that I was just a body hurtling down toward the ground. Because I jumped from 15,000 feet, the free fall lasted 65 seconds. It was luxuriously long. And then suddenly my feet went from out behind me to right underneath me and I felt like I was sitting in a chair. The chute was open and we were floating.

It got very quiet so I could chat with my tandem master. We acknowledged what a gorgeous day it was, how I could float around up there all day and that I was afraid I’d popped an ear drum. (Turns out I didn’t.)

The floating felt familiar somehow but I have worked hard to try to relate it to something and I’m coming up blank.

We did some spinny things where either the top of us or the bottom of us, I couldn’t tell, spun around pretty fast. It was fun while we were doing it, sort of disorienting, but I paid for it later with yet another bought of queasiness.

And then it was time to land and I felt sadness right before my feet touched the ground. It was over. It was amazing and then it was over. I’m so grateful. I can’t wait to do it again!!!

If any of you have gone sky diving before, I’d love to hear your stories!

Te Anau

January 10^th.

The road to Te Anau

We had calculated that we have a lot of driving ahead of us in the next week. We have 2.5 hours to Te Anau on Thursday, 2.5 to Milford Sound on Friday morning and 4 hours to Queenstown on Friday afternoon. Then we get to stay put in Queenstown for 3 nights. Next we drive 5 hours to Fox Glacier on Monday, 3 hours to Hokitika on Tuesday and 4 hours back to Christchurch on Wednesday where we get to spend our last 2 nights before we go “home.”

We drove right through to Te Anau so we could have long stretches of uninterrupted time out of the car. We were promised that things would start warming up when we started driving north of Invercargill (at the southern tip of the south island,) and they were right. We left 50s and 60s behind and entered the land of low 70s and warm sun. However, their wind works overtime in this country with so much coastline.

Te Anau is a tourist town. Lake Te Anau is a very long lake with a few fjords coming off it. I think the lake itself is almost 100 kms long. We ate lunch in this park across the street from the lake to minimize the wind factor. In the park was a little human-made replica of Lake Te Anau in a garden with the fjords and the harbors all marked and real water about 6-8 inches deep. It was perfect for the kids' little wooden boats with the rubber band paddles. Gabe and Jordan played tour guide and told the passengers on their boats all about the “longest fjord in the world” and the “best harbor in the world” and gave out little facts and figures about the landscape as they floated through. They made it sound like all the tour guides we’d heard up to that point speak only in superlatives. Well let me tell you, the tour guides in New Zealand use more superlatives than any other tour guides in the whole world.

While the kids played in the miniature lake, Mark and I took turns shopping and sitting in the sun reading. It was lovely.

It was then time to board our boat that was to take us gently out on the lake with no waves to the caves where the glow worms live. You may never have head of glow worms before and that is because New Zealand is the “only place in the world” where they live. It was fascinating to see. We got off the boat that transported us across this gorgeous lake and went into a building to hear a little about the worms. Then we split up into small groups (right Craig and Em?) of 12 to the caves. First, we were led into the dark limestone caves and hunched ourselves over as we walked upstream along the fresh water river that flows inside this carved out cave. It was dark but we walked along a well-constructed walkway above the water with lights to help us through safely. We stopped to look at the waterfalls that came cascading over the edges of limestone walls and could see where the water had found weak spots in the limestone and was wearing it away. I wondered if they ever worried about the limestone completely giving way on top of one of these groups of 12.

We arrived at a section of the uphill stream that leveled out. They called this the grotto and it was where the glow worms chose to make their homes. Apparently they liked the quieter location, away from the loud waterfalls and rushing water. Behind the grotto was more uphill river. Very few people have been able to access the water that flows into the grotto from deeper back in the caves.

When we arrived at the grotto, we were directed to climb into this boat. It was sort of like a row boat but bigger. We sat 6 on each side facing the middle of the boat. The guide stood at the front of the boat and held onto the cables above him to pull us down the river. As soon as we were all settled, he turned off his flashlight and it was pitch black. Except, of course, for the glow worms. They were little neon green spots on the walls and ceilings not bright enough to light up the cave, more like stars in the backcountry sky. It was fascinating to know that they were really animals that I’d seen on the short DVD they showed us about the worms. I learned later that the brightest ones were the adults and the dimmer ones were babies. One guide said we were lucky to have been there after so many new worms had just hatched—she called it a veritable nursery in there. After craning my neck looking up at the green lights for a while, I stopped focusing on them and just enjoyed floating through a dark cave on the water in complete silence. It was almost an experience of sensory deprivation though a little too crowded to really get lost in it. I was relaxed. And so was Jordan who opted to sit on my lap for security as we entered the darkness. She had relaxed into the soothing of the floating and darkness and silence. Gabe and Mark were equally content to stare at the lights and enjoy the ride.

We could feel the boat turning around and knew when we were heading back out into the world we are more accustomed to. But I will always know that wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, there are these little worms that live way back in a cave in New Zealand who are enjoying the quiet and the dark.

Another Stewart Island day

January 9^th.

We set off this morning uphill toward another bay where our water taxi was preparing to take us to Ulva Island. This boatride was short and a blast. The waves and the boat were both half the size of the first experience and I could see everything, including where we were going. I didn’t experience any sickness and we all thoroughly enjoyed the ride, wishing it were just a bit longer. I thanked the boat driver profusely for an enjoyable trip--maybe a bit much for such a little trip. But some of the other passengers laughed nervously with me in remembrance of their own sea journeys to Stewart Island not long before.

The island was thick with jungle trees and lifted up with birdsong. Many of the birds here are unique to this area, some just to this island. They are rare birds living in a rare environment because they have no predators in this sanctuary. We were told to go quietly and stop a lot because that is what it takes for the birds to get comfortable with our presence and allow themselves to be seen. Right. We were traveling with small children. We saw very few birds.

We did, however, find a beach with a little river trickling down into the sea, perfect for floating wooden boats with rubber band paddles in. And we did find a rope swing that has been there for over 50 years, legend has it.

And we did catch a glimpse of a few birds, the most exciting was this large bird that looked like a cross between an owl from the neck down and a parrot from the neck up. It swooped like an owl with its back feathers wide and fanned out behind it. It ate like a parrot, tilting its head to crack open the bark on trees and dig for bugs. We saw another bird--a dark brown bird, the size of a small chicken right on the ground off the trail. It was digging for worms and we could stand right there next to it without it seeming nervous about our presence. That was very exciting. Until we found out, while we were eating our lunches, that this bird was the island’s pigeon or seagull, no fear and no tact. There’s one on every block isn’t there?

We stayed and played for a few hours, mostly on the beach, and then took our fun boat ride back to Stewart Island. At this point, Mark took off for the golf course. There was a 6-hole course a few kilometers away. Mark would do a much better job describing this but I’ll just tell you what he told me. He went to the airport depot/post office/golf club to rent clubs and buy a few balls. The clubs were older than Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus put together and mismatched with some left-handed clubs Mark didn’t notice until he needed to hit with one. He carried them the few kilometers from the rental place to the first hole with this carrier he showed me later. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was a metal scaffolding looking thing. You click your clubs in horizontally and then pick up the handle and walk. I can’t describe it but it certainly must have looked odd to see him walking down the road carrying this. However, it did look sort of practical—bare bones just golf clubs on this light-weight metal carrier compared to the over-sized suitcases that golfers have had to invent motorized push-carts in order to move them from tee box to fairway to green.

Anyway, once there, Mark said the course was rinky-dink but beautiful. From most holes, including the one that went straight uphill, he could see different bays on either side of the course. He played 2 rounds (12 holes) and enjoyed himself quite a bit. He would never tell you this but I can. He shot 53 on a par 42 for those 12 holes. Not bad for playing with left-handed clubs!

While he was playing golf, the kids and I visited the smallest aquarium I can imagine still being allowed to use the name aquarium. We walked in and paid the same amount we might pay for a multi-million dollar venture and got a private tour of the several fish tanks they had in the back of the jewelry store. The fish were all caught by this guy in the bay outside this building. It was fabulous! We learned all about the local sea creatures in a way that was very digestible for the kids. Gabe and the guide exchanged friendly banter regarding their shared knowledge of the life and habits of many of the creatures. Jordan was thrilled that she got to stick her hands in one of the shallow tanks to touch the anemone and a fish. I was happy to have the kids happy and to see some really big crawfish including an albino one.

After our visit to the aquarium, Gabe went and played a big chess game with a teenage boy who was out there and apparently willing to teach Gabe some strategies. I’ve never seen life-sized chess boards before but in New Zealand I’ve seen two. Mark rejoined us and we made our way to the airport depot which is different than the airport. Actually, there is no airport. We got weighed and our baggage got weighed (so I am left wondering, what did it all weigh compared to the average person? Did we have a lot of baggage or do we carry a fairly light load through life?) Then we were bussed about 10 minutes up to the top of the island along the jungle roads. Once we got to the airstrip, the bus stopped but we didn’t unload. And a few minutes later, a little plane came zooming in over our heads. Our plane was in. Those folks got off and we piled in. I never did catch when they sent us through security.

This plane was a 9-seater plus the pilot. It was exciting from beginning to end for all of us. It was gorgeous up there to see the multiple islands from just far enough away to get the idea of how many there were and what shapes they took and how forested they all were, etc. I couldn’t help but also focus on the white caps I could see but wasn’t being sloshed around in. Jordan was thrilled to be up in the clouds. It was a quick 15 minute flight and next thing I knew, we were back in our hotel room in Invercargill.

A quick note about Invercargill—a place we slept in twice, ate dinner in twice and each ran in once. It is a bizarre place to set up shop. It is so windy and cold that the thought of going out to the store would exhaust me. You are either being kept from reaching your destination by the head winds or you are thrown into the side of it by the tail winds. They’ve done a beautiful job decorating this wind-blown place but our hats fly off to the people who choose to or have to call this home.

We woke up on January 10^th and drove away.