another day on the south island

Hello to our friends and family,

I can’t believe I am still awake after today. We went to bed late last night, the kids woke up at 10:00am—their adjustment to the time change out here is going the wrong direction. I woke up early to run and ended up having to take a nap at about 1:00. The kids fell asleep in the back seat today several times. We were sort of like the walking dead today compared to how much energy and enthusiasm we had yesterday. Luckily, we are staying in the same hotel for three nights in a row which I think will help us all recover from our non-stop day yesterday.

So today, we zombied through our short drive to Oamaru which got us back to the ocean. Oamaru was about NOT seeing the blue penguins as we’d hoped, because they spend their days at sea and come home to rest at sunset which isn’t until 9:15 around here. We couldn’t wait all day to see them as we still had another hour or so to our hotel and we were all eager to spread out again somewhere. So we didn’t see the blue penguins but we did see one yellow-eyed penguin and a few sleeping sea lions and some spherical boulders.

The other problem with today, other than our unanimous lack of energy to do anything, was that it was fr-fr-fr-freezing. The fact that New Zealand is the closest country to Antarctica should have told us something about what to expect weather-wise as we move southward. And the fact that we are going to be on the coast most of the time, should have told us something about the winds. We did not pack the right gear. Nonetheless, the locals tell us that we are lucky to be here during some of their warmer days and thank god the sun is out, they say. Great. I don’t reckon it got above 15°C, (I’ll do the math for you—that’s 60°F) with a wind chill of probably 45°F.

But enough about us, let me tell you about what we saw. When we left that spacious hotel room in Omarama, we drove southeast through what I found to be disappointingly brown mountainous terrain. I was feeling sort of ripped off because none of the brochures or picture books about New Zealand show brown, front range, Colorado-type hills. They all show lush, green hills, thickly forested all the way up to tree-line of snow-covered, chocolate peaks with turquoise-blue waters cradling it all. So when we drove through kilometer after kilometer of brittle, dry hills with the occasional clump of trees lining a drainage in between hills, I was sort of, well, unimpressed. It’s hard to admit one is unimpressed with any part of New Zealand, but there it is.

And then, as though someone heard my complaints and acquiesced, things started greening up quite a bit (which doesn’t usually happen when I complain so maybe there is something magical about New Zealand after all.) By the time we made it to the coast, the hills were as green as I had imagined with all kinds of strange looking trees I’ve never seen before. The one that stands out in my mind is a tall evergreen tree whose branches don’t start until probably three quarters of the way up. They are like a pine trees in mini-skirts, showing a whole lotta leg.

The coast was all I’d hoped it would be. There were sheer cliffs with vegetation hanging over the top like a teenager’s uncut bangs. The cliffs stood above sandy beaches, littered with tiny sea-polished rocks and washed up shells. Some of the hills above the cliffs supported smatterings of enviable homes. And then there was the ocean. You’ve all seen it so I won’t describe it except to say that it still looks like it goes on forever and it is still rolling in and out, in and out, all day, every day, without losing its rhythm.

We got to see a mama yellow-eyed penguin who stays up on land with her babies who aren’t ready to go out to sea during the day. We saw a half dozen lazy sea lions who’d plopped their huge bodies on the flat tops of rocks to sleep all day in the sun. And yes, I got to see dolphins. Three of them today—there are Hectors dolphins down here and they are the smallest dolphins in the world, though not to small to see! I was so happy to see them.

We made our way along the coast line of the central part of the south island. The homes here are wonderful. They made me want to come home and paint our house light pink with dark burgundy trim and then put a little hand-painted sign out front that says, “The Goodman’s.” They made me want to go home and plant huge 20 gallon rose bushes in every corner of our front yard. They made me want to buy one of them and live my life on a cliff over-looking that ocean. Gabe wanted to know if I thought the insides of those houses were as nice as the outsides. I thought that was a very practical question. In light of my announcements that I wanted to buy them all, I think it is good that someone in our family was thinking about the reality of what I was proposing.

We finally made it to Dunedin where we’ll stay for the next 3 days. Dunedin is a large city with a university and about 115,000 people. Our hotel is way up high in the hills above the city and the water but we are in a forested area so we can’t see any of that from our room. We can, however, see it all once we drive a few blocks down and it is a beautiful, full and scenic city.

And you’ll all be able to rest easy knowing that we found a sushi place that serves fresh fish in rolls. Ordering it here is very different as you basically just tell them how many pieces you’d like and they sort of surprise you. You can tell them what kind of fish you like or don’t like but you don’t specify what you’d like in the rolls. What they came up with for us was delectable. Word of advice: don’t ask for spicy tuna outside the U.S. When I asked about it, I was admonished by the server who responded, “we don’t have ‘spicy’ sushi in Japan.”

Oh, have I told you that they don’t tip in Australia or New Zealand? That is a strange phenomenon. The prices of meals in restaurants are more expensive than we are used to but when you don’t have to add a tip on at the end, it feels a little better. The service, however, reflects the absence of that incentive. They are plenty friendly but they are not plenty fast. And once you get your food, you may never establish eye contact with your server again. You have to hunt them down to get more water or a check. But as long as you know what to expect, you do what my dear friend Cate suggested to us as she drove us to the airport on December 24^th: surrender to what is. That has become a very useful phrase though we are a little better at reminding each other than ourselves. But of course.

So here we are in Dunedin for 3 days. We have a cruise scheduled for tomorrow afternoon to see dolphins and seals and who knows who else we’ll happen upon. I am sitting in a hotel room full of sleeping people picturing many of you who I know will be reading this in a day or so, (or a day ago) when I can get it posted. I am hesitant to turn off my computer and go to sleep as this time to myself late at night has been so important for me. But I must let you go get on with your day and I must get some sleep so I can get on with mine in the morning.

Oh, one more thing—Gabe lost another tooth tonight. That’s tooth #10 and he’s pretty sure he has lost more teeth than anyone in his class. Anyone care to dispute that? All in the name of friendly, pro-Waldorf, non-competitive curiousity, of course!!

We all send our love from down under.

Love, Nancy

Here are pictures of Gabe and Jordan asleep at 6:00pm. We were up late last night again...