The House: 7 moves & 6 houses later! August 27

Robin & Henri's after breakfast ritual

Zhang Ji's arrangement of blossoms & art

Spring Flowers from Tish's garden

Zhang Ji's canvases & daffodils on the dining table

Henri, Ben & JinJin snuggle in the evening

fabulous eggs (the earthquake proof egg container)

some awesome chickens (there are 5)

Ben & JinJin get ready for the day

This Monday morning we all felt so tired getting up and getting started with the day.  Then Henri pointed out that since July 5 we have made 7 moves and lived in 6 different houses or apartments.  Each stay was a lovely, perfect and necessary oasis filled with loved ones and adventures.  And now we are in a real home! 

Anne-Marie & Zhang-Ji's home is great!  A real bathtub!  Chickens & JinJin (the old lady cat)...a trampoline!  Toys, games, puzzles, real pots, lovely plates & flatware, decent fry pans, excellent beds, great kitchen knives...And bikes!!!! 

Anne-Marie organized a bike for Ben (from one of her students). Eric fits on Silas' bike, I ride Anne-Marie's & Henri bought his own bike at an amazing used bike store here.  Bikes & helmets are super super expensive here so we are feeling really lucky.  Books are insanely expensive (even with the exchange rate) so I am really glad the libraries are so awesome...and the University library is available for even more exploring (heheheh).

In celebration of being in the house we spent a really lazy two days just enjoying the place and relaxing in the joy of a loved home. 

We took a family bicycle afternoon to show Henri the Riccarton Bush/Kiwi sanctuary, bike around the huge bontanical gardens of Hagley Park (spring is on the way) & got our yah-yahs out at the Kirkwood School obstacle course (Ben’s Intermediate School).

Sunday was rainy Seattley-Eugueney kind of weather so we had indoor adventures with a visit to the awesome indoor pool at Jellie Park.  Eric & Robin hit the indoor waterslide & hot tub with a bit of Aqua-jogging thrown in.  Ben & Henri curled up with books & computers at home. Then we watched some of the new Dr. Who episodes (from the library).  So yes we are settling into a more regular life (much like what you might be doing on a rainy weekend).

21st Anniversary: August 26

well wishes

flowering pine

Governor's Bay & winding road

To celebrate our 21st anniversary, Henri took an afternoon away from work and I took Henri to The Cup on Hackthorne for lunch & a hike.  The lunch was super & the chef wrote “Happy Anniversary” on our awesome GF lunch.  The NZ Alps deigned to appear for part of lunch.  We then had a terrific hike from Victoria Park (the great playground) to The Sign of The Kiwi teahouse.  We were rewarded with some great views over Governor’s Bay (see Robin’s Short Walk).  My knees felt terrific because I used trekking poles on the hike.

Sumner, Godley Head & oceanside caves Adventure

Sumner Beach (from a fabulous city playground & garden)

foggy Sumner beach (person strolling with dog)

beach flowers @ Sumner

curve of the beach

winter surfers in the fog

a bit of the town viewed through the clock tower

the Godley Head Hills

Near Lyttleton Harbor

Taylor's Mistake beach (black sand)

cave @ Taylor's Mistake

trail to Godley Head

drop off the trail to sea

boys climb down to explore another cave & sea rocks

Another day of sunny weather motivated us to explore the Port Hills hikes around the seaside neighborhood of Sumner.

The beach at Sumner is a treasure.  The waves are slightly less aggressive (no rip tides but still decent boogie boarding & surfing) while the beach is enormous at low & high tide. 

When Robin explored Sumner on a foggy day, people were out strolling their babies, cycling with toddlers and walking dogs.  It was lovely watching people and animals appear & disappear in the mist.

Here are some views from a playground above Sumner.  The boys enjoyed the playground & the adults enjoyed the gardens & view.Then we drove on to a black sand beach cove called Taylor’s Mistake.  There we began the Godley Head trail & hiked by a second cove.  There we saw baches which are NZ weekend/vacation cabins in remote areas that one needs to hike in to.  Hardy folk in the early 1900s built many of them to get a breather from the city.  Some of the baches even had grand pianos in them.  Nowadays the baches have electricity(heat, etc) & water from cisterns.

Baches hidden in the cove

find the sheep

Lamb, moon & Eric

There were plenty of caves to explore along the water.  During WW2 the NZ army had several lookout posts in the caves & secret tunnels for supplies.  We were hoping to get to the tunnels but wound up getting foiled by the short winter daylight.

We hung out in a pasture with some sheep, enjoyed the day time moon and watched a front roll in.  The sun also began to set & the cold southerly winds (from the South Pole) swept in. 

We were near a remote car park & a family in an SUV noticed how tired the boys were and offered us a ride back to Taylor’s Mistake.  We happily stuffed into their car because we would have wound up hiking about two hours in the dark.  We are so grateful for our rescue. Now we have learned to plan for weather fronts & not hike too close to the end of the day!

Sunset Hike in the Port Hills: August 10

Port Hills Pastureland & the NZ Southern Alps in fine weather

About the weather in New Zealand, when there is a fine spell (moment of clear non-rainy weather) it is important to seize the moment and go for a hike. During a very fine spell there are no clouds and views are possible.

trail to some views

Sign of the Kiwi marker

fun volcanic rock

Pastureland with ocean beyond

climbing a stile out of pasture land

a spring lamb

the road down (typical NZ country road)

NZ Alps, the sunset's finale & Christchurch's city lights

With that in mind, we took a quick sunset hike around Sugarloaf Mt. & the Sign of the Kiwi to see the sunset over Governor’s Bay.  We got off the mountain while the colors were just beginning (difficult paths & narrow roads) to make it to the Sign of the Takahe Gardens (which have a super view of Christchurch & the NZ Alps).  We ate our sandwiches & watched the sunset over the city & mountains.
**Photos by Henri.

Winter Beach Trip to Cathedral Cliffs: August 21

Cathedral Cliffs with Gore Bay in the background

Best sheep pasture with a view

at Point Roberts

town Sheep statue

Sheep country & amazing hills (high peaks are behind us shrouded in clouds)

the white dots are SHEEP!

Looking for treasures on Gore Bay beach

lamb nursing

The boys & I drove about 1.5 hours north to run around on winter beaches, throw stones in the ocean, marvel at the Cathedral Cliffs, wonder when a gas station would appear on the drive (just because there is a town with a name does not mean a gas station can be found)....and of course marvel at all the baby lambs in the pastures...and the amazing landscape.