Tea & Coffee

Eric likes the Fluffy

mobile barista 

view from The Cup over Christchurch with NZ Alps in distance

Even though there are coffee shops everywhere (with insane prices for a cup of coffee $4-6), tea is still a major part of the culture.  At the boys’ schools there is the all school morning tea break at 11 am.  The kids have a packed snack from home & then run around the playgrounds (even middle schoolers), play or hang out where they like, while the adults also have their version of tea (sitting down quietly & chatting). 

A cuppa-- is when you invite a friend over to drink tea & chat.  This is being replaced by “come over for a coffee.” 

Tea--an afternoon meal, around 4pm, which is like a light supper.  Then there is some sort of snack before bedtime.

There are a few awesome coffee shops around...with of course more to be sampled.  The other night was the all-school production of “Beauty & the Beast”...Eric was up late so I took him out for a fluffy at Cup on Hackthorne....a coffee shop in the Cashmere neighborhood with a fantastic view of the city. (The Cup also specializes in breakfast & lunch foods & will make most any of their specials Gluten Free!!...clearly I need to come back on a clear day & enjoy the food & the view).

Ski Adventure, Mt. Hutt (Methevan) AUGUST 14

leaving the Canterbury plain...ascending the foothills

the road is those brown lines...it winds up the foothills...YIKES!

almost there!

on top of Mount Hutt

Which way would you go?

a long way down the mountain--Canterbury Plain & ocean below the clouds

Henri @ the top of Mt. Hutt

Eric & Robin love the Learner's Slop

Ben (in brown @ center) learning Snowboarding

While it is the East Coast of the US is frizzling...we are busy shivering here (hence the ode to spring posts).  The University Accomodations group organized a ski trip, complete with a chartered bus to a local ski area.  The fees were reasonable!  At this point we aren’t totally comfortable driving the narrow twisting no-guard rail roads so a chartered bus sealed the deal. 

The Mt. Hutt ski field is very dramatic.  It is on the top of a mountain overlooking the Canterbury plains...we were up above the clouds the whole day.  If the day had been clear we would have been able to see all the way to the ocean but there was a thick layer of clouds just below the snow line. 


Two days before we went, the Mt. Hutt field had to shut down mid-day because a storm with 200 km/hour winds whipped through stranding 1,000 skiers on the mountain.  Everyone jammed into the ski rental/restaurant area.  The year 7 kids from Ben’s school had been on their ski trip that day & wound up spending the night there.  The staff at Mt. Hutt rigged up ropes so that folks could safely walk to the toilets & not get lost in the storm.


These slopes were intense!!  The “easy” slop was very difficult technically so Eric & Robin stuck to the learning slope...working on steering & playing tag.  Ben skied some tough slopes in the morning & then learned to snowboard (& slightly sprained his knee).  Henri enjoyed the toughest slopes all day!  All in all a great day in the snow (in August)!!!

Another great library

Brighton Beach in winter (August 7) A bad day for shorts!

the pier (library is hiding)

Here's another great library we explored on a cold & rainy winter day.  The Brighton Beach Library is located on the shore at the base of the pier.  It has two stories (a restaurant on the 2nd story & a cafe on the lower story).  There are chairs lined up all along the windows where one can just watch the sea & listen to stories on tape or read.  ahhhhh. We warmed up in the cafe & came home with books & CDs and the cozy warm feeling of a good small adventure.

getting warm at the library cafe

Thank You

Our Inspirational Travelers: Sol & Judy

For us to begin a great adventure we need to thank so many of you!  Without our friends and family this would be an impossible endeavor.  Thank you for the: inspiration, wisdom, practical tips, lodging, journey stops, child amusement, play dates, coffee, pool time, lake time, meals, tea, snacks, treats, well wishes, notes of encouragement, phone calls, car borrowing, setting us up in style, travel tips, great books, mental breakdown space, and more!  Thank you!!

Victoria Park, The Port Hills: August 6

The NZ Alps on the horizon...can see them from the slide

kids love the slide!

 The city parks are wonderful....hiking, scenic views, great trail maintenance.

It’s hard to believe that these amazing wildernesses (with occasional trails through sheep pastures) are part of one of NZ’s largest city & not national parks.  Wow.
Here’s a park...I think this slide has one of the best views of the NZ Southern Alps.  The boys like how fast the slide was!

volcanic rock formations

boys on a stile to cross pasture land

trail through pasture land

mountain bike ramp

mountain bike ramp that moves! (up position)

moutain bike ramp (down postition)

water fountain for dogs & humans

Boys chasing sheep above the city of Christchurch

Here is our first exploring hike of Victoria Park & the Port Hills trails.  The boys had a blast running on some of the shared mountain bike trails (ramps, moguls, teeter totter ramp).  We saw several riders go over the teeter totter ramp (kids & adults)---it was a creative way to get over the pasture fence! There were also fields of sheep grazing in different parts of the park.  Here we encountered our first sheep of NZ.

New Zealand Vocabulary

We are having fun with the new words, spellings and usage.  As a native explained to us, "When you kicked the British out of your country you kicked out some letters as well."  Many of these are NZ specific.  Enjoy!

Kia Ora = hello, welcome

cheers = thanks, hi

jandals = flip flops

wee = little, tiny, small  ("just use a wee bit of salt", "It's a wee hike to the view."), used by everyone.  I think it is the Scottish settlers' linguistic influence.)

ice block = popsicle

flying fox = zip line

maths (You do the maths.) = math

sport (She plays lots of sport.) = sports

twink = white out/correction fluid/liquid paper (Michael's twink pen exploded on my fingers.)

 to queue =  to line up

trundler or trolley = shopping cart

mild cheese = regular cheddar cheese

tasty cheese = very sharp cheddar cheese

vintage cheese = "fully mature cheddar cheese with a rich extra sharp flavour and crumbly texture"

trim milk = skim milk

the bench = the kitchen counter

tea (at school) = snack break

skivvie = turtleneck shirt

jumper = sweater

rubbish mix = trail mix

slice = bar cookie

flat white = a coffee with lots of steamed milk but not lots of foam

fluffy = steamed milk with lots of foam, chocolate sprinkles & marshmallows

thermals = long underwear

walk = ranges from very short to all afternoon walking

tramp = back packing expedition

rubbish = trash

bin = waste basket, trash can, etc

Riccarton Bush Preserve

Amazing root structure

ferns abound

Today the boys & I took a walk in the Riccarton Bush Kiwi preserve to see the pre-settlers landscape.  We didn’t see any kiwi birds as they are nocturnal (and B&E were busy inventing tribal war dances, and wrestling and so forth).  I was fascinated with the roots of these magnificent trees.  It's a wet land & rainforest....the british terminology of "bush" doesn't describe the wonder of this type of forest.  This preserve is in the middle of the city---half a block from New Zealand's biggest indoor mall (!!!) and half a mile from where we are living.

mighty giants (about 30 meters tall)