The South Island: Part I

From North to South

on Saturday morning we boarded a plane for our journey to the South Island, where we're visit some of the most beautiful land imaginable.  We'll be on the road for six days, traveling in a twelve passenger van, just enough room for the 'tribe" & ... 

Meet the Tribe

Out of respect for the privacy of my fellow travelers, I'll add only necessary/important info.

There are twelve of us making the trip.  For refreshers, this includes: son David; daughter-in-law Dineli, Dineli's mother, Kamini, two of Kamini's brothers, three of her sisters, one cousin and one American wife and one Sri Lankan husband.  They hail from as far away as Sri Lanka and as close as Austrailia, with Califormia, Seattle and Baltimore.  (D & d are the only New Zealand residents.)  

This motly crew, as I call them, range from medical doctor to physicist, from theologian to those in retail, from travel agent to corporate lawyer, two retired teachers, one successful private business owner and a director of a large corp. The age range, minus D & d, is between the early sixties to the mid seventies!

A few more details

• Sri Lankans only know one speed - slow.  

• Sri Lankans NEVER go anywhere alone.

• Sri Lankans love to eat.  The 'tribe plans lunch as they finish their morning coffee or tea.  At lunch, they begin to plan dinner at which they plan the next days breakfast.  

 Day One

An hour after our 11:00 a.m. departure from the Wellington International Airport,11:15 a.m. we were safely landed in Christ Church on on the South Island. (A note of interest: The Wellington International Airport is limited to domestic flights and flights to Austrailia:  Its runway is too short and the winds too strong to accomodate other airlines.)

But back to the trip.  You know the phrase, keep it simple.  We'll just chuck it out the window.  For Sri Lankans, there is no simple.   To reach the airport took trips in Bubbles, whose dog space had been replaced by its third seat and friend Ekta to ferry the driver and his immediate family to join up with the others.  By 10:40 a.m. we were all present, just in time for our flight.   Our journey to Christ Church was gratefully uneventful - planes had been having difficulty taking off and landing in Wellington for the past weeks with some having to make more than one attempt.   

In Christ Church we picked the van, as yet unnamed, which seats twelve, and we kept moving. Or planned to.  BUT we stopped to fill the chilly bin (cooler) with food and drinks for the next few days.  You don't ever want to do this. All the men and all but two of the women went traipsing through the grocery store together sans list. An hour later the tribe exited the grocery with fruit; ginger beer; a local favorite; "L&P, the World Wide Famous in New Zealand Soft Drink;"  some cheeses amd a bit of lunch meat. 

Dinner, at 10:30 p.m., was simple. After eleven hours in the sky and on the road, all agreed to order pizze, seven of them with four different toppings!

Day Two Tomorrow  - - Or as soon as I find another computerand the quiet time to sit and write.

I hope all are well! 

  

A reprieve from the wind, Leonard Cohen, Route 1

Going North & Other Tidbits

By noon on Monday, January 4th and a local holiday, we had packed ourselves, the dogs and some snacks into Bubbles and were heading north! The skies were blue, the air pleasantly crisp and the winds non existent. With Leonard Cohen playing through the radio, we headed up Route 1, the main route north, toward new places.

Initially the sights were typical - residential and commercial centers with houses built into thickly forested hillsides. Then, within the hour, my vision was blasted open by the sight of sheep and cows grazing on acre after acre of green pasture. This is not to say that the views from David and Dineli's home aren't lovely; they are. There is a certain delight in the clutter of corrugated roof tops that greet us from the windows and decks - orange, line green, brown and grey, red and sky blue, baby blue, marine blue andmore! However, the green hills functioned as a natural tranquilizer and fed places in my spirit that craves openness. I breathed more deeply and my body sank into the seat as we trudged northward.

We drove, much like many of our families did when we were young and gas was about $.19 per gallon. Driving then stopping at interesting places. Our first stop was at a lazy old town that had become a store front outlet center and where I bought a paua shell ring. (Paua is a blue/green shell found only in New Zealand.) Next stop was a neighborhood bar where a sign invited us to join the local darts club - a big match was coming up and they needed to add to their team. Here we had tea and L & P ( a New Zealand soda). Lastly, as the winds began to whip, we stopped at McDonald's and stuffed ourselves with french fries on the ride homeward. (they are stilled called french fries at the Golden Arches - not chips.)

Bits and Pieces

Shortly after Kamini and I arrived, we set out for a walk in the neighborhood - to get our bearings. And after a few short blocks we ended up at the Wellington Zoo. We decided that it would be a good way to spent the next few hours and paid the price of admission

( $13.00 for seniors, ugh!) and headed off with a zoo map.

Like the Baltimore Zoo, there were no real cages; all exhibits have been naturalized. The zoo was very clean, inviting, informative and enchanting - mainly due to Tanya, at left, a zoo volunteer who became our personal guide.

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We attended a talk on the resident Kiwi and animal medical car, which broke our hearts and at the same time cheered our spirits! He or she had been caught in a trap and as a result, needed to have one leg amputated.

The Zoo's mission statement includes: "What can we do to make each animals life better?" (paraphrased) Hence they enlisted the help of protheses specialist and over the next three months, they created the perfect match. But nature had a different mind. By the time the device was created and tinkered with to make perfect, the Kiwi had adapted to hopping on one leg, wholly rejecting the new one.

The Mercat! (pictured at left) particularly caught my attention. These charming little critters live in packs comprised of male, female and offspring. Initially I noticed the animals, maybe twice the size of a squirrel, moving the containment engaged in various degrees of activity - eating, playing, or sleeping. However it takes only a minute or two to sight a lone male "on duty," This is a rotated duty among the males. This delighted me! Sometimes I think I'd be perfect for communal living where we would embrace the notion that it does take a village!

The Reading Theatre

New Year's Eve took us to the Reading Theatre, a multiplex, in the heart of Wellington. Here we separated and saw different movies. Kamini and I, not science fiction fans, chose The Lovely Bones and David and d (Dineli prefers the use of the lower case) took in Avatar, complete with 'three d' glasses. Afterwards we strolled through the quaint town center, moving between small bands of local musicians and Kiwis celebrating the coming year - at outdoor tables - until we found a small Indian restaurant where we shared delicious food - indoors!

While Walking

New Zealand is known for its friendliness and this is easily evident when shopping or asking directions. During my visit sales clerks have suggested other stores where I could find a specific item that they didn't offer, and everyone, no exceptions, eagerly provides extensive directions. But don't expect a casual hello when you're out for a walk. You won't get it. Other walkers consistently avoid eye contact and do not respond to a a simple hello.

And while walking you will note the dog friendliness of Wellington. Here you'll find water fountains especially equipped for pets, dog parks and dog beaches like the one picture below. Sky and Emma, D & d's pets, (along with Shady Cat) never want for a place where Sky can run or swim. Emma, a beagle, must be on the lease at all times. She'd chased down any place where food might be had!

Enough for now.

Hope you're enjoying your warm home during the current freeze. Here space heaters take the place of central heating and these are used sparingly since energy costs are high.

The New Year

January 3, 2010

A view from the 'deek.'

One Down and Two to Go!

My German great-grandmother spent her days in the basement kitchen of her son-in-law's home raising the youngest three of her daughter's children. Her daughter, my grandmother, had died of cancer at age of forty-eight, at that time an unspeakable disease.

Gram, a stern sort, all of 4'10", lived a simple life, cooking, ironing and riding herd over her grandchildren. She seemed to talk little. I remember her as a no fuss woman with only a few adages that she lived by. One of them was, "Bad things come in threes." Well, if Gram's adages are true, Kamini only has two more to go.

Friday, New Year's Day here, was blustery, so we decided to take a ride through the forest to Cook's Straight, a beautiful tributary to the Pacific Ocean. Of we went in Bubbles, D & d's silver blue van, with the dogs in tow to pick up Ekta and head towards a lovely beach nearly an hour away.

Driving up, down and around hillsides and hilltops, curling round the greenbelt that surrounds Newtown, we finally we reached our destination at about 4-30 in the afternoon. And it was lovely! The beach, rock strewn, extended about 100 yards before us. Then the blue/green water interrupted the view. We headed towards it, the strong winds at our back.

As usual, David, Dineli and Ekta had about a thirty foot lead over Kamini and me as we struggled forward - the white caps, lovelier than any I've ever seen, beckoning us. Slowly we picked our way over the rocks, the wind at our backs. Then Kaminio, who had been at my side, was suddenly rushing, running past me, her feet in constant motion in a futile attempt to ground herself. I reached out to catch her, and she was beyond my grasp. Her motion was faster than I could walk, and I knew that to run would place me in the same predicament. Hoping that the back winds would carry my voice, I shouted to the others, but my calls went unheard. Then within minutes that passed in slow motion, she fell forward onto the rocks, hitting hard her knees, chest, face, nose, and forehead. By the time we all reached her - she was easily twenty-five feet ahead of me - blood was pulsating from her mouth; I was sure her teeth were broken. Large 'eggs' began to show on her forehead, face and nose; her chest was tight with pain. And she was stunned - as we all were.

We 'spectators' felt that she should be seen in the ER immediately, but Kamini, a medical doctor, refused saying in her British English, "It will be alright." Then she put her hand and felt the rising lumps near her frontal lobe and she agreed.

Within an hour, at 6:00 p.m., we were situated in the Wellington Hospital ER. There Kamini was examined and exrayed and the news was good: nothing was broken, she would just be sore for a few days. And her teeth were intact. The bad news was that we'd have to wait until the following day for the special Sri Lankaan New Year's Day dinner that she and Dinli had planned to prepare. Instead, we gathered about the table at about 10:30 that night for a delicious pasta and salmon dish that Dineli quickly prepared - and a prayer of thanks for Kamini's good fortune!

Now I need to close. Though I promised to 'discuss' Central Park, I need to shut down; the winds are so great that I'm fading in and out of connection.

Till the next time -

B