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   To reach the airport took trips in Bubbles, whose dog space had been replaced by its third seat and friend Ekta to ferry the driver and his immediate family to join up with the others.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!