New Zealand Adventure 2010

It is July 1st and we have just left Adelaide on our Air New Zealand flight to Auckland where we have a 2 hour stop before we do our short 90 minute hop down to Christchurch. The pilot announced a huge tail wind so our travel time is 3.5 hours instead of 5 which was amazing. Christchurch is about 700 miles south of Adelaide so we were preparing for colder temperatures. Our arrival at 10:30 PM was exciting as Jennifer and Dave greeted us at the airport and drove us to their home in Christchurch in their Subaru Outback. In preparation for cooler weather they had given us their bedroom that came equipped with a space heater, electric blanket, and lots of bedding. Their house was built at the turn of the century and is cute, centrally located, and great in the summer BUT COLD in the winter. Both Jennifer and Dave who teach in the Public School system had the first two weeks of July off. They had decided not to make any definite travels plans till we got there as we wanted to follow the sun. It worked and despite being cold and winter we never got rained on and every day for two weeks was sunny BUT cold !! We hadn’t seen Dave for about 3 years but Jennifer was home last Sept. It was a great two weeks with lots of good times and plenty of NZ wine.

We arrived on a Thursday so Jenn had one more day of teaching before her two weeks off. On Friday she picked us up at 1 PM and took us to her school where we were treated like Royalty.
We were swarmed by her students as we left the car to meet the principal for the official school tour followed by coffee in the staff room. Jenn had arranged for us to spend the afternoon in her class so the children could ask us questions about where we lived. It was one of my proudest moments to see my daughter, now 30, in command of 30 grade one students. We got questions on how many toilets we had in our house and lots of interest in bears !! Avon Head Elementary School has a mixture of children from different countries and backgrounds so keeping some sense of order in chaos with 30 high energy children is a challenge that Jennifer has mastered.
On the way home we stopped at a large grocery store called Countdown which had a massive wine section with reasonable prices which got even better with the 30% discount for the Canadian Dollar. I knew this was going to be a GREAT two weeks !

Dave and Jenn were happy to have the two weeks off and planned short trips for our first 5 days.
We did tours around Christchurch, Sumner, and Lyttleton in sunny weather despite the winter season. Kerri and Bevin Waterton, friends of Jenn’s, hosted two dinners at their home for us. These were arriving and leaving party's which enabled us to meet many of her colleagues and friends. These were enjoyable evenings with lots of conversation about NZ with long time residents. Life in NZ was different than I expected as prices were very expensive even with our exchange discount. NZ wine seemed to be the best value so we drank many bottles of Sauvingnon Blanc and Pinor .

On July 8 we packed up the car and headed along highway 73 through Arthur’s Pass to the West Coast. Our first stop was Punakaiki which is a National Park that has spectacular views of the famous Pancake Rocks as you look out into the ocean. We splurged and got an ocean view suite at the Punakaiki Resort which was a 5 star establishment. We watched the sunset with Jenn and Dave as we ate cheese, crackers, and drank NZ wine. Although we wished that moment would last forever, the dinner that followed at the resort was equally impressive. Day 2 was a long day, but interesting drive to Nelson where we rented a large 3 bedroom home right on the river. It was a great spot in downtown Nelson close to shopping and grocery stores. Nelson is on the North Coast of the south island so is much warmer that Christchurch and in the heart of Wine Country.
After 3 days of tasting wines at different wineries we left to go to Blenheim which was just east of Nelson and also a wine tasting area. We stayed for two days in a beautiful Villa called Vintner’s Retreat and again sampled some of NZ’s finest wines. With the car loaded with wine, we headed back to Christchurch under sunny skies and great weather. It was a long drive home and Jenn had a friend turn on all the heat to their house so it would be warm for our late evening arrival.
Monday was a day of rest, but Tuesday, we were off for a days drive to Lake Takapo and views of Mount Cook, the highest peak in NZ. Please look at the pictures of this area on Flickr as it was the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen in all our travels. It was a sunny day with no clouds so the snow covered mountains provided an awesome backdrop for the dark blue waters of Lake Takapo. The beauty of this area is indescribable and not fully captured by the pictures but I will always remember that day as being so spectacular with Mount Cook in the background. Our last day in NZ was spent visiting Riccarton House which is in Christchurch and shows some of the early life before settlement.

Two weeks went by quickly and on July 15 we boarded Air NewZealand for the 90 minute hop to Auckland before our 13 hr non-stop flight to Vancouver. We arrived in hot sunny weather & Al picked us up at the airport in preparation for a fine dinner cooked by Kazuko. We drove home the next day and as usual our house was waiting for two tired travellers.

Jennifer and Dave were the ultimate hosts whose idea to follow the sun worked out perfectly. Although Christchurch was cold, we escaped rain, snow, and cloudy weather. I now know the much talked about beauty of NZ and have a special palate for NZ Sauvingnon Blanc and Pinot Noir. It was great to meet Jennifer’s colleagues and many thanks to the Watertons who hosted two parties for us. We were very sad to say goodbye as we knew it would likely be another year before we could give Jenn and Dave a big hug but that is how life unfolds. Both hope to move to Singapore in December of this year which has the same school calendar as Canada. This means they could come home for next summer. If possible, Lesley Anne and Brendan might be able to bring Samuel Thomas back to Comox and escape the July Australian winter. That is the happy thought that I am going to end this blog on. Lots happening before we leave for Mesa Arizona on October 15 so will update you on our next rainy day.

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Pictures from top to bottom - just click on picture to enlarge

1. Dave, Gail, Jen in Christchurch
2. Jen in her classroom at Avon Head Elementary
3. Gail , Jen, Ron - West Coast
4. Dave, Gail, Ron - West Coast
5. Jen & Dave- Nelson

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Below link is for our complete set of pictures on Flickr

NEW ZEALAND PICTURES


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Australian Adventure

It is now August 8 and the first day of rain in the past two months. I finally managed to get all my gardening, endless paper work, and household chores done so I can sit down and work on our Blog.

Arrival Dinner -- Click on picture to enlarge

Our visit to Australia was made to see our 4 month old son, Samuel Thomas Brown who kept us entertained everyday with his smiling giggles and unconditional love for anyone that would pick him up and give him a big hug. We found Australian’s to be warm and friendly people with a great sense of humor which typified the Reed family. Pam and Frank Reed are wonderful people who made us feel like part of the family from our first encounter the day we arrived when Brendan cooked that outstanding Lamb Roast on the Weber. We were greeted with flowers from their garden at Victor Harbor and a warmth about them that made us feel we had known them for years. Brendan’s two brothers Damian and Simon live in Adelaide and were often part of the many family outings we attended.

We stayed for a month with Brendan and LA in their home in Adelaide but traveled to some of the many wine regions which are day trips. The second weekend was a special event and a annual gathering of the Reed Family at their home in Victor Harbor. While Pam and Frank live in Adelaide they inherited a large block of land at Victor Harbor which is about 2 hours from Adelaide. It is a beautiful piece of property with sloping meadows that look down on the historical whaling port of Victor Harbor. We arrived around noon hour to a huge feast of steak, lamb, salads and pie but most important was Pam’s Rabbit stew which was the first of 3 tasks on becoming an honorary Australian. The afternoon was spent collecting a large amount of brush off the property for the largest bonfire I have every seen. Brendan and his two brother’s hooked up a trailer onto Frank’s car and collected firewood for about 5 hours. After more food and wine we walked up to the back of the property and started the blaze which I am sure could be seen in Adelaide. It was a great time and one of our fondest memories especially my first rabbit stew.
Frank, Damian, Simon, Brendan

The following week-end Sue and Trevor Smith who are friends of the Reed's leant us their beach house for two days in Goolwa which is about one hour from Victor Harbor. This was Samuel’s first overnight trip away from home and a challenge to see if their car would take all the luggage. The Mercedes was a small car on loan that had a tiny back seat taken up with a large car seat for ST and two bucket seats in the front. We tried many combinations but Gail and I just would not fit in the back seat. I sat up front with Brendan and Gail and LA sat almost on top of each other in the back seat. We just managed to get the lid closed on the trunk and even were able to put in a few bottles of wine. Off we went on our first test run to Goolwa. Pam and Frank came down from Victor Harbor that night and we went out for dinner and then drove with us to Port Elliot the next day. It was a sunny weekend and we saw a lot of the Australia coastline. On our way home we drove to Cape Jervis and saw the ferry terminal over to Kangaroo Island which I am sure will be a destination on a future trip. Samuel Thomas enjoyed the outing and we thought we could try a longer holiday even in the overloaded Mercedes which was built in China!!!

On June 23 about a week later we loaded the car and set off for one of the most famous wine areas in the world. You have heard of Wolf Blass and Penfold wines, well they are part of the Barossa Wine Valley. It was about a 3 hour drive and we went by a massive Auto Assembly Plant that produced Holden’s which is owned by General Motors. The tourist information in Bethany - Borassa Valley suggested Sontag House which was a B&B. This is one of the nicest cottages I have ever stayed at. It was built in 1840 but the interior updated to modern facilities with preservation of its history. We had a great time in some very comfortable surroundings and Brendan and I even had time to quickly visit 3 wineries between 4 and 5 PM!!! The next day we spent drinking wine at some of the most famous vineyards in the world. Many of the tastings were over $100/bottle but it was all free and usually generous samples. One stop had self serve stations set up in the winery where you poured your own and these were expensive wines !!!! I thought I had died and gone to heaven as it was a sunny day and very few people were visiting as it was not tourist season. What a GREAT day but after 2 days at Sontag house we sadly had to pack up and leave to travel north. On June 25 we arrived at the Reed’s friends - Maria and Phillip Martin - who live in Riverland just out side of Waikerie. They have a small farm and raise chickens but in their back yard have a old train car which was fixed up with two bedrooms for a B&B. They never got their B&B going but the accommodation was finished and free !!!! The next day we went to about 20 km down the road and all you could see was huge tanks that looked like the largest oil refinery I had ever seen. Tanks as far as the eye could see but not for oil but WINE. Berri is the largest wine processing plant in the southern hemisphere which encompasses 4.5 hectares and processes 18,000 tons of grapes per season. After tasting some wine we headed off for lunch at a very famous winery called Banrock Station which sits on the wetlands close to the Murray River. This is a combination winery, nature preserve, and famous restaurant which has a spectacular view over the Murray River. We spent the afternoon there eating and drinking wine while I had Kangaroo done in a wine sauce in a puffed pastry which completed my second task of becoming an honorary Australian. We met Yvonne and Jeff Drogemuller , friends of Pam and Frank, there for lunch who invited us for dinner in their spectacular home overlooking the valley. The next morning we left our train and said good bye to Maria and Phillip as we headed back to Adelaide along the Murray River. It was sunny and even had a ferry crossing across the river which is busy in the summer with lots of house boats. The overloaded Mercedes with tired occupants limped back home where we were all glad to enjoy the comfort of a house we called home. Samuel Thomas of course had a great time and slept in his car seat. He was ready to party and very upset when he learned it was bed time.


There are many more stories that you will see in our pictures that include feeding kangaroos at the nature park, visiting the Adelaide Botanical garden, and the many dinners and wine tastings with the Reed family. You will see pictures of Brendan and I building a fence and are wondering what that is all about. Brendan agreed to build a fence in Pam & Frank’s back yard to help separate the carport from the back yard to give them some more privacy since Frank runs his conveyancing business out of the garage/office. Brendan had the wood delivered before I arrived and asked me to help him. We found some of his old coverall's which looked like prison issue and brought up memories of Australia being founded by convicts. Brendan assured me these were from his mining job and in fact Adelaide was a planned community that was first inhabited by wealthy settlers from England which is why the Barossa region got off to an early start. Gail and La would often go off for the day so Brendan and I would show up for work just before lunch. Pam always made sure we were fed well and even had afternoon snacks before Frank brought our port at 5 PM. We quickly figured out there was no hurry to complete the project since food and drink were free. We managed to keep the project going for about two weeks and had lots of fun. Now many of you reading this are wondering what was the third thing I had to eat to become an honorary Australian. Remember I have eaten Kangaroo and Rabbit stew. It was a Vegemite sandwich. Vegemite is made from used brewers' yeast extract, a by-product of beer manufacturing, and various vegetable and spice additives. It is salty, slightly bitter, and umami or malty — similar to beef bouillon. The texture is smooth and sticky. It is not as intensely flavoured as British Marmite and it is less sweet than the New Zealand version of Marmite. I never did eat it so will remain proudly Canadian for the time being.

After a month we were sad to leave but excited about seeing Jennifer and Dave in Christchurch We all got in the Mercedes and had a tearful goodbye at Adelaide Airport where Air New Zealand had a 5 hour flight to Auckland and then 90 minutes to Christchurch. There are many more stories and friendships that could be told and thanks to everyone that made our trip so wonderful. We will of course be returning to Australia in the future and yes I am sure a Vegemite sandwich will be had. Thank you to Brendan and LA for being great hosts . Our next blog will tell of a great adventure in New Zealand but will have to wait for another rainy day !!


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Pictures Labels from top to bottom

1. Arrival dinner with the Reed's and Brendan's Lamb Roast
2. The Reed Clan at Victor Harbor. Frank ( the short guy), Damian, Simon & Frank
3. Breakfast at park in Goolwa
4. ST talking with Grandpa Frank
5. ST enjoying the wine tasting
6. Memorable afternoon having lunch and wine tasting at Banrock Station
7. Building the great fence
8. Another Wine tasting
9. Samuel Thomas in a new outfit Jennifer sent

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AUSTRALIAN PICTURES

Click this link for our photo series of our Australian Trip June- 2010

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