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Published: November 26th 2008
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The Holtons Visit New Zealand
Gregg and I met up with Jinks and Linwood in Christchurch. November 1 & 2 - The Holtons
The first weekend in November, Gregg and I had a chance to sneak away to Christchurch for the night, without the kids, to visit Jinks and Linwood Holton. It was a visit that we were very much looking forward to as the Holtons were the first friends from Virginia to book a visit to New Zealand. Sydney was busy with a local community theatre production, "Watch out for Children", and couldn't get away. The boys were content to stay home and hang out with friends and have Sydney and a few of her friends act as babysitters in our absence.
Gregg and I had a great time tagging along as part of the Elderhostel group for dinner and a lecture on Saturday, and a tour of Banks Peninsula and Akaroa on Sunday. It was great to catch up on what was happening at home and to have lengthy political discussions about the election only days away. Nearly everyone in the group were Obama supporters, including us, so it was more fun to just talk about our high hopes for this upcoming election! And thankfully we weren't disappointed on Nov 4th!
November 18-22 -
Jinks and Lisa
Banks Peninsula The Shugarts - Jill, Chase and Cole
Wow, talk about trying to see and do as much as possible in 5 days! Picked Jill and boys up at Christchurch Airport at 8:20 am and headed to Lyttelton Harbor for a coffee and a walk. Next stop was the Gondolas that take you up to view the harbor. The boys were getting wild so we headed for Adrenaline Forest for an afternoon of high adventure on the ropes course. There were 5 levels and the boys easily (although it took nearly 3 hours) made it through level 4. I asked to be rescued midway through level 2 when I saw what was ahead and that a teenage girl needed to be rescued from much higher up. Jill went on the finish level 3 - but she does Navy Seal training! We then made our way back to Timaru for green muscles and pasta - a kiwi speciality.
On Day 2 we opted to stay around town and get around on bikes as we were tired of being in the car. We took the mountain bike trail to the ocean and then to the hospital and back home through town. Jill and
Linwood and Lisa
In Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula I got McDonalds for the boys and dropped them off at Caroline Bay for a beach picnic and swim and we went to Shearers Quarters for lunch and met three of my friends - Sarah Houghton, Val Cahill and Kim Woods. Wed night we had Kim and her youngest two boys, Jonte and Blake, over for dinner and Wii!
Day 3 - we were off early and headed towards Dunedin. We stopped along the way in Moeraki to see the famous boulders on the beach and to let the boys run around a bit. It was Fish and Chips for lunch and off to Cadbury World in Dunedin for our 2:30pm tour. We had a new guide who was very generous with the chocolate handouts. I think the Shugart boys didn't like the Kiwi chocolate varieties that were offered, so it meant more for the Shivers boys... On to the Otago museum for a wee bit of culture before heading to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world (Many of you may remember this visit from an earlier blog). I offered $5 to whichever boy could reach the top of the street first. I think Graham and Cole rigged
it so that they tied. I'm a sucker and paid them both $5. Avery thought he could get the same deal if he ran down the street and made it to the bottom first...Ach, off to Tunnel Beach for a spectacular hike. This was an hour hike to the cliffs & ocean and then through a tunnel, down some steps to the beach! WOW! Again, after 7 months of living in New Zealand, I am still in constant awe of the beauty. At this point Jill and I were exhausted and happy to stay put at our Top Ten Holiday Park. As usual, there were plenty of activities to keep the boys busy while Jill and I made pasta and drank a bottle of wine in our hotel unit. Early to bed...another big today on Friday!
Day 4 - Headed out to the Otago Peninsula. Our goal was to make it on a 10:30 boat tour of the bay and to hopefully see the Royal Albatross flying. It sure was windy enough, nearly gale force winds. We had some extra time before the boat left so we went to the Royal Albatross Center located at the furthest tip of the
peninsula. In spite of the boys not wanting to go on the boat trip (Mine were afraid of sea sickness), it was amazing!! We saw heaps of Royal Albatross, dolphins, sealions, and other birds nesting along the rocky coast. It was windy, and the boat did rock, but since the Royal Albatross need wind to fly, it was a perfect day. (And no one got sea sick.) After a quick lunch at a coastal village, we spent the rest of the afternoon driving around on very windy, hilly roads. I felt quite a sense of accomplishment having done all the driving. We returned to Timaru in time to drop the boys at Century Pool and Water Slide and escape to an adult dinner - me, Jill and Gregg. We subjected our dear friends to our favorite kiwi horror flick - "Black Sheep".
Day 5 - boo hoo our last day together. We spent the day driving to Christchurch via the inland scenic route. Made a stop at Geraldine to visit the Medevil Mosiac and puzzles. Spent the rest of the day walking around the market, going to the Otago museum, shopping, visited the aquarium and had dinner before saying goodbye.
It was a great adventure and the Shugarts have more to come as on Sunday they headed to Cairns, Australia.
If you have managed to stay with me this long, and have read all of the above, note that I have posted 36 photos. This means you will have to go to page 2 to view all the photos.
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Crazy Uncle Stevie
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Adventure!
It looks like there's a lot to do there. I wish we could come visit. Maybe someday...