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Published: January 17th 2009
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Part I of the Faulkner/Blunt visit to New Zealand!
Christmas Day 2008 - 6pm we pick up Michele, Lindsey, Lisa, Mikey Faulkner and Stephen Blunt from airport in Christchurch. Their flight arrived early and they were outside waiting for us! Stephen and Sydney had a happy reunion, as did the rest of us. We took a little drive through Christchurch and a walk along the Avon before heading to the hotel - The LivingSpace. It was a great place with several common rooms for watching movies, cooking, reading, or in our case just catching up. We cooked a ham dinner with several side salads and new pototoes and pavlova for dessert. It was a really relaxing and casual Christmas dinner.
Boxing Day, Dec 27 and 28 - Everyone got a good night's sleep and we headed back in the center of Christchurch to have a quick look around and visit the I-site before heading to Adrenalin Forest. This is becoming a ritual for our guests. This time everyone did the ropes course but me. I stayed on the ground and took pictures. The boys were anxious to get past level 4 this time around. Avery did level 5 which
was really high off the ground. Mikey, and only Mikey, skipped level 5 and went right to level 6 - yikes! After the high adrenalin adventure, we headed to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. We had rented nearly the entire Bon Accord backpackers which was situated in a very convenient location on the main street. It was a very hospitable place and run by a very friendly German girl. We loved our two nights there. The weather could not have been more fabulous. It was hot and sunny and just what the Shivers family had been hoping for since we arrived in New Zealand 7 months ago. While in Akaroa we hiked, swam in the Pacific at La Bons Bay, went sailing (Gregg and all the kids) and saw Hector dolphins. And that was just the first day... on day 2 - Gregg, Michele, Lisa and I went for an early morning kayaking tour. It was gorgeous with dolphins swimming right up to our hands. We even kayaked into a few caves. Later that day we hired a motor boat and took everyone tubbing, skiing, and wake boarding. The water was cold so if you didn't get up on the
first few tries, you weren't likely to keep trying. At the end of the afternoon Gregg took the kids out to swim with the dolphins before returning the boat. What an amazing experience for everyone!! Sunday night we had the long drive home to Timaru. We maximized the day and the good weather so it was late (10pm) by the time we arrived home.
Monday - ugh - moving day. We knew it would happen but because of the holidays, etc... I was not as prepared as I could have been. It seemed like an endless day of hauling stuff down the road and around the corner to the new house. In the end we were just pulling anything and everything out of closets and drawers and off the floor and throwing it all into boxes. The new place was piled high and it would be weeks before it would all be unpacked. At the end of the day, and as a thank you to the Faulkners and Stephen who were a tremendous help, we had a big BBQ at the old house. Luckily, the Faulkners were able to spend the first 2 nights in Timaru in the new
Boxing Day
Adrenlin Forest - Sydney and Stephen do the splits! house alone while we were still in the old house.
Tuesday - One more trip for Lisa since she has to leave on New Year's Eve day to get back to VA for a diving trip. Off early to Oamaru to see penguins. First stop was Waimate to the Wallaby Farm. Wallabys are only found in this region of New Zealand. If you are tramping in the evening, they can be seen in the wild, we didn't have that luxury and decided to visit the farm of rescued or abandoned Wallabys. They were so cute and it was great fun to get up so close to feed and hold them. After a few hours, it was back in the van and heading towards Oamaru. We stopped at the penguin colony for a quick look and to learn that we needed to be back at 9pm to view the penguins coming home for the night. We took a hike along the coast. The kids were skipping rocks and Stephen accidently hit a Shag. It kept spinning uncontrollably in circles until he went out and rescued it. (see photos) Then it was on to Moeraki for a play at the boulders
Adrenalin Forest
Graham and Avery climb through the barrels and dinner at Fluer's place. It was a great time at both places. We arrived back at the penguin colony and stayed long enough to see 96 Little Blue Penguins come out of the ocean and head to their homes in the rocks for the night. Got back to Timaru at nearly midnight.
New Year's Eve - Lisa was off to airport in the morning and we spent the rest of the day getting settled in the new house. That night we all went to the Woods for a BBQ before heading down to Caroline Bay for fireworks. Happy 2009!
New Year's Day - We planned an adventurous hike to Mt. Nimrod. None of us really knew much about it other than it would take 3 hours and there was a waterfall. The boys were complaining, but once they got started, really enjoyed it. It was a very steep hike with lots of loose gravel and not so clearly marked trails. The views were fabulous (as you can see in the photos) and the waterfall made every step worth it. Since we were missing our traditional New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge at home, we all took a
Adrenalin Forest
Sydney and Gregg dip under the waterfall. I am sure the water was colder than the Chesapeake Bay but fortunately the air was warmer and we were warm from hiking. It was a great start to 2009. We ended the day with Thai food at our local Sukothai restaurant in Timaru.
Many more Faulkner/Blunt/Shivers adventures in the next installment.... stay tuned...
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Uncle Stevie
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Wow!
Looks like a an adventure every weekend!!