South Island Trip Part I: Christchurch
I am so road weary, and by reading you will soon find out why. Pictures will come much later. I’ll do my best to write about my trip here though it was very long with many many stories. Maybe I should just go write a book…
I flew into Christchurch on Oct 22 and was picked up by Sue, a Kiwi my grandmother met over ebay. She drove me around in her diesel powered 4WD, took me into the city and showed me a museum, art center, gardens. She told me some about her own life, her crazy family. She has a disease that has caused her to need a tracheotomy, so she has to breath and talk through a tube. And yes, despite that, she still has a Kiwi accent. She lives with her partner Ron who suffered a rough divorce before he met her. And Sam, their deaf dog is still holding on, living with. They’ve lived together many years, but Ron doesn’t want to re-marry. They seem to work well together. They are a normal couple with small tiffs, but I can tell they care a lot about each other. As they were arguing over something small, which was the better way to get to Hokitika or something similar, I had to note that some things just never change no matter where you are.
If you were to take the personalities of all four of my grandparents and mix and match them just right, Ron and Sue would be the result. It felt good staying with them in their home, eating good home-cooked meals for two days. It was like I was visiting yet another set of grandparents. I seem to collect them around the world. I can count at last 3 pairs of extra grandparents. Ron had been to the US and had a great interest in talking with me about the differences between New Zealand and the US. And Sue was very hospitable, showing me around every where, even taking me for a drive to the ATM at 10pm in hopes that I could withdraw cash before I had to catch the bus at 7am on the 24th.
Oct 23, Ron drove us around the Peninsula. We stopped at an art gallery on the way so Sue could have a look around. Ron came up to me and asked me in a way that reminded me of my grandfather, “do you want an ice cream?” When I refused, he talked me into it. I felt very much at home. We went on to Sandy Beach where a Maori Pa (fortification) used to be. There was a museum there with Maori artefacts, and old settler homes and goods. I was all museumed out after that.
Our last stop was Akaroa (I think it’s called). It’s an old French settlement, now a town. We had some lunch before we wound back through the mountains and down onto the plain for venison dinner. They gave me their advice for the rest of my trip and I determined I was going to Hokitika via Arthur’s Pass next.
The next morning, I said goodbye to Sam and Ron. Ron fussed over me a bit, making sure I had all my things. It was funny to discover that some of the veges I had left in their fridge had been eaten. At least they hadn’t gone to waste. But poor Ron actually did seem to be sad that I was leaving, and I have to say I was sad as well. It was like I was leaving home again, and who knows if I’ll ever make it back there. Sue drove me to the busstop, and I was on my way again.
Tags: 1. Australasia, 1A. New Zealand, 1A2. South Island
Drea
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