I got the blues yesterday after we dropped Vera off at the Christchurch airport for her flight home. We had a wonderful two weeks together that included muddy hikes, trying to learn NZ plants and see native birds, including a few views of Yellow-eyed Penguins. And then suddenly it was over. The weather turned gray, I got homesick as we skyped Lindsey for her 20th birthday, and Darrell and I had no idea where we were going next. We have basically completed our peregrinations around New Zealand. We’ve seen a lot (though certainly not all) of both islands in the past 3 months.
Now we are camped by Pegasus Bay to the east of Christchurch. We will stay here for a few days as it offers easy access to a nice flat running beach, an estuary for bird watching, a great public library with a view, and bus service to Christchurch. Darrell can get some work done, and I will update my blog after its 6-week hiatus. Maybe I could pretend it went on summer vacation like the puzzler on Cartalk…
But really, I was the one on summer vacation. One of my college buddies, Scott Tice, arrived in Christchurch on Groundhog Day and we had three weeks of camping and hiking together. Then Vera Markgraf, a Boulder and Flagstaff friend, came for two weeks while we were in the far south of the country. So now, as autumn begins in the southern hemisphere, and the days are shorter and cooler, I will go back in time and detail these adventures.
Thank you Scott and Vera for sharing your time and yourselves with us! Make sure you both correct any mistakes I make and things I forget as I relate our great experiences together in the upcoming blogs!
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| Scott relaxing at Milford Sound after tramping the Routeburn Track (mostly in the rain!) |
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| Vera and I on the ferry home from Ulva Island, after tramping the Rakiura Track on Stewart Island |
