There was a another massive earthquake in Christchurch today. This one, though smaller on the richter scale than the one in September, has wreaked much more death and destruction. We; however, are not there. Though we were supposed to be.
Originally, Dad and Rosalind (my father and stepmother) were coming to visit. They had planned an Australian/New Zealand trip to see us and see the region from even before we left the states. Though Steve had decided to make a change in job and move to the far north, we were going to go in shifts to accomodate their visit and plans. Steve was going to start February 1st in Kaitaia. The kids and I were going to stay in Christchurch until at least February 28th, possibly even March 7th until after they had gone.
If all had gone according to plan, Steve would be on the tip of the north island. I would have been in Sumner. The two younger kids would have been in school. Sam would have been halfway in toward the central city at high school. I shudder to think of it. But sadly, Rosalind's mother began to do poorly and Rosalind needed to stay in Florida to help her transition to different housing. Dad moved his trip forward and changed all his plans to be with us in Kaitaia so we could move together on Feb 4th.
So we are safe because of circumstance. But our heads and hearts are aching for friends who we haven't been able to contact. Amazing how strings of unrelated events occur to bring us to any single point in time and space.
G-d be with all of those struggling in Christchurch tonight.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Grooving in the Boonies
Dad arriving at the thriving metropolis of Kaitaia international airport.
Did he or didn't he hit the waves?
The view at Mongonui.
Dad took the kids out for Valentines Day dinner and Steve and I went to the beach.
On the ferry in the Hokianga Harbour on the way to lunch in Rawene.
The view from the hills in Ahipara looking down onto 90 Mile Beach.
The Bay of Islands just past Russell.
On the boat in the Bay of Islands.
The Hole in the Rock at the top of Cape Brett in the Bay of Islands.
Another shot of the Bay of Islands.
With the performers at the cultural performance at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
E catching dinner for the family. He landed the two Kowai all by himself. They were delish.
Did he or didn't he hit the waves?
The view at Mongonui.
Dad took the kids out for Valentines Day dinner and Steve and I went to the beach.
On the ferry in the Hokianga Harbour on the way to lunch in Rawene.
The view from the hills in Ahipara looking down onto 90 Mile Beach.
The Bay of Islands just past Russell.
On the boat in the Bay of Islands.
The Hole in the Rock at the top of Cape Brett in the Bay of Islands.
Another shot of the Bay of Islands.
With the performers at the cultural performance at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
E catching dinner for the family. He landed the two Kowai all by himself. They were delish.
I am surprising myself here in the boonies of Kaitaia. Not because I freaked out when we arrived here, seeing only a hick town with one main street filled with run-down store fronts and long empty spaces to anywhere else. No. That was to be expected. If I have learned anything about myself on this journey, it is that I am terrible at transitioning. No. I am surprising myself, because I like it here. The store fronts may be run down a bit, but when you walk inside, they are lovely. And there is everything you might need in the town: a couple of good book stores, a couple of good restaurants, a café or two, a few nice clothing stores, a health food store, the ubiquitous Warehouse (the NZ equivalent of Walmart) and most importantly a great library. The space to elsewhere is growing on me too. It is beginning to look less scrubby to my eye. I can now see the beauty in the rolling green pastures. And of course the “elsewhere” has turned out to be stunning, long white sandy beaches empty but for the Tasman or Pacific lapping at their shores.
My father has been here for the last six days and that of course has helped me make the move from flash Sumner to laid-back Kaitaia. We’ve been travelling all over the far north region. As a family, we took a tour of Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach stopping to tobbogan down the giant sand dunes in Te Paki. One day Dad and I drove down to Hokianga Harbour through the Herikino Forest and took the ferry across to Rawene for lunch. Another day, we drove to Mongonui via Cable Bay and Cooper’s Beach and explored the old town there. Dad had his first and very greasy experience of NZ fish and chips at the “famous” local fish and chips shop.
The second weekend of his visit the whole family took a road trip in a rental van (they only had a ten seater available at the one rental place in town, so plenty of room - what a hoot to drive) down to Paihia. There we took a half day cruise in the Bay of Islands to see the bottle nose dolphins and the Hole in the Rock at the top of Cape Brett. We stopped at Urupukapuka Island to swim and hike and then headed back. In the afternoon we went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds to see where the treaty that created the modern state between the Maori and the Pakeha (Europeans) was signed. Then on to Haruru Falls.
It was quite a week of travelling and visiting and getting to know the place. Now Dad’s gone home, Ethan’s caught fish for the family dinne,r and tomorrow I’m starting a Maori language class. I think I’m going to like it here.
My father has been here for the last six days and that of course has helped me make the move from flash Sumner to laid-back Kaitaia. We’ve been travelling all over the far north region. As a family, we took a tour of Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach stopping to tobbogan down the giant sand dunes in Te Paki. One day Dad and I drove down to Hokianga Harbour through the Herikino Forest and took the ferry across to Rawene for lunch. Another day, we drove to Mongonui via Cable Bay and Cooper’s Beach and explored the old town there. Dad had his first and very greasy experience of NZ fish and chips at the “famous” local fish and chips shop.
The second weekend of his visit the whole family took a road trip in a rental van (they only had a ten seater available at the one rental place in town, so plenty of room - what a hoot to drive) down to Paihia. There we took a half day cruise in the Bay of Islands to see the bottle nose dolphins and the Hole in the Rock at the top of Cape Brett. We stopped at Urupukapuka Island to swim and hike and then headed back. In the afternoon we went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds to see where the treaty that created the modern state between the Maori and the Pakeha (Europeans) was signed. Then on to Haruru Falls.
It was quite a week of travelling and visiting and getting to know the place. Now Dad’s gone home, Ethan’s caught fish for the family dinne,r and tomorrow I’m starting a Maori language class. I think I’m going to like it here.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Road Leads On
Adventure, adventure, adventure. The road leads on and we are in the far north of Northland.
We've moved to Kaitaia and I feel as if we've moved to an entirely different New Zealand. This is a rural NZ. Hot and wet, full of flat, green valleys between low rounded distant hills and one populated by its original settlers: the Maori. Everything here is in both English and Maori and 8 out of 10 faces that pass you by on the street clearly show native heritage.
The town is full of contrasts. The people are open and friendly, but the town is poor and blighted. It has nearly everything you could want in terms of stores and amenities and yet with heavy and light industry mixed with residential there seems to be nothing but rundown emptiness. Before we came, a friend described Kaitaia as "rough" and I think it is an apt description because it captures the gritty feel and smell of the town with its gravely roads, unkempt sidewalks and the smell of industry mixing with the deep fried oil of the takeaways on Main Street.
To arrive, we drove north from Christchurch to Picton and crossed the ferry into Wellington. We were in a bit of a hurry to arrive, because Steve needed to start working so we couldn't linger and sightsee. We will make a north island tour later during our visit. As we drove out of Wellington northward, I was immediately struck by the absence of the grand Southern Alps. In the south island, whether it is the Alps or some other mountain range, there is always in sight an immense body of rock which rips at the sky. Here in the north, there are mountains, but they seem to simply rise from the ground and roll in green waves toward the clouds. They look older and softer than the naked rock of the south.
We made for National Park and I must say we probably missed the best of the scenery because we traveled till 12:00 am and so it was dark when we arrived. Sadly, the next day was cloudy and we couldn't see Mt. Rapehaeu (spelling?) known as Mt. Doom to you Lord of the Rings fans, but hopefully we'll see it on the big tour.
We drove to Auckland the next day and did stop (at my incredibly geeky insistence) at Matamata: the home of Hobbition. We had great luck, because for the last couple of years Hobbiton was mainly just a couple of hobbit holes left over by the filming crew that they didn't get to destroy because of rain. Now though, because they are gearing up to film THE HOBBIT, they have completely rebuilt Hobbiton and the Shire and more. I took heaps of pictures, but due to confidentiality agreements that we signed, I am not allowed to post them. Suffice it to say The Shire is as cool as it looks in the movie.
Auckland was a big city. We had a great, totally authentic chinese meal out, slept at a youth hostel and then got out of Dodge without anyone breaking into our moving trailer.
The next day we made for Whangerei and then Kaitaia. It was a long three days, but the kids are such pro's at long car trips now, and we all enjoy being on the road and traveling on.
My father is in country and coming up here to visit day after tomorrow. We'll see what he thinks about rural northland. Till then.
We've moved to Kaitaia and I feel as if we've moved to an entirely different New Zealand. This is a rural NZ. Hot and wet, full of flat, green valleys between low rounded distant hills and one populated by its original settlers: the Maori. Everything here is in both English and Maori and 8 out of 10 faces that pass you by on the street clearly show native heritage.
The town is full of contrasts. The people are open and friendly, but the town is poor and blighted. It has nearly everything you could want in terms of stores and amenities and yet with heavy and light industry mixed with residential there seems to be nothing but rundown emptiness. Before we came, a friend described Kaitaia as "rough" and I think it is an apt description because it captures the gritty feel and smell of the town with its gravely roads, unkempt sidewalks and the smell of industry mixing with the deep fried oil of the takeaways on Main Street.
To arrive, we drove north from Christchurch to Picton and crossed the ferry into Wellington. We were in a bit of a hurry to arrive, because Steve needed to start working so we couldn't linger and sightsee. We will make a north island tour later during our visit. As we drove out of Wellington northward, I was immediately struck by the absence of the grand Southern Alps. In the south island, whether it is the Alps or some other mountain range, there is always in sight an immense body of rock which rips at the sky. Here in the north, there are mountains, but they seem to simply rise from the ground and roll in green waves toward the clouds. They look older and softer than the naked rock of the south.
We made for National Park and I must say we probably missed the best of the scenery because we traveled till 12:00 am and so it was dark when we arrived. Sadly, the next day was cloudy and we couldn't see Mt. Rapehaeu (spelling?) known as Mt. Doom to you Lord of the Rings fans, but hopefully we'll see it on the big tour.
We drove to Auckland the next day and did stop (at my incredibly geeky insistence) at Matamata: the home of Hobbition. We had great luck, because for the last couple of years Hobbiton was mainly just a couple of hobbit holes left over by the filming crew that they didn't get to destroy because of rain. Now though, because they are gearing up to film THE HOBBIT, they have completely rebuilt Hobbiton and the Shire and more. I took heaps of pictures, but due to confidentiality agreements that we signed, I am not allowed to post them. Suffice it to say The Shire is as cool as it looks in the movie.
Auckland was a big city. We had a great, totally authentic chinese meal out, slept at a youth hostel and then got out of Dodge without anyone breaking into our moving trailer.
The next day we made for Whangerei and then Kaitaia. It was a long three days, but the kids are such pro's at long car trips now, and we all enjoy being on the road and traveling on.
My father is in country and coming up here to visit day after tomorrow. We'll see what he thinks about rural northland. Till then.
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