We are finishing our long journey home. We said goodbye to James over breakfast and goodbye to Anne after a lovely lunch. (In between, we said “hello” to the little Bruce baby, hearing his/her heartbeat at Anne’s midwife appointment.) Since then we’ve been on our way home, technically arriving in Chicago 5 hours after we left New Zealand but in reality, 18 in-flight hours and about 9 hours in airports. Our final airport is LAX, not my favorite.

But in between the prelude and this postlude, we had a great time. Marilyn got a good taste of New Zealand and I was able to check a few more places or experiences off my list of activities or places that have interested me.

I wanted to kayak to the Maori Rock carvings on Lake Taupo but the cold weather deterred me. Instead we took a fun sailing adventure to the rocks. Nice. Afterwards, we enjoyed a hot springs pool.

Another rainy day meant that we took time to visit the Kiwi Encounter and saw the elusive kiwi bird in a hatchery/nursery. Kiwi’s are nocturnal, flightless birds that have a very low survival rate on their own. This preservation process increases the rate of survival up to almost 65%.

 

On the South Island, we visited Doubtful Sound rather than the more popular Milford Sound, and also got to stay at the family “crib” overlooking Lake Manipouri. The area reminded me of Southeast Alaska on my first trip so it was fun to explore more of the area. We ferried across the lake and then rode in buses over the Wilmot Pass before boarding another boat for a trip on the fiords. It was beautiful.

 

 

We also drove from Gore to Christchurch rather than flying back from Queenstown. This gave me a chance to see Mt Cook (in the distance), Lake Tekapo, and a lot of changing scenery on the way. Anne did all the driving so we were able to sit back and relax and enjoy the view.

We had a lot of really great meals—good breakfasts and wonderful lunches. Our favorite meals were at the cafes which dot the entire country. They only stay open until about 4 p.m. and have the best salads and sandwiches ever. A lot of them have wonderful breakfasts as well. We found a few new favorite places (Dough Bros in Hamilton, the Punnet Cafe in Newell and Alpino Cucina e Vino in Cambridge.These were just the new ones: We also went back to Cafe Irrestiblue, otherwise known as the Blueberry cafe, and the Zambezi Bar & Grill in Mt. Maunganui. I also enjoyed lots of sparkling juices—fejoa & pear, apple, and blackcurrent & apple.

Our weather was a mixed bag. There were a few days when it was nicer in Chicago than in New Zealand, but overall spring was in the air and it was quite pleasant. During the first week I borrowed Anne’s onesie and slept with a hot water bottle at night. By the second week, we started to warm up and enjoyed many of our meals al fresco. We know we won’t be doing that in Chicago. We especially enjoyed the blooming trees and flowers and fresh fruit and vegetables. Our last meal ended with big ripe strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Marilyn and I both donned wetsuits and did some beginning surfing (neither of us managed to actually stand up on the boards but we had a few good rides anyways.) That night, Anne guided us on a hiking adventure in the dark to see glow worms in a nearby waterfall area.

And of course, driving was an experience it itself. Both of us struggled with spatial orientation for the left side of the car, which made it a challenging experience for the rider. I decided to avoid some of the winding roads that I’d visited previously to save ourselves the stress. We also were challenged by the rules of indicating and roundabouts. I actually love driving on roundabouts but after James taught me the rules for indicating your exit, it became more difficult. I turned the wipers on at least a thousand times when I meant to use the turn signal. The mirrors are also a challenge.

We also found eight quilt shops and a couple yarn shops. At $24-28 a meter we didn’t buy much, but it was still fun to look.

But the best part of all was being with Anne and James. We got to see both of them in their work environments, as well as sharing their country home. It was fun to see how Anne has adjusted—and loves being a farm girl. She lives in a small farmhouse surrounded by cow pastures. Her gravel driveway is 1 km long, marked only by two mailboxes at the road. The final bit is a two lane rut with a cattle gates. Annie girl is a long way from Chicago! It was also fun watching her blossom as a mama-to-be.

Prelude. Postlude. And a wonderful symphony of sights and sounds (and flavors) in between.