WC2011 Into the Southern Alps

Well, we are up to the midday of Inland Day 1. Heading out of Christchurch, we set our sights on the distant foothills of the Southern Alps.











We passed a hatchery...can you guess what kind?




We stopped for lunch at a country home where a delicious dinner of lamb, chicken and side dishes had been prepared, complete with Pavlova for dessert!









I remembered these as Cabbage Palms that I had seen with my new Maori friends on the voluntourism excursion.



Mama and Suzanne, both avid gardeners, really enjoyed looking around.



The garden reminded me of my friend Ivy in England...she loves to post photos of her little garden patch.



Happily fed, we headed off toward Burkes Pass. As an inland flatlander, I love ANY scenery that involves water or mountains!
(probably why I love Norway...I get both at once!!)





We were getting into "Lord of the Rings" country.

The higher you go toward the pass, the drier and browner the scenery becomes.







There is a series of lakes and dams throughout the McKenzie Basin which provides power for the south island. We stopped briefly on the shores of Lake Tekapo at the Church of the Good Shepherd.













Linda posed....



And then it was off to Mount Cook.

WC 2011 Christchurch Fireman's Reserve Memorial to 9/11

As I mentioned in the last post, Christchurch has a memorial to those who lost their lives in the attacks of 9/11/2001. If I remember correctly, it is one of the few memorials to be constructed from steel of the twin towers in New York.

I hope I captured some of the movement and beauty of this moving memorial.

WC 2011 Overland Trip 1

Here I am trying to find time in the crazy weeks that lead up to the end of the school year to continue my telling of the adventures in New Zealand. Thank you for being patient!

I took an UNBELIEVABLE amount of photos over the two days we went "inland"--getting off Crystal Serenity in Christchurch and returning in Dunedin. As usual, the cohorts in crime in our merry band were the cousins, CruiseGran and me..plus about 20 others. We had an amazing bus driver and tour guide, Dave, and were accompanied along for the jaunt by Crystal's shore excursion leader, my friend Linda.

Well, we docked at Lyttleton, the harbor for Christchurch.




Little did we know that five days later, Lyttleton would be the epicenter of a massive, and more importantly, SHALLOW earthquake that would destroy much of the area.

Most of the traffic to Christchurch uses the tunnel, but we took the scenic route,



stopping in the pass over the mountains at The Sign of the Takahe for some photos.







Driving into Christchurch, we saw evidence of the previous autumn's earthquake.





Our first stop was the Firefighter's Reserve Memorial to 9/11/2001.



So many photos, and so moving. I'll make a separate post of them.

Moving on, we proceeded to the City Center.....often referred to (as you undoubtedly know by now from earthquake coverage), as the CBD- Central Business District.



There was a charming display of topiary animals in front of the Cathedral.











A beautiful end-of-summer day.

Next stop, Arts Centre, Canterbury Museum and Hagley Park.



Dave pointed out to us the work still being done on the Arts Centre. The tower had toppled in the autumn earthquake, but had been saved and was being rebuilt.





The gardens were lovely.



Mama posed.



as did Cousin Andi.












Miss Suzy Mallard didn't mind posing.



and I thought of my dear friend, Cecilia, aka Seagull.





On the drive out of town, I saw a shop



And we were still in the MORNING!!! It was off toward the Southern Alps, with lunch along the way.

Happy Mother's Day

‎"Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing."
~ Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987


I'm off to Atlanta, to have brunch with AJ and Anna-Grace. They've made reservations at Sundial. Yum!

And then, possibly we will do a little shopping for what AJ requested for his birthday...a washer and dryer. Yes, that is TRULY what he wanted. Yes, he firmly put those teenage years behind him.

And THEN, it's off to IKEA for a dresser for Alix. Lordy, how I love an IKEA run. And this website has given me even MORE inspiration....


Pictures to follow....

But, again.....HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all my friends and familly....to all the mothers who have graced my life.

Especially Jane Hutchinson James. It is a privilege to be your daughter. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!