Final days, New Zealand ;-((

After I sent the motorcycle to Australia in a ship (so sad!) from Christchurh New Zealand, I had plenty of time to waste over the next 3-4 weeks.  You can always count on the Gold's to pipe up and they invited me back down to their place!  The day I rode my motorcycle north from them a month ago was full of rain and I didn't get to see the spectacular views they insist I see now.

So I got a bus ticket, only $35 to Omarama from Christchurch.. cheap!  It was a 5:30 AM depart time, and with advise from Carole to sit on the right hand side, I enjoyed the most amazing views all the way there.  We arrived at Omarama about 15 minutes early, but not to worry!  The Gold's are there and already waiting!  Carole has picked up some groceries for her upcoming 8 course meal tonight!  But it's hard to walk past and give a hug when a huge FOOTLESS dear stealing the show!

They have really good friends coming over for dinner and for them it's a normal meal.  For us it would be Thanksgiving!  Carole made 2 meats, lamb and chicken.  And 11 vegetables.  Eleven!  And each of her friends brought beautiful deserts.. along with the wine.  I'm so full I could bust! I'm so happy to be back!

That was Saturday and on Sunday we pack up the car and head south back to good old Mosgiel.  Ross plans on driving me back the other scenic route that I missed last month.  Remember the Brass Monkey Rally I attended and the roads that were closed due to strong wind and snow?  Today's the day to see what I missed.

On the way out, we stop to visit family friends and their new baby.  What a gorgeous family and beautiful place to live!

This is the South Island New Zealand and very much winter.

Lindis Pass, New Zealand

Once through the pass, we come back down to a non-snowy elevation.

How pretty is this!?? I'm really glad to be here and see this.  Most riders experience New Zealand in the summer.  Pretty, yes, but this is more spectacular!

On Monday the Gold's go back to work and what am I to do???  I did a sneaky one.  I told them I'd have dinner waiting for them when they get home.  No problem.  Carole is humming along and says that she wants me to come back for Christmas.  She is thumbing through her wall calendar and marking down the days I will be leaving NZ and home to Australia.  And she says, I need to mark your birthday on my calendar too.  "When is your birthday Sherri Jo?"  I couldn't tell a lie, I said, "Today!"  What!???  I'm sorry for the blurry photo because the light was low, but I love her excitement!  It's nearly an exact match to the way my Mom used to smile and react.  Those two would have been best buddies, I can assure you!

Firefighter Dave came to dinner too, which was really nice.  He even brought me a cute birthday present!  How perfect is this?? Legos, one of my favorite childhood toys (along with Matchbox cars AND Barbie)  I probably shouldn't admit that, it's a strange indication to my adulthood. Anyway, this Lego set is a firefighter AND a motorcycle. Perfect!

Dave has just bought a motorcycle, so it was good for him to meet Carole and Ross as they are having a big Ulysses Moto party on the weekend.  I won't be there, but it will be fun for them!  But he did invite me out for a great morning hike near Dunedin at Tunnel Beach.

Last night Carole was explaining how she likes to liven up a party if it gets boring with planking.  I've never EVER heard of such a thing.  So Dave was happy to demonstrate for me here on the beach.  We all will just have to imagine Carole doing this on furniture at a party??!!  haha  It's really quite strange, but funny! Is this just a Kiwi thing?

We took turns taking photos of each other up on the cliff.  Cool!

So beautiful here, I think we might need to sit and ponder the world around us. I didn't get to sit down before the self timer sent off.. ha!

Afterwards we went back to the Port Chalmers Volunteer Fire Station for a proper firefighting experience?! Well nearly. 

I got to wear the gear and ride in the big truck!  Everyone should do this!

So if I want to make myself known, which siren sound should I pick??  I don't see myself as a wailing type of girl, definitely a yelper for sure.

Thanks again for showing me around Dave.  Gee whiz, since the time I met Dave when the firefighters invited me to lunch at the Dunedin Firehouse, he has been the most excellent local tour guide!

Back home to Mosgiel where I plan to pack up and head to Auckland for a few days before making my way to Australia.  Lovely Carole couldn't help herself and she gave me a heap of birthday presents to open.  Since I didn't give her advance warning, she came home with all of these wrapped the next day!  She knows I'm looking forward to being back in my own kitchen soon, so I got lots of fun kitchen gadgets AS WELL AS, the local favorite Kiwi cookbook, Edmonds.  These are perfect and awesome too.. Between them and Dave, hey all made this a great birthday to remember. Thank you!!

The next day I flew up to my other home away from home, the Hubbard residence in Auckland!  But unfortunately they are not here. They are riding a motorcycle completely around Australia at the moment! But I'm grateful as always to have wonderful place to stay as I finalize my last bits of New Zealand. Here in the hot seat salivating over one of Diana's local New Zealand cookbooks...

What a difference in weather from the South Island to Auckland!  It was so hot I couldn't even wear socks and shoes whereas yesterday I was wearing 3 layers of socks on the South Island!  I love the Birds of Paradise they have on the veranda, and it was more spectacular with the sun shining through.

I took a little wander around the waterfront downtown.  I hadn't done this before and was really impressed by this modern city.  Amazingly, it's very overcrowded.  New Zealand is accepting huge amounts of immigrants and from their news reports, the people land in Auckland to set up a new life and tend not to venture any further.  Housing is nearly impossible to find and the prices for rent or ownership are beyond normal and through the roof.  I hope they get a grip on it soon.  It is a very good looking city though, with lots of good energy.  I like it!

I was lucky to meet another fantastic motorcycle rider. Shock1 He invited me for a day out to ride his KTM 990 while in Auckland!!!!  Would love to!!! But I had sent every bit of my riding gear in the crate along with my bike from Christchurch.  I have nothing!  Supersize bummer!! But he was kind enough to offer a tour on 4 wheels.  I can do that!  He came and picked me up for a drive to his part of the world near Hanua Falls.

These are cool.. what's next?  "Do you want to hike up and stand on top of the falls?"  Sure!  Nice little heart pounding hike, I needed that!  Water drops on the camera lens.. sorry!

I've been to a zillion waterfalls on this world tour, but I can say that I've never stood right on the top edge of one. Awesome!

Next a drive to the other side of the North Island.  It doesn't take long in New Zealand!  And we go to check out another beautiful view, the lighthouse at Manukau Heads.  It's easy to imagine what it would be like to be the lighthouse master guiding ships into the harbour.

I can't get over the colors here.  Just gorgeous!

Not a bad spot!  Thanks Jock!

This was so much prettier in person than through the camera.

Well, that was a wonderful and successful wrap up to New Zealand.  I was lucky enough to spend 3 1/2 months in this country, and it quickly felt like home to me. I'm still blown away by the wonderful new friends I have here.  Everyone treated me like family and I couldn't be happier.  I will greatly miss New Zealand.  But! The good news is that it's only a hop over to these islands by airplane from where I live in Australia, so watch out!! ;-)

One final bit of excitement.  I am about to board the famous A380 jet liner.  I couldn't get over it.  I bought the cheapest ticket available from Auckland to Melbourne and this is what they put me on!?  I feel like I won the lottery!

I've wanted to fly in one of these for years and it met my expectations.  It felt like flying in first class even though I was very much in economy.  Well done to the designers of this awesome flying machine.  My last country of Sherri Jo's Because I Can World Tour is now complete. See you in Australia! 

Devastated Christchurch and Waikuku Beach New Zealand

A very long full rain day riding from Omarama in Central Otago, north of Christchurch to Waikuku Beach, where I'll be housesitting for another month!  Hey! I spent a fortune shipping my bike from South America to New Zealand.  So I'm going to take my time! I met a wonderful couple who are going to Europe to visit family and tour Italy and while they are away...  I will be looking after 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 turtle, 6 chickens, 12 white doves, 8 (?) parakeets outside, 1 Gallah and 1 Cockatiel inside.

I particularly loved the doves.  Besides the fact they are so pretty, they are free all day to fly around and they come home at night by choice.  Nice!

And this goofball, the Gallah.  He is quite a character and had me dancing and laughing all the time!

HI Gaffa!

The two dogs are as cute as they come and full of energy.  Lucky for them one of my favorite things to do is to go for a walk!

Such a lovely place to spend a month of my life... I like it here and love having the animals around.  Me ol' mates, now adoptive parents (haha) from the South are coming up to stay with the permission of the homeowners! Yay! They want to show me around Christchurch and even Carole hasn't seen the damage since the big earthquakes 2 years ago.

More than two years ago in February 2011, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake hit the city, killing 185 people and injuring many more.  I can only imagine what it was like to see the damage 2 years ago, but there is complete chaos even now in 2013.

Our first stop is the Brighton Pier.  Interestingly, it stands just fine!  I would have thought if anything would go down that thing would!  There is a video on youtube that shows it waving, but like the weebles, it won't fall down! They temporarily closed it for a safety check, but quickly reopened.  A real credit to the builders of this pier!

Brighton Pier, Christchurch

I feel heavy and sad here.  I'm not comfortable walking around this city at all.  I'm not putting the earthquake photos in here to make light of this place.  I remember thinking as I'm walking around that I've been in some really rough countries on this journey.  I've been in some really bad cities.  But this one is the worst I've personally seen and it's not a fresh disaster.  This is 2 years later!

For any building that might be open, the pipes are on the street for sewer and water.  I'll let you pick, blue line or yellow line.  Gotta throw in a bit of humor, even the Kiwi's will tell ya! The earthquake ripped up all infrastructure. The city nearly has to start rebuilding from scratch, starting with all new pipes.  Which hasn't been done yet and needs to before the future new buildings can start connecting.

There were several churches we saw today that have steeples on the ground conserved for a future rebuild.

A LOT of buildings have been completely removed.. That in itself is unnerving to walk around these empty spaces where people made their livelihoods!  The shipping containers are being used to save a historic building facade.  I imagine if you are in the temporary fencing or shipping container business, you are one of the few doing really well in Christchurch!

I just saw this green building in the news. Somebody has bought it!  Must be sentimental value here..

185 White Chairs "Reflection of Loss of Lives, Livelihoods and Living in Neighbourhood is an installation by Peter Majendie, standing on a vacant lot in the heart of Christchurch. Where a church once proudly stood, the 185 white chairs each represent one of the 185 lives lost in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

Each chair, just like its owner, has its own distinct personality, with the installation including armchairs, dining room chairs, a wheel chair, and even a baby capsule. The 185 square metres of grass that the chairs sit on represents new growth and regeneration – something which you can see and feel across the whole city. The artist’s statement poetically reminds us all that the ‘installation is temporary – as is life’. " Written by Elise Boyd in the link above.

On a positive note and a complete change to the sadness, here is what the city is doing that I really liked.. Shipping container shopping!

 Shipping container bank!

 All shipping containers.. impressive!

I think they've really organized this well and happy to see some hope here. Even the banks are using the shipping containers.. smart!!

None of us are really sure where this little girl's parents are at the shipping container shopping mall.  She is basking for money.  A lot of people are being really creative to earn some money.  There is no question that is going to take YEARS to get Christchurch back on it's feet.

Back on the road, we venture out to see more.  These shipping containers are doing the job of holding a hill up!

You can see why in the photo below!

The stadium.  A centerpiece for most cities. Looking very modern and new but very closed..  So sad..

I've heard that getting windows, darn near everything is on a huge back order.  Remember that New Zealand is an island, and not very large.  Larger countries would have more resources quicker I would guess.

Carole keeps wanting me to sit in the front of the car.  I keep saying no, that I'm happy to ride in the back of the car.  It's kind of like being driven around with parents and I like it!  But she demands I will see more from the front seat.  The stand off begins.  "No!"  "Yes!"  At the corner stop, Carole gets out of the car and refuses to get up until I go to the front seat.  I locked the door and refused.  (Poor Ross.. he's got 2 of us!! ;-)  The cars are piling up behind us.  She is clearly the tougher lady.  I give in out of guilt for the waiting cars and go to the front.  Score Carole!!

We contemplated the Whitebait sandwiches.  Carole makes the best Whitebait, so we will leave her with the top status and pass these guys up.. haha..

Even the beach rocks are fenced off.. everything is fenced off!

The neighborhoods are surreal.  So empty.  The red zone is where nobody can live.  All the pipes and  general infrastructure is broken, while the rebuilding in this area has not begun as of yet.  Carole and I got out of the car just being nosey.  It's like a ghost town and I can only imagine.  What if you didn't have earthquake insurance.. where did they go?

The city provided these temporary toilets for all residents in most areas.  I can only imagine what it was like to share these with your neighbors every day.  Most residents have moved away. And even during my stay here 2 years later, they had a report on the news that the post is no longer delivering mail to the red zones. I'm surprised it took that long to give it up!  I can't imagine anybody is still living there, but there must have been a few that had no choice.

My visit from Ross and Carole was over far too quick.  They are heading back down South, but it was great to have them here! A really eye opening tour of Christchurch and I can only hope that everyone has found a way to either move or recover from the devastation quickly.

I'm going to be shipping my motorcycle from Christchurch to Melbourne Australia by sea.  Australia has really strict import cleanliness rules, so I start the process of cleaning the bike with a toothbrush.. again!  I just did this from Buenos Aires to New Zealand! I still feel really grateful for all the border crossings I did that didn't require Tony to be perfect and spotless!  I do appreciate their reasons for this, it's just nice I didn't have to do it 49 times to 49 countries... only 2! ;-))

There is only a small window of warm sun during the winter days down here.  And I'm not in a hurry, so I do a little bit each day.

After my nice walks with the dogs! How pretty is it here....

Firefighter Dave was up the next weekend visiting his friends in Rangiora and asked if I'd like to go check out the Antarctic Center.  Sure!  Dave has worked 3 times in Antarctica and has a real passion for it.  He's worked for 2 countries even.. New Zealand AND the United States.

Replica of Scott Base in Antarctica

It's fun having Dave show me around because he's had personal experience with all these things.  What a unique life!

They really want you to get a feel for Antarctica..and do so by offering an ice slide. ha!  Froze my bum!

We were looking at the center's map and it shows the rest room locations.  That's all good, but what's up with the sleeping or dead seal on the map?? ;-)

That was actually really cool.  Unlike a museum, the Antarctic Center is a working center, where the scientists are completing studies or preparing for their next season.  Super interesting and thanks Dave!

Back home and I take the dogs for another nice walk.. Sorry to be boring, but I like it and only a couple left before I start packing and moving on.

Poor little Spirit dog won't leave the fire.. so cold!

Down to the shop to pack up Tony.  He's going be leaving before me as that ship will be a bit slow.

Tim, a very cool American KTM rider!!!!  Helped me a lot to pack and crate the bike for which they kindly donated from a previous Kawasaki shipment.  Obviously a bit smaller, but we made it work!

Then he had me around to share a July 4 celebration with his super cool American girlfriend (not only American, but from Indiana!!!) who has a serious world record herself.. in rowing across the Atlantic Ocean!  Hoosiers unite! ;-)

We just made it a full on American night in New Zealand.  Hamburgers with lots of ketchup!!  And I donated macaroni and cheese.  They brought in the American beer and I was reminded why I never drink beer in America.. ick!!  Haha.. It didn't take long for Tim and Sarah to drink the NZ beer I brought along.  But it was fun that we could be totally American today..  Independence Day!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

 American Invasion... New Zealand!!  Ok, so it's a very tiny invasion, but we're here!! ;-)))