MAURA’S TRIP TO NEW ZEALANDNovember 7 – 14, 2011

ARRIVAL IN CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

We left our house at 3:30 am on Monday and arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand at 11:30 am on Wednesday.First we explored the farm where Emily and Doug live. Emily is our friend from Chicago who now lives in New Zealand.

LOUDON FARM

Loudon Farm and Gallery Cows at the farm

Loudon Farm is a working farm with cows, sheep, and other animals. There are also some really cool sculptures all over the grounds.

CLIMBING MT. HERBERT ON ATVS

On Thursday we rode up Mt. Herbert (a mountain on the South Island of New Zealand) on All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs).

AT THE SHELTER NEAR THE SUMMIT

There was a shelter near the top of Mt. Herbert. Danny who took us to the top said that he spent the coldest night of his life in that shelter. It was really cold up there! We had to climb a fence to get to the shelter. There were steps on both sides of the fence.

MT. HERBERT SUMMIT

At the summit! We made it! We hardly spent any time here because it was so cold. We just took two pictures and left.

TIDE…

On Thursday afternoon, we hiked along the bay and watched the tide roll in. It was pretty amazing.

SHE CAFÉ,…YUM!

The She Café is very yummy,…we had some delicious hot chocolate and truffles. I love my chocolate!

SHE CAFÉ…

Here is a picture of my dessert. It was very good. My brother liked his too!

PERFORMANCE AT THE OHOKA MARKET

On Friday we went to the Ohoka Market to watch Emily dance and Doug play the drums. They are very talented. I wish I could dance like her. They dance and play drums to music that originated in West Guinea, Africa. They lived there for a while and learned the dance and music.At the market we ate crepes (yum) and bought apples, potatoes, carrots, mandarins. Emily and Doug shop mostly at Farmer’s Markets and only for things they don’t grow in their garden at home.

CHICKEN LITTLE

Chicken Little is Emily and Doug’s cute little lamb. She is so friendly!

LYTTLETON STORE

We went to the Lyttleton store to buy some dishwashing soap. It comes in buckets and you have to bring your own jar to fill it up.

EARTHQUAKE IN CHRISTCHURCH (9/2010 - ?)

The earthquakes, and the subsequent aftershocks have been really devastating to the town. There were empty lots all over where buildings once stood.

LYTTLETON FARMER’S MARKET

We bought honey and yogurt at the Lyttleton market. New Zealanders are really big on buying local goods. Banana’s are not popular there because they don’t grow natively. New Zealanders would be upset if you asked for a banana.

PICKING UP WOLFIE

Piglets Wolfie at his new home

On Saturday we went to a farm to pick up a new lamb! While we were there we saw some really cute piglets (and some really, really, really ugly pigs). Emily wanted to take home the piglets, but after seeing the adult pigs she wasn’t so sure. We named the new lamb Wolfie. He’s so cute! We bottle fed Chicken Little, but Wolfie was already weaned,…so he just ate grass.

DRIVING THROUGH A CLOUD

On Sunday we took a road trip to Okain’s Bay and Pigeon Bay. While driving through the mountains we drove through a cloud. It was very foggy; we couldn’t see anything!

OKAIN’S BAY

Okain’s Bay was really pretty. We picked up a lot of shells. Unfortunately we forgot them all at Emily and Doug’s house.

HILL TOP RESTAURANT VIEW

We had lunch at the Hill Top Restaurant. It is owned by Lena and Kai who are friends of Emily and Doug. They have an adorable little pig named Ninja.

NINJA THE PIG…

Here’s Ninja! Emily tried to kiss him, and he bit her on the nose.

BIRD SANCTUARY

Saturday afternoon we went to the bird sanctuary. We saw peacocks, cockatiels, myna, kiwis and more.

SOAP STORE

There was a soap store there as well. The owner makes all her own soap. It smelled so good in there!

EMILY AND DOUG’S LIFESTYLE

Emily and Doug live very simply. They grow most of their food in the garden, gather eggs for breakfast, dry clothes on a line, use all natural detergents and more. Emily spins her own wool and then knits her own clothes. It was very neat living with them for a week.

AMAZING MEMORIES!

I can’t wait to go back! I had an amazing time in New Zealand, had fun with Emily and now have a friend for life!