It's so hard to believe that 10 months have passed since we moved to Christchurch, and now here we are celebrating Christmas in summer! Not having a clue what that entails, we asked Kiwis how they celebrate Christmas. More than one person told us that they spend it on the beach... hmmmm...I think I could handle that.
So here we are, Jon, me, Tatum and Sammy, on the west coast by a beach on the Tasman Sea, which separates New Zealand from Australia. To be clear though, we didn't need to drive 3 1/2 hours to the west coast to find a beach. We could have gone to the one at the end of our street. But the cool thing about having Christmas in the summer is that you can combine summer vacation with Christmas holidays. That's made all the easier because the University's closed from Dec. 21st - Jan. 3rd. CLOSED! And if that weren't enough, Jon's office is closed as well. That we both had time off at the same time was quite a new concept for us, but one that we could definitely handle.
Before leaving Christchurch though, we decorated our Christmas tree, i.e. the bush outside our front door with the welcome duck under it, naturally.
Then, we loaded up the dogs, bags, food, etc., and climbed into my little Yaris and headed westward.
All of the visitors that we've had, have visited the west coast and then reported back to us on how amazing it was going through the Southern Alps. I have to say though that my favourite description comes from our friend, Andy, who put it something like this: "We'd go around one corner and OMG, there'd be incredible views with crystal blue lakes and snow-capped mountains, and then we'd turn another corner and it would be OMG! More amazing views! And then we'd turn another corner, and it was OMG! And then we'd turn another corner and it was like ... are you f****ing kidding me?????, this is crazy!!" And yeah, it was pretty much like that.
Just past Arthur's Pass (the half way point), the eco-system suddenly changed. While the mountains on our side of the mountains are relatively bare, on the west side they were suddenly lush with thick green vegetation. I regret not taking pictures but were we too anxious to get to where we were going and didn't want to stop. Next time...
On the west cost, we stayed at the Charles Court Motel, just south of Greymouth. From traveling in the US and Canada, most family-run small motels harken back to an earlier era, sometimes good sometimes not so good. Our experience with motels in NZ has been quite different and this one was even better than the last. It was modern, with a jacuzzi (didn't use), a kitchen with dishes/pots/pans/silverware (used to make Xmas dinner), a hot tub (definitely used), and best of all, it was pet-friendly. Sammy and Tatum were especially happy since they got to sleep in the big bed!
The motel was just a short walk to the beach which Sammy and Tatum loved to explore. The beach by the motel was full of smooth flat stones though north of the city, there were miles and miles of sandy beaches. And like the one shown below, we could often have the whole beach to ourselves.
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| Sammy & Tatum by the Tasman Sea |
The next day, Christmas day, Jon and I ventured back to Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks and walk the Truman Track. Andy's words would again do justice to the scenery: "are you f****ing kidding me?????, this is crazy!!
Here's the evidence.
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| Jon on the Truman Track |
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| A border of flax and ferns |
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| Pancake rocks |
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| Truman Track |
The only thing that would have made the holiday better would have been to have our big kid, Zachary, along with us. Next time... :)
From our home to yours, we wish you a joyful, safe and healthy 2013.
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