We're back--and it's 2009!

I promised myself I would blog before I got lost in the heaps of e-mails I no doubt have waiting for me, after two weeks completely computer-free.

We just got home from our big trip to the South Island (known to the locals--not us--as the "mainland"). We spent the first week (Dec 28-Jan 4) at the Quaker Summer Gathering, at a boy scout camp outside of Christchurch. Not exactly luxury accommodations, but lots of interesting people around. About 110 people, lots of families, including the "Junior Young Friends" group of which Joseph is a member, who basically hang out and play cards and talk. We went to a park and beach one day, and into Christchurch on Joseph's birthday (15) to a museum and art gallery and food and ice cream. Before we left that day, Joseph got brave and went up the really tall climbing wall and abseiling down. Yes, I got pictures. He let me take a lot more pictures than usual of him this trip, so I will look at them and post some later...We were very lucky and had good weather almost all the time we were there--the only precipitation being a very dramatic and Kansas-like hailstorm.

We left the gathering early last Sunday morning to catch the TransAlpine express--a train across the mountains that are the center of the island. It was a nice ride--maybe not quite the spectacular mountains I was expecting, but I think I am spoiled by Colorado and the Sierra Nevada, and the biggest mountains are a bit farther south--Mount Cook--and were hidden by clouds most of the time we were there. We picked up a car when we got to the west coast, and spent the next week exploring the middle of the island, including perusing beach stones for jade (called greenstone here), going on an early morning boat ride to look for birds in the Okarito lagoon, a jetboat ride on a glacier-fed river (jetboats are a NZ invention and tourism boon, kind of the roller coaster of boating), a tour and detailed account of where and how they filmed the big battle scene at the end of Lord of the Rings (pictures to come), and, on the final day, a strong contender for favorite, seeing the penguins come home in Oamaru--both a few rare and solitary yellow-eyed penguins, and several rafts (that's what they're called, really) of gregarious little blue penguins, who clamoured up the rocks while their chicks wrestled and hopped about excitedly, awaiting their parents' return. Oh, yes, we did see little blue penguins also in captivity--injured ones, rescued and kept at the Antarctic Centre, where we also went in a room full of artificial snow to simulate an Antarctic storm. We had hoped to see Franz Josef Glacier, but it was very rainy that day, and we decided not to brave the walk over slippery stones. We thought we might see Fox Glacier the next day, but it was still rainy, and we opted to go on to Wanaka, which was inland, huge beautiful lakes. And that day, two Indian tourists were crushed by an ice fall at Fox Glacier. So maybe it's just as well we didn't go. We would probably not have disregarded the warning signs that are all over, especially in the rain, but according to the paper, 1/3 of tourists do ignore the signs and go try to touch the ice.

Now, home sweet home, still filled with Christmas debris. It seems like we've been gone forever. The garden looks like it, too. I picked a weird cucumber, gigantic squash, and possibly the ugliest carrot I've ever seen. Looks like the birds have found the strawberries, the rhubarb is trying to take over the world, and we will soon have a bushel of tomatoes. And one of dandelions.

Now I guess I'd better brave the e-mail and the laundry, before I go back to work tomorrow.

Happy 2009! Stay warm!
Carrie