1.28.2010

How time has changed us, sort of.


us, Thailand 2004

I am trying to get organized and start to pack our lives back into the the duffel bags we brought them to New Zealand in but packing is something I do not like to do. I am deflecting and posting a picture of us when we were in Thailand on our honeymoon. I found it in a very old email on my old account.

Lucy will remember this because we were in Chang Mai and heading to Taiwan to live but looking for jobs--Man, we have had a lot fun trips all together haven't we? There was a guy looking for teachers but wanted our CVs and more importantly a picture of us to show that we were "white and good looking". We had been married maybe a month.

We look so young and were so newly married. I think I will finally acknowledge that my mom is right, I look much better with some sort of bangs/fringe. I tried to fight it because I had a fringe all growing up but I believe it is the truth. That forehead needs some coverin'.

Now we have a little boy and life feels a bit more complex and tiring compared to then but very good. I feel blessed to have such amazing family in the States and New Zealand and excited for our boy to have so many people that love and adore him. He is one lucky little kiwi--well half kiwi. I love my boys.

We have had a great time on our break-just what the doctor ordered, if a doctor could have ordered something but we are ready to get home. I think I am even a little bit excited for some snow and a bit of winter--I think.


us, New Zealand 2010

1.25.2010

Queen Charlotte Track.




Rolling on the ground as we got all our bags packed
and ready to get on the boat

everything goes in the mouth--that was our map

he fell asleep within minutes of being on the boat and slept quite
soundly on liz most of the way to our drop off



As you can see, it wasn't sunny but it didn't rain that first day
and the clouds shrouded the sounds in mists

the water taxi

the first day we walked to Endeavor Inlet and it took us about 5 hours
with stops to feed the boy along the way


Ship Cove is where Capt. Cook stopped during his expeditions in the 1770's
and here Mike stands in front of the sort of shelter they stayed in when here


The water in the bays has this emerald quality





Weka birds and lots of shots of my boys

Once he gets fed and is warm he pretty much falls asleep


the scenery



He fell asleep just before we arrived at our campsite so we leaned the pack
up against a tree and wedged a pack in front to keep it upright as we got all settled in




Getting some good floor time in the shelter after 5 hours in the pack

After an "ok" night of sleep, we headed to the nearby jetty to drop our packs so they
could be taken to our next destination


starfish




He fell asleep while we waited.


Muddy track

The track was pretty easy in most places-a good walk but really
muddy in some spots



Our feeding technique while tramping so serious mess is avoided--cape
on and hands down.


More emerald water

View from the jetty

And he was asleep again as we waited for the taxi




With Auntie Alice on the boat home

the rain we escaped as we boated away

We drove north from Christchurch to Picton 4 hours where we caught our water taxi. Picton is also where the ferries leave for the North Island. Our boat ride was just under an hour as we stopped at a couple other bays before stopping at Ship Cove which is the start of the Queen Charlotte Track. There are hundreds of bays in the Marlborough Sounds and we saw only a few.

The first day we walked about 15 kms to our camp site. The weather was great-not hot and not cold. There are beautiful views of the bays. It was lovely even in the misty weather but I am sure it is also spectacular when clear. Our boy seemed to like being in the pack again and settled right in especially after eating. Mike carried him on this tramp and we had the water taxi take our bags to oyr detination so we didn't have to lug them the whole way which made the walk more enjoyable. It is included in your water taxi ticker. Nice perk.

At camp, Mike cooked us up our pasta dinner and we enjoyed hot chocolates and tim tam slams after--chocolate cookies you dip in and suck up the hot chocolate. The night provided us as good a sleep as one can get sleeping in a small tent with a 6 month old. In the morning, liz and Alice walked down to the water and saw 2 dolphins jumping and playing around the jetty but we were still asleep. After some of liz's homemade muesli,we packed up, dropped our bags at the jetty and headed out for a short 2 hour walk.

As we neared our campsite the rain came. We found a relatively sheltered
site for our tents and headed to one of the little resorts for a hot chocolate. Many people
who walk the track stay in one of the lodges or resorts along the way. You don't have to tent, its just a lot cheaper. It started to rain quite steadily so we found a sheltered table and opted to sit there as opposed to having to sit in our tents in the rain. We thought it would stop but it would come and go quite consistently. In the end, we opted to get a taxi out because we got word that it was going to rain through the night and into the next day and we were meant to walk 24 kms and it was going to be a long day even without the rain.

So our walk was cut short by inclement weather but the 2 days we did have were lovely. Disaster was adverted when the hat liz knitted for our boy was lost on the track but i found it. He is going to need that hat back home in frigid Vermont!