Another day at Akaroa

As my daughter and her friend had the plan to swim with the dolphins we offered to bring them to Akaroa.
Akaroa is 75km from Christchurch and is a historic French and British settlement nestled in the heart of an ancient volcano.
Friends heard about our plan to go to Akaroa and joined in. Next their daughter and friend joined in. It was hot all week but the weather forecast was rain. We went anyway. I have shown Akaroa already a few times in the sun. Here it is on a rainy/cloudy day.

It poured down when we arrived so we went for a warm coffee first. When we came outside again the rain had stopped and we had a wonderful day.

 

The girls.  This will be one of the last days we will be out together before my daughter (white jacket) moves out. It will be quiet without her. Three of the girls are from Dutch parents.

The bungee jump 

A house in my favourite colour

Usually these chairs are packed with people. Because of the earthquakes the cruise ships arrive in Akaroa instead of Lyttelton, so it can be pretty busy.

The Akaroa Lighthouse. We had a little tour inside and went up the balcony. The lighthouse, build in 1878 has been moved one inch by the earthquake and during the next one it moved back one inch

Part of the bunch on top of the light house

Love al the different colours everywhere

 I would love a house with a porch and sit outside with a book and a glass of wine

 

In Akaroa you see many beautiful cottages

quote of the week

Wow the world of wearable art

My parents had a fashion shop so I have been to Amsterdam many times with them, where they bought their new collections. At the beginning of every season there was a fashion show. I have seen many, but nothing was even remotely like WOW, the world of wearable Art show. It is held in September every year in Wellington and started in 1987 in Nelson.
It is a magnificent 2 hour show, where designers and artists from all over the world show the most magnificent designs. It is unique in the world. A show were art, fashion, theater, dance, lighting melt into  a spectacular rainbow of magic, fantasy and extravagance.
The garments below are shown at the moment at an exhibition in Canterbury museum. One thing on my bucket list is to see this show. My daughter is moving to Wellington for study and she would like to see the show as well so maybe.................

From havelock to Christchurch

Driving through the South Island of New Zealand as we did on our last trip for 4 1/2 hours is very relaxing. Not a lot of traffic, no traffic lights, you don't need a map as there are not many roads and the scenery is beautiful. here a few impressions along the way

Who need shops The shoes grow here on the fence

A walk along the way to get some fresh air. We had a great view of the magnificent coastline you drive along and there is also some free camping as you can see

Just in time to spot the train who passes once a day.

Ther is a huge seal colony along this stretch of road and I never get board of them. We often stop as I am good at saying please.

The latest gossip is about me

 He is close but in a safe distance and very busy scratching.

A modern West Side story

If you are my age or older you probably know about West Side story. A musical where Tony and maria fall in love which is problematic because they belong to different gangs. The musical has fantastic dans scenes and beautiful music.
Most young people of today unfortunately don't know about West Side Story. Relax and don't worry. There is now a modern version on the internet which ties in with the culture of young people today. They will love it. They can relate to it. A contemporary Maria and Tony. You have to see it. It is called Website story

Havelock

The second day of our trip in the holidays we stayed in Havelock. Havelock is a little town situated in the Marlborough sounds and is the gateway to the  Pelorus Sound and the Kenepuru Sound. Havelock is the place in the world to eat mussels as there are hundreds of mussel farms in the Marlborough Sounds where they cultivate the  Greenshell mussels.

A mussel restaurant in Havelock where you can eat them from the roof

Colourful building with a Tuatara painted on it

A view from a locomotive parked in the street

A little local church

A walking track passes through the cemetery

The boats are all in the harbour Too wet to go out

 I am Dutch so I know that you don't melt from water so up the hill for a walk to look at more water along the way and to reach a waterfall.

Yep we are close

and there it is Worth it yep but because of the ongoing rain the path was very slippery and when we were nearly downhill again I slipped and kept sliding down. I was one big mud pie but I don't show you a photo of that lol

Quote of the week

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.

The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.  
Ayn Rand

2012 a year of power

Major Bob Parker of Christchurch had a briefing with seismologists as quakes keep rolling through Christchurch since the 6 magnitude aftershock before Christmas. For example yesterday we had a 5.1 and a 5.2 in the afternoon and last night we woke up from a 5.2 magnitude along with heaps of smaller ones .
The outcome from the briefing was that the earthquakes won't decline in a year or more but it will take decades. So basically we will have to live with it for the rest of our lives. Yes we have considered moving but we have ties to Christchurch.
We've got jobs, houses are not easy to sell, we have friends here and the children do too. Although my daughter is moving up to Wellington for study. But we always loved Christchurch and we are not ready to give up.
The chance on a damaging 7 is very small the seismologist said so that helps.
This is going to be an interesting year but we will make the best of it and their is a good vibe hanging in the air as well.
With 2012 a year of power I don't refer to the earthquakes but it is the title of the video underneath which has beautiful pictures and a soothing voice bringing out a positive message. It felt like a sort of meditation. It helped me to regain my strength.
Monday I am going back to work so I will post less frequently again.

Inspirational story

A Samurai who was known for his nobility and honesty, went to visit a Zen monk to ask him for his advice.
 When the monk had finished his prayers, the Samurai asked,
Why do I feel so inferior? – I have faced death many times, have defended those who are weak.
 “Nevertheless, upon seeing you meditating, I felt that my life had absolutely no importance whatsoever.

Wait. Once I have attended to all those who come to see me today, I shall answer you.
The samurai spent the whole day sitting in the temple gardens, watching the people go in and out in search of advice. He saw how the monk received them all with the same patience and the same illuminated smile on his face.

At nightfall, when everyone had gone, he demanded:
Now can you teach me?
The master invited him in and lead him to his room. The full moon shone in the sky, and the atmosphere was one of profound tranquility.
Do you see the moon, how beautiful it is? It will cross the entire firmament, and tomorrow the sun will shine once again.
 “But sunlight is much brighter, and can show the details of the landscape around us: trees, mountains, clouds.
 “I have contemplated the two for years, and have never heard the moon say: why do I not shine like the sun? Is it because I am inferior?
Of course not – answered the samurai. – The moon and the sun are different things, each has its own beauty. You cannot compare the two.
So you know the answer. We are two different people, each fighting in his own way for that which he believes, and making it possible to make the world a better place; the rest are mere appearances.

An abundance of food in our garden

Lots of potential in our garden and hothouse. We already have been eating potatoes and lettuce from the garden and as you see, soon there will be heaps of tomatoes, cucumber, garlic and courgettes to name a few. The courgette, the one with the yellow flower on top, is only a baby, but they get huge. Than there is also the pepper, which we grow for the first time. That's a confusing one for me because in Holland we call a pepper - paprika. We always get heaps and heaps of blackberries which annoyingly attract a lot of fruit flies. I like to put them in my yogurt. Not the fruit flies though or maybe they make good meat.

On the left is our veggie garden which looks quite wild. Next to beans and potatoes there are a lot of gladioli. We already have the veggie garden for many years as my husband enjoys looking after it. The advantage is that we get the freshest product with no chemicals added. Last but not least it becomes a necessity as food prices are skyrocketing and won't get better soon and there are several reasons for it I think;

Because of depleting energy it will get more and more expensive to import food from all over the world to our country.
Furthermore there is a growing world population en the demand will be more than what can be offered in the future unless something changes.
There is increasing debt in the world and because of the ongoing recession prices rise.
This won't happen overnight but it is something to be aware of.

Lots of local farmers markets are coming up in Christchurch and more people start their own veggie garden. I love markets and I think communities are getting stronger because of it as well.

Our next plan is to buy a tank to catch rainwater. After our first earthquake this was the thing we needed the most. Than we will be even more self sufficient.

Picton

We had a trip of 3 days and our first stop was in Picton about 4 1/2 hours drive from Christchurch. Picton is a little town that is even beautiful in the rain. From here the inter island ferry leaves for Wellington in the North Island. Picton is at the corner of the Malborough sounds which is 4000 m2 of sounds, islands, and peninsulas. An amazing area which is mainly accessible by boat. We already made plans with friends to make a boat trip at Easter time. From Picton we drove over the Queen Charlotte Drive towards Havelock were we stayed the night

Come in and have a look at the wonderful water world

Exotic palms along the waterside

A view on Picton with the Ferry terminal in the front

Lookout on the Queen Charlotte drive (a wonderful scenic road) onto the queen Charlotte Sound

A secluded bay with dramatic colours

Many New Zealanders have a bach, which is a little holiday house. If you look there is such a little treasure house in the corner and it has its own boot ramp.

Not off to a good start

Wishing you peace, love and joy in 2012

Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. Oprah Winfrey

What we don't get right yet is the way we wake up in Christchurch. We were craddled roughly this morning. Craddled? It was more like the bed ended up in a hyperactive wave in a storm. Before I got seasick though it was over again. 5.5 Magnitude we learned and the shakes and jolts kept coming. Luckily it is holidays and we could sleep in.
The weather is also fantastic. Not. We left in the rain on the 30st of December for a trip and after two days of being immersed in rain drops we learned that we had swapped the quakes for flooding. They told us that road which would lead us to our next destination was closed. So on the 1st of January we were heading back home. We had still some fun though.

Now let's hope we used up most of the bad stuff.  We just left the best for later. One of that will be that half of June me and my son go to Holland. Holland be prepared. Zet de koffie maar klaar.