The Tragedy at Christchurch

Dear Readers,

On day three of our journey we landed in Christchurch. Flying over the area, I saw nothing by farm after farm, squares bounded by hedges (I thought, they were really a certain type of tree). I was amazed at the town of Christchurch when we landed. It was spread out but all the buildings were short (not many over four stories.) Our hotel the Grand Chancelor was the exception. Newly built to earthquake code, it stood 27 stories. We were told some cracks had developed since the quake in September but were undercontrol. Nothing to worry about. We happily went to our 13th floor room without a care in the world.

We changed into shorts and headed out to see the town-which was right around the corner. Our hotel was just off the central square. The first place we went was the Christchurch-the church the town was named after. I should explain first that New Zealand is a new country. People didn't really arrive there to settle until the 1860's when gold was discovered. First they had to beat up the Maori (Hawaii polynesians), take their land, and import sheep. You see, New Zealand has no native animals whatsoever. They had birds but the Maori ate most of them. Now escaped animals like possums and stouts are eating the rest of the bird eggs. They are trying to wipe them out completely to allow the birds to come back. So the British weren't in any hurray to move to New Zealand because it had nothing to offer. Then there was gold.

So the big church in Christchurch only dates back to 1880 but it was beautifully done. The windows were imported and fine with both Christ as a white man and Christ as a Maori. Very interesting. They were charging a fee to go up in steeple and look out at the city. The money was going to help the rebuilding of the church which got whacked in the last quake. We decided not to spend the time doing that. I understand now though that the steeple fell off during the recent quake and 22 bodies have yet to dug out.

The church was at the edge of the town square. It was packed with tourists from all over the world. We bought souvenirs right there (I wonder if those people were Okay?) and moved on to hit all the tourist spots. We stopped by the Art Museum and found out that New Zealanders' idea of modern art is just as crazy as everyone else's. Then we watched people get rowed down the creek, walked through the lovely parks, cruised the botantical garden, saw the old Canterbury College (that collapsed during the quake killing some Singaporeans) and finally ended the day at an Italian restaurant. Most people had accents everywhere we went. New Zealand doesn't have enough people to do the work so many different kinds of immigrants (including Singaporeans and Chinese) have come.

After dinner, confident that we had seen all there was, we went back to our hotel and repacked. The next day very early we were picked up by Super Shuttle. After awhile we realized he was taking us to the airport when we were supposed to get on the train. After a U turn we landed where we were supposed to be. We boarded our train and settled in for a long five hour trip across the whole of the Southern Island to the west coast where few live.

The people who sat facing us turned out to be Americans from Atlanta Georgia who had come to New Zealand because a hurricane stopped them from landing in Cairns, Australia. We enjoyed their company most of the trip and later ran into them at the Glacier Park, Queenstown, and even saw them from our bus stopped along the road taking pictures. They rented a car but we still kept running into each other! Finally they headed back to Australia while we finished one more week in New Zealand.

The trip on the train was fantastic! No, not the food! (Lousy!) but the scenery was like Montana, the Rocky Mountains, and Wyoming all rolled into one. The mountains complete with snow were called the Southern Alps for a reason!. The rivers were a turquoise color and crystal clear. Very few people lived out here where it was hard to get stuff shipped in. We saw a few sheep turned loose. Bulldozers were working down in the creek bed. They get so much rain that they constantly have to repair the roads and train tracks. As a matter of fact, they said they had just finished repairing the track we were on and wouldn't have to transfer to a bus like they had been doing for a week. It struck me how empty the land was-not a deer, bear, rabbit, or single animal that wasn't domestic could be seen. Electric lines when right up the creek bed. Steve stayed out of the platform of the train to take pictures. It was cold in the mountains and he got wet several times as mist came and went. A Japanese tour was taking up alot of the cars and we were relieved when they got a bus at some depot and departed. Everyone got better seats after that.

When we finally arrived at the station, our trip was still not over. We transferred immediately to a bus that we would ride for several more hours to The Franz Joseph Glacier area. We stopped in a beach town where we got snack and investigated the western beach. What a shock! It was covered with dead trees. They don't swim there-weather is too fierce. The water was a pretty color but too rough for swimming. A storm was coming in.

I stopped by a possum store to see what that was all about and learned that possums are like minks there. Dark brown fur worth alot of money. The lady had stacks of hides that she was sewing together for a blanket. $2600! Wow! If only our possums were worth that much!

Finally the bus stopped and there we were-in the middle of a cow field with our suitcases dumped by the side of the road. I looked up and down the road for civilization-saw nothing. There was a motel across the road-I thought this has to be a mistake! We dragged our suitcases through the gravel and entered the so called office. Yep, we were here. We were given a key to a unit. Where's the town? A mile and a half away. Glacier park-much further still. I was fit to be tied! We had no car. So after the shock wore off, I sucked it up and we walked a mile and a half into town. There we found food and other hotels and a shuttle service for $15 a pop. They promised to pick us up the next day and deliver us to the Glacier park for only $25. Sweet.

I gave the tour company an ear full when I got back! The next day we would finally get to see a glacier!

Lost in Sydney

Dear Readers,

My daughter Beth pointed out that I didn't spell Sydney correct. Sorry if you are Aussie. I am a bad speller I admit.

On day two of our journey, we were picked up very early at our hotel by a bus company. We continued to pick up people at other hotels and I was relieved that we didn't stay at the Shangri La in Sydney afterall. It was down on the docks but quite a walk from anything. We were at the heart of downtown where we were at the Swissotel.

We grabbed a quick breakfast at McDonalds (the American embassy they referred to them as) and boarded a bus for the Blue Mountains. If you look at a map you can see that Sydney is bordered on the west by a large range of mountains-The Blue Mountains. Sydney has the most people in all Australia-about the population of Singapore. About ten minutes outside Sydney, there was nothing. I could have been driving through Virginia. The mountains are beautiful. Unfortunately it was foggy and slightly misting as we drove up to a town on top of the mountains. Coal drove people to settle there. We visited the Three Sisters which was a rock formation that was impressive. If you knew where we live, the Natural Chimneys is a close twin. Now these rocks were in a large national park. No animals! Only birds live there-whole flocks of beautiful white cuckadoos. The forest is actually like Virginia forest. I felt right at home!

We first rode a glondala down from the mountain top to the forest floor. Here they had had a coal mine decades ago. The remains of the mine were on display. Then we rode a train (almost vertical) up the mountain. This was the original track that brought the miners up and down the mountain as well as the coal. It was scary! Not much of a seat belt! But what a rush! Once back on top, we sought out lunch at the cafe. Someone pointed out a stuffed fake Kola bear in the tree. Ha. Ha. I said. After lunch we hopped on another cable car that went across the canyon and let us see a beautiful waterfall. Unfortunately we didn't have time to do any hiking because we had a strict time limit to be back on the bus. For the rest of tour it was the same way. Hurry up! Ten minutes. Here is a photo minute-and I mean a minute! Get back on please. I would like to be home by 5:00. Move along. This is the problem with taking a tour instead of renting a car.

After we were all rounded up like lost children, we headed off to the Wildlife Park. Here I was deceived. I had been under the illusion that this was my last chance to observe real Australian wildlife in the real wild. Not so. This was a zoo where damaged and sick animals were nursed back to health. I did get to pet a joey (baby kangeroo). Kangeroos did roam wild through the zoo and I got food that brought them to me. I got to pet them, cuddle them, and call them George. Until a big bird came and attacked me. It took my cone away from me and dared me to say something about it. I murmured something about KFC but it was unimpressed. I lost my edge then. I became an observer. We watched them feed Dingoes. I got to pet Kola bears and yes, they really feel like a shag carpet. By the way, I was told these docile creatures are agressive and bite in the wild. They will take your head off! And they don't like Quantas! I feel your pain.

Then we were huddled back on the bus and shuffled back toward Sydney. Before we arrived, however, the driver informed us that we could enjoy a boat ride back. The ferry awaited. So we did buy a ticket and rode down the river to Sydney. I observed many other tourist buses unloaded their passengers at the ferry. Somebody was getting a kickback! The tide was up and we had to duck under bridges. The rowing teams were out and racing beside us. We landed at the marina about two blocks from our hotel. We stopped along the pier there and ate dinner at a seafood restaurant. Guess What. They like shrimp with the heads on them too! There is no accounting for bad taste! Ha.

We headed back to our hotel buying postcards and looking for possum products. The next day we were flying to New Zealand. So we went to bed. Stay tuned.

I Come From the Land Down Under

Dear Readers,

We recently returned from a 12 day trip to Australia and New Zealand. Sadly I heard today that Christchurch, the biggest city of the southern island of New Zealand was leveled again by an earthquake. We just missed it.

Our trip began on a Saturday afternoon when we got on a Quantas plane bound for Sidney. This was a seven hour flight (overnight) and we were to arrive in the Australian morning at 6 am. It was a terrible flight and we were literally at the back of the plane with a whole team of sports boys. They never shut up. Half way, over Australia, we hit rough weather (remember a hurricane had just passed through the area a few days before). The plane shook all the rest of the way there and the kolas weren't the only ones who hated Quantas before it was over. We never did figure out why the plane didn't go above it. I was very glad to land-never mind the lack of sleep. We were picked up at the international airport by an old man and lots of other people. Our plane had arrived late and so everyone was out of sync. He went back and forth from the domestic and international airports trying to find people before he finally gave up and took us to our hotel, the Swisshotel. It was great but our room wasn't ready. We had to leave our luggage and walk around town.

It felt like 90 degrees. I was amazed at the heat because I had on jeans and long sleeves. We walked around in the heat looking at the churches, parks, flowers, and even went into a museum of dinosaurs. They had an exhibit of the ancestors of some of Australian animals and we were amazed at the large versions. Luckily they were extinct!

We got checked in and then were off on a bus tour of Sidney. Unfortunately, I had changed into shorts and it was now raining, blowing, and the temperature had dropped thirty degrees. I heard this was normal for Sidney. We rode around looking at the Sidney harbor, climbing rocks for photo shots, listening to a droning bus driver, and finally ended up at Bondi Beach. The weather was so bad that no one was on the beach and I got sand in my eyes. Bummer! Back to the hotel.

That very night was a parade for the Chinese New Year. I had missed that in Singapore so we got to see a delightful display of weirdly dressed Asian people and balloons of horoscope creatures. You see, there are alot of Asians in Australia. They have to import workers and until recently, immigration was greatly encouraged. Now they are closing the border shut and turning boat loads of Indonesians and Sri lankians away. They have tightened the immigration of Singaporeans also. Medical students can't do their residences there anymore. They have to come back to Singapore.

Finally we made it back to our hotel, armed with postcards and the camera. It continued to rain off and on. We had an early day the next day so we went to bed Stay tuned.