Southern Girl on the South Island: Intergenerational Escapades

As I write this, I’ve got 10 days 23 hours 35 minutes and 32 seconds until my parents pick me up from the Memphis Airport. I’m beyond excited to see my parents and have them spoil me with home-cooked food, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and support for the baking binge I’m going to go on as soon as I get in the house. But I digress, let me just catch you up on what I’ve been up to recently.

Lectures officially ended June 1, but I decided to take off early to visit some of my dad’s old friends in Nelson, which is pretty much as far north on the South Island as you can get. The last time my dad saw them was thirty years ago in 1982. They didn’t get to meet Norma because I’ve been told Phil was in trouble with her when they came to visit. I’ll have to wait to hear (and then share) that story when I get home. I had corresponded with Bob and Gay Schmuke via email a few times over the semester but other than that I was spending 5 days with two complete strangers. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about how my trip was going to go.

In short, I had one of my best trips yet in New Zealand. After waking up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus at 7:00 AM, I had a long day of traveling before getting into Nelson at 2:30 in the afternoon. Gay picked me up at the bus stop and we had an easy time chatting, and I think I almost gave her a heart attack with my extreme gasp at the detail that they have a big black lab named Satchmo. Needless to say, I’ve been extremely dog deprived the past year (sorry Cassie) so I was ecstatic to have a subject to dump all my love on for the weekend. When we got to the Schmuke’s gorgeous house on the estuary complete with a large backyard and duck pond, I met Bob and we immediately packed up the car to head over Takaka Hill to their beach house on Golden Bay. We watched the sun set over the ocean from the second floor of the house as we drank wine and ate cheese. I could already tell I liked these people.

I awoke on Saturday to a delicious smoothie made by Bob with lots of fresh fruit and some yogurt. Seriously good. We drove into town for a heartier breakfast of eggs and toast and dropped Bob off at the golf course before Gay and I headed to the end of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track for a little afternoon hike. Of course, Satchmo came. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and the weather was perfect. We hiked along the beach, ate some lunch, and then headed back to the house. I introduced Gay to the glory that is Pinterest that afternoon; her life will ever be the same. We watched the sun set over the ocean from the second floor of the house as we drank cosmopolitans and ate spiced nuts. I could already tell I REALLY liked these people.

Sunday morning I enjoyed another wonderful smoothie while I watched my dad reconnect with his friends for the first time in 30 years via Skype. After the reminiscing session, we took a little trip to see “the clearest fresh water in the world” and I caught a salmon for us to have for supper that night. We also collected some mussels off the beach that Bob cooked out on the grill for appetizers. Inspired by all of the cooking shows we had watched that afternoon, Gay and I proceeded to make three loaves of bread: a seed loaf and two different types of focaccia. I could already tell I REALLY REALLY liked these people.

On Monday, after my smoothie, we headed back to Nelson. We stopped for lunch, and I got a tandoori lamb pie and real fruit ice cream. I have to say that I’ve been a little disappointed by the ice cream in New Zealand. I figured that a country with such a large cattle population would be on top of their dairy products. That being said, real fruit ice cream is the real McCoy. It’s essentially what it sounds like; frozen fruit gets blended directly into the ice cream when you order it, á la Cold Stone Creamery (except a machine does it and minus a few hundred calories). I was quite pleased with the result and my faith in New Zealand dairy was moderately restored. That afternoon Gay took me to the World of Wearable Art Museum. Until recently, she served as CEO of the production so I got a really personalized tour of the exhibits. We then visited the “Centre of New Zealand” and happened to run into a few friends from Christchurch who had just gotten into Nelson. That night we made the most amazing brownies I have ever tasted. We ate them warm with vanilla ice cream on top. I could already tell I LOVED these people.

Sadly, Tuesday signaled the end of my trip in Nelson. After almost five months of fending for myself, it was incredibly relaxing and comforting to have a set of quasi-parents take care of me for a few days. I even got a pack of snacks to take with me on the bus: a big chunk of brownie and a bag of feijoa fruit. I had such an incredible time hearing about all of the adventures the Schmukes have been on during their extensive traveling. If I can be them when I grow up, then I will be quite happy to get older. Thank you Bob and Gay for the amazing experience, the delicious food, and the thought-provoking conversation.

Hello Satchmo

Abel Tasman Coast Track

Supper

View from the beach house

I had a couple of days back in Christchurch before flying out to Hokitika to meet up with some friends to see some glaciers. In the meantime, the sky opened up and vomited several inches of snow onto the city. Being the savvy packer that I am, I had my snow boots on hand and was able to get around quite comfortably and fashionably. Thankfully, all the snow was cleared up by the time I needed to fly on Friday. I was extremely confused when I got to the airport, checked in, and then got to walk immediately to my gate. No security check. NADA. I still can’t get over it. Any who, I got into Hokitika Friday night and spent the night at my uni flatmate’s house. We spent all day Saturday driving to Fox and Franz Josef and hiking up to the glacier sites. Nature is pretty cool. We got back to ChCh Sunday afternoon and I spent the next few days studying for my exam Tuesday afternoon. I have one assignment and one exam left before I leave. I have two more adventures left as well. This Saturday night I’m going to watch the All Blacks play Ireland in a test rugby match. For people who know nothing about rugby, the All Blacks are equivalent to the Brazilian national team in soccer. Translation: they are a BIG FREAKIN DEAL. On Sunday, a few of us are heading up to a cabin we rented for the weekend to escape from exams and have one last hoorah before we leave. Then it’s crunch time; I don’t know how I’m going to pack without my mommy doing it for me.

Cheers,

Bess