Fly fishing

Saturday, Joelle and I decided to try our luck fly fishing for salmon on the Rakaia river.  The Rakaia is apparently world famous for this and the big run is from Feb to March.  This is strange to me as salmon in North America run in the spring, and here, it is late summer/early fall.  I was relieved to find that I hadn't forgotten how to fly cast since I went salmon fishing in New Brunswick with my dad when I was a teen.

The first photo is of MT Hutt as seen from our street on a clear day.

I went to the local hunting and fishing place and had myself outfitted with a 8 weight 9 ft rod, a floating line, a reel, a tapered leader and some nymph flies. So far so good.  I spent some time talking to some of the locals who mostly fish at the river mouth with sinking spoons or wiggly rubber lures. I opted to be a purist and try the more Zen approach of fly fishing.  Then came the debate between the Rangitata, the Rakaia or just going to one of the lakes to try for speckled or brown trout.  Since the salmon run is only for a few more weeks I felt I should just at least give them a try.  As such, I resorted to good old Google maps and took a look along the shoreline of the river to see where  there was likely to be a good pool of relatively slow moving water to which I could get access without having to cross over private property.  I found a likely spot, and Saturday morning, Joelle and I departed with little hope of actually getting a fish but hopefully enjoying  a trek along the river.
For those of you with the intent of planning a trip off road somewhere via Google earth satellite view...know this:  Google earth does not show elevation/topography well unless you look specifically at the topographical maps.  Needless to say, when we arrived where the road ended and there should have been a leisurely 1/2 km walk though some scrub to the river, the walk was preceded by descent down a 200 ft cliff.

This is the cliff as seen from the river and as seen from the top.  Hopefully Joelle adds some perspective.

Fortunately, someone had the kindness and forethought to leave a steel cable embedded in the cliffside we could use to avoid a Wiley Coyote-esque tumble.  Once we made it to the bottom of the cliff,  it turned out the scrub consisted largely of thorn bushes.  There was however, one palm tree.

Eventually we made it to the river.

Once there, the water was very turbid from the thunderstorm of the previous day.  Not the best of fishing conditions. But JoJo had fun playing in the mud and making a non-newtonian fluid/mud ball.

No fish to be had, but good exercise and a morning in the sun in the wilds of New Zealand. I  plan to try again on Thursday.

Moving overseas for a year (with 4 kids) ... What do you pack????

When we were contemplating this adventure I scoured the web looking for information from people who have done it before and how they did it.  I also was desperate for information on what to take and what NOT to take with me.  I really did not find much.  Most of the links and blogs out there are about the adventures everyone had while overseas.  So this post is for people thinking about if and how they would manage such a nutbar thing.

We have only been here for 1 month so far and there are a few things I wish I had brought and a few I should have left behind.  I'm sure this will change as time goes on...

As an intro for those who don't know us...  Matt and I are family docs from Canada who decided to go to New Zealand for a year and drag the kids along.  The kids are as follows:

Thing One:  Adrian,  the 15 year old skateboarder/snow border dude who prefers to be upside down and got his braces off less than 24 hours before we got on a plane.  He is only mildly impressed to be moving across the world.

Thing Two: Joelle, 13 year old riding nut who is very upset she could not bring her saddle as her carry on item.

Thing Three: Luke, 9 year old happy go lucky guy who will wear the same pair of underwear 5 days running if you don't watch him.

and not to mention Thing Four:  Jamie, age 7, is only truly happy when he is immersed in the Pokemon world.

We moved into a fully furnished and equipped house.  It had a dishwasher, stove, fridge and microwave.  Small appliances were also here including a kettle, coffee maker and vacuum.  There is also a TV and DVD player.   Bedding and linens were supplied as were towels and dishes.  I still have purchased a few odds and ends but in general most of our purchases will be things we take home with us ie: I did not have to set up house so we only had to bring personal items.


I will start with our limitations and what we brought...  and then go on about what we should have left behind and then complain about things I left behind and miss.

Matt and I were allowed to take 2 pieces each of checked luggage and one carry on  bag and our "personal item/bag" as the recruiting company paid for our second bag.  The kids each had one checked bag and their carry on bag and their backpacks as the "personal bag".

Matt only packed one checked bag and his carry ons as he is a minimalist and is happy just with his towel (think Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy)

I am not.  'Nuff said.

For the little boys we packed:  5 pairs of pants, 5 pairs of shorts,  6 t shirts, 5 or so long sleeved shirts,  2-3 sweaters,  lots of socks and underwear,  1 rain jacket, one winter jacket, ski pants, 1 pr each of:  running shoes, sandals, winter boots,  mitts and hats, bathing suit, 2 pair of PJ's.   They also brought their blankies, Nintendo ds, multiple games,  a ball cap and I think that is about it...

Joelle packed her riding boots, helmet, spurs  riding jacket and show gear.  The girl has priorities.  For clothing she brought 3 pr of jeans, 2 pr of yoga pants, 2 pr of sweatpants (aeropostal and bench - priorities again) Her down winter coat, rain shell, a pretty dress and 2 hoodies and 8+ T shirts.  For shoes she brought a couple of pairs of sneakers, flips flops, black patent flats and uggs.  She did not bring her ski suit b/c it was just about too small and we are going to get her a new set here.
For 'stuff'  Joelle packed her DS, Kindle, ipod touch, all her Pony Club books, and her drawing kit.

Adrian packed his own stuff and I "think" he brought just about everything he owned that fit him.  His wardrobe is rather small at the moment b/c he is growing like a weed and I have been hesitant to purchase too much at one go.  That being said... he has 4pr of jeans, multiple t's and long sleeved t's several hoodies, his rain coat, his snowboarding coat, ski pants and several pair of skate boarding shoes. No boots.  Boots are not cool.   His "stuff" included: his laptop, ipod, blackberry (thank god for interchangeable sim cards) super large skull candy headphones and a bunch of skate magazines.


One thing of note is that in the area we are in, all the kids wear uniforms to school.  This did cut down on what they needed to bring as none of this clothing gets worn to school.  However, I needed to buy a full uniform set for everyone once we got here.

I don't know what my husband packed...

I had the dilemma of needing both a work and casual wardrobe.  And if you don't know me,  I have an issue with shoes, lots and lots of shoes. Sigh...  Plus I try to run on a regular basis (not so much lately) and therefore need workout gear too.

I'll start with the easy stuff...

Work clothes

5 pr dress pants: 2 black, 2 beige, 1 grey,
3 skirts: 1 black, 1 black and white cotton skirt, 1black and beige print.
3 cardigans: 1each of black, beige and grey
4 blouses: 1 white, 1 navy & black print,  1 black and beige print, 1 brown and beige print
6 dressy T's:  1 white, 1 navy, 1 pink, 1 grey, 1 black and blue block print, 1 black
2 dresses: one multi print, one blue knit
3 sweaters: 1 black, 1 red, 1 green

Dress shoes, 1 pr black heels, 2 pr flats:  1 beige and black (picture spectator pumps with a flat heel) , 1 black,  1 pr of white and beige sandals,

I really tried to pare things down and have stuff that worked together.  Honestly I'm tired of it already and it has only been a month sigh...

Work out gear:   4 pr of sneakers.  Yes that is excessive but I am a princess and have to have my favourite shoes, plus the plan is that I will use them all up while here and have the packing space for cool new stuff to take back home.  3 pr of running tights - long, calf length and capris.  3 pr shorts.  2 long sleeved tech shirts,  5 short sleeve/sleeveless tech shirts, multiple bras, socks etc.  2 swim suits, bathing cap and goggles. running beanie,  2 running jackets (one shell and one heavier) and a waffle layer and my super cool biking jacket even though I hardly every get on my bike (it's really cute and looks great on me ;-)

Casual clothes ie: the mommy look.

This is what I live in 90% of the time.

Bottoms: 1 khaki cotton skirt,  3 pr jeans, 1 pr of hiking pants, 3 pr of cotton shorts, 2 pr of capris,  2 pr of yoga pants, my nike dri fit pants (best pants ever!!),  1 pr navy cords and my lululemon  lined studio pants (ok, these ones might be the best pants ever, sorry nike).
Tops: 8 t-shirts, 2 tanks,  3  light sweaters, 1 polar fleece cardigan, my roots hoodie, 1 mid-weight sweater, 2 turtlenecks, 1 fleece vest, one quilted zip vest.
My stretchy dress I use as a bathing suit cover up, 2 pr PJ's, a belt.  One purse (OMG!!!)

Shoes: 1 pr of flip flops, my Keen sandals, 1 pr black ankle boots, my winter boots, slippers,

Dressy stuff:  a girl has to have priorities, one super little black chiffon cocktail dress and red satin shoes to go with.  shrug...  a black sequinned top and Kenneth cole pants (very cool flocked velvet pattern)  and a cotton sleeveless black print dress you can wear anywhere with the above mentioned black cardigan.

I also brought my riding boots and helmet and breeches.  I don't have show gear, it is not a pretty thing when I ride.

My ski coat and pants,  a bomber length down coat, couple of scarves, mitts, hats etc. Rain jacket.

The other stuff...  my laptop, the ipad, my ipod ( I have the shuffle, it is the size of a quarter) a couple of books I have yet to read.  My gym bag, a tote bag (for work, really, sigh...), camera, 3 pr of sunglasses, minimal jewelry.  I did NOT bring a hair dryer.  Mine was not dual voltage so I picked one up here for $30.  A sewing kit.  (I am in severe sewing machine with-drawl though)  My embroidery project.  The Christmas stockings (all 6 of them).  2 water bottles.  External hard drive for computer.  Electric toothbrush (the princess thing again) Reading glasses (aging princess) .  My Garmin.

I fit this into two large suitcases, a regulation carry on and a totebag.   I am also sure I've missed a couple of things I've packed but are not coming to mind.

I'm not sure I should have bothered with my riding gear, I might pick up some lessons later but it is not looking like that will happen.
I wish my eldest had brought the trucks and wheels to his skateboard b/c we could have just got a new deck instead of a whole new setup for him.
We had one voltage converter plug before we came and I got the apple travel pack as well but ended up buying 2 more converters  at LAX and I am glad I did.
Most of the electronics are dual voltage and/or can be charged via USB and the computer.  BUT this is really important to check prior to going.  It is your regular electrical stuff that is the issue such as my hairdryer, it just won't work here or will get completely fried after a while.  Just not worth it to lug it here to die.

Most of the stuff I may need or want is here anyway.  But we are here for a year so it is hard to plan out an entire years wardrobe and recreation.

We did NOT bring our ski gear.  This may turn into a bit of a mistake.  But it is heavy and bulky and expensive to transport.  So we are going to take our chances of new stuff or just renting.  We shall see how it goes.

Purchases so far...  New skateboard for Adrian, scooters for Luke and Jamie, Shearling slippers for everyone! And I did pick up the cutest pair of shoes the other day and the zipper just broke on my purse...


Addendum:  Update at 4 months...

We have now been here for over 4months... (just in case you did not figure that out with the Addendum thing).

I think (for me) one of the most difficult things so far about this trip has been the "austerity factor".  To elaborate: we came with minimal luggage and we will go back with minimal luggage.  So that means every purchase that is not a consumable must be mulled over regarding size, weight or disposability.

As a consummate shopper this is quite difficult (and frustrating) for me.

Also there are things that will make life easier but you know you will just be buying and leaving behind (muffin tins, extra glasses for the kitchen).  Another aspect is that some things are just so much more expensive here than in Canada it kills me to pay for them ($149 for a pair of ski goggles for Adrian and those were the cheapies ack!)   Especially when they are duplicates of objects we still have at home.

Plus Matt and I have some differing ideas of what things are necessary or not.  Him: hunting gear (very extensive list).  Me: toys for the kids,  crafty stuff.   Even books have become a bone of contention, pricey, heavy and take up a lot of space.  We do have a kindle and 2 ipads but the younger boys do better with paper.  We have been using the library but a few purchases have occurred...

As well Matt could live out of a backpack for a year and be quite happy.  Me, not so much.

I am trying (desperately trying) not to treat this like an extended vacation but that we are living here but it is hard to build a home when everything is borrowed and you feel like you are living as a university student again.  I am surprised at how attached I am to my house and my stuff!

Other aspects are how spoiled we are in Canada.  I don't mean spoiled in a bad way but that we live in a large country just next door to the largest consumer market in the world so we get a huge benefit from that regarding products: cost, diversity and availability.  Quality as well.  High end consumer good are very expensive, there are cheaper options but there does not seem to be a middle ground. 

Part of the factor here is that we are in a small town not a major centre.  Limited number of stores unless you feel like driving to Christchurch (about an hour) and have free time on the weekend.   I've done small town and rural living.  I also did not realize how much I liked living on the edge of a large city.   Lots of personal revelations in the this trip.

And it is not all bad.  Please don't take the above as moaning.  We are seeing many new things and going places I never imagined (the road to the ski hill at Mt Hutt, trust me I never could have imagined that!).  It is a different country on the other side of the world and the adjustment is larger than I thought.

Background check:  We have moved before. A lot.  The longest our family has lived in one place is our most recent move to Ottawa which was 5.5 years.  On average we move every 4-5 years.  We have lived in Kingston ON,  Milan Ohio, Aylesford NS and then Ottawa ON.  Not much compared to some military friends, but still  quite a bit.  I have found it takes (in general) a year to settle into a new community and house.  So as I keep telling Matt, once we have figured it all out we will be leaving!  Plus after this trip we will be moving BACK to the same place and house.  So I think the other end will be good in that we will be able to settle into old routines etc.  At least I will know where everything will go when we unpack in our house!

Mt Cook and Lake Tepako

This weekend we blew town (much to Adrian's great disgust) and headed to Mount Cook and Lake Tepako.

Mount Cook is the highest peak in New Zealand and has been scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary.  As most of you know he is the dude who scaled Everest.  Well, he's from New Zealand and has a place on the $5 bill. After driving the blooming hills here Everest was likely a piece of cake, more on that later.

Any hoo we did not scale Mt Cook but stayed at  a holiday park (super de duper NZ campground) and looked at bee yoo ti ful scenery and I got car sick.  No barfing this time just nausea.  Kids were fine, Matt was fine. I, apparently, am the princess...  as I sit here sipping my ginger tea b/c we got home 2 hours ago and I still feel green.   Big breath, enough complaining... On with the story.

We stopped just outside of Ashburton at the The Tin Shed and everyone got new shearling slippers to keep our tootsies warm when winter comes.  Except Joelle, hers are possum fur. Go figure.

It takes about 3+ hours of driving time to get there from Ashburton (someday I will do a post on our little town with pix).   After buying slippers and driving for a while we stopped at Lake Tekapo  for a stretch.

The lake is glacier fed (read really really cold) and while close up is very clear from far away has an unusual opaque blue colour due to "rock flour".  Rock flour is tiny bits of rock that is ground up by the glaciers that feed the lake.  These bits of rock give it it's unique opaque blue/green colour, kinda like a shamrock shake at McDonalds.

This picture is of Luke and Flat Malachi (think Flat Stanley,  Malachi is our nephew and a flat version arrived in the mail the other day so he gets to adventure with us for a little while till we have to send him back to Canada) at Lake Pulaki.  Same idea, but if you look closely you can see the lake colour reflected in the clouds.  It was SOOOOO cool.  This is the best pix showing that of the 100+ I took over the weekend.

Just past Lake Tepako there is the Mount John Observatory,  so we had to take a peek at the peak!  I kill me.   The road up this is about 6 inches wide and I swear we were on a 60 degree angle at times.
The view was completely worth it.

From here we went to the  Glentanner Holiday Park

Holiday parks are huge in New Zealand,  They are campgrounds with something for everyone, you can tent, park your camper or rent a bunkhouse room (like we did) which is basically bunkbeds and mattresses (it may or may not have a loo or sink) or a hotel room or full cabin which has its own kitchen etc.  Almost always there is a kitchen building with a full kitchen with stoves, fridges, microwave, pots, dishes and utensils,  at some you have to pay a fee (usually just $5) to use the kitchen supplies but not always.   There are also BBQ's play areas (some fancier than others) and walking/hiking trails.

During high season reservations are recommended and very easy to do online.   When we take some vacation and head to the North Island we will likely rent a camper and do this.

Mt Cook in it's glory:

So... after supper (or tea as everyone calls it here) we headed further down the road to the Sir Edmund HIllary Centre  we were planning to do the Big Sky Stargazing but it clouded over and that was kibashed.  We did see the Planetarium show which was way cool and learned how to find our way using the Southern Cross and the Two Sisters. 

The next day (ie today) we headed back to Lake Tekapo to go to the hot pools .  These are natural hot pools.  They have 3 different heats, 35C, 37C and 39C (the last one NO KIDS!!)  It was AWESOME.  Luke wanted to have a nap in the pool.

And then we drove home...

random stuff...

busy week but fairly mundane and I will do a "real" post later...

fun stuff from this week:  Joelle and I have done a couple of horsey things,  saw a pony on wed night but she was a bit too green for what she would like to do, have a tryout and lesson scheduled for sunday afternoon and went to watch the local pony club rally here in Ashburton and found out the first meeting of the year is this sunday at 10am, perfect timing.
I got pulled over for a breathlyser test at 8:30am in front of the elementary school!  They were stopping everyone in both directions.  Don't know about you but I don't usually go for an am shot of booze prior to dropping the kids off and going to work, who knew?
Luke has signed up for rugby, that should be interesting and Adrian's b-day is tomorrow.  We may be long board shopping this aft.
And I am going to try to teach Matt how to skype this aft.  You may hear screams of frustrations across the pacific.
That's if for now...

Kaikoura and more...

This weekend we (read Matt) decided we should drive up to Kaikoura.  I learned a couple of things.

 Lesson #1:  don't believe NZ maps about whether it is a "highway" or not.  The #1 highway is often a very narrow (but paved or chipseal) road with cliffs extending to within about 12 inches of the pavement and an abyss on the other side.  If there actually is a guardrail (I use this term loosely) they really really mean it.   Joelle and Jamie both fell victim to the hairpin turns and switchbacks.  Next trip I am planning to make a "barf kit"  We were missing the days when a box or two of baby wipes were always in the van.   And this is the main drag.  Not a side road.

Lesson #2:  0.5 metre swells in are much larger in NZ than in North America.  (I think they were lying to fill the whale watching trip) I actually was seasick. 1st time ever!  Now in case you don't know... I grew up on the ocean, I am used to fishing in small dories and have sailed a bit in the past (read before children-  have my bareboat certificate and crewed a little on racing sailboats etc) so this was rather bizarre.  I'm blaming it on the drive up, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
We did get to see a sperm whale and some fur seals.
Matt, Luke and Adrian however, have stomachs of stone.

The water is a very different shade of blue, hard to describe and the pictures just don't do it justice.

More mundane stuff...

Groceries are more expensive, being a little island in the pacific ocean makes for added on costs regarding shipping etc.  Watch the sales and it is not too bad.  Dairy farming is HUGE here and milk is really expensive, about double what it costs in Canada ($4 on average for 2L) this does not make sense to me but apparently there is a huge overseas demand for New Zealand milk.  Go figure.  The general population is not happy over this and it is the news quite a bit.

Electronics are VERY expensive as are running shoes and anything plastic.  Stuff I got at the dollar store at home can range from $5 to $25 and up.  A plastic laundry basket is about $20 unless you find a great sale.  Water bottles can cost up to $50 but I found some for $6.50 (Jamie has lost his already, sigh...)

Gas runs at about $2.08 per litre,  thankfully Matt can walk to work and my commute is 5 minutes max.

One nice thing is that taxes are included on the shelf price, so what you see is what you pay.

However, sales are common and are really good.  I picked up a printer/scanner the other day for $39.

It feels a bit like a cross between Europe and North America.  Sizes of products are small, no Costco sizing here but some of the familiar brands are available and others are local.  You can get Smarties (not around in the ole US of A in case you did not know) Diet Pepsi does not exist so far that I have found but there is Pepsi Max and to Adrian's great joy the Mountain Dew is caffeinated.

The driving on the left is getting better, the roundabouts too.  Just look right and if you think you can make it, go for it!  People are quite used to getting cut off.   The more dangerous thing is walking and looking in the wrong direction when crossing the street.  Much safer to whip your head both ways b/c if you are not at a marked crosswalk, even on a corner you will get run over.

Here in Ashburton the little balls are orange but you get the idea.   I have not tried L handed parallel parking yet.  Might not ever...

That's about it at the moment. Joelle and I are going to look at a pony tonight but it is a bit far (30minute drive) so that may not work out.  There is also a pony club rally this weekend we are going to check out and ask around re lessons etc.  AND Adrian will be turning 15 on Sunday.   Luckily NZ just raised the driving age from 15 to 16 last year.  Isn't that great??!!!!

Cheers
jeanette

starting school

Hello everyone, it is a lovely sunny day today,  20C.  Jamie and Luke just got new scooters, they are "the thing" to have if you are in grade school.


The kids started school last week, new uniforms and all

and just to rub it in here are some pix of our great weather...

there are no mosquitos or black flies in this area so you just leave your doors and windows wide open.

(but there is no central heating too... we shall see how well that goes over once it gets colder)

path to the back yard,

my lovely toyota minivan...