Last Thursday, we began our journey north with a destination of Auckland from where we shall depart New Zealand, reluctantly. The pictures from Mount Cook reveal the change of weather from mild summer to a wintry feel. It was exacerbated further as we headed towards Fairley for Shabbos and really felt the cold. The town is fairly small but for Shabbos, we don’t place much emphasis on where we base ourselves unless there is a shul in striking distance. One of the myths we have dispelled is that New Zealand is a small country. Whereas the people are few, the country has length although not too wide. The many mountain ranges also increase traveling distances because roads tend to go around the mountains rather than over the passes.
On Shabbos, as we usually do, unless our editor has wiped us out with a heavy week of hiking, we walk through the town to get a feel for the place. We passed the golf course, the restaurants and then sat on a bench along Main Street. We did not realize that we had chosen the prime position. Most of the activity took place near us, which provided some highlights of our stay in the town. Eventually, once the excitement had worn off, we made our way back to the cabin for the third meal. We forgot to mention the cause of the action that end of the year, day. The town’s recycling bins are positioned at the bench. We watched people preparing for the festivities in throwing out wine and beer bottles; we suppose making place for filled ones. The highlight was when an elderly woman and her dog passed by, itemized each piece for correct allocation, giving the dog a thorough understanding and ourselves how the process works. At times like these, the blood can really begin racing through the body—one has to limit such stimulation.
The excitement we have reached in New Zealand, which is at an incredibly high and sustained level, seems to have overshadowed the first half of this adventure, Cape Town and M’mpumalanga. To the contrary. The former has mountains and bays that are unforgettable and remain fixed in our minds. The hike through Blyde River Canyon was memorable. We don’t think we’ll ever forget being ‘dropped’ off in the ‘middle of nowhere’ by a taxi and then making our way to the terminal. For two days, we saw no fellow human but experienced solitude and beauty mixed with physical challenges. We mention this because it was special and lives within us, never far from the surface.
We awoke this morning and noticed sunlight on the amazing mountain range of which Fyffe is a peak. An hour later, it was partly cloud-covered and by the time we left for the hike, completely covered and raining. We understand we missed tremendous views today including that of the ocean; we are now on the east coast. It was a real pity but so be it. We climbed strongly considering the rain, reaching the hut with an elevation gain of 3,500 feet, well within the allotted time. It seems after a rest, we renew our energy level, which if we may say, was particularly high today. As we turn and look towards the bed in our room, our editor is in a process of re-renewing her levels. She was very energetic today and courageous as always.
Finally, we read that Christchurch suffered further quakes overnight. We passed through it yesterday, stopped to buy provisions, and continued towards Kaikoura. We are not with much understanding of matters geological. However, when we look around, we see such dynamism in the formations that we cannot help wonder if this land is in the throes of continued development. Who knows but it certainly shows the instability and energy of youth.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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