6 March: Monday. We packed up the car, said "see you soon" to the Goldmans and headed north. Along the way we stopped in Geraldine to do a bit of shopping at Barker's which is famous for jams, jellies and fruit cordial mixes and at the Talbot Cheese factory store for some bleu cheese. We stayed the night in Timaru.

7 March: Tuesday. We awoke to a drizzle in Timaru, and the rain became steadier as we drove north. The Canterbury Plain area is not terribly scenic...lots of level farmland with cattle, sheep, and hay. Irrigators are going all the time. I wondered why the irrigators would be full on when it was raining. When we stopped for lunch with our friend Pete Sommerville at his home in Prebbleton just south of Christchurch, he explained that this is the perfect time to irrigate because the ground is moist and the water from the irrigators doesn't just run off. My sciene lesson for the week. We found our way to Christchurch's Burwood Hospital Spinal Unit to visit Max. He is making incremental progress and is determined. He tires easily but hasn't lost his cheekiness or sense of humor. After our visit, we checked into our flat in the New Brighton area. It is right across from the beach. In the evening, we went out to dinner with Cathy to Salt on the Pier - a good restaurant overlooking the 300 meter long pier. The weather has turned cool and too windy for a walk.

8 March: Wednesday. 9 degrees Celcius (48F). I got out my jeans...Buzz is still in shorts. We had a walk on the beach this morning. Buzz spent the afternoon with Max while Cathy and I went for some retail therapy. She needed stuff, I just browsed the shops. Later in the evening we went for dinner at the Pierside Cafe just down the road. The meal was average, the company excellent.

9 March: Thursday. 7C this morning! We took a drive to Lyttleton harbor. This area has been hit hard by a number of earthquakes, and damage is still evident. From Lyttleton, we drove to Governors Bay and then up the Dyer's Pass Road back toward the city. At the summit, we were treated to a vista with snow covered mountains to the southwest. On the drive back, the road passes the Port Hills reserve which was heavily damaged by fire a few weeks ago. Charred hillside and acrid air are vivid reminders. Back in the city we did a bit of antiquing. Buzz found an Elna sewing machine oil can dating from around 1950. He got it for Max who is an avid oil can collector. I got a few books in an op shop which should get me through the next few weeks. The weather warmed up; so we took a walk on the pier after lunch. People were fishing for crabs by dropping crab nets attached to long ropes over the side and then pulling them up to discover their catch. On the beach was a group of people flying kites, a school group on a field trip learning about the formation and preservation of sand dunes, and a group learning about surfing. Another visit with Max rounded out the afternoon. Buzz, Cathy, and I finished the day with dinner at Tutto Bene, a very good restaurant in the suburb of Marivale. We said "see you next time", and tomorrow we head Northwest to Murchison. Ordinarily we would continue traveling up the east coast through Kaikoura, but that area was heavily damaged by a recent earthquake, and the road north is closed..at least until the end of this year. There are not many roads here; so we will go Northwest to Murchison and then east to Picton to get the ferry back to the North Island on Saturday. This is a mere inconvenience for us...a devastating blow for the people of Kaikoura who depend heavily on tourists who come to see the seals and whales and eat the crayfish.

10 March: Friday. A mix of sun and rain for this driving day with a great deal of construction for added frustration. We stopped at Maruia Falls for lunch. the view was beautiful, the sand flies ravenous. Even with insect repellent we didn't linger over our meal. Dinner at the Cowshed Restaurant in Murchison...pizza was okay, pavlova* was delicious...and an early night.

11 March: Saturday. The entire country is beset by rain! Even so, as we drove through the Marlborough countryside the vineyards looked lovely. We drove to Picton to get the ferry. There isn't much to do except walk around the shops and enjoy the harbor view...if it is a fine day. We joined the multitudes looking in the shops for as long as Buzz could stand it, and then drove to the ferry terminal and read our books for an hour waiting to board. The Cook Strait crossing was a rolling one. We were a bit late arriving in Wellington, but then it only took about 30 minutes to drive to Birchville where Darcy and Phyllis Ross welcomed us once again with friendship, a delicious dinner, and a bed before we return to Feilding tomorrow.

12 March: Sunday. The rain overnight was torrential and even had some thunder and lightning for drama. Darcy and Phyllis took us to Stonestead for a morning Devonshire Tea.* After tea, we said another "see you next time" and headed north over the Rimutaka HIll in some of the heaviest rain we have seen. Back home in Feilding we unpacked, and relaxed. It isn't until you sit down with nothing to do that you realize how tiring driving three hours in the rain has been. Maria, Cathy and Max's older daughter, arrived in the late afternoon and stayed overnight. Buzz and I got Fish and Chiips for dinner...Maria went out to meet her friends. Tomorrow begins our last week in Feilding.

*Pavlova: a merengue with a crisp outer crust and a marshmallowy center filled with sweetened whipped cream and topped with fruit.

*Devonshire Tea: For the uninformed, a Devonshire Tea includes a pot of tea, milk for your tea, a huge warm scone (plain, date, or cheese), a pat of butter, a small bowl of jam (four flavors to choose from or mustard pickle (read chutney) for your cheese scone) and a small bowl of whipped cream.