As a bonus in this entry, you get a recipe courtesy of our good friend Audrey Bowyer

Audrey's Vegetable Pickle:

1 Red Bell Pepper chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
1/2 large cucumber chopped
1C. pitted Calamata Olives
1 Avocado Chopped
3 large sweet gerkins chopped
1/2 C. parsley chopped
70 g (3oz) crumbled feta cheese
1 small red onion chopped
1/2 C olive oil, 1/4 C white vinegar, 1 tsp whole grain mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix altogether in a large bowl. Transfer to glass jar. Best second day. Keeps in fridge 2 weeks.


On Sunday morning, when I should have been resting in honor of having given birth to Kate and Laura 40 years ago, we left Waimate in the steely gray pouring rain at 7am to retrace the previous day's drive to just north of Rakaia to collect our backpack from the Kiwi angel named Chanell who found it on the side of the road and had it for us when we arrived at her home. She and her husband Neville have a dairy farm just outside Leeston. We thanked them profusely, gave them our card, and told them they have a place to stay if ever they come to New Hampshire.

We stopped for petrol in Rakaia (NZ$ 2.119/litre= about US$8.00/gallon) and then headed west. We took a back road to Fairlie and then south to Geraldine. The rain finally stopped after we had a snack in the cafe at Geraldine. The day grew finer although cool - about 10C (50F) and windy. We were pleased to have our rain jacket/wind breakers which had been in the backpack! We drove on through Lindis Pass enjoying the winding, hilly road with a vista around almost every bend to views of the Southern Alps and Lake Tekapo where there is a monument to the NZ Sheep Dog and a small chapel called the Church of the Good Shepherd. We drove on to Lake Pukaki and hoped for a glimpse of Aoraki (Mt. Cook), but the cloud cover was too low. We continued on to Omarama and then south to Wanaka where we stayed the night in the lovely Lake View Motel. Wanaka is a very popular turist destination, and we arrived at the end of the Triathalon weekend. I think we were lucky to find a room!

Monday morning dawned sunny and cool, and we set out for Jack's Point just outside of Queenstown. We drove from Wanaka through Cardrona across the Crown Range Road. The scenery, as always, was magnificent. We stopped at the top of the range to take a photo at the look out. It was so cold and windy we only stayed out of the car long enough to get a photo. We stopped for a walk around Arrowtown which is an old mining town now a major tourist attraction. We have been there several times before, and tourism notwithstanding, it is a charming place. We had planned to have a picnic lunch in Queenstown, but it was cold and raining; so we had our sandwiches in the car! Queenstown, on Lake Wakatipu, is the tourist mecca of the South Island. It is all go all the time. Buzz gets tense just driving through the CBD. On to Jack's Point to meet our good friends from Toronto, Anne and Michael Goldman at the home of their son and daughter-in-law Eliott and Bridget. We last saw Eliott and Bridget at their wedding two years ago. Since then, they have built a lovely home with views of the lake and surrounding mountains. We settled in, reorganized our bags, had a lovely dinner and enjoyed the company. By evening, we had everything ready to set off for our Stewart Island Adventure on Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning Buzz, Anne, MIchael, and I set out around 9am for the drive to Invercargill where we caught the plane to Stewart Island. The day started out sunny, but the clouds rolled in the farther south we drove. We arrived at the Invercargill ariport and checked and weighed our bags and our person, and settled in to await our flight. Our plane was a five seater...just the pilot and us. The trip was described as a sometimes turbulent twenty minute ride, and it didn't disappoint! We landed on a short airstrip where we were met by a van and driven the few kilometres into Oban, the only town on the Island...population 360. At the terminal cum Post Office we were met by the driver from the Bay Motel, Robin. He gaves a brief tour of the town pointing out good places to eat and brought us to the motel. If you find yourself going to Stewart Is., the Bay Motel is the place to stay. It is a vrry short walk into town. We had a two bedroom apartment fully equipped and the "concierge" service was great....down to ordering freshly caught blue cod for us to take back to the mainland on Friday. The weather was fine but cool. We stopped at the DOC visitor's center, got a brochure of the walks on the island, and took a walk for an hour or so on two of the beautifully maintained walking tracks. Later we had a look around town and went to the South Sea Hotel for dinner. In the evening we were visited by a Kaka (a NZ parrot) on our balcony railing. He was obviously the "motel bird" and was looking for apples and almonds...which we just happened to have!

On Wednesday we relaxed in the morning, visited the local museum, and then took a boat to Paterson Inlet and Ulva Island in the afternoon. No one lives on Ulva except the fourth generation of the Hunter Family who settled there years agoin a small house on the bay. Once again, we had a knowledgable guide both on water and on land. We saw beautiful flora both native and introduced. We had hoped to see many varieties of birds, but only saw the Stewart Island Robin...the rest of the birds could be heard but not seen. Back on the Main Island, we bought some groceries for a BBQ dinner at the motel and had a relaxing evening...so much fresh air necessitated a late aftenoon siesta!

We rented a car for Thursday. There are only 28K of roads on the Island. We thought we would drive to some of the walking tracks, walk, have a picnic lunch, and then drive to another. Unfortunately, it rained all day. We did go walking in the morning when it was just raining, but by lunch timethere was a gale wind added to the heavy rain. We took our picnic back to the motel and ate at the dining table! In the late afternoon we ventured out in the car in the opposite direction, but it was still too windy and wet to for us to walk. Of course, the true hikers were out and about slogging through the weather. We, on the otherhand are fair weather walkers. We returned the rental car and stopped at the pub for dinner. It was a good meal and the place was very busy...being the only pub in town on a rainy night has its advantages. Billiards, darts, sports on TV, and lots of beer being poured. The rain and wind continued on and off all night. I awoke to the wind about 2:30 am and lookled out tthe window to see the sky had cleared and was awash with stars. It was a magnificent sight.

On Friday morning we packed up and decided to have a walk along the beach and on a bit farther south until our plane back to the mainland at 1 PM. Unfortunately at about 10:30 the rain started again and quickly turned to hail! Buzz and I made haste for the visitor's center and settled in to watch a movie about Stewart Island...bathed in sunshine! After the movie, when the rain had abated and we had dried out, we walked back toward the beach and found Anne and Michael having a cup of coffee in the hotel resataurant. We joined them, and it quickly became apparent that the hotel dining room is the local gathering place for moms to have morning coffee while their kids either play off to the side or come and go on their bicycles..checking in from time to time.

At the appointed time, we went to the terminal, and got our flight back to Invercargill. This time the plane was a 10 passenger craft. The flight took only 15 minutes due to a strong tailwind, and was not too turbulent. We collected our bags and stopped to pay at the parking machine. Where else can you leave your car from Tuesday until Friday afternoon for $10 (US$8). We stopped in Invercargill to check out a leather/sheepskin/woolen clothing factory shop and an antique store. Continuing north we stopped at The Bakery in Winton for a late lunch. One of the things I love here is that when you order tea in a cafe you get a cup and saucer, a pot of tea, a pot of boiling water, and a small pitcher of milk. You can then make the tea strength to your personal satisfaction. At The Bakery there was even a small chocolate fish for a treat with the cup of tea.

As we got further north, it was obvious that there had been snow in our absence. The high peaks of the ranges were covered in a dusting of new snow. Back at Jack's Point, Eliott said that there had been high winds, rain and the snow the night before. We unpacked, and for a snack Eliott and I shared a plate of fresh Stewart Island oysters. I never had such fresh ones before...just a little lemon juice and delicious. Later in the evening (sunset here is at 9:20 PM) we lit cnadles, made kiddush, and settled in for a Shabbat dinner of pan seared crusted blue cod. After dinner it was still just dusk, and we took a walk around the Jack's Point development. It is a huge area which will one day have about 700 homes, but has only about 100 at present. The views of the mountains and the open spaces are mesmerizing. Eliott has a home office here...not sure how he can look away from the view long enough to get anything done. Maybe the office is just a ruse!

Today we went to the farmer's market out near the Queenstown airport and then to the grocery to get a few things for our onward journey. The farmer's markets here are very upscale...really an outlet for boutique cheesemakers, bakers, etc. Maybe we'll go for a walk this afternoon after I finish reorganizing our luggage, then dinner with the Goldmans and a quiet evening. We leave for our Doubtful sound trip tomorrow morning at 7am.