Visitors from Home

We left Nelson a day early, so we'd have time on the narrow winding roads through the north central region of the South Island. It just occurred to me that a map might be useful, attentive readers, so I've included one. Sorry it's not as clear as it might be. But you can see that Nelson is ensconced in that protected cove in the north, while Christchurch is about halfway down the east coast.

Empty chairs monument

Empty chairs monument explanation

When you tell folks that you're going to be in Australia and New Zealand for six months, and encourage them to come visit, they often want to but don't. This is in no way a character flaw. It's a very long way to travel. It requires a level of time and commitment that most folks think they'd jump at, but then the reality of everyday life sets in, and they realize that it's a hard-to-do thing. In fact, just not worth it. At this time. So imagine our surprise and delight when our youngest daughter, S, and her friend and colleague A, really did come to visit. Though they both claim Philadelphia as home now, they came to Christchurch via Boise, where they had just finished a Devised Theater Piece which  called "Small Matters". It was a great success. They were on an adventure after an exhausting bit.  I, of course, am a bit of a planner, so I had an itinerary ready to go. The first bit was staying a couple of days in Christchurch so they could rest and acclimate. Airbnb's have been our mainstay, by the way. I can filter for 4 adults, 3 beds, even 3 bedrooms, so we can get what we need. Kitchen. 2 bathrooms is lovely, but almost never happens. They came through the time change (17 hours) much better than we had (ah, youth), and we set out to see the streets of Christchurch.

Angelin front of destroyed church

There is sculpture and artwork all over Christchurch, even though the city is clearly still being rebuilt after the 2011 (2nd) earthquake. I found the Empty Chairs Memorial for the people lost in the quake particularly moving.

But there is a lot of other work everywhere; old and new.

The angel sculpture in front of the deserted and crumbling church (complete with a large flock of pigeons living in the ruin) is compelling. An old Gothic-looking sculpture, it was strapped to the cross post earthquake. I have no idea what they intend to do with it, but it's worth clicking on the image to get a better view.

Remains of the old church

Hives, a contemporary sculpture downtown

After a couple of days of great meals out and in, we headed down the coast to Ashburton.   A, Sarah's friend,  likes to call it the "Where knitting was invented", because Sarah told her about the spinning wheel factory where I got my first wheel. That's not exactly right, of course, on all counts. The truth is that in 1985, as a newly minted assistant professor of Horticulture at Penn State, I decided to learn to spin fleece into yarn. I enlisted the help of my spinning teacher, and we drove 2 hours in a snowstorm to Orbisonia, PA, where there was a little knitting shop that stocked Ashford Spinning wheel kits. A few months ago, I found Ashford wheels online (they have expanded considerably. . .see https://www.ashford.co.nz.)

Ashburton Sunset

I sent an email telling that story, using the form on the website, and was astonished when Elizabeth Ashford, owner, wrote back and pretty much said "Come on by. I'll show you around". . . And that's why we stopped in Ashburton, home of Ashford Handicrafts. We did indeed get a tour, and then S and A found a wonderful 2nd hand shop in town where they purchased an accordion and a mink stole-with-muff, respectively. You can't make this stuff up.


We found a hike along a river in the town of Ashburton, and were treated to one of many spectacular sunsets. We're used to that in Boise, but still. Pretty sweet.

Ashburton sunset 2

Young woman photographing Ashburton Sunset