We figured they would probably be hungry so we decided after they checked in to their hotel room in Christchurch we would take them to our favorite sushi place, Ace Wasabi across from the casino. We just love this place. The people who work there are so nice and the food is real yummy too. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals and I think that Trey's parents enjoyed seeing some of our "usual" spots so they can have an idea of what we do on a regular basis that is not touristy.
The next day we celebrated Robin's birthday by starting the day at the Arts Center market where we actually had bought a lot of Christmas presents for people back in November/December. She found a lot of things she liked by local artisans and wound up being torn between 2 scarves so Trey and Jocelyn bought her one as a birthday present so she would not have to choose! The one we bought her was the one the woman was actually wearing who sold it to her!! She literally gave her the scarf off her neck. Now THAT is authentic! :)
Jocelyn also wound up buying a whale bone necklace from a Maori woman who we always see at the market. The Maori are the only ones who are legally allowed to use whale bone. The piece Jocelyn bought is the shape of a whale tail and actually is meant to symbolize inner strength. Before the Maori use the whale bone, they also bless it.
The Maori have a great respect for nature and have many legends about the creation of the earth and all its inhabitants. Many of these legends revolve around the spirits or gods who created or protect each part of their world such as the mountains, the forests, the lakes and the creatures of the sea.
Most carvings combine elements from several areas of mythology which interact with each other to tell a story. Each element has its own specific meaning and the way they are portrayed or combined is what gives a carving its own special character.After the market, we all piled into the car for the short drive to Waipara wine country which is about 45 minutes outside of Christchurch. First, we went to Pegasus Bay winery for a wine tasting. This is where Trey and Jocelyn had gone in August for Jocelyn's birthday. It is meant to be the best winery in Waipara. Jocelyn and Kip preferred the Gewurtztraminer while Trey and Robin preferred the Sauv. We each got a glass and sat out on the picnic tables overlooking their gardens to enjoy the day. We only had a little while though since we had a reservation for a birthday lunch at the winery next door, Mud House.
We got to Mud House and sat at a table outside since it was such a nice day. Trey and Jocelyn had eaten there before and Mud House is known for their tame and wild pies. While the Holzwarth's went for the tame pies, Jocelyn dove right in for a wild pie - wild boar to be exact, called Pigs in Mud! The wild boar was cooked with their riesling, crab apples, carrots and a hint of sage. She thinks after getting past the fear she will likely try another wild pie next time.....wild venison or tahr (goat) anyone?? ;-) Once we finished lunch, we did another tasting at Mud House.
After lunch we headed back to Pegasus Bay to purchase some wine and explore their famous garden. This may have been the most fun part of the day - this may have had to do with the fact that we all had plenty to drink by this time! The gardens were beautiful and so well kept. It clearly had many Asian influences. We were the only people in the garden since it was close to closing time. Such fun! Lots of funny pics!!
Jocelyn fell asleep on the way home and we dropped Trey's parents off at their hotel before meeting up later that night to show them the Christchurch nightlife and listen to some live music. We took them to Sol Square (South of Lichfield) where there are many bars and people hanging out outside of the bars. Our friend Mark was at Fish N Chips bar with some friends so we started there. When we got there, as we were looking for Mark, it was Robin who actually spotted Mark in the crowd since she had seen photos of him on this blog!!! Too funny. Mark took his tour guide role very seriously and explained some very Kiwi things to the Holzwarth's and Jocelyn introduced Robin to Lindauer fraise (bubbly with a hint of strawberries) while Trey and his dad had quart bottles of Tui. mark pointed out that you could actually see where previous labels had been on the bottles since they were recycled. Kiwis take their recycling very seriously. Next, we went to Lichfield Lanes (another popular bar lane) and found a table to sit at while listening to a band play. It was an amazing night and we did not get back home until after 1am!
Sunday we headed out to Akaroa where Trey and Jocelyn had been 2 times before. We ate lunch at a place where Jocelyn had found her favorite hamburger but sadly, one we got the menu, we realised the menu had changed and her hamburger was gone :( She was gutted. Instead she got a fish chowder, Trey and his mom got falafel sammies and Kip got an insanely complicated fish platter. You will need to look at the photos. It was pretty funny.
Since we had already done the dolphin cruise, we dropped them off and walked around Akaroa. First, we stopped in to the Akaroa Cooking School where Jocelyn had gotten Trey a private cooking class for the two of them. We were able to meet with Ant, one of the owners and solidify the menu we will cook in a few weeks! After that we checked out the lighthouse in the area and did some shopping.
After a few hours we picked them up at the dock and the apparently got to see a good a mount of dolphins which made us happy! Good photos! During the course of the trip, Trey's dad got more and more serious about taking his photos. A new camera might be a present real soon!
The next day was their last day here. The time flew! Trey woke up early to take them on a hike while Jocelyn slept in and skyped her family since it had been 3 weeks since she spoke to them.
The hike Trey took his parents on was at Taylor's Mistake, the first hike Jocelyn and Trey went on in New Zealand, and still one of their favorites. The day, although windy, was a good day for hiking - not too hot and not too cold. We started out at Taylor's Mistake beach which has fine black sand. Not long after starting the hike Trey's parents bumped into some familiar faces, a couple that has been on the same cruise as them in Akaroa. What makes this hike so great is that the whole hike is along the coast with a new breathtaking view around every corner. We think what Trey's dad enjoyed the most was taking all of the side trails that are a little off the beaten path. When we were close to the top of the trail we took a side trip to look at some of the old military defense gun installments. These gun installments were there to protect nearby Lyttelton Harbour from the Japanese during WWII. Although this outpost was never attacked by the Japanese it has been taken over since WWII by the ever persistent grazing sheep. On the way back to the car Trey and his dad took a little side path that led to a ladder that took them down the cliff side to the ocean. From here they hopped around some of the rocks as the waves crashed in between. They then climbed back up the ladder and met up with Robin to finish the hike. When they got back to the beach there were two people out surfing which we stopped to watch for a bit. It was now getting near one o'clock and we were getting hungry so we got into the car and drove back to meet up with Jocelyn for lunch at Cafe Decadence, another of our favorite local joints.
The rest of the day was spent maximizing every last moment with Trey's family. We walked around to do some shopping, had a drink in Sol Square and wound up having dinner yet again at Dux de Lux, the vegetarian/seafood place. It ended up being their favorite spot as well as ours!
At the end of the night we drove Trey's parents back to their hotel and said our goodbyes. We were really glad that they were able to come all this way and visit us. We really enjoyed being able to show them around New Zealand and we think they enjoyed their time here as well.
For more pictures click here.
