Expect the Unexpected Part II

As most of you know, my dad suffered a stroke a few days ago. I have been checking in with family every day, chatting via facebook and trying to stay sane being so far away. It is looking like a quick trip home is in order, leaving sometime in the next few weeks. I did not think I would be headed to Oregon so soon after our arrival and under such crappy circumstances. Will keep you posted.

Mike's Big Day Out

For those who don't already know; I fish. I fly fish to be exact. And also for those of you who don't know, New Zealand has some of the best fly fishing available on the planet. With a population of just over 4 million and a perfect climate for clear, cool trout waters, the country has a gluttony of fishing riches. Trout were introduced from Tasmania in the 1800's and they have flourished. There are no real predators for the fish to worry about and the waters are very clean. So this past weekend, thanks to my very indulging and understanding wife (who also fly fishes), I was able to get a full day out on one of the local Canterbury rivers and was into fish all morning and afternoon. Usually fishing is done by sight, meaning you spot a fish and then fish to that particular critter. This river was turbulent so it demanded lots of blind fishing which is the norm back in the states. Any likely looking water was met with a strike. Did I mention that the fish here are huge? As in nothing under 20" long. They don't even measure fish here in length but rather by the kilogram. I was into consistently 2 kilogram fish. That's big by my standards. As I was by myself, I was of course unable to get photos of any of these beautiful rainbows, but the scenery was not so bad either......

Guest of honor

We had our first guest over for brunch last weekend. R is one of the only people we knew in New Zealand before coming over here. She is the step mother of an old and dear kiwi friend of mine from my middle school years in Corvallis. We stayed with her on our honeymoon back in 2004 and have kept in touch the last few years. We even got to see her in Portland a few years ago since her sister lives there.

We had a splendid meal of veggie frittata, homemade blueberry muffins, strawberries and some bubbly for the occasion. And lots and lots of good conversation. We are so happy to have her here in Christchurch.

Bike commuter

I am woman, hear me roar....down the streets to work on my new bike. It was a public holiday on Friday so the roads were abandoned at 7am which made for an easy ride to work. Monday will be the true test when life around Christchurch is back to normal. On the way home I was riding into a brutal head wind so it took a little longer than the morning ride. And in the winter time, all bets are off. We shall see how that one goes though I suspect it will be no worse than a mid-winter commute in Portland.

One thing I noticed is how wonderful the "no turn on a red light" rule is for bikers. It sucks as a driver because you end up sitting at the light with no traffic coming and thinking that you just want to go! But this rule is a life saver, literally, for bikers. There are a few "bike boxes" along my route as well which make bikers more visible to motorists when stopped at an intersection. I never got the purpose back in Portland but now I understand. My one confusion is the many roundabouts here in Christchurch. They are straightforward as a motorist but as a biker? Not so sure what to do. I have seen bikers just "be" a car and go on through the roundabout but with all of the different directions that cars are taking, I don't feel comfortable going through the roundabout this way. Instead, I take the pedestrian crossing which makes me feel a little safer and will continue doing so for the time being.

It will be great to start my days off with some exercise. Now I need to get my butt back into the pool a few days a week and I am 2/3 there to being able to do a triathlon! (HA! No thanks....I am not a runner). I haven't really been in shape since starting a family so I am looking forward to a new physique in the months to come.

Four Seasons in One Day...

is a song by Crowded House and though the song is mostly about the challenges of love, it aptly describes the weather here in New Zealand. New Zealand has a maritime climate which means that the weather can (and does) change rapidly. Yesterday, we awoke to sunny, clear skies. At noon, it was gloomy, overcast and a bit cooler. Later in the day it rained and then it was clear again an hour later. And then we were pelted by gale force winds for most of the evening and early morning hours. It is nuts! Without a large continent to moderate things, New Zealand is subject to the whims of weather patterns that bellow up from the Antarctic without much to stand in its way.

Here in New Zealand, the weather can be described as "fine" (sunny, clear skies), "dull" (gloomy/overcast), "settled" (a period of several days when weather is "fine" or dry), or "unsettled" (as above but rain likely to occur). We also have northwesterlies (norwesters), northeasterlies, southerlies, and the like to describe the weather patterns. Norwesters are notoriously warm and dry as they arrive off the Australian continent and southerlies are notoriously cold as they are weather systems coming off Antarctica.

And now for a little geography.....the South Island of New Zealand lies on the 45th Parallel of the Southern Hemisphere. This is the same parallel that runs through Salem, Oregon which is noted by a boring traffic sign along Interstate 5 which you may or may not have noticed in your travels up and down the Willamette Valley. Christchurch is at 43 degrees latitude which you would not have noticed in your travels up and down the Willamette Valley. New Zealand is also the most isolated country of its size on the planet. So we are really out there. Thanks for tuning in.