Week 7 and counting......

Hoa aroha! (Hello Friends in Maori)

We hope this finds you and your loved ones staying healthy.  Our bubble in Christchurch, NZ is starting to be a bit less restrictive.  At our current level 3, construction workers were allowed to return to work as were many other non-retail workers.  Street traffic has increased considerably. It feels as if someone turned the volume up on the noise of life.  Christchurch is a city under construction.  It seems new homes, apartments and buildings are going up on nearly every block.  In addition, refurbishment of earthquake damaged historical buildings has also started back up.  The tradies (construction workers) are out in full force, playing their music loud and bantering with each other as they work.  You can fill their happiness as you walk by.

Take away food and beverages are also allowed which has been a nice change of pace.  We've enjoyed watching people roam through the botanical gardens lugging their pizza boxes and buckets of chicken from KFC to have picnics on the grass.  Both Kiwis and Aussies seem to be absolutely crazy about KFC.  (One of these days, we're going to give it a go as neither of us remember it being that amazing back in the states.)  It is wonderful though to have a bit of the old normal back in our lives.  We are grateful that the days have continued to be sunny and abnormally warm for this time of year.  Fall colors are center stage in all of their glory at the moment.






Our google time lines remind us of just how repetitive our days have been with the only new locations we have visited for the past 7 weeks being grocery stores.  Staying curious takes concentration and is rewarded with finding new types of flowers blooming or a scenic view provided by the ever changing skies here.






When we can make our next move will be determined on Monday.  We are eager to take a long drive covering some new territory in the very near future.  For now, we feel like rockets sitting on the launchpad waiting for the countdown to begin.  Hoping that on our next post, we can share some new scenery from the North Island of NZ.

Stay Calm and Be Kind!

Cheryl & Dan

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