Thankful in New Zealand

Greetings!

We are fast approaching our final few weeks here on the South Island of NZ.  We spent several days in the famous Marlborough Sounds known for it's beautiful waterways.  Sailing, fishing, kayaking and tramping are just a few of the things to keep one busy.  The area's history includes a massive whaling industry that nearly decimated several species of whales.  Thankfully for the whales, we no longer chase them to kill but rather to study & admire them.  We took a boat tour skippered by a 6th generation local who spoke proudly about the perseverance of these whaling families.  Most have seen hard times more than once and yet they persist in living in this very remote corner of the world.  Now employment mostly revolves around tourism.  With international tourists gone due to Covid, tough times are back. Thankfully, Kiwi's are traveling a great deal in their own country so some areas aren't feeling the pinch quite as hard.  But in the long term, 5 million internal Kiwi's can't make up for the 4.5 million annual international tourists that had been visiting prior to C-19.  We and 35,000 other "stranded" tourists are doing their best to add to the local economies for now. 😀

Temperatures are beginning to feel like summer during the day.  We are thankful for more days of sunshine giving us glimpses of beautiful evening skies.

Nelson Harbor at dusk from our deck

You've probably noticed that we haven't had many pictures of big beautiful structures in our blogs recently.  The small size of most towns in these parts generally doesn't support the building of massive structures so we were surprised to find this amazing cathedral in Nelson.  This structure serves as the Anglican Diocese of Nelson and the first act of Christian worship was held on this site in 1842.  Anglicanism developed from the traditions of the Church of England.  Throughout our time in this country, we have come to understand that being a member of this religious group was required in the 1800's to hold any position of power or prestige.  So for example, you were unable to hold public office in Auckland unless you were an Anglican.   While 60% of Kiwis don't affiliate with a religious group, those that do are generally Anglican's.

This glorious cathedral was started in 1925 and the final addition was completed in 1972.

Shipped from London to NZ in 1871, this original organ contains 2.5k pipes & is used for each service.

This part of New Zealand is teeming with fresh seafood.  Green lipped mussels and crayfish (what we would call a spiny rock lobster) are two gustatory treats you gotta try.  We got hooked on the mussels months ago up on the North Island so we knew we had to visit Havelock.  This sleepy coastal town is considered the Green lipped mussel capital of the world.  Fresh as the sea and prepared in five different ways, we chomped down on this platter done up right by the famous Muscle Pot cafe in Havelock.

 These mussels paired with a cold beer tasted even better than they look!

Marlborough Sounds

Picton Harbor on Queen Charlotte Sound

This was our second Thanksgiving away from the US.  In '19, we celebrated Turkey Day in Fremantle, Western Australia.  At that time, we'd only been on the road a few months so we weren't missing the traditional turkey fare yet.  This year, we are missing our families a bit more so we are grateful that we could celebrate with new friends from the US.   We first met Marlene & Steve in Dunedin in the spring pre-Covid.  We were all on a fun city walking tour together.  As we began to visit, imagine our surprise when we found out that they grew up in KS, most recently lived in FL and had sold all their belongings to become world wanderers!  We've stayed in touch over the months and when traveling in the same area, we've connected for lunch or dinner.  It's been so wonderful to have a few friends from back home here. We had a tasty traditional meal with turkey and all the fixings plus some incredible NZ wines and pies for dessert.  

Thanksgiving fun with our friends Marlene & Steve

We spent another fun evening with Steve & Marlene before we had to say our good-byes.  We are grateful for their friendship and the fun we have together.  They are heading west on the island while we are heading east. Our next great adventure awaits at Kaikoura where we've signed up to go whale watching!

We hope that you  had a good Thanksgiving with family and friends while staying safe and healthy!  

Grateful to still be in NZ!

Cheryl & Dan