NZ/Aus Days 7-8: Marlborough Sound

With a long drive ahead of us, we rose at 5:30 with Baby and started our day. Our first time packing up the car with all of our stuff + groceries proved successful so by 7:30 am, we were off! We fueled up Alexandra (we tried to think of a the name with the most vowels for our beloved car so we could practice our terrible New Zealand accents!), and hit the highway. Our route would take us through the mountains in the middle of the south island and up to its northern tip. We would have followed the coast and gone to Kaikoura but the road is still washed out after the recent earthquake.

Just one angle of our great deck view

For the most part, the drive went smoothly.  We stopped twice for Baby to eat, once on the side of the road and once at a cemetery, then a third time to stretch and get groceries. But mostly the day was spent watching the land change from coastline to forest to lush hills to valleys to vineyards and finally, to the beautiful region of Marlborough Sound. As we entered Picton, the hills opened to reveal a thin bay with many inlets and coves. We navigated to our Air BnB and settled in to eat dinner overlooking the spectacular scenery.

For our first full day in the area we chose a short 30 minute "walk" to a viewpoint of the sound. This was our first encounter with "walking" trails in New Zealand so we quickly learned that although trails seem well-signed with locations and time frames, they are missing some key information such as distances and elevation gains. We debated wearing flip flops but thankfully opted for hiking shoes at the last minute. We strapped Baby in the carrier (crying ensued...) and were off!

We walked first along a wide path framed by thorny bushes that warned, "stay on the path!" with their prickly pointers. After about 10 minutes, we reached the official trailhead that read 30 minutes. Hmm...so technically it's a 40 minute walk then, right? No big deal for us avid hikers from the Rockies, except that Erin is still recovering from her c-section so 30 minutes would already be her new recent record for walking. Deciding to forge onwards and turn back at the first glimmer of pain, we continued upwards. Sadly the trail was still banked with trees so we knew we had great views to the left but seldom got a peek of them.

Very proud of our first hike
with baby OUTSIDE the belly!

At the 40 minute mark, we crested a hill and a panorama of water and land stretched in front of us. We tossed Baby on our handy dandy Monkey Mat and enjoyed a well-deserved snack. Our down-day and "walk" had quickly become the most physical activity either of us had done since Baby's birth. It was great to feel those aching muscles again, to taste the fresh air, and to see the amazing sights that Mother Nature has to offer.

NZ/Aus Days 5 & 6: Christchurch: A City Under Construction

Having only skirted the edge of Christchurch on our way in, we wanted to devote some time to seeing the town. So we packed a lunch and joined the traffic, circling roundabouts and zipping along the coast as we went. Craig navigated us right to the heart of downtown where we found parking and set off with Baby in the stroller.

It didn't take us long to realize that it was more than the main cathedral that was damaged in the 2011 earthquake. The whole city seemed to be under construction! We wove around piles of rubble, manhole covers, and lost our sidewalk more times than we could count. We'd highly recommend using a carrier instead of a stroller to carry your little one around! It was disappointing to see so much damage, but there is so much rebuild happening that it's like a rebirth. You could tell that the city has a vibrant art scene and the mix of traditional and modern architecture was interesting and pleasing to the eye. We would have liked to spend more time walking along the Avon River but so many of the paths were closed that it made route-finding a little challenging. We stumbled upon a funky container park with off-beat boutiques, cafes, and a Lululemon. We debated getting Baby out of the carrier to change her, solely so we could say we changed a diaper in a shipping container, but decided to leave her in peace.

A quick lunch at the edge of the botanical gardens wraped up our visit. We decided we'd gotten a taste of the town and although we didn't feel we would need to spend more time exploring it, Christchurch is a city we could see ourselves living in (once all of the road construction is finished!). We especially like its close location to a beautiful and vacant beach.

Speaking of which...we returned home, enjoyed a stroll in the sand, and spent the next day relaxing at this spot a block's walk from our apartment!

Baby's first steps on sand and in the ocean...

Terrible parents award? 

NZ/Aus Days 3 & 4: Akaroa

The beach a 5 minute walk from our flat

Baby did us a solid and slept for 16 hours our first night, waking only once to feed. That, coupled with it being only a four hour time change (because it's really a 20-hour time change), meant that we were feeling way better than we thought for our first day in New Zealand. It was cool and rainy so we stuck close to home to give Baby a chance to acclimatize and us the time to get settled. We drove into nearby New Brighton to get groceries, and do a brief walk along the boardwalk looking at the moody ocean. We gave her a bath and played lots. And most importantly, we ate some delicious lamb and sampled some wine from New Zealand! We all got another great sleep and were ready to start exploring the next morning.

Craig had mapped out a scenic driving tour of the area for us leading to the quaint town of Akoroa. Determined to keep our costs down, we packed a lunch, and what felt like half of our stuff, for a five hour round trip tour. Starting to feel more comfortable on the "wrong" side of the road, we jetted along the coast gathering altitude and views along the way. Each turn brought a new bay or inlet into sight nestled beneath towering mounds of dry grass and rock. Baby slept peacefully in the back allowing us a few quick stops for photos and a stretch. We got her out once to nurse on a picturesque bench overlooking Purau Bay. At this point, Google suggested turning back and retracing our steps but Craig, seeking a new path for our adventurous eyes, chose a route through the mountain pass.

The first pass was a lovely empty road with sweeping views in all directions as we decended to Port Levy. Continuing on we were confronted by a trio of warning signs. It seemed that to continue to Pigeon Bay was not suitible for campers or trailers, the road was narrow, and a giant '!'. Caustiously, we sped along at speeds up to 20 km/h as the two-way road was at times barely wide enough for one car, and was at its best wide enough for one car to dangle over the edge and the other to pass on the inside taking some shrubery with it.

At a corner we let a truck whiz past us, but quickly lost sight of it in the gnarled twists of a narrow canyon. Soon after we crested the pass, we came upon the truck, an ATV, and a whole heard of cows blocking the road. The rancher on the ATV instructed us to follow the truck bumper to bumper as it cleared a path. However the road was not wide enough and the hillside too steep for the cows to go anywhere but forward.

We backed off the truck's bumper, disappointing the rancher, when a cow slammed into the side of the truck. The loud crunch combined with thoughts of insurance paperwork filled Craig's head and we decided that we were not in a hurry. If we had to sit and watch a cow eat for a bit then so we would. After 10 minutes of inching along a second rancher was able to help get the cows to one side of the road at a wider section and we continued on our way undamaged.

The rest of the drive was also filled with great views around every corner, to the point where we maybe didn't enjoy them to the extent they deserved. Our turnaround spot was the town of Akoroa, a town that our guidebook proudly proclaims as the first settlement in the Cantebury region, forgetting that Māori arrived a few hundred years earlier. Steeped in French routes, there were bakeries, general stores, and a pretty waterfront to wander.

With the sun dipping closer to the horizon than we'd anticipated, we buckled a sleeping babe back up and opted for a more direct and well-travelled road for our return.

NZ/Aus Trip Count

Places we've changed a diaper:
- In an airport
- On a plane
- On a bench
- In a car
- On a desk
- On a boat
- On the grass in a park
- In a stroller
- On a bullet train (Japan)

Nursing Venues
- In an airport
- On a plane
- On a bench
- In a car
- On a boat
- On a bed (this doesn't seem too exotic but for us it is... we're couch people)
- On parliament hill (we weren't taking as much of a stance as this sounds)
- In a museum


New Forms of Transit for Baby during our Balkans Trip:
- gondola
- motorboat
- shuttle van

New Forms of Transit for Baby during our Japan Trip:
- city bus
- subway
- streetcar
- bullet train

NZ/Aus Days 1, 2 & 3?: The 40 Hour Journey

Well, here we go...a new style of travel for us...with a baby! And we're starting big: a two month journey through New Zealand and Australia!!! We're going to lay this disclaimer out right at the start - you're going to be jealous of how amazing our baby is. There, we said it. We know we're incredibly lucky but we're also going to take all the credit. We're here to prove that you can still live the travel life post-childbirth. Or, at least, we're hoping to...

Baby determined when our first day began. We had gone to bed with our fingers crossed that she'd sleep until at least 3 am since we didn't actually need to be up until 4. We rose at 2:45 to feed her - not bad. There was no going back to sleep now. Our travel day had officially begun. It seemed she could sense our excitement. We tried putting her back to sleep after nursing so that we could finish our last-minute packing more efficiently, but she rolled around in her crib wide-eyed and laughing. She at least didn't need any attending to.

Without too much trouble, we got to the airport and through security and had enough time to eat a big breakfast before boarding our plane. The flight to L.A. was fairly uneventful. Baby nursed on the plane while everyone else was boarding and fell asleep at take off. So far she doesn't seem bothered by the pressure changes in her ears. She slept through us watching a movie and then played for a bit. I was thankful we'd brought our nursing pillow as she happily stretched out and kicked and slept on it.

It was Erin's first time in LAX and she quickly saw the truth to its reputation. After going in circles for a while and receiving dismissive unhelpful assistance from staff, we finally found our way out to street level and got ourselves to our nearby motel. The Super 8 Inglewood...yeeeah! It was actually really nice and suited our needs perfectly for the next few hours as we waited for our next flight. Baby played on the bed with the few toys we'd brought, slept in her stroller, and enjoyed our little outing to a great taco place for take-out (and we thought we wouldn't get to use Spanish on this trip!) She seemed a bit perplexed that she was able to be outside in a footless sleeper without multiple layers and coverings.

At 6pm we headed back to the airport, nervous because of the huge line we'd seen at security when we'd left. But it wasn't that bad and we ended up with an hour or so to kill before boarding. At this point it was well past Baby's  bedtime and she was definitely getting frustrated with the constant waking and falling asleep (needing to be taken out of the stroller at security, getting on the plane, etc). But it didn't take too long after take off for her to pass out and we were able to transfer her into the bassinet at the bulkhead. We'd been skeptical that she'd sleep in it but she was probably so exhausted at that point that she didn't notice. We were able to eat dinner and watch a movie/snooze for most of the flight. She held her normal routine of sleeping for 11-12 hours, walking only once to nurse. She fell asleep almost immediately after nursing, went back in the bassinet and timed it perfectly to wake up next right around the time they were slowly raising the lights to feed us breakfast. She even woke up the same way she does at home - laughing happily to herself.

All in all, it was a fantastic flight and we were so proud of our little traveller! We proceeded through customs where she got her first-ever passport stamp, collected our bags and switched terminals. This is where things started to break down a bit. Baby was upset nursing in the family washroom because other people could come in to change diapers, and upset with this last plane ride, falling asleep only right at the end, but it was thankfully a short flight (1.5 hours) and before we knew it, we'd navigated our way to our first Air BnB apartment. 40 hours in the books and we had a smiling, laughing baby at the end of it all, presumably just as glad as us to be back in a home.

P.S. I wasn't sure how to label the post since we technically lost an entire day to travel. So let's just go with this...

Highlights of a Mexican Christmas

We went to Mexico at Christmas and meet up with the Partners in Wine. It was awesome. At some point, we'll tell you about it and post pictures.

Three and a Half Years Later...

I'm feeling guilty about never writing about this trip, but too much time has passed to do it justice with an accurate recount. Instead, I'll list some memories below that I want to hold on to and share just a few of our favourite pictures. Thanks for understanding!

Tulum

Playa Del Carmen

- we met up with Kristen and John who were still on their big trip

- they picked us up in a rental car at the airport and had brought us little slushy welcome drinks and made us a sign!

- John was recovering from a near-death experience and hospitalization from dengue fever!

- we ate tons of delicious tacos and tostadas, and drank delicious margaritas and coladas, and played countless games of Wha-bam!

- we day-tripped to Tulum to see the ruins and visited a cenote

Climbing the ruins in Coba

Progresso

- on our way to our next accommodation, we visited the gorgeous ruins at Coba and climbed to the top of them; we had a delicious lunch at a beautiful indoor courtyard in Valladolid where they made the guacamole at our table
- we stayed in a charming beachhouse that lost power each evening and was in the midst of a windstorm when we arrived
- we celebrated Christmas with paper hats, decorations, and a photo shoot on the beach; John and Craig flew kites and got one stuck on the neighbour's roof
- Kristen felt ill so Craig and Erin visited a series of cenotes alone; Craig had a major allergic reaction to the horse-drawn carriage ride and ended up wearing his snorkel goggles to help cut down on the dander; we got stopped by la policia on our way home and were hassled by the officer because we didn't have our passsports...we each thought we were going to end up in jail in only our bathing suits

Puerto Morelos
- on our drive there we stopped at Chichen Itza; the number of tourists and tour groups and stalls made for a much less atmospheric visit than Coba (we thought we'd arrived right at opening but hadn't realized there was an hour time difference between there and Progresso)
- we arrived in PM to find the sewage system in our rental to be backed up and "stuff" coming up through the shower drain
- the town was lovely: quaint, quiet, much less touristy, and beautiful with a good beach for relaxing
- we found a great taco and guac spot with the biggest margaritas imaginable
- we celebrated New Year's dancing on the beach (reminder to watch those great videos of John dancing in the sand), and celebrated our great friendship, having now journeyed through three countries together post-Antarctica (with two more countries together in the near future!)
- Craig got stopped at airport security and questioned about an unusual dark spot that showed up on the scanner (the Cards Against Humanity game); we both cringed when the officer reached in and pulled out a card to read. We thankfully weren't detained.

There! At least that's something. Now there's just the fact that we also visited Portugal (July 2015) and Cuba (Dec 2015) that're left unaccounted for...

Day 352: Wedding Bells

Nearly one year after we left the country to travel, we took a big step on another huge adventure and got married. The day was exactly what we wanted: a casual outdoor ceremony and reception, with a long afternoon including lounging at the dock and a firepit. We made all of the food ourselves (with a huge thanks to our family members) and it was delicious!

The small dock ceremony was special to us for a few reasons.
1) We had our dear friend Alex officiating. He is a childhood friend of Alex and a university friend of Erin's and it was at his wedding that we met. Alex did a beautiful job tying our lives together through a well-prepared speech that was so personal to us.
2) We had guests warm a stone for us, with all of their wishes and advice and lay the stones on the dock to create the altar on which we would stand to be wed.
3) Erin walked up the aisle to one of our favourite songs, 7th Fret Over Andres by Woodpigeon, a song that's very meaningful to us written by a Calgarian band.
4) Erin's ring is comprised of the two sapphires we bought in Madagascar and Craig carried and kept safe since October. For a reminder of that story, visit our Madagascar entries.

To see pictures from the day, a list of charities from our registry, and the recipes from our wedding lunch, please visit www.highfivewdding.blogspot.com