Away From Home

North of Kaikoura

January 12, 2018 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

On Sunday after church, we drove north of Kaikoura, for the first time since the 7.8 earthquake 14 months ago. We have gotten used to seeing the new look of the cliff faces to the south of Kaikoura, but to see the ones to the north was incredible. It was shocking and awe-inspiring, all over again, to see the devastation wrought in that minute or two of shaking. We have certainly learned a lot about geology and plate tectonics and natural disasters in the past year.

This is just past Ohau Point, where the worst slip happened during the quake. We used to go to this spot to watch baby seals play in a pool at the base of a waterfall here. According to someone who walked back in there soon after the quake, the waterfall still exists but the pool has been filled in. Here are before-and-after pictures of the same hillside.

This is approximately the place where three cows were stranded on top of an island of soil when the hillside around them fell away.The owners of this farm have lost a lot of their land, and because the Clarence River has changed course, if it floods they are in danger of losing their home and all their farm buildings.

The Clarence River in flood from rain in the High Country.

Here is a picture I took a number of years ago of the bridge above.

We were fascinated to see the evidence of seafloor uplift along the coast. All the white rocks used to be permanently underwater; the old low-tide line used to be at the top of the white line.

This was a spot we were especially interested in. We saw pictures immediately after the quake of a fault line at Waipapa Bay, where the rock looked like it had been sliced with a knife and uplifted 6-8 meters. We believe this is the spot.

More evidence of the seabed uplifting.

A new road/bridge was built out over the seabed at Iron Gate. This bridge was completed after just 14 weeks! The road construction crews were putting in very long hours so the road could be opened before Christmas.

The waves were quite high on Sunday afternoon when we went through. It was getting near low tide then, but when we drove to Kaikoura in the morning it had been high tide, and there was seawater on the road in places from waves breaking at the edge of the cliff. During the next high tide, during the night, waves washed some of the 5-ton blocks of concrete from the seawalls completely across the road! As a result, the road was closed for the morning on Monday while the blocks were put back in place.

Fun at Lewis Pass

December 18, 2017 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

On our way home from visiting Simon three weeks ago, we stopped for a few minutes just this side of Lewis Pass. The St James Walkway took off from a small parking area here. We only walked a short way from the car park to where a good view was promised. What a view! As you can see, the day was clear and sunny, and it was absolutely gorgeous there. Just for fun, we took several pictures.

The three of us happened to have on our matching dresses that day.

All six of the children who are currently living with us.

Mr. Sweetie is goofy about pictures. He didn’t want his picture to be taken with the other children, but on the way back to the car park he wanted it taken on top of this rock!

This post is linked up here.

Port Robinson

December 13, 2017 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

One Monday afternoon a few weeks ago, we needed to be out of the house for awhile because our landlady was showing a potential buyer through the house. We decided to go out to Port Robinson; a few weeks before that date, Gayle had taken Mr. Diligence out for a picnic and fun time together, and they discovered the trail leading down to the old harbor. The rest of us wanted to see it, too, so we went there on that beautiful, sunny afternoon.

The path down to the beach parallels the old slipway for awhile. It’s pretty overgrown.

Gore Bay from the trail.

Port Robinson

This is what’s left of the bottom of the slipway. Approximately 120 years ago, the way I understand, this was about the only way to get goods in and out of Cheviot. They had a surfboat which they lowered down the slipway from the top of the cliff and out into the bay to where ships would anchor, to ship wool out. Supplies were brought back up in the surfboat with a winch.

Mr. Intellectual and Mr. Sweetie

That red blob is a sea anemone.

I was intrigued by the swirls in some of the rocks.

When we saw this flock of seagulls feeding just offshore, we wished we had brought our fishing poles! There would have been big fish there, too, feeding on a school of small ones.

There are two paua, known in California as abalone, in this picture. Can you find them?

We enjoyed finding these two large starfish!

Mr. Diligence was fascinated by the way the starfish held on to him.

Mr. Sweetie

Mr. Intellectual and Mr. Sweetie, with Mr. Imagination in the foreground.

We even got to see a jellyfish!

Another starfish!

When it was flipped over, we discovered that it was feeding! A couple of the children were able to see its stomach being sucked back inside after it let go of the snail.

This was a very fun afternoon—don’t tell the children it was a field trip! We ended our time with a stop at Gore Bay to play in the water for 15 minutes. I’m so glad I didn’t twist my ankle until after this trip and the one to Hurunui Mouth several days later.

Fishing Expeditions

December 2, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Gayle took the boys fishing one Sunday evening about a month ago. They were very excited to come home with 14 large kowai! Mr. Diligence had a birthday the next day, so we had fish for supper.

Today, we tried again. We all went out this time, hoping for a repeat—but not even one fish was caught this time. Oh, well. You never know when a school of fish will be coming in the river. It was a beautiful day out there anyway! This is what the Hurunui Mouth looked like today; quite different from the last time I was out there. We walked all the way around the lagoon to get to the mouth this time.

These gulls were flying around making quite a fuss. We found out why when someone discovered a nest!

I saw these ducks swimming in the lagoon.

A lupine bush. What a wonderful smell!

It was interesting to notice the variety in terrain just on that short walk along the lagoon. Here was a rock cliff; soon there was a patch of white limestone; and a lot of the time the hillside was covered with grass and bushes!

I wish I could share more of the experience with you. All I can do is give you a little glimpse of the scenery. There is so much more to it than that, however. There are the sounds—gulls screaming, waves crashing on the shore, and ripples lapping on the rocks and shores around the lagoon. There are the smells—the sea smell and the wonderful aroma of the lupines. There are the sensations—the hot sun, the cool sea breeze, the hot rocks and sand under foot. There is even taste—salt on your lips from the spray blown off the tops of the waves! And of course, the scenery is so much bigger and more beautiful than my camera can capture.

Back Route From Culverden

November 29, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

One recent Sunday, when we went to church at Waikari, we joined our friends for a picnic lunch in Culverden in honor of a 40th birthday. Although it was a cloudy, windy day, we enjoyed our time with them. When we left, we decided to take the back way from Culverden back to Cheviot. We had seen that route on the map years ago, and always wanted to know what it was like. In fact, our children had been talking for quite awhile about riding across it on bikes. This is what the road was like for about the first 30-40 minutes we were on it: a farm track! We kept going because there had been a sign at the beginning, indicating that it connected to a road.

Looking back toward Culverden. The views were incredible!

Finally, the track turned into a real road again, and we got back home, only spending an extra 45 minutes or so traveling. We may never do that again, but it was fun for once!

Climb Up Hurunui Bluffs

November 25, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, when we went to Waikari for church, we had a picnic lunch with a family we’ve grown to love, and then climbed a track to the top of the bluffs over the Hurunui River. The day was clear and beautiful, with the bluest sky you ever saw! The wind was blowing fiercely, but most of the time we were walking, the track was sheltered somewhat. The views were incredible all the way up, and especially at the top.

We started out by walking up the road a short ways, and then climbed over a stile beside the gate in the second picture. Then, the track went up, and up and up! For a long ways, a trickle of water ran through a rut at the side of the track. As we came to a place where the track leveled out and it looked like we were going downhill, I checked that trickle and, to my surprise, the water was still running the same direction! Apparently, the leveling out and downhill was an illusion.

Looking back toward the Hurunui River. The gap in the hills in the distance, if I understood right, is the Hurunui Gorge. If you’ve ever read the excellent book The Runaway Settlers, that is where they drove cattle through to sell them to gold miners on the West Coast.

Our goal was that hut at the top of the hill. It was a fire spotter’s hut at one time.

Mr. Sweetie

Nelson Creek

November 12, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

After we visited the gold dredge, we drove to Nelson Creek to explore a bit in an old goldfield. Simon was very happy to drive some of us in his car. He was careful, and never scared his mom!

To get to the swing bridge, we first went through this tunnel.

If you don’t like walking on bridges that bounce, this one is not for you! Even with noone trying to bounce it, it still did a lot. I crossed it, but I really didn’t like it.

Looking upstream from the bridge—yes, it was drizzly.

I thought it was appropriate that the water was somewhat gold-colored!

After we crossed that little side creek, we started up this trail. I couldn’t possibly capture the scenery here; there were steep banks going up both sides of the trail. We were walking at the bottom of a deep ravine. It was amazing to walk through this area!

When we reached this cave, of course everyone had to explore it. It was a mining tunnel dug by the Chinese gold miners in the late 1800s. A creek runs through the bottom of it, into Nelson Creek. We enjoyed seeing glowworms in the ceiling—but our feet got cold! The water was frigid.

This is Simon, in a part of the tunnel some 20 feet above where Esther and Little Miss were standing in the picture above! He was pointing out the marks left by the mining picks in the ceiling around him. It was very dark, and my flash wouldn’t reach to where he was, so that’s why it’s blurry.

Going back through the ravine. The boys explored another tunnel they found, but some of us stayed on the path.

It lightened up a little as we crossed the bridge again going back to the car!

Gold Dredge

November 6, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Simon has been telling us about a gold dredge that he likes to ride a motorbike to in the evenings after work, so we wanted to see it while we were there. It’s across the road and through some paddocks from where he lives, near the banks of the Grey River.

We drove as far as we could, then parked the vehicles and walked the rest of the way. It was drizzling, as it did the entire time we were over there—when it wasn’t pouring! There were a few five-minute times that the sun shone, but then the clouds would close in again.

This is the gold dredge, from a distance.

We crossed this bridge to get to it.

The water weeds were quite interesting under the bridge.

A close-up of the dredge. It is enormous!

Look closely; you can see buckets inside here that are used to dig 10 meters deep. They haven’t run this dredge for several years, but they would dig out gravel and sand, then separate the rocks from the small stuff. The rocks were pushed out the back; you can see a huge pile of them behind the machine. Then, they ran water through the sand and ran it over a series of riffles. The sand ran off, and the heavier gold dust stayed behind. This dredge would move back and forth to dig up all the ground, and it took the water with it—it’s always floating. They would level out the tailings behind it, and then gorse and broom would grow on the rocks. After several years, someone would spray the gorse and broom and the ground would grow grass for animals. We were told that this is the best way to make productive land in the area. Before the dredge went through, the land was swamp, good for nothing except growing sandflies; after, we saw herds of cattle grazing on it.

October 2017 Pictures

November 4, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Here are the rest of the pictures from October!

It’s hard to see in this picture, but one thing they’ve done to stabilize this cliff face is to put black netting over the loose rocks. You can see it on the left side of the top.

These are five-ton blocks of concrete—and a slip pushed them over!

Mr. Intellectual is doing a course called “Thinking Like an Engineer.” He’s loving it, especially the experiments. In this one, he had to pile books an inch above the floor, using one sheet of printer paper. You’ll have to wait till I write the review of the course to see how tall a stack he achieved!

Mr. Sweetie built this stack of animals, and then took 16 pictures of it!

This was the latest dump find. Mr. Intellectual is loving his “new” roll-top desk!

We got out the microscope one day to look at some algae. It was still out several days later when I was cutting up meat, so we looked at that, too.

The first picture is skeletal muscle; the second is cardiac muscle. Mr. Intellectual had just been studying about these muscles a few days before, so this was a timely opportunity.

Mr. Imagination and Little Miss spend most of the morning playing together while the bigger boys do school. They got out the rocking horse one day and had great fun on it for a long time.

Little Miss can spend hours playing with these tiny animals. She loves sorting them.

One day, Little Miss wanted to paint, so I gave her a brush and a bucket of water and told her to paint the house.

Mr. Imagination was delivering quite a fiery sermon to his brother and sister! I enjoyed listening, while I picked lettuce nearby and pretended not to pay attention.

Visit to Simon

November 1, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Since Monday the 23rd of October was a holiday, we decided to go visit Simon. We were pleased to discover that, even with our somewhat weak van, it only took four hours to get there, since we weren’t towing anything this time. We got there at lunchtime Saturday, and left right after lunch on Monday. We enjoyed getting to spend time with our boy and the family he lives with, and see where he lives and works. This room is his sleepout, on the deck attached to the house.

All five boys slept in the sleepout for the weekend.

This is Simon’s car, which he bought a few weeks ago. Apparently, it was completely covered with moss, which took a few hours to waterblast off.

The workshop where he spends his days.

This is the house, when you approach it from the workshop.

Simon’s sleepout is at the far right.

The front of the house. This was the Ngahere Hotel until the family Simon lives with bought it about a year and a half ago. It was in quite bad shape inside, having been very neglected even though it was still in use. They have done a lot of work and turned it into a large, nice house.