Canterbury

Through the Mountains

July 20, 2025 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

One weekend in June, we traveled to the other side of the mountains for some church meetings. That Saturday afternoon was beautiful and sunny; we really enjoyed the scenery. The mountains were amazing, and we stopped near the top of Lewis Pass to walk out to a little pond for a few minutes. We tried taking pictures of the girls together, and found out that it is very hard to get Miss Joy to smile for a picture! We got one half decent one. There was hoar frost still in some places, even though it was afternoon–must not be any sunshine in those spots! There was still a tiny bit of snow up there, leftover from a storm nearly a week before. The children managed to scrape together enough for a few snowballs.

After the meetings, we were ready to go home Sunday afternoon and learned that Lewis Pass was closed. Two of our boys had gone over early Sunday morning and had to drive out around a slip on the grass verge; half an hour after they got through, the road closed. When we learned about it, the word was that it would be opened at 6:00 that evening, but we decided not to chance it. Instead, we went around the long way over Arthurs Pass, which takes an extra hour. We were very glad we did that, since Lewis Pass wasn’t opened until Tuesday or Wednesday morning. From Porters Pass to past Castle Hill, there was a lot of snow on the ground still from the previous storm. It was very icy by this time, but there were crowds of people along the road playing in it. It sure was beautiful as the sun set!

Snowy Mountains

October 27, 2024 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

We were privileged to see a lot of snow on mountains late this winter. I took these first five pictures as Gayle and I drove to Christchurch one Saturday morning for an appointment. The drive over Arthurs Pass and through the mountains was spectacular!

Mr. Sweetie took these pictures one morning when the Paparoa Range, to the west of us, had a lot of snow on it.

And, to wrap this up, here are a few other pictures I took of mountains as we traveled home from North Canterbury in early September. This is heading toward Lewis Pass.

I was intrigued by this cloud formation and the rain coming down ahead of us.

This was a scene we enjoyed as we neared home that day.

More June 2024 Photos!

August 21, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

Here are the rest of the pictures I saved from everyone’s cameras and devices in June. Sometime in May, Mr. Sweetie had a dentist appointment, so we spent the day in town. Esther went along, and we went to all the secondhand shops in town. I found a duvet cover that was so pretty I got it to make into dresses, and then put these together for the girls from it. The other side was yellow green stripes on a white background, and I got pajama pants for two boys from that! I was pretty happy with that find.

While Esther was away the first weekend in June, I found this email in my Spam folder. I was so amused that I took a picture of it to show her before deleting it.

Mr. Imagination builds a lot of things out of Lego.

I’m not sure what this was all about!

Our turkey flock. We have since butchered most of them. We have been spending way too much on feed for them, and not getting much in the way of returns, since hawks destroy most of the nests. And now, since a strip along one side of this paddock was sold, they don’t have anywhere safe to make nests. So, now I won’t have to put up with the mess they made in the milking shed! And, we’re enjoying eating turkey.

Miss Joy loves the attention her brothers give her! Mr. Imagination was underneath the coat.

One frosty morning, we were surprised to see this digger show up in front of our window! A house will eventually be built there. The fence that is visible, partially built, in the background, is finished now, and we can’t see our calf in the paddock across the road anymore.

A day or two after the digger worked in front of our house, it was used across the road to cut down trees around the trucking yards. Now, I can see this mountain from my kitchen window! I love that change. The tallest mountain is apparently the one across the river from the farm Simon went to first after leaving the mechanic shop, and the long ridge is behind the farm he is currently on–so he is between them.

The little girls built this tower one day. They were happy to use every block.

Elijah went to a weekend camp a month or two ago, in Canterbury. One day, a group walked to this bridge, in the Rakaia Gorge. I thought his pictures were so gorgeous I had to share them!

I don’t know where this is, but isn’t it beautiful? Elijah took it, likely on his way to work on morning, judging by the timestamp.

Esther took the girls on a walk around the block one afternoon. Miss Joy loves to ride her “bike.”

I love the way her ponytails stream out behind!

After going on a 4WD trip, Simon needed to wash his vehicle!

Timaru Trip

May 26, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

Every year, we love to go to the Easter Conference in Timaru. There are more young people there every year, it seems like, and this year was no exception. There were around 25-30 people younger than 40 when one of the speakers asked them to go up front for a photo! On Saturday morning, a group of the teens and early 20s walked to the lighthouse, and Elijah took this picture. Can you see the lighthouse glowing on the point of land?

A lot of them also went to the Sunrise Service the next morning, and he took this picture then.

On our way home, we took a shortcut through a high basin in the mountains, which avoided the heavy traffic and roadworks that would have slowed us down if we took the main routes, and also cut down on the distance we had to drive. It was gorgeous! The other times I went through there, it was either cloudy, or I was so sick with a migraine that I couldn’t look out at the scenery.

Lyttleton

October 15, 2023 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Near the beginning of September, I had the privilege of going to the HEART South retreat for homeschooling mothers. It was a very special experience to be with around a hundred other mothers who all share similar goals. This year, it was held at the Living Springs camp near Lyttleton, just outside of Christchurch. During the free time on the Saturday afternoon, I went for a walk with some friends. That “walk” turned out to be quite an adventure, as we tried to blaze a trail to a particular destination! The trail we thought we were on turned out to be a dead end, and trying to get back to where we needed to be was a bit challenging. It was a lot of fun, though, and I loved the time reconnecting with old friends.

This is the view up the hill from the camp.

Looking down over the camp buildings toward Lyttleton Harbor. Banks Peninsula is on the other side of the water, to the right.

We walked out past the camp to their outdoor camping area, and enjoyed this view of the harbor.

That evening after dark, I walked outside by myself for a little while to enjoy the warm night. This was the harbor in the dark–except it was much more beautiful in reality.

And, the harbor again in morning light! It was so beautiful!

This was a nettle we saw on the walk on Saturday afternoon. I still haven’t gotten around to looking it up to see what kind it is, but I don’t think I want to touch it!

Then, a few weeks later, I saw Lyttleton from the other side. Simon and I went to Christchurch to buy a car, and the dealer told us to go through the Lyttleton Tunnel on our test drive.

Hangi

February 26, 2023 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

We decided to spend Waitangi Day this year with friends on the other side of the island. Waitangi Day is a celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the English and the Maori, and is on February 6 each year. When we first talked about visiting these friends that weekend, I mentioned that Esther wanted to come home in time to go to the hangi in Greymouth. This is a big community picnic; a hangi is a traditional Maori way of cooking food by digging a hole and lighting a fire in it to heat up rocks (or large pieces of metal). The food is placed on the hot rocks, the hole is filled in with dirt and left for several hours, and then the food is dug up to be eaten. Our friends decided to have a hangi themselves, so that we could all experience it together, and as it turned out, the one in Greymouth was canceled due to heavy rain, so it worked out very well to stay there.

The children went swimming, and then warmed up by the fire. Notice James’s seat?

They tossed some old freezer baskets into the fire and burned off the plastic coating, and then we lined them with foil.

We put the meat in the foil-lined baskets, topped with pumpkin chunks and potatoes.

When the fire had burned down enough, the big embers were raked out. James was still supervising from his wheelbarrow!

After covering the baskets with cabbage leaves, they were lowered into the hole on top of the coals.

Next, wet sheets and wool blankets were put on top of the baskets.

After covering the blankets with wet burlap bags, the dirt was shoveled over everything, and we left it for about three hours.

Is it ready? Only one way to find out! They started digging the dirt out again.

All that wet cloth kept the food baskets clean.

We opened the baskets to check. What a delicious smell! The meat was cooked, but the vegetables weren’t quite done. We should have left it another half an hour and it would have been perfect. We finished the cooking in the house.

Everyone enjoyed the feast! Notice that Simon’s arm is in a sling. He came off his bicycle in January and broke his collar bone. This picture was taken two weeks after the accident.

We finished the evening with a round of singing children’s Sunday school songs. Everyone enjoyed that very much!

Children Playing in Water–Videos Then and Now

November 14, 2021 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, I remembered a funny video Esther took in September 2010, so we found and watched it. It made me laugh again, just as in the past! The baby is Mr. Sweetie. Seth is in the yellow shirt on the bike. Simon has a yellow and brown striped shirt, Elijah has a blue striped shirt, and Mr. Diligence is the cute little fellow in the maroon shirt. They sure have grown up since then!

This was yesterday, with Little Miss and Miss Joy starring. Puddles were made for children!

Windy Point

November 7, 2021 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

We made a quick trip to Canterbury yesterday for a friend’s 21st birthday celebration. She invited us in January and we’ve been looking forward to it ever since! It was originally scheduled for September, but lockdown happened. We were delighted to be able to attend now! We didn’t have a deadline for arriving, so decided to have a more relaxed trip than usual. We left late in the morning, and packed a picnic lunch. We stopped at Windy Point, a DOC site, the jumping-off point for a series of tracks through the high country. Three years ago, Gayle and the boys had gone backpacking through there. After we ate lunch, on this beautifully sunny, warm day, we walked out to the first swing bridge, which is really almost the trailhead. The views were spectacular!

The boys love the challenge of walking across the bridge without touching the wires with their hands. I’m not sure how many, if any, of them accomplished it. That bridge really swings and bounces! I didn’t even try to walk that way. In fact, I didn’t look down or around at the scenery. I looked straight ahead.

Elijah took this video with his phone as he went back across. It doesn’t even begin to show the grandeur of the setting, but you can get a tiny glimpse.

Esther tried to do a photo shoot with Miss Joy on the way back. Mr. Diligent photo bombed her! He decided the two of them needed to wear his shoes on their heads! He carried those shoes all the way from the van, and then back again, rather than wearing them. Goofy boy!

Eventually, she decided to cover her smile!

Miss Joy did not appreciate the way Simon carried her!

She decided to walk by herself, instead.

On to Twizel!

February 7, 2021 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

After we visited the Aviation Museum in Ashburton, on the third day of our trip, we headed southwest to Twizel. We have friends who live there, and though we’ve been to the area a couple of times already, we always enjoy the walks near Mount Cook, so we decided to spend a day there. The drive is always interesting, too. I forget, in between, how dry inland South Canterbury is! It almost feels like a desert.

This is what we saw from the front seat, soon after leaving Ashburton. I think we had some tired people! The white cord, by the way, is a curtain-hanging cord. We strung it around the van, and hung pieces of fabric on it with clothespins at night when we slept in the van, for privacy. It worked well—but if we weren’t careful, like this day, it would fall down when we put down the sun visor.

As we traveled farther inland, the landscape got drier. (Toes are a great entertainment when you’re bored!)

This is the Burke’s Pass area.

We decided to stop for a few minutes at beautiful Lake Tekapo. The water is so blue! That is from glacial melt; there are tiny bits of sediment suspended in the water, and they make it reflect the blue of the sky.

This church, on the shore of Lake Tekapo, is one of the most-photographed sites in New Zealand.

My beautiful girls! Esther was quite sunburned, still, from the day before.

Mr. Diligence took a picture of us trying to get the picture above.

Little Miss loves to pick flowers, anywhere and everywhere.

Miss Joy just wanted to play in the water.

Mr. Diligence

This is one of the several canals we crossed. They carry water for hydroelectricity.

Nearing Twizel—flat and dry!

Here is Lake Pukaki! Mount Cook is usually visible at the far end; this day, it was cloudy, so we couldn’t see the peaks.

Our friends have a pet bird, and our little ones loved it.

Ashburton Aviation Museum

January 31, 2021 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

When we were planning our trip, Esther and I decided that we wanted to go to The Book Barn, a huge used book store. We knew that the men and boys in our family, for the most part, would not be interested, and would be bored waiting for us, so she looked online for other attractions in the area. She discovered that Ashburton has an Aviation Museum, and the website made it look and sound very interesting—and it didn’t cost too much, either. So, on the third day of our trip, we split up. Esther and I and Miss Joy went in one van to the book shop, and everyone else went in the other van to Ashburton. We met them there for lunch, after they had been at the museum for a couple of hours, and then we took a quick tour through, as well.

Before we got on the road, we had a look at a project our host family’s grandfather is working on. This is the empty tomb, built into a hillside, and on a hilltop nearby, he plans to erect three crosses. Inside the tomb, facing the empty place representing where Jesus’ body would have lain, will be a bench to sit on, and Christian literature.

Miss Joy fell asleep immediately after we left.The father of the man of the family with we had spent the night owns this church, the Church of the Open Door. It is not used for services anymore, but he maintains it as a place for people to come in and pray or meditate any time they want to. He comes every Sunday to clean it.

A close-up of the prickly pear around the front.

Inside the church.It’s always fun to see this giant fish when we got through Rakaia.

The museum! It is at the Ashburton airport. The museum occupies three hangers. This photo was taken from the top of the restored control tower.

Little Miss wanted to show me the hospital plane. It was what she was most fascinated with.

Inside was a stretcher and a place for an attendant to sit.

Little Miss under the DC-3.

Going inside the DC-3. This plane is fully operational, but it would cost a million dollars a day to pay for insurance to fly it.

The DC-3 was probably the one Elijah was most fascinated with.

Someone was amused at this sign. They didn’t think they wanted to have to be rescued!

This helicopter was used during the Korean War to transport wounded soldiers away from the front. A stretcher was strapped on to each side, on the outside, with a hood to protect the wounded man from the blast of air while flying. The helicopter’s tail is in another part of the room; it was too big to leave on.

A jet engine.

A sprayer plane, used to spread fertilizer on hilly farms.This may have been the first plane ever flown. It was built at the same time as the Wright Brothers’ plane, and possibly flown first, but didn’t get the publicity theirs did.

The restored 1940s control tower. There was an airforce base near here during World War II.

Mr. Imagination’s favorite thing at the museum was this manual typewriter! He was fascinated by it.

We really enjoyed our visit to this museum. It was definitely worth spending time at! Two days a week, one of which happened to be the day we were there, volunteers come in to work on restoring the planes, and you can talk to them. The founder of the museum was there when we were, and Gayle and some of the boys spent a lot of time talking to him.
Here are a few seconds of video footage that Mr. Diligence got inside the larger hanger.