Kiwis

Judy. No, not the birds. This time we never even saw one of the little critters. Nope. I'm talking about the lovely humans who made our visit so wonderful.

I don't know why we thought three weeks in Nelson would be enough. In the last ten days or so, we finally were able to spend more time with the folks we met. 

I have to add first Anna, the owner of Te Whāre Ra, the winery we visited in Blenheim. It's a small, family owned winery, run by Anna and her husband, while they care for their two sets of twin girls. Anna had a delightful way of describing their wines, not only by the usual "citrus", "floral", etc. but by the names of famous people. Sure enough, when she said, "This one is Audrey Hepburn in 'Roman Holiday', and this one is Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'," I knew exactly what she meant! Originally from an Australian wine family in the McLaren Vale region, near Adelaide, she sent Ted a LONG list of the wineries we should visit in South Australia. I wish I had gotten her photo!

We had contacted a couple of Servas hosts to meet for coffee or lunch, but, as we were in New Zealand during their vacation season, neither, Jenny nor Barbara and Tim were available till the last week. As it turned out, both were involved with the community choirs and performed at "Sing Fest", a day of music around the city.

Jenny is a real go-getter. She both performed and conducted in a couple of the choirs. We met the day before the festival at the Suter Gallery, a popular museum and cafe, to talk about--well, to talk about the stuff you talk about! 

Tim and Barbara had spent their vacation time volunteering with the Department of Conservation, something they do every year.  They are avid cyclists, and passionate about stopping climate change, even giving up international travel to reduce their carbon footprint. I wish we'd had more time to hear more about their commitment.

Tim and Barbara

As we often do, we attended a small church, All Saint's Anglican Church, a short walk from our apartment. The first people to greet us were Joan and Peter, who immediately asked when we could get together for coffee. Peter is a retired dermatologist, for years the only one in the area! Joan is a retired teacher. While Joan and I chatted about what we had in common, Peter was regaling Ted with stories. 

With Peter and Joan on our last Sunday

Kathy was also a member at All Saints, and grabbed us after the service to stay for tea. Every Sunday she found us and made suggestions about places we might want to visit. When I said that the New Zealand Prayer Book is my favorite, and I might order one when I get home, she sent her personal copy with me for the week.

Kathy's favorite color is purple

On the night we attended Opera in the Park, we began talking to Lizzy and Steve, who sat next to us. Lizzy is part Maori, and translated some of the speeches for Ted. At the end of the evening, they got our contact information and invited us for wine and snacks. We drove out to their beautiful home in Ruby Bay, and spent a great evening exploring the differences in our countries and how much we all love travel. Lizzy's long time friend Pat was also visiting from San Francisco, and we found we had a mutual friend!

Lizzy, Steve, and friend Pat

A couple of nights before we left, we ran into our Airbnb host, Michelle, who is about to set off on her own journey. It seems she told her parents, Glen and John, about our lifestyle, and, as former travelers, they invited us for a barbecue. Over New Zealand wines, steaks, and vegetables, we compared visits to foreign cities, and our own opinions of each others' countries. It was an evening filled with laughter, and I'll not soon forget it.

Michelle, with her parents John and Glen

So now I guess there's nothing for it but to go back.