Into The Future and Back

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We discovered this large yet cozy apartment/annex below their home is available for rent year round. It is a reasonable taxi fare from downtown Christchurch. We marveled at the peaceful 20-acre property that borders public reserves and native forestlands. There are walking trails that extend all the way around Lyttelton Harbour. And, we discovered it was not unusual to find llamas grazing in the early morning light right outside our sliding glass doors. If you are ever in NZ, I highly recommend contacting the Robinson’s and booking a stay at Llama Lookout.

Robyn and her husband, Mike, have also created a very unique business they call Urban Rooms. Urban Rooms provides the accommodation of a private room in one of a variety of fully furnished homes in the heart of Christchurch. Each accommodation has a shared kitchen (fully equipped), lounge (complete with TV and DVD player), laundry and bath. It is perfect for travelers, students and working folks who plan to stay in the Christchurch area for a month or more. All the homes are within a 10-15 minute walk from the main square in Christchurch.

Christchurch is a beautiful city containing a vast array of interesting shops and wonderful eateries. Many offered large outdoor seating areas along the street. The peaceful Avon River ambles on next to Victoria Square. While walking along the Avon River, Sandi and I were gobsmacked to find a display of twisted steel girders from the World Trade Towers 9-11 attack. They were tastefully mounted near the entrance of the Christchurch Fire Station. We could understand that we might see them in America but were stunned that the first time we would see them would be in New Zealand. We were told the gesture of this memorial represents the brotherhood of firefighters everywhere.

There was a most thoughtful addition to this memorial at the base of the girders… a steel fern frond. It was a gift in tribute from the Maori’s. Types of ferns can grow as large as trees in areas of NZ. They are stunning and the fronds are enormous. In the Maori culture, the frond represents a new beginning.

It had been nearly a month and my journey was necessarily coming to a close. Sandi and I shared a last lunch with new friends and headed for the Christchurch airport. From there we flew to Auckland. It was a dark and cold Friday night. While we were anxious to return to our families, we simultaneously felt a strange melancholy to be leaving NZ. However, the time had come and we boarded the plane that would take us back to Los Angeles leaving the islands of New Zealand in our memories. After spending the entire day Friday in NZ and another 10+ hours flying over the ocean, we landed in Los Angeles to find it was light out and still Friday. We had, indeed, been into the future and now we were back.

It is not possible for me to adequately convey the warm hospitality of so many wonderful and gracious New Zealanders or to describe the beauty of their country. The good news is that the clinics were well attended and received, we all had great fun and I have accepted the warm invitation to return – to the future -- once again.

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