Punting on the Avon

One of my favourite touristy outings in Christchurch was punting on the Avon River with my new friend, Lucija. Here are some pics:





It was such a peaceful, beautiful time - very special. I could happily do that for hours, with some champagne and a picnic lunch.... and Garry by my side (winks).

Clubbing in Christchurch

One of the most out-of-character things I did while in Christchurch was going clubbing (if that's what it's still called?).

Showing my age now: it has been 15 years since I last did this! It was heaps of fun. The local Golden Key chapter had organised a very thorough guide to Christchurch's best bars and clubs, so that most of us ended up in the same places at the same time.

Yes, I danced (a little, and very badly). I went to the Bog (great Guinness), the Iconic, and a Japanese bar called the Ishimoto. However, my personal favourite had to be The Grumpy Mole (aka The Angry Mole, The Grumpy Animal, The Crazy Mole, and whatever else people mistook it to be named).

A Welcome and Farewell

On our first night in New Zealand, we were welcomed by a group of wonderful Maori people in a Powhiri ceremony. Their beautiful singing and enthusiastic performance will stay with me for a very long time to come.

Very sadly, one of the group members had a heart attack as the group was leaving the university campus. Together with a number of other wonderful people, I suddenly found myself performing CPR in the carpark, surrounded by Maori relatives and friends of the man. (I only did this for a few minutes, then someone relieved me until the ambulance finally arrived).

Haunting is probably the only word that describes this experience. The way that the whole group gathered round and kept calling out for their "uncle" to stay with them was incredible. At one point, tears were splashing down beside my hands as I did compressions, and I glanced up to see one of the young women from the group weeping above me.

We learned later that the man died in hospital. I am still coming to terms with what happened, as this was the first time I'd had to use my CPR training in a real emergency. Working in palliative care has meant facing death full on, but hospice work doesn't usually require resuscitation. So it was a sad welcome to NZ in the end, which will always shape the way I remember my time there.

Kia ora tatou

Right - I'm home!

I suffered a little bit from internet withdrawal symptoms while in Christchurch, so it's nice to be back online. The conference was fantastic, Christchurch is beautiful, and I'm very, very tired.

Here are just a couple of pics - and tomorrow I hope to blog in more detail about some of the things that touched my heart, caught my eye, and challenged my thinking.

"All my bags...

...are packed, I'm ready to go"

4:30 am tomorrow, airport transfer to Brisbane International

then Christchurch - here I come!!

Hmmmm - can you tell I love to travel?