Christchurch - our home away from home — Dispatches from the 45°S

There have been more than 10,000 earthquakes in Christchurch since the “big one” in 2011. Despite that, I have come to experience the city as a stable ground for our New Zealand adventures, in large part thanks to Christine - Brent’s mom. She has welcomed us into her beautiful home, supplied a bedroom for us (and two more for all our gear), cooked meals for us and been our relief driver to some of our treks in the Banks Peninsula and at Arthur’s Pass. I always admire Christine’s gardening skills - her garden is immaculate, every little errant petal or twig neatly trimmed and trained into perfect form. The plants love Christine in return - the tomato plants are practically bursting with yummy fruit that makes great-tasting salads!

Christine in her garden in Christchurch NZ

A few days ago, in our Airbnb cabin high up the mountains in Arthur’s Pass, Christine sat down to give us a dry run of her life story presentation to the Rotary Club. She has been asked to present herself to the club in a 10-20 minute presentation. What followed was a string of fascinating vignettes describing stories from her parents and grandparents, her life and her kids and grandkids in hilarious detail. With her permission, I’m reprinting some of them here. Enjoy!

“My mum, Amy Walsh, was born in Wales - neither parent was Welsh - they just happened to be living there at the time. Mum’s father, Michael, was a Kiwi and her mother, Ethel, was English. The family travelled by ship to New Zealand when mum was four, and her brother, Jim was six. During the journey there was a fancy dress competition and with mum as a fairy and Jim as a Maori chief, both won prizes. Surely this was a bit of a light relief in a long, arduous journey.”

Jim Walsh as a Maori chief on the family's voyage from England to New Zealand in 1927

Amy Brown (formerly Walsh), Brent's grandma, as a 4 year-old fairy on the ship to New Zealand

“My dad, Doug Brown, was born in Christchurch. His father, Sam Brown, served in France during the First World War and after 21 days, found himself in the hospital having received injuries whilst in the trenches. He spent considerable time in hospital in both England and Christchurch, eventually having to have one leg amputated with his other leg remaining in a rigid state for the rest of his life. He was a familiar figure around Christchurch roads and streets propelling his wheelchair with both hands, his pipe in his mouth, smoking freely, as he travelled at a fast clip.”

Brent's family - Brent is in front of his dad, Karl's in Christine's hands

While talking about Brent and Brent’s brother Karl, after the death of their dad: “The boys were 9 and 11 years old and missed their dad immensely. I tried to give them opportunities that they would have had if Ray had still been alive. After completing Secondary school, they were both very privileged to have the amazing experience of a year as Exchange students with AFS. After returning to Christchurch, they completed their education and obtained degrees. Both boys had a love of cars, inherited from their dad I think. Karl changed cars quite regularly and I remember many a wintery morning having to help push yet another car to get it started.”

“Brent’s experience was a little different. He had better cars and one in particular was taken to South Canterbury for a conference weekend way with University friends. During the course of one evening, the weather deteriorated and the river rose rapidly causing an evacuation to a wool shed. Sadly for the cars, it was a different story. One ended up on a tree and the rest were totally flooded. A couple of weeks later Brent managed to have his car transported back to Christchurch, and in particular, to our back lawn. The car became a permanent fixture for quite some time. Brent proceeded to remove much of the engine into the garage - with the intention of cleaning the silt from it and then reassembling it to get it back on the road. The car became rather stinky due to the sun drying it as it sat on the lawn.”

“I think at some point Brent must have realized the project was beyond his capabilities. After he found employment in Auckland and left, he left me with the wheel-less car, having sold the wheels! I then acquired knowledge I could well have done without. I had to get the car deregistered and after a considerable time, I managed to find a wrecker to come and remove it. I can’t quite remember which way money changed hands but I think I had to pay him to take it. I shed no tears when it finally went.”

About Amy, Christine’s mother who passed just 8 days after we saw her in December: “Mum died a few weeks ago just before Christmas. She was 94 years old. It was a shock but we couldn’t really be sad as she was really tired despite being always happy and never complaining. She was well known for her lovely smile and happy demeanor. “

Our last time with Amy, eight days before she passed

“Church services are held weekly at Diana Isaac (Lisa’s note: The retirement community where Amy lived) and I would always make sure mum attended as her religion was very important to her. The last service we attended mum told the priest she would “look forward to seeing him next year”. Officiating at her funeral in December, the priest recalled her comment and said: ‘No disrespect Amy, but I don’t really want to see you next year’. “

During our time in Christchurch, Brent and I have also been spending time training for our mountaineering adventures by going to the climbing gym (the best one in New Zealand so far) and running. The climbing gym was a pleasant surprise - it was full of walls with different natural features and different grades. The Czech instructor, Anche, helped us with a few tips on how to use our legs better on some of the more tricky climbs. We hope to be back to the gym soon!

At the Climbing Gym (Rocks at the Y) in Christchurch

Only in Christchurch - instructions on what to do if an earthquake strikes while you're roped up on the wall

I love running in the morning as school is starting and you can see lots of kids - girls and boys - walking, biking and scootering to school in their cute little formal school uniforms.