With a week left in our campervan we headed to the east side of the south island, starting at St Andrews Recreational Retreat just south of Timaru. Well it was a convenient and inexpensive stay but you brought your own recreation and as a big open field located between the highway and the railroad there was no where to retreat to! We stopped off in Timaru for some shopping, nice little town with great coffee. We found a free campsite on the south shore of lake Ellesmere which was perfect. Nice and quiet, right on the water, not much to do but sit back and relax. Leigh got out for a bike ride but this side of the south island is pancake flat and not very exciting so it was more for fitness than anything. We read our books, ate and slept for two days.
We got into Christchurch and set up at a holiday park near the hospital as my cast was due to be removed. Can I get a Hallelujah? I can't tell you how bad I wanted this thing off. It was heavy and awkward and made for many a lousy sleep. Leigh was equally enthused about it, having to wash my right armpit for the past five weeks!
They say bones take longer to heal when you're older. I'm no spring chicken but I haven't ordered my mobility chair yet. So what exactly do they mean by older? Denial allowed me to think I'd have this cast off, work out the kinks and get back on the bike in time to take a bit of a tour of the south island's north-east side before we leave for San Francisco. Turns out... I'm older. The day of my cast removal we were in the orthopedic lobby right when they opened, first on the list. I was excited to get back to touring but when the cast came off and I got a look at the state of my arm I knew right away I wasn't getting back on the bike soon. It was deformed, swollen and severely bruised. I could neither straighten nor bend it very much. Then the x-ray indicated more potential problems and immediate surgery was recommended, requiring two more weeks in a cast and many weeks/months of recovery. At this point I can admit to fully breaking down. This ultra-fantastic trip of a lifetime was four years in the planning and this is the way it is going to end. Bummer. I was in the operating theatre, on the table ready to take the gas when the surgeon, after examining my elbow with a dynamic imaging device, pulled the plug on the surgery. It was his opinion that the elbow had a good chance of functioning properly without surgery. My emotions were all over the place. In the morning I was excited, early afternoon I was in tears, now I'm much relieved. Sounds like menopause! Leigh can hardly keep up. The end result is no more cast but extensive therapy. I won't be on a bike for a couple of months at least so a change of travel plans will be necessary.
Fortunately we managed to get a place to stay and work on a farm for the remainder of our time in New Zealand despite my limited ability to help. Our hosts, Michael and Catherine, had four horses, two dogs and a little business growing and selling hydroponic lettuce. We planted and picked for two weekly deliveries. This I could handle although everyone insisted I take care of my arm first and was not to over-extend myself. It was very interesting to learn the ins and outs of this growing method: no soil, just a lot of running water and fertilizer. We did some other chores around the farm while we were there. Leigh took on feeding the horses morning and night (with gusto) and stacked a wood pile. I re-stained the lawn furniture and cooked some dinners.
Our stay there was nothing short of rejuvenating but the highlight was Leigh's four-day trek on horseback with Catherine and Ray, one of the neighbours. I couldn't go of course but Leigh had the most amazing experience trekking through the hills from hut to hut deep in the New Zealand wilderness. I was happy to stay back at the farm to help out where I could. Michael, being of British heritage, fired up a batch of liver 'n' onions that was some of the best I ever had. I realize that some may say there is no such thing as good liver 'n' onions but if they're done right they're scrumptious! Well done Michael.
We flew out of Christchurch a day before the snow came! They don't get a lot of snow there but it looks like this could be an unusual year. We spent a couple of days touring the San Fransisco Bay area including a walk over the Golden Gate Bridge and a stroll along Fisherman's Wharf including Pier 39 where all the smelly sea lions hang out. We wrapped up our visit to San Fran over dinner with Bam, one of Leigh's cycling teammates of days gone by.
Our journey back to Cambridge officially began as we got aboard the California Zephyr, a scenic passenger train taking us to Buffalo, New York where our ever-helpful neighbours Bob and Penny came to fetch us and bring us home. I am sad to be ending our bike trip sooner than expected but this is a nice way to do it. We have a sleeper cabin to ourselves with three meals a day included. And the adventure is by no means over! Leigh with her glass perpetually half full has already come up with an excellent Plan B: we are heading back home to pick up the Subaru and will continue our adventure by exploring Ontario and Quebec for the remainder of the summer. We'll be hitting a bunch of summer festivals and exploring the northern areas of both provinces ending up in North Bay as initially planned.
Thanks for following our blog so far. We have lived a thousand lives on this trip. Iceland seems so long ago. We have met some incredible people along the way and have learned a lot about ourselves.
We will be continuing the blog reports once we are back on the road. Watch Leigh's facebook page for the next chapter of Jeff and Leigh's Big Adventure.