So.... we have begun our sabbatical in New Zealand....
Almost 2 weeks ago, we left Indiana and began our journey. It is winter in Indiana, so the kids got out and shoveled snow before we left. It is Summer here, but it feels more like Spring or Fall to me (which is certainly fine!).
It was an especially busy few months before we left; I bought a new house for my business and had to do some remodeling before moving in (which unfortunately lived up to the usual remodeling nightmares), and we were scrambling to get things done. The saga unfortunately continues there, as the roof is leaking and mud is everywhere from the work that was done.... but that is another story, and I am here to write about New Zealand now.
We began our travel on January 9th in West Lafayette. We rented a mini-van and drove up to Chicago to catch our flights. Amazingly, even though it had recently snowed, the roads were fine and we got to Chicago without incident. There were some minor hiccups with luggage, but we were on-time and the flights were smooth. We flew Chicago to LA, then LA to Auckland, and finally Auckland to Christchurch. We arrived on Monday the 11th, having lost some time flying over the International Dateline. We all were able to sleep on the flights and watch lots of movies (Sam enjoyed watching rugby, and Lex liked the Japanese movies), and our shuttle was waiting for us when we arrived.
Our first stop was the real estate office, where we had arranged to rent a flat for the 4+ months we are here. We filled out the remaining paperwork and got our keys... and then headed over to our flat. Being unfurnished, we initially just dropped off our luggage and got our bearings, and then trekked out to our hotel. We decided to try to walk as much as possible, and in typical Craig-family tradition, we haven't always gotten our distances correct...but it turned out to be manageable. We stopped at a little cafe for some food, and then plopped down in our hotel room. The bed that night felt fantastic.
The next day we checked out of our hotel and headed back to our flat. It was time to begin furnishing our place, and not having a car meant that we needed to walk.... so we did a lot of walking. I think we logged about 10 miles that day, which is a lot considering all the sitting we had done of late. But it actually helped us deal with the jet-lag. By that evening we had rented beds and a TV, and picked up some sheets and towels and food. Unfortunately we didn't discover heat that night so we were a bit cold (we had only gotten sheets, not blankets), but we remedied that by the next night.
The rest of the week was spent walking all over Christchurch and slowly getting supplies. Getting by without a car is a bit challenging and we seem to walk a lot in the rain...but we are getting our bearings. We found the library and were able to get library cards and use the internet there, but we felt really disconnected until we got the internet at our flat. We have also finally used the bus a little, and that should be helpful as well. We are living on the edge of the downtown area, so there is a lot within walking distance. There is an Asian food market just about 2 blocks away, which is really nice. We have definitely stepped back a bit and slowed down some too - we have a clothes washer but no dryer so we are hanging our clothes to dry, and no dishwasher (and only very few dishes) so we are hand-washing everything. New Zealand itself is not so primitive, but we are living more simply while we are here. It is different - and challenging - but good.
Since we are on an island and about 20 minutes from the beach, we figured it was time to head over there. It was a beautiful sunny day when we started out, so we walked downtown and then took a bus to the New Brighton beach. The ride there was sunny...until about 10 minutes before we got to the beach. By the time we got there the sky was all gray, but no worries - there was still water and waves. 
We took a walk on the Pier, where we watched some people crabbing. Seeing my zodiac sign being captured wasn't a thrill, but most of them got sent back and we didn't stay to watch too many get put into buckets.
We were prepared for the wind and cold, and the fresh air and ocean breeze was wonderful, of course. It wasn't at all crowded and it was just fun to be able to run around.
