Inkbase | Jason Landry

My wife and I went to New Zealand to visit family and friends and to introduce most of them to the newest edition of the family, our son Evan. New Zealand had been experiencing one of its driest summers of recent years and, although the farmers were beginning to run into troubles, we were more than happy to avoid the rain of years past. We spent the first couple of days in Auckland reuniting with family and introducing Evan to his aunts, uncles and cousins. Evan is a fairly social kid and he enjoyed being the center of attention.

Once we had settled, we went up North with Jayne's sister and her boyfriend to spend a few days at his family's bach (think cabin by the beach) in Matapouri. It was a relaxing time filled with food, reading, time at the beach and visiting with old friends. We spent a fair bit of time visiting Kris Kjeldsen at his new house. Kris designs and builds outrigger canoes under the name Moana Nui and is a well known figure in the New Zealand outrigger canoe community. Kris' story would make a great book, but I don't think I'm qualified to write it. Here is a quick synopsis: born in Chicago; surf life saver in California; merchant marine in Vietnam; sailor in Hawaii; bushman in New Zealand; outrigger paddler, designer, builder and legend in New Zealand. He is an interesting man and his approach to life is very inspiring.

After Matapouri, we returned to Auckland to spend a couple more days hanging out with family before flying down to Christchurch to visit friends in the South. When we arrived in Christchurch we did a quick drive around before heading to New Brighton Beach. The sky was cloudy, the air was cool and New Brighton was a ghost town, but we had a nice walk along the pier and watched four surfers enjoying a break that they had all to themselves. We spent the remainder of the day driving to Methven in the rain.

The Frew brothers (Kris, Brett and Dan) grew up on a 2,200 acre sheep and cattle farm in the south of the South Island and at some point, they managed to convince their father to let them use a portion of it for their exploits in freeride mountain biking and motorcross riding. Eventually, portions of paddock became gap jumps, quarter pipes, foam pits and wooden stunts. Weekends would involve the Frew's and their friends riding into the night and reliving the day through stories around a fire. The farm has been hosting small-scale events for a couple of years now, but 2007 saw the first official Farm Jam. Tons of riders, maybe 500 spectators and two days of craziness. Based on the success, I imagine 2008 will only be bigger.

Brett's Farm Jam Report
Southern Freeriders MySpace Page
A video on YouTube

For the locals, Brett is planning on moving to Whistler for three months over summer, so keep an eye out for him in the bike park.

When we awoke the next day we found that the cold air and rain had blanketed the Southern Alps in an unseasonable coat of snow - which is the last thing you want to see in summer, but it did make the landscape beautiful. We made our way to Wanaka to spend a couple of days with our good friend Kirsten. She came to Canada for a snowboarding vacation a couple of years ago and was inspired to pack up her job in the city and move down to the mountains for the lifestyle. She has found a job in Wanaka and spends her free time riding, hiking and climbing. Wanaka is a amazing spot and Jayne and I daydreamed about packing up and joining her. While we were there I got to do some mountain biking at Dirt Park, a very small mountain bike park on a ridge across the valley from Cardrona. It's no Whistler and I doubt they're making any money at the moment, but it was a fun afternoon.

After Wanaka, we made our way down to Queenstown and Arrowtown. We didn't have much time left and spent most of it in Arrowtown visiting our friends Kris and Suzie. We had met them through a mutual friend when they moved to Vancouver for 6 months in 2006. I got to spend some time riding the North Shore and Whistler while Kris was here, but he comes from a well-known family of mountain/motor bikers and his abilities were well above mine. This time around we got to hear his stories about the Frew Farm Jam, a massive mountain/motor/bmx bike event that was held on his family's farm this past Christmas (see sidebar).

After Arrowtown, we made our way back up to Christchurch for the flight back to Auckland to spend more time with family and friends. Our time included swimmming in the pool with our neice and nephews, a concert at the Villa Maria Vineyard (where I was almost in a fight - a laughable idea for anyone who knows me), a rugby match in Hamilton, a day at Maraitai beach, meals with friends, shopping, etc... However, the biggest event was Evan's first birthday. He slept for much of it, but it was a great day for everyone. I'll never forget the way he devoured his birthday cake, it may have been his happiest moment on the trip.

As with any trip, ours eventually came to an end. It was sad to be leaving the warm weather and relaxing atmosphere, but it was particualry hard to say goodbye to family and friends. In the past, we've managed to make it to New Zealand every couple of years, but we may not be able to continue that in the future, and it is this unknown that really makes it difficult.

I'll be uploading photos during the remainder of the week, so keep and eye on the Flickr set.

Postscript

For a bit of fun, here is our credit card activity while in New Zealand:

Feb 28, 2008 WILD ORCHID THAI RSTNT PAPAKURA
Feb 27, 2008 KURA GALLERY AUCKLAND AUCKLAND
Feb 27, 2008 NOOD AUCKLAND
Feb 27, 2008 THIRTY NINE CAFE AUCKLAND
Feb 27, 2008 THE GARDEN PARTY PONS PONSONBY
Feb 27, 2008 COUNTDOWN - PAPAKURA AUCKLAND
Feb 26, 2008 FOODTOWN - NEWMARKET AUCKLAND
Feb 26, 2008 FOODTOWN - MANUKAU AUCKLAND
Feb 26, 2008 FARMERS MANUKAU AUCKLAND
Feb 25, 2008 MOBIL DRURY LANE DRURY
Feb 25, 2008 TICKETEK DPS SITE AUCKLAND
Feb 22, 2008 CLEVEDON COAST OYSTERS CLEVEDON
Feb 21, 2008 MAX FASHIONS NEWMARKET
Feb 21, 2008 WAREHOUSE PAPAKURA PAPAKURA
Feb 21, 2008 BARKERS - 18 AUCKLAND
Feb 21, 2008 COUNTRY ROAD NEWMARKET NEWMARKET
Feb 21, 2008 FOODTOWN - NEWMARKET AUCKLAND
Feb 21, 2008 BIVOUAC NEWMARKET NEWMARKET
Feb 21, 2008 WESTPAC CONVENIENCE FEE WELLINGTON
Feb 21, 2008 NEW ZEALAND POLICE PAYMENWELLINGTON
Feb 20, 2008 JUCY RENTAL CARS AIRPORT OA
Feb 20, 2008 BAY CITY MOTOR LODGE TIMARU
Feb 20, 2008 MOBIL DRURY LANE DRURY
Feb 19, 2008 TELECOM PAYPHONES WELLINGTON
Feb 19, 2008 TELECOM PAYPHONES WELLINGTON
Feb 19, 2008 TELECOM PAYPHONES WELLINGTON
Feb 19, 2008 OVERLAND FOOTWEAR CO QUEENSTOWN
Feb 19, 2008 CHARD FARM QUEENSTOWN
Feb 19, 2008 METHVEN MOTEL & APARTMNTSMETHVEN
Feb 19, 2008 TARRAS COUNTRY STORE TARRAS
Feb 19, 2008 WANAKA FOUR SQUARE WANAKA
Feb 19, 2008 RACERS EDGE SKI SHOP WANAKA
Feb 19, 2008 BASE WANAKA
Feb 19, 2008 TELECOM PAYPHONES WELLINGTON
Feb 19, 2008 TELECOM PAYPHONES WELLINGTON
Feb 19, 2008 THE BOARDHOUSE WANAKA
Feb 19, 2008 THE BULLOCK BAR WANAKA
Feb 15, 2008 JUCY RENTAL CARS CHRISTCHUR
Feb 14, 2008 COUNTDOWN - PAPAKURA AUCKLAND
Feb 13, 2008 DRURY MEATS DRURY
Feb 11, 2008 BOTANICAL GARDENS AUCKLAND
Feb 11, 2008 FOODTOWN - TAKANINI AUCKLAND
Feb 11, 2008 MOBIL DRURY LANE DRURY
Feb 08, 2008 THE MAD BUTCHER TAKANINI
Feb 08, 2008 GLASSONS SYLVIA PARK AUCKLAND
Feb 08, 2008 HANNAHS SYLVIA PARK AUCKLAND
Feb 08, 2008 PUMPKIN PATCH AUCKLAND
Feb 08, 2008 COTTON ON KIDS SYLVIA P MT WELLING
Feb 08, 2008 MOONTIDE INTERNATIONAL AUCKLAND
Feb 08, 2008 WAREHOUSE SYLVIA PARK SYLVIA PAR
Feb 08, 2008 GARRISON PUBLIC HOUSE MT WELLING
Feb 08, 2008 STAXS 10 SYLVIA PAR
Feb 07, 2008 KIWI BABY HOWICK HOWICK
Feb 07, 2008 LIFE PHARMACY SYLVIA PARKAUCKLAND
Feb 07, 2008 JUCY RENTAL CARS AIRPORT OA
Feb 07, 2008 REGENCY DUTY FREE AKLD AIRPO