SOLD!!!

We have had a VERY busy week or two!

We spent Christmas with Lynne and Dave on the dairy farm we worked at back in September. Before heading into the farm, we spent four days exploring the Catlins area together. There we saw sea lions lazing in the dunes, yellow-eyed penguins (as well as two babies in a nest about one metre from us), and fur seals. We had a very cool moment when the four of us were reading on a beach and a fur seal came out of the ocean directly in front of us. It posed for pictures for a few minutes before heading past us on the beach to laze on some rocks. The whole time it was about 10 metres from us, which was incredible.

Christmas was very fun. Lynne and Dave were able to try their hand at milking. We visited our calves, which are on grass now and don’t have to be fed milk like we did a few months ago. Craig’s favourite calf is doing well; Andrea’s favourite calf is still dead.

Christmas Day we opened presents with the family, played with new toys, and had a yummy dinner. Boxing Day we were invited to a neighbour’s house for another feast. We also starred in a play written by Ania, the 11-year-old daughter. (For the record, Craig played Santa, Andrea played The Elf, Lynne played Mary, and Dave played Joseph.)

We arrived in Christchurch three days ago. This is the biggest city on the south island, with the same population as London, Ontario. We put our van up for sale right away, crossing our fingers and toes that it would sell quickly. Luckily, we had nothing to worry about! The van sold within 36 hours of putting it up for sale, AND we got our full asking price in cash! It all happened yesterday and it definitely made our day.

We’re now staying in a hostel here in Christchurch, and are in the middle of figuring out how early we will be flying into Bangkok now. We’ll either be arriving in Bangkok on January 8 or January 15, and staying for a few weeks before we fly to Delhi on January 29. Anyone reading our blog who has recommendations on places to stay/see in Bangkok or Delhi, let us know!

Travelling is about to get a whole lot more real for us!