Family Ties

 

Last week my mother and I traversed the Southern Island of New Zealand by plane, train, boat and auto.  From Wellington, we crossed the Cook Strait by ferry, and explored the winding roads of Marlborough Sounds. We biked through wine country (here, above, at our favorite vineyard TerraVin) and then boarded a train to Christchurch.  All this in 3 days.  You can imagine we were keeping a fast pace. Having originally planned this trip as an ancestry search of sorts, the last portion of our trip was devoted to meeting distant relations in Christchurch and Dunedin. What we found far surpassed our wildest hopes. 

A little back story: My great great grandmother, Sarah, was born in New Zealand sometime in the 1870s. She married James, an Irish immigrant to the new colony, and they had 2 children, the eldest of whom is my great grandma May.  Sarah died shortly thereafter and her grave is in Dunedin. James remarried and his wife Annie requested they move to San Fransisco around 1900, and thus began their American story.  James, Sarah and Annie all had family who remained in New Zealand.  And so 112 years later, my mom and I show up to meet the relatives!

Our first visit was to Annie's descendents.  We found cousin Neil and his wife in Christchurch and shared a lovely meal and tea with them in their home (which is also a gorgeous homestay, Dry Paddocks).  They shared their heartbreak over the recent destruction of Christchurch's Cathedral, following devastating earthquakes last year.  The next morning, we had a delightful visit with Neil's mother Joyce, who knew and hosted my grandparents on their visit 25 years ago.  We reminisced about their travels together and left feeling that our visit with her was far too short.  Then, we traveled to Dunedin, to stay with James' relations.  Robyn and John were our hosts, and we enjoyed 3 days with Robyn touring from Dunedin to Twizel to see Mt. Aoraki (Cook), also pictured above.  Robyn took us to see Sarah's grave, and also the home where James and Sarah, and later Annie, originally lived. As it turns out, Robyn is a geneology buff who has literally written books on the heritage of our families.  Amazing! We are now full to the brim with Kiwi hospitality, and our only regret is that the trip was far too short.  We will certainly be back.