Saturday morning we packed up the car and started heading south.  On our last trip to New Zealand we didn’t see a lot of the South Island and this time we want to see more of it.  Our destination – Waikanae, where friends from our days in Papua New Guinea live.

We enjoyed driving past steep hillsides dotted with white sheep and cows grazing in lush green pastures.  It’s obvious to see that small family-owned farms are still surviving in New Zealand.  Once we got off the main high way, windy two lane roads took us through the countryside and through small towns.

The small towns are quaint.  Each town has a bakery, petrol station, book/stationery store, grocer and restaurants.  They remind me of how small towns in the USA would have been back in the 1960’s.

Toward the end of the trip we began to see snow covered mountains in the distance.  A light rain began to fall as night began to fall.  The Petterson’s house was warm with a fire burning and soup and scones fresh out of the oven.  It was great to catch up with them and hear about the projects in which they are working in Papua New Guinea.