Week 14 - Heading Home

     This is the final entry in the adventure blog.  We are heading home in two days.  We did one last trip to South Island, this time to Christchurch where Terry gave a talk at University of Canterbury.  We left early on Saturday morning to fly into Christchurch, arriving at 7:30am.  We spent the weekend with Columbus friends who moved to New Zealand almost two years ago.  Ed Adelson and his wife Kim provided us with a wonderful relaxing weekend.  Ed retired from OSU to take on the role of Pro-Vice Chancellor at University of Canterbury.  Kim retired from Ohio Weslyan and is teaching education and psychology classes at the "Uni." 

     We went to Akaroa on Saturday, a quaint French seaside community set on a fiord.  Beautiful views of the mountains and seaside.  On Sunday Beth Hume (former OSU professor, recently relocated to University of Canterbury) and her husband Jon joined Adelsons and us for a wonderful brunch and then we went on an amazing hike through Waipara Valley.  New Zealanders would call our hike "easy," but certainly not by Ohio standards.  Up and down the hills, sometimes through mud and deep puddles.  A beautiful day and quite fun to spend time with Columbus people.  It has been almost 19 months since the first major earthquake hit Christchurch.  The second major quake came 14 months ago and did even more damage.  Every aspect of normal life as been affected.  One lady told me that even the birds aren't singing like they used to.  Rebuilding has started but there are still a number of buildings marked for demolition that need to come down.  Cranes operate dawn to dusk.  Chain saws and hammering is heard all over.  Some people have left Christchurch and many engineers and construction workers have taken their place.  

     Monday night we had an enjoyable dinner at Beth and Jon's new home, located high up the mountain with beautiful views of the ocean.  They are waiting for their furniture to arrive any day now.   They are settling into their new life. 

     I think we're ready to come home.  One more lunch today with a friend from church, a little more sorting and packing, one more lunch out to use the last GrouponNZ coupon, and probably one more gelato.  Goodbye New Zealand - we are so thankful for opportunities God has given us to enjoy your beautiful country.  It's been amazing.

Week 13

     It is now April, the start of our final few weeks in Auckland.  We have waited three months to rent a car and venture out of the city on our own but decided the time was right.  Friend Kathy from Columbus and daughter Hannah are visiting.  In New Zealand cars drive on the left side of the road.  Terry has had three months to observe traffic flow, read about NZ traffic laws and to mentally practice how to be a successful NZ driver.  We think he's ready.  Actually, all went well and we all enjoyed the travel.

Terry and Mary at Hobbiton

     First stop on our road trip was Hobbiton, the site of the filming of the outdoor scenes of The Shire in Lord of the Rings film trilogy.  Most recently they filmed The Hobbit, set to be released in December 2012.  It was a wonderful tour, such a pretty setting.  The 1250 acre farm is home to 13,000 sheep. 

Huka Falls

We spent the night in Rotorua where we went to a cultural Maori dinner program.  The traditionally cooked hangi meal was very tasty.  We got to see an ancient warrior canoe, traditional poi dance and glo-worms.  We also got to go see kiwi at the nearby kiwi conservation center.  They are skittish little birds who only are seen at night. 

     The next day we went walked around Huka Falls, an amazing waterfalls resulting when the Waikato River (normally 300 ft. across) is squeezed through a 60 foot gorge, over a 60 foot drop.  About 15% of New Zealand power is generated at this spot. 

     We wanted to go see the glo-worms at Waitomo Cave so programmed the GPS to get directions.  I should have been more cautious when the GPS said some roads might not be paved.  Little did I know that we would be traveling over 40K on gravel roads, some of it too narrow for two cars to pass.  We never met another vehicle but Terry carefully hung to the left side of the road just in case.   Terry was happy to get the rental car back to the agency and I am glad we don't have a car while we are here.

Lunch at Mudbrick Winery

     Tuesday morning Kathy was up very very early to catch a bus to the airport for her 6:45am flight.  Little did she know that her 11 hour layover in Fiji was going to be in the middle of national weather emergency, cyclone and flooding.  She was able to catch a flight out of Fiji and was soon back home in Columbus.  Hannah and I took the ferry to Waiheke Island where we walked around and had a wonderful lunch at a very fancy winery. 

     Wednesday morning Hannah was up early to catch a bus to the airport to fly to Wellington to start her solo travels of South Island via Stray bus.  I'm anxious to hear her adventures.

     Easter Sunday was a beautiful day.  Excellent sermon:  Empty promises of Easter - Empty cross, empty tomb and empty grave clothes.  Thanks be to God for all he has done!

Week 12 - Another very full week

One of the waterfalls at Milford Sound

     Kathy and I continued on the Stray bus tour a total of 10 days.  On Monday March 26th, our final day in Queenstown,  we took a day trip out to Milford Sound, part of Fiordlands National Park.  I enjoyed Milford Sound so much with Terry, Kara and Alex that I wanted to do it again.  Snow had fallen up in the mountains and there had been lots of rain so we had a different perspective, but all beautiful.    

Glacier Lake with icebergs

Kathy & I on our hike up Mt. John

     On Tuesday we headed to Mt. Cook region.  Mt. Cook (11,000 ft.) was the mountain where Sir Edmund Hillary did many of his training climbs in preparation for Mt. Everest.  The road into this area weren't paved until 1990s.  The only people who live in this area are employees of Mt. Cook National Park.  They have an unemployment rate of 0%.  The hostel had a nice package deal that included lodging, tour of a glacier lake, museum and dinner.  We went on a boat on Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake.  The lake had many icebergs that had broken off the glacier.  Terry would have loved the tour because so much of it was about spectroscopy and light refraction.    

     On Wednesday we stopped for a night in Lake Tekapo, known for the best star gazing in all of South Island.  Kathy and I hiked to the top of Mt. John and had a day-time perspective of the observatory and the views.  At 9pm we went on a tour.  We were given very warm coats (ones that had been used in the Antartica), put on a bus and driven to the top of the mountain.  In order to avoid ambient light interfering with star gazing, the bus driver turned off the headlights and did the last mile up in total darkness.  I found that rather un-nerving, especially with the S-curves and no guard rails.  It was a beautiful night and I have never seen the stars so clearly.  We got to see the Southern Cross, Gemini, Scorpion, Mars, Saturn, Milky Way and more.  The little town has streetlights one meter high to cut down on ambient light.  I think they would prohibit all night traffic if they were allowed to do so. 

So many sheep!

     On Thursday we stayed at a hostel very close to a 20,000 acre sheep/cattle/deer ranch.  Some people in the group went white water rafting, some went bike riding but Kathy and I went on a nice walk and found a sunny spot to sit and read and watch the deer.  This ranch has 30,000 total animals.  It was mating season for the sheep and deer so things were very busy on the ranch.  The hostel room we had that night was very small - 10 x 12 for ten of us.  Triple bunks.  Not much room for our stuff but it worked.  In the morning we took off only to be stopped by a river of sheep that were crossing the road to change pastures.  The sheepdogs were barking and jumping, the farmer was trying to move the sheep, the bus wanted to get through and we had a plane to catch.    We made it to the airport on time and were back in Auckland by 1pm.

     Hannah flew in from Vancouver on the same day Kathy and I returned from our travels.  She had no troubles getting in and making her way to the free Stray tour of Auckland.  We had a nice dinner at home and then got to play bridge.  Hannah managed to stay awake until 9:30, despite her 14 hour flight. 
     On Saturday Kathy, Hannah and I took the ferry to Devonport, a quaint seaside village.  We climbed two dormant volcanoes, poked around the museum and shops and ate gelato.  In the evening Terry joined us for a lovely dinner at the Auckland Fish Market, topped off with more gelato.  So nice to have Hannah visiting for a while in New Zealand.

Week 11 - A Very Full Week

     This was the start of a week very full of sights, travels and new adventures.  My friend Kathy flew in from Columbus for a two week visit.  On Monday we boarded the Stray bus (a tour company whose goal is to give adventurous travellers access to amazing places around New Zealand) to do a free day tour around Auckland.  We got to walk out on the Auckland Harbor Bridge (scary in itself with the gusty conditions that day) to watch bungy jumping.  Also, drove around to see beautiful Bastien Hill (in the rain), go to Sky Tower and watch sky-jumping (in the rain) and visit a pub for lunch.  I was amazed to realize that almost all of the places we visited that day were places we have walked to over the past couple months.

Lake Matheson

     Tuesday Kathy and I flew to Christchurch to start our tour of the South Island.  We chose to use the Stray busses to do our travels even though most of the people on these trips were 20-30 year olds.  We knew we'd be the oldest ones but we liked the places they were going and their philosophy of travel.  We met so many nice people from many countries including Sweden, Holland, Switzerland, England, Wales, France, Germany, Japan, China, Austria, India and more.    Many of the folks were on work/holiday visas and were in New Zealand for 6 months - two years.  The work they did varied but many were involved with retail, service and agriculture.  With careful budgeting they were able to make enough money to fund their travels around the country.

     Our first night on the road was in Christchurch where we were able to see firsthand the earthquake damage as we tried to get to our hostel by walking through the center of the city.  We quickly found out that a large area has been closed off to all vehicular and foot traffic. We were saddened by extent of the devastation that still exists in the center of the city even one year after the first of the major earthquakes.
Wednesday morning we were up very early to work our way around the closed city center to pick up the bus to take us to the West Coast where we would catch up with the Stray bus.  We traveled over beautiful country of the Transalpine Mountains. 

Our little group on the icefields in the rain

     On Wednesday night we arrived in Franz Josef for two nights stay at the Rainforest Hostel.  The next day I went on a full-day glacier walk.  It was very tiring but I'm glad I did it.  We were given a warm coat, snow pants, warm hat, gloves and thick socks and heavy boots.  We started with a long walk through the rain forest, then over glacier rocks, then put on cramp-ons to go on the icefields.  We went high up the glacier and had to traverse narrow ledges, crevasses, and icy conditions.  We had rain about half of the day.  Part of the tour included a pass to the thermal pools in town - a most delightful treat after a cold, rainy, tiring day on the icefields.

The Top of the Parasailing Hill

On Friday we arrived in Queenstown, the Adventure Capital of the World.  Queenstown YHA was our favorite hostel.  A private room for Kathy and me looking out over the lake with snow-capped mountains.  It was mostly cold and rainy but we did some hikes, checked out the museums and shops and rode the jet boats through Shotover Canyon.  One of the highlights for us was going paragliding.  A peaceful gentle ride - not scary in the least - what a great way to enjoy the beautiful countryside below us.  Paragliding was one of those adventures that we can say "We're glad we did it and we'd do it again" as opposed to other adventures that we'd say "We're glad we did it but we don't need to do it again."
PS:  Terry stayed back in Auckland to work.  He traveled to Dunedin on South Island (an area settled by the Scots) to give a talk at the university.  He also managed to fit in a scenic train trip over the Taieri Gorge, a tour of Cadbury Factory and a tour of the Speights Brewery. 

Week 10



Volvo Ocean Race - Auckland

 It's been a quieter week in Auckland.  Not much rain this week so I was able to get out to enjoy the harbor.  I had lunch with Karena (friend from Auckland Baptist) one day and then went down to the harbor to check out Volvo Ocean Race.  This is a premier offshore sailboat race held every four years.  The Auckland stopover was March 8-18 and there were lots of festivities connected with it.  Six 70-foot boats are competing.  Each boat has 10 crew members and one media person and they race 24/7.  The boats sailed in from China to Auckland.  The next leg will be Auckland to Brazil, the most dangerous portion of the race as they will face treacherous conditions with icebergs.  Terry and I met up with the Mansfields, friends of the Emericks to watch the in-harbor race on Saturday.

On Saturday night we went to see University of Auckland's Shakespeare performance of Much Ado About Nothing (slightly modified to be set in World War I) done in outdoor theater.  I thought I was going to have a hard time following Shakespeare done with a NZ accent but it was well done and very enjoyable.


Auckland Baptist Tabernacle


On Sunday we went to church.  I was happy to meet up with Trish again, the first person we met in NZ.  Good message and encouraging conversations.  After church we walked down to the harbor to watch the departure of the Ocean Race boats as they head to Brazil, probably the most dangerous leg of the race.  Very windy day.  Terry and I enjoyed a nice dinner at a waterfront restaurant.

Week 9

Week 9

     Monday was the day of departures.  Kara, Alex, Terry and I all left Queenstown on three different flights.  Kara and Alex flew to Auckland and then on to Chicago, ready to start back to work the next day.  Terry and I flew to Auckland on different flights; his being delayed several times so he didn’t get home until late.  We really enjoyed our time with Kara and Alex and were so glad they made the trip.

Not too many adventures this week.  I met my friend Karena for lunch at University of Auckland one day.  Later in the week Terry and I met up with Dave and Sue Anderson, and Sue’s mom Dee, people we had met on a wine tour, and heard about the rest of their travels.  Sue’s mom celebrated her 91^st birthday in Auckland. 

     My favorite day this week was Sunday when we took the ferry with Terry’s colleague & family to Tiritiri Matangi, a bird sanctuary.  It was a drizzling, grey, dreary day and one that I would not have picked as the day to go.  But we had reservations on the ferry so we packed our lunch, wore our waterproof jackets and hats, and departed at 9am.  The 75 minute ferry ride was very enjoyable and we had time to converse with fellow travelers including a woman on business with a biotech company, a software developer from Germany who quit his job to do some traveling, a professor from University of TX, Austin, who swapped jobs, houses, cars and pets with a New Zealand professor for the semester. 

     On the island we had a small group tour (only 6 in our group) with a wonderful guide who was able to identify every bird by sight, sound and flight and who helped us appreciate all the work that has been done to preserve the bird sanctuary.  At one time it was farmland but in the 1990s volunteers planted 280,000 native trees.  Several people described the island as a Jurassic Park setting.  Boardwalks have been built over the entire island and there is a beautiful visitor center at the top.  We saw many New Zealand birds: tui, oystercatcher, saddleback, kakarikis, pukeko, whitehead, stichbird, bellbird and more.  The volunteers and rangers work hard to protect endangered birds, keep the island pest-free and provide learning opportunities for visitors.  Tiritiri Matangi is considered to be one of the world’s most successful volunteer conservation projects. ­­­

After our return, we went to the home of Cather, Terry’s colleague, for a delicious beef stew dinner.  We were refreshed by our day outside in a beautiful setting.  We surely slept well that night!

Week 8 - What a Week!

Having Kara and Alex here has added a new level of activity to our life.  Monday they went on a free tour of Auckland.  In the evening we had dinner at the Seattle Sky Tower – tallest building in the southern hemisphere.  Beautiful views.  We met a family from Minneapolis – the Washburn area.  Tuesday K & A went to Waiheke Island for biking and wine tasting.  They didn’t realize what kind of hills they were getting into, and then there was the rain.  They were happy to get back on the ferry and return home.  On Wednesday Kara, Alex and I went canyoning in Piha.  I loved it – plenty of adventure for me as we climbed high up the mountain in the rainforest, then rappelled down waterfalls, swam in waterfall pools, and climbed over rocks.  Ended up on the beautiful black sand beaches of the ocean.

On Thursday Kara, Alex and I flew to Queenstown.  Terry went to Wellington to give a talk and then joined us in Queenstown for 3 days.  I stayed in a hostel with K&A for one night and then moved to a hotel on the edge of town.  Beautiful scenery – mountains, lake, gondola up the hill, great restaurants and fudge!  On the first day there, K, A and I climbed the hill (to avoid paying $25 for the gondola) and then did the luge.  Relatively safe and not scary.  Beautiful views from the top. 

The next day Terry arrived in town.  He and I had a wonderful lunch at the skyview restaurant.  Perfect setting – window-side table.  And then we went zip-lining on the ecotour.  A fun group of people including a couple retired teachers from Toronto and a couple from University of Michigan who offered Terry a place to stay if he goes to Ann Arbor to do some sabbatical time. 

In the meantime, Kara and Alex turned up the adventure level and did the Nevis bungy – 134 meters down.  And then they went riverboarding – surfboarding in a wet suit down the river rapids. 
The next day we all took a day trip to Milford Sound.  We saw lots of sheep, beautiful mountain streams and then had a fabulous boat trip through the fjords. 

On our final full day in Queenstown Terry and I went for a walk which we thought would be about 6 miles but by the end of the day we figured we walked about 10 miles.  It was an easy walk along the beautiful lake but still it was a long way.  Kara and Alex had one more major adventure – canyoning up in the mountains.  They said it was quite different from the Auckland adventure and was definitely high adventure – going down rock slides, jumping off ledges into very cold water, and more.  I was very glad Terry and I had time together and that I didn’t have to try to keep up with the kiddos.  I’ll be back to Queenstown in a few weeks with my friend Kathy and I look forward to seeing the beautiful sights again. 

Week 7

2/20/12

A quieter week for me.  Taking time to read knowing that things will be busy when daughter Kara and her Adventure Friend Alex are here.   I visited the Auckland Art Gallery – one of my favorite places as it is free and has a nice docent led tour every day.  I love the flower chandelier in the atrium that has flower petals that regularly get a shot of air and seems to greet you. 

The skies are amazing each night.  We take lots of sunset pictures and are reminded of God’s handiwork that surrounds us.  One morning we saw a whole rainbow – end to end and brilliant!

2/22/12

I went to lunch with Karena, a delightful gal I met at church.  She works at University of Auckland in the International Department.

2/23/12

Kara’s birthday.  She wasn’t here but we ate gelato to celebrate.

2/25/12

Kara and Adventure Friend Alex arrive in Auckland after a very long flight from Chicago.  Kara ran her daily mile and after cleaning up we were all ready to go exploring.

We took them to the lab where Terry is working and then down to the harbor.  It was actually the coldest day we've had since we've been here - and rainy and not very nice. Dinner at home to celebrate Kara's birthday with a little chocolate roll cake from the grocery store.  Kara went to bed by 7:30pm and Alex managed to make it until 8:30pm.

2/26/12
On Sunday we were up early for the Cathay Pacific race.  That was the most laid-back race I've ever been part of.  It was a fun race - no timing chips, no reported times.  Three of us had start times of 8:30 and Alex had a start time of 9:25.  We were there by 7:15am.  Actually, it turned out that you could start at any time you wanted so we joined the 7:25 start time as there was only one person leaving then.  It was the most beautiful day to run.  Temps in the 60s, only a tiny sprinkling and then a beautiful rainbow.  I was listening to Andrae Crouch on my nano.  The sky was blue, the sun was shining in my face and the words of the song were "To Thine Be the Glory".  Terry and I did a run/walk - ran 5 minutes, walked 5 minutes.  11k was the farthest we've ever done and we were delighted to finish. 1 hour, 27 min.   Alex ran 11k - his farthest run ever and he was very happy with 1 hour 10 min.  Kara ran the half.  Not her best but still good considering the huge hill that was part of the race.  2 hours 15 min.
After showers and cleaning up we took the ferry over to one of my favorite places - Devonport.  We figured we walked an additional 5 or 6 miles in addition to our race miles.  That included an uphill climb to the highest point in Devonport.  We all survived and a good night sleep gave us our energy again.

Week 6

2/14/12

Valentine’s Day in NZ is much like the states – special dinners, flowers, cards, chocolate.  For us – a nice walk to the gelato store!

2/15/12

Coffee in New Zealand – it’s just not the same!  Coffee to them is expresso and way too strong for our tastes.  In the quest to find coffee like the states, Terry went in search of Starbucks Via (excellent instant coffee).  He inquired at Starbucks and found out they don’t carry it in NZ.  Terry’s colleague knew of an American store where they might have it.  She inquired about it.  They said no they didn't carry it but they might be able to get it.  We never asked them to order it.  In the mean time, Terry figured out he was ok with the instant coffee we have and that he could wait until Kara came to visit and brought us more.  Then, last Saturday we got an e-mail saying the Via had arrived and we could pick it up.  So, today I took a 45 minute bus ride, then walked 1.2 miles to the store and picked up the Via.  Kind of crazy but that is the way things go when you are in another country.

2/16/12   

In general this has been a good week for reading.  My favorites include A Heart for Freedom by Chai Ling and Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and High by Jamie Ford.  The first is memoirs of a student leader at Tiananmen Square in 1989.  The second is a historical fiction set in Seattle in 1940s during WW2. 

Also took a looong walk and toured a historic home named Alberton.  I climbed to the summit of Mt. Alpert (another dormant volcano) and then wisely took the bus home.
Terry is making progress on his research.  The creative wheels are starting to churn and he is able to focus on possible papers, proposals and research.  And the experiment in the lab finally started working the way it is supposed to.

2/18/12

Today we went on a winery tour on the west coast of Auckland.  Once you get out of the suburbs there is beautiful countryside.  We enjoyed meeting up with some people from San Francisco – Dave and Sue and Sue’s 90 year old mom – all traveling around NZ for 3 weeks. 

2/19/12

Church at Auckland Baptist Tabernacle was good.  Had a very pleasant talk with Karena, a Marketing Officer at University of Auckland.  She and I will get together for lunch this week – looking forward to that!  In the afternoon we walked down to the harbor to watch boats, people and go out to dinner.  We ended up having a very interesting conversation with a Maori woman named Noti who is from the Tuhoe tribe.  Her tribe is in court with the country of NZ fighting to win their sovereignty and return of land they have lived on for many, many years.  There is a lot to NZ politics that I don’t understand but was interesting to learn a little bit about it. 

Week 5

2/6/12 Today is a public holiday and it is also the day the Super Bowl is being played. Terry and I stopped in for a while. Terry ended up staying for the whole game but it was just a bit too noisy for me and they weren't showing any of the US commercials so I left after an hour. It was fun to meet up with a few people from the states.

2/7/12 I woke up today and the sun was shining brightly and not a hint of rain for the day. I decided it was a perfect day to take the ferry to the nearby village of Devonport. When I arrived I headed toward the other side of the town to experience the beaches. Lots of sand, very few people and crystal clear water. I spent lots of time watching the little crabs chase each other in the water. The nicest part of the day was that I met several very nice people throughout the day. One lady from Germany, a teacher from Nova Scotia, a 22 year old nurse from France and a recently retired woman from Australia. It was also good to take time to watch the birds and be reminded how God cares for each of them and how much more he cares and provides for us.

2/8/12 I love full moons and we got a beautiful view of tonight's full moon right from our apartment balcony. Thinking of my sistern! Almost every night Terry tells me he'll never grow tired of the views. So many evenings we are treated to beautiful sunsets.

2/10/12 I spent the afternoon at the Auckland Domain - a huge nearby park. I picked a bench near a pond that is frequented by ducks, pigeons and & kiddos with bread. No ducks today but I had fun watching those pigeons. First there was a grandma with 3 year old twins. Each little girl had about 1/2 bag of bread. Those pigeons crowded around the girls and feasted on all the bread and the little girls weren't afraid at all. They left and a dad with his little boy came with their bread. You would have thought those pigeons hadn't eaten all day - they had another feast. They left and a mom and daughter came. This mom let the birds sit on their arms and eat out of their hands. Didn't seem to be afraid of getting bitten or germed. And those birds ate and ate. They left and then another lady and little girl came with bread. They invited the pigeons up on the bench with them and had fed them lots. These pigeons are a great act. They are always ready to eat anything offered to them and never hurt anyone. Just another reminder to me of how God is taking care of each of us.

I’ve discovered Groupon – New Zealand. Once I figured out I have to use paypal and can’t use a US credit card I was good to go. We had a delightful, reasonable Japanese dinner on Friday night thanks to GrouponNZ.

2/11/12 Today we took the bus to see a different of Auckland. They have a great bus system in the metro area. Every single bus stop in the whole city is numbered and many have electric signs which tell you what bus is coming and in how many minutes it will arrive. You can go to a website and enter the destination. It gives you complete directions including “walk 5 minutes to bus stop #.” We wanted to walk along the shore but quickly realized it was a long way down to the shoreline (and then we had to go back up) and there was no place to walk. Still, we got good exercise and saw a new part of town.
We watched Bucket List (finally) - what a great movie. I'm making my list.

2/12/12 We went to the nearby Baptist church today and were very encouraged by the people we met today. We went out to lunch with a number of young people and had good conversation – most enjoyable. Rainy day but we did get to the grocery store and stopped at Wendy’s for a frosty.

Week 4

1/30/12

Today is Anniversary Day in Auckland. It is much like 4th of July and celebrates the day NZ became a colony. All the action is centered on the harbor where there are regattas, street performers, tug boat races and of course lots of food and beverage. We saw a clipper ship as well as some huge sailboats. Sunshine and good breeze - beautiful day in Auckland.


1/31/12
A climb to the top of Mt. Eden. Today I packed my lunch, filled up the water pouch in my adventure backpack and set off for Mt. Eden. It isn’t a mountain like the Rocky Mountains as it is only 600 feet above sea level, but it is the highest non-manmade point in Auckland and offers wonderful 360 degree views of the city. I enjoyed the views, spent time reading my book and got some good uphill exercise. I probably walked 6+ miles when you consider all the backtracking I did when I got a bit lost.
In the evening, Terry and I got our exercise by going down to the harbor for happy hour at the gelato store – a double for just $5. How’s that for rationalization!

2/1/12
The story of Terry’s contact. Way back in Fiji, Terry lost his left contact lens. He was frustrated with himself as he has never lost a contact in 30 years of contact-wearing. And he had forgotten to pack an extra set. He contacted Matt, our house-sitter, and asked him to send the back-up contacts by express mail. Matt mailed them off on 1/13/12 saying it was supposed to arrive in five days or so. We started asking for mail on the 5th day. Everyday, no mail. We checked the tracking number and were told it left Chicago on 1/14, but still didn’t arrive. We decided that perhaps we should just get the prescription from the eye doctor and get a new contact made over here. On 1/25, still no contact so Terry went and ordered a new contact lens. Rather pricey - $350 – but TG was getting headaches from being one-eyed so it needed to be done. Wouldn’t you know, the contacts from Columbus arrived in the mail that very morning. I promptly delivered the package to Terry, he tried the lens and decided that even though the contacts were from 2007, it would still work so he canceled the $350 lens order. They were very kind and said no problem and credited our credit card. Today (2/1/12) Terry got an e-mail from the NZ optometrist saying that even though the order was canceled, it still got made and would he be interested in buying it for 50% discount. He went over to the office and tried the new contact. It fit perfectly so now he has a current up-to-date contact lens (at a reasonable price) and he still has back-ups. God knows exactly what we need!

2/4/12
This Saturday we started off in a different direction and headed to Mission Bay, home to many of Auckland’s water sports. It ended up be a 10.5 mile walk by the time we arrived home. We saw lots of windsurfers, sailboats, kayaks, parasailers and more. Lots of stroller-babies, roller-bladers and kiddos on the walk. I was glad we walked so far – now I know I’ll be able to finish the 11k walk that we’re going to do later this month when Kara and Adventure Friend Alex visit.
The Lantern Festival is happening at a nearby park. Beautiful lit scenes have been set up in the park with lanterns hanging from the trees. Plenty of performers, music, food and people. Did you know that 10% of the Auckland population is Chinese? We had pineapple and ice cream. Yumm! Fireworks ended the event on Sunday – we had a great view from our 17th floor apartment.

2/5/12
Today we went to Auckland Bible Church. We took the bus there and walked home. Excellent sermon - good to be reminded of the rich truths in The Word. “Morality can keep us out of jail but nothing but the blood of Jesus can keep us out of hell.” (Charles Spurgeon).

Week 3

1/25/12
Today I ventured out to Highwic, a historical NZ home open for touring. The house was built in 1862 for Albert and Eliza Buckland. They came to NZ from England at the age of 25. Albert made a fortune in land acquisition and cattle. He and Eliza had 10 children before she died at the age of 41 from pneumonia. He remarried and he and Matilda had 11 children. He had 24 grandchildren when his youngest child was born. It was good that they were well off and had servants to help with all the work. Interesting, beautiful home with nice gardens. Would be a good place for a wedding.

1/26/12
Today I planned to spend most of the day reading. So nice to have the luxury to do that. I met someone on the elevator who suggested that I head off toward the harbor to the fish market area. I took my book and lunch along and enjoyed the beautiful day. Three cruise ships were docked in harbor. Auckland is home to some of the world's most expensive yachts, plus sailboats, fishing boats, tour boats and more. I spotted a sign on a tugboat that said 1 ½ hour harbor tours just $20. Such a gorgeous day so I did it. It was nice to have commentary on all the sights. I got to see bungy jumpers off the Auckland bridge. They even supplied coffee, tea, water and sunscreen.

1/28/12
It’s Saturday and a good day to go explore a new area with Terry. We made arrangements for the winery tour on Waiheke Island, a 35 minute ferry ride from Auckland. I find it amazing that an island so close to Auckland can have such a different feel. Waiheke reminded me of Hawaii. The bus ride gave us a good opportunity to see the country side and beautiful ocean views. We visited three boutique wineries and tasted some very nice wines. Hardly any NZ wines have corks because of a problem many years ago with the quality of cork the young NZ wine industry was receiving, so that is why many good NZ wines come with screw tops. We met a couple from Philadelphia – the first people from the US that we’ve met since leaving LAX. We took the 5pm ferry back, went to the grocery store. While standing in line someone said my name. There are very few people in Auckland who even know my name and here was one standing in the same grocery store line. It was Trish, the gal we met the first Sunday we went to church in Auckland. That had to be God arranging that. It was an encouragement to “happen” to run into her and we had a nice conversation. Thank you God!

Sunday 1/29/12
We went to the nearby Baptist church. I love being able to walk to church and this church is just 1 ½ blocks from our apartment. I thought I would see Trish and I was going to try to get together with her this week but she wasn’t there. Oh well, it was a very good service – worshipful music and a good message. We met someone who works with Wycliffe New Zealand – reaching out to the Pukapuka people on an island in the Northern Cook Islands. Tomorrow is Anniversary Day in Auckland. Part of the festivities include a huge regatta at the harbor as well as tugboat races. They call Auckland the city of sails and I suspect we will see that tomorrow.

More of Week 2

1/20/12
Today I ventured in a different direction to see the Auckland Museum. I am quickly discovering that everything is within walking distance depending on how far you are willing to walk. The Museum is situated in Auckland Domain, the city’s oldest park. 185 acres – hills, cricket fields, amphitheatre for concerts, old trees, open spaces – beautiful. The museum had a major display of the Maori culture as well natural history area, Weird and Wonderful children’s area and a tribute to New Zealand war veterans. I spent almost three hours in the museum, had lunch on beautiful grassy noll looking out at the harbor, then on to the Wintergarden where I thought of my friends who love unusual plants and flowers. This place was Franklin Park Conservatory on steroids. I’m going to take Terry to this park for a concert or free movie – its beautiful and within 20 minutes walk from our apartment.

1/21/12
It’s Saturday so Terry and I ventured out to explore Rangitoto Island. I found Super Saver fares on the internet and booked a tour. One mile walk downhill to the ferry, then a 25 minute ferry ride to the island, then a three hour tour on a tram pulled by a 4wd tractor. The island is the most recently-erupted volcano in NZ – 600 years old. There is lava rock everywhere. NZ is seriously expecting volcanic action any time. No one lives on the island and there are very few vehicles – we saw two while we were there and one was the tour tractor. We were able to climb to the summit and also did a 6 mile round trip hike to Islington Bay Wharf where we had our lunch. Beautiful aqua colored water – such a lovely setting. We caught a ferry back to Auckland, another mile walk up-hill to our apartment – what an enjoyable day. We were tuckered.

1/22/12
We went to church today at The Tab (Auckland Baptist Tabernacle.) The sermon was about Re-Discovering God in Need. God is teaching me about trusting him more and more. He has put me in a new place where I can’t rely on my usual ways, my usual activities, my usual friends. Life as I know it here in NZ is totally different. One thing that was memorable was the big cups they used for communion. They were glass (not plastic) juice glasses. They reminded me that our God is a big God and He wants us to feast with him.

Week 2 of our adventures

Views from our apartment ...

1/17/12
It’s Monday here and Terry’s first day of going into the lab at University of Auckland. That means I will have the whole day to myself. Actually I’m at a bit of a loss, not used to being by myself the entire day and not really having any tasks that need to be done. Well, that’s not entirely true. I do have to run a load of dishes in the little tiny dishwasher. And I do have a load of clothes to put in the wash. Our life here is rather simple. We only have four settings of dishes so I do dishes every other day. We have a washer the plays a little song when the clothes are done. No dryer but I have a drying rack and a heated towel rack. I venture out to catch a tour at the Auckland Art Gallery and then head to the library for free wi-hi.

1/18/12
Today I am going to take a ferry to Devonport to see what there is to see. A 12 minute ferry ride across the harbor lands me at a delightful seaside city. I have packed a book, camera, sunscreen, map and a few odds and ends in my new Camelback backpack. I’m looking forward to the day. When it started raining around 11:30 I decided it was time for lunch. I chose the nearest restaurant and ended up at a breakfast place where I had toasted bagel with salmon and avocado and a cup of tea for $14! Devonport is a charming city with quaint seaside lodging, all with lush gardens. I climbed to the top of the volcanic cone giving me wonderful views of the harbor as well as nice

benches for me to sit and read my book. Too bad I forgot to recharge the camera’s battery. Oh well, this is one place I definitely want to come back to.

Week 1 of our adventures

1/7/12
What a full and blessed month we had leading up to our departure. We’ve had time with friends and family, Terry took London Honors Students on their capstone trip, finishing work at HARDI, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, time with friends and family.
We flew from Columbus to Washington DC, then DC to LAX. Terry was very happy because he got moved up to business class with comfortable seats and good food/wine. Waiting for the plane in LAX was hard. We were in the international terminal and the flight did not seem organized at all. It was late, everyone was tired. We kept standing in lines not knowing where they were leading. We had to take a bus to get to the plane; we went up ramps but the flight was very good. The staff knew what to do to get us to sleep – they fed us a good meal, gave us a glass of wine, gave us a blanket and pillow and turned down the lights. Terry and I watched a show on my tablet but I fell asleep shortly after it started. I felt like I had been tucked into bed for the night. Rather amazing to have people meet up at LAX from many different countries and time zones and have us all yanked into the new time zone in Fiji.

1/9/12
We arrived in Fiji. We had traveled 26 hours and crossed the International Date Line. I couldn’t figure out if I should be tired or awake so I just took naps whenever I felt the need to do so. We arrived at the airport, gathered our bags and tried to figure out how to get to the resort. The choices were to take a private car for $150 or take the local bus for $18. We choice Sunbeam, the local bus. We rode through many little villages with all the locals. The bus stopped at a market but we had no idea what we would encounter so we stayed in the safety of the bus. The bus dropped us off at the road beside our resort – we must have looked like two country bumpkins with our baggage, arriving at this gorgeous resort. But, we saved a lot of money by doing it that way.
The resort was all inclusive. We had a wonderful Japanese dinner the first night. We sat with Madison (age 11) and her dad from Australia. Delightful conversation. That young lady endeared herself to us. I wonder what she will do in life!

1/10/12
We spent the day at the ocean, in the ocean, at the pool and in the pool. I read AWOL on the Appalachian Trail. That night for dinner we ate at the Wicked Walu – the seafood restaurant on the little island. Our reservations were for 8pm. We were led to a table on the far edge of the restaurant, looking out at the sunset and Polynesian dancers on shore. We could look down and see the fish and also saw a black tip reef shark every once in a while. Wonderful food – tex mex seafood – tuna, mahi mahi and walu with three different sauces. Probably the best seafood I’ve ever had. I felt blessed by God to have this beautiful dinner at the perfect location with my dear friend and husband.

1/11/12
We took a tour called Discover Fiji Tour. We were picked up at 8:45 and had a long bus ride to the tour site. There were 11 of us. We rode in a motorized wooden canoe to a Fijian village where we were treated to a traditional welcome ceremony, a tour of the village with preschool, ladies’ craft building and boys’ craft building. A traditional Fijian meal was prepared for us – wrapped in tin foil and cooked on coals in the ground. Everything was delicious. Then there was traditional singing and dancing. Then we took the motorized canoes upstream. We had to go through some rapids and there was a moment when it seemed like we were not going to have enough power to get upstream. We stopped the boat in a little cove and hiked about 5 minutes up a narrow trail (with ropes to hang onto) and came to a gorgeous waterfall. We were able to swim in the pool at the base of the waterfall and enjoy the majesty of this beautiful sight. After that we left and then boarded a bamboo raft similar to ones used by early Fijian people to travel the river.
A few people stand out in my mind. Tonia – a gal from Austria was taking 6 months to travel around the world. She had flown to LA, drove across USA on Route 66 all the way to NY. Then she flew back to LA and onto Fiji. Edna – a airplane mechanic from Vancouver who was planning on retiring in 5 years and live ½ year in Canada, ½ year in Fiji. I love seeing people getting to live their dreams. And then there was Lachlin and Chelsea, both age 9 – great kids.

1/12/12
Time to leave Warwick. We checked out at 11am but didn’t leave the resort until 3pm. People watching is always interesting. Lady on the beach in black bikini, goes swimming, comes out and modestly changes into a blue bikini. A little while later she goes swimming, comes out and modestly changes into a one piece suit. A little while later she goes swimming, comes out and modestly changes into a leopard print bikini. After that she left and went back to her room. I guess she was out of swimsuits.
What a nice way to end our time there – sitting in the shade by the ocean, reading. This time we took a private car back to the airport – a pleasant drive. We stayed at Raffles – a very inexpensive hotel that was lovely. Beautiful gardens, good food and gentle people.

1/13/12
On to Auckland. Just a 3 hour flight. Safely though customs, immigration, all bags accounted for. Had to pay extra for two bags, unexpected but nothing what can you do!
Cather picked us up at the airport and drove us to the hotel in downtown Auckland. Our apartment is 2 bedrooms on the 17th floor. A little quirky – virtually no drawer space, a washing machine, towel warmer and drying rack in our bathroom, all electrical plugs on one side of the room, very dull knives. We had been here less than an hour and the fire alarm went off. I called the front desk and they said we had to evacuate the building using the stairs. So 17 flights down. All the residents were outside. Fire engine had arrived. Five fully dressed fire fighters were inside looking for the fire. Never did hear what happened but evidently it was a false alarm. Hope that doesn’t happen too frequently.
This is the view from our apartment window. Slingshot is a telecommunications company in New Zealand. We can see the harbor and Sky Tower. We have a balcony but so far it has been too windy to enjoy sitting out there.

1/14/12
Today the plan is to head to Long Beach with Cather and her family. A little rain but maybe it will pass. Terry just found out that there is free wi-fi at the library and also McDonalds. Life is good!
Cather Simpson is Terry’s colleague at the University of Auckland. He will be working in her lab starting on Monday. Cather’s husband Tom is a Shakespeare scholar at the university. They have two sons – Oliver age 10 and Henry age 9. We went to Long Beach Regional Park. Had a lovely lunch at the restaurant on the beach – I had a lambburger. Then we went swimming in the ocean – refreshingly cool with gentle waves. We walked along the beach – Long Beach – very aptly named. A quiet night back at our apartment. We usually spend time watching a tv show and playing a game, also catching up on internet.

1/15/12
It’s Sunday in Auckland. We’re thinking of our friends at Linworth Road and Friendship Village. We decided to try the Auckland Baptist Temple for service this morning. A very international congregation of all ages. The children stayed for half of the service, laughing, wandering and dancing. When the children left some people went to The Global Service – a simple English sermon. We met one nice lady, Trish, and perhaps will see her next week. I wasn’t feeling too well – something was upsetting my insides so we went back to the apartment. Terry is on his own for lunch. I took a nap and am feeling better. Maybe we’ll go for a walk later tonight.