A Long-Awaited Update

All of you have been very patient in waiting for our family update. It has been some time since I posted information about our first 2 months here. Something that may be difficult to understand is that one day in New Zealand seems much like another – especially in the winter. It rains, its cold and until spring arrived not much extraordinary has happened. BUT we have been busy since it has gotten warmer and a little drier. The locals here have said that this is the most rain they have seen in quite a long time.

Another interesting weather fact – and this is strictly anecdotal – is that almost every Kiwi that I’ve spoken with about the weather asking when will it finally “get warm” – has responded that it used to get warm before Christmas but “these days” it doesn’t get warm until the middle of January. So the locals are very aware of the changing weather patterns. Some of that is because they live on an island and pay particular attention to the weather but they are also sensitive to issues such as global warming and such because of these noticeable changes.

In fact, we were at a potluck gathering just last Sunday afternoon and the weather was so nice the entire group sat outside in the sunshine. Although not obvious to the naked eye to see many referred to being cautious of being in the sun because of the hole in the ozone.

So here are the various activities we’re been engaged in:

I completed the portion of my scuba diving class that was held in the swimming pool with gold stars but when we took our roadtrip to do the “field test” the waters were a little bumpier. The waters in Lake Rotoma were very cloudy and green (not to my liking very much) and once we reached the ocean dive site the waters were so rough that no one could dive. So I’m not yet PADI certified but can take the two dives sometime soon and then become certified.

The city of Hamilton is perfectly situated – it is about a 45 minute drive to the west coast and the town of Raglan, about a 90 minute drive to the east coast and about an hour’s drive to the mountains for skiing and snowboarding.

Jimmy went on a school skiing trip near the end of September (before the schools took a 2 week break) with about 20 other students. He took skiing classes over the 3 days and made it to the intermediate slope! When they weren’t skiing they were hanging out in “hot pools” and playing games.

The ski trip was to a resort next door to Mount Ruapehu (http://www.geonet.org.nz/volcano/volcams/ruapehu/) – which erupted just one week after Jimmy got back! It hadn’t erupted in about 5 years and there had been no warnings. About 5 young hikers were staying the night at a hut which was engulfed in the lavare trapping one young man under part of the hut. Luckily everyone made it out alive and the young man – a teacher – was airlifted off the mountain but has subsequently lost both of his legs.

One of John’s colleagues, Allison invited us to visit her and her husband in Tauranga about a 90 minute drive from Hamilton.. We arrived for lunch on a rainy Sunday afternoon and enjoyed their company sightseeing and visiting the PACIFIC OCEAN! There were lots of surfers although it was an extremely cold day for us. It is a port city with lots of activity. They have done such a good job at monitoring the environment around the port that they even have pristine beaches within eyesight of the large shipping vessels and such.

The kids’ two week break started off smoothly and fairly easy until Katy and I were goofing around and she feel and sprained her ankle. We weren’t but about 2 houses from our house when it happened but Jimmy and I were trying to figure out how we were going to get Katy back to the house without doing more harm to her. A number of folks generously stopped to ask if they could help but we did quite know what we were going to do at that point so we told them everything was okay. We had put ice on her ankle and we were shading the sun (can you believe the sun was out on this day?) from her eyes and trying to figure out how she could skootch on her bum back to the house . . . when a group of neighbors walked by. We had seen them many times before but they had never spoken to us – they wear a lot of black and seem to hang as a group. One of them called out to see if we needed help and I said “Yes!” So two men made a seat with their arms and carried Katy as if she were a queen up to the house. The woman carried our bags and I escorted them up the path.

The doctor’s verdict of a sprained ankle brought about 3-4 days of laying on the couch with her leg elevated and walking with her crutches to the loo. After 3 physiotherapist sessions where they used ultrasound on the sprain and a week and a half of wearing a “boot” on her ankle Katy was able to get around perfectly. As these things go I think this was a “good sprain.”

While Katy was laid up, Jimmy and I took the bus out to Raglan (http://www.raglan.org.nz/) for an overnight trip. Raglan is known for 2 things: black sand beaches and the best surf break around. We stayed in a backpacker’s place in a twin room (using the communal facilities) and enjoyed walking around this little beach town eating fish ‘n chips. The fellow who worked the front desk drove us about 15 minutes out of town to the surfers’ beach where he dropped us off. We knew it was about a 90 minute walk back into town and so we headed back along the water’s edge. As you can see Jimmy played a bit in the water although it was MUCH too cold to be in the water. We collected shells and attempted to fly a kite with little luck. As we walked we rounded a corner where about 10 kitesurfers were “flying” and at that point the beach ended as the water hit the embankment of the land. So we headed inland – not knowing where we were – finding some intersecting roads and headed north. Eventually we both felt comfortable that we were heading in the right direction and arrived back at our place about 2 ½ hours later when it had just started to rain! We were certainly lucky that day.

Every spring there is a “Fine Homes Tour” in Hamilton for a local charity with is organized by some of the realtors in town. A cap of 1500 tickets are sold at $50 each and folks get to travel around town and see up to 10 different types of houses. I went with my neighbor Brenda and 2 friends of hers and we enjoyed looking at house designs from contemporary to traditional to villa styles. It was quite a day. You aren’t allowed to take any pictures or carry your purse/bag into the house with you and you have to take your shoes off at the front door. I think if 1500 people were traipsing through my house I’d want them barefooted too!

About 15 miles outside of Hamilton is the Sculpture Gardens (http://www.sculpturepark.co.nz/) – a former rock quarry that has been recreated as a multi-acre parklike setting with trails and a pond with lilies where weddings take place. Wood, metal, and glass sculptures line the paths throughout the park. It is quite relaxing and John and I were quite impressed with the concept of taking something like a closed quarry and making it into something so beautiful and useful. This project is not unlike many New Zealand projects – Kiwis have a way of looking at something and realizing its potential as something completely different. And once it is “transformed” it is very valuable to all.

New Zealand's Labor Day was in October and so there was a long weekend -- 3 days! We spent the first day on a horsetrek in Raglan riding for about 3 hours over the hills, the bush and onto the black sand beach. It was a beautiful day as we looked out to the west at the Tasman Sea.

We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls and had lunch.

Then we returned home and did an overnight to Rotorua -- where the hot spas are. Although we didn't take a dip we saw lots of interesting things and learned quite a bit about the geography and the Maori legends of that area. We also hiked in their "Redwood Forest" which was a perfect day to do so.

On our way out of town we stopped at an extreme sports place where people can bungy jump and stuff like that. Jimmy had decided he wanted to do the "freefall" which lasted all of 2 minutes but was a great thrill. Here is is practicing for the "real thing."

On the way back we traveled through a town named Tirau -- a small touristy town that has one of its names to fame in that it creates corrogated steel sculptures! Here are a few for you to enjoy.

In the New Zealand curriculum – for many, many years now – there is a week dedicated to “camp.” I’ve spoken with Kiwis my age and learned of the experiences they had when they were younger. But for Jimmy there were about 20 possible camps that were offered by his school. Every student is required to attend the camp (as it replaces “school” for that week) but the prices of the camps range from $50 to $350 depending on whether your child decides to do a cooking camp offered at the school itself or take a bus camp where they camp and tramp over the 3-4 days.

So Jimmy decided to sign up for the “Animal Camp” and I volunteered to chaperone. We spent the first camp day traveling on a bus to see 2 different animal environments. The first was a kiwi house where we saw many of the native birds as well as a couple of kiwis in their natural habitat. Kiwis are nocturnal so you have to view them in very low light. Our second stop was at Mount Manganui – a 40-acre fenced preserve that only has native plants and animals living inside that were original to the country before the pakena (whites) introduced rats, etc. to the islands.

Our second and third days were spent in Auckland where we visited a butterfly house

and petting zoo, the Darwin exhibit at the Auckland Museum, Kelly Tarleton’s Underwater World (http://www.kellytarltons.co.nz/home/), and the Auckland Zoo. Of all of these stops I found the most interesting to be Kelly Tarleton’s.

I can’t tell if Halloween is a big holiday or not. An editorial in the local paper said that it was “here to stay” and that kiwis should get used to it but when I asked Jimmy if anyone in his class had talked about what they were dressing up as he said ‘no.” So I’m thinking it is still an American holiday. We do have candy though in case any one knocks at the front door.

Katy and I are leaving New Zealand this evening and flying to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands (http://www.cookislandsnews.com/Cooksinfo/information.htm ) – a tropical island about 3 ½ hours away from Auckland where I hope and pray that it will be very warm and will not be raining much. We’re staying at a backpackers place for about 10 days (it is that long because I could only get the “good fare” by selecting a 10 day span on the website). But although we’ll be sharing the loo with others we’ll have our own room for about $40NZ a night. Right next door is the fancy resort where the cheapest room for two was going to be $350NZ a night. So I told Katy we’re walking down the hall to the loo! I’ll let you know how this works out when we return on the 14^th. Here’s the address of the local online paper if you want to check up on what’s going on in Rarotonga: http://www.cinews.co.ck/