Greymouth, West Coast.

West Coast, North of Greymouth

We have arrived on the West Coast of the south island.  The sun is shining as I sit at a large wooden table carved from a single slice of a local tree, the dining table at the Pace’s.  Here in Greymouth, Caleb and I will rest and visit our dear friends, the Heidi and Jonathan Pace.  Rest, hopefully, will revive Caleb, who has been under the weather, battling a cold.

View from the window

Greymouth, located as the name implies at the mouth of the Grey River, is a beautiful, quiet community.  Waves  roll in, crest and reform, I am mesmerized watching them.  It is easy to see why surfers find the West Coast a mecca of untouched beaches with outstanding surf.  It is also known for the jade or "greenstone" that is found in the rivers here. Greenstone, or pounamu, in Maori, is only found on the South Island, which used to be named Te Wahe Pounamu, the place of pounamu.   Nephrite,the most common form of greenstone, is a calcium magnesium silicate with small amounts of iron determine the depth of the green color.   The bowenite form, an iron magnesium silicate, is more unusual, as it is only found at the mouth of Milford Sound.

View from the roadside north of Greymouth,  Snowcapped Alps faintly seen in the distance.

The Maori consider the greenstone "taonga", a cultural treasure. They have harvested and carved it into weapons, tools, and jewelry for centuries. Pounamu has a long history associated with the chiefs of the south island and with peacemaking.  It was traded heavily among the tribes of the North Island as well.  Pounamu contains mana;  status, spirit, strength and power.   Carved, it is" tapu," or sacred.  It was often used to seal agreements and denote peace and harmony between iwi (families/tribes).  All the pounamu carvings  must be given to others to maintain the tradition.  Unfortunately, pounamu  today is a lucrative tourist market.  There are many trinkets that are not hand carved, nor are they made from kiwi jade. 

Just a turnout on the road ... we climbed down to the beach.

We arrived yesterday, after deciding against a trip to Nelson as rain was falling heavily and Caleb's illness precluded rainy hikes or kayak trips in the Abel Tasman.  Instead, we drove south, across Arthur's Pass, crossing the Alps that run north-south, forming a spine down the south island.  We stopped at the view point to take in the lush mountainous bush and visit with Kea.  Kea are the only alpine parrot.  Only about 1000 Kea remain, as habitat loss and human interaction (mostly feeding them inappropriately) have slashed their numbers.  The Kea are mischevioius, smart, and inquisitive.  They are known to pull the rubber off of windshield wipers and doors, steal your car keys, or any food left unattended.  We met a gentleman at the viewpoint who had extensively hiked the Alps and relayed stories of abundant kea and the challenge of leaving one's tent site with kea about!! When we arrived at the car park, five or six kea were entertaining people with their antics.  One rode down out of the car park on the hood of a mini, before taking flight.  Another landed on the roof of our car as I was trying to back up.  Caleb got out to encourage him to fly off, but he only flew to my side view mirror.  I had not seen him, as I was still looking behind, trying to back out.  The bird rapped his beak sharply on the driver's side window as if to command my attention.  He did.  Everyone in the parking area was laughing.

The yellow fronted kea are aging kea...

Kea are have quite good camoflauge.

Today, Caleb and I were able to take a leisurely hike along a trail through subtropical bush along the coast to Point Elizabeth. The sky was cloudless; the surf pounded the beach below us, muffling other sounds.  Small creeks and waterfalls crossed the path.  The West Coast is the wettest of NZ.  Greymouth receives an average of 5m of rain annually, while further south, the tropical rainforest of fiordlands receives 7-12m!!

View from Pt. Elizabeth

Well maintained trail, as are many in NZ

In the midst of my travels, while contemplating what will happen next in my life, I return to the understanding that whether I am at home or on the road, the adventure I seek is within me.  The community I seek relies on my ability to communicate and share with people. To maintain an openness.  To be true to that generosity of spirit I hope to espouse.  The rest is just form and details to which I will attend.  Success of the venture lies within.  So for now, we rest.  Venture on, we will when the time is ripe.

Doing just as we did in Greymouth, Soaked up some sun and warmth, readying to move on.

More views from Pt. Elizabeth

Dolphin Swim, Kaikoura

Easter. Celebrated with 300 dusky dolphins cavorting around me. 

The day I had anticipated for so long began with a brilliant red sunrise followed by a warm, sunny day.  Caleb and I boarded a large motorboat, the Dolphinae, with 12 other swimmers.  Within 10 minutes from shore, we were surrounded by dolphins.  Albatross glided inches above the water, while groups of four to five fins would emerge above the water.   Off in the distance, a single dolphin did a series of back flips.

The guide urged us to get on our gear and slip into the water behind the boat.  The water was a cool 14 degree celcius;  I was glad I had the 10mm of wetsuit on my core.  We had been outfitted with sleeveless wetsuits, a jacket, hoods that tucked inside the neckline of the jacket, booties, fins, snorkel and masks.  I had further outfitted myself with a hybrid camera that could take pictures underwater.

Heaps of dolphin all around

Dolphin swimming is regulated by the Department of Conservation.  There can be a maximum of 15 swimmers, no one is to touch or feed the dolphins.  In one outing, the maximum number of swims  is 5.    There can be no swimmers during feeding times, and there must be an hour and a half time without human contact between swims.  The dolphin activity with any particular person depends on the individual’s ability to entertain the dolphins.  What do dolphins find entertaining? Music, undulating swimmers, spinning, and eye contact.

No zoom.  She is just inches from me! Actually there are two of them...

Scar face...

 The dance of the sugar plum fairies was the theme of my first swim. I sang this repeatedly into my snorkel. I tried different tunes, but with seemingly less success.  Dolphins would appear under me and circle around.  By spinning around, and keeping eye contact, I found the dolphin would turn toward me.  I would try to follow by diving down, but I could not keep up.  Taking pictures meant I was less entertaining, and they tended not to stay as long.  If I stopped singing, they also would vanish.   My snorkel leaked slightly from the intake valve and I found singing, breathing combined with spinning a challenge.  I inhaled/swallowed my share of the Pacific at first.  Dolphins would occasionally come and swim beside me momentarily.

They are too fast for my camera! *and too close

On our first swim, I came up  to adjust my snorkel and felt a nibble on my wrist.  A brown, immature gull had attacked my wrist!  I tried to swim away, but it put its head down and came after me like a torpedo!  It tried to nibble on my fins several times.  I would escape, but the gull returned to my area repeatedly nibbling, interrupting my dolphin swim.   When the guide motioned that we were to board the boat as the dolphins were moving on, I was relieved to leave  the stalking gull…

  By the second drop, I had abandoned the snorkel as it limited my ability to spin, and reverted to singing, swimming in an undulating fashion,  and surfacing to breathe. What a joy. I dolphin kicked, undulating in the waves, and the dolphin seemed to stay with me longer. As I broke into butterfly, the dolphin responded and arched gracefully next to me.  I found if I swam more energetically, they would match my speed and effort.  If I dove, they too would dive, but inevitably swim beyond my vision.  If I turned belly up underwater, they would often mimic me.  I once saw a dolphin swim over me as I tried swimming below the surface.  All the while, I sang.  I wish I could say I heard or felt their reply, but I did not.  One dolphin with several hash marks behind her right eye returned several times.  How did they perceive me?  What kind of thought process is occurring in the dolphin as they swim with me?  I am aware of their intelligence.  I would like to understand the communication better.  For now, it is the experience, the dance that we share, a non-verbal communication.  I recognize that sometimes non-verbal communication is the most powerful form.  I wish I had more time to explore this with the dolphin.  I must have been with this one dolphin for 15 minutes.  Despite my activities, my hands were getting cold.  I looked up to see most of the swimmers already aboard the boat and the guide motioning folks back in.

Water is blue, but healthy with lots of plankton. I even saw phosphorescent sea slugs, but they did not come out on film...

After surfacing, we had the opportunity to observe all 300 of them, some mating, some back flipping, some spinning, others racing the boat. I was humbled to think I had been amongst them.  I learned plenty about the dusky dolphin that day.  Over 2000 resident dusky dolphin reside in the waters off Kaikoura.  They feed at night and rest the remaining time.  Because they must be conscious to breathe, they sleep one hemisphere of their brain at a time.  These dolphin also are one of the few other mammals that mate outside of the reproductive season.  A dolphin may mate as many as 5 times in a couple of minutes!  They have many types of dolphin in the waters around NZ.  The dusky dolphin are smaller than “Flipper” (bottlenosed dolphin), but larger than the Hector dolphin.  There are Orca (the largest dolphin) near Kaikoura, but only transients.  (While on Whidbey, I learned about the resident and transient Orcas. They differ significantly in terms of behavior and diet).

As we left, I was saddened to think of all the dangers man has brought to these lovely, intelligent mammals: pollution, radiation, loss of habitat, and indiscriminate fishing of sea mammals.  I recalled a visit to Florida where I was appalled at the degradation in health and diversity of the reefs in my life time.  As global warming continues, more will be lost…

What a privilege to have communicated in this way with the dolphin.  What a treat to have eye contact and dance this aquatic samba today.  This Easter, I celebrate the rich marine life that graces the earth.  Instead of chicks and bunnies, this Easter has been one of seals, dolphin, and the rhythm of the waves.   May I remember to support those who work to protect the oceans, marine life and conservation.

Easter in Kaikoura

Kaikoura

It is the second day of my vacation, Saturday before Easter.  Caleb and I arrived yesterday on this peninsula that juts into the Pacific.  Seals, dusky dolphins, albatross and whale call this area of the south island home.  In the summer, the rare blue penguin nest here.  I had planned to be here for New Years.  The delay means the water is colder; I have missed the penguin, and the companion I bring is my son.  This trip has had many permutations during the course of planning: traveling here alone, with Heidi, with Brandon, again alone, and finally, with Caleb.   As luck would have it, Caleb spent the eve before our departure in a tempest of fever-dreaming.  He has come down with what could be the flu: congestion and fever.  He is improving and hopes to be able to swim with the dolphins in the morning.  Can meaning be assigned to the bumps in the road?  

Seal on the side of the road...

I awoke this morning to find the snow capped mountains flirting with the clouds.  The tide was high as I ran along the coast toward the seal colony.  The first seal I came upon was sleeping on the asphalt on the side of the road.  It  lazily opened one eye and then the other, before reverting to its sleeping position.  Ahead, a woman from Australia insisted the seal had been hit.  She surmised this from a wet spot in the road.  The seal seemed completely unharmed to me. No blood.  In attempting to cover the seal with a blanket, the seal sat up and showed its sharp, yellowed teeth.  No, not dying… 

 View from Kaikoura Peninsula Track

Further up, the rocky coastline was dotted with seal, most sleeping and looking more dead than alive. Later, Caleb and I would return, walking this time.  The  lower tide allowed us to walk out to where some seal rested.  One or two would raise their heads to regard us.  This was the extent of our interaction with the seal.

Memorial Gardens in Kaikoura. Whale rib bones form the arches

This weekend, Easter, is a four day holiday. It marks the beginning of two weeks of school vacation, the first of their school year, which began in February (at the end of summer).  Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays, so most everyone has a four day weekend.  Thus, Kaikoura is quite busy this fall weekend and the backpacker has no vacancies.  Monday is also ANZAC day, the celebration of the landing of the NZ and Australian armed forces on Gallipoli beach in 1915.   The goal was to control the Dardonnelles, the gateway of the Bosphorus and Black Sea. However, at the end of the campaign, it was still held by the Turks. One in four of the people that served on Gallipoli Penninsula were kiwi.  ANZAC Day is always celebrated on April 25th.  Like Armistice Day in England and our own Memorial Day, it is the time when the war dead are remembered.  It is interesting that this year ANZAC and Easter weekend coincide.  Both days of remembrance of life given in hopes of achieving a greater purpose, but each with much different meaning.

Although I spent some of my youth in South America and have experienced several autumnal Easters, it is the experience of parenting children during northern hemispheric Easters that I relate to most.  In creating our own traditions, I recall relating to my children that Easter was also the celebration of the arrival of spring, the renewal of the earth from the bleak winter months.  Easter, here marks the beginning of the cooler and wetter weather.  As such, I am feeling particularly culturally disconnected this weekend.

At the South Bay entry to the Kaikoura Peninsula track this Maori statue guards the entry

I hope to write several short blog entries this trip.  I will post them, and fit them with a full complement of pictures when I return home as I did not pack the cord to download photos from the camera and will have to rely on the phone’s camera.

Kaikoura Penninsula Track: from whence I spied the spinning dolphins!

Tomorrow I swim with dolphins.  My underwater camera was purchased expressly for this trip!!! Today I witnessed dolphins cavorting in the water, spinning, doing 360 degree aerial acrobatics through binoculars from the shore.  Tomorrow I hope to see them from a different perspective!

Earthquakes, Gifts and more photos (of course)

Piha Beach, west of Auckland. 2 April

Sunday night, the last of March, and I am stretched on the couch, tissue box at the ready as I am nursing a cold, considering all that has transpired since my last blog entry, “Swim for  Christchurch.”  In the intervening weeks, the tragedy of another earthquake underscored the distance between me and my sons.  The earthquake in Japan occurred on Caleb’s 23^rd birthday. It was a perfect evening, starlit and warm.  I had just finished watching a free movie in the park with Brandon on Auckland’s North Shore, when the announcement came over the loudspeaker that a major earthquake hit Japan and we should go home and turn on the TV.  Dread spread over me as I thought of my son, Caleb, in Ichinomiya, west of Tokyo.  I had no idea where the quake had hit, nor its magnitude.  Thankfully, I was able to use my phone to check the NY Times headlines.  Within minutes, I knew its location and the severity, but had no concept as to the degree of destruction.  Over the next few hours, I was to learn that  Nagoya and Ichinomiya were spared any major damage and surmised Caleb was safe.  It was to be several days before I was able to connect with him.

Effects of  jet lag and lunch on Caleb, day 2 in Auckland.  Mt. Eden Reserve.

I was given a gift that day.  After fearing the worst, I learned he was safe.  It was not the case for many others. In the moment that I learned of the quake and thought of the possibility of losing my son, I felt the pain and anguish of a nation of mothers. I was given the gift of relief, of freedom from grief & suffering.  I would watch, later, with horror at the devastation the tsunami wrought.  The earthquakes have provided me a window into communities and individuals in the face of devastation. In adversity, both in Christchurch and in Japan, people came together, bound by a common experience, to help each other in this time of crisis.  Here, thousands of fund raisers, from  schools to businesses, to music festivals have dedicated  money for Christchurch survivors.  Millions have been raised. Funds have provided food, shelter and  income for folks who have lost work and businesses.   In Tokyo, a city on scheduled blackouts, people are committed to staying in the city, devoted to their country and determined to not only survive but thrive.  Here in Auckland, Japanese families stand on street corners asking for donations, while in the US, Ichiro donates a small fortune.  It has been a gift to witness folks put down their differences and find their commonality, regain their strength, compassion and altruism.

                                                One of the Herne Bay swim beaches, this one with a community boathouse aka Marine Parade Reserve: my usual venue for a swim is a block from my house.  Now nearly free from glass (thanks Brandon).

The events surrounding the nuclear disaster at the Daichii nuclear plant concerned me, but I was mollified for a time.  When the third explosion occurred, the truth of the nuclear disaster was unveiled to the western world.  My fears mounted.  My sister, Kate, encouraged me to get Caleb out of Japan.  I called Caleb to beseech him to come home.  It was not until his father joined my appeal via Skype that Caleb said he would consider leaving Japan.  Three days later, he landed in Auckland, his right arm injured from an Australian rules football game, but otherwise intact.  (Later, I would find out he had fractured his radius.  Despite this injury, he managed to haul his suitcases through three airports on his way to Auckland).

View of Mt Eden's crater with east Auckland  in the distance taken with Caleb by my side.

Fractured femur, surgery, lengthy recovery, medical bills (Morgan), earthquake, tsunami, nuclear disaster and a fractured right radial head (Caleb),at times  I have felt my year in Auckland has been some kind of a trial by fire.   Mother to adult men with some of the most difficult times of their young lives.  Both men now in that wonderful, yet stressful time in their lives when they have so many options at their feet as they choose the next path to travel.  Odd, that in many ways, my life mirrors theirs.  Here I am in Auckland about to embark on the eighth month of this adventure. I am not yet sure of what this experiment will mean to NZ in the long run or how it will change my life.  I am reminded that happiness is not so much about where I am, but how I have chosen to participate in where I am.

Brandon on a bike ride in Silverdale, outside Auckland

As March drew to a close, Brandon’s kiwi adventure finished with a flight back to Christchurch, Sydney, LA and home, with one bag lost someplace between here and there. The following weekend, Caleb and I ventured to Mount Maunganui three hours south of Auckland.

Mt Maunganui still visible despite the rain.

I swam in another open water event there, while Caleb hiked to the top of the mount for which the town is named.  We then sought out Hobbiton, the set of the Hobbit movie, and took many pictures we have sworn not to publish on blogs etc.  It was my second trip, having visited in February with Brandon as well.  It was well worth both visits even for those who are only fans (“fanatics” has been redefined by some of the tales of visitors to Hobbiton. Ex: One couple: the English speaking gentleman translated the tour guides' shpeel for his non-English speaking partner, not into their native language, but  into elvish!!!).

The 118 swimmers for the 1k swim.  627 swimmers completed the 2.8k course later.  Note the brilliant surf life saving crew on surf boards (most of them are on these) an boats that support the swimmers and keep us safe.

The stress of the past month and the start of the flu season here in NZ has left me with a cold, fatigued, yet sleepless on the couch, contemplating another work week ahead.  Fortunate, though, to have two boys alive and well, supportive family and friends without whom I would not have weathered these challenges as well.  Heartfelt thanks.

White beach: secluded beach as seen from the headlands Te Waha. White's beach is named after Francis White, the blacksmith who purchased the land from Te Kawerau a Maki.

West Auckland Coastline: view on my walk  on 2April with Caleb  and Greg Garbarino (Whidbey Islander visiting NZ).

Swim for Christchurch

Pre-event meeting and safety briefing, following two minutes of silence

Friday. Phew, the weekend was ahead and I had no plans.  It had been a hard week.  The earthquake in Christchurch was so devastating, so close, and yet I had nothing to offer. Because the city was bereft of water, housing, and the bare necessities, that they asked people to stay away.  Many people at Middlemore Hospital, where I work, volunteered to travel to Christchurch, but no help was requested.  Instead,  patients were to be brought to Auckland days later.  In the immediate aftermath, I felt my useless.   That is, until I got a text message from Brandon to check the downsoundracing.com website, a forum for all my friends in the Whidbey area.  There, a fellow swimmer and dear friend, John de Wit, had posted notice of a swim in Auckland to benefit the victims of the Christchurch earthquake.  John challenged me to swim and offered to drum up some Whidbey support if I did.  It was a small gesture, in the scope of things, but one that I happily participated in.

Look at the guy behind me :) Simon says touch your ear...

Brandon braved the water sans wetsuit, but the water was a lovely 72 degrees or so

Saturday was lovely. Sunny, warm, and the air was not humid; the water, clear and warm.  Over 600 swimmers gathered for an event that had been devised, planned and executed in the space of 2 days!  The rules were simple: this was not a race.  Be gentle with each other, round the buoys, enjoy the water and each other.  It was intended to be a 1km swim, but in the end, we each swam 1400m.  It was my favorite swim by far. 
$38,186 was raised that day.

The surf lifeguards that volunteered to provide water safety for the event (as they do for all the ocean swims)

A week later, the contributions from Whidbey ($650 NZ) have been added to the pot.  Thank you  all who contributed.  The people of Christchurch may not know you exist, but your kindness stretches across the oceans to their community.  You all have my deepest respect and my heart.

People gather for the swim

Wellie

The Beehive: home of NZ Parliament

 Sunday 6 February, Waitangi Day.

Sunday finds me once again sitting and enjoying the birds in the Puhutekawa tree outside as I write.  I enjoy thinking of  concurrent events.  Today, Saturday in Washington, finds many of my friends wending their way around Mount Constitution on Orcas Island for the Orcas 25k or 50k trail run.  In Utah, my son, Morgan, now able to bear weight on his recently fractured femur, is walking without crutches and spinning on stationary bikes.  He is preparing for a Superbowl Sunday celebration with his dad, Bill, and will return to Washington for a 10 day visit.  Here in New Zealand, it is Waitangi Day, a holiday that is both celebration and a reminder of controversy between Europeans and Maori. The day honors the signing of the Waitangi Treaty in 1840.

Kiwi sculpture abound

This treaty between the Maori chiefs and the British crown marks the founding of New Zealand.   The treaty, written in English and  translated to Maori, contains subtle differences in language that underlies the controversy.  (see http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-brief for a good summary). In short, the Maori agreed to maintain authority over "taonga" which means "treasures" while ceding "kawanatanga" (governance).  The English version was expressed to allow the Maori to maintain possesion over property and cede sovereignty.  To the Maori, there are many treasures beyond the land. Sovereignty and governance are not interchangeable.  As is true of many native-European colonialist interactions, the European contingent took more than the native population had intended.  To its credit, New Zealand  founded  a government of both Europeans ("Paheka") and Native Maori long before many other countries, despite controversy.  Indeed, where there is politics, controversy seems destined to follow.  NZ continues to have quite an open immigration policy for its Pacific Islander brothers and sisters, while moving to NZ for a European or American can be more difficult.  My trip to Wellington at the end of January helped to educate me about both political and environmental history of New Zealand.

I loved all the sculpture of Wellington.  Here, a silver ball suspended by guidewires in Civic Square

Last weekend, a three day weekend due to Monday's celebration of Auckland Anniversary day, I traveled to Wellington, as I had intended to do over Christmas.  It seemed a fitting time to travel there during the celebration of the foundation of the province of Auckland  as my aim was to visit Te Papa, the national museum and learn more about NZ.

Another look at Civic Square.  Almost miss the ball, eh?

Wellington has been described to me by many kiwi in a variety of ways:
       *a smaller version of San Francisco from the 1950s,
       *the seat of the new age movement in NZ,
       *a city of terrible wind and rain, but on the rare occasion of fine weather, it is lovely.
I could find truth in each of these depictions.  Wellington is a very livable city, if you don't count the weather.  Landing in Wellington can be rather exciting, with the crosswinds that are driven through the funnel known as Cook Strait, dividing  the North and South islands.

In "Wellie", I was met by Brandon Henry who had arrived in NZ a month earlier and circumnavigated the south island on his bike.  He met me at the backpackers and joined my tour of the city, through museums, botanical gardens, wildlife preserves and back street navigation.

Wellington Harbor

I had chosen to stay in a backpacker's (inexpensive accommodation with shared kitchen) in Plimmerton, outside of Wellington.   I later passed several backpackers while walking the neighborhoods of Wellie.  They all seemed like busy, friendly places that a quiet night's rest might not be possible until well into the night.  By contrast, our backpackers, the Moana Lodge, overlooked the beach at the quiet end of a small town accessible to the city by a 1/2 hour train ride.  The room was windowed on two sides, allowing for fresh ocean breezes to sweeten the room.

Sunset across from Moana Lodge

While in Wellie, I found frequent reminders of the relative brief history of humans in New Zealand.  I was particularly taken with "Zealandia," a wildlife preserve that sought to return the land to a biological diversity known only prior to the introduction of man.  Certainly, the moa and many other, now extinct, flora and fauna can not be recreated,but many of the endangered species native to NZ are protected here.  Tall fences protect from possum and stoat.   They have a small museum of their own where the natural history of NZ is recounted.

Moa shots of Brandon

Consider an island, uninhabited by man or mammalian predator for 80 million years.  This allowed flightless birds like the Moa, kiwi, takahe, kakapo, Auckland Island teal, penguin, Steven Island wren, Weka among others to not only survive, but thrive.  In a brief period of time, due to the introduction of man, cats, possum, stoats and rats  led to a dramatic change in the fauna of NZ.  The cutting of the kaori trees and introduction of new fauna had a similar impact on the land.  New Zealnd thus became an abbreviated history of natural selection, a microcosm for the impact of man on the earth.  An astounding 43% of the birds are extinct since the 1300s.  Walking through Zealandia, I was fortunate enough to see tuatara, kaka, and many now endangered species.  They do have kiwi and takahe, but I did not spy them on my daylight tour of the grounds.

Setting crab (?) traps in Plimmerton

I left Zealandia more cognizant of the impact of my presence.  I renewed my resolve to try to make as little negative impact on the environment of this earth.  It is interesting to me, that in a country which has seen such drastic changes, that the environmental movement is just taking hold.  Although Auckland has curbside recycling pick up, hospitals and city wide recycling does not exist.  It is difficult to look at product labels to know if an agent in biodegradable.  After biking in the Auckland and being immersed in a cloud of exhaust, I doubt the emission requirements on vehicles are as stringent as in the US.

Brandon and I walked the streets of Wellington, hiked up the hilly side streets to the streetcar museum and the Botanical gardens.  From there we could look at the Wellington harbor and witness, through the binoculars, the open water swim race I chickened out of when I heard that an 8m great white and  5m hammerhead had been seen trolling the waters of Wellington Harbor.  Thankfully, there have been no shark attacks in over 100 years in NZ... but I did not want to be the bait that changed that statistic!

See the white water?  Those are all the swimmers for the Wellington Classic

The second day in Wellie was devoted to Te Papa, the national museum of NZ.  Art and history married in one building. Maori and Paheka history of New Zealand on some wings, Kiwi,European and Pacific Islander art on others.  At the end of the day, while shopping for a gift for Alma's birthday, Ethan Pace found Brandon in the gift shop.  Though Ethan and I were a mere foot from each other, we did not recognize each other as we both had much longer hair!  I have known Ethan since he was in elementary school.  His quick smile and sparkling eyes were unchanged.  He seemed relaxed, happy, and very happily kiwi.  I was reminded of others have told me about New Zealand: it is a small country.  After a while, you run into people you know in all sorts of places.  Meeting him and Koha, his girlfriend, was a delightful surprise that added the final touch to a delightful weekend.

Velux 5 Oceans Race: solo around the world sailboat race was stopped in Wellie while I was there.  I thought of George...

Monday, Auckland Anniversary day, found me flying back home from Wellington.  As I flew home, I found myself reconsidering the concurrent events of people in my life: Ethan and Koha were likely surfing in Raglan, Brandon was setting up his tent at the central Wellington backpackers, Heidi (Ethan's Mother) might be sailing with Jonathan, Caleb in Japan had his usual Monday off and might be available to Skype, Morgan might be crocheting hats with some kiwi wool.  My thoughts expanded to the birds of the world, the endangered species of mammals, plants,  The inevitable destruction of habitat and pollution of waters and land.  I hope I can continue to learn to see what is around us, to preserve and honor what is there.  I felt at once useless in stopping the trend, yet committed to trying to make my impact less and reminding others to do the same.

Rubber ducky and his toy boat.  Auckland Harbor.