Time "Alone" while Bob is away

Bob's coworker from SLC came about 2.5 weeks ago to do projects with Bob in New Zealand, Sydney, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Bob will be back at the end of this week. I have been really fortunate to keep myself really busy with wonderful things and people so the time has gone quickly. I have worked at the mission office, done my usual walks, swam a few times and met some neighbors, gone on a split as a missionary with Sister Tiatia from Samoa. (Wow, that was a story in itself). I tramped the Tongariro Crossing which I talked about below. I was invited to attend the Senior Missionary Conference where Sister Marsh and Sister Jackson were my companions for 2 and a half days. (What a very sweet and choice experience that was). I continued to do my Nursery calling and attend my Mandarin speaking class. (I said the closing prayer in Mandarin--I think). The Woottons moved in our apt. before Bob left and actually moved out early(yesterday) because the Turpins apt. was available when they returned to Bountiful early because their 31 year old daughter died. The Owens stayed a night here as well as the Sr. Sisters. Elder and Sister Wootton stayed with me on Easter Sunday and we had a nice meal together. (They actually were invited somewhere else but took pity on me). So you can see that I have been really busy moving people in and out and adapting to new situations. I loved my birthday where I was able to communicate with all my children. I so appreciate any emails I have received. Thank you so much. It is all very good even though I hate to have Bob gone the Lord has really blessed me. (I'll add some pictures when I get some-Bob has camera)

A great day on the Tongariro Crossing

Bob is in Australia, Tokyo and Hong Kong for several weeks. I was fortunate to be invited by some lovely people to hike through a trio of active craters and volcanoes called the Tongariro Crossing. To all you "Lord of the Rings" fans, you know it as Mt. Doom. Look at our pictures but also for a great description with pictures go to http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0510/sports/new_zealand_trekking.html (It now works.) I also just recently got the pictures up. Go to the picture link and click on Tongaririro Crossing. It isn't every day you get to tramp through 5 different ecosystems in a geothermic setting. It was kind of erie. Some people describe it as surreal. (I'm not really sure what that means but I will go with it). Starting in purple hills with heather, through badlands to steam weathered volcanic summits. Then up along the very windy ridge line (was able to put gloves on for the first time in about a year) with fumaroles belching out and smelling like Yellowstone. Then looking down into the red crater you see the wonderful dark brick red color. This one last erupted in 1926. On the ridge near this crater you can feel the warmth coming up through the soil. I loved the emerald pools. They were not hot. (How do you think I know that?) This is the most closely monitored seismic terrain in all of New Zealand. In 1995 Ruapehu went off. They had warnings so only 1 skier broke his leg. He wasn't supposed to be there. This one closed the resort for 2 years. They learned their lesson when in 1953 they lost around 150 lives from one of the volcanoes. The highest point was 6,187 ft. The lowest was 2,460 ft. We only hiked 11.5 miles. There were about 1000 people on the trail. We looked like ants along the way. I think I was the only American I talked to that day. We took a long time at 7.5 hours. We didn't need to hurry because the shuttle was scheduled to pick us up at a specific time. The last hour of the trail takes you back into the familiar New Zealand Bush with lush podocarp hardwood, many ferns and lots of other wonderful things that I don't know the name of.

The absolute best part of any trip for me are the people I meet. Naomi Waka (cook islander) from the lunchroom invited me to go with her. We drove down with Leah and Derek Couch.(Maori) We went down by way of Lake Taupo. We stopped for lunch and shopped in Taupo. We meet up with Naomi's sisters Fiona and Sharon. Also some friends Ala, Donna and Allen (Samoan and Maori). I was with them all for 3 days, eating, hot tubing, sleeping (5 in a room) and watching 2 episodes of American Idol. We had a really really great time. I learned a lot about the Pacific Islander culture and the Maori traditions. We laughed and laughed and laughed. What wonderful, fun and very faithful people. They call me pakeha and themselves, brownies. (And I drove through Auckland City by myself, I might add)

Tongan Missionary Movers

It was time to replace the boats that are located in Tonga. They are used to transport the missionaries around to the different islands. The boats of course have to be tested and the engines have to be broken in so.....we all sign up for a day on the ocean to help break in the boats. What a great day. Howard Nui (the brother of a master carver in Tonga) and Michael Higgins were our Captain and Skipper. We cruise out to Waiheke Island, then go around Rangitoto. We stop by a little island and drop the fish lines and pull in a dozen snappers. There are three boats. Alma, Nephi, and Moroni....painted on the side of the boats are the names Alama, Nifai, and Molonai. Since the boats are going to be used in the Tongan islands the names should be Tongan huh? They will be transported to Tonga on a big barge and then put into service. We want our missionaries to be safe when they go from island to island. These boats are aluminum and stainless..not painted-- just work horses. We had a great time! We will be happy to help them test out the new boats any time! We had a fun day with Michael, Howard, Steve, and Eloree. Check out the Picture Album and see the record breaking fish we caught.

Samoa and Saniatu

I just got back from Samoa where we went to do some training for all the CES principles, department heads and administrators. We had two days of great training where we discussed compansation, curriculum, policies and procedures. We had the opportunity to go to Saniatu which is a 800 acre ranch, school and village operated by The Church. It is located in the mouth of a ancient volcano. Many years ago Saniatu was the site of much hardship and miracles as the Church was young and growing. President David O. McKay dedicated the village and even raised a small child from the dead there. Each year they identify 22 young men to live at the village during the week, learn english, work the ranch and prepare to serve a mission. At the end of their year they turn in their mission papers and leave on their mission. There is a primary school there and the teachers all live on campus. The farm operation is directed by a senior missionary couple, they teach the young men and prepare them for their missions. We had a nice time, met very nice people and hopefully did a good job training. There is a new picture album up. Click on the link and enjoy...

Lunch Buddies

When I am at home, Bob will come home for lunch. But when I go into the mission office Bob and I eat our Peanut Butter and honey or sometimes jam sandwiches with other people eating theirs in the kitchen at the area office. We have really learned to love that time of the day. The people that we have been meeting are so very interesting. For example, the maintenance man is Raymond. We had the funnest conversation yesterday. He is a Tahitian. His family goes back in the church 5 generations to the time Orson Pratt started missionary work there. Remember the movie "Whale Rider"? This is a movie about his family (in a way). He told us stories of their old customs and about at least 3 instances of whale riding in his family. One was his auntie when she was 12 years old. She knew the chants and way to call the family whale. She was in a spat with her family and called the whale and rode to a different island where he grandmother was. They all saw her coming in. When she got there she got a beating because she abused her whale privileges. The other story was of a relative of his that was put on a prison island. He called the family whale to get him back to the regular island. Then the whale would accompany the ships they were in to watch out for them and keep them safe. He also told us about a dog that would bring 2 fish everyday to his old crippled auntie. Raymond didn't believe that the dog could fish, but then he learned how he was doing it. Raymond was on his mission and saw for himself how sometimes the fish get so close to the shore and are bubbling up. He jumped out of the boat and all these fish just beached themselves. He started throwing them from the shore into the boat until the boat was actually starting to sink. Then he and his companion rowed to their beach. The branch president got wind of what they were doing. They gave the fish to all the people in the village, then Raymond got the stiftest of lecture from this oldtimer. (He said that it was so serious that he almost was sent home.) He told him the he was abusing the special gift of the sea and they were only to take what they needed and to put the rest back into the sea. If they abused this gift and ever used it for profit then the seas would stop giving. Raymond says that is what has happened now. The seas are so short of the amount of fish to give anymore. Raymond should not have taken the fish but thrown them back into the ocean. Then our friend Allen who is Samoan started sharing his stories and some Maori stories with us. They are all distant cousins so their traditions are very similar. We always end up in fun and many times very spiritual conversations with the wonderful people in the lunch room. We also have a ping pong table in the room next to the kitchen. There is usually a "meeting" going on in there.

Oh, this week I went to my first zone conference. There were 3 zones there and wow, I really loved it. It was a whole day of teaching from the mission president, zone leaders, Sister Cook and the Assistants. It made me more grateful than ever that I am here and have these special opportunities. I spent one day this week going over past mission histories. My 2nd great uncle Wallace C. Castleton was one of the first mission secretary in 1896. In the 20s his son, W. Lowell Castleton was a mission secretary also. I saw pictures of my cousins Mark & Boyd Crookston and Myra Harline who served in this mission. Floyd Crookston served in the South NZ mission. I loved that day reading many old histories. Now I will make an indexed list of them.

Abel Tasman Tramp

OK... Able Tasman is a wonderful Park located on the North Coast of the South Island. Hiking in the park is considered one of the top 5 things to do in New Zealand. When we first arrived in New Zealand I discovered that 3 families from work were planning a trip to the park. We got ourselves invited and the rest is history. Four days before the hike I was in Tahiti and rolled my ankle in a basketball game with the employees of the Service Center. I "hopped" home to New Zealand and tried to baby my foot up until the hike. An x-ray showed that it wasn't broken so with a lot of TLC and ice, and a blessing, we continued to prepare for the hike. I wore a walking cast through all the airports and bus rides up until the actual hike. All the ice, ace bandages, and prayers worked! My foot got better each day. It was tender throughout the hike but with good hiking boots I was able to do it in good shape.

Getting to the park was a logistical challenge since we were not driving any cars. Backpacking in New Zealand is really common so with the right arrangements you can figure out ways to get just about anywhere.

Seventeen of us met at the Auckland Airport, had a 3 hour delay, and boarded a plane to the South end of the North Island. The city is Wellington. It took two shuttle vans with cargo trailers to take our stuff downtown to the hotels we were staying in. Some of us packed two ways. We packed a suitcase with clean clothes, and food for our time before and after the hike. Our hope was that we could leave the suitcase at the hotel and pick it up at the end of our journey so we would have clean clothes and not have to pack them around in our back packs. Miriam and I stayed in a place called the Downtown Backpackers. These are places that rent you a clean bed in a dorm, a shared bathroom and a common kitchen where you prepare your own food. We upgraded to a private room with bunk beds that was right across the street from the bus terminal which we needed the next morning.

The next morning we left the suit case at one of our parties hotel and put on the backpack and went to the bus station. A city bus took us from the station to the Inner Island Ferry. This ferry is huge! It's like a small cruise ship. It transports people, cars and trucks. It has bars, theater, restaurant, etc. It was a three hour ride to the South Island through beautiful sounds, islands, etc..

We departed the ferry in a city named Picton. A bus picked us up and transported us to Nelson, where Miriam and I stayed in yet another backpackers house that held 90 people. Common bathroom, kitchen but a private room (queen size bed!) but a taco mattress. We spent the afternoon and night in Nelson. We walked around the town, window shopped, and bought little things that we needed for the hike (propane, and hawaiian sling). We loaded up with a seafood pizza and prepared our packs for the big hike.

The next morning our backpackers host drove us to the bus station where we caught the bus to the trailhead still 2.5 hours away. The drive was beautiful. Love the large hedges around the farms. (Wind blocks) As we approached to the trailhead we stopped and checked our very heavy backpack in to a water taxi. Their job was to deliver our backpack by sea each day to the hut we were staying in. It was always there waiting for us as we arrived to the huts we were staying in. The huts are kind of like a backpackers inn. They sleep any where from 20-40 people all in one room, have a common room for relaxing and food preperation, no electricity but candles to light the room. There is also a campground nearby.

The first day we hiked from Marahau to Anchorage Bay. It took about 4 hours. (Actually 6 hours because of our playing for 2 hours). Our backpack was waiting for us. Some of our party (little kids and a mom) took the water taxi and were waiting for us. The tramp is on great trails that put you in tropical type bush some of the time and great beaches some of the time. We stopped for lunch at a great beach, went snorkeling and just relaxed. Then on to Anchorage Bay. Wayne snorkeled and gathered muscles in the shell that we boiled. The shells open up when they are done. There is a nice piece of meat inside that is pretty tasty! Easy to go to sleep after a rousing game of crazy Rook. We loved visiting with the people there from all over the world. A fun couple from Israel, Germany, Australia and a sweet family from Denmark.

Because of a tidal crossing right away we could not cross the estuary until 9:15 without getting really wet so we waited until then. This was our long day. It was really a wonderful day for us. We took another 2 hour stop for playing in the ocean and lunch. Very beautiful tramp. The cliffs got a little steeper and the water a bit rougher the further up the track we got. We skipped the Bark Bay hut ant headed up to the Awaroa hut. People fly into that area and stay in a really ritsy resort for about $400 a night. We were fine with the hut. It took us around 9.5 hours including the playing around. It was a very hard day for a couple of the families so our plans are changing for the end of the trip. They didn't get settled with their packs till 11 pm. We met some interesting people, both hiking alone from Germany. It was a really warm day so the cold shower was very welcomed. We cooked up the muscles that Bob collected for us earlier. They go well with the Ramen etc. that you usually take on a hike.

The two of us woke up to the most wonderful and strange bird singing. We found out later that it was a Tui bird. It has two voiceboxes so it sings a duet all by itself. The men left to take the packs to the dock. They had to go back to the resort so they took 3 hours to do that. We needed to wait until about 12:30 to cross the estuary where the tide needed to receed. A few people were impatient so they left with a few less clothes on than we did. You will see in our pictures. (The German boy is PG13). This day was only about 4 hours. It just gets prettier and prettier. We ended up at a campground where there were 850 people! It was Totaranui Bay. Nothing like Coyotee Gulch is it? There was a road that came to that area. It was sweet though to watch all the families just have such a great time together. We do miss the large family gatherings. Dave was walking with his 3 kids a met a lady walking the trail. They got talking and he told her how our large group was going to stop a few hours early and so we would be on the ground instead of them using the huts. (Do to the rough seas the water taxis would not take the shuttled children and moms to the final hut-Whariwharangi Bay). When we were settling she showed up with 3 extra tents for us. Her name was Penny Sue and it was not a coincidence. She was a real blessing from heaven for these families. We made a fire and sang a few songs. The stars were really incredible. But so different than the stars that we know about in our northern hemisphere.

It was a long night on the hard ground but all woke up warm and in good spirits to make the way back. It was fast Sunday and we kept it the best that we could. We boarded the bus and changed buses twice before we actually got to Picton to get on the Ferry. By this point it was 5 pm. It was a really beautiful bus ride though. I am glad that I needed to be in the front of the bus and stay awake so I didn't get bus sick. Because I was awake I saw such wonderful mountains and countryside. We boarded the ferry. In 3 hours we were in Wellington. It was a clear and beautiful night. We stayed in the same room we stayed in 6 days earlier. We made our noodles and enjoyed our bunkbeds. In the morning we had a good greesy breakfast, took a cable car ride in the rain and spent the day in a really outstanding museum. Te Papa is the best in New Zealand. We never even made it to the top 2 levels. At this point it was just the Pembertons and us left. We walked around the streets and ate at the Lone Star. That was the most American place we have been to in 4 months. We sat on the plane for an hour and then took our 45 min flight to Auckland. We got in bed by midnight. Make sure you go to the photo album called "Able Tasman Tramp." Written by both of us...

2007 Auckland N.Z. Mission History

I was looking at our blogs and realized I have been letting Bob do all the writing. He does such a great job it is easy to let him. I will tell you a bit about what I have been up to while Bob has been playing basketball in Tahiti (Oh, working too). One of my assignments for my Church Service Missionary calling is to complete the yearly mission history. It has been a little larger job than I originally thought it would be. I have worked long hours and tomorrow I should get it totally done. It will be nice. This picture is our current office team.

A few weeks ago Sir Edmund Hillary died. I have loved studying his life some. He and his sherpa from Nepal were the first to climb Mt. Everest. He has done many other really important adventurous things. He really doesn't consider them very important. He is a very humble & generous man. He has received much more satisfaction out of his efforts to help the people in Nepal than any of the grand things that we put an importance on. I have learned things just reading about him. I went on a very long walk the day of his funeral and listened to it on a little radio. It was inspiring to me. It was a state funeral with all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it. Very interesting.

This week as I came home from the office I had my little list of things that I do. I added to it a book to read. It was fun doing that and kept my mind very busy. So I did well while Bob was gone. On Friday we watched as 1 apostle and 3 general authorities entered our building all together. We all got to shake there hands. In the 3 months that we have been here I have shaken hands with 2 apostles. That doesn't happen in SLC does it? Yesterday I wanted to walk up to Milford and get some milk before Bob came home. I meet a lady in the swimming pool. She wanted to come with me. She took me there by way of the beach at high tide. That was really fun. We were trying to time the waves coming in. We got pretty wet. One time it was near our knees. It was a soggy hour to get home again. (I have a store across the street from me but I like to walk up to Milford. I see the ocean, Lake Pupuke and get some nice vegetables too. Well back to nursing Bob back to health after his real serious sprained ankle. (We are so blessed that it is not broken). Got to get him better to get back on a plane on Tuesday to hike the Able Tasman Coast Trail. It is considered #2 on the list of 101 best things to do in New Zealand.

Windsurfing Championships and Tahiti

Last week Miriam and I heard about the windsurfing championships going on at the beach. So we thought we would visit the beach and check it out. Now the races are way out there in the harbour so you can't see the races at all. But there is a lot of action going on at the beach. The feeling on the beach is kind of an Olympic feeling because they are all trying to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. All the equipment is the same and all the sails have a number and the country flag. We took a bunch of pics and talked to a few racers. We had a fun time. When the wind really picked up the wind surfers really got moving! On Sunday the 20th of January I left for the beautiful island of Tahiti. Tickets were pricey so Miriam stayed home. I went from the 2oth to the 26th. Tahiti is also called French Polynesia. I guess many years ago the island requested protection from France and now its a very french island. So I spent the week saying Bonjour which is hello in French. There were a few employees of the Church that went to Tahiti so on Sunday 4 of us went to church which was very close to the hotel. They had just put in a new Bishop and he was only 24 years old. It was fun to see him conduct a ward conference. A nice man that new English sat behind us and translated sacrament meeting for us. Bruce and I drove around the island in the afternoon and looked at a couple of new chapels that had just been completed. My training was Monday and Tuesday. It went very well and on Tuesday we stopped for a couple of hours and played some basketball. We played ball on Thursday too. The beach outside of our hotel was amazing. The surf was huge, and was constantly pounding down on the beach. Unfortunately it is the rainy season in Tahiti and it rained almost every day. Luckily I went to work not play. One night we went to the wharf where the cruise ships come in. Every night restaurants on wheels come to the wharf and set up and sell crepes with everything in them. Supper, dessert or anything else you want they put it in a crepe. It was pretty good. We played ball again on Thursday and DANG I rolled my ankle. DANG DANG.. now I don't know if I can heal fast enough for our hike in Able Tasman. Anyway, it was a great trip and I had a good time. Enjoy the pics. Don't forget to visit the album page.. Bob

New Year's Day at Whatipu

In New Zealand, New Year's Day and the day after are holidays. So we took advantage and went camping at Whatipu. Which is just an hour & 45 min. away from Takapuna. Of course we had trouble following the scanty directions. We pulled over and got directions from a sweet Hindu man that ran a store. He gave great directions to Whatipu and to his temple nearby. Miriam countered with a pass along card and a short discussion about living prophets. We were lucky to run into him. We stopped at the Arataki Visitor Center where we learned about this impressive Regional Park. We saw the giant pou (totem pole). The Maoris tried to be anatomically correct, but got a little carried away on some of their carvings. The one we didn't take a pictures of had anatomy as large as his legs. We took the very windy, narrow, metal (gravel) road to the lodge and campground. Our borrowed tent came with the wrong tent poles so it was a bit lacking. Miriam, as usual, made her bed with a clean bedsheet. We tramped around the caves, beaches, and Gibson treck. Found the wonderful beaches that Bob could not resist. The stars were incredible tonight, and the mozzies(mosquitoes) got a full meal. We were only disturbed by the activity of search and rescue looking for a tramper that didn't return.

The next morning we were up bright and early on the track of the Omanawanua. Bob would like to take issue of the way Kiwis construct their tramps. They seem to think it is important to go straight up and to go to the top of every peak along the way. A simple switch back and skirting the peak would be just as impressive. (These are steep, volcanic peaks) We made it to the top"s" and felt that it was worth the effort. There were supposed to be two waterfalls (according to the book Laura gave us) but it must have been too dry already. We did come across wild boar tracks in the soft mud. Our tramp total time was 3 hours. The book said it would take 4 so we did it in good time. In 2005 12 sperms whales beached themselves at Whatapu. They all died. A theory is that the lead whale was sick and the rest just followed. Their remains were buried on the beach. Their jaw bones were donated to the local Maori tribe for their carvings. They average about at least one whale beaching a year. Back to our little apt. We were only gone about 24 hours total. When you come to visit us we will definitely take you there. This blog was created by both of us. Please go to the pictures. Now it is "hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work we go", holiday is over.

Our Walk to Davenport

This is Miriam. It looks like it is my turn to blog. After Christmas we came home and went to work for two days. Saturday morning we woke up to beautiful weather, no projects to do, nothing to fix, no snow to shovel, no pool cover to pump off, no service projects from the ward so it was a free day. I had walked to the volcano on Davenport on Thanksgiving day. Bob wanted to do it with me again. All of the pictures I took the first time were lost so I needed to try and replace them. Unfortunately we don't have as many flowers as we did 5 & a half weeks ago. It is now summer here and not spring. Today I woke up and thought it would be the first day of no clouds. New Zealand is called the land of the long white cloud for a reason. It has been an absolute gorgeous day complete with a few fluffy clouds that appeared this afternoon just above the horizon from our apt. on the 3rd floor. Yesterday started off very cloudy so we didn't feel a need for sunblock. Boy were we wrong. Five hours later when we returned from our walk we were so so sun burnt. The people at church told us it is because there is a whole in the ozone layer right over New Zealand. Bob thought that was bogus but when we came home and got on the Internet to check it out they were mostly right. So we must always wear sunblock even on the cloudy mornings. You will see from our pictures that we had a fun conversation about croquet with the umpire. He informed us that we do have professional croquet clubs in America and they play just like they do here in New Zealand. Then you will see lots of flowers. Very cool flowers here in New Zealand. The volcano is called Mt. Victoria. There is a 20 foot retracting cannon on the top of it. Around the turn of the century New Zealand was worried about Russian invasions so they had several positions on different volcanoes that were stocked with guns and cannons. This particular cannon was only shot one time. After their one practice shot the residents of Davenport complained because of the broken windows from the blast.
It was time for lunch. We love the little community of Davenport. It is very Victorian and so fun. We found the first Mexican restaurant on the island today. After realizing that a simple meal would be minimum $60 for the both of us we headed to subway and shared a wonderful foot long. It was a terrific day for a long walk. People on holiday from everywhere. People all over the beaches having a grand time. We came home by way of the beach road on the Pacific side of Davenport. We opted not to do the 360 foot staircase that I did last time. I think because I counted the stairs and there were so many, Bob thought we had had enough walking. The stairs take you down to a really sweet secluded beach straight across from Rangitoto Volcano Island. Well it was a fun day. Today Bob received a calling to teach the High Priests two days a month. I was set apart as the Nursery Leader. We are tickled about them both. Pictures are in the album titled Davenport Walk.