Coromandel to Queenstown by Carol

Queenstown Lake

Serpentine Hills, location of "Plains of Rohan" filming
New Chums Beach, Coromandel
View of Tairua estuary, from cottage on Mt. Paku

Just days after arriving in NZ, Megan, Kris & I drove up to the Coromandal Peninsula east of Aukland to see his brother Andy whose wife had just given birth to their 3rd boy. How great for me to get to meet them and see Kris with his brother, plus now I know who they are when Megan talks about them. Our lodging there was a little apartment high on a hill with a view of the beach & high hills dense with bush at Tairua -- a place I could only dream of being before this! We had one good day of weather here that gave us a chance to explore beautiful New Chums Beach. A bit isolated, we had a trek to get to it & were the only ones there until we left. Between Wellington & Tairua we passed by the NZ ironman marathoners at Taupo and waded in hot thermal waters by Huku Falls on the Waikato River. Driving affords the opportunity to really see the land even if it means feeling carsick from the narrow, winding roads of the north island!

Then an unexpected opportunity came for Megan & I to spend a week on the southern end of the south island with jenny from her church. Two days travel each way from Wellington means lots of new scenery! Our road trip began with a 3 hour ferry ride through Cook Strait separating the north island from the south. The bush (dense foliage) covered the steep hills right down to the water and dolphins swam near Pictin (northern tip of southern island). The more south we drive the straighter the roads became (compared to the winding of the northern island). So much new scenery for the senses to absorb! Two opportunities with our host:

Jenny's husband, Simon, is a geologist here in Alexandra for gold mining and took us along to inspect a site at 3,000 feet in the Serpentine area of Central Otago. The fascinating rock formations there were the site of filming the Plains of Rohan in Lord of the Rings "Two Towers" where the people are running toward Helms Deep. The landscape is treeless and dry, and the one lane, deeply rutted and very bumpy road is only navigable by 4 wheel drive. And it was in that setting that we stopped for our "tailgate" tea time from the back of his pickup truck! What a wonderful adventure! The next day Jenny & Simon drove us to Queenstown one and a half hours from Alexandra. Queenstown is a ritzy ski resort on a beautiful lake surrounded by steep, treeless mountains, and is a tourist mecca for the whole country. A college town feel with people enjoying the sunshine in the outdoor seating of the many cafes, an artist outside painting and musicians hoping you'll drop some coins in their instrument case. On the outskirts of the town we stopped at the 1880's bridge that was the birthplace of bungy jumping and watched several brave souls plunge head first toward the aqua water of the gorge. We are so grateful for Jenny & Simon hosting and chauffeuring us!

Carol's Impressions written by Carol

Tea time on the road (by the waterfall above, on the tailgate below)

Everyone hangs their clothes out to dry

Weet-bix, the favorite Kiwi cereal

NZ consists of 2 large islands & I have been from the NE end of the northern island to the south central end of the southern island -- from the Coromandel Peninsula to the town of Queenstown. Here are my impressions from my travels: Fascinating & unique topographical features crowd this small nation -- dense foliage over steep hillsides to steep grassy knolls; mountains bare of trees to aqua rivers. I have heard the mechanical sounding Tui bird & learned that possum fur makes beautiful yarn. I will not complain about the price of gas in MT because it is about $6 a gallon here! I have picked kiwi fruit and learned new names for common vegies. I do not like the Marmite spread (80% yeast) or WeetBix cereal that most Kiwi's love, but I do love their little meat pies sold everywhere and tea time with biscuits (cookies). Sheep outnumber people 7 to 1 and I love the fluffy Marino sheep of the south island. I have become quite used to the driving on the other side of the road as long as we are going straight, but right hand turns and the roundabouts that are everywhere still throw me! Megan wants me to try driving before I leave! When I get in the front seat on the left side I still expect there to be a steering wheel there! I love that I have 5 weeks here because besides seeing a lot, I have lots of time to just shadow Megan's kiwi life. Because of that I feel like I live here! I have gone to the grocery store and the play group where she assists, a Bible study with a few friends and watched her coach a volleyball team of 14 year old girls in a private school. Her life as it happens is my life as it happens. And the bonus is lots of time to watch her married life which I had seen so little of with her either in Arizona or New Zealand.

Christchurch Earthquake, 22/02/2011 - A Tribute.

Christchurch Earthquake

It has been almost a week since a 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook Christchurch, the 3rd largest city in New Zealand (about 350,000 people). I remember first hearing about it on Facebook, and gradually throughout the day the news kept getting worse. Like after September 11, eyes were glued to the TV and internet news sites, and people were attempting to contact those they knew in Christchurch. I heard one guy say there are only two degrees of separation in New Zealand--everyone knows someone who knows someone affected personally by the quake. We heard numerous stories throughout the week from church members: one was across the street from the CTV building that collapsed, one who had just moved there for school and who had walked past the CTV earlier that day, flats destroyed.

Churches around NZ opened their doors for prayer, reflection, and support. The service at Knox included a tribute video, signing of the national anthem, lighting candles, and prayer for those affected. This has really shaken a lot of people, because this kind of quake wasn't "supposed" to happen in Christchurch--it's supposed to happen in Wellington! Not only is there the staggering loss of lives, young and old, but loss of homes and businesses that will never be rebuilt.

At the service yesterday we sang the hymn "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand", which was so applicable to this situation:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Rather than try to describe the scenes, watch this video tribute to the tragedy and heroism of the last week in Christchurch (see most recent post). Be praying!

This and that

It has been awhile since my last post because I don't have a lot to report. I realized that things are starting to feel quite normal, "un-blog-worthy" if you will! Not a lot happens in New Zealand from Christmas until school starts up again in early February; stores and cafes close, people go on holiday for weeks at a time, church programs go on hold. We didn't take a long holiday this summer because we wanted to wait until our new niece or nephew was born up north. Sampson finally arrived, fashionably late, and he is adorable! We look forward to seeing him (and his parents too) in a few weeks.

We have a full house for awhile! Matt and Ang have two friends here for about 2 weeks. His parents arrive 2 days after they leave, and my mom arrives 2 days after that! We enjoy playing tour guide to our new home, and they are excited to see the people and places we talk about. We plan to take mom up to the Coromandel for a week, as well as day trips here and there.

We did get to watch the Super Bowl here, live on Monday afternoon; the pastor called a "Staff development day" for the staff and their wives at his house! That evening, Kris and I watched it again with another group of people, explaining what's going on. Unfortunately, we didn't get the commercials over here; people wondered why I would be disappointed at missing commercials until I showed them a few on YouTube! My favorite is the VW one with the Darth Vader kid.

This week kicked off the kid's programs again at Knox. Things went very smoothly and there was a lot of excitement! I am helping this year serving coffee at one of the playgroups during the week, as well as being a leader for the jr. high youth group (called Seismic).

I still have not been able to find a job, so I am beginning to wonder if God has something up his sleeve and isn't telling me yet. I have enjoyed having the time to just meet with people in the church for coffee, helping with playgroup, and will be starting a Bible study this week. I'm still working on SendOutCards a few hours a day as well.

Work update

An update on the job search:



Since New Zealand pretty much shuts down from Christmas to the end of January, except for the essentials, that means there aren't a lot of new job postings lately. I have applied for a couple of positions that I should find out about in the next couple of weeks, and found another one today that I will apply for. Until I find something, I have been working hard at growing our SendOutCards business, treating it like a job while I have the free time. We see a lot of potential for growth, both in the US and in NZ (where there are less than 60 people who do SOC!), and with both individuals and businesses. The goal is for me to not have to work away from home by the time we have kids, so we would love your prayers for a job for me and for our business efforts to pay off. If you want to know more about our business and how you can support us financially, check out our website:

http://www.kiwicards.net/

Bike tour pics