Final Friday

Today we drove down closer to Christchurch and chose a nice little campsite beside the sea. In fact we have a sea view from our camper window. It’s a lazy day today, walking on the beach and relaxing and looking out onto our see view.

We fly back to Auckland tomorrow.

Having a Whale of a Time!

Guess what we did on Thursday, went on a trip to find whales. The weather was perfect. The sun was shining, clear blue skies and there was little if any breeze, so the sea was very calm.
We were out at sea for about 2 hours and in that time saw one Sperm Whale surface for about 12 minutes and then go under flipping his tail before submersing back under the sea.

We also saw a small pod of Dolphins which we only saw from afar and I was quite disappointed at not going closer to see them. Thankfully I kept my thoughts to myself because you can imagine our amazement when we saw dozens of Dolphins in the pod that our skipper was searching for. They even put on an aerial show for us. Show-offs!

 

Weary Wednesday

Good morning from the Otago Peninsula

 

 

Our next destination was Kaikoura, about one and a half hours north of Christchurch, so that was about a five hour journey ahead of us. We stopped in Christchurch to fill up with fuel and then on our way again. So it was a very weary Wednesday. Most of the roads have been straight in South Island but this journey was very windy for over an hour and some up steep high hills. We found a nice campsite where we planned to stay for a couple of nights. Well at least we thought it was nice at first. It was beside a railway line and the trains were very noisy for the first night but I think we were so tired on the second night we would have slept through anything.

Albatross Adventures

Like I said earlier we were only about an hour away from Dunedin which was our destination for the day. Otago Peninsular, Dunedin is where we are hoping to see an Albatross and maybe penguins. Our first visit was on the Albatross tour, the guide Christine gave a very informative presentation before we were lead up the cliff to see three Albatross chicks. We were told we may see another Albatross flying in but that didn’t happen. The chicks were cute though.

 

Elder Saunders had a little rest in our camper while I went for a stroll near the cliffs. Imagine my delight when I saw two albatrosses’ flying around. I videoed them so I could show them to Elder Saunders later but luckily for him one came out for a fly by when he got up. They are so big and glide majestically around the sky. I was told that they would have been the juvenile Albatrosses’ showing off because the parents of the chicks would have just flown in to feed their young.
We had a free hot chocolate, curtesy of a magazine we picked up at the airport, before making our day complete on the Penguin search.
We had to wait until dusk before we made our way down to the specially built platform on the beach. We must have waited for about an hour before we heard the calls of both the penguins out at sea and the ones left behind on the shore because it was the moulting season.

It was delightful to see these little blue penguins come out of the water then curiously coming up the beach. There was infrared spotlighting just in front of the platform so that we could clearly see them. One even come just in front of where we were standing and made himself at home there. Others waddled up just beside the platform. Hopefully my photos will show just how close they came.  One lonely penguin came to the shoreline about half an hour later but kept going back into the water. Then we could hear calls from another penguin on the right hand side of the beach so that little lonely penguin swam back into the sea and climbed out onto the rocks on the right hand side of the beach.  It was quite dark on the rocks but we could still just make out his trek across the rocks. About another half an hour later our guide said we would be finishing in about 5 minutes and just as our 5 minutes were up another two penguins came out from their day long fishing adventure. That again was very cute to watch. They very slowly waddled up across the sand looking all around them and then right past the platform. What an exciting end to our day. Now to find somewhere to camp for the night.

Milford Sound

Monday morning we were up very early and decided to leave the campsite immediately and head for Milford Sound which was just under an hour away. We were up very high and could even see snow on the mountains. After going through Homer Tunnel the road was very high up and windy. Not windy as in wind but windy as in going around bends.  I don’t like heights so I just focused on the inside of the road. Thankfully the high and windy bit of the road was not that long. When we arrived at Milford Sound we had our breakfast while watching our first wild Kea playing in the car park.

 

The boat trip was at 10.30 which gave us plenty of time to look around.

 

 

We were told about a strange looking boat which we could see across the sound. It was an Alien space vessel. Actually that’s the truth. It is part of a film set that they are shooting for one of the Alien series of movies. They even had an helicopter move equipment from another area to the set.

 

We chose to go on a Nature Cruise, so had lots of commentary on board telling us about the sea life, plants and mountains. Milford Sound is incorrectly named as it is a Fiord but the early English settlers were used to calling their sea inlets Sounds so that why it is called a Sound. We saw many Fur Seals even a few having squabbles over who was the boss. Again the weather was perfect sunny and the sea calm. We did venture right out to the Tasman Sea. On our way back we even went under a waterfall. Those who were brave enough went outside and got a little wet. Elder Saunders stayed inside but I did go outside and I thought that I had even filmed it but again I press the record button at the wrong time and only got us coming out of it. It was refreshing, cold and fun.

Can you see the Fur Seals behind us? 





 

Can you see the rainbow effect on these waterfalls

 

 

This is the water fall I went under.

 

 

We also went inside a floating sealife observatory. That was very interesting. What we saw was totally natural and anything could have happened. Sadly nothing exciting did but we did see a few  unusual fish.

We were on our travels again and aimed to get as close to Dunedin as possible in fact we ended up about an hour away from Dunedin and only stopped because it was getting dark. Coincidently the place was called Milton.

On route though we did see an interesting cycle.

Sabbath

We stayed another night at Queenstown then on Sunday morning we went to church in Frankton. The weather this morning was miserable and wet. But I'm sure it will clear later. I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before but Elder Saunders has a few nicknames and one of them is Mr Sunshine. So it was no surprise to me that during the church service the sun came out and it was sunny for the rest of the day. Frankton Branch is very small but the members are lovely and we had a spiritually uplifting sacrement meeting and lessons. Plus they have two missionaries there. Both of them are from South Africa and one of them knows our Elder Van Thiel. So we enjoyed talking to them both. I think they were both amused with our camper, I wonder why???

We carried on with our travels after church towards Milford Sound and parked at the last conservation campsite before entering onto the narrow roads and tunnel. The campsite was massive and you had to find your own spot to camp which was easy to do.  It soon got very very dark and it was just as well our camper had its own facilities as their was only one portable toilet and that was a long way from where we choose to camp. It was also very quiet there so we had a good nights sleep.

Queenstown Cruise

On Saturday we looked around Queenstown market before going on a boat cruise down the lake. We could have paid extra and had a tour of a sheep farm or had a meal in the tavern across the lake but we choose to just relax on the cruise. We did see the steamship Earnslaw on the lake. It is over 100 years old and the same age as the Titanic.

 

Flying High Friday

When we finished in the office we drove right to Auckland Airport for our 1 hr 55 minutes flight to Queenstown. It was a good flight and even had a snack on board. Then we had the exciting thrill of picking up our Jucy Camper which we drove just a few miles into Queenstown to find a camp site. The campsite was only 10-15 minutes walk into town, so we took a slow stroll into town that evening. It wasn’t a very big camp site but was very pretty. We were parked beside a small stream and with lots of trees around us. We could see in the distance the hills that people would paraglide off. No! We were not tempted to have a go.

Finishing Off Friday

Day 1 of our holiday and we started it with going in very early to the mission office! Elder Saunders gave back all of his keys and I took off the computer all the stuff that I thought was mine and not needed for Sister T. Actually when the missionary couples came into the office we exclaimed April fool we are not really finishing our mission today. Only that was the real April fool joke. We have finished!
So now I have a decision. Do I finish my blog here as it was a blog all about our mission or do I included our well-deserved break?

Thursday - The End of an Era

We were hoping that today would be a more relaxing day with us both just clearing out our stuff, no way. We were flat out busy until gone 5pm and we left then only because we were going out for a meal with Elder and Sister Rowland.
Today I had arranged for Elder T to take the Language Listening and Speaking English test at the Visitors Centre. I had gone to the centre previously and check that it would work and so was confident that there would be nor problems. We did have a little a hiccup as Adobe was not loaded on the computer but once that was sorted we were all ready to go. I’m not a big fan of how some of the questions are asked but he handled them very well. When I arrived back at the office his results were in and he got Intermediate High which I felt was excellent. Well done Elder T.
Going back to the Visitor centre, while I was there I manage to take more photos of the missionaries who attended the Temple today. It’s getting hard to say goodbye to our dear friends.
Elder Saunders had a busy day just clearing up loose ends, whatever that involved!
Our meal out with the Rowlands was at The Londoner not very far from the office but the first time we had visited it. The meals were delicious especially the chocolate cheesecake desert.

Weepy Wednesday

Today it was our turn to go inside the Temple with our Mission. It didn’t really matter which day we went as we would have enjoyed the company of any of our missionaries but today was special. The peace and happiness you feel when you are inside the Temple with friends can only be surpassed if it was also shared with your family. We feel truly grateful to have the blessings of being able to go to the Temple. Although we are a little saddened that we have not visited this Temple as often as we would have liked but that is not why we are in New Zealand. We are here to serve the Lord in the way He wants us to and that is to work in the office and to take care of our missionaries.
Again another flu shot session. This time Elder Saunders was not needed to transport the missionaries back and forward to the medical centre so we went back to the office.
This evening we had a farewell party for the Witts and ourselves. All the senior couples in the area were invited. It was really lovely and finished off with Rangi Parker singing one of her beautiful songs. fI must admit to getting a little weepy during her song. The Parkers also gave us a beautiful necklace and cuff links.

Temple Tuesday

The three Zones who were attending the Temple today were also getting a flu shot. We were still going to take the mail to the Temple for them though. Well actually we didn’t stop at the Temple because just as we were pulling up the Assistants called and told us it was all changed and they were meeting at the Tuhikaramea Chapel instead. Sister Templeton sorted out the mail while I happily took snaps on my phone.
Elder Saunders helped ferry the missionaries from the chapel to the Dr’s clinic. I went with the sisters on one of the trips and also had the flu shot. My arm was a little sore that night but I think it was mainly because one of the Elders poked me in my arm!!
I should add that Sister Chudleigh and Sister Tiamona gave us a present. They both had knitted us a pair of slippers. A treasure for sure.

Memorable Monday

The office was quite busy today. A few of the Zone leaders popped in for their mail and some sisters brought Baptism records into the office. There were also a few other visitors to see the Assistants so that’s what make it a busy day. Sister T has now taken over the reception chair and role. Although I was still showing her new things so I was still there as well.
Elder Saunders was still training Elder T in the office and at the storage facilities.
We had a lovely treat at lunchtime. The McGregors had made waffles with fruit and ice cream, yummy. Then we were presented with a lovely plaque.
We had a special evening planned. We had invited the two sisters from our ward to dinner but had two additional sisters as surprise guests. I was hoping to spend a couple of hours on the Monday with Sister Chudleigh and Sister Tiamona but because of the holiday traffic from the Coromandel they were very late. So we invited them to stay for dinner as well. What fun. We so enjoy the company of Sister Loefky and Sister Taula but they were the first to leave as they had appointments to go to. Sisters C & T stayed a little longer and we had more fun with the stick game and the poi. Memorable Monday is well titled.

 

Well Done Sister Chudleigh

 

"Its The Real Thing" - all will be explained in a few weeks.

Our Final Week

It’s the start of our final week on our mission. There are times when we feel really sad about leaving our friends and our missionaries. We have watched so many of them grow in faith and in confidence but what a week to leave on our Mission Temple week.

Our Replacements Are Here!

63. Our Replacements are here!

After a few months of worrying if we would ever get replacements they started on Thursday. Sister T is brilliant and I have no worries about her learning all the things that I do. The only problem is me trying to explain everything. For a long while I have been compiling a file of the responsibilities I have and how to accomplish them. This is the point that I panicked when I was first called but here am I, all accomplished and handing it over to someone else. She is even correcting my spelling mistakes! So Elder and Sister T started on the Thursday and then came into the office on Good Friday as well. Elder Saunders has also compiled a useful file called on the road work file which has all the information he needs while travelling around the country. I think that impressed Elder T.
Saturday and Sunday we did not go into the office. Not to work anyway I did go in on Sunday to email the missionaries in our mission and left Elder Saunders to clean up from Sunday lunch.
It is at this point that I have to go back to Saturday for our next post. 

McLaren Falls

Often on our way home from Whakatane we past McLaren Falls but never actually drove 1.4 kms to see the falls but today we did. There were no steps to go down or up which makes a change. It was very noisy as we were so close to the fast running water. There were many signs around stating that no diving was allowed into the falls. The reasons were obvious as the level of the water was different most days. Only 26 days each year is the water released from the Dam above the water fall and we were lucky enough to be there on one of those days. The reason why I mention about the No Diving notices was because we saw two very foolish boys diving in. I took a photo of them before they took their dive just in case they had an accident and they wanted to identify them. (Waba ski, I’ll explain that later, maybe) Only joking, but I did take a photo.

Whakatane

Well we actually managed to pull off an additional trip to Whakatane but it took some organizing. We have been so busy in the office especially as we want to give our new Couple as much information as we can. A few weeks ago when we were in Whakatane we had lunch with the Waihirere family. It was so lovely to catch up and to see how their little one has grown. It was the mum who told of a KapaHaka festival in a few weeks’ time. I would have loved to have gone for a couple of days but knew that would be impossible. It was not until the Friday that we decided that we could go. It meant leaving the packing for another week which was frightening as we only had two weeks left. So off we set on the Thursday in the late afternoon and even took the toll road as it was getting late. We have a lovely meal out with the missionary couple in Whakatane. Although we were an hour later than their first reservation but 5 minutes early for the second. We managed to get up early the next morning so that we could arrive at the Waihirere’s in time to see one of Sister Waihirere’s favourite performances. The kapahakas were amazing. I could have stayed all day but we needed to get home to start our packing.
Although we did take one detour on our way home!