Rangitoto Island

This last Saturday, Mark, Greg, the girls, and I took a ferry over to Rangitoto Island and hiked to the summit. Rangitoto is an iconic dormant volcano in the Waitamata Harbour (Auckland's harbor). It is 5 1/2 kilometers wide and 850 ft high. It erupted about 600 to 700 years ago. It is now a reserve. It rained on us most of the way up, but cleared once we got to the top. We saw some beautiful panoramas of the harbor and the city. Kohimarama is seen in the distance of the picture with our backs turned. On the way over on the ferry, we had a little show from a naked guy who had climbed to the top of a beacon. Disgusting!

Mama and Sarah

An account of our time Down Under would not be complete without a mention of the bond between Mama and Sarah. The two of them have been inseparable. It has been a great fit because both Mama and Sarah love to have company more than anyone I know. Sarah follows Mama around everywhere. Mama always asks, "Where is my shadow?" They read stories, play games and go for an almost daily walk with Pa to St. Heliers to get the mail. Getting the mail inevitably turns into climbing 1000 trees, playing at the playground for hours, and having lunch and a coffee/fluffy. A fluffy is a sophisticated little drink for a 4-year-old. It is warm milk frothed up like a cappuccino with chocolate drizzled on top. It is usually accompanied by a little marshmellow. Sarah knows all the best places in Auckland to get a fluffy. Everyone in St. Heliers knows her and teases her. Mama and Pa love having her with them, and I think there will be a big hole in everyone's heart when they are oceans away from each other.

70.3 and Still Alive

For those of you that don't know, I have been spending my spare time training for a half Ironman. The race was this Saturday. I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I was almost last. The good news is that I had my personal best time ever on the swim and the bike. My time was 7:13:32. This is about an hour faster than I expected to finish, so I'm really pleased. My swim was 45:35 for 1.2 miles. My bike was 4:07:32 for 56 miles. My run was 2:20:25 for 13.1 miles. On the race website is a video of the race http://www.endurancesport.co.nz/aucklandhalf/ . I feature in it at about 4:09. Notice how slowly I am going. You can also see the full results from the race on the website. The weather was fantastic and the course was incredibly beautiful. It was a great experience, but I have no intention of ever doing it again.

Bay of Islands and Waipoua Forest

After leaving Teal Bay, we went further north to the Bay of Islands. This is a beautiful area of New Zealand and a popular tourist area. It is best seen by yacht, but we were not that fortunate. It is also the site of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. This is a treaty signed by England and most of the Maori chiefs at the time. It addressed issues such as protection and the sale of land. Many Maori today look back on it and feel like they got ripped off. When you sell a property for a couple of guns, some flour, two horses, and a shirt, you can see why they got the short end of the stick. The other side is the treaty set them up to have a part in the new country. It is certainly better than other natives fared. Race relations have always been very good here, but in recent years, some discontent and tensions have started to creep in.

We left the Bay of Islands and headed back to Auckland down the West side of the country. We passed some massive sand dunes in Opononi, then we traveled through the Waipoua Forest. This is a beautiful forest full of big old Kauri trees. The biggest one is called Tane Mahuta and supposedly 2000 years old.

Teal Bay

We spent the weekend at a quiet batch on a lovely sheltered bay called Teal Bay. We had a wonderful and relaxing time. The kids played on the beach for hours, we played cricket all afternoon, and we learned how to play petanque from our batch neighbors. We also took a walk to see a nesting area for the endangered Brown Teal duck. There are less than 1000 remaining. We counted about 40.

Mangawhai and Waipu Cove

This last weekend we took our last trip out of Auckland. We drove north to a friend's batch in Teal Bay. On the way there we stopped at a couple of surf beaches. The first is Mangawhai Heads. The next is Waipu Cove. It has a neat little estuary with trees hanging all over it. We have pictures of the kids playing here four years ago. These are beaches near Whangarei, where Mark's dad grew up.

Round the Bays

On Sunday, our family took part in a huge annual event in Auckland. It is a gigantic fun run called Round the Bays. The race is an 8 1/2 kilometer run along the Auckland waterfront from downtown Auckland to St. Heliers Bay, which is just past Kohimarama (where we live). This run is HUGE. There are about 40,000 registered runners and an estimated 70,000 participants (which included us). It is so crowded that you can hardly run, even 5 kilometers into the race. Mark, Emma, and Hannah finished the race, but Esther, Sarah and I stopped a kilometer early when we got to Kohimarama. Sarah started to protest half-way through. She said her legs were tired. I told her she had to keep going because those legs were her way home. She hung in there and made it. I was really proud of all the kids. They did great.

Goat Island

On Monday, Mark and I had the best day ever. He takes Mondays off because it's Sunday in the States and the US markets are closed. The kids are in school and Sarah is at preschool on Mondays, so we are really free on Mondays. We went an hour-and-a-half north to a Marine reserve, called Goat Island. We rented some snorkeling gear and went snorkeling. The water was pretty clear and we saw lots of fish. New Zealand isn't tropical, so you don't get the beautiful colored fish you would find in Australia, but we saw lots of cool fish anyway. The best thing we saw was a big Snapper about 3 ft long. It's a little unnerving being out of your own environment, but the rewards are great.

Rugby

Saturday night we took Emma, Hannah, and Esther to their first rugby match. Rugby is the most popular sport in New Zealand. The national team, The All Blacks, are a legend in rugby. Like football, it is a winter sport, so we are only here for the beginning of the season. There are 3 main competitions within the rugby season. The first, which has just begun, is the Super 14. The competition consists of 14 regional teams from New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. The Auckland team is The Blues. We saw them play Natal, a South African team, and they got beat. Mark's brother came along with us to the game. It's been great to do things like that with him.

The second competition (and the best) consists of the Test matches. This is where the national teams square off against each other with national pride on the line. It's like all-star games crossed with the passions of the biggest NCAA rivalries.

Mark is a rugby fan and it has rubbed off on me. I really love it. The athletes are amazing. They are big, fast, and strong. Not only that, they have great endurance and technical passing, catching, and kicking skills. They make very well-rounded, impressive athletes.

Whangamata

This weekend we went to Whangamata, a popular get-away for Aucklanders. We stayed in a house belonging to some of Mark's parents' close friends. Just after arriving, we were greeted with severe winds and about 24 hours of torrential rain. (I am posting a picture of the Whangamata golf course after the rain). We had no TV and were all cooped-up in the house together. Instead of a bummer, it was a real blessing getting to spend good family time together. Sunday was a nice day and we were able to enjoy the beach before coming home that afternoon.

On Friday, the school had a certificate assembly. Esther's teacher honored her with a certificate. She acted embarrassed by the attention, but I know deep down she was quite pleased.

Emma's Birthday

Emma turned 9 on Sunday. We had a little family party after church. She misses celebrating with all her friends from home.

Waitomo Caves

To celebrate Esther's and Emma's birthdays, we visited the Waitomo Caves. They are some amazing caves a few hours south of Auckland. The caves have millions of glow worms. It looks like lots of little green stars. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures inside. On the way back we noticed someone supporting the Lone Star State. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Here is also a picture of Hannah at a school certificate assembly.

Esther's 6th birthday

Esther turned 6 on February 12th. Unfortunately, she still had to go to school that day, but it's a blessing in disguise. You get lots of attention at school when it is your birthday. Her teacher let me bring in cupcakes for the class. I enjoyed getting to know some of her classmates. That night we had a little family party and then all watched Dr. Who together!

Pa's surgery

Mark's dad had shoulder surgery Monday. He's been putting it off for a long time and finally had to do something about it. Once he came home from the hospital, he was smothered in nurses. He had one feeding him, one putting a damp cloth on his forehead, one combing his hair, and (my favorite) Sarah combing the hair on his legs. It will be a long recovery and lots of work, but he seems to be doing pretty well so far.

Back to School

The girls started back to school Wednesday, February 4th. Esther is in Year 2, Hannah is coincidentally next-door to her in Year 3, and Emma is in Year 5. I think they are happy to be back in school, but I'm not sure I could get them to admit it. The week was a short one, though, because Friday was Waitangi Day. It celebrates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the beginning of New Zealand as a nation. We spent that Saturday going to a surf beach about an hour away, called Muriwai. We took the kids on a little hike to some cliffs overlooking the beach. After that, we went down the road to see a gannet colony. Then we went for a swim and some boogie boarding at Muriwai.