Don and I are always looking for opportunities to see other parts of New Zealand, so soon after we arrived we arranged an exchange with the two Resident Friends who volunteer at the Friends Centre in Auckland. One of them coincidentally had worked with us at Woodbrooke in Birmingham England last summer and they were happy to have a chance to spend some time in Wellington. So for the last two weeks we have enjoyed the sights of a city that is very nice, but very different from Wellington. It is further north and therefore a little warmer and less windy, and it is about 3 times the size, with a population of 1.3 million.


The Friends Centre up there is very lovely having just been totally renovated and updated about 3 years ago. It sits in a city suburb called Mt. Eden, about a 35 minute walk from the city center, but having its own little shopping area of quaint stores and coffee shops. Although we were very busy with work when we were up there (25 "guest nights" in 2 weeks), we did manage time to explore the city, see lots of great sights and sip a few cups of coffee.


Auckland sits between 2 harbors and among over 50 volcanoes. The last big eruption there was 600 years ago, although there are still some classified as active, including Mt. Eden. We figured if there was an eruption while we were staying in Auckland, we’d be "Pompeii-ed", immortalized forever in frozen shapes. I was surprised how grassy and calm the crater looked. Cows are "rented" to graze the crater so that there’s no need to mow. They used to use sheep, but apparently they are too easy to steal for a mutton dinner, so now the city only uses cows whose only danger is in being tipped.


Auckland seems to have a large number of beautiful small parks and we enjoyed a few walks in them, either with the Tuesday morning walking group or on our own, enjoying the unique New Zealand birds and flora. Luckily we had some folks with us who knew a bit about what we were seeing because it all looked so unfamiliar to us. One of the strangest birds we saw was the pukeko in which the female has almost gangly legs, and is bright blue with a bright orange-red beak and head stripe. We also came across a banana tree which, although not too common in most of New Zealand , can manage to grow in Auckland's warmer climate.


While in Auckland, we also saw the Sky Tower which is the largest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere. There’s a revolving restaurant near the top, and you can pay some large amount of money (though I don’t know why anyone would) to jump off the top of it and plummet down along some guy wires. We watched a number of daredevils doing it while we were sitting across the street at a Mexican restaurant sipping margaritas. If you look very closely, under the third row of windows under the bottom ring, you can see one of them on his way down.


Auckland’s harbor is filled with boats.
We read that there is one boat for every 4 Aucklanders, many of which are luxurious yachts. One evening while exploring along the Viaduct Basin, we met a man named Max who had set up a trust along with others whose aim it was to locate and return "lost" New Zealand boats, and then restore them. He was standing proudly by one his boats built in 1895 that had recently been completed, one that had been taken by Americans during World War II to Tahiti and abandoned. It was later sold to Italy which is where Max found it and brought it back to its home port.


While up in Auckland, we spent a wonderful day with a man named Julian whom we met by way of Carolyn, one of our Ohio friends. He gave us a fabulous, and too quick, tour of the area. We visited the North Shore which is the home of Mt. Victoria, another volcano with a beautiful view overlooking the city and the harbor. He took us to Muruwai Beach with its long black strand of sand stretching into the horizon. We saw a gannet colony where hundreds (thousands?) of these graceful birds were lying in the sun or soaring on the updrafts from the sea. We drove up One Tree Hill, yet another volcano-with-a-view with the remains of a Maori pa, a fortified settlement, on the top.
Although we are glad to be back in Wellington and glad that we are doing are work here instead of in Auckland, we enjoyed our time there and will fondly remember out two weeks in the "City of Sails".

As we sit in the Auckland airport, having just arrived back here after a month’s holiday, I’m pondering three of my favorite little things about New Zealand: things I’ll surely miss when I’m gone. I’ve been meaning to write about them in earlier blog entries, but never seem to have gotten around to it. I mentioned these to Don one day when we were out walking, and I didn’t have a piece of paper or a pen with me so I asked him to help me remember them with the mantra: ROUNDING MARSHMALLOW TOILETS. ROUNDING MARSHMALLOW TOILETS. ROUNDING MARSHMALLOW TOILETS. "What??!!" he said, understandably mystified. "Rounding Marshmallow Toilets" I repeated, as if it were perfectly clear what I was referring to. Let me explain.

ROUNDING. Well, you know in the United States how, when we go to the store and buy something, it never turns out to cost $25 dollars or $7 dollars. It always ends up being 24
dollars and 97 cents. Or 6 dollars and 96 cents. So we give the clerk $25 or $7 and we get back 3 cents or 4 cents. Then we go to the next store and buy something for $5.91, and then $14.82 and get back pennies and more pennies. We collect so many of them that we have to go get a big pickle jar, clean it up and then start putting all our pennies in there with the expectation that one day we’ll collect enough of those little brown suckers to buy a new game for our Nintendo DS. Meanwhile this ever-multiplying mass of coins grows into a weight so hefty that we begin to use the jar as a doorstop.
Well, not in New Zealand. No siree! There are no cents on this island unless they’ve been snuck in by some foreigner. Here in New Zealand, they have long ago gotten rid of those pesky pennies and even nickels so that when the clerk at the grocery store rings up a total of 24 dollars and 97 cents, she automatically rounds it up to $25. When the cash register says you owe four dollars and 3 cents, it just as quickly changes the tape to read $4 even. Voila! No pennies to mess around with. No scrambling in your pockets for loose pennies. WHAT a good deal! Marvelous, eh? Now if only some Kiwi could come up with a solution for all those plastic shopping bags.

MARSHMALLOWS. Now I’m sure this is a big secret, but Don loves his coffee. He likes it with a hint of flavoring. He likes it with some foam on top. And, especially, he likes it extra hot. So, quite often (he might say not often enough), you’ll find us at one of Wellington’s many wonderful and varied coffee shops. There’s our almost-every-Sunday-after-meeting visit to Mojo’s where the Japanese barista names Nobu serves us each a cuppa joe while we devour the Dominion Post News. Then there’s Deluxe, the funky, loud hangout for a variety of locals who come for the connections as much as for the brew. There are lots of cafes to choose from: Espressaholic, Caffe L’Farre, One Red Dog, Cubita Café, even Starbucks for those who really must have a taste of home. The list goes on and on in this city that has more coffee shops per capita than New York City.
If the truth be known, I don’t really care for coffee that much. It’s alright, but it doesn’t make me drool. I don’t care to walk long distances to find just the right cup. BUT I usually go with Don on his coffee shop outings for two reasons (besides being with my honey of course!). Two reasons. Marshmallows. Count ‘em. Two. Marshmallows. That’s what you get in New Zealand when you order a cup of coffee, lying there, saucily perched alongside the teaspoon, waiting to be plopped in your mouth, and dissolved into a sweet gooey goodness. The New Zealand marshmallow is a different breed than an American one—much flatter and firmer, but a marshmallow nonetheless. Actually I’m not sure I like marshmallows that much either, but the fact is they remind me of being a kid and finding two plump marshmallows floating on the top of a hot cup of cocoa. Now that’s something to go the distance for!

TOILETS. As we’ve been traveling the world these past 3 years, we’ve managed to experience personally quite a large number of public toilets. (See our previously written blog entry concerning the many fascinating and mystifying aspects of international toilets.) We’ve seen everything from the hole-in-the-floor variety in the men’s bathroom of the Milan train station (The biggest in Europe. The station, not the hole) to the plush, richly-appointed and personally-attended one in Harrods’ Department Store in London. Unlike in the United States, where it’s not unheard of to stop into a McDonald’s just to use the "facilities", that kind of activity is at least frowned upon, if not directly forbidden, in most parts of the world. What IS common in the several countries we’ve visited however is the ubiquitous, and feared, PUBLIC TOILET. Usually hard to find, never without some cost, and almost without exception not to be used by the squeamish or anyone who’s been known to pass out while changing a baby’s diaper, these public potties make even the most enthusiastic travelers reminisce about the lovely clean toilets at their favorite Speedway.
This was true (I swear!) everywhere we went until we came to Wellington. It’s an amazing fact that in this city there are public toilets that are both clean AND free. I don’t know how they do it. Are people here just more thoughtful and courteous to the next one in line? Are they cleaner? Or do little kiwi gremlins come out in between each user and quickly clean up the splatters? Not only that, but these toilets are often pieces of art, with bright, colorful murals or sculptures adorning the outside walls. AND they never seem to be out of toilet paper! Now explain that!!!
Well, as you can see, I’m glad to be back here for six more months. There are many advantages to living in New Zealand and they can be summed up in 3 simple words: ROUNDING MARSHMALLOW TOILETS.

As much as we love the lively and exciting city of Wellington, we know that there is a lot more country to see out there, and we want to see as much of it as we can during our year’s stay. Therefore, a couple of weeks ago we went "over the hills" and spent two nights in the Wairarapa area of the North Island. We were fortunate to have the use of a borrowed car since public transportation isn’t as good as it was in either England or Italy, and also having a car allows us to take the back roads and see the countryside in a leisurely fashion. We can stop when we want, linger in a small town or pull over to the side of the road and ooh and ah over the scenery.
We booked ourselves into Petite La Vallee Homestay, a small self-contained cottage which attracted us because it was advertised as quiet and remote---something we don’t have here in the heart of a big city---and also because it was close to some special places we wanted to explore. But first we had to cross over the Rimutaka Mountains which rise up from sea to a height of about 900 meters, not extreme as mountains go, but certainly not what we’re used to seeing loom above the Ohio cornfields. The road, although it was comparable to a state highway, twisted its way in hairpin fashion up along the ridges, and then down again on the other side. We clung to the edge of very narrow lanes with steep drop-offs (always on MY side of the road!), passing signs that warned of "Slips" and "Washouts!" I have to admit though, the views were amazing and worth the fright. The mountains are mainly green-clad, the most brilliant green I’ve ever seen, with a purity and clarity of air that made all the colors leap out and call attention to themselves.
Our cottage was perfect, a real delight. It was on a 650-acre sheep farm so we were awakened each morning by the bleating of the many sheep that threatened to overshadow the extraordinary choral performance of the kaka, tui and kea birds. The couple who owns the place lived right next door and, besides leaving us some delicious homemade shortbread cookies, they later brought us over some wildberry jam, hot off the stove. The first afternoon, we walked up the high hill that was part of their farm and just down the road. As we climbed, we had to step over piles of cow and sheep dung, through cattle fences, over a handmade wooden bridge to cross a teeming creek, and under sagging tree limbs which sprawled out from their bases. As we rose higher and higher, the view became more beautiful and the farmhouse more distant, but the land was consistently that bright, bright green. It’s hard to explain what it feels like to be in this country of such clear air and brilliant colors. I don’t think I ever realized what pollution and acid rain has done to the environment until I came to New Zealand and experienced the freshness and the clarity that is everywhere, even in the city, but especially in the rural areas.
The next day, we drove about 50 miles through the countryside, past many, many sheep (I heard there were 40 million here, 10 times the number of people) and past the fishing village of Ngawi where they pull the fishing boats out of the water and up the long steep gravel beaches with discarded, rusted old tractors. There are almost no towns in this area except these tiny fishing villages, and of course Don was beside himself since not one of them had a restaurant, let alone a coffee shop, to get his morning brew. Oh well, the sacrifices he makes!
We headed to Cape Palliser, the southernmost tip of the North Island. There was a lighthouse we wanted to see which guarded the rocky point, but more than that we had heard it was home to a colony of fur seals. The road skirted the edge of the sea for several miles and as we approached the Cape we wondered if it would be possible to see any seals (perhaps they didn’t live there in June??). Or maybe they would be so far away that we wouldn’t be able to distinguish then from the dark rocks edging the shore. There was no need to worry. As we inched closer to the Point, and the road narrowed and turned from macadem to gravel and finally to dirt, there, not 6 feet from our car, lay a handful of fat, lazy fur seals, sunning themselves in the tawny grass. As we carried on further, we saw more of them, some sunning themselves in the grass, but most of them either draped over the rocks near the sea or playfully hopping from one rock to the next, using their flippers to balance and to move. We even saw a few in the distance taking a plunge, and a nice long swim, in the cold sea, and then raising their flippers high above the water as if in a triumphant gesture. It was very exciting. I have never been so close to animals in the wild, and I was touched by the innocence and the vulnerability of these animals that seem so trusting of the care of humankind.
We headed back to our cottage for the night, but not before stopping by the Lake Ferry Hotel where we had the best and biggest platter of freshly caught fish with chips ever. The next day, we spent several hours in the lovely small village of Greytown, where we found a great coffee shop, a chocolate factory (one which gives out lots of free samplesJ ), and a quite nice art gallery where we met a woman who was told many years ago that she had no talent, but is currently preparing works for two large art shows. So there! Anyway, it was a wonderful trip, a good place to spend a couple of days, and an area we’d love to return to.

It has always felt like a part of some great divine plan that we have ended up by the sea. Before we had any vague notion of in-cluding New Zealand as one of our "intentional wandering" spots, we spoke to one another of our dream of living by the sea. For Mary Ann, the sea is a healer. For me, the most perfect spot in the world would be at the place where mornings, great coffee, and the seaside come together. So, why not Wellington, New Zealand? This very morning, I headed out before breakfast for a walk by the sea. I wasn’t exactly alone, because Kiwi’s love their sea! In ten minutes, I was watching the sun burn off the morning haze sipping on a Mochaccino (extra hot, please), feeling the amazingly calm winter breeze, and listening to the gulls complain about their peculiar space needs and land rights. I had chatted a bit with the barista, saying that unlike Kiwi youth, I think the coffee habit has come lately to American teens. He immediately said: "That’s because they have crappy coffee!" How New Zealanders love their coffee! I chose a bench by the water and just paid close attention to wherever my senses wanted to beckon me. The rustling of the morning paper the elderly couple was reading while they sipped their own coffee on the next bench. The laughter on the other side and the fascinatingly varied sounds people make as they walk.

"Thump!" What was that? Something hit my bench from behind! I turned around to look right into the beautiful face of a two year old little girl who had been solely entrusted by her Dad with both pushing and guiding the pram (stroller) instead of being the passenger. I watched her a while as she weaved from side to side down the walk, using benches and trees as bumpers absolutely and blissfully unaware of the "rules of the road." (The child on the little scooter is not the same child, but is just one of those enjoying the walkway by the shore.)These are the times that fill my soul and make me know I am alive. These are the moments when I find my center. From these times, I can go to be and do with purposefulness and a sense of direction. I am less driven by the "shoulds" and "oughts" of those around me and more clear about who I am and what I am about. These are the moments out of which call emerges and the heart is healed.

The late fall weather was beautiful here last week, crisp air and sunny, blue skies and we were able to really enjoy it with our first extended trip outside of Wellington. Our destination was a city about 3 hours north of here, Wanganui, which sits on the west coast of the North Island, along the Tasman Sea.We chose Wanganui because the Quaker Settlement is there, an intentional community of 16 households started 30-some years ago as a way to share life and land using Quaker practices. There is a seminar center on the property as well as small units for guests who wish to spend some time just resting or exploring the area. That suited us to a "T".

Since a friend here had loaned us her car, we spent most of the first day winding our way up the coast, stopping every so often to check out an historic monument, or a coffee shop, or a second hand store. We finally found some of the sheep New Zealand is famous for. Lots and lots of them. We heard there were 4 million people and 40 million sheep here. I believe it! As we drove, the Tararua Mountain Range was on our right, the Sea on our left, and we passed through town after town of Maori-named cites like Paraparaumu, Te Horo, and Tangimoana.We stopped and ate our packed lunch while sitting on a large sea-weathered log on a near-deserted beach at Otaki, not too far from where they had filmed some scenes from Lord of the Rings. A veggie wrap always tastes better with a little sea breeze thrown in.

When we arrived, the folks at the Settlement greeted us warmly, showed us to our lovely, bright room, and gave us a brief tour of the grounds. There are 14 homes, a couple of which are duplexes, and about 6 or 8 guest units nestled around the seminar center on 19 acres. Each of the original settlers designed their homes with the help of Michael Payne, an architect who was among them, and though the houses were constructed with the needs and desires of each of the individual members, they share a sort of common look. They are made of what seems to be a white stucco material and have a lot of glass incorporated in the design. Since all vehicles are parked along the edges of the property under car ports, there are beautiful walkways and a creative and sort of wild landscaping throughtout. Twenty adults and 11 children currently live there, although not all are Quakers at this point. Everyone participates in communal work that needs doing, such as gardening and cleaning the guest units, as well as in decision-making. Living intentionally in community seems like an interesting concept and one that I’m drawn to in theory, yet I imagine in reality it is quite a commitment of both time and energy.

During our one full day in that area, we decided to drive the Wanganui River Road. This very scenic back road twists and turns its way for 79 kilometers, hugging the left bank of the river, while I was hugging the door handle. Little good it would have done me if we toppled over the cliff! It is only partially paved (much of it is gravel) and there are frequent signs announcing "Washout!". The road, which leads into the heavily-forested Whanganui National Park, is beautiful, lined with lots of sheep and dairy farms, and huge New Zealand ferns, and passes by several Marae, which are used by Maori as a kind of combined community and cultural center. We stopped at the one in Koriniti, and, although we couldn’t go into the buildings or the church, we were able to wander around the outside and admire the beautiful woodcarvings. We also stopped at the town of Jerusalem, which has a lovely country church sitting high on a hill and which can be seen from miles away. That day we ate our lunch at a pulloff with a great view of Mount Ruapehu, what they call here an "unstable volcano", meaning it last erupted ash in the mid-1990’s and they’re not sure that it won’t happen again soon. Although the whole distance we drove that day was only about 220 kilometers (135 miles), it took us a good 8 hours, time very well spent to see some of the beautiful New Zealand countryside.

Events are happening here too fast for us to record everything so we take lots of photos and hope for the best. We want to keep you up to date so here are some of the latest shots.



More pictures of Wellington harbor.

The city rises up from the harbor along high hills. There are walkways all along the harbor with playgrounds, a beach and parks filled with strollers, skateboarders, inline skaters, and just people out enjoying the scenery.

Last week we went with two friends on a day hike to a nearby park.These are pictures of our trip to the Kakori Wildlife Sanctuary.

A tuatara, almost extinct, now making a comeback.

Can you spot this one??

A walk through the bush

We visited a First Grade classroom. The children couldn't believe that in Ohio we don't have the sea (No SEA??!!) or whales (No WHALES!!??). It's not uncommon to see dolphins and whales here in the Wellington harbor, not far from shore.

Our first look at Wellington last Thursday morning was from the air and I must say, its beauty startled me, even after being promised great scenery by everyone familiar with this place. The South Pacific sailing by far below us outlined the steep green mountains undulating up and down the coastline. As we approached the airport, it seemed like we might land right on the water since the tarmac seemed to be perched on a very narrow and short piece of ground, barely long enough to contain the airstrip, and almost completely surrounded by the huge harbor that gives Wellington its crescent shape. But, just like the scenery, the landing was perfectly magnificent.
While we haven’t yet strayed very far from our home base, there is incredible beauty even in the heart of the city, which is where we live. There is a lot of life that centers along the waterfront. If we head northwest a short distance, we end up at the wharf filled with large ships, working docks as well as bright orange and red kayaks to rent. Strung along its edges lies a series of open spaces and parks full of wonderful sculptures, government buildings and monuments. If we head a bit east of there we get to Oriental Bay which is where we went wandering this afternoon in the warm afternoon sunshine. This part of the waterfront has a very well-used beach, a playground for the children and a wide walkway for bicycling, rollerblading as well as walking.
It is mostly houses that cascade down the hillsides towards the waterfront so that the downtown itself is very compact and walkable. We go out exploring almost every day and have discovered several areas that are already favorites. About 4 or 5 blocks away is Courtney Place which is a popular street filled with restaurants, small shops, theaters and many, many cafes. We’ve tried a few of them and so far our favorite is the Deluxe Café which has good coffee, but best of all is a great place to people watch. We sort of get the impression that Wellington is home to lots of free spirits and they seem to gather regularly at the Deluxe. This week we discovered another area that’s fun and lively called Cuba Street. It’s a little further away from our house, and has a more hippy kind of feel. There were several secondhand shops, used book stores, and more casual restaurants like Cuba Kebabs where we were served Middle Eastern falafels and hummus by two Iraqis from Baghdad. It was a humbling experience for us to meet people from that part of the world face-to-face, and to hear their stories and their view of the war with America.
We’re settling into learning our duties and responsibilities as Resident Friends. Right now it’s quite a lot since we’re having to get adjusted to the way things are done here, but we’re also free to put our own brand on the place. Our main work is tending to the travelers who stay at the small, two-bedroom bed and breakfast. We also assist the Quakers with some of their meeting functions, and are generally a presence here meaning that we answer phone calls and questions as they come up.
So far, we’re really liking the active and energetic feel of the city and love getting to know people in another part of the world. Wellington is very open and very friendly and we will write more about our life here on another day.