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.