Mt. Bruce

This is a picture of koru, or fern fiddles, one of the Maori symbols for rebirth or new life.  I took this picture after we drove up into the Wairarapa (twisty turn-y mountain roads, like W. Va. pre-turnpike, then hills, sheep--see picture #2) at the Mt. Bruce Wildlife Center where we went on Saturday.  There were numerous rare and protected birds, like the hihi, but probably the most sociable was the kaka, who let us come pretty close to the front of the center to take this picture.

 Also on tap at the wildlife center was (ugh) eel-feeding.  Kids helped with this, and I listened to the lecture about how crucial eels are, when it comes to cleaning rivers and about their amazing life cycle (Their heads become bullet-shaped and their eyes huge when, at age 35-100, they travel long distances through a deep sea-trench to spawn and their offspring, eaten here as whitebait and becoming glass eels, then elvers, come back up into rivers to do their work), but I have to admit, I still thought they were kind of scary and gross.  These were six-feet long and had been biting each other and the large trout who also live in the river.

When we left Mt. Bruce, we drove back through wine country, and stopped in a quaint little town called Martinborough, known for its sauvignon blanc.

The next day was meeting and a movie before the All-Blacks finally succeeded in holding on to beat the French in the Rugby World Cup.  Joy abounds in the land, and there will be a victory parade here in Wellington tomorrow, which will shut down the town for most of the afternoon.  The sunny weather which had been promised for the holiday weekend (this was their Labour Day) never materialized.  Yesterday we drove up the Kapiti coast for a walk along the coastline at Queen Elizabeth Park, where we saw a pair of tuis in a tree.  Later we had brunch at a cafe in Paekakariki,then home in time for me to swim.

Have been spending some time hopeful that we can work out a visit from Paul and Emily.  Also really looking forward to Patti's visit, beginning next Tuesday.  

Musings

This is a picture of some sand art from the Diwali festival on the waterfront on Sunday.  We really didn't partake that much of the festival, unfortunately, because we were hungry and tired and the lines were too long, but we did get to see this sand sculpture which was part of the celebration, so I thought I'd share.

For me, this was not so much a week about seeing new things; it was more about listening and reflecting.  We went to hear two of the concerts of the NZ Symphony Orchestra which were part of their Brahmissimo series (all four Brahms symphonies and some other works on four consecutive nights).  My long-suffering husband also accompanied me to a lecture by a woman Australian process theologian entitled, "Seeking the Sacred in a Multi-faith World."  Nothing too new there, but a good synthesis.  Probably the most memorable quote for me was one from Ravi Shankar in which he intimated that in interfaith conversation we are seeking to create "harmony" by listening for common values and "playing our own instruments" as well as we can.

Actually, the highlight of my week was meeting with two other women who are also trying to write short stories and reading a little of our work to each other.  The mutual encouragement is great;  plus, we reflect about our perspectives on life here and in the U.S.  Partly in response to the lecture, I have been thinking about NZ spirituality.  These new friends kindly let me offer up my theories, without taking offense, and gave some feedback.  Though I have sometimes heard Kiwis say they feel they are a secular society, I do find that they have a deep spirituality in their feeling of connection to the earth:  to the land and the sea.  Though the roots of this among the Maori seem very clear, as with other indigenous peoples, the sense of connection and the need to care for the earth and all of its creatures seems widespread among those of European descent (pakeha) also.  At least more so than in the U.S.

Perhaps that is one reason why people in general seem so distressed in the past week's environmental disaster.  The Rena, a cargo ship carrying hazardous material in addition to its own fuel, struck the Astrolabe reef in the Bay of Plenty and is leaking oil.  Local people are frustrated that assistance from the government seems slow and are taking it upon themselves to begin clean-up of the beaches and are attempting to rescue and clean the birds and seals who are now covered in oil. Sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it?  Sad to think that this kind of disaster seems to be becoming more and more common.

On a lighter note:  the All-Blacks prevailed over their arch-rivals the Wallabies in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup.  (Some say rugby is the true religion of NZ.)  So the AB's will play France in the final match next weekend, and there is great joy in the land :-).

I did do a little exploring between showers this week.  Took a long walk and ducked back into Te Papa for a dry respite.  Talked with John about the NZ history exhibit, and we went back to view it this weekend in more depth with special interest in the section devoted to Maori history.  We were able to take off our shoes and go into the Maori meetinghouse that is part of the exhibit, and it was quietly powerful and awe-inspiring.

  Another day I was on my way back from the library and had the camera, so I took this picture of the boatsheds at Oriental Bay.

Got drenched multiple times and caught cold during the week, so we took things a little easy over the weekend.  We did visit the Weta cave, home of Lord of the Rings, in Miramar, just down the road.  Sadly, I had left the camera at home, so I did not get a picture of John with Gollum, but I plan to remedy that in the future, when Tom and Janine visit.  Stopped at Maranui, the surf club in Kilbirnie (where John works) for lunch.  I had a fab sandwich of roast pumpkin, feta and rocket (arugula) with pesto on spelt (yum).  Walked away from town to Karaka Bay Sunday afternoon to enjoy a period of sun and enjoyed ice cream on the waterfront. Was cheered by talking with Anna and Claire about their birthday celebrations and by good emails from a number of you.  Feeling better now and ready for the week ahead.

Rain and sun

It was a rainy week in Wellington till yesterday, which meant I stayed in a lot, baking cookies, playing the guitar, working on my writing assignment and attempting to read the collected stories of Katherine Mansfield (who was born in Wellington and could hardly wait to get to London where she wrote, mostly about life in Wellington, throughout her short and colorful life).  I did try to slip out between major storms to swim, volunteer at the hospital, eat lunch with friend Ronis in Island Bay on a particularly stormy afternoon, and to spend a day with Cynthia, a woman from the meeting, who tried to help me understand how the arms of the coastline relate to parts of town by driving me out along the coast where we stopped for some amazing chowder, then into town to poke around a second-hand shop (I'm missing the New Garden bazaar) and up to a wind farm atop one of the hills.  (If they can make wind power anywhere, it should be here.)  The first picture is a view from atop a hill near a windmill, while this one is from above the rose garden at the Wellington Botanic Garden during the sunny part of the week.

We were invited over for curry on Friday by our neighbor, Vanaja, a pathologist at Wellington Hospital and cooked for guests at our little apt. on Saturday evening.  Since Saturday was rainy, we spent a chunk of the afternoon indoors at the Maori art market in Porirua where we saw beautiful wood-carving, interesting paintings and beautiful jewelry made out of bone, paua, and NZ greenstone.  Here is a picture of John and friends from outside the market.

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day, so, while we had planned to go to a movie, we had to stop by the Botanic Garden for lunch and to take in the tulips pictured here.  The other picture is of the rose garden from above.  The movie was "The Orator" and is the NZ foreign language nominee for an Oscar this year, because it is in Samoan and stars a Samoan dwarf. Beautiful scenery, interesting culture and story.

This weekend was the quarter final for the Rugby World Cup, and downtown Wellington was turned into an expanded fanzone.  Australia beat the Springboks (S. Africa), and the All-Blacks of NZ triumphed over a plucky Argentinian team here in Wellington, while France beat England and Wales beat Ireland in Auckland.  In spite of ourselves, we're getting into it, and watching games live on the Maori TV network.

New foods:  tamarillo (also called tree tomato, but different) and feijoa (tropical fruit originally from S. America but grown here and made into juice, jam, muffins, etc.)

New phrases:  "have a think"= ponder
"good as gold" = enthusiastically yes
""headless chook"= chicken with its head cut off, also used to describe Sarah Palin
"stonky chimney"= unstable after earthquake
"gobsmacked"= shocked and appalled
"gutted"= totally gobsmacked
"Yip" or "yis, yis"= yes
"flash"= fancy

So that's where we are on learning to eat and speak Kiwi.  Still enjoying ourselves for the most part, though I am struggling a little with not being home for Anna and Claire's birthday this week.  Really looking forward to some visits from home.  Keep that email coming y'all.

Ups and Downs

This is a picture of Kapiti Island, a bird sanctuary off the coast.  You have to get a permit to go there by ferry, and in spite of its proximity, bird-watching there is an all-day trip.  We plan to visit with Paul and Ann when they come to NZ at the end of December.  But for now, we are just admiring the island from afar.

  Last week had its ups and downs.

 Ups:  beautiful sunny weather, good emails from a number of you, skyping with Patti and with Tom and Nancy Lassiter, spending time with new friends talking about reading and writing, a jaunt along the Kapiti Coast,  and getting some side trips planned with the help of the i-site staff in Wellington's civic square. ( Plus, everyone was in a good mood because the All-Blacks are winning!)

  Downs:  breaking my tooth by biting enthusiastically into a hunk of chocolate-covered hokey-pokey (toffee) and having to go to the dentist, and spending a day with no internet after it went out just as I was skyping with my good friend, Lynne.  I know that some of you will be disappointed that there are no pictures of me looking like one of the Beverly Hillbillies, but I hid out a bit during that phase and had no intention of recording those moments in pictures.  Tim, a nurse who works with John, hooked me up with his dentist, a woman who was kind and gentle (They take turns working till 9 pm here--how's that for being service-oriented?) and restored my smile.

A social worker I met through one of John's work dinners had revealed that she had recently returned from a creative writing course in Scotland.  We talked some about reading and writing at the dinner, but I was pleasantly surprised when she called to offer to take me up the Kapiti coast to Paraparaumu (just like it looks: para-para-oomoo) to talk about writing.  So we spent a sun-drenched afternoon on her (Maori) friend's veranda, reading a little of our writing to each other and talking about New Zealand and America.

On Friday my Australian friend, who is probably my "best mate" here asked if I wanted to "go for a wander" up the Kapiti coast again with her and her sister-in-law, so we drove on narrow, twisty roads through green hills dotted with sheep and along a beautiful coastline and stopped for coffee in Parakaekariki.  Ronis has an instinct for finding the best coffee places, and this one was charming, with an apt. overhead, a sleeping yellow lab, and a talented barista. We walked out on the black sand and waded a little in the freezing cold water, then stopped in the village to dawdle in a couple of tiny shops where artisans made beautiful things out of pouanamou (NZ greenstone, much harder than jade) and paua shells.  Considered the menus of the local establishments for future reference too.

Probably my big accomplishment of the week was planning a few trips for our much-anticipated time with visitors Nov.-Jan. with the hardy staff of the Wellington i-site.  You go in with your list of what you want to do and roughly when and take a number. They make calls to transportation hubs (ferries, trains, etc.), hotels and attractions.  They know things like when places are closed for maintenance and what is a reasonable rate.  When you're done, you hand them your credit card and they hand you an envelope with all of your trip reservations and details. All of this at no charge.  Pretty awesome.  They are young people with perfect equanimity too.  While Khy was working on my details, I watched with admiration as Nick, in the station next door handled an indignant French family, incensed there was no place in Wellington to park their camper (on a weekend with three rugby games and a Navy exhibition), and an octogenarian in a three-piece wool suit and fedora who began the conversation about making a mistake in reserving his accommodation by saying, "I was in WW2 you know,..." with equal aplomb.  I think Nick may have called almost every B&B in Wellington before finding a one-night stand for this gentleman and giving him his card and saying, "Come back and see me tomorrow.  I'll be working on this."  These people could easily be chaplains!

This weekend we took a short trip to Days Bay  and walked along the beach as a sailboats raced out in the bay, then broke for lunch at a cafe auspiciously called Chocolate Days.  We hosted a couple who came briefly in a position like John's and have now returned to stay and our new friend, Mary (she of last week's pavlova).

Now the rain has returned and is settling in for the week, with winds "freshening" (translation:  wet with wind chill).  Oh well.  I guess it can't be sunny all the time.