Return to Welly

Hello, blog readers!  As some of you know, I have returned to NZ, thanks to the fact that Claire is mending and good friends have helped to restore us both.  I am very happy to be back in Wellington, as I have missed John and am looking forward to saying my goodbyes to New Zealand a little more mindfully.

I left Greensboro on Monday, March 5 and arrived here on Wednesday, March 7 (whew!).  It was fun to be able to look out the window of the plane and see beautiful and familiar sights as I came into Wellington on a gorgeous sunny day.   I could see the Maranui Surf Club, brown rocks and blue, blue water.

Chilled a bit Wed. afternoon but the next morning headed out to a park near Petone with  the "tramping group" from Wellington Friends Meeting for a hike through some lovely bush.  It was lush, green and cool, and once again I wondered if I'd brought enough warm clothes.  After the hike, we went to Judith's house (the friend in the picture) for cheese and homemade crackers and a cup of tea.

That night John and I walked down to Cafe Istanbul for a yummy Turkish meal by a warm gas brazier.  Pictures of Turkish baths and one of Attaturk himself on the walls.  Then we headed out to the Hotel Bristol to hear John's work comrade, James, play drums with his blues band.

The following night we went to eat dinner with another work-mate of John's, Marianne, and her husband Karel and their three "full-on" children and listened as they described their most recent travel adventure, which included Bangkok, Morocco and Disney.

On Saturday, the weather was again too beautiful to stay indoors.  We had planned to go and hear some writers read who were part of an International Festival, but we chucked it in favor of outdoor activities, including a brick-laying project at Wellington Friends meeting and a trip to the Botanic Gardens, where there was a wedding in progress and where we had gone especially to see these lovely cork trees from Portugal, planted in 1868.  The cork is harvested from the trunk and branches every 10 years.  Amazing.  That night we ate dinner with our Aussie friends and heard about their impending visit to Kenya for the meeting of the Friends World Committee.  It does seem that people in New Zealand often expect to travel the world.

There was a surprise at the mailbox.  I had received a letter from Radio New Zealand with the news that they want to buy the broadcast rights for a story I'd sent.  Needless to say, I am thrilled and hope that this will work out if we can sort out the details of my tax code, etc.

Sunday there was singing at meeting for worship, and it was great to reconnect with a number of Friends, including two little girls who frequently wear fantastic feather headdresses into meeting and share their art work with us.  From there, we went to an Indian restaurant and then to see a movie made from Jo Nesbo's "Headhunters," a Norwegian crime story which has hilarious touches reminiscent of Carl Hiassen.

Today is Monday.  This morning  we worked a bit on the tax code thing, then drove around my favorite part of the coast, slowing down at the little blue penguin crossings and stopping for a cappuccino and a caramel slice at Scorcherama (in Scorching Bay).  This picture shows you what the day was like, and we think we have solved the mystery of the birds on the rocks (white-fronted terns).  From there, we drove into the Brooklyn neighborhood, near the wind turbine, for a very affecting film about a Kiwi searching for a brother lost to the Khmer Rouge 30 years ago called "Brother Number One."

Haven't taken many new pictures, but stay tuned faithful blog followers.  Tomorrow we are headed up to the Coromandel Peninsula, above Auckland, in search of the giant trees of the primeval NZ forest.  Most of New Zealand has been timbered, but Northland, above Auckland, includes a rain forest, where some of the original native trees can still be found.  I'll do my best to get a couple of good pictures.