Howdy All

We just wanted to let everyone know we are alive and doing well. We have been so busy with activities and events we don’t really have time to write stuff down and blog it all. But we have been meeting some great kiwi folks here in New Zealand. We have been to several great parks in Auckland and got a great history tour today.

Yesterday, we went to southern Auckland state, and toured a small town called Clevedon and did a high ropes course. I will post some videos of that in the next several days.

 

But here is a picture from the bay in Auckland aboard the Maritime museum in vessel. We saw bungee jumpers and other ships sailing around. What a shot!

Can you believe it's only been six days.....

...since we arrived in Auckland? As you can tell from the pictures, we have already enjoyed so many kind people and interesting places. From blue waters to green hiking-- a.k.a 'tramping'- trails, our first week comes to an end with each of us anxious for more!

Tuesday March 22, 2011
At 7AM, we gave our second presentation to the Downtown Rotary at the Northern Club on Princes St. A nice visit at Fisher & Paykel manufacturing plant gave us a chance to see Michael in his engineering element. We had lunch with the New Market Rotary at the Ellerslie Racecourse Convention Centre, the third largest club in the district, with 110-115 members and distributing $200K to local charities annually. Thank you to Colin and Louise and Harry and Rosemary for taking us to an elegant evening at the Sky Tower restaurant.

Wednesday March 23, 2011
Graeme once again dropped some of us off at rendevous point, this time at the stunning Cornwall Park. Peter, Robin and Ann greeted us with a traditional "Kia Ora," the Maori words for "Hello" and "Goodbye". We walked around the park, then to One Tree Hill to see the obelisk and the spot that was once occupied by the great one tree. Mount Eden, another volcanic cone- 58 total in and around Auckland- is closer to the harbour adjacent to a deep crater. A "trig point" was at the summit, a surveyor's tool to measure distances between summit points. We also mused over an old Direction Table.....let's all remember the surveyors, "For their work continueth great beyond their knowing." Auckland Museum had many interesting Maori artifacts, but of great interest were the Goldie paintings and the expressions that made us all wonder. A quick lunch and sailing beneath the Auckland Harbour Bridge (and the line of bungee jumpers), then a tour of the Maritime Museum. We also learned about Peter Blakey's adventures that led to the 1995 America's Cup win and his untimely death.

What a day- but within our busy pursuits, time to reflect on how prevalent Rotary is in the world. While sailing today, we met one of the volunteer crewman who mentioned hosting an exchange student from San Angelo, Texas (Jennifer's hometown), and we quickly made the association-- was she a Rotary exchange student? And from there, an instant friendship was made!

Big Kiwi Welcome in New Zealand

The team was greeted at a wonderful ceremony Sunday night that included a traditional Maori Haka chant. We are very excited and honored to be here and to experience the Kiwi way of life!

A whirlwind beginning...

Saturday, March 19
Our team arrived in the very early hours of Saturday morning in Auckland to a very warm welcome. What an awesome site and greeting. We quickly met our GSE Coordinator and host families for the week and then were brought to our respective homes to visit and for some rest.

A couple hours later, we were invited to go sailing with Graeme, host to Michael, and were joined by Miguel's host Colin. What a wonderful way to unwind from a long trip, see the beauty of the place we will call home for the next few weeks and relax by enjoying the amazing weather of the day. It was really perfect and we were all feeling like the luckiest people on earth and with a start like this, could only imagine all that was to follow. During our time on the boat, Miguel took his first swim ever in sea waters and Michael was the first in and the last one out - enjoying every moment of it. The scenery was breath-taking - every direction you looked.

Sunday, March 20
The next day we went out for tramping. We have been having a lot of fun with that term as it has a different meaning back home. Some Rotarians and others meet every fourth Sunday at a different location for tramping and invited us for this trek. It was a four-hour hike in total - two hours to get to the shore, passing native trees and foliage, a bit of a break for lunch outside a little cottage, and then another hour/hour-and-a-half back to the car shortened by walking the shore due to low tide. Some of us talked later about how we really need to incorporate more of this into our lives back home - scheduling time to enjoy and learn more about nature. We love that they make a point to do this once a month in a different location. Anyone interested when we return?

That night was the official welcome for the team. It was amazing. It began with a Maori ceremony performed by a terrific group of children. There was a point when they presented a message and Miguel from our team responded back with a message in Nahualt, a native language of Mexico. The whole thing was very moving. The District Governor traveled from Tahiti to welcome us. And the entire GSE team from 9920 traveling to Texas was there as well. We met wonderful people, just increasing our excitement, and had a very nice night. The sunset over Rangitoto was incredible that night, making for some great pictures.

Monday, March 21
The next day was orientation at the Price Waterhouse building. Thank you to Ash and Alex who spoke to us about the economy and the vibrancy of the city. Both very intriguing! Alex, CEO from Heart of the City - is infectious with his enthusiasm and love for Auckland. Any one he talks with outside of the area is sure to book a flight straight away! We went to our first Rotary meeting (Rotary Club of Auckland) at lunch time and our second that evening (Auckland East) where we gave our first presentation. They meet at the Boat House right on the water with Harbor views. What a place to meet each week! We are looking forward to seeing these members again on Sunday for the Auckland East Derby Trolley!!

Will upload pictures to follow. More details to post soon!