HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY?

Our time in NZ is about half gone. Were off to another beach house (brother Dennis) tomorrow. We hope to go out a charter fishing boat one of our days there. Perhaps to catch a marlin...or a shark. There is not room to display all of the photos we've taken and I won't have the time to figure out how to insert a slide show on this blog until after I return. So you'll have to be satisfied with teasers. The country is so incredibly picturesque, I have to exert self control not to use up my 4 GB memory card. Anyway, the photo is of yet another beautiful harbor at Manganui. Everywhere you go here, there is the coast, a bay, sandy beaches and in between rolling green hills. I'm camped at a Starbucks posting this entry. Burger King, McDonalds, Subway, KFC are most everywhere....we may import everything from China, but we export healthy food everywhere.

MARIE'S KATAIA BIRTHDAY - 2/22/08

Today (NZ time), is Nana Marie's birthday. We awoke in Kataia to winds of 30-40 mph and sideways rain…and it continues . The locals would say the weather has “come up custard”. We stayed the night at Bill and Rosaline’s (Rachel’s parents) house. It was built in 1912 and is about 75 yards from Rob and Rachel’s house. They have 150 acres that they currently raise cattle on. The cattle are exported to America to make hamburgers for our fast-food industry. I believe that we are still going to Cape Reinga on Sunday. Tomorrow (weather permitting) we are going to what I would call a county fair. Rob and Rachel’s girls , Beverly and Katie, will be entering some produce from the garden into competition. Above is Rocco on the Kaipara Harbor. Also note the promised fish photos (evidence).

KATAIA, NZ - 2/21/08

Greetings from an internet cafe in Kataia. We just arrived from Kelly's Bay and two days of fishing (see photo of fresh snapper). We spent our first weekend looking around Auckland (photo of Auckland harbor) and traveled to Kelly's Bay on Monday with brother John where we met brother Bob with his boat. 42 snapper ($42/KG in the shops) in 2 days of fishing...great fun! This weekend we will travel to Cape Reinga which is the northern most point in NZ and drive most of the way back to Kataia on 90 Mile Beach (literally a 90 mile long beach that cars and tour buses drive on). The weather changes hourly from warm and humid to drizzling and humid. I will get one more entry posted before leaving Kataia. The photo on the left is Kelly's Bay and on the right is Auckland Harbor looking toward Sky City (downtown). I have temporarily misplaced the photos of the snapper and will try to include them in a future post

Arrival!!

We arrived safely and an hour early in Auckland, Friday the 15th at 0410, Auckland time. The photo shows Rocco and Rosie (with traveling companions) waiting patiently at the San Francisco airport. They had not bothered to purchase tickets and were fortunate not to have been discovered in Steve and Marie’s carry-on luggage. The north island has been in a drought for much of their summer, so it was no surprise that it was raining when we arrived and rained off and on for much of the day.
Finding internet connectivity is not going to be as convenient as I had hoped. An internet café within walking distance of brother John’s is apparently no longer in business. So I can go to Sandra’s and plug in or go to some other internet cafes in Takapuna (about a 10 minute drive). Monday we head to Kelly’s Bay and the batch (fishing cabin) for some snapper fishing after which we will travel to Kaitaia to visit Rob and Rachel on the farm. We are hoping to make a side trip to the Bay of Islands, coming or going, to take a cruise on a friend of a friend’s yacht. It’s good to have friends who have friends (with yachts).
Today has dawned bright and clear and the ladies are going “shopping” and I will tag along to find the internet. Films at eleven.

Get Set!!........

It's the evening before departure and many things begin to run through the mind. Have we forgotten anything? If so, is it anything that really matters? Will our flights be on time? Will they fly to the correct destination? Will our two dogs and two cats survive (the dogs get a bit peeved when we are away). We are so thankful for Ken and Patty for graciously watching over our home, flora and fauna during our trip...definitely above and beyond the call of duty. Thanks to Kelly, Kristen and families for periodically visiting the Baily, Lucy, et al. Their visits will help the dogs through their separation anxiety.
Thanks to those in the laboratory that I have left with completing the "big project". I appreciate each of you and your efforts toward our mission. Thankyou for the parting gifts and lunch from great friends and coworkers. Marie wanted me to extend thanks to her loyal insurance agents (who will miss her a lot). And finally a great big thank you to all of Phyllis's little people. We'll see if we can get a post off from SFO with a picture of the whole entourage. You may remember that Rocco will be a part of our NZ entourage. Today, Rosey invited herself along and you will meet her in a future post. Rocco and Rosey....great! I hope their passports are in order.

JUST WHAT IS A KIWI?

All right, boys and girls, the lesson for the day covers the subject, what is a kiwi? Today, most will answer that it is a fuzzy fruit...and maybe it comes from New Zealand....which is part of the correct answer. Before NZ began to export the fuzzy fruit, it was known as the Chinese Gooseberry and now most of the Kiwi fruit is grown in California (or perhaps Chile or China) As for the rest of the story, here is what the dictionary says:

n. ki·wi
pl. ki·wis

1. Any of several flightless birds of the genus Apteryx native to New Zealand, having vestigial wings and a long slender bill. Also called apteryx.
2.
a. A woody Chinese vine (Actinidia chinensis) having brown fuzzy edible fruit with a green sweet pulp.
b. The fruit of this plant. Also called Chinese gooseberry.
3. Informal: A New Zealander (as in, "Marie is a Kiwi")

This is NOT a real Kiwi (bird)













Rare Wild Kiwi Photo

PureNewZealand

For those of you who haven't been to New Zealand, this link will take you to a brief and only slightly romanticized glimpse of the look and feel of NZ. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/PureNewZealand