Nelson, New Zealand

The 3 weeks I spend in Nelson were delightful and very productive. I stayed with Karel and MaryAnn and their three children and cat Crunchy - week 1 in their back yard in my tent, and weeks 2 and 3 in the house, while they were away in Wellington on holiday. Lucky me!!! I arrived December 13, and departed January 8.





Here is my home in their quiet back yard:
During my stay at their home one of my projects was to pull the kikuyu grass out of the bushes - it was my gift to Karel and MaryAnns home ministry. I enjoyed uncovering the stone walls and stone walkways on the property, as well as benches and trees.



This pottery figure is of Karel's great uncle. I thought it was lovely.
I experienced the second earthquake in my life while in Nelson. I moved to New Zealand in 1997, and this was the first earthquake I felt since I had lived in New Zealand. At first I thought it was a big truck rolling past on the road, but then I realized that we weren't close enough to a road for that, and it lasted too long. It ended after about 10 seconds, and I waited to see what was going to happen next. I was babysitting that night for Karel and MaryAnn, and the kids were asleep in bed when it happened. No aftershocks, so all was well. The actual earthquake was hundreds of miles away from where I was, but since it was such a big one, it was felt throughout the country. New Zealand has thousands of earthquakes every year, since the country is located smack dab over the fault line, but most of the quakes are quite small.





During the first week in Nelson, I climbed into a pig costume to help raise funds for the New Zealand equivalent of PETA: an organization called SAFE, http://www.safe.org.nz/ The organization has been making good progress in New Zealand. I have noticed in the Auckland supermarkets that the eggs are labeled as Cage Eggs, if the hens live in cages all their lives. Some people gave money to me simply because I was dressed up in a costume, being willing to look silly for a cause. I didn't mind! How often does one have a valid excuse for dressing up in a funny costume and saying a cheery 'hello' to passersby, and getting them to smile! And I didn't even have to pay for the costume!

When someone donated, they got a blue SAFE sticker. The children especially loved to get the stickers. this little girl didn't have a smile for anyone that morning. She was so somber, I just had to take her photo.
As I was walking back to base to get an empty bucket, I was mobbed by a group of teenage girls who wanted a photo of themselves with 'the pig'. It was a great day. Raised lots of money for the animals, and had a good time.


Some businesses (not as many as when I first moved here) shut down for lovely extended holidays over Christmas and New Year. Here is a sign in the window of one of them.


Not much business gets conducted during these two weeks!
Of course, how can you stay open when it is summer out, and kids having a long summer break, and the beautiful pohutakawa trees are in bloom. This is New Zealand's Christmas Tree.

The Agapanthus flowers are also coming into bloom at this time - at least down in Nelson.





Ispent two days volunteering for the Salvation Army in Nelson - sorting clothes, moving the winter coats off to a quieter spot in the shop, and organizing the books.



One of the delights of Christmas in summer is the opportunity to hold huge outdoor events for Christmas, with no worries about people freezing. In Nelson, on Christmas eve, about 1000 of us gathered at the steps of the cathedral to sing carols, along with a brass band, the men's choir, and commentary from the mayor. It was great!









Christmas morning I had the pleasure of opening a few cards forwarded to me from Auckland, and a lovely care package from my sister Sandy and her husband Patrick. By then Crunchy the cat and I had the entire house and garden to ourselves while the family was away.


This lovely angel from Sandy and Patrick is to keep me safe in my travels. You may note that the very center of the globe she is holding is Haiti. How appropriate!!










After I enjoyed my Christmas tea, and Crunchy had his extra special cat food, I went down to All Saints Anglican Church, and helped with their annual dinner to the community. When I first arrived, there were so many volunteers we weren't sure there would be work for all of us. But when the food was ready, we were all needed to keep the serving dishes full. We had chicken, ham, fish parcels, barbecued shrimp (well, the diners had them; not me), tons of vegetables and salads. The people filled two large halls and outdoor tables as well.

At the end of the day, when everyone was well fed and the place was pretty much cleaned up, I got a photo of the main event organizer and our chef. Our chef Marv was great - he took us confused volunteers in hand and assigned us our tasks - nothing too complicated, and it all worked like clockwork. Marv is no longer cheffing for a living, as he didn't get along will with management at times, he told me. He now works with autistic children, and volunteers his cheffing talents.

One of my main volunteer projects while in Nelson was helping out Global Kids. It is on of the ministries of Nelson City Church http://www.citychurch.org.nz/whoarewe.asp , and I helped get the shelves painted for the shop back in February and March (seems like ages ago!!) I opened the shop longer hours for Christmas, and did some cleaning. And I gave the other volunteers a needed Christmas break from working in the shop. I enjoyed it very much, and got a lot of reading done in between customers. All the proceeds from the shop go to support an orphanage in India, so it is a perfect project for me to be helping with.

Every morning during my house-sitting time I would enjoy breakfast on the deck.

One of the most important books I have read all year was this one: Ending Slavery, by Kevin Bales, of Free the Slaves http://www.freetheslaves.net/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=183&srcid=-2 I had first learned about modern day slavery about 18 months ago when a visiting missionary at the Assembly of God church in Algona, Iowa had mentioned it. I went online that night and researched the issue, and was appalled by what I learned. Since then I have educated myself further on the tragedy of the millions of slaves around the world. This book, recently published by someone who had been working to end slavery for many years now, really lays it out for us, and tells us exactly and precisely what individuals can do to free slaves today. People are out there risking their lives to free slaves, and we can help them do it. I am going to help them. Will you join me?

Kerikeri back to Snells Beach

I arrived in Kerikeri and was welcomed by my friend Lara, who used to live in Auckland and moved up to Kerikeri a couple of years ago. Lara loves birds, and here are a few photos of her current collection of friends.







The handsome turkey is a wild turkey. I am not sure when turkeys were introduced to New Zealand, but there are lots about now. Whenever I see him with his feathers all fluffed out, it reminds me of the cutouts of Thanksgiving turkeys I would color in school when I was little. He has not found a mate, so he is always trying to get the hens interested in him, to no avail. Lara has trained the turkey to leave the hens alone, through patience and love. The turkey got the message, and now only looks longingly at the hens. If he comes too close, the rooster drives the much larger turkey away. I hope the turkey finds a wild female at some point.

Lara has very interesting neighbors. One of them is Yannick, a Frenchwoman who sailed around the world singlehandedly earlier in her life. During my stay in Kerikeri, I visited her often, as she and another neighbor and I would meditate at Yannick's house every day from 4pm to 5pm. Yannick and I made home made soap one day, which is what we are doing in this photo. I thought it might be good to know how to do this for future projects.



I suggested we put some fern leaves and flowers in the soap while it set. Here are the results.









During my stay I slept in a caravan at Lara's house. But when I was also offered to sleep in a converted bus by another neighbor, I couldn't resist. I have seen various converted buses and trucks on the roads of New Zealand over the years, and this was my first peek inside one. It was fun.

The neighbors who had the bus, Karin and Richard, also had a composting toilet. This is the third composting toilet I have had the pleasure to use (all have been in New Zealand), and this one was quite fancy. All of them have been smell-free, by the way. When you are finished using the toilet, you drop a handful or two of wood chips down the hole. I am sure there is more to it than that, but as a visitor, that is all I needed to remember.

Once the bins underneath fill up, they are held for a while to finish the composting process, then emptied on trees or shrubs (not veggie gardens), while the second container is filling. It is a great idea!!


I also liked the system for letting people know if the toilet was occupied:

The hydrangeas were beginning to bloom in their garden while I was there.


During my stay in Kerikeri, I was introduced to Rob Buchanan and the MEND Trust, http://www.mend.org.nz/ . Rob has spent much of his life on his boat. At one point, about 15 years ago, he decided that he wasn't going to spend the rest of his life talking about boats and sails. And he started up the MEND Trust. MEND stands for Mobility Equipment for the Needs of the Disabled. I was very impressed with Rob's creativity, determination, and networking skills, and his ability to stretch a donated dollar further than I thought possible before now. Rob showed me a video during my short visit with him. The video was about a young man who had come to one of Rob's clinics overseas. The young man had only stumps on his arms. Rob asked him to sit down and wait for about 15 minutes. Then Rob went in the next room, and in 15 minutes, created two prosthetic devices for this young man, and returned. This is where the video begins. The prosthetic devices were made out of two plastic cola bottles, with a fork attached to one, and a knife to the other. They fit perfectly over the young man's stumps, and the video shows him practicing cutting up a plate of food with his new prosthetic devices, and feeding himself for the first time since he lost his arms. With a big grin on his face! This is an example of Rob's ability to do so much for so little, and is why I offered to help him. You will be hearing much more about the MEND Trust from me in the future. I am planning on meeting with some members of NZ parliament in early February on his behalf.

Shortly after I met Rob, it was time for me to cycle back south to Snells Beach, as I was going to help with Camp Hohepa, and the Dads and Lads fishing competition. My first night camping was at Uretiti Beach. Here are some photos. It is a Department of Conservation campground, and only cost $7 for me. A good value for the safety and peace of mind of staying in a campground.

The second night I stayed for free in a small off road place without any signs prohibiting camping. I has spotted a motorhome parked, and stopped to ask if they thought it would be OK to camp there for the night. They were, so I did too. It was at Langs Beach. Here are a couple of photos of the beach the next morning. The cleaning crew were out early tidying up the beach for the rest of us.

Towards the end of the third day of cycling back to

Snells Beach, I was flagged down by a woman, and invited to stay the night with them, as they had cycled around the world for a year on their honeymoon. I accepted, and I believe it was a God thing. The Perkinson family (mom, dad, and 3 young children) are devout Christians, and Chris and Ross have a heart for families and couples. I was able to help them with their home-based business, New Beginnings, http://www.newbeginnings.co.nz/ . Not only was I meant to help them, but they helped me as well. The heavens opened up with days of rain, and I would not have been able to make to Snells Beach on time, had I not stayed with Chris and Ross. A friend of theirs was heading to Auckland, and gave me a ride to Snells Beach. The photo of the tui was outside their house, and the photo of the landscape through the window is the view over the kitchen sink in their house.

There is a photo of Chris and I as well.









The rain continued for much of Camp Hohepa, and it was decided to cancel the campground and have the Dads and Lads stay at the Hohepa home. I cooked and cleaned for the team. Here is a photo when their neighbor Roz and I brought morning tea for the fishermen at the beach.

I was delighted to see that Linda had put into practice an idea I had when I stayed with them in October. Linda had asked me about some of my favorite charities, wanting to be sure she was donating to a very efficiently run organization. As I put together the list for her, I remembered that their 2 bedroom flat attached to the house was rarely rented out, because they did's really need the money, and because they wanted to be selective about who stayed there. I gave Linda the idea that they might consider renting it out for donations to charities, since they didn't really need the money. And they did! Here are the photos of the notice board in the flat.

Vipassana Kaukapakapa to Kerikeri, New Zealand

I departed Snells Beach for the Vipassana Mediatation Centre near Kaukapakapa on Oct 31. This was to be my second 10 day silent meditation retreat, the first being a year before in Illinois. But just before leaving Snells Beach, I received an e-mail from the Centre asking if I wouldn't mind volunteering instead of sitting the course. I was delighted to serve, since I have not been doing a lot of active volunteering since being in New Zealand. So I spent 10 days hard at work in the kitchen with a team of volunteers, cooking for 55-60 people, and cleaning up afterward. Everyone who works at the center is a volunteer, which is a key reason why the meditation training is offered completely free of charge: meditation, room and board for 10 days. You can learn more at http://www.medini.dhamma.org/




If I ever got bored with washing dishes, all I had to do was look out the window at the gorgeous view. One of my favorite jobs was taking the kitchen scraps down the long forest walk to the compost area. The walk was ample reward for the messy work in the compost centre. One day I found a dead mouse in the buckets collecting compost water. I realized that all was needed was a stick in each bucket, to allow the mice and any other creature who happened to fall in, to be able to pull themselves out. So, hopefully, there will be no more dead mice in the Centre's buckets. Nor dead insects, either!

The servers had to be careful to remember to maintain complete silence when we were anywhere near the meditators, but we could talk freely in the kitchen. I gained a bit of weight during those 10 days, even though working hard physically.

Next time I will sit the course, to strengthen my meditation and inner peace.

Here I am ready to roll from Kaukapakapa to Kerikeri - a 3 day trip. And the types of hills I encountered all along the way. Lovely going down, but not pleasant climbing these 11% + grades when fully loaded and not yet in peak cycling shape. But I survived!


















My first full day on the road I had survived the Brynderwyn Hill, and was thinking about where I would spend the night. I came upon a cafe where the owners let me spend the night behind the cafe, at no charge. Very very nice of them. Here is my view.








Once in a while, I spot a field in New Zealand with these Scottish Highland cattle. Brings me right back to Scotland when I see them!

On my way, I came across an organic garden I had read about: Koanga Gardens: http://www.koanga.org.nz/ I stopped in to enquire about volunteering, and got the info I needed. I spotted this interesting small building while there, with a window made from a bicycle wheel. Very lovely inside and out.

My last night on the road before reaching Kerikeri was spent camping wild, in a spot with a beautiful view with no farmhouses or roads in sight. It was superb.

Snells Beach 2

There is a deer farm not far from Linda and Bill's house, and I passed it several times on my rides. A recurring photographic theme for me is animals on hills. I love to get them silhouetted on the hills of New Zealand. Now I have deer, as well as sheep and cows.

One of the most interesting sights around Snells Beach to me are the tractors sitting the yards of half million dollar houses! The ocean is very shallow at Snells Beach, so boats need to be towed out quite a way into the water. Hence the tractors.

One of the flowers at Linda and Bill's house. I don't remember the name, sorry.

One of the most interesting people I met during my stay in Snells Beach was Joe Polaischer, at Rainbow Valley Farm, a certified permaculture training center not far from Snells Beach. Here is Joe with some of his interns in front of his and Trish's house on the farm. Their web site is http://www.rainbowvalleyfarm.co.nz/. They have been working it for over 20 years, and it is a joy to walk around.

Here is my good friend Linda and the beach at Snells Beach.

One of my training rides was to the hills above Sandspit Cafe. My reward was a cup of coffee and a muffin later, and a photo of a gull on the roof above me.

Here are some photos I took while on training rides in the area around Snells Beach

When doing my training rides, I knew I had to figure out some way to get drivers to give me more space on the road. I came up with the idea of putting an arrow on the back of my reflective vest. I bought some red reflective tape, and it seems to stick OK. Here is the photo of my new vest right before leaving Snells beach for the 40 km ride to Kaukapakapa over the hills, to the Vipassana meditation centre.