Updated 09/05/18

Well we had a wonderful time visiting family and friends in CT and NC. Our dear friends Cheryl and Randy treated us to sunset sail in Mystic. It was really thoughtful. They are very special friends.

After spending a nice weekend with our son and his girlfriend, we headed off to our next workaway located in New Zealand on August 20th. Now we always knew that some day we wanted to visit “down under” and saved our frequent flyer miles. But we had no idea how valuable they were for this flight.

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We had a 3 hour flight from Greensboro NC to Dallas TX. In TX we had booked first class tickets to Auckland NZ. We boarded the Qantos A380 airplane at 10:00 p.m. in Dallas for the 17 hour flight to Sydney. Once there we had a one hour layover and then another 3 1/2 hour flight to Auckland NZ.
Sounds grueling right? Oh how wrong you would be.
This was the first flight that we didn’t want to get off. Let me explain why…
1.) We did not sit together because you have suites in this plane, not just a seat


2.) You steward/stewardess comes to introduce themselves to you and offers you wine, a warm towel and some appetizers.
3.) You are given a travel bag which contains: pajamas, toothbrush and paste, sleep mask, and various lotions, ear plugs, deodorant, socks, and slippers.
4.) You window shades and seat is remote controlled
5.) You don’t have a tray to eat on, you have a table
6.) The wine list menu is pages long, and the dining menu (we had snacks, dinner, and breakfast) is like you would find in a fine restaurant

7.) You can listen to tv, radio, movies, etc using the supplied noise canceling headsets (there is even a camera on the plane tail so you can see where you are going).


8.) When you want to get some sleep, your steward/stewardess makes up your bed while you change into your new pjs. The bedding includes a thick memory-foam sheepskin mattress wrapped in sheets and a super fluffy duvet with several pillows. It was an incredible nights sleep.


The 17 hours went quick (albeit we sleep for 8 of them) and as you can image we didn’t want it to end. The bad thing is that this spoiled us for every flight in the future. You see with the frequent flyer miles we paid only the $60.00 tax fee, but the one way ticket had a non-frequent flyer price of $8100.00 EACH. That’s right we saved about 99.99 %

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Ok enough about our once in a life time 1st class flight (did I mention it was AWESOME). I did huh.
We landed in Auckland, New Zealand

and spent the next 9 nights in a small condo. The condo was on the ocean and very nice.

So we shopped at the local grocery stores, cooked some meal, went out for others, and did some sight seeing. We went for some walks along the viaduct and saw some amazing boat, etc. They have the 2nd largest sailboat marina in the world (San Diago being the largest).

We decided to purchased 24 hour tickets on the local bus where could get off and on at will. This allowed us to get to more sights in the area.
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We went to the Sky Tower (like the needle in Seattle) in the daytime and at night. I refused to walk over the clear floor. No way Jose!

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We went to the local aquarium (really cool).

     
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We went to the Maritime museum. The top floor was dedicated to there military with a beautiful window in the ceiling in their honor.

There was also exhibits of the history of the Maori people. These are the original settlers from eastern Polynesia who came to New Zealand in canoes between 1250 and 1300. (see I did pay attention). The museum offered a small look into the tribal customs of the the Maori people via a short show. It was great.

The museum offered a small look into the tribal customs of the Maori people via a short show. It was great. 

Mike tried to join in. 

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We went to the museum of Transportation and Technology. Mike found it a little depressing because a lot of the museum displays were things he used in his youth and/or early working career. I have to admit when I saw punch card I felt a little old too. I remember using them in my early career.


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We took a day trip to the Bay of Island. This was a 2 1/2 hour bus trip north of Auckland. We had lunch on the bay…

and took a small ferry ride to one of the island and toured its history. Here is a few pics from that.

        
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On a nice walk along the water back in Auckland, we notice some bicycles with an onzo sign on it. Come to find out, because the city has parking issues etc., one company came up with a way to help people get around. Their motto is “Our mission is to improve the quality of urban life by providing an affordable way for people to get around, while at the same time reducing congestion and helping the environment.” You download an app, pay .25 per 15 minutes, scan the code on the bike, use it, and lock it up at your final destination. Pretty cool!

 
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We like to know how the locals live, but I think Mike carried this one too far. LOL
Mike’s veneer tooth had fallen out for the 3rd or 4th time while in flight so we booked a trip to the dentist. One look at the broken veneer and we knew it had to be replaced. We chose a dentist close to the condo and what a great choice we made. First let me say how inviting and pleasant the staff is. Not only to their patients but to those accompanying them. I was given coffee (refills if I like) and allowed to watch as they proceeded to make Mike’s new tooth. That’s right, within 2 hours they had taken a video of Mike’s teeth and a special machine made the perfect tooth out of a block of ceramic. It was cemented in and there you go – 10 years younger (ok maybe not 10), but it looks great.

 

The staff let us watch the entire process and were so pleasant and friendly, we kinda enjoyed ourselves (well maybe I enjoyed it more then Mike). Thanks Dr. Harrin, Rachel, and Megan. You made us feel comfortable, welcomed, and made the visit as pleasant as possible.

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On Friday August 30th it was time to head to the town of Mangatainoka (a 9 hour bus ride south) to start our workaway adventure (helping restore Dudley Tavern).  This took us down the middle of the North island.  The country side was beautiful.

We arrived and were greeted by Dudley’s owner Dean and a fellow American Elizabeth.

More to come on my next update – all about the Dudley

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Till then… remember to save your frequent flyer miles!!!

UPDATED 10/14/18

We spent 6 weeks at the Dudley in Mangatainoka, New Zealand. Our workaway host and owner of the Dundley is a very caring man. He always made sure we had plenty of food and felt needed. While we were there we met other workaways, but most memorable is Elizabeth from Colorado. She was there the entire time we were and a very hard worker and all around nice, caring person.

Let’s start by describing the Dudley. It was a pub built in the 1800’s but is in disarray. Dean is rebuilding it, but it will no longer be a pub, the cost and logistics are just too great. Dean is rebuilding the Dudley as his home and he is devoted to making it as period authentic as possible.

We would get up around 7:30 each weekday morning and start our day. There were 21 chickens and 2 pigs to feed (which Elizabeth did most of the time). While we were there, Dean decided to get a calf, then another. So meet Zeffer and Georgie (along with Jean Francois and Elizabeth).

 

Elizabeth worked hard at teaching the small calves to drink from a bucket and she brought a sick little Georgia back to health. Hats off to her. The animals were feed twice a day at 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The chickens were always at the door watching and waiting for someone to feed them and calves would start mooing 1/2 prior to feeding time.

I found out I kinda like chickens. My favorite is Greta who had a mind of her own and would even let me pick her up.

Anyway, the type of work we did at the Dudley were: Painting (interior walls, exterior windows and trim), sanding and oiling beautiful old floors, digging ditches for new decks and plumbing, putting up jib (sheetrock), repairing and hanging curtains, some electrical work, help feeding animals, some cooking and of course playing with Milo.

     

The weather was cold and wet. The house is old and has little insulation, so it was very cold a good deal of the time, but the shower was nice, new and very hot. We ate very well (lots of kiwis or course) and drank alot of hot chocolate, coffee, and wine.

Because of all the rain the country side is absolutely amazing (really amazing).

When we started for New Zealand, we expected to meet very happy and caring people. Well the Kiwis we met are exactly that. Dean’s neighbors are wonderful people, always willing to help each other. We enjoyed dinner and evenings at Paul’s, watching rugby (which we really enjoy watching)and visiting with Rosies, dinner with friends Diana and Robin, and the ongoing help and entertainment from Royden.

 

Oh yes and Rosie’s chicken is name Elvis. I think you can see why (LOL)

It is a country atmosphere with lots of beef and sheep farms. We even saw a calves birth. It is the time of year calf and baby sheep are being born and all over the place. They are SOOOO cute…

Some people also have horses (both big AND small)..

We did get away on some of the weekends. Getting around New Zealand via bus, is very easy and inexpensive. We went to Wellington (capital of New Zealand) and Napier (cute artsy town on the East coast).

We have finished our time at the Dudley but will not forget the friends we made there. We are now on our way to New Plymouth to help at a retreat. More on that to come.

Next update will include our trips to Wellington, Napier, and Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre.

Till then remember…
“Of all the books in all the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport”

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UPDATED 10/26/18

Here is the updates I promised of the 2 cities and Wildlife Centre we visited while we were at the Dudley.

We visited Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre. It is a captive-breeding sanctuary for some of New Zealand’s most threatened birds. Volunteers from all over the world come to help. They are big into controlling invasive pest populations (like most places in New Zealand).

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We wanted to go for 3 main reasons.

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1. To see Manukura, a white Kiwi bird. Manukura was born on May 1st 2011. She is much larger than I thought Kiwi’s would be. It is easier to see her in an enclosure than the “normal colored” darker Kiwi. This is the best pics I could get since you cannot use flash of any kind.

   
2. To see a baby Kiwi being fed. No need for words here. Look at this cute 1 week old.

Here is a picture of how a pregnant Kiwi.  Look at the space the egg takes up.   Can you say bloated?


3. To see a Tuatara. Tuataras are reptiles found only in New Zealand. They look like, but are not lizards. (wiki – “They are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. … The single species of tuatara is the only surviving member of its order, which flourished around 200 million years ago.” ). Lizards have external ears, Tuatara do not. Lizards like warm weather, Tuatara prefer cold weather. Lizards are not nocturnal, Tuatara are. They spend most of their time motionless, which can explain why they can live to be over 100 years. I guess stress really can kill LOL.

 


We went and watch them feed the Kaka bird. No it is not named this because it poops alot, it was named Kaka by the Maori’s and means parrot. They get very aggressive and you need to be careful they don’t fly into you.

The Centre has beautiful grounds to walk around and many birds to see. Here are a few other…

It was a very nice visit.

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Napier –

Napier is on the other coast (East) of New Zealand. It was a 2 1/2 bus trip (we are getting good at knowing how to get around).
Napier is a small Art Deco city. It has a Maori (indigenous people of New Zealand) history. There was a large earthquake in 1931 and the city was rebuilt in an art deco style. As we walked around this lovely little city we felt like we were in the roaring 30’s. Many shops sold vintage looking clothing and there are wonderful old cars all around.

We stayed at a very, very nice B&B for 2 nights.

This city is built on the hilly coast, so there are many, many steps to get to most places. Check this one out.

They also have an ocean walkway with many parks, playgrounds, skateboard parks, and gardens along the walk. It is beautiful.

 

This is the Viewing Platform…

New Zealand is called the land of the long white clouds (from the Maori people).  Here you can see why…


Along this coastal walkway is the New Zealand National Aquarium.   LOL someone added bubble soap to the fountain outside the aquarium.  The kids loved it.

  

We had to go here because our son’s girlfriend follows the aquariums good penguin / naughty penguin of the month.

These are the blue penguins of New Zealand and are the smallest of the penguin family. We ended up having a penguin encounter, due to a cancelation. It was so fun to pet and learn about these little guys.  No matter what the sign says “Mo” is the naughty penguin. . Don’t get me wrong “Mo” is cute and mischievous. He kept steeling the fish we were trying to feed to other           

penguins and he just kinda moved into one of the nests with 2 female penguins. They seem to just tolerate him.

Then there is Dora. She was raised in the aquarium and is the one that is ok to get close to. We had a fun little visit with her…

 


Many of the penguins have been injured and are at the aquarium because they could not survive outside it. Timmy (on the naughty list ALOT) was hit by a propeller and has balancing issue. His girlfriend (not sure of her name) was also hit by a propeller. She stands with her wings out all the time and looks a little lost as she stares into space. But you have to admit they make a cute couples.

 

just a few other cute penguins.


One not so cute animal here is the possum. They are not as ugly as the American possum (in my opinion) but they are have very soft fur. Many stores carry possum glove, sweaters, hats, scarves, etc. and have an expensive price to boot. Possums, rats, and ferrets are all invasive species here is New Zealand. They are admittedly hunted here because they kill the native birds, like the Kiwi.

This is a display in a store.  They are singing “On the road again”. haha

The aquarium did have a Kiwi enclosure.  Kiwi’s are nocturnal and afraid of people, so you can pretty much only see them in a controlled enclosure.  The lights are low to make them think it is night time, so pictures are hard to get.

We really enjoyed Napier.  Had lunch at a cute pub and found a sign that was most appropriate…

That’s it for Napier.  On to Wellington (on the west coast)

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Wellington –

We took a 2 1/2 hour public bus ride to Wellington (capital nor New Zealand) on another weekend getaway and stayed at a nice hotel right near Parliament.

I found the free 1 hour tour of Parliament very interesting. Here are a few things we learnt…

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1. There are 4 building that make up Parliament – Parliament House is the main building that consists of debating chamber, Speaker’s office, and committee rooms , Beehive is the executive office wing, Parliamentary Library, Bowen House (office space) .

2. The Debating Chamber – The speaker of the house sits in the raised chair to get a clear view of the Chamber. The “box” behind the chair is there to ensure that when royalty is present (like the queen) no one will walk in front of them. If you wish to get to the other side of the Chamber you must walk behind it. If you wish to leave the Chamber you must walk backwards always facing royalty. There are plaques along the wall commemorating New Zealand’s military and peacekeeping service overseas. The press and public is always welcome to sit in the rotonda during any session.

This is a picture I got off the internet (cameras were not allowed on the tour)

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3. The Act of Parliament clock ( clock hung in inns and taverns) told an interesting story. In 1797 a tax of 5 shillings was introduced on clocks and a 7 shillings tax for watches. People soon started relying on clock in the taverns because they refused to pay the tax on watches. The tax only latest 9 months, but the clock remained popular.

This is a picture I got off the internet (cameras were not allowed on the tour)

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4. A New Zealand man, Dr Bill Robinson, designed an engineering system of base isolation to ensure the buildings could withstand a 7.5 earthquake. It is a design that separates the building from its original foundation by installing lead-rubber bearings. This design is now used around the world.

This is a picture I got off the internet (cameras were not allowed on the tour)

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Right next to Parliment is a church called Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. I found it to be pretty plain inside.

Wellington was a beautiful water front that is home to many restaurants, stores and parks. There were lots of people walking, biking, paddle boating, etc. We took a nice long walk and saw a fun boat with kiwis painted all over it. LOL

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One great thing about the city is you can take a “hop on – hop off” bus. Pay one price and get on and off the bus at all of the major sights. We used this alot, but the best part is each drivers gives you his own speech about the history and sights. It was very informative. We took this bus up to Mount Victoria. This is were you can see the city of Wellington from high on a hill. The road and hillside up to the top is where the Lord of the Rings, where the hobbits hide form the black riders outside the Shire, was filmed.

 
Lots of movies were made in New Zealand. In this picture taken on Mount Victoria, notice the small white building. This is where the ENTIRE Avatar movie was filmed (you may have to enlarge pic).


You can also take the Wellington Cable Car up to the Botanic Gardens. A short ride but easier than trying to walk it (also cool lights to see in the tunnels).


There are private cable cars also. If you built your house on the mountain side, you would also build a cable car to get you up and down the mountain (unless you are poor – then you walk). These cars are privately built and maintained. They need to be inspected every 6 months and get a “warrant of fitness” every year. There are many of these dotting the hillside.

Well that’s my brain dump of Wellington. Cheers!

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Thought till next time…

Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.

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UPDATED 11/07/18
New Plymouth

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We are currently doing a workaway at the Taranaki Retreat. It is a 2.5 acre community sanctuary, which provides a time-out space for families and individuals to stay free of charge, when times are tough. Many volunteers come to consult, teach art, do yoga, help clean, work around the resort, etc. It depends on the community for support and is well received. There are two other paid case workers (Annaliese and Gordan). Very nice and calming people.

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The resort is located near Mount Taranaki. This mountain can be seen from any place in New Plymouth. It is just an beautiful and amazing sight. We can see it right from outside the Chapel. Truly spectacular…

 

The resort consists…

1. Main House – This is where the owners (Jamie and Suzy) live with two of their daughters (Roxy -11 and Katy – 17), two dogs (Tui and Miti), and one crazy cake loving cat. Jamie is a minister and is the most upbeat and energetic person we have ever met. He is ALWAYS happy and friendly no matter what time of day or night. Suzy is very sweet and goes with the flow of the retreat. She is the main cook and makes some great meals for us. I also like sitting and talking with Roxy and Katy, very nice girls.

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2. The lodge – a community build house where the guests stay.

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3. The Chapel – a beautiful building with gorgeous view of Mount Taranaki. It is a peaceful place to sit and read, and chill out. They do have meditation, Pilates, yoga, and some meetings in the chapel as well.

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4. The art/gym cave – small building to find your the artist within and work out.  One of the guest (Shane) painted this for his daughter birthday.  It is beautiful. (I didn’t get to take a picture of it after Shane added some inspirational working.)


5. Caravan – this is where the workawayers live. It has electricity and a small toilet. It is really very nice. We are allowed to use all the retreats buildings and mingle with the guests.

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We all have Kai (dinner) in the main house. Some of the local restaurants donate their leftover food and believe me they make wonderful deserts here (especially the brownies made by the Bitches – hey that is what they call themselves). There is way too much high calorie foods. LOL. Some nights volunteers from the area come in and cook dinner for us, but most nights Suzy cooks. The main house is also a place to play pool, darts, card games, or just chill.
The retreat has some furry “case worker”. Guests are welcome to visit with the 3 chooks (chickens), 4 ducks, 2 adorable rabbits, Tui and Mitty of course, and 2 goats (Halo and Char).


Our job is mostly to maintain the grounds (i.e. weed whack, mow, weed, spread mulch, etc.) We also feed all the animals in the mornings (not the dogs). On nice days we take Halo and Char for a walk to another part of the resort so they can help us control the weeds. Halo is very fond of Mike. Char is a nervous Nelly – just look at the eyes. I have never done goat walking before, it is weird. Halo goes along fine, but Char is just a bit like walking a large nervous dog, who always wants what is at the end of the chain.

There are some beautiful flowers planted along the lodge…

So here are a few places we visited on our time off…

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1. Pukekura Park – a beautiful park in downtown New Plymouth. It has a nice tea house to enjoy a drink and bite to eat, and nice walking paths throughout the park.


There is a small “zoo” (just birds, farm animals, and a strange monkey). We went to see the exotic birds they have. They had one parrot who would not leave this man alone. Every time he tried to get him off his arm, he came right back. It did allow us to see him up close. Check out all these birds and their amazing colors.


There is also greenhouse called the Fern House in the park. It was spectacular.

2. Coastal Walkway – This is a paved path along the coast. One of the nices parts is the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge which gives you a unique photo view of Mount Taranaki. The bridge is nick named “whale bridge” because it looks like whale bones.

 

 

3. A hike in Egmont National Park (home of Mount Taranki). We decided to hike (or tramp as they call it here in New Zealand) on the Mangorei Track up to Pouakai Hut on the Pouakai Range. Taranaki ranked second in Lonely Planet’s top 10 regions in the world. After hiking here we can see why. It is like hiking in a mythical world where you expect gnomes, fairies, and elves to step out from behind each tree.

   
HOWEVER, the hike took us 5 1/2 hours, 8 miles, and over 10,000 + steps. You read that right, 10,000 + steps. We made it, but really pissed off our thighs and calves. They made their objections quite clear for 3 days. LOL At the top of the trail is a hut where you can spend the night (we did not do that, though I think our legs would have preferred to), but another 1/2 mile from it is a pond where many famous photos of Mount Taranaki are taken. This is where the mountain is reflected in the water. The day we went there were clouds covering the mountain and well me just say, the pond is more like a puddle. Photos can not only add pounds but in some cases girth.  I took the last phot to show you just how small the “lake” is  (there are a few hikers around it).


We also go downtown on our days off to have lunch and/or dinner, and visit museums, or just walk around.

We have a few more days off and are going to see a Holden museum (a type of car) and a local Maori museum – more on these next week.

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Our time is almost done here (off to Melborne Austrailia on November 15th), but it has been wonderful seeing how the community helps and supports each other.

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Thought till next time…
Standing out in a crowd is not a always a bad thing.

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