Gublers in New Zealand: July 2020

Saturday, July 25, 2020

STUCK IN FIRST GEAR

Another low key week here in Takapuna. Plenty of work at the office. The silly new matter this week was from Kiribati. A mission assistant and his companion stopped by a little cinderblock hole in the wall restaurant for lunch somewhere in the boonies. It was a typical tropical hot day. So the MA went outside to start the car and turn on the A/C, then he started to get out of the vehicle to return to his lunch. Unfortunately the car wasn’t in park like he thought but was in 1^st gear instead, so it went through the wall of the café. Fortunately no one was injured. I got Risk Management involved and we’ll see what it costs to compensate the restaurant owner as well as the building owner. Also appears that my case in Pu’a Pu’a Samoa has settled, opposing counsel claims she is going to be dismissing the case this coming week, another title dispute on a property our church house sits on.

Friday evening after work Alisa and I drove into the city to have dinner at Sails restaurant, down by the marina. This was a place she had been wanting to go since her Aunt Brenda had eaten there years ago. It was a fancy place, but over priced. I enjoyed my battered snapper (fish and chips).

Saturday morning I rode my bicycle around Lake Pupuke 2 times for a total of about 10 miles, for the exercise. I’m still jogging and playing pickleball and doing calisthentics on a regular basis and am enjoying excellent health, not even a cold or flu bug since we’ve been here. Then Alisa and I drove to the Otara farmer’s market again since we didn’t have anything else planned. We enjoyed walking around and doing a little bartering for fruits and vegetables, not quite the good selection as before since we’re in the middle of winter here. At least winter is half over. We continue to get regular rain sprinkles. In the afternoon I took a nap and read a novel. In the evening the senior couples got together in the Area offices’ cafeteria for a pot luck and games to celebrate Pioneer Day.

Called my brother Leron this morning for his 69^th birthday.

NIght Life in Auckland NZ

Saturday, July 18, 2020

THE BIG SLUMP

Another week gone by quickly. The big news is that we’ve hit “the slump”. As we used to say back in my Japan missionary days, bump, hump, slump and dump, signifying the 4 quarters of a mission. Alisa and I hit the 75% mark on July 15, with 4 ½ months yet to go. To celebrate, this note will be short. Saturday we were to hike the volcano on Rangitoto Island. But when we got to the ferry terminal for the 9:25 a.m. departure, we learned that they’d dropped the 12:30 return ride, meaning we’d have to wait until around 4 p.m. for the return ferry ride to Devonport. The hike to the top of the volcano and back is only half a day, so we skipped it. Read a book back at the apartment. Today after church we have a young couple from YSA ward, Maddy and Mathew coming over for dinner and a visit.

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Penquins video

PENGUINS AND KOREAN BBQ

Another week flew by. We feel fortunate to still be here in NZ. Covid 19 is spiking again in the US and around the world based on news reports and visits with our children. Here in NZ it’s like Covid 19 never was. No face masks, no social distancing, Church meetings and other large group gatherings are back, traffic and businesses are back, schools are back in session, you’d never know it was ever a problem here. The one draw back is that the borders are still closed except to natives who are returning, and they are being tested and quarantined for at least 2 weeks. I had thought they would create a trans Tasman bubble with Australia, but that looks like it will be on hold at least for a few more months as Australia is spiking again.

It’s mid July and we’re in the middle of winter here. We’ve had rains and cold this week, down into the low 50’s. I continue to jog and play pickle ball to stay in shape.

We had a YSA FHE on Monday and dance on Friday which were fun to attend. On Saturday, we decided to take it easy after last weekend’s trip. I got up and took an early morning 10 mile bike ride. Then we took the bus into downtown Auckland to visit the Kelly Tarlton Aquarium. It dates back to the 1980’s and was one of the earliest ones around. My favorite was the penguins, they must have had 50 or 60 of them there. At first when I saw them I thought they were fake or stuffed. They were just standing there stiffly looking back at us. Then they started to waddle around and splash in the water. We also saw fish, sea horses, octopus, sting rays and sharks. It was worth the effort to attend. In the evening we visited the Hanmari Korean BBQ restaurant around the corner from our office building. The place is packed every night so we wanted to see what we were missing. It was packed again Saturday evening, I didn’t know there were that many Koreans in NZ, we were the only non-Koreans I saw there! They had a little stove at each table and we cooked our own meats. It wasn’t my favorite Korean BBQ place, it didn’t have as much selection as other such places I’ve been to, but it was probably the most authentic based on the reaction of the other guests there.

Aquarium in Auckland

Korean BBQ

Saturday, July 4, 2020

TRIP TO WHANGAREI

Third week back at the office. Still quiet there, few others have returned. However, a memo went around that by July 13, everyone is supposed to return to the office building so we’ll see how that goes. The Area Presidency is back briefly, at least until they take their July vacation break. I’m not sure how much they will enjoy that since they won’t be able to return to their homes and home country due to Covid 19 travel restrictions. Alisa and her department made up some picture plaques regarding the Auckland temple groundbreaking for the members of the Area Presidency, so Rich Hunter, head of the Communications department, and Alisa made the presentation to them, and I tagged along. Otherwise, I kept occupied in my office mainly with real estate matters.

Alisa and I decided it was time to take another out of town weekend trip for variety. So we left the office a little early Friday afternoon, and drove a couple of hours north to Whangarei, a town of around 58,000 people, located on a picturesque river that feeds into the Pacific. Remember, that in the Mauri tongue, “wh” is pronounced “f”, so the town’s name sounds like “fangarei”. We checked into our BNB known as the Pentland House, then drove down by the Riverwalk to have dinner at The Quay. It was a cold winter night (in July!) so we went right to bed afterwards.

Saturday morning, after a nice full breakfast prepared by our BNB hosts, we started on our adventures. First we drove down by the river and strolled along the river to view the yachts parked there. Then we did a bush walk at AH Reed Memorial Park, hiking to the Pukenui Falls. They had a neat sky bridge so that it felt like you were walking in the tree tops. Also, they had a good collection of Kauri trees, NZ’s endangered species of hardwood tree. Then we drove on for a visit to and a short hike to Otuihau-Whangarei Falls. Next we drove to Kiwi House, where we got to see kiwi birds. They are strange animals, nocturnal, with furry feathers, long beaks, and flightless. The kiwi house is set up so that it is dark in the day time, and light at night, so tourists like us can view them. The 2 birds were quite active while we were there. It is a strange, loner bird to make your national bird, but there are Mauri customs that explain that. We also toured the museum there and some old buildings, sort of like those collected at Mooney’s Grove. Finally, we visited the Whangarei Quarry Gardens, a retired quarry that the locals planted exotic plants in, and containing streams and a small lake created by a dam. Having gotten our exercise by hiking, and having seen the highlights of town, we headed back to Takapuna and our apartment, arriving by dark.

As to Covid 19, NZ mainly has it licked, largely due to no international travelers being allowed in, and due to the isolation of the island country. It is similar in the other small islands in the Pacific, no cases. This allows for freedom of movement without face masks or other precautions. Schools are back in session, and businesses are back open again. It seems strange to see in the news in the US how the Covid 19 numbers are spiking, face masks are being required, and many businesses are still shut down. However, we have noticed a number of businesses that didn’t survive the lockdown, and some have lost jobs here due to downsizing. International tourism is still disallowed, so that the tourism industry is still in a world of hurt. No 4th of July celebration here, that's 2 that I've missed now. I look forward to celebrating it next year.