After a wonderful 2-1/2 weeks in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, The Great Ocean Road, Cairns, and The Great Barrier Reef, the 3 of us boarded a plane for part two of our trip. . . . Monday, 16 April 2018: "Today was an interesting day of travel. . . ."
Tuesday, April 17, 2018: "Today we had a yummy breakfast at our B&B with a cool German family. They have the most beautiful property and they own heaps of emus!
"I love New Zealand. Everywhere we drove today was so beautiful, green, and lush!
"We first went to the Hamilton Temple for an endowment session. I love that temple. It is visually stunning inside and out. I saw Sister Uelese first in the dressing room, then sat next to her in our session! It was so great. I learned new things at the temple and things stood out to me that I can focus more on in my life, like the law of consecration. I want to eagerly pay a generous fast offering, with complete trust that Heavenly Father will help things to work out for me. Dad and I stood in the prayer circle together. My first time in 18 months.
I caught up with Sister Uelese a little bit after. She is volunteering full-time at the temple. She is a great example of consecrating everything over to the Lord.
Later, we went to the visitor center, Matthew Cowley Church History in Pacific Islands Museum and glanced at the Botanical Gardens, which had cool Totem Poles.
At the museum, we met Elder and Sister Parker, grandparents of the Elder Parker from my mission. They are the kindest, most hilarious people. Had we allowed them to, they would have talked to us for the whole day. Sister Parker wants to record some of my mission experiences in their history they are collecting of missionaries who served in Australia and New Zealand. She remembers my Mom's Uncle Del Turley, who served a mission in New Zealand in the 1970s--and asked for his phone number. Sister Parker even topped off our visit by singing us a Maori song. She is so cute."
The Parker's also know our former (Henderson Black Mountain) Stake President, Kent Dawson, who also served in New Zealand and will be coming through Hamilton shortly with another of his tour groups. We considered going on his tour, but that would have extended our vacation to over 4 weeks!
Hamilton Botanical Gardens: (esp, Te Para Para Garden):
This evening we saw the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, which were incredible. We saw all different shapes and sizes of stalactites and stalagmites, and finished off our tour with a boat ride in pitch black silence, seeing nothing but thousands of glowworms, which almost looked like stars in a dark night sky. The cave exited into a beautiful rain forest. It was lightly raining at dusk and such a beautiful sight to emerge into. . . . For dinner, we ate at Huhu Cafe, overpriced, but delicious. When we got to the motel, Dad and I went for a long run, then we played the legendary '5 Crowns', all adding up to be a really fun night.. . . The next morning, while checking out of our motel, we tried to give the owners (a Chinese couple) a Book of Mormon because they have heard quite a bit about the church. But they already have one in Chinese, which is even better.
Wednesday, April 18 2018: "We went to Hobbiton and met Katherine Mercado there (Lyndsi and Jessica's former roommate who happened to be traveling in New Zealand at the same time, so we invited her to spend some time with us). She is so fun! We really enjoyed having her for a few days. Hobbiton was cute with many little hobbit holes and a pub with a free cup of ginger beer at the end. It was also beautiful scenery. It is so obvious why the director chose that location. Rolling green hills, big trees, overcast skies, and endless sheep--what more could you want? I am no Hobbit/Lord of the Rings enthusiast so it was not life changing, but still a really cool place to check out. It was fun watching a couple enthusiasts take the tour with us, though, and watching all their dreams come true.
Everywhere you look here in New Zealand is a beautiful scene, the view never stops. Katherine is always saying 'this isn't real!' Katherine and I think that NZ is the most beautiful place we have ever been to. I would definitely come back here if I had the chance.
Hawke's Bay is on the East Coast of the northern Island. We hiked to beautiful Te Mata Peak and worked up an appetite for a delicious Thai dinner.
"When we drove to Hawke's Bay, I drove with Katherine in her rental car to keep her awake after getting little sleep on her long flight here that same morning. It was fun getting to know her better. She served a mission 2 years ago in Portland Oregon, same as Dad! We talked about missions, the struggles of returning home, school, traveling, and dating (She wants to set me up with a couple friends from a friend group of hers she calls her '20 year old friends' haha."
At Cape Kidnappers in Hawke's Bay, we loaded onto a tractor with a trailer on the back for some Gannet Beach Adventures! The slogan for this activity was: 'More fun than you could ever imagine!', so we were using that line all day. It ended up being actually really fun as our tour guide, Collin, informed us of all the different rock layers of the cliffs we drove by right next to the beach. Also where the tectonic plates were. Every time Collin would tell us something, he would start his sentence by saying 'Hey um. . .' really fast, and then pause. Katherine and I were quite entertained by this.
Once the tractor reached its destination, we all jumped out and hiked up another mountain to see beautiful, but very clumsy Gannet birds. Every time one would land, right before touching down, he would flap his wings wildly and make this screeching noise as if he was screaming. Then he would do a sort of belly flop to the ground. It was hilarious. We also witnessed a young one eating food out of its Mother's throat. It would basically stick its whole head inside her beak to get food. The parents don't bond with or really care for their young. The young ones have to keep pestering them to get food, otherwise they don't get fed.
Today we saw the Aratiatia Rapids, where they release water from a dam every few hours and it creates pretty rapids in a river/waterfall. This is where the barrel escape scene from the Hobbit movie was filmed. We met a German girl named Laura who is a year older than me. She is here for a year volunteering for a boarding school. She isn't doing the type of work she expected to, and she doesn't get to work with the kids very much, which she doesn't like at all. She really lives for these holidays where she gets to travel and see more of NZ. She is really cool and we became friends with her.
We were planning to go to Huka Falls next and Laura was planning on walking 2 hours there so we gave her a ride. I love getting to meet new people while traveling. Dad is usually the one who strikes up a conversation with them, which I am grateful for. I feel more comfortable talking to strangers now than before my mission though, which is good.
After doing some honey sampling and getting icecream at a honey shop, we drove to a cute Airbnb cottage in Lake Taupo after our time in Hawkes Bay. This cottage was right on the shore of Lake Taupo. Such a great view.
Saturday, 21 April 2018: "Today was cold and overcast, but still really nice and beautiful. We went on a sailboat with 8 other people on Lake Taupo to see some Maori rock carvings that were done in the 70s, on the side of a cliff above the water. There was one big face and a lot of other smaller carvings to the side of it. They all have stories with them and the guide, a funny lady, was telling us a few.
The rest of the day we chilled and got laundry done. We had dinner at Dixie Downs, which was really good. We also heard about a Spa Park (natural hot tubs, that we decided we needed to try, so we rushed over there for a bit after dinner. It was so nice and hot. It was like a waterfall running down into geothermal spots, forming little pools. The one we sat in was right beneath the bridge.
Sunday, 22 April 2018: "For church, we went to the Taupo 9:20 ward, which was actually barely big enough to be a branch. Most of the congregation consisted of visitors like us. The members were really nice and there was an adorable special needs boy sitting in front of me.
Man it stinks there because of so much geothermal activity. We would see vents of smoke coming up everywhere. Nowhere, however, smelled as bad as the first place we went to. It was a sort of a geothermal national park, the most colorful one in the world. There was so much sulphur seeping up into the rocks and coming up through vents that many of the rocks had turned yellow, or even green or red from other minerals. We saw many little pools of boiling water with huge clouds of steamy vapor above them, and the coolest part was a huge lime green colored pool. Pretty amazing stuff.
I will call today Mauri Madness Monday. It was such a great day. We first went to Whakarawarewa, a geothermal Maori village. There are natural hot pools everywhere that they use for quick cooking and also for bathing. There was a cultural performance which was fun, then Mom bought poi balls, the light white balls on the ends of ropes that the Maori women use in the dances.
After, we headed to Rainbow Springs Nature Park to see some kiwis! We first saw every color of bird that there is. My favorites were the pure yellow and pure light blue ones. We also saw a bird show and went on a water ride in a boat, which was fun. It has been so long since I've been on any kind of roller coaster, so even with just one drop and splash at the end, it was a thrill, haha. Then we went into a darker room and saw some kiwis though they were not doing much. They are nocturnal birds. We decided we would come back that evening to see them "in action".
The evening was my favorite part. We visited the Matai Maori Village. There were lots of people in a big dining room. We sat at a table with an American couple from the East originally, but Arizona recently; and also an English family. There were people from all over, so our host called us "tribe of many nations". . . . Our host was hilarious! He had memorized how to greet someone in the different languages of every single person there. Also, how to say chocolate cake in most languages. He took us on a little tour and we saw their "warriors" come down the river, chanting and singing as they rowed.
Then we saw their cultural performance, which was really great. Then he took us back to the dining room for the most amazing Hangi! I was grateful we didn't eat until after the performance because it gave me more time to build up an appetite after a smaller Hangi we had at the first Maori village for lunch. . . . The food was delicious and my favorite things were probably the things not typical to a Hangi: the seafood chowder, veggie lasagna, and pavlova for dessert, yum! After, the host was answering questions and storytelling. Someone asked what the [tangya?] (bone pendant) around his neck was because he was wearing a huge whale tooth. The host asked if anyone knew what it was. Then a Filipina woman in front of him says: 'Is it some sort of amulet?' He pauses for a minute, and then says: "Jeez that's a fancy word, Philippines. You could have just said necklace!' We were all dying the whole night. He was a crack up. Then he took us on one more little bush walk to see some glow worms and fresh water springs.
Then we were off to the kiwi sanctuary again. We got to see all three of the kiwis awake and roaming around in the moonlight. They are so cute! You can't really see their little wings/arms and they don't use them, so they mostly just look like feet, a body, and a long skinny beak. It was cool to see them move around. We had to be really quiet and weren't allowed to take pictures. It was like playing a game of hide-and-seek in the dark.
Tuesday (April 24) was also adventurous as we traveled several hours to get to Cathedral Cove, a beautiful beach with views of little lush islands and a natural rock arch we could walk under to get to another beach. The views were amazing and the hike was good and lush. They had gardeners chopping down some of the branches and pampas- grass- white- feathery- ended- sticks (which were long enough for me to use as a majestic walking stick), because there was so much vegetation. . . . We also met another German girl, Leah, and hiked with and talked to her for awhile. It is cool meeting other people my age who also leave their homes/families for various opportunities or volunteer trips for several months or a year. I can relate to them. . . .
Later, we went to Hot Water Beach. So there are hot spots on the sand and you shovel a pool over them and let the ocean water seep in and it is hot! That is something unique none of us had ever done before and it was really fun. We partnered up with another couple, their toddler boy, and another mom and daughter to dig a big hole. It was more work than you would think, especially with big waves occasionally crashing in and destroying, and two little toddler boys doing the same, but it was way fun! It's funny because it was like dozens of adults building sand castles. . . .
We left when it got really dark. We were covered in sand so we took pretty thorough showers, got some fish and chips, and drove 3 hours to Auckland while I told Mom and Dad a few more mission stories. Mostly funny happenings with me and companions in the flat.
Wednesday, 25 April 2018: Today was Anzac Day. We traveled about 4 hours to get to Russell, a peninsula in the Bay of Islands that our car had to drive on a ferry to get to. It is the first place in Australia that Captain Cook and his crew colonized. It is the cutest little town with a population of about 1,000 people. It has heaps of adorable, older-looking houses. . . After looking around a bit, we went to the beach there where Dad and I swam and sun bathed while Mom read. It was really nice, just chillin' on the beach.
After, we ferried back to the town across from the peninsula, called Paihia. We went to Waitangi Treaty Grounds there, where we saw yet another cultural Maori performance, but this one was more violent. If you moved at the wrong time, you might have gotten a spear through your head. . . . We also looked around a colonial looking house there and the beautiful grassy beach-side
When leaving the Treaty Grounds, we happened upon beautiful Haruru Falls, complete with chickens, for another scenic stop. Beauty is not in short supply in New Zealand. There is always more around the corner!
That evening, we ate a really yummy dinner at this rib place, then went to the hotel, watched some American Idol, exercised, packed, ate lots of boysenberry ice cream, then went to bed.
Thursday, 26 April 2018: "Well, I am officially caught up with my journal and it is the last day of our vacation. I am so grateful for Mom and Dad for their careful planning and preparing and providing for this AMAZING TRIP we have had. I have done things I have always wanted to on this trip and experienced the most stunning places I have ever been. I am so blessed to have had these experiences and special time with Mom and Dad; they are truly the BEST! But I am ready to go home now and get back to reality. It will probably be a shock, but I think I am ready. I am expecially ready to see my siblings, other friends and family.
Today, we took a huge catamaran through the Bay of Islands. We went through a hole in the rock, a big, natural rock arch, and experienced the most spectacular, impromptu dolphin show. They were all following the wake behind the boat, and some of them were doing huge jumps off to the sides. What a sight! Dad was saying it was probably the most amazing dolphin experience we will ever have. I agree. We also saw penguins, big schools of fish, and seals.
Later that day, we traveled about 3 hours back to Auckland and stopped to visit Eric and Catherine Andersen in the Church Administration Office for the Pacific. Elder Andersen was one of Dad's law professors at the University of Iowa, and a counselor in the Iowa City Ward Bishopric at the time. He even stayed at the Pace home overnight with Garrett and Lyndsi the night Matthew was born. Elder and Sister Andersen are serving a couple mission over the church's legal affairs in the Pacific. Catherine is also an attorney. It had been almost 30 years since Mom and Dad had seen them, and they were all glad for the visit. The office was a high security building, but we managed to get in!
Also, back in Auckland, we went up the sky tower. That was cool. It was good that we got to do the Melbourne Sky Tower during the day, and this one with all the lights at night. We got the best of both worlds.
Then we headed to the airport. We got there plenty early. I just met a Sister Schwenke, a young sister who is going home temporarily because her brother just passed away. So sad. But she seems to be doing alright. I hope it is a good experience for her going home.
I also met the Elder Cowen who served in Sydney South! He is the one I have heard stories about from the Backs and also in a conference talk once. He has a prosthetic leg. He is cousins with Sister Uelese and he served at the same time as my trainer. It is such a small world over here.
Now we are on a plane for an 8+ hour flight to Honolulu, layover there, then on to Vegas!!!
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