Happy New Year is in order. Had some dandy fireworks off of the sky tower in Auckland Bay and the learning curve has continued into the New Year. We do go into the office most days and have been known to spend many hours dealing with missionary applications and health issues. This is just so you will know that we are not out playing ALL of the time, even though the photos will look like we are on vacation! Learning to drive on the left side of the road and finding the things we need, ie. groceries, fabric, housewares, clothes and stationery has kept our free moments occupied! Life is good and we are loving what we are doing and meeting some very fine people in the process!
Fireworks over the city- Happy 2014
We know you will eventually get tired of the view from our apartment, but thus far
we are loving the changing sky and harbour!
Seriously, no photoshopping here. Mother nature needs no help from us!!
We are learning that some things are not to be had here by way of groceries, but the tricky part is finding common things by another name!
Many many very old trees and some of them have "air roots" which is a system of fine roots hanging from the branches of the tree. They are able to pull water out of the humid air!
Another unusual tree called a Norfolk Pine, but nothing like we have in the states.
The trees are tall with needles that can measure up to 14 inches long. They are very lovely!
Took a drive with another senior couple and enjoyed a natural rainforest on the coast.
Biggest ferns I have ever seen! 25 - 35 ft high!
Here is the doc, as they fondly call him, at his desk on the 3rd floor of the Area Office Building.
I have a similar desk over by the door where I do my bit!
We are attending the Chinese Branch here, which of course makes Elder Brown happy. We will be teaching English two nights a week. There is a huge Chinese population here and they are hungry for the Gospel, so we are hoping to have great success in helping the Branch grow. Most speak some English, but I am working on mastering a few Chinese phrases!
The Chinese Branch had an outing on Saturday (a good activity for Elder Brown's birthday!)
We rode the ferry to the volcanic island of Rangitoto. Above is the old refurbished Ferry Building. It is in great contrast to all of the modern buildings downtown. So charming! So we took a 15 minute ferry ride out to the island to conquer it's heights (all 850ft of it)
After hiking for almost 2 hours, we reached the summit! That was quite the workout!
The caldera is still very visible. The Maori people called it Rangitoto meaning "blood sky". No doubt the forming of the island was amazing to behold!
Here is the view of the uninhabited volcanic island as we approached on the ferry
Although the hike was hard work, the view from the top was well worth the struggle....kind of an allegory for life!
