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Happy New Year to all of you!
This is just a quick note to let you know we have safely made it to Ozzy. I just marveled at the Sydney fireworks last night and am now already in 2008! Fancy that! And some of you guys are still hanging in 2007!
I don’t think there is a better place to be than Sydney for New Year’s Eve. But really what matters is who you spend the time with, not where you are. Luckily I even spent it with a loving family member, my cousin Beate. We had not seen each other for 3 years so we had plenty to catch up on!
By the way, the two tall travelers have parted ways at this point. Aaron has decided to go back early, for good and Chelsea reasons, and has headed up North to Brisbane on his own. He is counting his days to see his girl friend!
So from this part of the world I wish you that you are strong and courageous as you walk your journey this year!
New Zealand - what do you expect?
Honestly I expected a lot of sheep, lots of green (I love green - a meal without something green is not really a meal!), and friendly people. All of these were met in the first few hours upon arrival in Auckland. Even more than that:
The Hirschfelds (Ben’s family - my Kiwi friend and colleague in Salzburg) gave us the warmest welcome. Ben’s mother met us at the airport, took us on a “Tiki-tour” (tour of Auckland) the next day, Nick (Ben’s brother) sat down with us ad showed us New Zealand’s “must sees”, Leah cooked some amazing meals for us, and we had a home, a family and a spa. What a treat.
By the way, the tiki tour included a visit to our FIRST museum on our trip together - the Auckland museum, a tour of the local Lion brewery, and a walk up to the three extinct volcanoes of the city - Mt. Wellington, Mt. Eden, and … forgot the last one - Sorry.
Ben’s mum was fantastic!
After a few days with the Hirschfelds we picked up our van and headed north to the Bay of Islands. We might have hit the jackpot with this van. Great rate per day, reasonable mileage, pot, pan, gas cooker, chairs, table, and a comfortable bed that is longer than both of us!
In the Bay of Islands we went “swimming” with the dolphins. It was an incredible experience although we actually did not really swim right with them. The dolphins were actually swimming with us when we were still on the boat. Once we had put on our gear and jumped into the cold water they disappeared. We were left with a stunning view of the endless blue depth of the ocean, a number of jellyfish and plankton floating around. Too bad. But we were very lucky to have been so close to a huge pool of them with several baby dolphins.
Another highlight of our North Island visit was our stay with Kim on her farm. I had met her husband Steve over a Rum Coke on the boat as we were cruising from island to island in Fiji. When he heard that we are headed to NZ he invited us to stay at his farm, and so we did. We helped out a bit on the farm, tearing some old structures down, watering about 35 trees which took 2 hours, and looked after the beer in the beer fridge. It was again a great time with Kiwi locals.
I can say of myself that I have really enjoyed New Zealand! Especially the people!
And don’t worry, there is more to NZ than sheep, green, and friendly people!
(i.e. a bag of 20 odd Kiwis for 50 Eurocents!)
P.S.: Our apologies about the missing photos. We have to do some maintenance before we can put those up!
I’ll try to capture some of the scents I experienced on the Fiji islands here in writing. It’s probably a sorry attempt.
Sun baked coconuts - there is a pile of coconuts, and a pile of opened ones right next to it. For some distance I’ve been able to smell the sweet scent of something until I found the opened coconuts.
Pile of Compost - scents change with the wind. Mango trees are abundant, the fruit more plentiful than anyone could pick. So they fall to the ground, some will be smashed, open, then they rot on the ground. Millions of bugs and flies have a feast.
Tropical Green - With another breath I inhale the green plants of the tropical rainforest. Damp, fresh, earthy. The scent comes from the big leaves - coconut, banana, and lots of others I don’t know the name to.
More fruit- this time open papayas on the ground
Ocean - on top of a mountain the air streams up from the ocean. Not very salty, but distinguishably oceanic.
Viti cuisine - Someone is cooking a nice meal for us - it’s a faint smell because most of it is kept sealed unerneath the suface of the ground. Chicken, lamb shank, crab, bread fruit is all buried underneath, cooking slowly on hot glowing stones. The chicken and lamp are kept in a basket hand woven from coconut leaves. Banana leaves seal the underground-oven and lots of earth covers it, creating a mound - almost a miniature volcano.
Frangibani - Probably Viti’s national flower. A beautiful, strong, soothing, fresh vapour of the white flower that many Vitian ladies wear behind their ear.
Mosquito spray - there is hardly a chance for us whites to survive without the great invention of insect repellent. This smell frequently fills the air.
Before we are off to Fiji I want to express our thanks to those that have made this trip possible and also to the those who got us through our US tour:
Tony and Yola O’Brien, The handbell choir of the Salzburg Baptist Church, Aaron’s pastor Fred, Walmart, the inventors of Macaroni & Cheese, In-N-Out Burger, Comfort Inn for their free wifi, Exxon, and many of our friends that so graciously hosted us.
THANK YOU!! 
San Francisco. Golden Gate Harley Davidson Shop. 11:20. Shiny chrome, colourfully painted gas tanks and big cylinders meets eye in the parking lot. There must be more than 40 bikes. The big guys at the Harley store are having a Sunday BBQ. Most of them were about twice my size, had a long beard and leather jackets with enormous Harley Davidson emblems on them. And here I am, about to conquer a FLHX Street Glide - something like 1500 cc. Taking here out on a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco. A dream that comes true!
It was exhilarating, a rush of blood not just to the head, totally cool. Even for Aaron it was quite the experience, you will see why.
You can watch the ride here… just to warn you though, if you are not all about the bike, you might be bored (it is more than a minute long after all).
Or, the Complete Idiots Guide to Eating with Chopsticks
Instead of dressing up for Halloween, we decided we would spawn multiple instances of ourselves in the Redwood Forest.
This post is long overdue. I think we have both been overwhelmed by the need to reduce the experiences of the last week or so into words. Here’s my attempt (it may be lengthy).
Last week we spent a few nights with a friend of mine in Moscow, Idaho. For a small town Moscow is pretty happening. And don’t be mistaken, it’s named after the Moscow in Pennsylvania not Russia. We met some really great people and experienced some very dear fellowship. We even broke out guitars and percussion for a bit (in exchange for food).
Then we set out west into the heart of coffee land. I had just commented about how strangely similar eastern Washington was to West Texas when I glanced down to find a temperature needle pointing as high as it could. Before we left on the trip, my dad and I did all sorts of maintenance on my car but we overlooked the water pump. So we had just been crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. But alas, our crossed fingers did not keep the water pump bearing in place. Our car was officially broken down in Washtucna–a town with 300 people and no parts store.
We killed the engine, pulled off the road, and spotted what looked like a garage up ahead. We coasted down the hill and explained our situation to the man outside playing with his dog. He informed us that he was a retired mechanic and located the part for us in the next town (30 miles away). Due to recent surgery he was unable to use his arms, so we were on our own for getting there. We made a sign and stuck out our thumbs at the main highway intersection. After a short 10 minutes and only a few letdowns we were picked up by Washtucna’s mayor of 30 years. We got our part and the owner of the store was kind enough to let his employee Daryn give us a ride back on the clock.
Halfway through disassembling the engine (and after the parts store had closed) we realized that our timing belt was only half as wide as it should have been. Daryn had given us his cell number so we gave him a call and he graciously offered to bring us a new belt. With the guidance of our Bud Light drinking mechanic friend we eventually got the car back together. We fired up the engine and it sounded better than ever. It was dark by that time so Daryn showed us the town and let us crash at his place.
I have to say a few things about Daryn. He was a tremendous blessing to us. I don’t know if I have met someone with such selflessness and servanthood. He told us that up until 10 years ago he was a desperate alcoholic. His brother then led Him to the Lord Jesus. Though he doesn’t drink anymore, he spends his evenings at the town bar giving rides to the people who are throwing away their lives. He told us that, just like in his case, they would not give up drinking until they made the decision for themselves. So he felt it was his duty to help them out until they were able to make that decision.
Basically, everything worked out as perfectly as it could have and we can only praise God for his continual Providence.
