ANZAC Day in Paekakariki

The longer we're here the more we feel at home in this beautiful little village. When we go out, we actually run into people we know enough to stop and chat with and people actually invite the kids over for play dates. It's pretty cool. On Friday, we got to have a fully small town experience when Becky and Abby participated in the Paekakariki ANZAC Day Parade. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps, and the day is to commemorate all of the soldiers . I've lifted the following description from a NZ web site for those of you history buffs out there.

"Anzac Day occurs on 25 April. It commemorates all New Zealanders killed in war and also honours returned servicemen and women. The date itself marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles, the gateway to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. At the end of the campaign, Gallipoli was still held by its Turkish defenders. Thousands lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign: 87,000 Turks, 44,000 men from France and the British Empire, including 8500 Australians. To this day, Australia also marks the events of 25 April. Among the dead were 2721 New Zealanders, almost one in four of those who served on Gallipoli. It may have led to a military defeat, but for many New Zealanders then and since, the Gallipoli landings meant the beginning of something else – a feeling that New Zealand had a role as a distinct nation, even as it fought on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire. Anzac Day was first marked in 1916. The day has gone through many changes since then. The ceremonies that are held at war memorials up and down New Zealand, or in places overseas where New Zealanders gather, remain rich in tradition and ritual befitting a military funeral."

The celebration here in Paekakariki began with a parade from the end our our street, Ocean Road, to Memorial Hall....all of 2 short blocks! The entire march took about 2 minutes, followed by short talks from a very cool Anglican Minister (who quoted Hindu scripture among other things), a few other local dignitaries. While the day is officially about celebrating fallen soldiers, peace is put forth almost constantly in ANZAC Day speeches, and this one was no exception. The day ended with the Showing of a documentary about Gallipoli narrated by Sam Neill and Jeremy Irons. That was to take place in St. Peter's Hall and was FREE. We didn't have a chance to go because we were fortunate enough to enjoy a Passover dinner with the Bergers and several of their other friends. As Lois (Jim's mom) would say, "it was deelish!"

In addition to it being an absolutely gorgeous morning to be out next to the sea, we enjoyed being part of the local flair and especially watching Abby and Becky participate as Girl Guide and Brownie. Abby even got to lay the ceremonial wreath (I wonder, did people ask themselves what the heck the American girl was doing laying the wreath?). It was another indication of how welcomed we've felt here from the very start. So welcome, in fact, that the local monthly paper, Paekakariki Xpressed, has included pictures of Abby or Becky or both in each of their last two issues! If you're interested, check out the link to the April Issue at http://www.gopaekakariki.co.nz/xpressed/aprilx.pdf and go to page 44. You can also find some pictures, two, in fact, in the March issue, but Jim couldn't connect to the link for that issue.

As we move into our second week of the two week school holiday, we are excited about our upcoming trip (our second) to the South Island, this time with our dear friends, the Bergers. We will do much less driving this time, taking the ferry across Cook Strait and exploring the northern tip of the island....Abel Tasman National Park and Golden Bay. Stay tuned....

Daily Life in a Small New Zealand Village

Thought you all might like to see some of the things that go on here on a daily basis that are just....well, daily life. Things that might be happening in any house with kids anywhere in the world.

It's not all visiting beautiful places. We celebrate birthdays (see Jim with all the kids...Becky, David, Abby, Aidan, Naomi, and Ayla...blowing out candles), we take baths (see Abby posing in her towel) and hair grows back (see David showing off his ever-longer hair do!

Today is the first day of the two week school holiday that I keep calling Spring Break, but since it's autumn here, people look at me funny when I say that. A two week holiday? What the heck are we going to do for a two week holiday? I guess we'll have many moments of daily life and togetherness. We might have an adventure or two, but mostly, our plan is to experience the days together.

One little adventure to share...after school today, the kids and I went swimming in the no longer warm Tasman Sea....it's cold!!!!

Missing Fathers

As I sit here late at night before I go in and join Abby for bed (this is what we do when one parent is away), it strikes me that there are several fathers missing from this picture at the moment. Fortunately, the one nearest and dearest to me, Jim, is only missing in that he is on a plane over the Pacific Ocean on his way to San Francisco and ultimately to Charles Town, WV, for his father's memorial service. It was hard to see him go today. I miss him and the children miss their father. But they are the lucky ones.

Jim and his four siblings are missing their father in a different sort of a way. This weekend they will say a final goodbye to him......being the Harris family, there will be lots of laughing along with the goodbyes and the tears. They are wonderful that way. But all of them will now be adults in this world without one of their parents, and that is hard.

And then there's my father, who has been missing for a long time now. My brothers and I are so lucky to have had a loving father come into our lives after the original one died so young, but, still, the loss of a father is the loss of a father, and you're still a person in the world without a father no matter how you look at it. It takes adjusting and your life is never the same....it can be as good but never the same kind of good..

Jim said it so well last weekend as we lovingly and tearily looked at a slide show he put together in his father's honor. As we looked at image after image of Bart's offspring...5 children and 12 grandchildren, who could really argue that it's not the natural progression of things? A man produces such wonderful things and then, someday, maybe too soon, but someday, it's time to leave and let the next generation do its thing.

So there is sadness and there will be joy. This weekend there will be celebration of the joy Bart had in his life and the joy he brought to others. Next Tuesday there will be joy in Paekakariki when Jim returns. And there is joy for me in knowing that my father, though he didn't live long enough to see it, produced people whose lives are so wonderfully blessed.

Mt. Taranaki

Carolyn and I spent a weekend with the kids, perhaps our only weekend by ourselves, traveling north to New Plymouth, which is 4 hours from Paekakariki. NP is a rather large city for NZ with 50,000 +. They call themselves the energy capital of the country, mostly from oil wells. They must look like hills and rocks because I didn't see any. What we did see was the father of this whole area, Mt. Taranaki. Because you can look up more information than I can give to you, I will only give you the bare minimum. This volcano is thought to have formed 70,000 years ago and last erupted in the late 1600's. It is the center of this vast area that has plenty to do, especially if you want to walk.

Let me digress for a moment. We stayed in a Youth Hostel called the Mt. Egmont Eco-lodge. All five of us slept in one room that turned out to be big enough, but just barely. The kids loved it, and I liked it. It was just out of the central city district, so we had an easy trip to the beach, to coffee for Carolyn, dinner at a great burger joint, and to Taranaki. Actually, everything is an easy drive to the mountain. This bight, as the larger area is called, is circular because of the lava outflow.

Taranaki is so different from any mountain I have ever seen. It is not a range, as I am used to, because it is a singular 2500+ meter mountain in the middle of vast flat farmland, rising up all by itself. You can see the mountain from many, many kilometers away. It's really kind of cool!

As I was writing before, there are many tracks on and around the mountain. They range from 10 minute loops to a 5 day circumnavigation of the mountain, with the 8 hour return tramp to the summit being the most sought after (needless to say, with 3 youngish children, we didn't do that one, although Phil/Paca would say "what's your problem...they have two feet don't they?"). In fact, because of the diversity of tracks and its easy access, Taranaki is the most climbed mountain in the country. We chose a track called the Veronica Loop Track (that starts in North Egmont), which is supposed to be two hours return, but turned out to be three. Of course, we stopped to gape at the beautiful views, take pictures (yes, Phil and Jean, of birds, too), and complete one of the harder treks we have taken in NZ. My legs were killing me by the end, especially from the downhill. These knees are getting old! One of the interesting things about tramping (that's "hiking" to you yankees) on the trails here is that they are immaculately groomed and maintained. When Carolyn and I remarked about it on this trip, we felt like part of the reason for that must be to ensure that people stay on the trail to preserve the area around it and to ensure that people don't get lost and die. The literature on this mountain, especially, mentioned the need for ultimate preparation when hiking. If you are going to go for a long trek one must bring a certain amount of water, clothes that can get wet and will keep you warm, and you must tell someone where you are going. We didn't experience any of this diversity in weather, but the clouds were rolling down the mountain fairly quickly by the time we left. Suffice it to say, we were all exhausted by the time it ended. So, we decided to rough it even further by going to an aquatic center that had a 50 meter outdoor pool, two huge water slides, a 3 meter and a 1 meter diving board, a large indoor wave pool, a rope swing into the pool, and a hot tub. Pretty nice way to end the day. By the time it was all said and done, the kids were in bed by 8:00 PM and asleep a few minutes later, Carolyn was in bed by 9:00 PM and asleep a few minutes later, and I finally fell asleep by 9:45 PM. We all woke up after 7:00 AM. Ahhhhhh! Carolyn will fill you in on the second day.

We woke up to birds chirping outside our modest abode, I made coffee by pouring boiling water over grinds through a piece of tissue, since the place had no plunger (that's read "french press"). I'm nothing if not resourceful (Jim would say desperate), made breakfast, watched the lodge owner feed the eels in the nearby stream, and off we went. We spent the morning strolling around a city park, of which they are obviously very proud, called Pukekura Park...something of a botanical garden with lovely trails, a small zoo with tons of non-native animals and birds, two playgrounds, and even a waterfall where you could press a button to make the water flow?**! Don't ask because it's a mystery to us, although it was quite entertaining! Here, Becky and David are feeding ducks at a pond that is at the bottom of an outdoor amphitheater.

Headed home, unpacked, Jim cooked tofu (yes, that's right folks, I said "Jim cooked tofu"), we de-sterilized the house after an open house today (they're still trying to sell this house), and here we are. We are lucky....oh, so lucky and grateful for this time of adventure and being together. I'd like to say the "being together" is 100% bliss, but remember we have 3 energetic children...so it's mostly bliss with a small dose of the craziness that follows us everywhere we go because that's just who we are!

After a wonderful weekend of relaxation and togetherness, we are about to move into a time of apart-ness again, as Jim leaves on Tuesday to travel home after only 6 short weeks here so that he can attend his father's memorial service. He'll only be gone a week, but it'll be a long week for all of us. We've done all we can on this end to celebrate Bart/PopPop's life short of actually being there for the service, but we are all so sad not to be there. This is life....one I'm sure Bart is proud to see us living. More on that when the sadness of Jim's departure becomes a reality...

A few thousand words

It has actually been busier here than I would have anticipated. That doesn't mean I haven't been taking pictures, though. Most of them of birds, but not exclusively. So here is a mix of bird pictures for you to enjoy (fingers crossed). The first picture is of an extremely rare bird, the Takahe. There are only 300 left in the world with 16 on Kapiti Island, where this one was taken. Because they are flightless, they breed on the ground. With the introduction of rats, possums, weasels, etc., who like eating bird eggs, they were nearly wiped out. NZ has worked extremely hard and diligently to eradicate these vermin from the islands in order to preserve birds like the Takahe and the Kiwi. As you know, we live in Paekakariki, which means land of the Kakariki Parrot. The second picture is of a Red-Crowned Parrot, also known as the Kakariki. It was a very dark and rainy day when I took this picture, again at Kapiti, so it is not as clear and crisp as I would like. The third picture is of a Black Swan cleaning itself at Nga Manu, a nature reserve a little north of us. The Black Swan is a very common bird here. The final one is of a Bellbird, also taken at Kapiti.

Time of Change Part III

I want to spend a very short time letting people know that my dad died tonight after a short, but valiant, fight against lung cancer. He died peacefully in his sleep with his wonderful wife Carol and his three oldest children with him. Cal and I were here in NZ, of course. Cal and his family were on their way to Rotorua on the North Island when he died. They are spending the week heading north and going to places Carolyn and I have never been. I miss all of them so much already. It was special to have such special people with us as part of the adventure here. I can't imagine going through this week knowing that my dad was on his final breaths without my two best friends, Carolyn and Cal. Though it hurts like hell to lose a loved one, it stung a little less with Cal and his family here.

It also helps when I keep in mind that dad was so happy for our trip here. He loved us as deeply as one can love and be loved and, though not always as intimate as I have turned out to be, showed his love in many, many ways, not the least of which was to let us go and demand we not look back. As Carol so aptly said tonight, it seemed fitting for my dad to die on April Fool's Day. I agree wholeheartedly! If you have a chance to think about and thank a loved one, do it now. I'll wait... I hope you feel better, because I know I do.

Thank you for your support...

Love you dad!