Wood, Wool, and Water!

One afternoon, Ral took a break from the office to go to the "Woodcarver's"!  This is quite a "famous" place around here, especially for missionaries.  Jiries and Marcelle, both from Palestine, live on a lovely piece of property which includes their store and wood shop as well - and they truly go out of their way to make a visitor feel welcome.

The small group of senior missionaries were given a personal tour of the property.

 

Kumquat anyone?!  

Ral had never tasted one, so Jiries picked a bunch and everyone had a few!

Then the group was given an "up close and personal" experience with the sheep and lambs!

 

Really, how often can you say that you've held a lamb! 

When Ral held the lamb, the little guy stayed still and leaned his head on her cheek - but we don't have a picture of that moment!

Here is Marcelle cutting some Aloe for Sister Downs.

   

Ral and Jiries in his wood-working shop.

Sister Seamons brought him a picture of Jesus working as a carpenter to set on his work desk - he really appreciated it!

Many of the couples bought nativities - Ral really wanted to buy one too, but decided that, with maybe a couple of missions in her future, she wouldn't buy one just to put it in storage!

Jiries' nativities are beautiful!  He carves them from the wood of native trees and he even has one that is Maori with the Wharenui as the creche and pigs as some of the animals.  Maybe there is a kiwi in there as well!  (Sure reminded Ral of the "Nativity Display" put on by our Stake back in Carrollton!)

KAWAU ISLAND ROYAL MAIL CRUISE

The 4th Monday in October is New Zealand Labor Day.  The Saturday before, a group of us got together and took a mini-cruise to the island of Kawau.  We took the "mail run" cruise which leaves every morning at 10:30 and is the only way island residents get to and from the island and have mail delivered.  It is the largest mail run by water in the Southern Hemisphere. The weekend we went was fun because there were a lot of people going to visit friends on Kawau for the Holiday.

Some of the homes on the island cliffs were huge and beautiful!  

Notice the funicular on the white home and the little man coming down in the "basket" to meet the boat!

This is the Mansion House of Sir George Grey, where he lived from 1862 - 1888.  He was a British soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, Governor of Cape Colony, South Africa, Governor of NZ, and the 11th Prime Minister of NZ.

 

The stuffed Kangaroo next to the iron umbrella stand was Ral's favorite thing in the mansion!

This peacock opened its tail for us!

The bird on the post was the second bird that cooperated for a picture!

Coming Home - an overcast sky, but still beautiful to us!

"Night at the Museum" - Almost!

One VERY rainy Saturday, we decided to keep dry INSIDE and explore the Auckland Museum.  

We were intrigued by the Maori culture after our visit to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. 

Here, we learned even more about the Maori and the country of New Zealand.

The museum is a huge, wonderful building situated in the middle of Auckland on a large piece of property with beautiful gardens and walking trails. 

No pictures of the grounds because outside it was a downpour . . . 

a real "Deluge" - as our family calls it!

Remember the big waka (canoe) at Waitangi?  Here is another one - not quite so big!  

Notice the koru design in the front carvings.

 

A sailing canoe - Notice the beautiful Tapa cloth (made from tree bark) hanging in the background.

 

Remember the "Tiki Room" at Disneyland?  We remember when Tikis were a big thing in the sixties.  

Yes, we ARE - THAT old!  

In Maori mythology, "Tiki" is the name of the first man.

 

We can tell you more about the symbolism of the Wharenui ("big house"); the Maori meetinghouse.  

The ancestor's HEAD is at the top of the gable; the diagonal boards coming down on the front, are the ARMS and the ends of the boards are the FINGERS.  

Inside, the ridge beam is the BACKBONE of the ancestor and the diagonal rafters are his RIBS.  

The central column inside is his HEART.  

The open space in the front of the Wharenui is to welcome visitors or is an area to debate issues.  

The Wharenui is a "domain of peace and unity."

Here are the real symbols of New Zealand - KIWIS!  

The people here, call themselves "Kiwis"! . . . but you NEVER see a real Kiwi!

They are nocturnal and are even hard to see when they are in a nature preserve.  

We met a man in Pahia who had seen a real Kiwi ONCE in the wild. The sighting was so rare; he even remembered the exact date from over 30 years ago!

  

As small as the Kiwis are . . . compare them to this giant Moa!  

(You can barely see Don standing in the back by the leg.) 

The Moa is a large, flightless bird that was hunted by the Maori and became extinct about 500 years ago.  

I think I mentioned in another blog that New Zealand has NO natural predators - interesting!

Inside the museum there is an exhibit on volcanoes.  

Auckland ("Rockland"! Ha-Ha!) is built on a volcanic field with over 50 volcanoes.  

In the exhibit, we sat in a mock-up of a home, watching television 

and looking out the window at the island of Rangitoto, when it erupted!  

It was very interesting and a little fun to see what "could" happen!

The Auckland Museum is also called the Auckland War Memorial Museum.  

On the top floor there are exhibits that acknowledge the participation and sacrifice 

of the military man and women of New Zealand.  

It is a beautiful and touching tribute.  As we have mentioned before, the people here are very patriotic.

There are so many wonderful and interesting things in this museum - needless to say, 

we spent a wonderful "rainy" day here!

We will close our "Museum" Day with this final picture of a statue we found in one of the historic sections.

Our children, and especially our grandchildren will know why we loved this!

(Mickey is everywhere!)