Hamilton Temple Christmas Lights

Monday, January 12th 

Greetings,

Well, we have now experienced Christmas and New Years in New Zealand with a combination of missing family as well as being in a foreign country.  So when the going gets tough, what do the tough do?  They leave town.  That’s right.  We went on holiday with the rest of New Zealand.  What you have to realize is a combination of factors:  we are in the Area Office and it literally shuts down and/or goes to a skeleton crew for a period of about 10 days; New Zealand schools are out until January 31st so many take their annual leave; and its summer here – while you are in 5 – 30 degree weather, the sun is shining here with temperatures in the mid to high 70s.

Knowing all of this, our planning started five months ago.  We decided to travel to the south island which is home of the Southern Alps as well as a variety of other scenic venues.  First to fly Dunedin, then drive to Queenstown, travel to Milford Sound, go up the west coast to Franz Joseph then on to Grey Mouth, board the trans-alpine train to Christchurch then fly home to Auckland. 
This may not mean anything to you unless you are ambitious enough to drag out a map … so I am going to include more pictures than normal.

Otago Bay - Dunedin

Milford Sound and the Southern Alps

Moeraki Boulders

Dunedin Castle

Christmas Dinner in Queenstown with the Becksteads

Auckland New Years Fireworks

After returning home for a few days, our friends, Dee and Janet Reynolds came to visit for 5 days, beginning on the 30th of December.  Janet is a former Delta employee and now a Delta retiree.  Therefore, they basically fly for free!!  We first explored Auckland, the Hamilton Temple and the glow worm caves at Waitomo (google this, it will be worth it) then traveled north to the Bay of Islands, 90 mile beach and Cape Reinga, (the northern most tip of the northern island) dinner at the Duke of Marlborough on Russell island then home. 

Reynolds on a windy day in Auckland

Glow Worm Cave

Cape Reinga

Kauri Forest

Russell Island

Beautiful weather and a great time!! About now, many of you are saying, THIS IS A MISSION???  The answer is yes and I am now breaking into a chorus of, “I hope they call YOU on a mission”.  Please sing along at your leisure.  The real answer is a unique time during a public affairs assignment in New Zealand.

Today, it is back to normal.  We are in the process of scheduling “Meet the Mormons” movie showings throughout the Pacific Area.

We are also anticipating the visit of our four children and their spouses starting January 22nd, a family visit most of the senior couples try to do while they are here.

Hope all of you are well and had great holiday experiences with your families.  Some days the world seems crazier then others, aka Charlie Hebdo but you must remain firm in the faith and conviction.

Just over six months to go. Cheers.