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New Zealand - October 2001
We had to retrieve our luggage and go through customs. Our luggage was some of the last to be unloaded. We could not put our luggage in the return area after customs because the time was too short for it to be transferred from the international to the domestic terminal. When the bus did not come, we decided to follow the blue line to the domestic terminal so off we went: 19 Ambassadors, luggage carts and all our luggage. What a sight! We did make it to the domestic terminal and had just enough time to get our luggage checked in and ourselves through security and onto the plane for the flight to Wellington. The bus for Kapiti Coast drove along the bay. Reg pointed out the elevators people take from the streets to their homes on the sides and tops of the hills. We met at the Waikanae Senior Citizens Hall for a wonderful welcome party. We met the Mayers, who had made their own Ambassador travel arrangements. We were now 21 Friendship Force Ambassadors. The FF of Kapiti Coast sang to welcome us and provided delicious potluck dinner. Following dinner, the Wahine Entertainers sang for us and put on some skits. They love to entertain and we were fortunate to be their audience. Ria gave us a formal welcome in Maori language. Reg welcomed us and provided information about the activities for the next week. After a day of eating out and airplane meals, which were tasty, the home cooked meal and the social time with our new friends was the perfect way to end the day of our arrival. The group events for Friday, October 12, started with a reception with hors d’oeuvres at the Civic Center with The Honorable Mayor Mrs. Irede Macloy. She welcomed the Ambassadors and Exchange Director Larry Kluck presented her with a key to the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. The next event was lawn bowling. We were given lessons at the bowling club and then the fun began. Ambassadors Gwen Peterson, Pauline Houtz-Dukelow, and June Simpson won chocolate awards as the best visiting lady bowlers. After a wonderful barbecue, we were entertained by Maori singers who were students of Kapiti College. Saturday, October 13: Wellington, here we come. Our first stop was along the bay near a fountain, where we noticed people walking and jogging along. New Zealanders love the out of doors. We reboarded the bus and wound our way up to the top of Mount Victoria for a 360 degree view. We could see the green belts in Wellington. The 425 hectares of parks are an important part of the Wellington landscape. We rode the bus back down Mt. Victoria to the downtown area where we were treated to a ride on the Wellington cable car, which goes up and down the hill connecting the downtown area to a higher area of Wellington. After all this activity we went to a tea house at the Botanical Gardens, and Reg treated us all to tea. We next had a wonderful tour of New Zealand’s Parliament Building. A fault line runs through Wellington so we were €rst taken to the basement and were shown how the building was reinforced to withstand earthquakes. Our tour guide took us to a conference room decorated with Maori carvings and wall decorations. Kapiti Coast President Ria Erskine, who is Maori, explained some of the carvings and decorations to us. We visited the House Chamber and learned New Zealand has a unicameral system (as does Nebraska). Only a portion of the representatives is directly elected. The other representatives are assigned based on the percentage of votes the parties each receive and the Maori people are given representation seats in the legislature. Our last stop was at Tepapa Museum. We had brought our lunches and ate in the courtyard. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being out of doors. In Tepapa we were able to see Paci€c Islands entertainment and a Maori exhibit where we had the opportunity to take off our shoes and walk into a Marae, the Maori community meeting house. We experienced a simulated earthquake, and we saw a history of Wellington. Saturday or Sunday evening ambassadors were treated to “Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner.” It was a surprise for all. Hosts were told how many to prepare for dinner and host families attending were only given a street address for the dinner location. On Monday October 15, we drove to Greytown where New Zealand’s Arbor Day began in 1890. Then it was “gift shop alert” as we stopped at the Paua Shell factory. We had a tour of the factory where many of the ambassadors had their pictures taken with some of the craftspeople, and all had time to help the New Zealand economy that day. Our lunch was at the Gladstone Winery where we treated to lamb and chicken kabobs along with pickled veggies, coffee, tea and wonderful deserts. We toured the winery where we tasted four wines: Riesling, Red, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir. Next we got lost—suppose the wine had something to do with this?—going to Graeme & Estelle Tulloch’s farm where over 600 cows are milked each day. This is a training farm with many young people coming to learn dairy farming. The milk goes to the largest processor in the world where some 15 million liters are processed each day. We were treated to sandwiches and coffee & tea in the Tulloch’s home. Tuesday October 16 was another free day for us. Several were invited to Ria’s home and were photographed dressed as Maori warriors. In the evening our farewell party at the Pram Bowling Club featured wonderful food and singing provided by the Friendship Force of Kapiti Coast. We sang a few songs for them, exchanged gifts and bid our farewells. The week had gone so quickly and we hated to leave our new friends on the North Island. But we had to leave so we took a bus into Wellington to catch our flight to Christchurch on Wednesday October 17. There we were first taken to Avon Dale to view the beautiful plants, flowers and Avon River with gondolas. We then had a tour of Christchurch and Lyttleton Harbor. Since Christchurch had a conflict hosting us for this week, we had scheduled a South Island tour in between our week in Kapiti Coast and our home hosting week in Christchurch. On October 18 we began our tour of the South Island. We saw so many things: Franz Joseph Glacier, Queenstown, Glow Worm Caves, Milford Sound, and Dunedin just to name a few. This area is so picturesque. We drove the Clinton Gore highway which connects two towns with those names in New Zealand. On October 24, we returned from our tour to meet our Christchurch host families. At 2 p.m. on Thursday, October 25, we gathered at the City Civic office for a Mayoral Reception and welcome from the Deputy Mayor Leslie Keast. After the formal ceremony we were treated to coffee, tea, bars and “sticky buns.” Deputy Mayor Keast then took us to the Council Chamber and answered questions about Christchurch and the council governing body. We next drove to Halswell Quarry Park to plant a tree to commemorate our Friendship Force visit. This is a wonderful tradition that the Friendship Force of Christchurch has for its incoming exchanges. We planted a swamp red maple which will grow to 100 feet tall and 40 feet wide. All the Ambassadors got involved in planting the tree and had their pictures taken with their host family. Friday, we were off to Hanmer Springs where we had the option of two walks. Ray, the ED, and Doreen led one for those wanting to burn a lot of calories. June Kenworthy led a slower paced walk to a local park and lake where we saw ducks and other birds. After lunch, it was time to go to the Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve to relax in the warm pools. Some opted to go shopping and enjoyed the gifts and antique shops. When it was time to meet, we learned of some sad news. Two local young girls on a school outing had drowned that morning in a canoeing accident a short distance from the town. The canoe had overturned and wedged in a rock trapping them underneath. Saturday and Sunday October 27 and 28 were free days to spend with the host families. Some of the activities the Ambassadors enjoyed were touring the Botanical Gardens, the Canterbury Museum, the vendor market, the Cathedral and International Antarctic Center. Many of the expeditions to the South Pole depart from Christchurch. The Antarctic Center provides support to the expeditions and has a visitor center with an interesting display of information on Antarctic (plants, animals, penguins and other birds, polar equipment and human habitation in Antarctic). You even can dress up and go into a snow room to experience the South Pole. On Sunday, many of the Ambassadors went with their host families to relatives, friends or other Friendship Force members for meals. Some of us were treated to a big lunch at one home and an equally large dinner at another home. (No wonder we do so much shopping; we have to get bigger clothes.) We enjoyed meeting the extended family and friends of our hosts. We learned a lot about New Zealand, heard some wonderful stories and jokes, and had the opportunity to make more friends. Since many of our Ambassadors do not live close to a coast, Monday was a great opportunity for us. We went to Akaroa to go dolphin watching on the bay. We boarded the ship and it was not long before we sighted some dolphins. The captain idled the boat and we took pictures. We had a little time to explore Akaroa. There was a neat memorial to the servicemen on the shore. The roses were starting to bloom and looking through the memorial at the water was so serene. There were a variety of shops in Akora so a number of us bought a few more souvenirs. October 31 gave us the opportunity to see two different kinds of farming close to Christchurch. In the morning we went to a meadery owned by Leon Havills. Leon started making mead after he found an old book detailing how to make it using honey, yeast and water. In the Middle Ages mead or ale was made and sold by the monks. The proceeds were used to build many churches in Europe. Leon modi€ed the recipe over 800 times and makes and sells 7,000 bottles of mead a year. Leon was a great story teller and told us how drinking mead may be the fountain of youth, can increase fertility, is helpful if you are having trouble sleeping, and can even increase your chances of having a male offspring. After a little sampling we bid Leon goodbye and went to Waikuku Beach to enjoy a picnic lunch. We had a wonderful stroll along this lovely beach. Our next stop was an ostrich farm. The owner told us he started with 30 eggs in 1994. He felt raising ostriches was much more profitable than sheep. A female can produce multiple birds where a sheep will have only one or two lambs. However, he noted the real profit was in the hides which are used to make cowboy boots. We were cautioned not to get to close to the ostriches as they have a very powerful kick. When they have to treat an ostrich, they place a dark canvas sack over its head. When the bird can not see, the danger of being kicked is much less. We saw two pens of young ostriches. Incubation of ostrich eggs is 6 weeks. It takes 8 to 16 months for the ostriches to grow large enough to sell their meat. The host families brought their special dishes to the farewell party. We were treated to a delightful night of music. A men’s choral group 'bout8, which included Ray and several other FF members, sang barbershop music for us. We exchanged club gifts, said our farewells to our new friends in the club and felt both happy for such a fun evening and sad that this was our final exchange function with Christchurch. As exchange director, I want to thank all the wonderful hosts and Ambassadors who took part in our 2001 New Zealand exchange. |
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fter a lot of planning, October 8 arrived. Fifteen ambassadors met at the Lincoln Airport for the first part of our journey to New Zealand. In Los Angeles, we met with the Delmars and the Fords, who were representing California and Tennessee. We boarded a 747 and began the 12 and a half hour flight to Auckland. After a little sleep we were served breakfast on the Air New Zealand flight. Because of increased security our silverware consisted of silver spoons and forks and plastic knives. We crossed the international date line and landed on October 10 around 6:30 a.m. in Auckland.