NEW ZEALAND - DAY 6

Saturday, March 23
Day 6 - New Zealand

Today began with a "Sausage Sizzle" in the lounge of the lodge.  This was an opportunity for guests to meet one another and listen to sales pitches for tourist attractions.  They served coffee, tea, and milo along with grape juice, orange juice and kiwi juice.  The sausage was a fat sausage.  You picked up a piece of bread, put your sausage on it and put a spread on top of the sausage.  They had ketchup, b-b-q sauce, apricot and pepper spread and corn sauce.  Virgil said he wanted his plain.   I put apricot and pepper spread on one end of mine and corn sauce on the other.  I found it delicious.  I commented to Virgil that the apricot spread was delicious.  He then asked for me to put some on "this burnt thing".  He was a little grouchy about it, although he will not admit it.  He didn't like it very much but I enjoyed every bite of mine.

We went back to the room and took a nap.   I then went walking around the City Center and bought a few souveniers for the kids.  I found another grocery store so I purchased some frozen fish cakes and tomatoes.  All the bake shops have meat pies so I bought Virgil one.  He was on the couch when I returned so I gave him his warm meat pie.  He said it tasted like a hot pocket.

He went back for another nap and I walked down a path that led to a river.  When I arrived back at the room, Virgil was up, so I asked if he would like to do anything.  He said I could do whatever I wanted to, but he is content to watch Animal Planet.

I walked to the Visitor's Center and bought tickets to go the a fish hatchery.  When I came back, Virgil was asleep so I went online to find the church here.  Turangi has a branch with services beginning at 11:30.  I asked Virgil if he wanted to go.  He said, "not really".  I said, that's okay.  I'll go.  I figured I've done things by myself for most of the trip so far, so going to Church by myself is not problem.  He said that he would like to go afterall.

We then walked back to the grocery store.  All the shops were closed.  The grocery store was still open.  We purchased laundry detergent, ketchup ($5.00 for a small bottle), some lettuce, salad dressing, noodles and cup of noodles.

We came back to the room where I attempted to fry the fish cakes.  I am so accustomed to my gas stove, that I obviously cannot good on a ceramic cook top.  I burned three of the of the fish cakes.  I found a book for the oven - I need to include a picture just to show how complicated it is - and put the other three fish cakes in the over.  I then burned those.  I did manage to cook some "chips" (french fried potatoes that weren't fried) without burning them too badly so Virgil had his cup of noodles (Ra-men noodles) a salad and some potatoes.  I had potatoes and salad.  He suggested that perhaps it would be cheaper just to eat out the rest of the time instead of buying food to through away. LOL  I agree - although we still have ham and eggs.

That is the end of Day 6.

NEW ZEALAND - DAY 5

Day 5 - Friday, March 22
We left Hamilton and headed to Turangi (Too-rang-ee) where we would begin our stay at the Time Share condo - Turangi Leisure Lodge.

On the way we stopped by Hobbiton - the movie set for Lord of Rings and The Hobbit.  As we were walking down the path to the office, a gentleman introduced himself to Virgil as John Wells and explained that he drove a bus for Hobbiton.  He told Virgil not to waste the $75.00 because he would not enjoy the tour.  He told him he should just get a bite to eat and wait in Shire's Rest (a snack bar/restaurant of sorts) for me to go.  So we decided to do just that.

It was a good thing Virgil did not go.  The bus took us to a point and dropped us off. We then walked some narrow gravel trails around to see the Hobbit houses, the Party Tree, and a break at the Green Dragon.  They gave a free beverage - ginger beer being the only non-alcoholic drink.  It was cold and delicious ginger ale.  I purchased a scone which was a very big, dense cheese biscuit.  I saved half of it for Virgil.  The tour took about 2 hours.  The movie set was built on a farm owned by the Alexander brothers.  It was chosen because it was pretty much virgin land. It was a sheep farm, had no power lines over it and had a wonderful big tree which fit the description of the Party Tree described by J. R. R.Tolkein.  The New Zealand army actually helped construct the sets and some of the soldiers were even in the movies.  When the movies were over, the film company promised to have everything removed in 6 months.  At the end of the 6 months, they had not completed the work so they negotiated a new contract with the Alexanders.  Part of that contract was that the Hobbit Houses would stay and the Alexanders would be allowed to give tours.  They charge $75 per person, and appear to be doing very well with it.  Virgil and a hot dog and bottle of water at The Shire's Rest for a cost of $9.00.

We then continued our way to Turangi.  The GPS took us a scenic instead of direct route, but we didn't mind.  We enjoyed watching the countryside change from grassy hillsides to mountain forests.

We checked in to Turangi Leisure Lodge about 3:30 and received our complimentary milk.  Virgil laid down to rest and I walked around and found a grocery store.  I purchased ham, eggs and milk, which became our supper.

NEW ZEALAND - DAY 4

Thursday, March 21 (Wednesday Idaho Time)
Today we left Paihia and headed south.  We stopped by a tourist attraction "Glow Worm Cave".  Virgil introduced himself to George who said he would not enjoy the attraction.  The two talked for awhile and we left.  The Kiwi and Virgil hit it off well.  As we left, the Kiwi said, well, we swapped a yarn or two.  I think Virgil would have been fine to have stayed and visited with him while I went on the tour, but I opted not to.

We arrived in Hamilton about 3ish.  We checked into a room at the Colonial City Motel and received our complimentary milk.  The lady at the desk gave us a menu and said if we would return it to the desk before 6:00 p.m., our breakfast would be delivered to our room.

 The room was up some steep stairs which were a challenge for Virgil.  Once in the room, Virgil laid down to rest.  The room was so small we had to put the trash can in a closet so we would have a place to put our suitcases.  They tried to cram too many things in a small space - fridge, stove, sink, desk and bed in a room that should have had only a bed.  The shower had wonderful water pressure though.  The problem was that it was about a 10 inch step up to get into the shower and the shower head was about shoulder level.

We decided to go to the Temple so we dressed and headed off to the Temple.  I had asked the lady at the desk if she knew where the LDS Temple was located.  She said, "Oh Yes.  I'm not religious but I go there and just sit in my car sometimes because it is so peaceful.  I don't know what it is, I just know it is a peaceful place."

We arrived at the Temple and again, people just took over taking care of Virgil.  We we dressed by 5:00, but the session didn't begin until 6:30.  I was asked if I would like to do some other ordinances, which, of course, I did.  I had the privilege of doing work for five sisters and Virgil was able to do ordinances for two.  We then met in the Assembly Room and went to the Ordinance Room at about 6:25.  The people were so wonderful, and the temple is beautiful.  A sister asked if I would like to do thework for one of her ancestors.  Of course I said yes and thanked her for the opportunity. She smiled and said, "You can say you did work for a Maori."

We completely missed lunch and supper, so we returned to our room around 9:00 p.m. thinking we would have trail mix for supper.  There on the counter was our breakfast.  Cereal, juice, bowl of fruit, toast, jelly and jam.  Two little pitchers of milk were in the refrigerator.  We were pleased with that and had it for supper.  I saved my bowl of fruit and two pieces of toast to have for breakfast the next morning.

NEW ZEALAND - DAY 3

7:16 a.m. March 20 - in New Zealand.

11:16 a.m. March 19 - in Idaho.

I'm off to my day of diving.  After reading the manual, I may opt out of the deep wreck dive.  Still having a hard time deciding.

Ahhhhhh, I can't even describe how wonderful.  I did go on the wreck dive and it was awesome.  I didn't take a  camera because I was too nervous. :( Sad on me!  Another diver with a professional camera took some great pictures though.  They are posted on my Facebook page under Paihia Dive.
On the wreck dive we saw Red Moki, Red Pigfish, Crayfish (Lobster - huge), Jewel Anemone (which absolutely looked like jewels - the colors were brilliant), Big Eyes, and Goatfish.  The Anemones were a beautiful blue, but when Craig (Dive Master) shined his "torch" on them, they turned brilliant pink and purple.He said the red rays don't make it down to that depth, so when he shines his light on them it introduces the red rays.

I posted many pictures yesterday, but there weren't ones I had taken.  I just googled the names of the fish and copied pictures but they were true representations of what I saw.  But, my lovely little computer decided to shut down and everything was lost so I won't do it again because I can just google again whenever I want to see pictures of them.

The fish were beautiful and interesting, but the ship itself was also a treat in itself.  We saw where the machine guns had been, even a phone box with a phone still in it (see Craig on the phone on Facebook pages).  We went down 2 levels inside the ship.  I could use the word "awesome" over and over when talking about this dive.

The second dive was called a "reef dive" but we didn't see any reefs.  I think it was because I got soooo sick we didn't go far.  The others went all the way around the island.  I got the dry heaves and let me tell you, at 50 feet below, it is not a pleasant thing.  After that was over, the dive was enjoyable.  I saw an eagle ray, two types of sea urchins, mottled moray, speckled moray, Packhorse lobster, Sandagger Wrasse and Kelpfish.
These fish are so use to divers, they swim all around you.  Crag cut open a sea urchin and fed it to the mottled moray, but the Sandagger Wrasse crowded around so thickly the poor eel couldn't get to it.  

Craig kept trying to shoo them away to no avail.

Sandagger Wrasse

Craig would clap his wrists together and the fish would come see what he had to offer.  He cut open  a c

couple of these urchins and gave them to us and we fed the fish with them.  You just hold them in your hand and the fish come right to you and eat the inside.  They are multiplying quickly so it is okay to use them for fish food.

Craig coaxed the speckled moray out of it's little cove so we got a good look at the whole eel and observed it's graceful swimming.  The mottled moray, even when coaxed with black urchin, would not come out much.  Probably because the Sandagger Wrasse were so thick he couldn't get to the urchin meat.

Virgil spent the day sleeping and walking around the neighborhood and talking with motel staff.  He seemed to have enjoyed his day also. He is so social, anytime he can find someone to talk to, he's happy.  

I arrived back at the motel around 2:30 and Virgil and I ate my lunch which was provided on the boat.  Since I was seasick the whole time, food was not my best friend.  It worked out well though, because we enjoyed the meal together.  Later in the evening, we walked down to the Ice Cream shop and had Swiss Ice-Cream.

On our walk, we met a couple who have been here for 5 months.  They came by way of ship from Seattle.  It was a "repositioning" cruise, so they got a really good deal.  They were on the ship for almost 2 weeks I think he said.  Then, by staying in New Zealand for several months, they will again cruise with the same ship as it repositions in Seattle to begin it's Alaska cruise season.  What a good life!!!  I wish we had asked more about things they had done while here.  They are Flordians who are moving to CA to be closer to children and grandchildren.  Good reason!!

NEW ZEALAND - DAY 2

March 19
Today has been two days long.  Actually, we crossed the International Date Line, but even so it has FELT like 2 days.

We arrived at Auckland at about 8:30.  I declared food in my backpack, which I think caused an alert to go to the dog sniffers. The dog found our apples and Virgil's beef stick.  He was such a cute little guy.  He was really excited about finding those apples.

Again, wheel chair and cart to the baggage claim.  The flight attendant who had been so helpful was at the baggage carousel picking up his own luggage, but he stayed to make sure we had all ours.  He loaded it onto a cart - in New Zealand you don't have to pay for those luggage carts.  He even called the rental car agency to make arrangements for us to be picked up to go to the rental car place.  The lady who was pushing V's wheel chair took us through customs (front of the line), and to the outside of the ariport then left. The flight attendant was still with us.  We told him we would be fine to wait for the rental car company, but he said "no worries" and waited with us. He even called them back after about 20 minutes to see why they had not arrived.  Virgil tried to give him a few dollars tip but he refused.  He said "it's what I do".  He had explained to me earlier that tipping is not customary in New Zealand and he hates that part about LA.  He said in NZ, it's all part of the job.  He, however, went waaaay beyond what would be required of any job and we appreciated him very much.

We got to the rental car place, made all our arrangements and began to take our baggage to the car.  A gentleman (another customer) came to the car and loaded our suitcases into the car.  Now wasn't that nice!! As we went to get in the car, I laughed at Virgil and asked if he was planning on driving. H actually was getting in on the correct side.  I had forgotten that the steering wheel was on the right instead of left.  Of course he grunted and made a disparaging remark about how he knew and I didn't.   :)

Driving in New Zealand is an experience in itself!  It is very hard to look to the left to see in the rear-view mirror.  The turn signal and windshield wipers are on the oppposite side as in US so I turned on the windshield wipers  - a LOT.  I missed the first turn out of a round-about because I was too nervous to turn in the left lane.  So, we went down the road, turned around and came back.  (grunting from the passenger seat)  That time it was easier.

So, what I had thought was to be a 2 hour drive from Auckland to Paihia (pie-he-a) turned into 4.5 hours.  But we arrived safely at the Arungi Tui Motel somewhere around 2:30. The room is very nice - 2 bedrooms, kitchenette, and sitting room.  It is actually like a small apartment.  Makes me wish we had someone to share it.

Actual Phone Booth

Virgil went to bed and I went walking.  I found the  Paihia Dive shop and made my arrangements for tomorrow's dive.  I chose a deep wreck dive and a shallow reef dive .Tanya sent me home with a PADI "Adventures in Diving" manual so I could read about deep diving. Then walked back to the Tui to find Virgil still lying down.  I got my camera and walked back down to the shore and shops.  My camera screen was broken during the trip.  Bummer.  I saw many things I would like to do there, but ...  While walking around I heard some yelling and went to see what it was about.  It was a group of 5 New Zealanders putting on a show.  Two ladies in front  yelling so hard the veins in their necks were protruding way out.  After a couple of "numbers" they announced the name of the group and invited those in attendance to "show love" by contributing to the lonely, empty bag. It was a small red back-pack. It was acutally quite a show!!

Back at the room, Virgil was awake so we discussed supper possibilities.  I walked back to the shops and picked up some fish (Dory) and chips from a sidewalk cafe and brought them back to the room.

I missed my walking buddy today.  Marissa and I would have certainly enjoyed the time together as well as the scenery.

NEW ZEALAND

Virgil's dream is about to come true. Exactly one week from today, we will be flying out of Idaho Falls headed to New Zealand.  I hope to chronicle our trip daily so memories will not be lost or forgotten.

So, I have made plane reservations, motel reservations, rental car reservations, and condo reservation. Tomorrow I will begin the verification for all those and we will be on our way.

We will leave Sunday, March 17

NEW ZEALAND - DAY 1

March 17, 2013
And we're off!!!
We left home about 11:30 this morning.  We started by taking Darby to Melanie's house.  He was excited to go, but wasn't happy about staying without us.  Melanie took us to the airport where check in went smoothly.
As we were walking out to board the plane, the handles broke on one of my totes.  An extremely nice man came up to us and offered to take one of my bags - but he took two.  He checked one for us and carried the other one until we were onboard and at our seat.  He then put our bag in the bin and worked his way back to his seat.  What a nice nice person.

Virgil in Special Services Room at Denver Airport

When we arrived at Denver, Abdhul met us at the door of the plane!  We were surprised.  He then took Virgil to the Men's room (after putting him in a wheelchair).  He stayed with him, helped him find the sink, handed him paper towels to dry his hand, then brought him back to me.  He then took us to a cart and from there we were taken to the Special Services area to wait the three hours for our plane.  The driver escorted Virgil into the room and made sure he was comfortable before leaving.
This room has desks, comfortable chairs and even a place to lie down if we wish.    We have never been taken such good care of at ANY airport.  We are amazed!!

We arrived at LA to the same treatment.  Person met us at the door with a wheelchair for Virgil,  He could become helpless very easily if he remained in this environment,  LOL  I have to admit I  like it because it made the process much easier and much less stressful for me to get luggage and Virgil from gate to gate.  Also, the attendant pushing Virgil took us to the front of the line in all cases.  Now THAT was nice.

The layover at LA as supposed to be about 3 hours. By the time we went through all the security required -even with priority treatment - we had a 45 minute wait at the gate.  Then they announced that no carryon could weigh more than 15 pounds.  Of course one of mine did.  I had purchased a bag to replace the one with broken handles, however by the time I took out my mask and camera from the overweight bag so they could check it I still had 4 carryons - 2 for me and 2 for Virgil.  I must add, Virgil was running out of dollars for all the tipping he was doing.

From LA we flew Air New Zealand.  At this point, the care of the attendants escalated.  We thought it couldn't get any better but it did.