Mom and Dad are here!

Our first visitors have arrived. I picked up Mom and Dad from Auckland Airport on Wednesday, just after noon. Their flight had gotten in a little early and I had been at the airport only 15 minutes before they were walking through the arrival gates. I had a clear view of them, and Dad spotted me right away. Mom, though, either didn’t see me or didn’t recognize me for awhile – I’m not sure which!

Their flight was as good as a horribly lengthy flight can be, minus a few issues at the customs (turns out you should NOT fill in those declarations with pencil). So we tossed their luggage in the car and headed off. Mom had really wanted to see the kauri groves, and some of the largest and oldest are in the Waipou Forests north of Auckland. Forget jet lag – we had things to do!

They tolerated my driving, mostly because they had no desire to drive themselves. Mom has pointed out, and I think she’s right, that when we come back to the US, we’ll be really confused about what side to drive on; neither will feel quite right, yet neither will seem wrong either. I hadn’t even thought about our re-introduction to driving in the US.

Our first stop was the Kauri Museum in Dargaville; it was good, but it was really just a warm-up for the real thing. On Thursday we drove through Waipou Forest, stopping along the way to take short walks in to see some of the most massive of the trees. Mom and Dad have been working to identify plant species, as I am almost no help at all. The only thing I can do is pronounce the names, many of which are Maori and involve one too many vowels for them just yet.

We also visited the Waitangi Treaty grounds that day. The history of the Waitangi Treaty is actually really interesting. The treaty is the document that created the nation of New Zealand, drafted by a British government representative who probably should’ve had more training in law and translated by a missionary who wasn’t sure how to explain concepts like sovereignty to a people who hadn’t needed the Queen’s assistance for the past 400 or so years. Today the treaty and its translations is still a source of debate in New Zealand. I was really excited to learn more, but it turns out the Waitangi Treaty grounds choose to focus on some different aspects. The treaty’s main author did have a lovely home with very nice gardens and there was a big ol’ party to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the treaty.

Friday we made our way home; I think Mom and Dad were glad to be out of the car and stationary for awhile. We gave them the grand tour on Saturday, complete with a trip to the Farmers’ Market, Fresh Bobby’s Fish Market for fish and chips, and a walk around the Mount.

Sunday we went down to Rotorua. There is a thermal area there that operates in conjunction with a Maori cultural experience. Whakarewarewa (and that is the abbreviated name) gives a great overview of some basic Maori culture and highlights some beautiful natural sights in the thermal areas.

And if that wasn’t enough, we went to Kiwi Encounter that afternoon. They run a facility dedicated to the preservation of New Zealand’s national bird, the kiwi. Kiwis are a noctural, flightless bird, and they are slowly becoming extinct. From egg to one year of age, kiwis have a 5% survival rate in the wild. At this age, they don’t have enough defenses from the non-native predators (stoats, weasels, possum, cats, and dogs) that are destroying their population. After one year, they are much more able to defend themselves and have a 60% survival rate. So the Kiwi Encounter takes eggs from kiwi nests, monitors them through incubation to the age of 1 year before releasing them back into the wild. They can assist with difficult hatchings, monitor their food intake, and implant the kiwi with a microchip for tracking. The best part of the experience, though, was getting to walk through their nocturnal room and see kiwis up-close. They keep a few birds that cannot be released back into the wild for breeding; these are the birds we saw and they were amazing. Very, very cool…

The best part of the weekend, though, has been having Mom and Dad here. How nice to see family!