Thursday, August 11, 2005
FINAL UPDATE FROM NEW ZEALAND
We have arrived in Auckland. After completing the final touches to the house yesterday, it was sentimental leaving the work site for the very last time. We shared a final team meal in Hamilton in a hip placed called The Iguana, which came highly recommended by the locals. We said our good-byes this morning to Wayne, our build supervisor. He wished us well and we hoped that the house will continue to stand after we leave!
Andrea is a member of a partner family who will be receiving her house in 2006. As part of her "sweat equity", she volunteered her time on the build site with us. She is a lovely lady, always a smile on her face, brining us water and lollipops! On the very last day of the build, she made this amazing dessert called Pavlova. Generally speaking, I don't take too many of the sweets during our break times (affectionately called "SMOKO" in New Zealand), but I couldn't resist! It was quite touching when Andrea came by and wished each of us safe travel at the end of the work day.
With the afternoon to ourselves, I decided to go on a "tramp", a hike in a local park. We were taken there by one of the local volunteers, Malcolm. He is quite the avid tramper and took us to Mount Hakarimata. In order to get to the summit, one has to scale 1,000 steps! Along the way (as we caught our breathes) we were introduced to some native trees. There was one tree that was so large in girth that it would take about 8 people to hold hands to encircle it! And the view from up top was just breath-taking. The great thing about this trip was that is was not a "tourist trap" - only locals really knew of this place. It really felt like a different world in the trees as there were many tropical-like ferns and palms. It was an amazing way to end of the trip!
Well, thanks for tracking along with me so far. This is my last update before I head back to Toronto. I have so many different stories and experiences look forward to sharing them with you, either electronically or in person. Check back with this blog as there will still be updates. I will be landing in TO around midnight on Monday night. Check the "Flight Information" section of the blog for more details.
At the start of our 1,000 step climb up to the summit of this amazing mount.
At the top of Mount Hakarimata - AMAZING!!
The Mill Lodge Motor Inn, what I called home for the past 2 weeks.
Tim Tams or Chit Chat - the jury is still out on which is the better of the two biscuits!
Andrea, a partner family member who brought us water, lollipops and Pavlova!
Andrea is a member of a partner family who will be receiving her house in 2006. As part of her "sweat equity", she volunteered her time on the build site with us. She is a lovely lady, always a smile on her face, brining us water and lollipops! On the very last day of the build, she made this amazing dessert called Pavlova. Generally speaking, I don't take too many of the sweets during our break times (affectionately called "SMOKO" in New Zealand), but I couldn't resist! It was quite touching when Andrea came by and wished each of us safe travel at the end of the work day.
With the afternoon to ourselves, I decided to go on a "tramp", a hike in a local park. We were taken there by one of the local volunteers, Malcolm. He is quite the avid tramper and took us to Mount Hakarimata. In order to get to the summit, one has to scale 1,000 steps! Along the way (as we caught our breathes) we were introduced to some native trees. There was one tree that was so large in girth that it would take about 8 people to hold hands to encircle it! And the view from up top was just breath-taking. The great thing about this trip was that is was not a "tourist trap" - only locals really knew of this place. It really felt like a different world in the trees as there were many tropical-like ferns and palms. It was an amazing way to end of the trip!
Well, thanks for tracking along with me so far. This is my last update before I head back to Toronto. I have so many different stories and experiences look forward to sharing them with you, either electronically or in person. Check back with this blog as there will still be updates. I will be landing in TO around midnight on Monday night. Check the "Flight Information" section of the blog for more details.
At the start of our 1,000 step climb up to the summit of this amazing mount.
At the top of Mount Hakarimata - AMAZING!!
The Mill Lodge Motor Inn, what I called home for the past 2 weeks.
Tim Tams or Chit Chat - the jury is still out on which is the better of the two biscuits!
Andrea, a partner family member who brought us water, lollipops and Pavlova!
# posted by Duffshot @ 8:56 PM 
