This One's All About Madeline

Talking to her 'peeps.
Just waking up, checking out the sunlight.
Doing the morning jig.
She's obtaining a shoe fetish already!

Since being back from New Zealand and with Brittany having her surgery, I've spent much more time at home this past week helping care for the kids. In doing so, I've had the pleasure of spending more time with little Madi. I'm usually with Ethan more and Britt with Madi because ET wants to do tough stuff, boy stuff with dad so I don't get as much time with Madi.

It still amazes me how smart she is and how fast she learns. Britt and I both believe that she learns faster with having an older sibling around to watch and learn from – the good and the bad. While I was gone she learned to say "ABC", "123", "Daddy(!)", "Done", "More", and a ton of other words that actually help Britt and I out to know what she wants. It's cool. She even throws away, (among other things), her dirty diapers! You wait, next we'll have her mowing the yard.

Her current interests/obsessions are: Books, shoes, Fruit Loops, mom's purse/phone/makeup, sticking finger in nose, drawing with chalk in the driveway, climbing on brother's bed and laughing hard when dad's rear end makes noise.

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Ethan and the Number 5

ET and the mini cake.
The homosapien females of the house.
Ethan rockin' with Daddy and Madi.

Ethan is officially five years old now. Not much to report on the topic other than he got a sweet new bike for his birthday and a scooter/blade thing from his Grandma/Grandpa Waldron. He tried the bike without the training wheels and didn't care for it much so back on they went. He and dad will work on that after Britt as healed up from her surgery.

Speaking of Brittany's surgery we report that she is healing but still in pain. She went back to work yesterday, Thursday, for half a day and did some errands afterwards and by evening she was hurting again. The doctor said she's healing fine though and encourages her to move around but you never know how much is too much until you overdo it I guess. She has a gnarly incision that turned out to be much bigger than anticipated. The doctor told her yesterday that the previous hernia she had fixed before, after having Ethan, had ripped again so he used a bigger piece of mesh to cover both areas. Hopefully this keeps her mended for good because she has been through a lot of surgeries and such in the past few years in a row and is ready to feel "normal" again.

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Kia Ora: Post 9, The Finale

A seriously good carved piece at the Auckland Museum.
The front of the Auckland Museum.
Some dork hanging out in the Marae (traditional Maori meeting house) on display in the museum.
The lovely kowhaiwhai (ko-fye-fye) design used in many Maori designs.

Our last day in New Zealand was spent touring the Auckland Museum. We had a bunch of time to kill so what better way than to catch up on more Maori culture, (not that we were lacking it of course).

We were blown away by the volume and quality of Maori art and artifacts they had on display. It was funny to read that some of these carved pieces were found in swamps or tree hollow, (depending on their size), like they were just discarded or forgotten – I would have killed to have a few of them! And now they are worth mucho denero.

My dad pointed out the only empty display case in the Maori exhibit. A card read that the display had been removed at the request of family members. Both my dad and I have a good idea what was there: Preserved Maori heads that were tattooed. Long ago men of high ranking in the tribes and sub-tribes had their faces tattooed, or mokos. It seems that after the Europeans starting traveling to NZD there became a black market for Maori tattooed heads, sans torso, limbs and all that. Maoris were whacking other Maoris that bore the moko and selling them to the pakeha, the white man. It's one of the few flaws of the old Maoris that seems to be not talked about too much. Makes me think twice about finishing my back piece!

After the museum we tried to find our way to the Auckland Bay Bridge but Auckland is much bigger than I thought and we gave up after many u-turns and other various illegal vehicle maneuvers. So we got to the airport quite early and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally we left New Zealand and endured 24 hours of travel-hell with no sleep, no air conditioning, and stinky-assed passengers, (someone had nasty fumes eminating from their backside as we flew across the Pacific). Then home at last.

For me this trip was not only educational and recreational but also a bit spiritual. Learning more about my Maori side of the family and getting to not only meet, but really hang out with most of them, is something I'll treasure for the rest of my life. Plus, I have some sweet ideas for more Maori tattoos!

Now, I just have to figure out how I can convince Britt to move there.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!!!

Ethan's birthday ad in the Post Register this morning. Damn, we've got a good lookin' boy, eh?

Today Ethan turns the whopping 5 years old. It's hard for Brittany and I to believe. It seems like last week we were still changing diapers and the whole 9 yards of babydom. And now he dresses himself, brushes his teeth and hair, (which makes for great photo ops!), and does little chores, (that is, when he feels like it). We're so proud of our little "Big E"!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN-BUBBA-BEANS-SPEED-RACER-REWI-TENGAIO!

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Kia Ora: Post 8

Mt. Ngauruhoe in the Rangipo Desert.
Aranui Cave near the Waitomo Caves.
Chillin' with a stalagmite in the Aranui Cave.
My namesakes burial site in the town of Kihikihi.
Plaque at the memorial site for Rewi Maniapoto.

We stayed the night in Wanganui last night and then headed north to the Waitomo Caves near the town of Te Kuiti before we head to Hamilton for our last night in NZ.

We checked out the Aranui Cave first. This cave is spectacular in that is hosts many formations, mainly stalagtites and stalagmites. This cave was discovered by a maori boar hunter in the late 19th century after his hunting dog chased a pig into the cave. This guy must have been a hardcore bush hunter because the cloak of flora that make up the surrounding forest, (and pretty much all of NZ forested areas), is very thick. Think machete-hacking, arm-gouging thick.

Afterward it was on to the highlight of the area: the Glowworm Cave. This cave doesn't host impressive formations like the Aranui Cave but has something even cooler and very unique: glowworms.

These interesting little devils live on the ceiling in a part of the cave that has standing water in it. The guides corral you into a little boat and float you directly under the concentrations of glowworms as they reside on the ceiling not far above your head. The survival story of these little guys is interesting: They live in parts of the cave that have water in them. Towards the evening, as air pushes through these certain areas, insects are blown into the cave. Upon entering the darkness of the cave, they become disorientated and fly straight up towards the glow of the worms. What the bugs don't realize is that the glowworms have these straight webs that resemble a thin necklace that hang straight down. The bugs go up, get caught and the the worm reels in it's dinner. What makes the glowworm glow is that fact that they don't excrete their waste, they recycle it throughout their little bodies and voila, they glow!

After the cave it was time to start heading to Hamilton for the night. Along the way we had the very pleasant surprise of stumbling across the burial site and memorial for whom I was named after: Rewi Maniapoto. I won't go into the story of Rewi but will say that he was a very significant Maori chief who played a major role in the preservation of the Maori culture, land and heritage among the Maori people during the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. He was my nanny Millie's great uncle.

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Kia Ora: Post 7

Wake patterns off our ferry in the Cook Strait heading back to the North Island.
Sculpture marking the "centre of New Zealand" upon a hilltop in Nelson.
The beautiful city of Nelson, New Zealand on the South Island.
Picton by the bay.
Carving at outdoor art gallery at the parking area for the Coastal Track in the park.

Our 4 days we spent in Nelson were much needed. Being able to stay in one place for a few days was a godsend and we were able to get a feel for this upscale, yet laid back artisan city on the South Island. One thing we've noticed so far on our trip is how friendly and accommodating this country is to tourists – and how clean it is. The Kiwis much take much pride in their country and it's landscapes because you never see rubbish on the sides of the roads or billboards or things that are just plain unattractive and of nuisance. Spectacular mate!

Before leaving Nelson and boarding the ferry back to the North Island, we checked out the geographical "Centre of New Zealand". It is marked by a cool sculpture atop a hilltop that literally marks the center of NZ. In fact, this whole city of Nelson has kick ass architecture, sculptures and designs throughout it. I guess this area is home to many many artists – and it shows. Plus, it receives the most the sunshine in all of New Zealand. Sounds like a good place to call home, eh?

Anyway, after 4 days in Nelson we boarded the ferry in the quaint seaside town of Picton and made the trek back to Wellington and the North Island as we start making our way back to Auckland to fly out on Thursday. I was sad to leave Nelson but we left with fond memories.

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kia Ora: Post 6

The brilliant Pukeko, Abel Tasman Park.
Appletree Bay in Abel Tasman Park.
Cave along the shoreline.
The Koru, Silver Fern in it's early stages. Abel Tasman Park.
One of the many beach views along the Coastal Track.

More eye candy from the the Abel Tasman Park.

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Kia Ora: Post 5

The start of the Coastal Track in the Abel Tasman National Park.
One of many beaches along the Coastal Track.
Barnacles at home during low tide.
The almighty Silver Fern of New Zealand.
Man, rock, tree.

On Sunday we went hiking on the Coastal Track in Abel Tasman National Park. It's a very popular hiking and backpacking trail that follows the coastline for quite a few kilometers that can take up to 5 days to hike all the way through. We opted for a mellow 4 hour hike. If you ever make it to the South Island you have to go and hike the Coastal Track. It's amazing. The trail is wide, well marked with awesome camp sites along the way and the scenery – it's pretty hard to beat! I'll just say that we had a wonderful day out there and let the pictures do the talking.

Oh, and I found my new favorite bird – the Pukeko. Bloody brilliant thing it is.

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Kia Ora: Post 4

On the ferry from Wellington to Picton, with the South Island in the background.
Shoreline in Nelson, looking west towards the Abel Tasman National Park.
"Old Man Dread" formation at the climbing crag in Paynes Ford, Takaka.
A startled owl at the Paynes Ford climbing area. That little guy scared the crap out of me.
The Takaka River at Paynes Ford.

We arrived in the country's capital of Wellington on Friday morning and rode the ferry, car and all, over to the South Island and landed in Picton. That was the first time I'd ever been on a ferry ride before. It's pretty cool being out on the water. The weather was pretty brisk so staying out on deck was limited to how much you cold tolerate the wind and cold. No worries, as they say here, just hop on in the cabin area and grab yourself a hot, long dark one, coffee that is. When we arrived in the bay near Picton, a few dolphins greeted us as the ship made its way to port. Pretty cool, eh?

Land ho!, South Island of New Zealand.

We made our way over to the town of Nelson. From there we decided to chill out and spend our 4 days based out of there. We were a bit tired of driving and all agreed that there was much to do in the Nelson area so it became our base camp. We had loosely planned on driving down to Christchurch but scrapped that idea after spending a week driving, visiting relatives, driving more, visiting more relatives, etc.

I headed over to the town of Takaka solo. We all needed a break from each other so I spent Saturday driving up and over the windy pass of Takaka Hill in search of climbing folk with whom I could hopefully climb with. I struck gold at the Hangdog Camp in Paynes Ford and ended up climbing with a lad named James from the U.K. Cool kid. The climbing at the Ford reminds me of a combination of RPM Wall in Wolverine Canyon, (back in Idaho Falls),  and Red Rocks, Nevada near Las Vegas. 

At one point in the afternoon as I walked past an overhanging section of rock, something burst out of a hole in the cliff and scared the crap out of me. It was a smallish owl. Owls of all sizes have claws…and sharp beaks. It was more scared of me than I of it but man, why do they have to go straight for your head like that? Good times in New Zealand.

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Kia Ora: Post 3

Dad and his old house in Nuhuka.

The Marae (traditional Maori meeting house) in Nuhuka.

9/10 of New Zealander's look like this strapping lad. Cheers mate!

Looking north along the coast at Hawkes Bay.

Uhhh…art? Yeah, that's it.

We left George's the other day and headed south to Nuhuka to see the area that my dad grew up in. It was cool to finally see Nuhuka because I've always heard of it from my dad and nanny Millie. Not that there's much to see in Nuhuka but it was still cool. The surrounding area is quite nice too. We headed to the Mahia Beach area to try and find a graveyard that my dad's cousin is buried in it, but no luck (we found it in Nuhuka!). The Mahia area is a very small and lazy beach town that kind of sits out on its own. You take a one lane road to get there and once there it's pretty laid back, so it seems.

After reminiscing in Nuhuka, we headed south along the coast of Hawkes Bay to meet my uncle Dick and auntie Elaine (dad's sister) in Napier. Napier is an attractive seaside town with cool architecture. After hooking up with the family, we followed them to stay at their house in Dannevirke. That was on Wednesday, April 30.

Staying at Dick and Elaine's was great: I got to meet a lot of cousins I've never met before, I got to hang out with my Auntie and Uncle, and I got the chance to see what it's like to sleep in a haunted house. I love my aunt and uncle but the house they live in is haunted. It's 130 years old and it shows. There is a resident possum(s) that lives in the attic that runs around at night. It sounds like a person is running around right above your bed at night – yes, it's goddamn freaky! Plus, a list of other things that just make the place creepy. Sorry to say I was glad when we left for Wellington on Friday morning.

Edit 5.2015: After reading the last paragraph of this post years later, I feel like I should emphasize that I meant no harm to my Uncle and Auntie. I heard through the grapevine that relatives of mine in NZ caught wind of these posts and when they read this one they were quite upset. I was attempting to write with a cheeky tone but it may have come across as disrespectful and downright rude. I apologize if I insulted anyone, that was not my intent. I love Dick and Elaine and meant them no harm and I truly enjoyed my stay with them.

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