New Zealand Sabbatical

Brian and Missy visited for 8 days and flew out this morning heading to Tahiti on their way back to the USA. We met them in the Auckland Airport on the north island and immediately drove to Rotorua to see the public geothermal park where the water boiled, the mud bubbled and the air smelled like sulpher. We then visited the local redwood tree park so Dianne could see these monsters for the first time. They began as imported seedlings planted in 1901 as an experiment and have fared very well in this distant New Zealand location . See the pictures below. The evening was spent at a dinner meal event bolstering awareness of the Maouri culture as these people were the original indigenous population that suffered repression by the subsequent European immigrants.