30 October 2010: Kiwi Surprise

Before we get to the amazing surprise we had today, we should update you on the research equipment situation. It has all arrived! A wonderful assistant in the Bio department down here (who is getting married this weekend- cheers!) assisted Kevin in getting the equipment from customs in a very smooth manner. Yeah!

Also, we continue to settle in. We have found our way about town, will be getting a NZ cellphone early next week, and will be purchasing a car hopefully on Monday. A red Dodge Neon that Megan has named the Red Baron. Pictures to follow.

Now, today we decided to visit the ecological sanctuary of Maungatautari (Maori for Mount Tautari). This is a triple peaked mountain preserve completely surrounded by fencing. They have managed to clear this huge, huge area of all stoats (sp?), rats, mice (for the most part), and possums. Thus, the bush and the large diversity of bird life is flourishing here. And it is spectacular! The ferns seem straight out of Jurassic Park.

The size of the ferns are incredible!

As if the trail,the birds along the trail, and the gorgeous day weren't enough....we came upon something amazing on our way out of the sanctuary....a conservationalist checking the health and the batteries of the tracking unit on a father and baby kiwi! We had hoped to see a kiwi in our time down here, but never thought we would get this close. However, it got better. He let both of us hold the baby after doing its health check:

This little guy is 3 weeks old. He nuzzled right in to Kevin :-)

What an amazing experience!! We are now considering volunteering with the trust that manages this preserve during our time down here. There are many great trails to hike and we would love to help in the monitoring while we are enjoying them.

Love and hugs!

NZ Flowers

Its springtime in New Zealand and the flowers are starting to burst with color! Here are a few pictures from around our cottage and around Hamilton that we really liked - hope you enjoy them too!

25 October 2010: Settling In

Happy 30th Anniversary Mom and Dad Jenkins!

So the last two days have been vastly different than our trip down to NZ. Our landlords have been quite amazing in helping us get accommodated and acquainted with the area. On our first day here they stocked our frig with a few essentials and treated us to homemade biscuits, tea (this is becoming a nasty yet comforting habit already) and pumpkin soup for lunch. Yum!! They have also showed us the location of the three grocery stores, a pharmacy (Kiwi’s don’t know what contact solution is, so we had to get contact cleaner at the pharmacy), and will be taking us to the “green” grocer (fruits and veggies) as well as the bulk food store for pulses and grains on Wednesday evening.

Our landlords live on quite the productive plot and they are continually working about their gardens or with their sheep. It appears we will be well stocked with lemons, grapefruit, leafy greens, rhubarb, and other yummy veggies and herbs. Megan will even be learning to make the Rose 5 month supply of gooseberry jam next week. Vivienne (one of our landlords) has even offered to start spinning lessons in a few weeks (how cool!). Here are a few pictures of our NZ cottage and the gardens:

Kevin on our deck enjoying tea and breakfast

A look at the Cottage from the Gardens

As a side note, we did get asked on our flight to LAX whether we were on our way home. We both paused and laughed and said, “Kind of.”  It is amazing how our sense of home is growing and shifting as life moves along. Thus, in the spirit of enjoying and relishing in our new home, here are a few pictures from our time in Hamilton Gardens and Raglan beach over the last two days:

Megan in the India Garden in Hamilton Gardens

At a beach in Raglan

The entrance to Raglan Harbour at low tide

Love and hugs! 

23 October 2010: A Rocky Start

NZ adventure off to a rocky start…

We should have known when we checked in at Newark Airport.

Our journey to New Zealand just wasn’t to be an easy relaxing one. In fact, it was anything but…

First, Continental airlines tried to charge us Air New Zealand prices because the second flight was shared with Air New Zealand. This is even though Kevin’s airfare was bought completely through Continental. Why is this a problem? Air New Zealand charges $50 for a second bag, $150 for a third, and $250 for everyone one thereafter. How many bags were we carrying? SEVEN! (Before you say to yourself, “What could they possibly that many bags for, you should know that more than half of this was research equipment!) Ouch! That bill would hurt the wallet a bit!! But, we argued for a while. Eventually we were charged the Continental rate which was substantially cheaper! Woo Hoo! That only took (literally) 2 hours. Thank God we arrived to the airport 2.5 hours ahead of time!

Then came security. Kevin put the battery for the C6 in his carry on luggage because a while back he was told you can’t put lithium batteries in checked luggage. What’s the problem with a battery? Seriously?! What’s the problem?! Well, TSA at both Newark and Los Angeles had a problem with this little number. Turns out the C6 battery looks like the B word. You know – the four letter word you can’t say in airports – it starts with a B and ends with an O – M – B. When we had to go back through security in Los Angeles they went so far as to call in explosives experts who questioned Kevin, gave him a full pat down, and went through every last piece of his carry on bag; all the while Kevin could be heard cursing Turner Designs (who makes the notoriously fickle C6). Sorry, no pictures of this whole ordeal. We were too afraid we’d be tackled if we brought out a camera or phone! We’d include a picture here of the C6 and battery but, as you’ll see…we don’t have it right now…

Are our problems over yet? Not even close! The plane ride over the Pacific was quiet enough, but then we arrived in Customs in New Zealand.

New Zealand Customs is very particular with what you bring in the country. You have to declare any equipment that is used in the outdoors and in water such as tents, hiking boots, and trekking poles. Oh – and every piece of research gear since it will be used in lakes. When you go through customs they open your gear and a kind and lovely officer of the MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) goes through your gear looking for dirt and seeds. Fortunately, we cleaned our personal and research gear before arriving so this wasn’t a problem. The real problem started when a MAF officer asked Kevin how much the research equipment was worth. Kevin said “Oh…somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000). That got his attention!

He replied, “You know, you need to have a customs declaration and import certificate if you bring anything into the country worth over $1,000.”

“Oh” was the reply. “What do we do?”

“Well” said the now quite irritating officer, “We’ll have to bond this and you’ll have to get the necessary import certificates, along with invoices for all of the equipment you’ve brought and pay a fee to get the equipment back.”

“Shit!” We now thought. Timidly, we asked, “How much is the fee?”

“The fee is 15% of the total value of the imported goods.” OUCH!!! That works out to about $7,000USD!!!

It turns out the fee is only a deposit, to be returned as long as the equipment leaves the country within 12 months. OK, that’s all well and good. But coming up with the invoices to verify the value of the equipment as well as the initial funds may be a problem. We’re still working on that! Hopefully we’ll have it sorted shortly.

So, after a harrowing journey through airport bureaucracy and down to Hamilton (sans research equipment), we finally collapsed in our beds at 9PM and slept – quite solidly – for 12 straight hours. That felt nice! We’d really like that “She’ll be right” attitude to start kicking in!

Preparing for Departure

Kevin and I have been truly blessed with amazing friends and family who have made us sad to leave and more excited for the journey ahead. In the weeks before our departure we have enjoyed Indian feasts with friends, celebrated Christmas in October with our family, toasted the wedding of two of our friends, and just spent many hours with those we love. Here are a few pictures of these times.



Indian Feast with Oxford Buddies

Last morning with our Roomies




Christmas in October







Celebrating Mom and Dad's 30th Anniversary



Congrats Danny & Anthony!!

We leave in just a few days. Love and hugs!