Mom Visits and Mt. Ruapehu Erupts

My Mom has come to visit us in New Zealand. I've been looking forward to her visit for months. Having her here is like having a piece of home and familiarity in New Zealand. She's been here for a week and a half and we've kept her busy.

First, a day in Auckland visiting Devonport, Titirangi, Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World, and the Sky Tower. Next, a trip to Wellington at the bottom of the North Island. It's an eight hour drive from Hamilton through everchanging landscape to Wellington. The trip was long but fun. Wellington reminds me of Cleveland, it has a nice feel to it. It doesn't feel over crowded like Auckland. In Wellington we drove around the coast and saw the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, the drive was georgeous. We also went to the Te Rapa Museum, which was a cool experience, and viewed all types of exhibits about New Zealand and it's people. Next, we took a train ride back to Hamilton. It was my frist time on a train. It felt pretty much like riding the rapid for a long time. The trip was fun at the start, but by the time we reached Hamilton I was ready to be off of it. I won't lie, I'll be back on a train again when Cara and I go to the South Island. After the Wellington trip we did some sight seeing around Hamilton including going on the dinner cruise Waipa Delta. Mom also met my church family and got to have lunch with some of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ at their home. Next, we went to Rotorua and visited a Maori village, ate some hiangi, and saw a cultural performance. We also went to a sheep show at the Agrodome (I got to try my hand at milking a cow, eww.) We also went to the Rotorua Museum and learned about a tragic Volcanic eruption in Rotorua in 1886 that killed over a hundred people and destroyed a beautiful land formation that had been one of the seven wonders of the world at that time period. It was there that I suddenly came to the realization that I was on an island where a volcano could blow at any moment.

With that said, a volcano did erupt the very next day. Mt Ruapehu, largest volcano on the North island (and still pretty active) erupted without warning last night. New Zealanders seem to be pretty calm about this. "No worries mate." Some ski fields on the mountain are closed today but may open again tomorrow. Hmm....Weird.... That's NZ for you. I think the prayers of a certain somebody before I left Tetelestai that I "would not fall into Mount Doom" are more serious than I previously thought. Ha ha.


Anyway, it's great having Mom here.