Since Elder Bartlett takes care of the bicycles and we saw this sign in the bank, we had to take a picture. It is so true that often we save money for something, only to let our dream go out the window for a small moment of pleasure.
For those of you in the United States, you are in fall and headed for winter. For us in the Southern Hemisphere we are going into spring and headed for Summer.
So even though we get flowers pretty much all year long, we have some very beautiful ones coming out right now. Problem is that some of our Missionaries have hay fever and asthma.
If you are allergic to something, it probably grows here. It is also changing of the seasons so we have heaps of colds and other seasonal illnesses.
Here is another beautiful plant that came to life just recently. We find many interesting and beautiful things out here just in a normal subdivision. It is even more beautiful when you get out of town and into the country.
We had to get a shot of this pick up going down the Motorway. The back said Mission Vehicle. It is kind of hard to see but we thought it was unusual.
Kathy Shipley and her son Josh arrived on Saturday for a visit. After a 12 hour airplane ride from the United States, one of the first things that greets you at the airport is some memorabilia of the Lord of the Rings. The statue below has an inscription that reads "On Loan from Middle Earth, do not touch". So it was all true.
I believe this was supposed to be Gimley or one of his relatives.
We didn't give them much time to stop and rest as we visited one of the local open air markets, the Otara market, where they saw and tasted some of the local fare. The picture is of some sea Urchins which we understand they just tear open and eat them raw. Needless to say, we didn't try these. Maybe someday we will be brave enough.
We next visited One Tree Hill, which is a monument to the Maori people and stands atop one of the highest extinct volcanoes in the Auckland area. The one tree was chopped down many years ago. You will notice in the background on the right is a sheep just eating away and ignoring the crowd.
We all went to Red Beach next and practiced one of our favorite pastimes, shell collecting. We found some interesting shells and even one with the crab still in it. We didn't find out till later when we arrived home and the crab came out to play.
This one is kind of dark but we found a little cave at Red Beach and we took a picture of Josh in the opening of the cave with the Pacific Ocean in the background. It is a little dark due to my amateur photography. Little features like this make the experience much more fun.
We also went to Takapuna beach to collect some shells. It was a windy day and you can see the para-surfers in the background. Again more shell collecting. It is amazing that on the same ocean you find different shells on different beaches.
One of the Missionaries had a leg injury so Sister Bartlett had to amputate. Just kidding, this was a Halloween prop we found in one of the stores. We thought it would be fun.
Kathy brought gifts from Utah. Of course she had to bring U of U socks which are standing on top of my BYU shirt. It has been a rough year for BYU football, and they have been beat by almost everyone this year. Katie Wilse also sent pictures of her family. They are growing so fast. A U of U scarf for Sister Bartlett, some chocolates from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and a "Good Night Utah book. I did wear the socks all day.
We also visited the Auckland Museum and saw their Maori show. These are some of the performers announcing the show. It was slightly different from the show we saw last time at the Museum.
Of course the performers are happy to get a picture with you, so we took the opportunity. They are hams.
This is the inside of a Whare, which was at the Museum. It is a Maori meeting house and intricately carved. They had a large one built inside the Museum so you could go inside. It was one that had been re-furnished and re-assembled inside the museum.
One of the highlights of the day was Josh jumping off the Sky Tower in Downtown Auckland. He jumped from 192 meters (630 feet). It took about 4 seconds from top to bottom. They suspended him between two cables on a harness which gives you a sensation of a parachute free fall and slow you down at the end.
We took Kathy and Josh to one of our favorite falls, the Karekare falls. We have really only been to two and they are ones that are easy to get to from the road.
Josh and Elder Bartlett just had to hike up to a small cave on the side of the road to get a better view of the falls in the background and the beach.
The climb paid off as they got some beautiful pictures of the hills and the beach beyond. It was a beautiful day with some warm sunshine.
There were beautiful views of the Kerikeri beach. We did find some more unusual shells and had a great day. The next day Kathy and Josh flew to Christchurch for 4 days and saw some of the filming sites for Lord of the Rings and Hobbit. They even took a helicopter ride over part of the South Island. Needless to say the were pretty exhausted when they left.
We had a very busy transfer this week and have not had much chance to write until now. Sorry for the delay. Love, Elder and Sister Bartlett.
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