Punakaiki (puna-ky-kee) & Beyond

Our friend Lois, from Nelson, told us a story about a friend who took her children to the aquarium. One of her youngest was lost for a bit, but turned up later. When she found him she noticed that he was a little wet, but wasn't alarmed. Later she got home and put the little one in the shower, and came back later to check on him and found that he had a penguin in the shower with him. He had brought the penguin home with him in his backpack. (The penguins here are small.) So, the Mom called the aquarium and told them that she was so sorry but that her son had brought a penguin home. They replied that it happened all the time, and not to worry. She responded that it was not a penguin from the gift shop, it was a real penguin.

This is the West Coast of the South Island, and the Tasman Sea. Across the way is Australia. Our taxi driver in Auckland let us know that Kiwis (New Zealanders) dislike Australians. ( I think the word he used was hate.) A bilboard for a phone company declares: "Australia is scary, calling home shouldn't be." It has been a few days since we have had internet. I think today is Wednesday. Sunday was great. We were invited to Nelson Baptist, by our friends, and house hosts: Deirdre and Wally. Theirs is a smaller congregation, but it felt good to gather with them. There is a sweetness in worshiping in small numbers with people who love God. Pastor Hamish is new there, but it is clear that Jesus is the center of his message, and that he and his family love Him. After the teaching we had tea and chatted, and then were invited to lunch at Lois and Simon's house. Pastor Hamish and his wife Cheryl joined us, along with all the boys. Each family has three boys! They understand the difference in raising more than one boy. They were very hospitable and we spent an unhurried afternoon eating and talking. Social cues are more difficult to read in different cultures. I hope that they enjoyed our time togther as much as we did. On Monday we left and headed south west to Punakaiki, and the pancake rocks. This is the favorite part of the trip so far. It is amazing.