Report 19

Ah, fall – at last. There’s a nip in the air, the leaves are falling, and on campus the sub-midriffs are disappearing, covered up til spring comes again. (Actually, it is still mostly shirtsleeve weather – temperature in the 60s, but what I said about the nip, etc. is true.) Two lectures to go, a three-week break and then final exam. Home in six weeks.

Was really great having 3 of our 12 hisnhers kidsnspouses here the week before last: daughter Mandi and Paul Venable, son Jeff Easterling. We crammed as much activity into their week plus here as we could.

Some highlights: P, J, and I crewed on an America’s Cup class of sail boat. If you’ve ever watched this sort of sailing, you’ve seen crew members, called grinders, furiously cranking away on winch handles whenever the boat makes a course change and the sails need to be moved. Well, that’s what we did. There were two people on each of four winches, nose to nose, grinding for all they could when the real crew members said Grind – forward, then backward. We were racing another boat (both of which were NZ built and had been used by different teams competing for the Cup) and our boat won due to superior grinding and tactics – we crossed the start line with a good advantage and they didn’t have a chance. Occasionally, between grinds, we looked up at the scenery and listened as the helmsman and other crew members explained our tactics and the sport of top-end sailing. All told, we spent about three hours on the harbour.

Other Auckland area activities included the “Three Guys” climbing the harbour bridge (at its peak it is 139’ above the water; the bridge’s added lanes, the Nippon Clip-on, were built so that there can be up to a meter of vertical flex as large loads come and go; we got to one point where we could watch this flex – only a few inches while we watched; that was quite a sensation). We all went up the Sky Tower – an act of true adventure for Susie - and went to Piha Beach, seen here, west of Auckland. We climbed about 2/3 up Lion Rock, at the left.

After my Tuesday class, we took off for a 4-day swing through the center of this island. Big event to start with for Jeff was an all-day cave exploration, which started by rappelling into the cave, then squeezing, wading, swimming, climbing, and dropping through the cave for about 6 hours. This event, the brochure said, was rated “8 out of 10 on the Rambo scale,” but we haven’t found an explanation of that scale. He had a blast. These Waitomo caves are known for their glowworms, which are larva, living on cave walls and ceiling, that glow like fireflies. While Jeff adventured, the other four of us took the tourist tour (1 out of 10, Rambo scale) through a cave. As we floated through the cave in the dark, the ceiling was like a star-filled sky. The rest of the day we explored the nearby countryside, including a stop at Marakopa waterfall. .

Incidentally, I’ve found you can usually get a good story when you ask Jeff, Written any letters to the newspapers lately? He had seen a story in the Nashville newspaper on the web saying that the city was teaching its policeman key phrases in Spanish for dealing with Nashville’s growing Hispanic population. Phrases like: “Put your hands up,” “Lie down on the ground,” “Let me see your driver’s license.” He wrote in saying there appeared to be an assumption of criminal activity in the set of phrases being taught and wondered if training might be expanded to include, e.g., “May I help you?” and “Do you need a doctor?” He asked, and suspects this is why the letter didn’t get published, what a policeman would say if he came upon a Hispanic woman in labor: “Open up. I have a search warrant!” Good on yer, Jeff!

After two nights in the Waitomo region, it was off to Rotorua for two more nights and days. Stay tuned for the next report.

Cheers.

Rob and Susie

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