Masters and masterpieces

Vance and Louenda at Walter Peak High Country Farm on the shore of Lake Wakatipu.

This week has been full of family from home and has also taken us to new places to observe masters and masterpieces: to experience new masterpieces of nature, watch people who have mastered skills we admire, and appreciate the work of masters in many forms. We'll share a few:

.

We attended church in Mt Roskill BalMoral ward. There were over 20 great YSAs in the one ward, thats heaps! They are Master YSA's!  Many serve in leadership positions from elders quorum president and counselor's to Young Women and Primary presidencies with the young people.  In another similar stake YSAs were serving in church leadership callings as stake executive secretaries and high counselors.  Pretty amazing young people and we have learned that their leadership is needed. Two or three couples are engaged...much better averages than most.  In Sunday School they talked about marriage and families and asked us to share all we have learned about marriage in our 43 years. It was a great reflection of how we've loved and learned and grown. It has definitely been the hardest, most wonderful rewarding adventure next to life itself we have ever done. Wouldn't trade any of it and the one we both said "yes" to 43 years ago.

This week we not only welcomed December but also our first visitors from home, Lou's sister Kathy and her husband Clyde Williams! Early Monday morning we picked them up. Yahoo! Then with them in toe we found our way to Red Beach, and Takapuna Beach to meet up with a beached jelly fish, and NZ sand and shells. We even dragged them grocery and mattress shopping before we let them sleep off the 12+ hour flight. We also visited the NZ history and war museum, the institute, as well as the greenstone (NZ jade) factory and had Pokeno ice cream.  The jade or greenstone factory had lots of masterpieces...what an art!

Vance has now taken to trying to save beached jelly fish.  He would love to be a master at this but his success rate is currently 0%. 

Trip to NZ is not complete without a trip to Pokeno for ice cream (or yogurt). Doesn't take much talent to master eating this stuff!

Auckland History and War Museum. 
These are old Maori ancestors and us...can you see any similarities?  Any differences?  Can you tell which is which?

Studying an old Maori war boat, trying to figure how 100 big Maori men fit into only 24 rows ...??? 

This is a model made from the skeleton of an extinct MOA, the biggest known land bird  in recorded history, that was hunted to extinction only about 300 years ago.  Reminds us of the bird "Kevin" in the movie "UP"

We flew to the South Island, a different beautiful world of Alps, skiing, big lakes, and Fiords-speaking of masterpieces of the Master of Nature...WOW!  

Dinner at the "Flame" in Queenstown

Siting next to Louenda on the plane was a man who is trying to MASTER to sport of Fly boarding.  He came down to learn from the worlds number one female MASTER of the sport.  Shortly after we arrived we saw presumably him working on his mastery. 

Found this an interesting group, sitting together near the shore but no one communicating with each other, just their devices...this went on for a long time...Have we lost the art of simply talking to one another?

We took an evening trip from on the 1912 (christened same year as the Titanic) steamship Earnslaw.  It sailed us on the 112 sq mile (very long) glacier lake, Lake Wakatipu to the Walter Peak High Country sheep farm. 

The 1912 ship is fueled by coal and there was a crew shoveling it in as we sailed.  Pretty charming old well-preserved boat in perfect shape!  105 years old!  

Vance was enamored by the MASTER skills of the captain and crew!

Approaching the High Country sheep farm.  The staff of the farm have to come by boat.

Crew wanna-be's. Kathy & Clyde, Vance and Louenda.

Amazing buffet dinner inside before we took in the sheep herding dogs and sheep shearing show. 

Talk about MASTERS...the sheep dogs (short hair Shetland sheep dogs) were incredible...and so obedient to their own MASTER, whose time and patience working with both dogs and sheep paid off in a MASTERFUL show.  

This guy was really a MASTER shearer, slick and quick...wow!  Except for the tummy he left the wool connected in one big piece.

We took an all-day bus ride and ship adventure through the indescribably beautiful Milford Sound Fiord (glacier created) and out into the Tasman Sea. No picture we took could do justice to the majesty of this piece of God's creations (but I threw in a heap of pictures to try).  Sure left us in awe of the Creator and His work. He is a Master...and in fact IS THE MASTER in more ways than one.  Can see THOTL (the Hand of the Lord) everywhere we turn, in places and things and in so many of the amazing people we are meeting.    

The bus driver was nothing short of a master driver…maybe a little fast around a few corners but always in control on the 8 hours spent on long winding mountain roads (ask Vance and Kathy’s stomachs how winding) but a master driver. 

So grateful to bask in this piece of the MASTERS earth.  Can't get enough of it's beauties.  Lupine reminds us of Utah!

Two of the small mirror lakes on the drive to the Fiord

Vance with his statue friend, the Takahe bird.  They thought the takahe was extinct in 1898 after someone killed  the last few, but found a few in 1948 in the mountains of South Island.  They now have several special sanctuary reserves where they are hopefully regenerating the breed.  They are up to 300+ now.  The bird is not really as big as Vance but a very very big looking chicken size we are told 2 ft X 2 ft.. (Google it)  Blue and orange?  Maybe a new mascot for Denver? 

A glacier bed from a moving bus

The Weather we are told was unusually clear, perfect and nice...THOTL, they typically get 7-9 meters (that's close to 23-30 FEET not inches) of rain a year so it's rains or snow all the time.  The waterfalls we saw were stunning, we are told it’s not uncommon because of the rain to see thousands of waterfalls on a trip to Milford Sound!  This was one of many.

Our boat through the fiords, the Mariner.

Our boat on the right, our passage through the fiord in the middle.

White pin dot going through the fiord is a boat.  The captain said they named it Milford "Sound" but its not a sound,  its really a fiord.  Fiord is a long, narrow, deep inlet from the sea between high cliffs, typically formed by glaciers.  That describes this place perfectly.

The tiny pin dot at the bottom of the waterfall is a very big tourist boat.  These fiords are massive!

Another waterfall...can't get enough of this kind of masterpiece!

Speaking of a masterpiece, the blue of this water was pretty breath taking.

These clouds would spill out between the cliffs (not the sky) of the fiord, pretty haunting.

Meet a penguin family from NZ. 

We shared the incredible scenery with not only some seals and penguins but some great folks from all over the world.  Our name tags and Utah/US accent is a great segway into some in depth conversations about family, homelands, life, adventures, and belief. You can find friends everywhere if you open your mouth and smile.  We recommend you try it, even in the grocery store line. 

More alpine masterpiece beauty.

You will just have to come visit NZ if you want to REALLY see this!

Queenstown Gardens

Another masterpiece of nature and a transplant to NZ are the Giant redwoods.  They are awesome masterpieces in California, or NZ or wherever! 

The Williams drinking it all in.

Queenstown

Speaking of “masters” we saw three examples as we visited the woodcarver here in the Auckland area: He cut and carved and sanded some things for us while we were there, a master artist in a sadly somewhat dying art.  Then the “master” whistled to his grazing sheep and they came from all over to the sound of his voice.  

The third example was his little “master” mother hen watching over her little brood, she knew where and what every chick was doing and was one step ahead of them to keep them safe.  Good Masters do that.

We drove to Puhoi Villager, a German settlement on the Maori-named Puhoi River. Made it to the Honey Center, home of hives and all different kinds of honey including the world famous Manaku honey. We have become master honey samplers.

One last thought, from Louenda:  I love reading the scriptures.  Been doing a study of the Master, His work, creations and myself.  Discovery: If I miss a day reading His word I find myself focusing on “me” and selfish things.  Life is  much better and so am I when I spend some quality time pondering things bigger than just selfish stuff.  And guess which days I am happier (and nicer to live with)?  Try it for a week and see if it’s the same for you.  I think it has something to do with mastering and a Master as well. Love to hear your thoughts.
Oh how we love you and pray for you ALL!  Hang in there, you can do it!
Love, Vance and Louenda
Elder and Sister Downs