Today (Monday) marks Day 6 on the road, and we’re all getting along fine, which is a testament to the patience of my gracious hosts who are sharing their 175 sq ft of floor space and a couple bins of cupboard space with me while I’m bumming around with them. We detoured a bit due to a weather forecast of 4 deg C and rain for the next week in the central part of the North Island, and now are headed for the Coromandel Peninsula, and hopefully some beautiful views of the sea arches.

Days 4 and 5 transpired as folows: We drove into Taumaranui to attend church on Sabbath, and worshiped with 15 others in the small church before being invited to a felllowship meal at Bob and Dy Smith’s home. What a beautiful house, and even richer hospitality! One of my favorite parts of international travel is visiting Adventist churches and making new friends. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and warm conversation until mid-afternoon, then back into the bus to find our camping spot for the night.

Upon the advice of one of the church members, we meandered our way through country lanes to a river near Kakahi, enjoyed an outdoor campfire and roasted vegetables – potatoes, yams (they’re different here!), and kumera – and damper bread with ginger marmalade (bread on a stick! I’m only slightly better at making it than I was as a 10-y/o Pathfinder).

Then came the real treat! The road that led to our riverside camping spot was narrow and deep, with moss covered walls that stretched 30-40 feet nearly verticaly to each side, creating a dark, damp lane: a perfect habitat for glow worms. My experience with glow worms thus far had been limited to songs with lots of accidentals and minor 2nds thrown in, so I was expected for an up close view. We trekked through the black evening and into the lane, trying to make a bit of extra noise (which makes the glow worms more active). As we shuffled along, the walls of the lane sparkled with dots of electric blue, like cyan stars spanning the inky walls of space. What an awesome experience! I could have spent the whole night staring at them, if it weren’t for my cold nose and fingers.

Glow worms are about 2-3 inches long, with multiple thin, weblike strands dangling from along their slender bodies, each strand covered with fine droplets of a sticky fluid. The worms glow to attract insects, which get stuck on the strands and become the worms’ supper (or “tea”, as the evening meal is called here).

Sunday morning dawned damp and cool. As the day progressed, it became more windy and rainy, so the tentative plan of hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was delayed for a week. Most of Sunday was spent driving and restocking supplies, including a stop at Burger King, where they put hashbrowns on your burger – pretty good, actually.

We cruised into the Whakamaru ski club grounds on the Waikato River for that night’s camp, where I attempted to make rice and Thai red curry on a stove at an angle. The meal nearly burned baby girl’s tastebuds off – sorry girlie.

I woke up early the next morning (to use the free, flushing toilets!) and watched the sun burn off the mists to reveal a landscape invisible the afternoon before, then went to introduce myself to the campsite neighbors (a herd of heifers).

Another bonus of this campsite was cellular service, so I was able to place a call home. Mom told me of her Sabbath thought inspired by my stargazing on Friday night. We often look at the great big sky, the moon, and the stars, and marvel at how great God the Creator is. “Everyone sees the same sky,” my Mom had thought. But this trip to the “other side” of the world made us realize that that’s not entirely true; stargazing here is an entirely different experience, as I can’t find my familiar North Star, Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Cassiopeia, but instead see constellations of Scorpio, Libra, Centaurus, and the Southern Cross. What a neat thought to think, that God is even bigger than the sky I see, and that the people I meet could help give me a richer picture of who God is! I hope you’re doing some stargazing tonight. 🙂