Coastal Flying

Got another flight in this morning on my way to a New Zealand Private Pilot License.  I've been flying the club's 152, and yep, that's a 20 degree crab into the wind.

A requirement for the license is at least 2 hours of "low flying".  I get the impression that not many pilots here are IFR current or qualified, so this low flying requirement is teaching weather escape maneuvers.  General aviation here is, from what I can tell, struggling.  ATC is privatized and there are user fees on most services, not to mention gas is terribly expensive.  I found an Arrow to rent on the south island for $300 per hour.  Ouch.

Lake Taupo, New friends

Lake Taupo

This past weekend, we traveled to Lake Taupo on the central plains of the north island.  We drove across the island on the Forgotten World Highway and came back on State Highway 1.  I recommend using Highway 1, unless you're into 150 km of switchbacks.  There was some nice scenery along the way, but I didn't see much of it as I squeezed the gray juice out of the steering wheel. 

Actually, the driving wasn't that bad, but sitting through it in the back seat made the kids queasy.  Our kids have never blinked at the roughest rides in our Arrow, but a few hours zig-zagging at 40 kph almost put them over the edge.

Mt Ruapeho and Ngauruhoe

We picked up a place to stay in Taupo via AirBnB and our hosts and new found friends were the highlight of the trip.  The couple, Gordon and Charmaine, are from South Africa and Zimbabwe and it was a complete delight to hang out with them for the weekend. 

Gordon is an Electrical Engineer and worked on the geothermal plants in the area.  Charmaine works for Nestle.  I'm not quite sure why I seem to hit it off with EE guys.  Gordon told me the geothermal plants in the Taupo area produce a respectable 350 MW of power. 

We've met quite a few South Africans living here.  All those we've talked with left Africa to get away from the terrible crime rates.

Jack on the Dragon Slide

Taupo was a pleasant, touristy city.  The lake is beautiful and somewhat sinister as it covers a huge caldera.  We took a jet boat ride on the river, walked through an active thermal area called Craters of the Moon, visited a glass blowing shop and the DeBretts mineral pools.  And we had some great meals.  Charmaine was kind enough to cook us ribs one night, and being an empty nester, she was eager to spoil our kiddos.  Hopefully, we can get back to see them before our year is up.

Charmaine and Steven playing Scrabble

Sunset beach

We ran to the beach down the road for a few minutes one evening to watch the sunset.  It was lovely.

Laura

The boys with our neighbor, Sean

Steven is an accomplished photographer

Bub and Steven

Jack in the sea foam

Field Trip

I went with Steven on the 20th to his first school field trip to a camp called Vertical Horizons near New Plymouth.  His class had been to the camp earlier in the year and they were coming back to pick up some remaining obstacles/activities.

Waiting on the bus

Mud

 Steven opted out of swimming and the mud run.  I don't blame him.  It was windy and cool and the water was none too warm.

Not sure about the expression

Check out our photo feed for some videos of the trip.

A quick beach stop

On the way back from Tongariro, we took a quick stop at Patea beach at sunset.  A shipwreck from 1923 is eroding out of the dunes.

The Seawall

Wreck of the Waitangi

Another weekend, another waterfall

We've ventured out the past few weekends (and we're headed out again this weekend) to some nice waterfalls in the area.  The weekend of 11 Oct, we went to Dawson Falls on Mt Taranaki.  It was a pleasant day trip and we got some good shots.

Dawson Falls

 We ran into some fellow ex-pats at the bottom of the falls.  They're from Montana and nearing the end of their year-long assignment and looking to extend.  They were placed by the same staffing company that placed us.

 

Top of the Falls

Last weekend, 18 Oct, we took a bit longer trip to Ohakune and to Waitonga Falls on Mt Tongariro and our walk that day was a bit longer.  We crossed this little bridge at the beginning of our 90 minute walk.

Shot the bridge photo from here

There were quite a few stairs as we went up the side of the ridge, causing the boys to take advantage of any place to stop.

Up to Shelob's lair

Pooped

 On top of the ridge, we came onto a swampy flat area with a walkway.  The walkway was pleasant on the way to the falls with the wind and mist at our backs, but it was really blustery on the way out.  Laura was disinclined to stop when I stepped aside to take a photo.

Looking back at the walkway

Waitonga Falls

 The falls were beautiful.  The stream flowing down from them reminded us of one of Gollum's fishing spots.

Steven's favorite part of hiking

Gollum fished here, maybe

All in all, a good trip despite the winding roads.

Kelly Tarleton's

One tourist attraction we visited in Auckland was Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium.  It was small-ish by US standards, but we had fun.  Jack found the simulated octopus suckers and discovered they require 9 kg of force to remove from your cheek.  And they leave a mark.  Good stuff.

Milk Trucks

In Mississippi, it is logging trucks.  Here in Taranaki, the largest industry is dairy. Dairy farms are spread all the way around Mt. Taranaki and with the industry, comes lots of trucks.  We'll see ten to fifteen of these guys rumbling through town every day.  A couple of the drivers have flags in back of their cabs.  I've seen a Union Jack and the Jolly Roger.

Laura had a 70 yr old woman who was a smoker.  Laura suggested to the lady to quit smoking, to which she replied, "I'm more likely to get hit by one of these milk trucks than to die from smoking".

settling in-

My first day of work was spent meeting people, driving to the nearby town to meet a supervisor doc in private practice, viewing the electronic medical record with another supervising doc, touring the Hawera hospital (10 beds and a nice ER) and viewing forms.  Second - fifth days were patients spaced mostly 30 minutes apart. I shadowed my supervisor on a few of his patients.

Kiwi people have a birthright of universal healthcare and income assistance. Accident coverage can be provided for everyone, (even self-inflicted snowboarding) and disability/work income. Most of the Work/Income (WINZ) forms I have done for pts this week have been appropriate- more appropriate than most of what docs are asked to complete in the US.  Very few requests for pain meds- most folks take panadol (our tylenol) or ibuprofen. I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of the EMR- much more user friendly than anything I've seen in the States. The biggest challenge is just learning the referral system and the meds. Furosemide (Lasix) is frusemide. -yeh- sounds alike but when spelling in an EMR on a 15 minute visit for a heart failure, hypertensive, constipated, high cholesterol, diabetic, etc. patient- frustrating to go through all the f and l lists of drugs to find it.

This week I'll move from a temporary room to my own for the year. The docs in our practice stay in the "consult room" and retrieve the triaged patient. No room hopping. Procedures and EKGs are done in the "theatre". No exam tables with stirrups, but there are abundant sheets and pillows for each room. (I could never find a pillow in any previous practice.) The Maori people have an opening prayer at 8:30 to start their day, and a closing one around 4. I'm usually working during that time, but I did get to participate in the opening on Friday. I can hear them singing down the hall. It's very peaceful. Most of them are very spiritual and nature respecting. Most are Catholic/ Christian and very focused on their family. They are all kind and respectful.

I finished electronic tasks at 8pm on Friday, but hope that I am getting faster. We currently have to print all Rxs, letters and labs, but most forms and radiology requests are electronic. They do not screen for colon cancer here. Cervical paps are done by the nurses with the patient lying on their side. Ending flu season here, but a flu swab is a 2 day send out. No rapid strep tests- just throat cultures (which is fine with me). They use a lot of chloramphenicol for antibiotic eye drops. Well child checks are all done by a nurse practitioner, but I still get to do a few, and do 10 minute walk in visits on sick kids. Most GPs here do not do prenatal or obstetric care. There is one private guy in town that does but I haven't met him yet. Midwives do all routine deliveries and OBs do the C sections and complicated pregnancies.

Yesterday was our first "trek" in Hawera. The weather was "fine" as the forecasters here say. We could clearly see Mt Taranaki as we drove the 40 minutes to the base. Just a short 8 km up is a very stressful drive due to the road being so twisty and narrow. There is a beautiful hiking area and we chose the loop to Dawson's Falls. We wound through mossy rocks, ferns, huge canopies of trees, and nice steps and walkways on a well marked path. No animal other than 2 bugs that we saw all day. The Falls were gorgeous. The water was cold as Jack found out, but a scooby snack of crackers and cookies was enjoyed and all was well. Steven tried bargaining for everyone's chocolate toffee cookies but none were willing to share. We met a family from Montana- she is a family medicine physician who placed with Global medical Staffing too!
After going "up,up,up the stairs"(sorry- there will likely be lots of Lord of the Rings quotes while we are here) we made it back to the car. Though we climbed nowhere near the top, we realized the snow at the top was actually ice glistening in the sunlight. The mountain (really a volcano, but locals only call it a mt.) has a different shape from every viewpoint. We descended and drove from the southern approach to the east and drove up again a short ways to a restaurant. It is on the land that the Maori group I work with owns. The Ngati Ruanui call it the Mt Lodge, and perhaps lease the land to a couple who run a lovely cafe and motel. The road to it twists but is actually 2 cars wide.

After a quick clean up, we headed to my supervisor's beautiful home and had home-killed lamb and venison. He grilled on a Weber grill and remarked what a great export from the U.S. it was. He said all the doctors he worked with here that were from the US were well trained. Glad we can have a positive global impact at least on grills and docs. :)
I introduced them to Crystal Light, Ranch dip, and chess squares.
We were able to see the 15 minute fireworks show in Hawera from their home- much like our July 4th show at home. Guys are all sleeping and I am feeling the effects of only exercising twice since I've arrived. It is Sunday 7am, so after sone sweat and later visiting a church here in town, I'll be ready for another Bama game- maybe a better outcome that I can hopefully watch. Roll Tide!

Beach goo

As it rains, the runoff erodes the ash cliff at the beach.  The runoff creates miniature alluvial fans on the beach.  The light colored ash contrasts with the dark sand making some interesting patterns and the ash has the consistency of wet clay, as Jack found out.

Ash debris flow

Bleh

Ohawe Beach

Here in our house at Denby Heights, Ohawe beach is only 1.5 km away to the south.
The boys and I have been down three times and the different character
of the beach has been striking.  A sign at the beach warns that
walking along the beach is only recommended within 2.5 hours of low
tide.  That's understandable because the beach ends at the base of a

High Tide

cliff of volcanic ash roughly 50 ft high.

Volcanic ash cliff

Low tide

The sand is volcanic and about the same color as asphalt.  A few days later we went down near low tide and it's easy to see why swimming isn't recommended.  Rocks.  Big rocks.  Lots of them.

We made to New Zealand! It seems like such a long time in the making, and we still marvel at the beauty of this country as we look out our windows.

After 4 days in Auckland, we flew to New Plymouth and then rode to Hawera, where we are settling in to life for one year. We'll give back details and post pictures later. The dates here are written day/month/year, so we will try to post in that manner.

5/10/2014 Sunday. Slept late and Bubba was able to finagle getting the Alabama football game. We didn't get to watch much though as it was 8:30 am here and there were boys to feed and prep for church. We attended Hawera Presbyterian Church. Lots of young kids in the congregation. Great message and several of the songs we knew- Chris Tomlin's "How Great is our God", Twila Paris' "He is Exalted" made Laura feel at home!Two men were prayed over to become new managers and the story of Steven and the servants of the church was read. We then watched a film by Robert Morris about why we should not tolerate the spirit of Jezebel. I've read that story several times in 1Kings but love getting new revelations!(The video is on You Tube if you go to  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtW074wfF9o ). Jack wanted some hot wings so we tried KFC here in Hawera. meh-not as good as Granny's fried chicken or KFC in the US, but we added some Franks wing sauce and it was good. We were unable to pull up the AL game afterwards, but Steven shared that Bama lost. Not much point in watching that game now-bleh. We skyped with Bubba's family, played some on the computer, and left to get more groceries.

These boys are plowing through the milk. (about $7/gallon here- sold in liters) The dairy here in town is Fontera- the largest in the world! Lots of cows around. They have a free milk for schools program here. The rest of NZ is mostly sheep.

We'll post more and show photos later, just wanted to get something going. Love to all!