Production Musings

New Zealand – Entry 4

// April 2nd, 2010 // 5 Comments » // Travel

Ok, let’s finish up with New Zealand and get on with our technical lives, eh? As I mentioned before, I had a particular adventure in store during this trip. Kellie and I have been dating for nearly a year and God has positively had His hand on our relationship and has been leading us down paths that are merging together. Both of us have grown over the past year in our obedience in following Christ and our love for one another. For me, there has been no greater teacher than that of past mistakes, failures, and just plain stupidity/foolishness…for I am a wretch in constant need of grace. God is teaching me though – the true essence of loving another as Christ loves us. Because of His goodness, faithfulness, redemption, and forgiveness and because Kellie is an amazing Godly woman with the patience of Job and because I think she’s beautiful inside and out I wanted to ask for for her hand in marriage. And I wanted to make it special. So, this is why I went to New Zealand. On the second day of our hike on the Routeburn Track, we climbed Conical Hill at Harris Saddle. It was a tough, steep, rocky climb and in the end well worth the views. At the top we were surrounded by tall, snow capped peaks of the Southern Alps. I handed Woody the camera and walked off with Kellie.

“Do you know why I brought you to New Zealand?” I asked.

“Uhmmmm, because you love me?” she said, smiling as the pitch of her voice raised 2 octaves by the end of her question.

“Yes. And because…” reaching into my pocket I pulled out the ring wrapped in a microfiber cloth which I had been safely carrying in my zipped side pocket since we left Virginia over a week and a half prior. “…I want you to be my wife. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

At this point, I probably should have had prepared a really great, “sweep-you-off-your-feet kind of speech”, but that’s all that came out. That and microbeads of sweat. And there I stood, nervous geek that I am, smiling. No only that but what happened next was slightly more embarrassing. She was crying and smiling and laughing all at the same time.

“Well, get down on one knee and ask me!” she said, smiling politely.

With one knee bent I asked properly and she said yes. It was a really beautiful moment for us both and we were happy that Woody and Nan could be a part of it. So for now, here’s a photo of the spot where it all went down:

We finished out a long day of hiking as an engaged couple. We slept well that night, thankful for new beginnings, new adventures and new spiritual places requiring full trust in God. The following morning I took this photo at Lake McKenzie before the wind came in to disturb the water:

To finish out this post, here are a few of my favorite photos from the South Island. First, our visit to Milford Sound. It was great to see and experience it but I don’t think I would do it again. In my opinion, you can see the geographic features from a much better perspective by hiking through it rather than from a cruise boat. None the less, it was still quite breath taking and we were fortunate enough to see seals and penguins in their native habitats. The second photo is one I took from Lake Matheson or “Mirror Lake” as they call it. On a clear day, Mt. Cook rises from the landscape and completes the photo nicely. You’ll just have to imagine what it could have looked like behind the clouds. The final photo was taken in Punakaiki of the Pancake Rocks. There were some really amazing rock formations and what’s interesting is that geologists really have no earthly idea how they were formed to look like stacks of pancakes. This was our final evening on the South Island of New Zealand before we began traveling back to Auckland, through Sidney for a day and then back to Virginia. Thanks for bearing with me on this recap of our adventure.

New Zealand – Entry 3

// March 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Travel

The centerpiece of the trip was the Routeburn Track, a 3 day, 32 kilometer traverse of Mount Aspiring and Fiordland National Park. National Geographic rated it as one of the top 11 classic hikes in the world. All of us were excited for the adventure and stories that awaited. I had a particular adventure in mind as we began.

It was a fairly easy walk to the Routeburn Flats campsite for our first night. We walked through some of the most beautiful, lush forest I’ve ever seen. Being with Woody, our lead pastor, provided great conversation. He notices details of the forest and actually stops to take time to smell plants and flowers. That’s a life lesson in itself. How often do we focus solely on accomplishing the task at hand that we completely overlook the joys along the way? It should be noted that this is Kellie’s first time backpacking AND tenting. In all fairness, she did exceptionally well. I wanted her to have the best experience possible and tried to think of everything I could to ensure that she would. So this is Routeburn Flats: Kellie’s tent, my tent and our view.

Hiking NZ is the stuff. An advantage or disadvantage, depending on the person, is that there is no dangerous wildlife in the country. As a matter of fact, the only native mammal to the islands are bats. Of course, they have their problems now with pests, all of which have been introduced by humans. Raise your hand if your a fan of hiking without  snakes.

New Zealand – Entry 2

// March 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // Travel

What do you do when it’s 2am and you can’t sleep? Blog, I guess.

He is quite fond of us. Being the theme for our trip we noted that, even if we’re walking in mud, 1 meter of water, pouring rain or snow…He’s still quite fond of us. Remembering that is yet another thing. When life really isn’t going the way I want it to go, there is a widened gap between knowing God is fond of me and feeling that God is fond of me. I often fail in both. While flying to the South Island, I couldn’t stop thinking of this. In the picture below, somewhere on the horizon straight ahead is Antarctica. You can’t see it though. The world is too big. Think about that for a moment: How big this world is or rather, how small we are. Traveling puts this into perspective, making God’s fondness of us a different size altogether.

Ok, a little less commentary. We’ve now reached the South Island, having visited Wellington, stayed with friends, and flown to Christchurch. We pick up the story in search of the highest mountain in New Zealand, Aoraki/Mt. Cook. Elevation 12, 316 feet. The Southern Alps of the South Island are something to see. Although much smaller than the Northern Alps, challenging mountaineering can be found here. Edmund Hillary is known for his climbing achievements here but mostly, of course, for Everest. Here we are on our way to Mt. Cook…you could see it except my head is in the way.

New Zealand – Entry 1

// March 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Travel

I’m back and nearly caught up with the list that patiently awaited my return. I have to give a HUGE thanks to Colin Harman and Tim Gosnell who enabled me to take such a great trip stress free by handling all of my responsibilities at Blue Ridge.

Ok, how about a few posts about the trip eh? I like pictures, so I’m including lots to look at.

Four of us went on the trip: Woody and Nan Torrence, Kellie Acuña, and myself. Despite weather delays, we all made it to Auckland within about 30 minutes of one another and were eager to drive the 5.5 hours to get us close to Tongariro National Park. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing was rumored to be the “best single day hike of the North Island.” We had to see for ourselves. The morning we set out the weather wasn’t the most desirable, cold and rainy. A ranger told us to expect colder at the top and more rain but we didn’t go halfway around the world to sit and talk about whether we should hike or not. We hiked.

Life Lesson 1 – Don’t waffle because of the weather forecast. We were prepared for cold, rain or snow but we didn’t need it. By the time we reached the top of the infamous “Devil’s Staircase” the blue sky had opened up to us and the Southern Alpine sun greeted us with warmth. Mount Ngauruhoe, elevation 7,516ft and pictured below, was a beautiful volcano. It has erupted 45 times in the 20th century and was also the landscape used to create Mt. Doom in LOTR.

Looking the opposite direction and from approximately 500 feet higher was a gorgeous volcanic valley. An explosion of color:

We didn’t arrange for transport on the other end of the hike so we reached the highest point of Mt. Tongariro, about 6,490 feet, and returned from where we came. While on the South Island, a park ranger told us that we hiked the best half and for that we were thankful. At any rate, here was the view looking opposite Mount Ngauruhoe. No, I did not Photoshop or enhance the color of the lakes…they truly are the “Emerald Lakes.” Loose scree makes for tricky footwork on the way down. You’ll notice the track heading up toward the left to the “Blue Lake” as it’s called.

We made our way back with little to complain about. Woody was reminded of Brennan Manning, who, in one of his books, tells the story of an Irish priest. The priest happens upon a peasant bent over praying along the street. The priest said to the peasant, “You must be very close to God.” The peasant responded with a smile, “He’s quite fond of me.” (Paraphrased) The thought quickly became a theme or motto of our time in New Zealand. We were quite satisfied and couldn’t help but think, “He’s quite fond of us.” Yes he is.