| Report | Our group left Kansai International Airport on March 23rd and traveled to Auckland, New Zealand via Kuala Lumpur, arriving on the morning of the 24th. We were met there by our local coordinator, Shirley Bennett and her husband, who then drove us in two rented vans to our build site in the picturesque little country town of Otorohanga, some two and a half hours to the southwest. Aftera very long trip, we were all very tired, so following a brief orientation, we retired to our rooms at the Palm Court Motel. This motel is conveniently located at the edge of the commercial district and was less than ten minutes on foot from our build site. It was very clean, spacious and comfortable and the staff were kind and helpful, but oddly there were no closets or chests of draweres to keep our clothes in - so we lived out our suitcases the whole time.
The morning following our arrival we went straight to work. We helped to build a single storey, three bedroom, tri-panel home for the Tane family. Iwas very impressed by how easily and well our hight school members caught on to the work and fit in, working in harmony with the local volunteers and staff. The Kiwis were happily surprised too, as a previous negative experience with a junior high group from another Asian county had made the Central North Island chapter wary of accepting secondary school aged groups. We helped with every aspect of construction except installing the electrical system.
Also very impressive was how quickly we could build such a solid and substantial house. The method of the construction seemed little differnt from a comparable professionally built house in Japan or the US. By the time we left, the exterior was nearly finished and the interior was well on it's way.
Seven members of our tema (two adults and five students) could only stay for five full days in NZ due to other commitments. So they only had a half day of R&R in the afternoon of their last building day (3/28). The highlight was visiting a native bird park in town that is famous for its successful kiwi (the bird) breeding program. The rest of us had a whole weekend. On Saturday, March 29th, while the gang of seven reluctantly returned to Auckland, we visited one of the famous glow worm caves in Waitomo and attended the annual sheep muster in the town of Te Kuiti. The sheep muster is the highlight of a town fair in withich over 2000 sheep are herded along the main street of the town, On Sunday, we visited Rotorua, the tourist center which is famous for its hot springs, geysers and Maori cultre.
As for our meals, we took care of our own breakfast, stocking up at the supermarket that is across the street from the motel. But lunches and morning and afternoon teas were catered by local volunteers led by Ann, who welcomed us into her cozy home most evenings to enjoy her traditional New Zealand style home cooking, heaty and simple fare that included rost lamb, potatoes, yams and a variety of vegetables. Lunches and teas consisted of a wide assortment of sandwiches, quiches, cakes, pies, cookies and other goodies that froced us to work very hard in order to avoid gaining too much weight. I think it was all planned...:-)
Ours was the first Japanese group ever to do a GV build in New Zealand and for all of the members except myself, it was our first build. It was a wonderful and rewarding experience and satisfaction from having extended what they had presumed to be the limits of their abilities (and perhaps even discovering some new talents!). The Tane house is Otorohang stands as an accomplishement that we can all be proud of. We wish the Tane family many many happy years there!
Our heartfelt thanks go to all of the NZ volunteers and staff who made us feel at home and who patiently guided us along in our tasks, Till we meet again...Kia ora! |
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