Soaring On The Lord's Day

This morning we worshipped at the Dunedin City Corps, where we enjoyed a warm welcome and encountered the presence of God in fellowship together. Captain Alister Irwin gave a thought provoking message on the Nehemiah principle ~ recognizing a need and handing it over to God for "together" action!

Then again we encountered the presence of God as we experienced nature ~ this time at the Royal Albatross Centre, where we witnessed these humongous birds in soaring flight (and I have a nice photo to prove it!) Next stop was a self-guided walking tour of Larnach Castle and grounds. This is NZ's only castle and one that has been restored for our enjoyment.

So...we soared with God today in so many ways. How about you?

Isaiah 40:27 (MSG) ~ "...those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind."

Southern Scenic Sojourn

Well, we arrived safely in Te Anau but, unfortunately, didn't make it to experience our Milford Sound boat cruise as the road remained closed until the day after we left town. As the saying goes, "When life deals you lemons, make lemonade"... so we did! We made the most of the opportunity to experience a local tour of the Glowworm Caves. A short cruise across Lake Te Anau was a sight to behold, as was walking down into the dark caves to board a dingy-type boat for a journey into the complete darkness of the glowworm grotto. Dabak fully appreciated the variety of sounds caused by the cascading waters as we ventured to deeper and darker depths.

Leaving Te Anau on Thursday morning, we headed to Invercargill ~ NZ's southernmost city and the home to Bert Munro of the Indian motorcycle fame. Though quite a remote, rural area it is uniquely beautiful, with tremendous botanical gardens and an array of sightseeing wonders. A highlight was to see Dabak enjoying feeding a lamb and getting to pat a baby goat ~ all part of our "Animal Farm" Holiday Park encounter.

On Friday morning, we left for a three-night stopover in Dunedin. Of course, first on the agenda after our 5-hour ride, was a walking tour of the Cadbury Factory, complete with sexy hairnets. The samples were nice as were some bargains from their chocolate shop. Yummy!

Saturday was another 'scenic delight'. This began with another walking tour ~ this time of the picturesque Botanical Gardens next door to our motel. We enjoyed the walk ~ I took heaps of floral and fauna photos while Dabak navigated her way around the many paths, often discovering interesting things for me to photograph. It was awesome!

In the afternoon, we boarded the Taieri Gorge Railway for a stunning 76km return trip through the city suburbs and into a "gorge-ous" area surrounded by cliffs, mountains and bushland. Here's Dabak enjoying the journey with one of our travelling companions.

Isaiah 33:17 (NIV) ~ "Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar."