Greetings from Wellington, NZ

Many of you know that one of my very dearest friends works for the Department of State. Wellington, NZ is his current post, and periodically he sends out a newsy e-mail. This is the "newsletter" I received this morning- sounds like he will be doing some neat stuff soon, like meeting Sir Edmund Hillary.


Greetings from Wellington!

Spring is almost upon us in Wellington and the temps are edging up into the 60s every day. Woohoo! In addition, and best of all, there is almost daily sunshine! Lately, the wind has been moderate, though the locals tell me that will change -- spring being the windiest time of year in Wellington. Considering how windy it was this winter, I can't imagine how it can be worse.

Coincidentally, Wellington is about the same latitude (that is, distance from the equator) as Lincoln, Nebraska, where I lived most of my life. In spite of that, winter here was much different than in Lincoln. Nebraska has horrendous winters with snow, ice and temps near zero degrees Fahrenheit. Wellington, on the other hand, in the worst of winter, only has temps into the 40s. The reason is the warm tropical current that flows down from the tropics, which also gives NZ it's rainy winter weather. But the striking thing about winter in NZ is the presence of green foliage all year long and, even more amazing, there are flowering bushes and trees throughout the year as well!

At the Royal Port Nickelson Yacht Club, the winter racing series ended in August and the spring racing series began in September, without skipping a beat. No lack of sailing opportunities here. These are hard core sailors.

I was honored with a promotion in August. No, not in my job at the embassy -- something much more important. I was advanced to the position of helmsman on "Airship," the 31-foot boat on which I race. I must admit some nervousness, however. With the honor goes a lot of pressure. Even though I've raced sailboats for more than 20 years and I've had hundreds of starts -- each being a heart-pounding event -- this is a completely different ball game. Our 31-footer is one of the smallest boats in the fleet; the other skippers are very experienced and aggressive on the line; and the sailing conditions can be grueling. Also, I'm the new guy on the block, driving someone else's boat, with an owner and crew on board wondering, no doubt, if this guy really knows what he's doing. Despite all that, we've been doing well and, thank God, I haven't run into another boat or lost anyone overboard, which is a big relief!

Last Saturday's race was one of the most memorable days I've ever enjoyed on the water, which is saying a lot. It was an ideal day for sailing: 60 degrees and sunny with 12-14 knot winds. The fleet has huge (about 40 boats), our 8-person crew worked like a well-oiled machine, and we had a perfect start. We crossed the harbor 3 times in a huge triangle (about 6 or 7 miles on each leg), and experienced a spectacular spinnaker run: Imagine our large fleet on the downwind run, all flying multicolor spinnakers, and surrounded by gorgeous mountains which happened to be adorned with recently-blossomed flowering yellow shrubs. It was difficult to concentrate on the race amid that stunning scenery.

Following each race, and after the boats are cleaned up and put on their moorings, it is time to fire up the grills at the yacht club and break out the burgers, sausages, beer and wine. It's funny -- sailors are the same all over the world! I've made many new friends in the club who, like sailors everywhere, welcome someone who shares their passion for sailing. They've embraced me like an old acquaintance and made me feel, for the first time since I arrived, like I'm no longer a stranger here. Sometimes I can't help thinking about how blessed I am to be in NZ -- especially driving a racing yacht in such a beautiful location. I've also reflected on where I first learned to sail [on a tiny midwestern lake (about 40 acres in size) in a 12-foot 2-person sailboat] and what a strange road I had to take to get here. Life is good...and amazing.

Ingrid and I are still staying closely in touch and we miss each other very much. Since we parted in early July, we talk on the phone at least twice a day. But that's no substitute for being together, so we met in Hawaii last week and had a wonderful time together (see photo attached). We selected Maui because it happens to be almost half-way between Haiti and New Zealand -- about 5,000 miles west for Ingrid, and 5,000 miles northeast for me (over nothing but ocean). It has been only a week since we saw each other, and I already miss her more than I can describe.

Flying to Hawaii over all that water impressed me with vastness of the Pacific ocean. As the largest of the world's five oceans, the Pacific covers 28% of the global surface. It's even larger than the total land area of the entire world. When you look at the south Pacific on a globe, most people underestimate the distances and conclude that New Zealand is close to Australia. But in fact, Wellington and Sydney are 1400 miles apart! -- the distance from Lincoln, Nebraska to Los Angeles. Until you travel here, its difficult to understand just how great the distances are and how isolated NZ is.

The flight from LAX to Auckland is 12 hours, which seems like an horrendous amount of time to sit in an economy class airplane seat. However, I recall driving for 10 hours from Lincoln, Nebraska to Denver on many occasions, and that drive seemed much more stressful and constrained. So I don't think the flight is so bad. I just plug into my iPod, open a good book and, before I know it, we're landing.

Speaking of car travel, I bought a car last weekend: A 2006 Toyota Corolla Hatchback (a model not sold in the US), silver with black interior. I resisted the temptation to go without a car because, even though I walk to work, you really need wheels to explore the nooks and crannies of this beautiful country. I also resisted the temptation to buy an SUV which, with US$4.50/gallon gas, doesn't make much sense (for that reason, 99% of the cars here are compacts). The Corolla is very popular in NZ, so it will be easy for me to sell it in 2 years. In addition, it's a sporty little car with good mileage (35 mpg), a surprising amount of interior space, and it's fun to drive -- especially on NZ's winding mountain roads. Zoom, zoom, zoom!!!

I'm departing for Christchurch, NZ next week (on the east coast of NZ's south island) to accompany the ambassador at the annual festivities celebrating the opening of the 2007 season on "The Ice" (as Antarctica is called here). With the weather improving, many scientists will be arriving soon for departure to The Ice by aircraft from Christchurch to McMurdo Station (the US base near the Ross Ice Shelf) and then, on planes equipped with skis instead of wheels, to the US base at the South Pole. All of the US activities in Antarctica are managed and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and you can get more information on its website (www.nsf.gov).
NZ is the jumping off point for most of the NSF scientific expeditions to The Ice, which is why the US Embassy in NZ is involved in diplomatic and other legal issues relating to Antarctica. I'm proud to say that handling those matters is my biggest responsibility. Now that the season is opening, I expect to be very busy. Will I have an opportunity to go to The Ice? I can't say for sure but, if history is a guide, most of my predecessors were able to go to the South Pole. It would be the thrill of a lifetime. And speaking of thrills, next week in Christchurch I'll be meeting Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mt. Everest! He is perhaps NZ's most famous living hero.
In case you're interested, there are tours to Antarctica via cruise ships that depart from South America. I'm told the tours are impressive, even though they only travel to the Antarctica peninsula (just below South America), which is but one small part of "the coolest place on earth" and a long way from the main and the coldest part of the continent. It would be like visiting North America and only stopping in the Florida Keys -- but it would be worth it nonetheless. Be warned however: Such a cruise is not for the feint-hearted or weak-of-stomach -- it requires crossing the roughest waters on the planet.
Finally, I'll share one tidbit of Kiwi cultural trivia. I love a good hamburger and I've been sampling the Kiwi version on several occasions since I arrived. A Kiwi burger is much the same as an American burger, with one big exception: they love to serve them with, of all things, beets. Yes, that's right: cooked, sliced, chilled beets (Kiwis call it "beet root") -- right there, sandwiched in the bun with the burger, cheese, lettuce and onions. Beets. Unbelievable! Normally I like beets, but this is a combination I that haven't been able to accept yet, and I doubt that I ever will. There are limits to diplomacy and adapting to new cultures.

In my next update, I'll include more Kiwi cultural trivia and I'll explain my job at the embassy (just so you US taxpayers in the group know that I'm doing more than just sailing . I hate to leave you in suspense, but this e-mail is too long and I should close. Until the next time...

Sending warmest regards from slowly-becoming-less-chilly-Wellington,