South Island Trip - Day 5: On to Invercargill

Sunday morning we went to church at the Queenstown Branch.  This congregation is what we call a "One Slice Branch", meaning they only use one slice of bread broken up into pieces to pass the Sacrament.

There were around twenty people attending and a few of those, like us, were visitors. The leaders and members there were very welcoming, but we could tell it is a struggle for them to keep things going with so few people.  It reminded us of our early days in Paw Paw Branch back in Michigan.

Both Larry and I were invited to bear our testimonies which we were happy to do.  After Sacrament service was over we headed out so we could get on the road to Invercaragill.

At the encouragement of the Sister  McClean we took time to walk through the Queenstown gardens on our way out of town, knowing it was unlikely we would ever be in that beautiful city again.  We were very impressed.  The trees, shrubs, flowers and pathways were truly spectacular.  By this point we had seen so much beauty I almost felt my ability to take it in and fully appreciate it was exhausted.  Still, the calm, peaceful feeling I had as I walked through those gardens is something I hope to never forget.

When we had begun planning this trip we made several attempts to contact someone from the branch in Invercargill that we could meet with, but we never got a response. We knew their FHC had been closed for several months since their building was undergoing some renovations,  Still, we had hoped to get in touch with one of the leaders so we could at least hand off the electronic files we put on all the FHC computers and to learn what their plans were going forward for their center. With no prior arrangements in place we figured we would just take our chances when we got there and see what we might find.

It was on this part of our trip we had another interesting thing happen.  Larry had originally made reservations at an inexpensive motel in town.  However, after talking it over we decided to cancel that reservation and find something a little more charming as the motel he had found had been very bare bones.  We didn't need fancy, but we didn't want ugly either!

So we did some looking on line and had found a place called "Down South Cottage" on HomeAway that looked nice that was in our budget. 

  Being totally unfamiliar with the area, we had no idea what this might be close to.  When we arrived we discovered that the new accommodation we felt drawn to when we looked online was just down the road from the LDS church we wanted to visit.  It was just one more in a long line of  little blessings that made this trip - like our whole mission - feel guided from above.

 Once we got settled into our place we decided to go on down to the church on the off chance that someone might be there.  We knew this was a long-shot as it was late in the day on Sunday afternoon long after all the meetings would have ended.  As expected, there were no vehicles in the carpark. However, one of the back doors was standing wide open, which rather surprised us. Then we saw a bicycle propped against the building so we knew someone was indeed there. We went on in to see who we might find. 

Imagine our surprise when the person we found in the building was James Stapleforth, the Family History Center Director we had been trying to contact. He also served as the ward clerk so he was there working on some reports. He was happy to open up the center so we could put the training resources onto the computers and take inventory of the equipment. Then we worked with him to help him submit a family name since he had not done this in quite a long time  We had a really good conversation with him and felt like everything on our South Island adventure was falling in to place.

South Island Trip - Day 4: Milford Sound

Saturday was a day  we had set aside for a trip to Milford Sound - one of the most beautiful places in all of New Zealand.  It did not disappoint.  The weather was absolutely perfect and the views were out of this world.

 We got on the bus that would take us there about 7:30 that morning.  The views all the way up to the fjord were absolutely stunning.  Then, once we got to the Sound, we got onto a boat that took us on a lovely cruise up through sheer granite cliffs to some of the most majestic views we had ever seen.   We had a nice buffet lunch aboard the boat.  Then we went up to the top deck to fully appreciate the beauty of this very special place.

It was nearly 8:00 PM by the time we got back to our room in Queenstown.  We were tired, but feeling so full of awe for all that we had seen.


We are so grateful we got to spend this time on the South Island for our final part of this mission.  We've felt especially close to each other and to Heavenly Father as we prepare ourselves to transition back to our American life.   These past 22 months have been such a precious gift.  Our time here has truly been the icing on the cake.

South Island Trip - Day 3: Queenstown in the Spring

On Friday morning we had planned to spend some time exploring around Fox Glacier, but the weather "turned to custard" as they say here in New Zealand.  The skies were totally grey so we couldn't see the mountains at all and it rained hard all morning long.  So we simply got on the road and headed on down toward Queenstown.  



Because it rained most of the morning we got glimpses of many waterfalls coming down the mountain sides.  The rain let up enough for us to get out and do a short walk at Fantail Falls.

A 23 metre waterfall, Fantail Falls is located in Mt Aspiring National Park, along HAAST Highway. 

It rained for quite a bit of the morning, but once the skies lifted we began to get some amazing views as of the stunning South Island scenery.

We stopped for lunch in Wanaka which was a lovely lakeside community surrounded by stunning mountain views.  We would have like to have had more time there, but we wanted to make Queenstown while we still had plenty of daylight, so after lunch and a short walk around town, we got back on the road.

Travelbrochures.org

After several hours of car time through some very beautiful country, we finally arrived at our destination of Queenstown.   This is what Wikipedia has to say about it:

Queenstown (Māori: Tāhuna) is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island.

It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains such asThe Remarkables, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak and just above the town; Ben Lomond and Queenstown Hill.

Queenstown has an urban population of 13,150 (June 2015 estimate),^[3] making it the 29th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest urban area in Otago, behindDunedin and Oamaru.

The Queenstown-Lakes District has a land area of 8,704.97 square kilometres (3,361.01 sq mi) not counting its inland lakes (Lake Hāwea, Lake Wakatipu, and Lake Wanaka). The region has an estimated resident population of 32,400 (June 2015 estimate).^[3] Its neighbouring towns include Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Kingston, Wanaka, Alexandra, and Cromwell. The nearest cities are Dunedin and Invercargill. Queenstown is known for its commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism.

We LOVED the view of the mountain range known as the "Remarkables" we had from our room.                      

After finding our motel and getting settled there, we went out to find where the LDS chapel was so we would know where to go for meetings on Sunday. Being early spring, all of Queenstown was in bloom. We were very impressed by how beautiful the town was. 

Next we went to find a place to have dinner. There is no FHC in Queenstown, so we did not have any appointments there. We expected our time here would be a chance to catch our breath between meetings and relax a bit.  However, as we were sitting in the restaurant eating our fajitas, I got a STRONG prompting that we needed to contact the leaders of the church in the branch.

We brought up a hotspot with Larry’s phone so we could go online and check the Church Director of Leaders (CDOL) for contact information. The person listed as  “Acting Branch President”, had no phone number given. However, there was a phone number for the first counselor, Peter McClean, so we called him. A child answered the phone and began chatting, apparently not too eager to hand the phone over to an adult. Eventually, however, a woman’s voice came on.  I was able to introduce myself and explain we were Family History missionaries from Auckland.

As soon as I said “Family History”, I heard a sharp intake of breath. Then Sister McClean explained: “I can’t believe this. My husband and I are planning to go to the temple.  We want to take family names to take with us.  Also, we want to teach our children about our family history.  But, we don’t know how. There is no one in our branch who could help us. So I said a prayer that Heavenly Father would help me find a way to learn how to do this. And now you are here. You are an answer to my prayers.” That was very humbling. 

I told Sister McClean we would be in church with them that Sunday. However, she said there was a game night activity at the church that very night and they would love it if we could come. So we hurried up and finished our dinner, then went back to our room to change into fresh clothes and get our computer to take to the church.  We very much enjoyed getting to know the McClean family.  Originally from the island of Vava'u in Tonga, they have lived in New Zealand for about ten years.  When we told them we knew Vava'u they were excited and we had a very animated conversation about life on the island.  Then I helped both Brother McClean and his wife to submit family names to take to the temple. This was their first time ever being able to do this for their own ancestors. Getting a chance to work with them was an extra blessing for us we had not expected.  We had much to give thanks for that night.

South Island Trip - Day 2: Greymouth and Fox Glacier

From Westport to Greymouth was another long drive of several hours.  We broke it up by stopping two places along the way.  Our first break was at  Cape Foulwind Walkway & Seal Colony Walk

Their website has this to say about it:
"A short walk with spectacular ocean views, steeple rocks, and a large year-round fur sea colony.   One of New Zealand’s most accessible seal colonies can be found just out of Westport on the edge of Tauranga Bay. The 10 -minute track from the car park is suitable for wheelchairs and leads to viewing platforms directly overlooking the colony. Although this is a year-round colony, the best time to view is October to March when the big bull seals return to mate and the pups are at their most playful."

We didn't stay long, but it felt good to stretch our legs a bit and appreciate the views. 

Then after a bit longer drive we got to Punakaiki, home of Pancake Rocks & Blowholes.  We took a bit longer break here to full appreciate the trails, and then stopped at the cafe to order PANCAKES - what else?

 When my sister came to visit us in May it was quite rainy.  Because of that was that we had rainbows every day of her visit.  This trip we had mostly clear skies, so there were no rainbows. However, at the blowholes of pancake rocks there was enough mist pushed into the air to make a doozie of a rainbow that made me think of my sister and smile.

When we got back on the road from that point we drove fairly close to the coastline for several miles.  We took LOTS of photos of scene after scene of the beautiful ocean views, but none of the pictures come even close to capturing the feeling we had being there.

Finally we arrived at Greymouth.  

Photo from Trip Advisor

The town of Greymouth gets its name from being situated at the mouth of the Grey River.  According to Wikipedia, "Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is 13,650, which accounts for 42% of the West Coast's inhabitants. The Greymouth urban area had an estimated population of 9,850 (June 2015 estimates).^[1] The District Council expects growth of 1.5% per year between 2006 and 2016.^[2]

The town is located at the mouth of the Grey River, on a narrow coastal plain close to the foot of the Southern Alps. In clear weather, Aoraki / Mount Cook can be clearly seen to the south from near the town. "
We definitely got some gorgeous views of the mountains driving through town.

We had an appointment at 1:00 PM at the Family History Center to meet with  Elder and Sister Snow who are full time Senior Missionaries assigned to that area in the role of member and leadership support.  Again, we installed the resource files and took inventory, then chatted about how things were going in the FHC.  

Elder & Sister Snow with their Family 15 Charts

 With just one computer they are limited in how many people they can serve, but Sister Snow has managed to help several members of their small branch.  Also there is a FH Consultant, Boleta, who works in the center one day each week.  We met Boleta at the very beginning of our mission when she came to Auckland, so I would have liked to catch up with her now that we are near the end.  Unfortunately she was not available to be there the day we came.

Greymouth FHC

After sharing some mission stories with the Snows and wishing them well, it was time to get back into the car and head on down the road to make it to the small mountain town of Fox Glacier, where we would be spending the night.

When we got there, the views were absolutely stunning.

We got ourselves a bite to eat at the Bigfoot Restaurant, then back at our room ended the evening with a toast to another successful day on the road.  (Yeah, we're Mormon Missionaries, so our "toast" was with milk. What can I say?)

We had covered lots of ground over a short time.  We had seen beaches, bush, and incredible mountains and valleys.  We were just getting started on our South Island Sojourn, and already we were feeling like our hearts were full with the beauty and love that we felt.  Living in this land has been such an amazing privilege and adventure.  As much as it has been a delight to fully experience the North Island, we were feeling deeply grateful to get to end up our mission with this taste of the other half of our adopted country.