The Fishing Commitment

Last Saturday, we loaded the girls on Air NZ Flight 8338 out of Palmerston North for their return to our beloved Montana. A big surprise ensued as Maddy's good friends from Ross Intermediate School, Jesse and Abby with Dad (Graham), showed up at the airport to wish her well and see the departure of her plane back to the States. It was a thoughtful and heartfelt gesture that we will all remember very fondly. 

Following a safe arrival they've settled back into our home and have reported to me how ecstatic its been for them to reunite with our good friends of the Missoula community. We've been talking by phone or Skype every night. Thank you Google, Skype, and Al Gore (read somewhere he invented the internet) for keeping us connected.

This week has been notably busy with work here at Massey. After delivering a seminar talk last Friday to faculty from SEAT, MIS, and Health, I started completing the "list" of other projects with deadlines for this week. Kuda and I finished and submitted what ended up being a fairly long research paper aligning potential projects in Health IT and a blueprint for future collaboration between our two Universities. It required several late nights of writing and discussing. We were able to use a Google shared document as a co-authoring tool. Interesting technology. Submitting the paper commits us to presenting it in China come August and I'm certainly hoping Kuda can make it.

Also due was a lengthy presentation to be delivered remotely for an Australian conference covering the topic of Green IT. In addition to creating the presentation, I was required to build a self-made video production. I finished the recording today at noon and sent it to the folks in Aussie. It was a ton of work.

This week also marked the beginning of coverage for a new integrated software development environment we're using in the programming course I'm delivering. Finished writing/delivering three new lectures with two more left in the academic term. I've spent tons of time exploring the intricacies of this technology which I hadn't used before this experience. Lastly, I begin teaching two online courses next week at the University of Montana from afar.

Oh yeah, our photography business is in its busiest season and I'm fortunate to have two very capable individuals overseeing operations, but I still check in and help where needed. Our rental property has an issue with the bathroom (thank you Brad F. for helping). I sold the bike Wednesday and I think  I've a plan to sell the Subaru to an auction house the day before my exit.

So it's been an exhausting week, but things are falling into place. I certainly miss the girls. The house is quiet and lonely without their presence. BTW - in general kiwi houses are not insulated very well and the heater at our place is insufficient. On the cold nights, the single pane windows are covered with moisture. It reminds me of being in a tent without a decent fly. The condensation is massive adding to the 90% humidity found in the normal air. Additionally our dryer, by design, vents directly out the front panel and into the house. Asthma is a problem here for children due to poor air quality in homes.

I've made some new friends in Phil and Greg from the Sustainable Energy Center at Massey's SEAT. There are lots of common elements between SEAT's program and our program at UM. Phil and I continue to meet weekly to explore areas where our Universities might be able to collaborate. He's also a fly fisherman, so we spent a couple of hours on the river together last week.

So having experienced this ridiculously busy week I've just described, it's time for me to shift gears  by returning to the activity that grounds me - my passion of fly fishing.

Pay attention as this is an important announcement as I've made a new commitment:

I pledge to fish everyday for the next two weeks. Fourteen days baby:). The strategy is sensible as I don't have anything else to do in the evenings. I can work a split- shift: early morning work -> mid-day fish -> evening work. With winter approaching, the days are short. The sun sets before 5pm.

I think I have a good plan, but on the river tonight I was also thinking that a sponsorship and a cause are needed for this feat of endurance. Provided time permits there will be more to follow on this issue

Today - landed two very nice rainbow trout near town on the Manawatu. It just awesome being out walking the river! Autumn is a favorite season of mine and this year I will experience two autumn seasons. It's an interesting life.

The Royal Treatment

New Zealand friends John and Jenny Hornblow created an invitation for us to join Wiremu and his wife Trieste Te Awe Awe at the Rangitaane Marae. Wiremu is Kaumatua (tribal elder/chief) of the Rangitaane Maori community. Trieste and Wiremu treated us to a traditional welcoming ceremony. Following the ceremony Wirmue gave us a tour of the Marae and the history of his family in this area. Wiremu, Trieste, John, and Jenny have visited Montana as representatives of New Zealand and Missoula's sister city Palmerston North. A great photo of Wiremu and Trieste in front of the University of Montana is found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/singsinthetimber/4650133724/in/photostream/

Earlier in the week, we attended a dinner celebration as guests of John and Jenny. The cuisine was great and the company and entertainment was even better. Everyone attending this event was required to sing. Below is a photo of Wiremu singing the old Louis Armstrong tune "What a Wonderful World". 

We thank Wiremue and Trieste for their warm welcome and John and Jenny for bringing us together. Photos below demonstrate the traditional hongi welcome greeting. Hongi indicates we are no longer visitors, but friends of this great land.

End of the General Season

The general fishing season closes on April 30, but like Western waters in the States, lakes and larger rivers will remain open. On an earlier family trip, I found a small wilderness river that I hadn't fished yet, but had seen one large trout - actually a really large trout. Although Palmerston North does not receive the praise and accolades of other New Zealand fishing destinations, I have found some fine trout rivers in close proximity. I've caught decent fish during Sunday afternoon strolls on the Manawatu River right in the core of the city. The famous Rangateiki River is about an hour away. Lots of other smaller rivers are found within a short drive from "Palmy".

Rather than hike the trail into the forest park, I chose to drop down from a sheep paddock into this rugged canyon. It was a great early morning hike through some native bush. Although I don't think there are a lot of trout in this small river, I did manage to catch several in the 16-20" category. It's fun to be on such small water with these acrobatic fighters.

I also hooked what I think to be the largest fish of the trip to date. It was a solid hookup and I played him for a good 90 seconds before he ran my 2x tippet across a coarse rock on the bottom of a deep pool. Although I was disappointed not to land this behemoth, it was still a great thrill!

Autumn is slowly changing to winter as our time in this foreign land will soon come to a close. Maddy and Linda are slated for a mid-May return to the States. My departure will follow in early June. Although we all miss our home and friends in beloved Montana, I know it will be a bittersweet departure for me.