travel and friends

Cecliy, Jordan and Pam New Years morning in Mossburn

Cecily, with her boyfriend Max on the boat on Milford Sound

Some of the best memories of our South Island trip were experiences with friends who happened to be traveling in the same areas and at the same time as us. As mentioned in the Milford Sound post, we met up with Cecily (Alisa's friend of many years), Jordan (Cecily's sister who now lives in Auckland), and Pam (Jordan and Cecily's mom). Cecily and Pam had come to visit Jordan and travel around New Zealand. They planned to visit Milford Sound while we were down there, so we were able to meet up for the cruise. They also joined us in Mossburn on New Year's Eve and spent a night with us at "the house on the farm". Maya and Max really enjoyed being with them, and Max very quickly attached himself to Cecily. Even weeks later, Max asks about when we are going on a boat with Cecily.

Our other encounter with friends on the South Island was more of a reunion. In December as we were preparing for Christmas and our trip, Alisa got an email from a mission companion (Kelly), who had just booked tickets for a trip to New Zealand. After some correspondence, we learned that we would be in the South Island at the same time. So we arranged to meet up with Kelly and her husband (Yves) in Mossburn. Kelly and Yves are from Tahiti and traveled through New Zealand with some of their family. They ended up spending a couple nights with us in Mossburn where Alisa and Kelly talked about their time together in the Dominican Republic. We also quickly learned that Yves is a really good cook, and Maya especially took a liking to his cooking, which made Yves proud of the good eater that Maya is.

Max wanted a picture with "just the boys"

Maya quickly warmed up to Yves

Somehow the world of Alisa works this way....go on a mission to the Dominican Republic...have a wonderful companion who is from Tahiti (a world away from the DR)...over 10 years pass...move with your young family to New Zealand...go on a trip to the South Island...meet up with your Tahitian friend in Mossburn (of all places).

We also were fortunate to have Kelly and Yves spend a few days with us in Auckland at the end of their trip. They've convinced us that we need to come to Tahiti to visit them...not that we need much convincing for that trip.

Kelly and Yves with the kids in Devonprot

-Lonnie