Show of Nature

Living in New Zealand has taught me many things. Some simple like, don't waste the sunshine and that Boy Scouts have the right idea: Always be prepared! In my case it's prepared with a full tank of gas because you never know where the next petrol station will be and with a gold coin for parking and always have toilet paper for your seven year old who still has to see every public restroom, even the outhouses. Another lesson New Zealand has taught me is that just because it is raining right here, does not mean it is raining everywhere. And sometimes the bad weather brings the spectacular.

On Saturday we took off to see more of the coastline we still have not seen. We came across a little place called Cosy Nook and followed a dirt road for some time and arrived at the nook. It was a little bay with rocks jutting out of the iridescent blue water like clothes thrown haphazardly on the floor of my daughters' room. It was lightly sprinkling and the wind was blowing as it always does along the coast here, showing it's mighty power and reminding me how small I truly am.

We ate our picnic lunch and enjoyed nature's spectacular "show". Out of the cloud, a rainbow fell into the water. The wind slammed the water into the scattered rocks and magnificent sprays of water hit the air. Micaela wanted to venture out on some of the boulders and she and Brandon took off. Common sense won out over adventure in the end for her but I watched Brandon scramble over rocks and jump over incoming waves to reach a little island. He stood for a long time watching the waves hit and feeling the power of nature and when I reminded him the tide was coming in and if he didn't head back the only alternative would be to swim, he scrambled back to safety.

A couple of weeks ago, I called a tramping company to talk about reservations for Micaela and I to tramp the Milford Sound Track. The lady helping me told me that the best times to go are in the early season in Nov and late season in March because they have wetter weather then. She said the worse the weather the more spectacular the trail.

We drove home along the coast Saturday and I thought how my life feels like a spectacular "show" of nature right now, waves crashing, wind blowing and gray clouds dumping rain on a regular basis. Every once in a while I get the rainbow dropping out of the cloud and the sun shines through absolutely brilliantly on occasion. Sometimes I am lucky enough that the brilliant sunshine coincides with a high point to look out, and I get a glimpse of the bigger picture. And other times, I give in and trust the power that is greater than myself and hope for the magnificent and spectacular outcomes that often come on the other side of the bad weather.