Niue? No Way!

After completing work at the Office of the Auditor-General, I took a most relaxing week-long vacation in the small island country of Niue (the world's smallest self-governing country, with just about 1000 permanent residents!). I was looking for a far away place to empty my mind of any thoughts of New Zealand Police or the Local Government sector's Water Supply Asset Management Plans. The chapter of my life as a government auditor in New Zealand was coming to an end, and it was nearly time to return home.

I traveled around the island of Niue by bicycle (my second cross-country bicycle trip) and I met many wonderful people among some beautiful scenery. Niue is famous for its sea arches and limestone caves (the island, nicknamed "the Rock", is a coral atoll which was raised several times out of the ocean). The deep sea and reef fishing was also spectacular (thanks to my host, Des Hipa, from Teresa's guest house). Here are some snapshots of what I saw:

Last Day of Work

Today was my 35th birthday and my last day of work for the New Zealand Office of the Auditor-General (OAG). I had a wonderful experience at the OAG and met many intelligent Kiwis doing good and meaningful work. It was an honor to work alongside them, and to share in everything from audit process to Friday Floors (drinks) and practical jokes. I know that work for the U.S. federal government in Washington will not offer the same breadth of experience (and I fear the high level of bureaucracy a little bit!).

New Zealand Music Month

May has been New Zealand Music Month (see website). Unfortunately I missed many of the live performances, but I managed to expand my CD collection by about 8 albums, including the likes of Sola Rosa, Salmonella Dub, Tiki Taane, Fat Freddy's Drop, the Black Seeds, and the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra.

Though I'm not usually a super-big hip-hop fan, I can't seem to get enough of Smashproof these days (LINK).



Here's another video for Smashproof's song, "Ordinary Life":

Travels with Flat Max

Over the past few weeks, I have been traveling with my "flat" nephew, Flat Max (see April 15 blog entry when Flat Max arrived in the mail).

Here is a slide show from our travels (NB: it's better to watch the You Tube version with music (on top), but if you cannot see it the photos are included below):

Sea Kayaking in Wellington Harbour

I had a great afternoon on the water today, with a kayak and camera. Wellington can be absolutely wonderful when the wind settles down, and it seems that everyone makes it a point to enjoy days like this.