All in the Family

Bridge Marina, Tauranga, North Island

Friday 11 June 2021

The day started on a definite HIGH as I made my way down to the Office Connect store on Cameron Road, Tauranga.   It was around 10:00am and there was business owner, Pawan, at the counter to greet me with my newly repaired IridiumGO satellite communications unit, fully charged and ready for action.

After making contact with around 10 different businesses and organisations, even Iridium direct in the USA, in an effort to get the machine repaired, I was so relieved that a local business and their technician could make it right.    As for Iridium, the manufacturer of the unit, they apparently don’t sell spare parts, which I discovered several days after my initial online inquiry, but they were happy to refer me to an electronics repair business in Australia; who manage communications for various emergency service organisations.

“My technician had to make a couple of new pins for the old part, so it could be re-attached to the motherboard”, explained Pawan.  He was then interested to know what the machine was used for and kindly consented to appear in my photo.

And how much would you expect to pay for such a repair?   Well, I had no idea, really.  But given this piece of technology can cost anything from $1-$2,000, and I was all out of options, I’d resigned myself to paying almost anything – within reason – to have it fixed.  “That’s $89” said Pawan, as we approached the cash register. 

I suppose in my mind, I had a possible range within which the cost might fall, and $89 was actually below my bottom figure.  So much so that after paying the invoice on a credit card, I slipped him $20 cash to give to the technician.  Like I say, the day started well!

Despite predictions of “possible light rain” … it was good weather for painting.  I even got a chance to do come touch-up work on the bow, which I was able to do from the dinghy while also talking to Linda at home.  Apparently there was a very big storm that swept through a day or so ago, leaving a very large number of people still without power.  Fortunately, there was no damage at our place, but the freezer was full of stuff from other people who were faced with the prospect of it going to waste.

By lunch time we realised that we’d done all the immediate painting we could and needed to wait for some drying to take place, before we advanced further.  Time to head on down to the local fishing supply store – recommended by our friendly neighbourhood fisherman – to get some new trolling lures.  As you can see from the photo, there were lots to choose from, but we took some recommendations from the resident experts and came home with three very colourful and hopefully tasty looking lures.

In running around from place to place, we are constantly reminded just how fantastic it is to have the lend of a car.  Without it, you really couldn’t do that much around here.  At least nothing like we’ve been able to achieve.  Shopping, visiting – contacts, friends, family, businesses … just so many things.  Thank you again David and Susan!

While we were on the road buying fishing lures, John and I thought we’d treat ourselves to fish and chips – at Bobby’s down on the Tauranga Wharf – near town.  Surely with new lures we’d be rolling in our own freshly caught fish soon enough, and all we’d have to do is make our own chips.  Time will tell.

It was around this time that the heavy, grey clouds decided to develop into a rather persistent rain, which was certainly enough to halt all painting for the rest of the day.  Instead of holding a brush, John started reading a book before falling asleep on the saloon seat, while I headed down the road to a shopping mall, where I’d arranged a second meeting with the Westpac Bank, in an effort to open a New Zealand bank account. 

In the end it all worked out satisfactory, but the reason there was a second meeting was because initially, it appeared I didn’t have sufficient “reason” under local legislation, primarily designed to control money laundering etc.       Like I say, in the end it all worked out well and I now have a couple of extra pieces of plastic to put in my wallet, not to mention passwords to remember.

My “bank job” complete I returned to Chimere.  It was late afternoon and pretty quickly I gained an understanding  of what locals had meant when the talked about “dreadful traffic”.  It was bumper-to-bumper for most of the way home.

If last Sunday afternoon was an opportunity for me to show hospitality to the McCarroll family aboard Chimere, then tonight was their turn.  Specifically, Robyn Clarke’s sister Trish and her husband Barry (Muir) – who opened their Papamoa home up to me, John and the McCarroll “clan”; some driving over 100km from Hamilton.  What started out as a … “you must pop over for dinner” invitation, after 5 days, had grown into 15 of us sitting around the table like it was Christmas dinner . 

There were no Bon Bons, but there must have been everything else … wonderful food, great hospitality, vibrant conversation, amazing variety of wines, (that Barry kept pulling out of the cellar for Terry to cast his discerning eye over) regular tink-tinking of glasses, accompanied by toasts, impromptu speeches, proclamations and  jokes, plus a really genuine interest in my connection with younger (McCarroll) sister Robyn and her husband Mike back in Australia and the work we have been doing together over the years, to help improve oral health in Vanuatu.

All I can say is, thank you for everything. John and I had a thoroughly enjoyable night and really felt like one of the family from the very first handshake. 

It was funny, when Trish explained that she was one of 9 children, six boys and three girls and that … “Hugh here is the oldest of us all” … John mentioned that he too was one of 9 children, also comprising six boys and three girls and he, like Hugh, was the oldest.  Worthy of a photo I thought.

It was getting late by the time the evening drew to a close, with the actual process of saying good-bye and getting to the front door, possibly taking up to an hour.  Each person naturally having to say good-bye (to everyone else), while engaging in the closing elements of an earlier conversation, or perhaps starting off on a whole new dialogue or tangent.  We were all beneficiaries of the farming connection within the clan – Graham and Liz (I think) – with everyone helping themselves from a large box of kiwifruit and mandarins – as the front door loomed in sight.

“You’ll need this to ward off the scurvy”, someone declared,  as handfuls of fruit were loaded into my shoulder bag.

After all that, such a wonderful evening, Chimere seems awfully quiet by comparison. 

In closing, the weather for our planned departure on Monday is still looking ok, as the “forecast window” draws closer and likely more accurate.

Smooth seas, fair breeze and all in the family

Rob Latimer