A sad farewell but a happy homecoming

Goodbye Shell, Matt,Mia & Zac. We'll see you next year.

The greeting from Millie was ..."can I have a kitten grandma?"

Good to be back home.

Reluctant to leave,

Matt, trying to decipher the route for another trip somewhere in Israel. He looked after us so well & made sure that we were able to visit safely every place we wanted to explore. A big thanks Matt.

A last day at the beach where we enjoyed many happy times lazing in the tepid waters of the Mediterranean.

Shell & Matt lived in one of the apartments in the background for the last few weeks of their contract in Israel.

A last message home, from the balcony of their apartment overlooking the 'Med,' near Caesarea.

Still some places to visit....

A short break on the way to Jerusalem on a back road ...through some picturesque pine forests...not 'radiata!!!' & hey it was in this area somewhere nearby where that young man 'Dave,' slew the 'big man.' Yes the same Dave that hid down in those Dead Sea area caves and became King of Israel, just a few millenia back.

A few orthodox jews heading to their big night of the week...at the Wall & the beginning of Shabat . Their dress attire is certainly bizarre to say the least especially in the heat. Note too, since this day happened to coincide with the start of the Moslem ramadan, there was an increase in security....those army boys in the background are ready for anything.

Had a great chat with this young jewish couple. Always interesting & friendly to talk with & share their views on life etc. At this particular time we were also enjoying a milk shake & a very nice piza. The wife comes from Uzbekistan & husband from the States.

Another birthday in another place!

Sue has celebrated her birthday in many places in the world. This was a first for the Sea of Galilee, made special by being with Shell,Matt,Mia & Zac. Also great having Deidre & Wally, friends from Nelson along.

Tiberias an ancient city on the shores of the Galilee with not much left of the old city walls.

Pete & Wally having a chat with a paratrooper from an 'elite,' corps at the central bus station Tiberias. Enjoys his 'job,' but seemed so young for the dangerous and serious responsibility. He thought NZ would be a wonderful place to visit, so we gave him our contact numbers should he make it.

Capurnaum and environs. The area Jesus spent a considerable perod of his ministry.

Capurnaum is on the shores of the Galilee

Inside the Roman Catholic church on the shores of the Galilee at Capurnaum, that covers the house of Peter the fisherman. This pic shows the fenced area that looks down on the excavations of Peters house. A very humble fishermans abode. The church was built over the house as protection!

A pic taken from beneath the church foundations, of the actual stone walls of Peters house. This has supposedly been confirmed as Peters actual house.

The synagogue at Capurnaum, this synagogue has actually been reconstructed on the floor of the original synagogue where Jesus preached frequently & where he cast a 'demon,' out of a man. This is also nearby the hills where the 'Sermon on the Mount' was given & where Jesus fed the 5000 hungry people.

Not so hungry, but three very hot ladies taking some time out under the trees in the Capernaum area, which has another extensive area of excavations.

Ein Gedi final pics

A couple of pics of some local fauna. These Ibex were almost extinct in this area but through a protection program have rapidly increased in number. They are very much 'at home,' & are amazing to watch running & jumping further up the rocky mountains. Some of the bucks had wicked horns!

A bit of quick relaxation before the next battle!

Not sure why this was located in the botanical garden, but no doubt it was part of the history.

Ein Gedi Kibbutz & Botanical gardens

Ein Gedi gardens. A beautiful botanical garden in the midst of the desert, a true oasis. with plants & trees from all over the world. Complete with a huge swimming pool which we spent many hours in.

Not sure exactly what shape Sue is trying to describe here!

Nor here...perhaps it has something to do with her own shape!!!

The gardens are so restful in such an extremely hot area & we were fascinated with the varying specimens. The green contrasting so vividly with the surrounding stark hills. The kibbutz is on the foothills overlooking the 'Dead sea.'

On Top of Masada.

Whew Zac, that was one heck of a climb. Well done my boy!

There is actually a source of delicious cold water up here too which we drank copious quatities of.

Its quite a large area on the summit & archeological digs are still being carried out. A majestic place & no doubt easy to defend.

But by the time the Jewish zealots took the place over there wasn't much left of Herods comfortable palace ...so the living conditions would have been harsh to say the least.

Then of course those tricky clever Romans constructed a ramp of earth & stone, & this pic shows the incline up which they built it & as you can see a good portion of it is still there. Then they pulled & pushed their siege machines up this slope. Hard to believe huh!!! You are looking stright down the slope from top to bottom,believe it or not!

I thought for a moment that "Ol MO ,' had got lost & ended up there as well.!!

The climb continues & was it worth it?

Whew...are we there yet?

Cables for the cable car that Sue & Deidre travelled in to the top of Masada the next day. Definitely the faster & easier way.

Made it, & the view down the other side was awesome with a straight drop to the bottom so I clung tightly to the rails since I hate heights.

No doubt Herod would have used it as a quick way to rid himself of anyone who annoyed him.

Dead sea area revisted.

A further attempt to climb 1300ft Masada via the 'snake trail,' Not so high nor so difficult but remember this area is 400ft below sea level and the temps were in the 40's centigrade this particular day, but to quote an old New Zealand son, Sir Ed Hillary...."this time we knocked the bugger off!!!"

The 5 entrepid climbers feeling pretty good at 6.30am leaving the kibbutz, but those little hills in the background look pretty bleak & quite high.



Ah... it is already hotting up at the car park, at 7.30am & Masada actually looks quite daunting now at closer range.






Zac, that hill, like the temperatures, is steadily getting higher...& our packs were heavy with a load of water.

Akko / Acre, another ancient port city with a colourful history

The old port city of Akko, one of the oldest port cities in the world. A fascinating place and again very difficult to really do justice with a few pics. About 8 different people groups have conquered & ruled this area , just a little north of modern Haifa since a couple of thou BC

A sweeping view overlooking the old port from the ramparts that Napolean unsuccessfuly tried to take. He was finally repulsed & went off round 1790.

Inside the Crusader period section. the more modern looking structure on top is part of the British jail where the brits, imprisoned and executed a number of Israelis before the 48 war of Independence. Not one of the finer periods of Brit history.

The crusader citadel ( complete with sewrage drains, deep in the earth which we walked through) is still in remarkable shape considering the fact that the Marmluke & Ottoman Turks buried huge areas of it under rubble & sand to construct their own fortifications.

Almost time to leave....with so many blogs still to enter

We leave early morning 20th, having had some wonderful experiences and really enjoying our time with Shell & Matt & their children Mia & Isaac. Also had a lot of laughs and it will be sad saying goodbye to them.


Matt has done a great job making sure we get to the right places both driving us and leading us in their car, and suggesting places of interest to visit. So we feel we have seen and experienced a good representation of Israel.

We have covered many k's in rental cars without any major problems apart from being involved in a 3 car collision and getting hit from behind just outside of Jerusalem which caused Pete some trauma from having to drive into and then back out from the centre of Jerusalem to change hire cars !

Some of you will know that one of Sue's passions is talking to and listening to people share their lifes stories and this has been one of the many highlights of our journey; meeting and talking with so many interesting people from different races, colours and shades of....with such interesting and often sad life stories to share.

We recently had time to chat with an 80 year old survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp, his tatooed number although blurred still on his forearm. Intered as a 10 year old with his Polish family having been captured in France while trying to hide. Lost his entire family. But wow what a character with a zest for life and a capacity to keep going that was astounding. Still operating a successful little business at the Caesarea archeological site. A real ladies man with charm to match along with the experience that comes from having had 6 wives.

We will continue with our blog site when we return home so that you can complete this awesome journey with us......

One last shot of the wall...

Someone is hopeful.

West Bank Jerusalem. Further 'wall,' pics. We are getting way behind with our blogging...so lets move on...

The 'wall,' looks quite ominous from a distance

against the dry stony hillside.

Some of the painted slogans are quite poignant.

Jerusalem. The West Bank, further pics from the other side of the wall

Driving towards the barrier entrance to this area of the West Bank.

Some of the locals aren't particularly happy about this addition to their 'views' & the drop in real estate values.

Its a bit daunting driving right beside & underneath those rather sinsiter walls

Jerusalem. West Bank

Despite the hardships of life on the West Bank an enterprising cafe owner can still cause a few laughs.

A delicious Palestinian meal with enough food to feed 5000, enjoyed with Alex, Lisa & the children.

This area, called the 'shepherds field,' where the shepherds supposedly first saw the star that lead them to the 'stable,' or more likely the nearby cave where the birth of Jesus took place.

Jerusalem. West Bank

Lisa, Tuya, Zac & Alex Snary






You know that story that Jesus told about the lost sheep....well would you believe after all this time, we have found the whole flock wandering through down town Bethlehem. Not too far from where Alex & Lisa live.

Yes we had to try the 'hookah,' but depsite it being more mellow, more fruity and a little cooler than a cigarette....it was still smoke...arhhhh!!!

Jerusalem. The West Bank. The other side of the wall and story.

It was great to be able to stay for a short while with Alex & Lisa Snary & their children Tuya & Zac. Alex is the World Vision Israel & Palestine Country Director. We know Alex & Lisa from Mongolia days. Interestingly our history goes way back to high school days as we were friends with Lisa's mum & dad Julie & Mac Calvert. In fact Julie virtually introduced me to Sue at the Hamilton Girls High School 5th form dance, from where it all started!!!

This blog is not intended to be any sort of policital statement.

However Pete was able to meet with Alex's World Vision National office staff. These are a group of mostly Palestinian, lovely,friendly young people. While the time with them was brief, one could not but be moved when hearing of the indignities and difficult, frustrasting, and often dangerous situations in which the team operates while carrying out their aid and development work amongst the poor.

Another Jerusalem visit before Jane leaves.

Beaut old shrubbed streets

Zeb is an attraction everywhere.

Notice the curly side locks of the little orthodox jewish child.

Even the military on guard in the old city think he's pretty cute.

I think Jane thought they were cute too!!!

Jane managed to get her shot of the orthodox jews praying at the western wall at the beginning of Shabbat. Just a little after sun down about 8-30pm