The Talking Traveller

Today I find myself in Auckland. What a magnificent city. I took the bus this morning from Mount Munganui where I stayed with Ian and Kay Taylor. Two great and kind persons who made me really feel at home, thank you! Baie Dankie! Let me tell you a bit about Ian Taylor....he is a retired doctor and also,of course a recovering stammerer. He took me for a hike up Mount Munganui yesterday which is not exactly mount everest, but it is still a 400 meter climb, and quite steep. Half way up the mountain after I convinced myself that this old...I mean...very matured (all respect)...man is still quite fit and strong, I asked him how many times he has climbed this mountain. The was a moment of silence while I saw a smile grow on his face, I could then see that there is much youth spirit in those eyes. With good breathing technique he said, two hundred and nine-four times. WOW! My thoughts exactly, this man also likes to take 5 day hikes with a 15kg backpack, and skiing 14km down a glacier in Mount Cook twice a day is also no problem. I did not ask him his age but it is not necessary, because he is young at hart. He has visited almost every continent and is leaving for Peru in 2 weeks time. He has a secret of course......I mean.....he has to. He gets up early in the morning, reads from his bible, does some stretching exercises and then works out with weights.His secret is then concluded to be: Discipline. Anybody thinking that they are too old (respect) to travel the world, take up hobbies or recover from their stammer, should have a chat with this amazing man. We departed this morning as he dropped me off at the bus stop, 'see you in africa someday Ian, and we'll go hunt a lion'.

My trip from Taurunga to Auckland was filled with green countryside, grazing herds of sheep and cattle, and some horses with clothes on. In Auckland I went up the Sky Tower in Sky City, which is a magnificent site and made 3 disclosures about my mission high in the sky. I then strolled down Queen Str and spent 2 hours visiting the very interesting Maritine Museum. There I made another 2 disclosures whilst I admired the history of ships in New Zealand. There's a magnificent display of model ships that are replicas of used ships and the largest one streches five meters. After being picked up by Afrikaner friends I had a juicy bit of lamb at a restaurant at waterfront and we admired some of the luxury yachts anchored nearby.

Strange enough I had some trouble with my speech when a had to talk afrikaans again........It started with a few minor feared words which I avoided(totally wrong approach) and this turned into uncontrollable stuttering. I had to revert to 4 words per breath with really disciplined control, before I could hack it again.....interesting isn't it ? I have spoken to 297 people thus far. Tomorrow I have 6 hours in Auckland to explore and do 100+ contacts  because that is what's needed to bring my word-fear down. I am going to use lotsa DD's (deliberate disfluency) and focus on those challenging A's and E's. What a ride! Yeha!

My flight for Melbourne leaves tomorrow at 7pm, where I will be attending another 4 day intensive McGuire Course. Next update probably in 5 days.