Good on Ya, Mate! A New Zealand Wrap Up

Shipmates,

We departed New Zealand Sunday morning after a very successful round of meetings and cultural exchanges.

On Saturday, RADM Tony Parr and his wife Carol guided us up through the mountains north of Wellington to the Wairarapa, a small valley that has been diversified from a sheep farming area to wine grapes and olives. Along the way we visited a small farm (Lavenders Green) where the owner raises lemons, free range chickens, and sheep. We hand mid morning tea and learned about the local climate which is very similar to wine growing regions of Europe.

The next stop was the small town of Martinborough. The countryside here looks very much like the area between Petaluma and Bodega Bay, for those who have visited our Training Center. We received a tour and briefing at the Martinborough Vineyard. The farming is very eco-friendly; weeds and grass are kept down by grazing sheep and there were a number of new lambs.

We then had lunch at the Coney Vineyard where we had foods prepared with local produce. We were lucky, for a mid winter day, the weather was in the low 50's at it was crystal clear. The traditional bitter southerly wind was absent.

The last stop was at the Olivo Olive Orchard, family farm, where we were briefed on olive farming that has grown in the region.

On our return to Wellington the travel party watched the long anticipated rugby match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australia Wallabies. It was a close game and Australia led at the half, but the All Blacks rallied for a 22-16 win.

We can't thank our New Zealand hosts enough for their insights, professional exchanges, and productive meetings. We have new insight into areas such as maritime surveillance, fisheries enforcement, search and rescue, and the very effective joint/interagency coordination within New Zealand?s ?whole of government? view of operations.

It is also important to note the extensive effort New Zealand is making to create a sustainable nation, something we can all learn from. Finally, the importance and emphasis on the native Maori culture underscores an abiding respect for their indigenous people.

As our Kiwi friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"

ADM A