Temple View

We drove south into Hamilton. I wanted to visit the temple for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If there is a temple in the location that I’m visiting, then I always try and make a visit. Here is a list of all the temples I have been to.

Washington, D.C. Temple
Provo, Utah Temple
Salt Lake City, Utah Temple
Bountiful, Utah Temple
South Jordan, Utah Temple
Manti, Utah Temple
Nauvoo, Illinois Temple
Denver, Colorado Temple
Palmyra, New York Temple
Los Angeles, California Temple
San Diego, California Temple
Oakland, California Temple
Portland, Oregon Temple
Den Haag, Amsterdam Temple
London, England Temple
Colonia Juarez, Mexico Temple
Oahu, Hawaii Temple
Hamilton, New Zealand Temple

There are over a hundred temples, so I still have a long way to go, but at least I have started!

It was a nice drive to Hamilton, only about an hour and a half. While I was inside the temple my friend Torey had to run to the store. He did not have his luggage at that time, so he needed to buy clothes. He also talked with an older missionary couple from the temple about places to stay for the night. They suggested Hamon Bush. The church owns land about a kilometer from the temple and Roger Hamon is the caretaker. He has been volunteering as the caretaker for over forty years, so it was named after him. He has turned the land into a campground, which is free for those interested in using it. Since we are on a budget, free sounded like the perfect option.



Early morning views from the campground.


Torey called him on our rental cell phone to ask where we needed to go. After giving us directions he suggested that we call and he would meet us out front to prevent from getting lost. Then he changed his mind and suggested we just needed to call and let me know when we were coming, then after that he said maybe we should try to get there and if we got lost to call. I thought it funny how he kept changing his mind. We found the place just fine and he basically led us to the campsite closest to the bathroom. Then he offered us the use of electricity for free. Secretly I was doing a little dance because I knew that I would be warm that night.

The night before Torey and I managed to park right outside a Shell station. I have the smallest bladder in the world and I knew that I would have to go in the middle of the night. Normally I would not mind finding a bush and “roughing it” however the first location that we picked had suspicious activity. I swear there was a drug dealer in the area. I noticed a man sitting in his car for the longest time. Later on two other cars pulled up. One man got out of his vehicle and started towards the park. He kept looking over his shoulder as if he didn’t want to be spotted. I certainly could not go pee with all those men outside, but I also didn’t want to step outside, because it seemed dangerous. We were so tired that we didn’t want to look for a campground so we parked outside of the Shell station. I think the man working that night thought I was a bit odd. I walked in three times to use the restroom. Without heat in the campervan I was wearing thermal underwear, flashy floral pajama pants, a long sleeved t-shirt, a jacket, and a beanie. I know I looked funny as I approached the store at 3am in need of his toilet.

The idea of having heat and restrooms right outside our campervan all for free was music to my ears. Roger Hamon invited us into his place for a chat and a cup of hot chocolate and toast. He was a sweet man. I enjoyed learning about him and why he chose to volunteer on this land. He seemed to love what he did and being able to meet loads of people. It was nice to have a bit of warmth inside as I drank the hot chocolate. Torey and I were laughing a little because he put about a pound of butter on each of our pieces of toast. I almost felt like I was having a piece of bread to go with the butter! I managed to swallow and then politely thanked him for letting us chat. I was too tired for more discussion.

We slept so well. I think heat makes the world a happy place. I love to be warm and I woke up refreshed for the new day. It was a good thing too, because the next day we went to Waitomo Caves to swim in an underground river…brrr.