Intermission

Well, that was a much longer "intermission" than I planned! But somehow, before you know it a week turns into a month and a month turns into a year... and here I am 18 months after my last blog post!

As you can probably guess, a lot has happened while I've been "away". Far too much to cover in any detail. By far the biggest change has been trying to get used to our new way of being without my "NZ Mum" as an almost daily part of our lives. It's still hard to accept that she has become "history", just a photo on the wall since her sudden death in November 2012. I think of her often, and frequently catch myself wondering "What would 'Nagymama' think?"

Other than that, the major change has been that I resigned from my Speech-Language Therapy job, effective in early February this year. Five days after my last day at work, I started studying Early Childhood Teaching - a "Graduate Diploma" via distance learning at Canterbury University. What a joy it has been to meet the others on my course at our regular "On-site intensives" at the university in Christchurch - such a diverse group of people. I've surprised myself with how easy it has been to slip back into full-time studying and I'm loving the intellectual challenge, even enjoying writing essays! Whilst I was in Christchurch studying in February, I finally delivered the 1000 paper cranes I started folding in 2011 after the fatal Christchurch earthquakes, and so many of you out there helped fold paper cranes for this project too. So I'm proud to say that our 1000 paper cranes formed part of the 3rd anniversary commemorations of the Canterbury earthquakes. Link to my original post re 1000 Paper Cranes.

The completed 1000 paper cranes just before handing over...

Another exciting thing for our family was our incredible round-the-world trip in December 2013/January 2014. We set off from NZ a week before Christmas and spent several days in Washington DC and then caught a train to New York for another few days. We flew from New York to London, arriving on Christmas Eve. After an unpleasant journey in a jam-packed train (standing room only) we made it to our family in Somerset late on Christmas Eve. We had a fantastic family Christmas, including spending time with my lovely 97 year old Grandad, both my parents, brother, nephew and niece. After a few weeks in the UK catching up with family and friends, we took a trip on the EuroStar train to Paris, and spent a wonderful few days exploring Paris from the sanctuary of our historic apartment in Les Chatelets. A couple of days in London, and then we came back home again via Tokyo. On our day trip to Mt Fuji from Tokyo, Sonny Jim finally got the snow he had been longing for all winter.

What a trip!

Anyway, I hope to update the blog again a bit more regularly from now on. I've really missed the pleasure of regular (non-academic!) writing... "Talk" soon :-)

Road trip the 2nd: Hanmer Springs

When the hot-air balloon flight was cancelled on Sunday morning, we tried to re-book for the Monday (Waitangi Day) but alas, there was no room for us! So we decided to cut our losses and head for Hanmer Springs, the perfect "chill out" destination. We managed to nab a family room in Kakapo Lodge Youth Hostel, which was pretty lucky as most of the accommodation in the village was full. Hanmer Springs is a beautiful area surrounded by mountains, and with bungee jumping and jet-boating at the nearby river, but its biggest claim to fame is its thermal pools.

The hot springs were known about by the Māori long before the European settlers got here, but there is a plaque nearby saying the Europeans didn't discover the hot pools till 1859. At that time the pools were completely natural and freely available, steam rising up from the pools in the fields, but since then they have been developed bit by bit into the thermal pools resort we can access today, at a cost . . . Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa It is a wonderful place to visit when you feel the need to chill out and unwind, and that's exactly what we did!

We even managed to find a geocache while we were in Hanmer, and some "mooning ducks" (as Sonny Jim called them) nearby.

We drove home on Waitangi Day, still not having managed to get airborne, but having had a lovely relaxing stay in Hanmer Springs, and time to mull over the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi to this country of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The Treaty is sometimes referred to as "New Zealand's founding document", but it has been fraught with controversy since the start. There were copies drawn up - one in English and one in the Māori language, but the two versions had many discrepancies. Some of the Māori chiefs signed the document whilst remaining uncertain, and other chiefs refused or weren't even given the chance to sign.  Much of the Treaty has been disregarded over the years, and the European settlers have been responsible for some terrible wrong-doing, continuing into the latter part of the 20th century. However, more recently some efforts have been made to try to compensate for some of the wrongs of the past, and I can only hope that the principles of the Treaty are afforded more respect as time goes on. . .

Treaty photo from www.nzhistory.net.nz

Road trip the 2nd: Akaroa in one day

On Friday 3rd February we set off down south to Christchurch, to try our third attempt at getting airborne in a hot-air balloon on the Saturday morning. It was disappointing to find out at 4am that once again, weather conditions were unsuitable over the Canterbury Plains. However, we re-booked for the next day, and decided to go to Akaroa for the day instead. SJ and I had visited in 2005, when he was only 4 years old, but he couldn't remember it, and Wifie had never been at all. So we headed even further south for the 1.5 hour journey to Akaroa, on a rather grey and dreary day.

Akaroa itself was as beautiful and quirky as ever, despite the foreboding skies and occasional drizzle. The little town has a strong Frwnch influence, and many of the street names are in the Feench style: "Rue Jolie" etc.

We had a lovely few hours meandering around the streets, visiting the French cemetery for a geocache, and doing some bargain-hunting at the flea market and book sale. For lunch, we opted for an impromptu picnic overlooking the sea, feasting on fresh bread, olive oil, dukkah, Whitestone's brie, cherry tomatoes and fresh fruit. Yum! C'était délicieux!

As well as the bronze statue of a French painter, which is designed so that you can put yourself in the picture(!), my favourite find was the quirky cows and goats made of recycled metal, which were on display outside a local shop. Price tags over $500 and made by a company called "ee-i-ee-i-o." Some of these wondrous creatures had a lid on top, and you could open them up to fill with ice and use as a highly decorative and useful outdoor "chilly bin!" Very quirky, which is always a hit with me! So, next time I have a spare $500+ to spend on quirky and functional outdoor artwork, I know exactly where to go! Might take me a few years, but if money were no object I would have bought one on the spot!

Somehow, wandering the streets of Akaroa felt more like being transported to a picturesque French village than a small town just south of Christchurch! Akaroa, c'est très jolie!

Road trip the first: White's Bay, Marlborough

We made a leisurely drive up from Marfell's Beach to White's Bay, and another Department Of Conservation (DOC) campsite. White's Bay will always stick in my memory as the first beach I visited in New Zealand, and for that reason I have a bit of a soft spot for it.

It did not disappoint this time either. The weather was beautiful until it started raining overnight, and we were even treated to the call of the morepork as we fell asleep, and a visit from a weka - one of NZ's big brown flightless birds.

As well as all the usual beachy stuff like sand and sea, White's Bay has a huge rock which almost begs to be climbed.

If you look carefully, you can see SJ lying belly-down on top of the rock!

On the other side of the beach there is an arch in the rocks which you can scramble around, and explore the little rock pools. See view back to beach from the rock arch, in first photo above.

Dad exploring the rock arch at White's Bay

The next morning we did more geocaching at White's Bay and Rarangi, and then home again . . .

One geocache took us to Rarangi's millennium rock, which was a very interesting find. . .

Road trip the first: Marfell's Beach, Marlborough

On a whim this morning, I decided to go and join my Dad and his partner (C), who are visiting from the UK and touring the South Island in a camper van. They had got near enough to be not too close but not too far, just less than 3 hours' drive away in Marlborough.

Sonny Jim and I set off in the car with our 2-man dome tent, while Wifie stayed home to look after the dog and do an honest day's work (or two!) We stayed at the Marfell's Beach DOC campsite, for the princely sum of $6.50 per adult and $1.50 per child per night, including flushing toilets, cold showers and water unsuitable for drinking. The campsite is right beside the beach and it is a wonderful secluded spot. Highly recommended for a day trip or overnight stop if you are in the area.

On our way to White's Bay the next morning we did a few geocaches, a kind of real life treasure hunt, but linked to the Internet. See www.geocaching.com for more details. One of the geocaches was placed near the old rail and road bridge at Seddon, which was opened in 1902, and continued to be used by both trains and road vehicles until the new road bridge opened in 2007. For more details try this link, and this one for a picture of a steam train crossing the bridge back in the day! I have lasting memories of once driving across the bridge on the lower deck at the same time as the train rumbled overhead - quite an experience, which made me feel like yelling "The sky is falling in! The sky is falling in!"

We started geocaching in 2006 when my dad and C were last in NZ, but haven't done any geocaching for several years. However, my dad and C are heavily into it, and I fear they may have given us the bug again! Watch this space. . .

Love. . . Aotearoa (New Zealand)

Lake Tekapo, January 2012

I'm going to use the principle of "A picture says 1000 words," and give you a few photos of the country that I love. It's not mine by birth, but it is my country of choice. I am officially a New Zealand citizen (as of February 2007) yet due to my obviously British accent, I still sometimes get asked in shops, cafés etc "Are you here on holiday?" Sonny Jim has been here since he was a toddler and can't recall living in Scotland at all, but even he sounds like a Pommie! There are so many reasons why I love Aotearoa/New Zealand, and our recent road trip has only confirmed how lucky I feel to live in this country! But I want to let the pictures do the talking. . . so please enjoy! There are so many other places I could have used to illustrate New Zealand's scenic splendour and diversity, but here are a few I had to hand. . .

Lake Rotoiti, April 2011

Mapua wharf, February 2011

Wifie and Sonny Jim river kayaking in Golden Bay, while Frodo swims on. . . Jan 2011

Rainbow ski area, August 2011

Frodo enjoys the snow in the Lewis Pass, July 2011

Moeraki boulders, January 2012

Aoraki (Mount Cook) towers over Lake Pukaki, January 2012

Tewaikoropupu Springs, January 2012

Crown Range Pass, looking towards Queenstown, January 2012

View of Mapua from Moturoa (Rabbit Island), January 2012

Of course, no country is perfect, but "I love you, New Zealand!" and there's no place on earth I would rather live. . .

Tiki Tour 2012 - Homeward bound

Sonny Jim and me at Lake Tekapo, dreaming of hot-air ballooning?

Well, as you can probably guess, we have still not managed to get airborne over Canterbury! The recorded message at 4 am today was the same as on the 9th Jan - ". . . not happening today, due to unsuitable flying conditions". On the positive side, of course we would rather be "safe than sorry" and I'd far rather stay on the ground if the conditions are anything less than perfect, especially after that tragic hot-air ballooning accident up north earlier this month. Another positive is that we have a few more weeks of anticipation, wondering what it feels like to be floating noiselessly along above the patchwork landscape laid out below like a giant quilt. We have booked for our third attempt at ballooning over Waitangi weekend in early February.

So after a couple of hours of Wifie and I trying to get back to sleep and failing dismally, we made the most of our early start, and bundled a very drowsy Sonny Jim into the car at 6.45 am, still in his pyjamas and sleeping bag! We made excellent time heading north, only needed one toilet/refreshment stop and were back home again by just gone mid-day.  We'll definitely try the early morning thing another time when we are heading up or down the country as once we had shaken off the last vestiges of sleep it was a great time to travel.

Tiki Tour to be continued eventually. . .

Tiki Tour 2012 - Moeraki and Oamaru

Moeraki Boulders

Yesterday we travelled from Queenstown to Oamaru via Arrowtown, Alexandra, Ranfurly and Moeraki.

Old Post and Telegraph building in Arrowtown

Moeraki boulders again. . . or are they dinosaur eggs?!

During our journey, we developed the strong urge to cycle the Otago Central Rail Trail (we kept coming across sections of it). More info here. . .

This morning we called in at the Whitestone cheese factory and cafe and enjoyed sampling some of the cheeses and buying several more! They do a range of cow's, sheep's and goat's milk cheeses and all are supremely delicious!

Here is a link to their website, and there is even an online shop, for those of you within New Zealand!

Today we are off to Christchurch again, hopefully hot-air ballooning in the morning…

Tiki Tour 2012 - Different lake for each meal!

The view of Lake Wakatipu from the top of the Skyline gondola in Queenstown this morning. Breathtaking!

Yesterday we had a long day of travelling. We bade farewell to Lake Tekapo and the Church of the Good Shepherd and headed for Queenstown via Wanaka. We had a different lake for each meal!

Lake Tekapo at breakfast time

Lake Wanaka at lunch time

Lake Wakatipu at dinner time

Today we decided to have a really touristy day and rode the gondola up to the top of the mountain above our campsite.

Sonny Jim and I rode the luge at the top of the mountain, while Wifie was our chief photographer.

Whilst up at the top of the mountain we also had fun watching some intrepid souls paragliding and bungee jumping! The latter doesn't appeal to me at all, but maybe one day I will be brave enough to have a go at para-gliding. . .

We had a picnic lunch back at the campsite, then cooled off in the Queenstown aquatic centre. The hydro-slides were fantastic fun for children of all ages (even 40 year old ones!)

Sonny Jim and I make a splash in Queenstown!

Finally this evening we went for a cruise on Lake Wakatipu in the 100 year old TSS (Twin Screw Steamship) Earnslaw.

It was a lovely way to end a great day. I am so glad we are doing this road trip at last, after years of contemplating it!

Heading across to Alexandra tomorrow, then north via the Moeraki boulders towards Christchurch again, probably staying overnight in Oamaru. We are all having a wonderful holiday :)

Tiki Tour 2012 - Lake Tekapo to Queenstown

The view over Lake Tekapo, as we ate breakfast this morning :)

So, what's all this about a Tiki Tour you might well ask?! Well, we left home on Sunday 8th Jan and headed down to Christchurch ready for a hot-air balloon flight over the Canterbury Plains. However, it was cancelled due to poor weather, so we have continued on with the rest of our "Tiki Tour" as planned. We will alter our route home so that we can try to go hot-air ballooning again on Saturday morning. Hot-air ballooning is something I have wanted to do since I was a small child, and finally, more than 30 years later my dream has come true thanks to the Wifie! She has bought tickets for all three of us to go up in a hot-air balloon as birthday presents for Sonny Jim and me. We had had our balloon trip booked for 9th Jan for almost a week, when on Saturday morning (7th) we woke to the dreadful news of a fatal hot-air balloon crash near Carterton in the North Island. Those poor people, it must have been unimaginably horrible. Hopefully we will have better luck when it is our turn though. . .

Our first stop at Lake Tekapo was the iconic Church of the Good Shepherd, which must surely be one of the most beautifully located churches in the world. Next, we found a fantastic campsite at Lake Tekapo, right by the water's edge and in a lovely wooded setting with plenty of space between tent sites. The perfect spot for us to take our new tent on its maiden voyage, so to speak! I am very happy to report that the tent went up without a problem, and we were able to take it down this morning even easier! A very good investment!

After breakfast (see photo of our view above) we set off to Queenstown via Aoraki, Wanaka and the Crown Range Pass, NZ's highest sealed road. . .

Aoraki/Mount Cook - NZ's tallest mountain

Lake Wanaka

Crown Range Pass - not sealed until the year 2000.

Tiki Tour 2012 - Ashburton

Look! I found a giant spinning wheel at Ashford's in Ashburton :) We even made a special detour for the purpose! The Wifie and I are on self-imposed yarn and fibre diets this year, so we were very good and managed to ignore the plaintive cries of beautiful spinning sliver and wool, but I managed to get the mini niddy-noddy I had been hankering after, and we also bought a weaving frame and had a delicious and economical lunch at the Ashford café. Next stop. . . Lake Tekapo.