Present Week

Today we should be on a plane home.

Following our arrival back to Auckland last Wednesday we have collected a hire car and commenced our child care service.


On Friday I had the pleasure of seeing Zoe collect awards for good work in class. It was a lovely ceremony under the trees in the playground just before lunch.

On Sunday it was Zoe's birthday party. With the family we went of to a swimming pool which had been hired as a party venue. The party started with Zoe and her friends enjoying the pool. There were two pools. The shallow pool for the little ones like Emily and another for the older children.

The pool time ended with the arrival of piles of pizzas. Some of the children were very pleased to end the pool activities at this time. After pizzas Sally bought in her wonderful cake creation. This went down well.


Our working week started by collecting Emily from kindy at lunch time, doing some school work, and going to play with her on the beach. At other times of the week we have taken her to other educational activities such a Gymbaroo and, on Thursday, we have taken both girls to dance classes.


Wednesday was a special day. It was Zoe's birthday. We made an early start with a few presents at breakfast before the girls went off to school.

After school I took Zoe down to St Heliers where she joined with the other Brownies to sell their biscuits. We were there for about an hour. 

 

Next to the Brownie stall, outside the library there was a man with 1/90th replica of Noah's ark and lots of literature. We had a chat and many people stopped to talk to him. 

When we got back to the house it was all very silent. Then there was a giggle. In the downstairs playroom a party was set out. Ian and Sally had gotten home early and we all enjoyed a surprise party. Although, Zoe was a little annoyed that she had been told about it earlier. Unwrapping the rest of the presents followed.

Piñata busting

This is Benny.
He has still not figured out the cat-flap concept.

On Thursday afternoon we took Emily to Gymbaroo and then on to Kelly Tarlton's. While Irene was in with Emily I went for a walk to a nearby bay. It was good to be out without my camera and hat; not looking so much like a tourist. In the evening I drove out, with Irene to Devonport. We got caught up in the home bound city traffic, then under the new tunnel and over the bridge. It was interesting to see the comings and goings at Devonport harbour. As the ferry got halfway across the water from Auckland cars and buses suddenly arrived, streams of people got off the ferry and the car park went empty once more. I can't help but think that this must be a less stressful way of getting home from work than making the journey that we had just done.

Arrivals at Devonport

We watched as darkness fell and the city lights came on. The sun set with the same golden rays over the harbour bridge that we witnessed just before we left in 2009.

Yesterday it was really hot. 


In the morning I continued with my quest to extend our travel insurance. My UK company will only extend beyond 20th April, most companies will not insure non-residents. Two NZ companies will sell me insurance, but will not cover pre-existing medical conditions. Another company will cover anybody, anywhere but only under 60's. This morning I spoke to an insurance agent who started by telling me that I did not need insurance in NZ due to reciprocal agreements, but cover was necessary and possible for the Singapore bit but recommended that Irene be insured by a different company to cover flight costs and luggage.


After this I started on a painting. I bought myself a canvas, some acrylic paints and brushes. I have decided to paint a picture of 'Mount Cook'.


Emily did her work in the afternoon and was happy playing at home. The pool was tempting. The water was warm, but I was not sure of the quality. I now know how to test it and next time it happens I will be able sort it out.


Before collecting Zoe from her after school club I went to the chemist to get a months supply of my tablets. It had cost £35 to have an examination at the local doctor so that he could write out a prescription. It was a bonus to know that I was medically fit. Most items cost £1.50. Compare this to UK prices. It only took 10 mins for the chemist to put the prescription together, unlike the one week notice needed at home.


In the evening Sally took Irene and me out for a drink and our pudding before a walk along the sea front.


Today, Saturday, we got up  and Irene received Mother's Day presents from Zoe and Emily. (It is not M.D. here.)

Ian and I took the girls out in the hope of getting pony rides, but we finished up with a Dunkin' Donut and a visit to covered playground. The girls spent two hours there before returning with MacDonalds. They then went out to visit a previous nanny and see her baby.

We all went out to a 'Mother's Day' dinner in the evening.

Tomorrow Sally and Ian are joining in with 80,000 other people to do 'Around the Bays'. They will be walking 8.4km (5.2 miles) from the Ferry Building to St Heliers and finish off with a barbecue on a local park.

South Island Adventure

At the end of the first day, while sitting in the Dunedon family bach, I started to compose the blog, using 'Word', as we were not then on the internet. It had already run into many pages. As we were completing the last leg of our 6 day adventure I have concluded that this must be a summary blog and I must endeavour to record the more minute details at a later stage.


So, here goes:


Day 1

• Arrived Dunedon
• Arrived at the bach. It is a two storey building. The ground floor goes though from the street to a balcony overhanging a drop to the property below. There are good views of the town. The family have the bedrooms above and we have a double bed on the ground floor where the main living area is.
• Irene and I walked into town. This took us through the 'Octagon' which is the central area. From here we went out to the cathedral and then down to the railway station, which is magnificent building. Further along was the Chinese gardens where Sally collected us and took us back to the bach.
• I took a time exposure shot of the city from the balcony.
• Our sleep was disturbed by university students who congregated around the house opposite. We didn't so much mind the noise as we did the mindless smashing of bottles on the street. 

St Paul's Cathedral

Dunedon Railway Station

Chinese Gardens

Day 2

• We drove off to find the yellow-eyed penguins. This was a hairy drive along the edge of the bay.
• The penguin reserve is on a farmer's property and includes the bay. We had a guided walk through a series of tunnels to hides where we could see them and finally out on to the edge of the bay which gave us a view of seals basking on the rocks a few feet from us.
• We drove back along the road and turned uphill to the, so called, only castle in NZ. So called for two reasons. Firstly, it was not really a castle and secondly, we were shown a second one on day 2. The castle is called Larnach Castle http://www.larnachcastle.co.nz/ and is really the folly of a wealthy Australian banker who build it in 1871 and committed suicide in 1898. There are lovely gardens, the castle is quite small, but there are good views from the tower.

Day 3

• In the morning we went for a tour of the Cadbury's Chocolate factory. This was interesting and we got the usual goodies.  http://www.cadburyworld.co.nz/ 
• At lunch we met up with Sally's friend, Heather and her husband, Alan. Heather took us on a tour of the city. We went down to the beach, up to modern housing estate, a view of the other castle, a look at the new rugby stadium, the university, student streets (which were squalid), a drive up and down the steepest street in the world and a trip into the top of the botanical gardens.
• Heather and Alan continued to be very kind and invited all of us to tea in their house just outside the city. We got  many useful tips about our journey which would start on day 4.

Sally, Heather and Zoe

The Other Castle

Student Accommodation

The steepest street in the world

More Students

View from Alan and Heather's House

Alan at Home

Day 4

• Drive back to the airport, leave the Clark family to fly home, collect a somewhat well used, but relatively new Nissan, Sunny car from 'Jucy' rentals.
• Drove the hour back to Dunedon and on to Moeraki, stopping at the village for coffee and on to the famous Moeraki boulders. Paid $2 each to walk down to the beach.
• We detoured off the main highway to Kakanui where we sat for lunch by the very rough sea.
• We arrived in Oamaru and the motel where we got some local knowledge and set off to find the Victorian centre. The architecture is stunning and if we had arrived earlier we would have seen the shop keepers dressed in Victorian costume.
• Our last visit in Oamaru was the blue penguin colony. All but a few were out at sea. Some were in a hide that could be viewed though a tube, but we found two strays. One was under the decking and the other in the wooden house that had been supplied for them.
• The evening meal was hoki and chips which we purchased at the local store.
• Oamaru has a population which is about 4000 less than Stapleford but it has two large supermarkets, a harbour, an airport and could be as big as Nottingham in area. You would not walk from the edge of town to the centre. 

Maoraki

Maoraki Boulders

Oamaru Victorian Centre

Blue Penguin
Under the Boardwalk

Day 5

• Set off to find Mount Cook. Long straight road along the river valley at 100kph. Stop for Maori cave drawings. On to Lake Aviemore. Saw the houses of the power plant workers. Crossed the Aviemore dam and drove along the back of the lake to cross back over the Benmore Dam. This dam is the largest earth dams in NZ and on it I met a man whose father came over from England to work on it in 1964 and he now lived near Canterbury.
• We stopped for coffee/tea at settlement called Oematata. It was a large town in 1964 as it was home to the dam builders. Now only a handful of people live there and the former houses are now bachs (cribs in this part of the world).
• On we travelled to Twizel. I had expected that as we got closer to the Southern Alps the road would become steeper and twistier, but it continued to be the same as before. We stopped briefly at Twizel to get money and to have a picnic before pressing on to Mount Cook village. Again the road was easy; with a few single track bridges. The village was quite sizeable. It had a school and a number of tourist places. The word for this place was beautiful; and it was. Irene repeated the word over and over. We were there on quite a warm day with sunshine on the snowy peaks and lots of blue sky. Once we found our car we returned to Twizel and the A-frame accommodation.

Sunny at Oamaru

Maori Cave Drawing

Benmore Dam

Mountain Road

Mount Cook

Lake Tekapo and Mountains

Mountain Lodge Motel

Day 6

• After breakfast we set off for Wanaka. The road from Twizel to the next right turn was 100 k and we expected to do it in about 1 hour. Imagine driving the distance from Nottingham to Northampton without seeing another car and slowing down to pass through one township.
• We stopped for coffee at a settlement called Tarras. It has a few houses and shops and a church. An elderly Kiwi lady was overheard talking about the place saying that there had been some changes (???) and she also said that she would never drive over the Lindis Pass (over which we had just come) without a Thermos flask.
• We turned into 'Puzzling World' in Wanaka. It has the amazing Ames room where you appear to change size as you move across it. It also has the room where your mind is tricked into believing you are leaning and water goes up hill. We tried the maze after lunch. I am afraid that not only could we not find our way to any of the four towers; we could not find the exit and had to leave by one of the emergency ones. We had a drive to the lake and a little walk along it before moving off to Queenstown.
• Queenstown is really touristville. It was the only place where we had to park in a pay underground car park. We had a good pub meal as we say out on the wharf watching clouds gather on the Remarkables. The small mountain clouds joined with the mass over the town. The rain fell, the sun came out and rainbow formed. Stunning.
• A ten minute drive took us to Shotover Lodge. This was a modern building with a single room plus toilet area. 

Inside the motel at Twizel

Tarras

Red Bridge

Ame's Room

Lake Wanaka

Day 7

• After a good nights sleep and woken by the alarm we left. For some reason the SATNav did not take us the way that we had come, but took us over the mountains to be greeted by a police car with all its lights blazing. Apparently, I was speeding. According to the officer I was doing 95 kph in an 80 kph. I was on a long straight empty road and I cannot remember seeing an 80 kph sign. The officer told me that the residents (3 houses) had made complaints. I apologised, was warned to keep a better eye on the signs and somewhat chastened went off much more slowly to the airport.
• On a grey damp morning we left the airport and flew over the cloudy south island; coming out of the clouds over Taramaki and a fantastic view of the very circular, snow capped Mount Egmont. 
• From the airport we drove home in the white car to pick up Sally and Emily from a private tutor and finally back to our Auckland home.

All Black

Our Plane at Queenstown

Mount Egmont