The Leggatts in New Zealand

Back to normal... literally...

2009-07-06T22:52:00.004+12:00

Well, hello again world.

Since my April post things have really moved on.

Firstly, I've had my spine surgery (discectomy) and while recovery is quite hard and tiring, the pain I've suffered in my back and the sciatica have gone!! All that is left for me to do now is get fit again so Warren and I can get back to enjoying the outdoors again.

I'm so chuffed and just want to publicly acknowledge how wonderful my husband has been, as usual, in getting me through this. I love you, hon! Also, a big shout out to all my friends who have, as usual, been a massive support through this in particular my neighbour, Alva, and my friend Tanya. I won't bore you all with details about the experience, but if you want to hear about it check out my ENZ forum post here.

The second piece of news is that my parents sold their home in the UK at the end of May! The latest timing for their arrival to start their new life in New Zealand is the beginning of next month and I'm sick with excitement at that prospect.

Am also happy to report that our home is now roasty-toasty thanks to the two new woodburners - so warm, in fact, that we had to open the windows the other night to let some heat out!!

Whilst I won't be able to go skiing this year, the snowfalls have meant that the local resorts opened early - Mount Hutt in particular. Just last night they had another big dump of half a metre so hopefully Dad will bring his skis with him and can go on the piste with Warren.

We now have a few more members of the Leggatt clan. I purchased some 'rescued' chooks - five of them - and they were in a pathetic state when I brought them home - their combs were pale and drooping over their eyes, their feathers were bare and they were just so depressed and despondent. Well, now they are all very happy, with bright red combs, lovely winter plummage and they are confident, happy and dust-bathing to their heart's delight. Today they thanked us with our first egg :)

Well, I'll leave this wee update for now and promise to post more regularly in the future!

Best to all.
x

Blame Facebook...

2009-04-20T10:22:00.005+12:00

Ooops! It's been quite some time since we updated our blog - and I blame Facebook! While Warren doesn't like Sadbook (as he calls it), I'm hooked. But, we'll try and keep this blog going too as it's been going so long!

This September we will have been in New Zealand 5 years - time flies - we still love it here.

So, what have we been up to since the last update in November (nearly six months ago!)? Nothing terribly exciting, I'm afraid! Life rolls on, we've both been working hard and playing hard. My back has been very bad so that's limited what we can do.

So far this year we've been to the local A&P Show, socialized heaps, spent lots of time in the garden looking after the fruit and veg and I've become a birth partner (no.. don't laugh!). My friend, Asli, is preggers so it's very.. errmm... intriguing, following it through with her.

More recently, we've have two woodburners installed in the house, our neighbour got burgled (on the only day for weeks that we were away from home overnight) and Summer is on anti-flams for arthritis.

Mum and Dad are still trying to sell their house - they have until the end of the year to do so.

Our friends Jason and Leslyn got married on the beach at Taylor's Mistake in March - it was a lovely service.

The first snows of the season fell on the Southern Alps on 9th April, although it's been a lovely warm Autumn so far.

And finally, Billy the Hunted One is still loose in the area - he's been on the run for over 2 months now, having stolen 2 cars locally and robbed the local supermarket. My doctor (Dr Vlok) was on telly after having chased the fugitive through Darfield early one morning. He's becoming quite the local legend. UPDATE: the local fugitive has been captured! http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/27/2581944.htm

Oh, and I got a new writing gig - I now also write for WebProNews and SmallBusinessNewz via iEntry publishers :) while continuing to write for BizReport for whom I've written for over 3 years.

I'm waiting to hear back from orthopedic surgeon regarding surgery on my spine - not great news but if it cures the pain I've been suffering for months then it'll be worth it.

Lazy Labour Day

2008-11-04T15:37:00.003+13:00

Monday 27th October was a public holiday here in New Zealand. It was Labour Day which commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day.

New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to claim this right when, in 1840, the carpenter Samuel Parnell won an eight-hour day in Wellington. Labour Day was first celebrated in New Zealand on 28 October 1890, when several thousand trade union members and supporters attended parades in the main centres. Government employees were given the day off to attend the parades.

We took our portable camping stove (part of our yet-to-be-used earthquake kit) down to the Waimakariri Gorge and drove down the side of the river for a few km's and found ourselves a nice little patch to sit and chill. We took a heap of tiger prawns, garlic (of course!), lemon, butter and some roti and ate al fresco while the dogs went for a swim (water was too cold for humans!).

The temps were in the high 20's and despite sunscreen we both ended up with sunburn! Oooops.

Veggie garden begins to take off

2008-11-04T15:04:00.000+13:00

The warmer weather is encouraging our new veggie plots to flourish. We've moved a couple of the raised beds into the vineyard where they get more light and I've started veggies from seeds, using the tower as a greenhouse!

So far this season we have planted broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, artichokes, garlic, corn, peas and carrots. We decided that we'd concentrate on growing sufficient of the veggies we use daily instead of growing one or two of each.

This year we've also put in raspberries, strawberries and a lemon tree and renovated the orchard so hopefully we'll have more plums, apples and pears this year.

No sign of our lambs yet. We're waiting for some to come on sale and shall be getting another two. Our friends in Springston got some orphaned lambs which their kids just loved to feed!

We're also considering adding some meaty chickens to the brood so we can have eggs and meat. I just need to find a homekill service as hubby and I can't agree on best way to kill them - I personally couldn't wring a chicken's neck and hubby doesn't fancy axing them!

I've finished the vineyard (it's my little project while Woz deals with the firewood/pruning). It's already shooting away with wee flower-bud clusters so things are looking hopeful. We're at the mercy of the weather now, hoping there's no late frosts. The temperatures have been in the low to high 20's this week so let's hope we're out of the frost zone.

The torment is over...

2008-11-01T15:22:00.000+13:00

My parents have been approved for residency in New Zealand!

After a helluva rollercoaster ride my parents have been told they can come and live in New Zealand. We went via the family sponsorship route and, from their application in March it took until September to be approved. Why? The medical assessors were being uber-efficient and made Dad jump through hoops, which he did, and it was all worth it!

So, anyone want to buy a lovely home in Sussex? :)

Congrats to Mum and Dad - can't wait for you to get here.

Spring is in the air

2008-10-25T14:43:00.003+13:00

The weather has certainly turned the corner and it's hotting up. This is the green time of year before the sun turns the grass brown. The colours are stunning at the moment with azaleas, rhododendrons and the gorse colouring the countryside.

In the Malvern Hills the rapeseed fields look stunning against the blue sky and the mountains. This photo was taken not far from the house.

Murder

2008-09-09T19:10:00.005+12:00

WARNING... Turn away now if you are unable to face the reality of where our food comes from, even when it is purchased from the shops.

The sheep have now completed their job. The paddock and vineyard are well mowed, we have even had to feed out for a month or so. We had also solved the freezer space problem with a loan of a freezer so it was time.

I had been dreading the day in ways but in others knew it had to come. We got the sheep for a reason. Well two reasons as they mow grass well but the main reason was a source of hopefully some very nice lamb. A friend of our neighbours was going to kill, skin and gut them for us.

We knew it was going to be Sunday but not when. He turned up around 10am in the end. I was just walking out of the front door and almost into him. We rounded up the sheep with the help of a neighbour. It took a few attempts to grab them but in the end we had both secure. It was over quickly.

I helped string them up into the tree and watched as they skinned and gutted. I have to say that when you know what you are doing it is a quick process. The skinning is mostly done by hand, you run the hand on the inside of the skin to separate from the carcase. We both found ourselves really absorbed in the whole process and Helen even helped remove the liver and kidneys.

By the time it reaches the gutting it is just process from then on. No buckets of blood, just neat tidy packets that just fall out without spilling their contents. We moved the carcases to the garage and strung them up and this is how you see them below.

From this point is it a quick trip to the butchers to be chopped up. A few days later and we have a freezer full of lamb. Legs, shoulders, flaps and lots of chops. It would have been nice to get some racks but the butcher just cut that all into chops.

Having been through the process the question is would we get sheep again...... Yes. The next two mowers turn up in December to start mowing duty.

Hair today, Gone tomorrow

2008-05-23T21:05:00.003+12:00

Looking back I have no idea how I ended up with a bald head. I think it started when I got lazy with shaving long enough that I reached that tipping point where you might as well grow a full beard. It was a short step to the Goatie that is on show in Helens 40th pics. From there bald was not as large a jump as I thought.

I left it until after Helens 40th, although I have put my hair through enough over the years I have never shaved my head bald before. I found a tradition barbers in town that could shave me with a cut throat razor, a rare thing it turns out.

I booked a lunch time appointment and then quickly found myself sat in the barbers chair nervous and excited. The woman who I am going to shave my head run a set of clippers over my head taking it down to stubble before I knew what hit me. I guess if you book the appointment saying you want your head shaved with a cut throat razor they have no need to ask the classic "And how would you like it today sir?".

She then wrapped a couple of hot towels around my head and left them to soften the hairs. Then I sat "very" still while she shaved me with the cut throat. I have to say that in the right hands it is a very pleasant experience, enough to get my face shaved at well. Next came more hot towels to exfoliate the scalp and then oil to sooth the skin. A final clean with a modern razor to make sure it is smooth and I am done.

It's hard to describe what it feels like to run your hands over your own scalp without hair. Something many people will never experience in their life. You soon realise how quick that smooth finish, you get about half a day with a smooth scalp until it gives way to stubble.

I picked the wrong time of year for this look but I have got used to it so it will stay for a while now :)

Helen turns 40...

2008-05-19T15:25:00.002+12:00

Well, there was no stopping it - I turned 40 on 15th May. The lead up was a bit stressful but now I'm here it's a breeze - and I'm determined to be a "naughty forty".

So, I started as I mean to continue - with good friends, good food and good wine. We had a lovely weekend in Christchurch and stayed at the Crowne Plaza on Saturday night for a bit of treat - the girls having been put in their doggie hotel.

Kate & Craig, Asli & Mark and Jason & Leslyn all came along too, thanks to Warren who had dished out invites a while earlier. (You guys really made my night - thank you - and also heaps and heaps of thanks for your gorgeous gifts!).

We dined at the Yamagen Teppanyaki in the Crowne Plaza - really nice and the chef was a good laugh. Food, drink and company all perfect - teppanyaki/Japanese food being my favourite. Woz's surprise cake really topped it off - it was a hefty chocolate tome entitled "Great Expectations" with a huge bookworm crawling through it!!

There was never any surprise at where the bookworm ended up!!

Afterwards we all staggered to the Casino's Diamond Bar for some cocktails and drunken-dancing to a live band.... sweeeet!

Onwards to FIFTY!! *GULP*

A little taste of home...

2008-04-29T17:41:00.003+12:00

You know winter's coming when I start baking!

Today, on a whim and while suffering from writer's block, I decided to have my first crack at Chelsea Buns.

Ta daaaaaa ... (shame I have to wait for Woz to get home before I can have one!! Wouldn't want to ruin the imagery!!)

A Wee Walk Around Waddington - Part 1

2008-04-21T19:23:00.008+12:00

For those that haven't yet had the chance to come and visit our gorgeous nook in Canterbury we're doing a photo tour of the hamlet of Waddington, the village in which we have lived for 2.5 years.

Initially built for the railway workers constructing the mighty Waimakariri Gorge bridge (now a road bridge) the village was home to a bustling community in the late 1800's. It was well serviced with a school, church, village hall, butcher, general store and a great deal of agricultural folk in the surrounding Malvern Hills.

Nowadays the stores have gone and no church remains in Waddington, although the cemetery is still used and beautifully maintained by the locals. Residents of Waddington now use the Sheffield village hall, the Sheffield primary school and, of course, the Sheffield pub!

A water race runs along the Eastern boundary following Tramway Road, which the kids still use to swing into and across and use inner tubes to race down it.

Waddington has roads entering from the East (Old West Coast Road) and the West (Waimakariri Gorge Road/Great Alpine Highway).

Entrance from East

Entrance from West (Southern Alps)

Waddington High Street during a busy period.

The road out of Waddington to the Waimakariri Gorge.

In the cluster of oaks by the water race - doggie baths.

Tramway Road where the dogs are walked daily and we enjoy the mountain views.

End of Summer... lots of new posts

2008-03-02T18:52:00.002+13:00

Yesterday, 1st March, was officially the start of Autumn and Woz and I went to a winery concert at Pegasus Bay... and it rained... lots.

Today is the 2nd day of Autumn and so far it has rained... lots.

So it's an ideal day to cosy up in the lounge, put on some loud music and fill in the gaps from the last few months.

New entries include:

Te Anau / Milford Sound / Dunedin / Moeraki
Auckland
Wellington
Wanganui / Dunard
Main Divide concert

.. amongst others!

Blimey - we've been busier than I thought!

Main Divide Concert - Pegasus Bay Winery

2008-03-02T18:23:00.005+13:00

Warren here, coerced in to contributing as usual!!

Main Divide Concert - Pegasus Bay Winery

We had been waiting for the Main Divide for a while, a small open air music festival in the grounds of Pegasus Bay winery. Everything was set for a great day and if the drought this summer was anything to go by we were in for a clear blue sky day listening to local bands in the grounds of a great winery. Perfect.

A few days before and the forecasts of big rain and storms AT the weekend get more frequent.

Bugger!

By the Friday night forecast it has downgraded to light rain clearing by lunch :)

Saturday comes and the sky is grey as far as the eye can see, a long distance when you live on the Canterbury plains. There is slight but consistent drizzle, not to worry it is due to clear soon.

We are both dragging our feet, the prospect of sitting in the mud in the rain does not appeal too much. We have not heard much of the bands on the list so its not that big a loss to write off the day. The festival started at mid-day, we finally get out the house about 2pm and set off on the one hour drive to the winery. So much for the rain stopping at lunch time.

We had been to Pegasus Bay winery before for an evening meal but I had forgotten that their grounds feature a natural amphitheatre. The concave steep bank with a good 35 degree slope levels to a flat with enough space for a stage and a crowd.

We walk down the path at the side of the hill, walk past the front of the stage on the flat as a female "singer songwriter" finished her set. The hill in front of the stage was full but it was clearer at the sides.

We grab a spot off to one side but still with a view of the stage. We are only really interested in two bands - Phoenix Foundation and Kora. We have not heard anything by anyone else. We have only heard one or two tracks by the Phoenix Foundation but liked them and a friend bought me the Kora CD a while back.

I grabbed two large alcoholic ginger beers from the beer tent as Phoenix set up. I say beer tent but the choice was bottles of red or white wine, a ginger beer and one other beer. You could even get real wine glasses (yes, GLASS!).

Phoenix Foundation played a great set, good enough that you forgot the rain that was on-off all the way through the afternoon. By now the hill was getting more slippy and we watched a young woman, wine glass in hand, trip and roll head-over-heels once down the hill. As she stood up, looking very embarrassed, she realised she had not spilt a single drop of wine and received a round of applause from onlookers.

As Kora hit the stage the rain was more constant but we were having a great time so stuck it out as we knew Kora were on next. I get the feeling that everyone had been waiting for them to hit the stage because they were the only band to really fight through the rain to get people down to the stage.

They were worth the trip and being sat in the rain for 4 hours!

They sounded so good live and played with so much energy you could see them light up the main stage at a big festival like Glastonbury.

We left as Kora finished, the rain had soaked us through to that point you could no longer ignore it and that "wet-through chill" was starting to kick in. Perfect timing as that was the last of the bands, it was DJs from then on. As we left the venue, the field used for parking was starting to swamp up and we were one of the first cars to leave. There would be tears before the last car left.

A great low key real Kiwi festival in a wonderful setting. Ready for next years bash :)

Weekend in Wanganui via Wellington - Part Three

2008-02-23T19:00:00.001+13:00

Car Rental Rant

It does not matter where in the world you are, the price you end up paying for car rental bears little or no resemblance to the price you are quoted.

It's just one of those things in life, like Broadband never being as fast they say it will be, or low-cost flights that double in price once you add "taxes" and other hidden extras.

On arrival at Wellington Airport we visited each of the car rental desks in turn, hoping one would not play these stupid games...

Woz: How much is a Compact Car for 3 days rental and what is the excess.
Them: Its $35 per day and $3000 excess.
Woz: How much to bring that excess down.
Them: $30 to get $200 excess and $10 extra for $0 excess.
Woz: OK, we would like the insurance where we can bring the car back in a small box please.
Them: Ok that is ... pause ... tappity tap on the calculator ... $250
Us: Err, how?

We managed to get our own back for once this time though. We picked up the car the next day and when we went to pay we pretended the lady the day before had said we could get $40 off with our Entertainment Card.

She had said nothing like only that she would see how much she could save, if anything, and that she'd let us know when we picked up the car. However, Aas we stuck firm on our promised $40 discount the the supervisor soon came over and authorised the discount to shut us up. Result!

(Disclaimer: We did not hire a Hertz car! For illustrative purposes only. Photo courtesy of Freaking News - go visit!)

.

Weekend in Wanganui via Wellington - Part Two

2008-02-23T18:42:00.002+13:00

Woz falls in love with a bike...

One exhibit in Te Papa that caught my eye was a race bike made by John Britten, a local engineer/bike racer. The bike is a hand made single minded carbon fibre race bike.

There is a beauty in this sort of single minded simplicity that to the right eyes is just as much art as any painting. Function over form or form dictated by function without any consideration for aesthetics.

The bike was sat next to an open plan cafe. As Helen and I sat drinking a nice Pino Noir we realised it was a man thing. Something that was easy to spot as couple after couple walked up. Normally the male partner leaning in to look closer at the bike and pointing at parts to their partner. The later normally with a "can we please move on" look on their faces.

Helen here - my personal favourite was the "corrugated car", not quite as beautiful!!

Weekend in Wanganui via Wellington - Part One

2008-02-22T14:58:00.000+13:00

Valentine's Day in Wellington

Valentine's Day found us in Wellington, capital of New Zealand. It's a quick "up and down", 40 minute flight from Christchurch and it takes us just 40 mins to drive to the airport. So, a jaunt really!

We left a sunny and warm Christchurch and arrived in a cloudy but warm Wellington and caught the shuttle bus to Courtenay Place and walked to our hotel on Cuba Street, and old and renowned eclectic area of Wellington.

Bags dumped, we headed out to Te Papa and the waterfront, we'd been dying to experience the earthquake room (especially after the biggie I experienced while Woz slept a few months ago). Well, it was ok, don't rush to Wellington especially for it!! Woz was entranced by the Britten motorbike as you'll see from his post and I just loved wandering around the museum, it's a great place, and free (donations).

Te Papa Tongarewa
(Museum of New Zealand, Wellington)

After a quick dip in the pool back at the hotel we headed out to explore and find somewhere to eat and drink Val's night away. On a recommendation from our friend Debbie in Wanganui, who we were headed for the next day, we ate at Chow. Great Asian-fusion food, contemporary style and lovely cocktails! *wink*. Woz stuck to a 25 yr old single malt and a beer and I relied on the waitress's cocktail recommendations (boy did she have a lot of recommendations!).

Wearing new girly peep-toe shoes (doh!) and a dress (yes, a dress!) we staggered back to Cuba Street and settled on a cocktail bar I'd spotted earlier. Called S&M's (first clue?!) it was a very masculine and trendy bar (second clue?!), with a great cocktail menu and not much beer (ok, it's getting obvious now isn't it?!).

Further scouting revealed that I was, in fact, one of two women in the entire place - the other NOT being in a dress and who definitely wouldn't be seen in peep-toe shoes.

However, having spent many a great evening in bars of this bias in the past, we stayed and sampled the cocktails and chatted with the clientele and bar staff and had a bloomin' great evening! Met a great guy from the U.K. at the bar when buying drinks who I spent half an hour with doing Little Britain impersonations finishing with "i'm/you're the only straight in the bar" in bad Welsh accents!!

Much amusement was had by watching obviously "lost" groups of lads come in to the bar.. and leave quite quickly...

We headed back to the hotel and had a few more drinks (such a shame room-service insisted Lindauer was champers though *bleeurrrgh*) and an early-ish night as we had to check-out and collect the hire car the next day to drive to Wanganui.

Travel Catch Up

2008-02-10T16:23:00.001+13:00

Last September (yes, LAST September!), we explored more of the South Island yet we only managed to post half of the trip on the blog *tsk tsk*.

So, here's a retrospective and brief look at the remainder of the trip.

Wanaka - Te Anau - Milford - Te Anau

After leaving Wanaka we drove to Te Anau via Arrowtown, which took us around 5 or 6 hours at a scenery-gawping pace.
Te Anau was beautiful, and the Top Ten campsite we stayed at pretty luxurious as far as they go! Granite benchtops, chrome appliances and flat screen TV's.

Next day we took the minibus to Milford Sound. The weather was perfect with rain, low cloud and mist that made any colour photograph appear black and white, as below.

Milford Sound (taken from onboard ship)

Milford Sound itself was stunning, as was the long drive from Te Anau to get there. We'd been told that the Sound was best viewed in rain and cloud as the waterfalls would be in their full glory. They were right, the waterfalls were indeed impressive, and I learned that a couple are higher than Niagara Falls, they just don't have the same volume of water. Of course, ever the person who HAS to get as close up and personal as possible, I headed for the bow as the captain shoved it under the torrent of a not-so-high waterfall.

Te Anau - Invercargill

After a night back in Te Anau we drove to Invercargill to visit Kat and Rob. On the way we drove through more dramatic scenery - made more dramatic by the rain which seems to have been ever present since Te Anau.

We stopped off at Gemstone Beach (thanks for the tip Kat!) and explored the bach built in to the cliff and hunted for beautiful stones which lay everwhere.

Onwards to Invercargill and we headed straight for the Burt Monroe exhibition at the museum. We arrived half an hour too late. But... as only Kiwis can do, we were told to wait 5 mins and someone would unlock it and let us in for a quick squizz! Well, that quick lookaround turned into a half hour personal tour! Fab.

After picking up pizzas we headed to Kat's and were given an impromptu tour of an amazing beach near their house where Kat rides her horses. After staying the night at Kat and Bob's great lifestyle block we headed down the road to Bluff.

Hmm... Bluff. The place may well be renowned for its oysters but, hey, what a dump! I hate to diss a place but it really was dreary and shabby. We took the obligatory photo of the signpost and took the road straight out and onwards - our destination, Dunedin.. quick!

Dunedin

The drive through to Dunedin from Invercargill was dreary - the Catlins were obscured by low cloud, mist and rain. We'll have to organise another trip to appreciate the area.

Dunedin is supposed to represent Edinburgh. Having lived in Edinburgh I can safely say that it does have some semblence but nothing of the atmosphere. We preferred Dunedin to Invercargill, and I'm sure that when it's not raining and cold it's a lovely city to live in.

We drove from Dunedin to Port Chalmers and then on to Aramoana. What a beautiful area, rural and coastal, bright green and turquoise everywhere, cute settlements and not a mall in view!

We spent a long while walking on a beach at the end of a track near Aramoana with it's "keyhole" rock and penguin trails. The beach was a bed of tiny shells and fine golden sand, a real gem of a beach. There was absolutely no-one about, bliss.

Back to the car and off to see the famous Moeraki Boulders.

Happy New Year...

2008-01-06T10:53:00.000+13:00

Time flies! Can't quite believe we're in 2008 already - we'll have been here 4 years this coming September.

Updates have been sparse recently but there's still been plenty going on.

The new bathroom is finally in and finished, the vineyard is back to its former glory, the paddock is about to become home to our two new lambs (arriving Wednesday for a stay of about 6 months before they hit the freezer) and the vegetable patches are really coming together nicely.

Christmas was a quiet affair, much needed. We spent a good few hours round at Alva's, our Kiwi neighbour, and were treated to a fine turkey dinner and puds. We also met Cleo, Alva's first grandchild, who is a couple of months old now and such a cutie!

Boxing Day was our main event - we had Kate and Craig and Debs and Paul over with their families for an Indian Summer. We each prepared a curry and the result was a fabby meal of chicken dupiaza, beef sag, chicken korma, prawn masala, daal, poppadums, roti, Thai green curry and a gorgeous Rogon Josh.

The rest of our two weeks off were spent lounging, pottering and generally mooching around Canterbury. We did our usual trips to Lake Lyndon to give the thighs a workout walking up Rabbit Hill, Warren managed to hit the 400km mark on his mountain bike and I renovated an old wood and cast-iron bench we found in the undergrowth!

We're both looking forward to this year with no plans to sell house or move. We're very happy in this house, Woz loves his job (and has just had a nice bonus and payrise to boot), and I'm settled in to a writing routine. We'll have enough on our plates what with my family all applying to live here (brother and parents), and this Christmas could see a big family affair!!

Shame Woz's mum hasn't made it over yet, perhaps this year Rikki?

A very Happy and Prosperous New Year to you all.

Warren, Helen, Summer and Amber
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Amber Alert

2007-11-18T12:38:00.000+13:00

Poor Amber - she's going through the wars at the moment.

The first scare was a rather large lump on her face, just under her eye. I took her to the vets and they did a biopsy which, according to the lab, looked to have changes to the cells - or cancer related. The lump was removed and sent away to the lab to be analysed.

For two weeks we waited, fingers crossed, that it wasn't the big C. Our vet, Anita, is so kind and caring, she rang me once a week to keep me updated and have a chat.

And today we found out it isn't, but the lab isn't entirely sure WHAT it is... we're to keep tabs on her lymph nodes and see how she goes.

And as if that wasn't enough, we went down the gorge the other day and she was attacked by 3 pig dogs (dogs trained to hunt and kill wild pigs). Poor thing was overpowered and has had 3 chunks taken out of her fur - it could have been a lot worse. Warren was very brave and got stuck in and had to manually pull these dogs off her and had to almost resort to putting a boulder through one of the dogs skulls - his preservation instincts certainly took over. Afterwards, he managed to calm down and went to speak to the owner. I, on the other hand, wanted to rip their head off so I walked away to avoid confrontation.

Big sis' Summer looked after her when we got home..... awww...

The Roaring 40's .. and muddy 40's, drifting 40's

2007-11-12T12:00:00.000+13:00

Warren turned 40 on 10 November and I just had to do something to surprise him *snigger*, which is quite hard to organise when the family is halfway round the globe. At times like this you do wish they were around to share in the day. But.. we've got a heap of friends here - I think our social life is busier than when in the UK - so it wasn't hard to gather a group together.

First off it was off to the indoor karting ... on wet clay! Need I say more?

Of course, I couldn't let the lads have all the fun so I joined in too....

Back home for a scrub down and then it was off to Kate and Craig's in Sumner where we were to stay the night. A cab ride into town took us to The Flying Burrito Brothers where I'd arranged for a few of Warren's mates to meet us for drinks and a meal. I think Warren was taken aback as he entered the restaurant as he kept on bumping into mates and saying "what are you doing here?" - until he twigged!!

Great meal, great company and I was really pleased with the cake I'd had made - in the shape of a laptop with "Happy 0x28th Birthday Warren" on the screen (which, according to his geeky mates, is 40 in hexidecimal! Thanks Colin!). Unfortunately, I managed to forget the camera so we've only got mobile phone photos!

A great night had by all - here's to another 40 hon!! xx

3 hours of pain

2007-10-19T22:11:00.000+13:00

Well, I am coming up to the big 40 so it was time to do something a little mad. It was time to get a tattoo. I had been sat on the number of a recommended tattoo artist for a while. I just needed to find the right tattoo and get the nerve to call him.

The hunt for the right tattoo has been a long search. The internet will challenge you at times if you picture search for tattoo. In the end I just picked something simple, a circle of circles... I know, me a geek? :)

Well today was the day. 40 was closing in so I booked Friday as holiday and booked in with Ross, the man that was going to inflict the pain. Errr sorry the man that was going to tattoo me. Helen and I get to the shop and chat with the guys for a while while. Before I know it I am on the table and I feel the first bite of the tattoo gun. To be honest, after that things get a little more "fuzzy".

Does it hurt? I can't begin to describe what it feels like when an area gets its third going over to get a good deep black, and, when that area is close to the bone, like the one on my collar bone, it is agony.

Here it is, still very raw.

BTW: I was told not to say about this but while I was on the table I am sure I heard Helen scream out a few times. But then a tattoo on the foot is meant to hurt a lot due to how thin the skin is there, isn't it hon? I will let her show that one off.

Helen's ebook released this week...

2007-09-20T12:42:00.000+12:00

The first of two ebooks Helen has been commissioned to write for So Much World has been released this week.

To get a free copy, go to http://travel-writers.info

Enjoy!!

Bang......Bang......Bang......Bang Bang Bang ...MORE AMMO

2007-09-15T19:14:00.000+12:00

Warren again..... God knows how Helen managed to get me to write so much recently.... aaarrgh my fingers, they bleed :)

While in Wanaka we decided to visit two (Not counting drink or food related) of the local tourist attractions. Have a Shot and Puzzle World, both very different.

Puzzle World, from the outside, looks aimed at kids and to be honest it is. That said its worth the visit for the tilted room alone. This area is on a 30 degree slant while all fittings are "level". This opens the possibility for all manner of optical illusions. Pool balls rolling "up" a tilted table or ropes hanging "off" plumb. It makes you feel very ill for a few minutes until you get used to it. There are numerous optical illusions and a huge multi level maze. We started the maze then found one of the emergency exit signs after the sign stating you will walk 5.5Km solving the maze. We had to get the hold up the building photo outside.

Have a shot is a simple concept. Let people shoot and fire different sort of guns and bows in a controlled environment. Oh, and a crazy golf course. I am starting to think crazy golf is the real national sport but that is another post.

We started with a bit of clay shooting. The man leads us into a small booth that contains a shotgun, 40 rounds of ammo and a window that opens to the world so you can shoot at it. He gives a talk on gun safety, shows how to release the targets and then we are on our own. The local clay wildlife flees for its life to the sound of gunfire. There is a small amount of disagreement on who was the best shot and it is probably better to say that it was a draw, almost, ish :)

We came out of the booth after our session or terrorising the local clay wildlife and went to book some .22 target shooting. As we reached the desk the man rushed off into an archery area. He came back shaking his head. It appears some tourists of Asian origin though it was a good idea to fire arrow at the target while their mate stood next to it to see where the arrows hit.

The .22 target range was a far more civilised affair. No recoil and almost silent compared to the shotgun. You clipped the target onto a piece of bent no.8 wire on a pulley that allowed it to be wound to the end of the target range. Again, there is some dispute on the outcome and the targets have all been mixed up since then.

Needless to say, much fun was had. We both came out after the shooting with that big kid grin on our faces.

Meet Amber...

2007-09-15T18:19:00.000+12:00

Amber, a three-year-old Rottweiler x German Shepherd (we think!) is the latest addition to the Leggatt family!

She was in the pound when we went to pick up Summer after our holiday down south and, as we had decided to get another dog, we considered her. She is gorgeous (I would say that, wouldn't I) and after we'd had a test walk with Summer, decided to take her.

She's settled in wonderfully, and has even managed to get Summer to chase her round and round the garden. She's a bit of a ladette, compared to Summer, and needs some manners but has a super personality and is very loving.

We think, and the pound thinks, she may have been owned by an older person who perhaps died or was put in a home, and the family didn't want her. She's rather porky, so she's having lot of bike rides and swims down the gorge. After 3 weeks I do believe she's lost a chin!

Taking out the Twin...

2007-09-08T18:54:00.000+12:00

Warren here.... And the twin is my old twin tip 149, a board I had not ridden in a while. I forgot howw much fun it can be. It has been good making use of Mt Hutt this winter season, the local ski field. Not the best season for snow but there is still a good 70cm base this late on so not all bad.

I have definitely become a fairweather boarder as I have got older. This means I have only been up 3 or 4 times this year. I like blue sky days at Mt Hutt because you get to see the Canterbury coastline, a good 60+Km away over the Plains. I have done enough riding to know the snow has to be exceptional to get me up there in grim conditions. A luxury living an hour away from snow gives you :)

My main partner in crime has been Craig, new to snowboarding but already hooked and progressing fast. We normally meet up in that metropolis that is Darfield. The Hutt road has not been too bad this year. It is a road that would never be allowed in other more “sane” countries. 13Km of twists and turns with huge drops at road edge most of the way up. The area known as the Saddle has drops both sides. A Mini went over the edge once when some tourists got out to take a photo. There was a strong nor-wester blowing and they left the car doors open. There are nods to safety, I am sure there must be at least 100m of safety barriers now and if the wind is above 35km/h they close the road. One day I will film the drive up because its hard to do it justice.

I will let the views from the top say the rest that needs to be said :)

Scooting round the South Island...

2007-09-01T17:07:00.000+12:00

We decided we both needed to get away for a bit and decided on a 7-day drive around the lower half of the South Island. The route we had planned took in most of the major places we've been dying to see since arriving - such as Wanaka, Milford Sound, Catlins, Moeraki Boulders.

We put Summer in her usual kennels, the Bunnylodge Dog Hotel (where she bounded in, happy as...). We took the Subaru and decided on using the basic but comfy "Top 10" campsites and became Members to get the generous discounts offered at each site.

The route we took was:

Waddington-Geraldine-Fairlie-Tekapo-Twizel-Oamarama-Wanaka-
Cromwell-Alexander-Cromwell-Arrowtown-Te Anau-
Milford Sound-Riverton-Invercargill-Bluff-Dunedin-
Port Chalmers-Oamaru-Timaru-Ashburton-Darfield-Waddington

A trip of around 2,000 km's.

Here's a brief summary of our thoughts on the trip and the places we visited.

Geraldine/Fairle - we visit these small towns frequently (the cheese shop in Geraldine is fab!), so on this occasion we drove straight through, keen to get to Wanaka that night.

Tekapo - we stopped here for the usual coffee fix. We've been here a few times before and were a little alarmed at the amount of building go on. Such a change from when we first visited around 3 years ago. Very little infrastructure seems to have accompanied the increase in homes, although there does appear to have been an increase in, errrm, Japanese and Chinese restaurants! The lake wasn't as blue as it usually is - it really does depend on the weather/sky. You want to run up to tourists and say "It's usually stunningly beautiful and turquoise and I'm soooo sorry you can't see it today!"

After a coffee and a rummage through the Icebreaker store we headed off towards Wanaka via Twizel - "City of Trees" hmmm - and (quickly) through Oamarama (less said about that place the better).

After Oamarama we were in new territory, having only flown to Queenstown in the past. Otago was uber-scenic and one can only imagine the colours had it been spring or autumn. (Mental note made to ensure we get to the Wanaka Festival of Colour next year). We were lucky to have the usual clear blue mountain skies and the vistas were immense and changed at every bend in the empty road. Warren, by this point, is ecstatic to be driving round some corners as the Canterbury Plains consist of mainly long and arrow-straight roads.

We arrived in Wanaka late afternoon. Pleasantly surprised by this town which is far larger than we had anticipated. The setting is stunning alongside the lake and it was throbbing with life. Snow-bunnies everywhere, ruddy and aching from a day on Cardrona or Treble Cone. MTV had just held a big snowboard competition and the Mint Chicks were playing so we'd hit it on a very busy weekend. Having said that, it wasn't claustrophobic and the bustle was relaxed and friendly.

Along Lake Wanaka

A night at the Speight's Ale House (where I discovered a penchant for a pint of Porters) left us well-fed (the portions were enormous!), relaxed (read as "pissed") and watching rugby at the bar while asking those nearby "what's that?", "why did he do that?" and "what's a conversion worth?". If it hadn't been for the beer intake I believe we'd have learnt a lot.

Across Lake Wanaka

The Wanaka Top 10 wasn't the best we'd been in. It was a strange time-warp of an experience, back to the 1950's if the furniture was anything to go by. Having said that, it was clean, friendly and in a quiet location not too far (but a car drive) from Wanaka's centre.

We were spending two nights in Wanaka so decided to do something a little different on our full day in the area. We decided to go shooting followed by an often-nauseaous but hilarious visit to Puzzle World. I'll let Warren tell you all about it in another post!

Time flies...

2007-08-25T12:06:00.000+12:00

Oh dear, I seemed to have missed a few months.

Time is flying by and a lot has happened. One of which was me writing an ebook in which I dish out lots of advice on how you need to keep your blog updated. Oooops!

Since the last post we've traveled over 2,000km, been armed with shotguns, cruised fiords and had a new addition to the family.

Here endeth the teaser for today! Watch this space for all our stories soon!

Island of Two Halves

2007-06-29T16:58:00.000+12:00

Usually I'd refer to New Zealand as a land of two halves - the North Island and the South. But even the South Island has been divided over the last few weeks. While we in Canterbury basked in gorgeous winter sunshine the far south was plunged into Artic conditions.

Our friends, Kate and Craig, took themselves off to Queenstown with their 3 children. Despite weather warnings, record snow dumps and road closures they were determined to make it through to the Winterfest and Craig's long anticipated Shihad gig.

After nearly 2 days (with an overnight stop in Invercargill) they made it. And well worth it it was too by all accounts!

With temps below zero, hats and scarves required!

Alex looking uber-cute!

Mum Kate and Alex

Meanwhile, back in Waddington, we were filling our rented trailer with all the rubbish we'd pruned, weeded and hacked out of the garden - in t-shirts! This time last year were had been snowed in for a few days but, as yet, we've had no snow apart from some pathetic flurries last week. Mount Hutt is open now, but the higher slopes aren't in great shape... yet. It's a shame as Warren is itching to get on the slopes and I may go for some more lessons! Gulp!

Hmm, what else? Oh yes, the local firemen's social do! What a laugh. We got spruced up and headed off to the Sheffield Community Hall where we met with our neighbours and friends from the village. It was great to catch up with those I've missed since giving up my jobette at the garage. And, it was the first time in yonks that I've waltzed! What great fun and, despite having a few to drink, I managed not to sign up for the fire service!!

We're planning a trip down to Otago and Southland for August, can't wait, it's been a while since we did any exploring. Hopefully we can pop in and see Kat and Rob down near Invercargill and see how they're getting on!

This time next year I could well be round my parent's house as we're hoping to sponsor their emigration here very soon! Watch this space!

Oh, that reminds me. In a couple of months time we shall be eligble for CITIZENSHIP as we'll have been here 3 years! Time flies!

The Rail Trail

2007-05-16T15:28:00.000+12:00

A couple of weeks ago we took advantage of the fantastic Autumn weather we're having and met up with friends and their kids for a leisurely Sunday bike ride. We decided upon doing a section of the Rail Trail near Little River. The setting is beautiful.

We fuelled up at the Little River Cafe (great food, great art!) and then drove to one of the many car parks along the route. The Rail Trail starts off hugging the shores of Lake Ellesmere so we started there (and it was nice and flat for the kids!).

Group shot (missing Tanya who took all the piccies - thanks Tanya although you did manage to avoid being photographed... again!).

Luke and Rebecca did really well, we did about 15km's and it was a nice easy ride (Woz managed to find a few ramps!).

Here's Woz...

We'll definitely be doing it again. There are heaps of bike tracks around Canterbury, and a relatively new one has just been built on MacLean's Island.

Oi, what have I told you about rear-end shots!!

Sorry, can't let Tanya get away without a mugshot.....

Pohara Kayaking

2007-04-24T15:58:00.000+12:00

Woz upfront in the sea-kayak

Back in Feb we went to Pohara, in the Nelson/Abel Tasman area of the South Island. It took around six hours to drive there through Lewis Pass and up through Murchison. A fantastic drive.

We stayed in a chalet on the beach in the Pohara Top 10 campsite. We were joining our friends Kate and Craig and their kids Emma, Rebecca and Alex who were also driving up from Christchurch.

The location was stunning and we'd booked a half day sea-kayak tour of the area.

Beach landing at Doctor's Beach on an island off Tata Beach

We had a fantastic laid-back couple of days spent on the beach, in the very warm sea and eating and drinking at The Penguin. We won't mention the late night on the deck with the iPod booming and the old lady who came out to see who was making all the noise (surely not that group of mature and sensible looking adults on the decking over there....?).. Oooops....

On the way back we stopped off to see friends in St Arnaud - what a beautiful part of NZ it is, we could live there!

My Parent's Own Words.....

2007-04-18T15:56:00.000+12:00

I asked my parents to write a bit about their visit and their thoughts on New Zealand. They didn't let me down! Great reading - I know where I got my love of writing from now!

+++++

Our first visit to ‘Godzone’ was way back in 1990. We flew in to Auckland from Sydney, where George had spent 3 months installing and commissioning a flight simulator for Qantas Airlines, spent a week doing the ‘touristy’ things on North Island then over to Blenheim for a short stay with Ken and Margaret (Ken was best man at our wedding in 1967).

After a delightful time with them we wended our way over the next few days down the West coast road -- Westport, Punakaiki Rocks, Greymouth, Franz Josef and Fox glaciers then turning inland heading for Queenstown.

George decided that, rather than follow highway 6 for Queenstown from Wanaka, we could follow the ‘hypotenuse’ route via Cardrona and get the benefit of seeing some spectacular scenery at the same time. What we failed to realise at the time was that beyond Cardrona the pavement road ran out and the unmetalled road began!!

Not too bad to start with, nice and smooth and fairly level. Then came the descent into the back end of Queenstown – steep, winding and no safety barrier!! Definitely NOT to Vivien’s liking especially as she had a wonderful view of several hundred feet almost straight down on her side of the car!!!! “Stop the car for a mo.” she says. George dutifully stops the car thinking she wanted to take a snap!! Oh no! She then proceeds to walk down the road hugging the side furthest from the drop shouting over her shoulder “I’m not getting back in that ruddy car ‘til we hit level ground.”

She meant it too... still walking...

Needless to say we eventually got to Queenstown (without too much walking) and enjoyed it so much we stayed two days instead of the planned one.

The reason for this little tale is to put into perspective a little exploit, which yet again demonstrated George’s bravado (or should it be foolhardiness?!) during our recent visit last December.

Helen and Warren decided to let us loose on the roads in their Subby Legacy whilst they got ready for, and went to, Helen’s works bash (see Folks in the Boonies). Off we went, mid morning, to tour around the local area and take in the sights and sounds of the Canterbury area. Whilst cruising around Viv said “Oooh that should be interesting. D’you fancy driving over New Zealands longest road bridge?” Not one to turn down a new experience George says “You betcha doll” and off we set. To cut a long story short it was one of the most boring moments we had in NZ! The so called longest bridge was nothing but a raised piece of concrete road over the, admittedly very wide, Rakaia river.

Looking at the map we spotted a road which led down to the mouth of the river and decided to investigate. Half an hour later we had the magnificent Pacific Ocean in our sights. And what a sight, not a person to be seen for miles until George spots some figures in the distance fishing.

Now George isn’t a fisherman type, just a nosey Pom!! “Let’s go and have a look” he says and before Vivien could utter a word points the nose of the Subby towards what looks like a reasonable track (which other cars had obviously used) along the head of the beach.

A couple of hundred meters later it went strangely quiet in the Subby as both of us realised the Subby was struggling for traction. Beads of cold sweat broke out on George’s furrowed brow. Only one thing for it, pedal to the metal and pray. After all this car should be able to cope, it’s a four wheel drive. Scrabble, scrabble, scrabble. Cripes we’re slowing down!! Then suddenly a nice level firm patch with lots of tracks. Gotta turn back, mustn’t stop; give Viv impression I know what I’m doing. Spin the steering wheel, boot the gas pedal, throw up lots of dirt and point the nose at the first track that looks as if it’s the way back. Uh oh, there’s a six foot wall of loose sand and gravel straight ahead which a Land Rover would have been proud to conquer. A quick prayer with closed eyes. On opening eyes the windscreen was full of bright blue sky. Just then the Subby decided it wasn’t worth going into orbit and turned its nose earthwards landing in a commendably graceful fashion before scurrying off to the car park where we began. Phew, got away with that one. Turned to the still silent Vivien and said, nonchanently, in true Fred Dibnah fashion “Did ya like that?!!!” There was no comment!!!!

After that little excitement we decided to go for a stroll along the beach. On getting out of the car we were faced with the results of George’s sojourn into the wilderness, the car was FILTHY!! It was covered with a thick layer of what can only be described as powdered rock. It looked as if it had just survived driving through a volcanic dust cloud!!

Panic!! “We can’t take the car back in this state.” says Vivien. So after our stroll we set off to Ashburton to find a car wash not, as you’ve probably guessed, via metalled roads. Oh no, the scenic way via dusty dirt roads along the coast. Well at least the dust cloud was behind us all the time. At least I think it was because we couldn’t see out of the back window!! Got to a petrol station with a car wash and came away gleaming. Then we thought ‘hang on, the car is now cleaner than it was this morning, the kids are going to smell a rat and if we tell them what happened they’ll never trust us with the car again’.

The next hour or so was spent concocting excuses for the superclean Subby. We were concentrating so much on the excuses that we forgot about the fuel in the tank. Ooops, down to ¼ of a tank, never mind Methven is just up the road. What we didn’t realise, in rural Canterbury most things close at 5.30pm, it was now 6.15. Yup, everything sure is closed around here. Never mind we should be able to make it back home, we can get fuel tomorrow. “Oh no we can’t” says Vivien “we have to pick the kids up from Christchurch later tonight.” Nervous giggle from George!! Right, featherfoot the throttle, turn off the aircon, delay using headlamps for as long as legally possible, cut down the consumption as much as possible. Passing Sheffield and a glance at the fuel gauge, gulp, 1/8 full. Reduce speed to what is practically a crawl, more beads of cold sweat!! Kirwee, Aylesbury, rivers of sweat. The suspense is unbearable waiting for the first signs of fuel starvation. Then suddenly, salvation, the welcoming lights of West Melton and, more importantly, an open petrol station. That fuel tank took an awful lot of filling!!

The journey into Christchurch was a joyous one culminating in the best kebab we have tasted for a long time. About an hour later the mobile phone rang, we expected a call from Helen to say they needed taking home. It didn’t happen! Again, see Folks in the Boonies.

Nothing for it but to go back to Waddington to pack for our second trip to Queenstown.

+++++

Nice one, folks!

Folks in the Boonies - Chapter Three

2007-04-03T16:46:00.000+12:00

After Queenstown we had a few days R&R and the folks took the car and headed for Hanmer where they stayed in the Heritage Hotel and really enjoyed the break from us kids!

We all spent the next few days exploring the local area, taking them off-road from Lake Lyndon to Lake Coleridge, across to Banks Peninsula and the gorgeous French settlement of Akaora and pootling around down at the Waimakariri Gorge with Summer.

The weather was really awesome, we really were very lucky during a summer where sun was scarce! The trip over to Akaroa was as stunning as usual, although I'm afriad someone has taken over the renowned fish and chip shop and we were very disappointed with our fayre. The upside being we all discovered we liked Elephant Fish as that is all they had on offer (no Akaroa Blue Cod which is our fav.) Hopefully someone will bring the fish and chips back up to scratch...

A few of Dad's photo's of Akaroa:-

Again, the weather was stunning for our trip to Lake Coleridge, one of Warren and I's favourite local spots to take Summer on a walk.

The Folks in the Boonies - Chapter Two..

2007-03-20T16:32:00.000+12:00

I thought I'd never get round to updating this blog. I'm not entirely sure what's been keeping me so busy but my excuse for the last 3 weeks is a prolapsed disc, say no more.....

Mind you, in that time Warren has organised the photo's, which is nice!

Now, where was I... Queenstown..

Remarkably, we made it to the airport, on time. And remarkably we were fairly hangover-free. And "remarkable", said in a very Coogan-stylee, was about to be the word of the week....

The flight to Queenstown was awesome. We'd hit lucky with the weather and as we came out of the Cantabrian clouds we entered the realm of lakes and mountains that surround Queenstown. Including "The Remarkables"...

That's a photo Dad took of The Remarkables from our apartment at the Outrigger. It really was a superb apartment, highly recommended and a great Xmas pressie from my folks who paid for our stay. Cheers!

Anyway, back to the trip. Mum and Dad had been in Queenstown about 15 years or so ago and were very surprised by how much it had grown, the airport was no longer a shack! The drive to the apartment from the airport swept us past huge construction sites and blocks of "lake view" apartments for sale, lease and holiday rent. It was much more built up than I had expected.

We struck gold with the apartment, which I'd booked online. We stayed at the "Outrigger at the Beacon" which is situated right on the lakefront. The apartment was superb, 2 beds, huge living areas, jacuzzi, full mod-cons kitchen and a huge deck with the the most amazing views out across Lake Wakatipu to The Remarkables. This is Mum and I on the deck.

The TSS Earnslaw cruised back and forth in front of us all day (you can just see her in the pic at the top of this post - click on pics to enlarge) and we'd all stand and watch her and wait for the horn to sound - what a lovely sight she was! Remarkable!

We took a trip on her to the other side of the lake where we were treated to lunch and a tour of Walter Peak High Country Farm and it's grounds, followed by wine tasting! A really lovely day out, and Dad was in his element examining the TSS Earnslaw's steam engine rooms and watching the guys keep the fires stoked.

Whereas I decided to take control of things!

In our two days in Queenstown we had a lovely time. We went up the gondola (I nearly went paragliding but had ordered food and advised not to!) and we ALL (yes, even Mum!) went on the luge at the top! Warren and I did it twice but I rather think Mum regretted doing it just once! Ah well, we're all proud she gave it a go - remarkable!

We also did one of the jet boat rides - we plonked for the Karawau Jet as my parents had done the Shotover on a previous visit. It was great.. as you can see, we were the quiet family in the back .. hahaha

We finished our trip with a scrummy meal at The Boardwalk - Dad and I shared oysters to start, nice to have someone to share them with! Yummmm!

We'll definitely be back, I still have my paragliding to do and Warren is keen on the Flying Fox. It's not somewhere we could live, it's a bit too resorty for that, but it's not a bad weekend location within driving distance, eh?

All in all, a REMARKABLE trip!

The Folks in the Boonies...

2007-02-12T15:02:00.000+13:00

Well, here it is - finally! The post you've all been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for... (sorry it's a bit tardy but I've been very busy, honest!).

So, three weeks with the folks - how did it go?

BRILLIANTLY!!

We had a fabulous time showing them around the area, our house, our friends and some distant locations such as Queenstown. The weather was really kind to us considering it's been an awful summer so far.

So hold on to your hats, here's a whistlestop tour of their 3 weeks in Godzone...

After a couple of days getting their bearings and chilling out, Mum and Dad's old friends , who live in Blenheim on the northern coast of the South Island, came to visit. We sat around on the deck with a few drinks and then went off to Oxford (19km's away) to Jo Seager's cafe for a lovely lunch in the scorching sun!

Later that evening we met up again in Christchurch and went to the Casino where Warren and I got in to a $1/$2 no limit game and came out on top, Mum and Margaret went on a trawl round the pokies and the boys sat and drank whiskey in the lounge!

A few days at home to get over the food and drink and then we were off to Queenstown. We'd booked an early morning flight from Christchurch so we were all tucked up in bed early, right?

Wrong!

My garage Christmas bash was to be the night before the flight. It was to be a dinner at a vineyard with the "Raise the Roof" barndance afterwards. We got all dresssed up and, armed with 5 wineglasses, boarded the minibus at our front gate (our boss, Dyland, was driving us all!). We were greeted by Rebecca, his wife, and quite a few bottles of fizz! We then proceeded to drive up roads I didn't even know existed, to houses that were out in the boonies, and picked up the rest of the staff members before heading to the vineyard.... we managed to drink a fair amount of the champers en route!

Arriving at the vineyard we all poured out and limbered up for some yee-haa'ing and dosey-doe'ing. But... it seems they had overbooked and here we were, all dressed up with nowhere to go, and half cut....

Not to be outdone Dylan pointed the van for Chch and Rebecca got on the mobile phone. Within minutes, and during the MOST popular evening for Christmas do's in the whole year, we'd managed to secure a table for 10 at Santorini's - a Greek restaurant.... uh oh!

Well, what an evening! Mum and Dad were due to pick us up at 10.30pm so that we'd been in good shape for the next day... but at 10pm we rang them and told them not to bother!! I believe it was shortly after that Woz and I were to be seen, and photographed, dancing on wooden barrels in a "drunk Greek-stylee" in front of the entire restaurant (not sure if that was before or after the huge conga line that went out in to the street and back in through the kitchens!!).

Ok, ok - there's a barrel pic coming!

I'll let Warren carry on from here as my memory gets a wee bit fuzzy!

...The restaurant empties by 10.30. We are the last to leave and head off for the minibus but there is a quick change of plan on route. The police have have set up a road block at the end of the one way street we are on and are breath testing the driver of EVERY car they see. Rebecca is our driver, she has a couple of drinks earlier in the evening but nothing for hours. She is SURE she is fine but we head off on foot to an irish pub just around the corner for an hour to make sure! The place is wall to wall people with a live rock band playing. We head to the pool tables and take over a table for an hour. We finally escape the pub around midnight.

Tick tick tick.... Midnight(ish) (Still not too late for our early flight)

We head back to the minibus only to find the roadblock still in effect. We notice we can get the minibus over the kerb in the carpark and so avoid the block. We are off at last and head around the top of Hagley Park only to find another roadblock, no escape this time. Rebecca will have to run the gauntlet of the breathalizer after all. The officer flags us down, smells the amount of booze in the air in the minibus and asks Rebecca out so he can get a clear reading. And... it's.....OK. We are finally on our way, it's half midnight.

(Turns out the roadblocks were part of a Christmas drink drive clampdown using a near lockdown over 3 days that resulted in 10'ss of thousands of drivers being stopped and tested.)

Tick tick tick.... 1am- ish (Still not too late)

We are about 20Km from Christchurch on the West Coast road and about to turn off to start the first of the drop offs when one of the others notices a car off the side of the road with flames licking the roof. The minibus stops and we pile out to see what is going on and if we can help. At first look it looked like a crash but we ascertain the car is empty. The flames become huge and pops and squeals so everyone moved back as a call is made to the fire brigade. While all this is going on a small read hot hatch with two "lads" in it comes from a gravel road at speed, doesn't stop and screams off. We stay with the car until the firebrigade turns up. We tell them all we know then continue onward.

Tick tick tick.... 1.45am - ish (Hmmmm, getting late)

That was the last of the "problems" we would encounter for the night but by the time we scoot around Canterbury's unmetalled roads, dropping people off, it's near 3am by the time we get home. We then sneak in to our own house like a couple of naughty kids so not to wake the parents!!!

We did manage the 6.30am wake up call!!

Handing back to Helen for the next chapter....

Stop Off in St Arnaud and Say Hi !!

2007-01-04T13:53:00.000+13:00

If you're touring the South Island and you find yourself in St Arnaud, pop in and see Mark and Marianne at the Alpine Store. They're a great couple and from their village store website it looks like they're very well stocked.

We know Mark and Marianne because we bought our current house from them. And no, they weren't the ones to paint the lounge an eye-bleeding blue They gave up their careers and bought the village store just over a year ago and from all accounts are doing a roaring trade - well done guys!

In fact, there's a hotel for sale in St Arnaud... hmmmmmmm

It looks like a beautiful area, and we shall see for ourselves soon as we are off to Abel Tasman for a kayaking and camping trip mid-Feb and thought we'd see if we can pop in en route.

Saint Arnaud is a small alpine village located in the north of the South Island. It is situated at the northern end of Lake Rotoiti west of the mountains of the Saint Arnaud Range and 80 kilometres southwest of Nelson.

Welcome Baby Bae to the World...

2006-11-23T10:58:00.000+13:00

Our close friends in the UK, Chris and Andi Calvert, welcomed baby boy Bae (pronounced "bay") into the world in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Bea was delivered at home, by Dad, with no other help except nature. It's boy number two, meaning Kobe has a little bro!

Welcome Bea!! You're beautiful! Well done guys...

Yikes, it's almost December!

2006-11-21T13:07:00.000+13:00

Well I've no idea where the time has gone. It's nearly the end of November. So what's been going on in the Leggatt household?

Woz has been busy in the garden and has almost finished constructing the Great Wall of Waddington. Well, ok, it's a wire fence around the chook paddock and yes, the gate was put back on upside down but for his first attempt at fencing I reckon it's pretty damn good!

The kitchen is almost finished - looks fab (well, we think so)! Will post pics when it's all done and, err, tidy!

I've managed to keep the veggie patch alive despite the crappy weather. Even the locals are moaning about the rain so it MUST be bad! Today, however, it's 23degs and bloomin' sweltering. There's no such thing as a happy medium here where the weather is concerned. It does seem to make the garden grow though.. check out this monster growing outside the lounge!

And meanwhile, as I sit here baking, 100 or so icebergs are currently floating off our coastline. The last time this happened was in the 1930's. All in all it has been a year of extremes - with temps hitting the 30's late winter, the snow dump early June, the amount of rain we've had in November. There have also been a lot of quakes in the last few weeks with one just 40km from here measuring 4.3. We didn't feel it - NOTHING wakes me up! Arthurs Pass (a few km up the road) was evacuated due to flooding last week and the Waimakariri Gorge 5 mins away is at it's highest in living memory! Now they're predicting droughts as bad as the one Australia is currently experiencing - again, the worst in living memory.

Waimakariri Gorge from the bridge - anyone who knows this spot will see the dramatic transformation from slow running cool turquoise water..... to this...

Some more exciting news... I've been taken on as a journalist by Bizreport - an internationally renowned online marketing and advertising portal. I write 3 bulletins a day for them, 5 days a week. I'm so chuffed, and despite working until 4am for the last 2 weeks (trying to establish my sources and faffing with submissions!) I am loving it. You can check out my work and my profile at http://www.bizreport.com/authors/helen_leggatt.html

Now all we need to do is sort out Woz. He's looking for a complete change from I.T - anyone got any suggestions? I think we can safely rule out fencing contractor!

Ohhh, there goes my tummy again - get butterflies every time I realise my parents are here in a little over 2 weeks!! Can't wait!

The Parents are Coming!!!

2006-10-26T10:02:00.000+13:00

Only 6 weeks to go before my folks arrive - can't wait!! We're planning our itinerary as they've only got three weeks (only!!). Hopefully we'll get to visit Queenstown, Woz and I haven't been there yet.

The kitchen benchtops are fitted next week, the flooring the week after, so hopefully I'll have a fully functioning kitchen soon - it's been weeks and weeks with no running water in the kitchen and the carpet to the bathroom tap is wearing out!!

The weather has been atrocious, cold for Spring. However, they are forecasting droughts and high temps over Summer due to an El Nino season, so we'll probably be moaning it's too hot soon! Nothing a cold beer in the spa won't solve....

A Lot Can Happen in 2 Months...

2006-10-10T13:39:00.000+13:00

I've finally found the mental strength to update the blog. It's only been 1.5 months since I last posted, but it feels like a lifetime. So much has happened and it all felt as if it was happening in slow motion - like a car crash.

I guess the big "event" (for want of a better word) was kicked off by a chance remark to the doc as I left a regular check up on 12th September. "Could you have a quick look at this Doc?" I asked as I went to leave his room. I showed him a small patch of skin on my chest that had become rough and raised and which had doubled in size over the last 2 weeks. Within 2 mins he had taken a look, mentioned the C word and booked an appointment to have it removed. I was shellshocked and ended up just nodding and leaving. Boy did I suddenly feel very alone and scared. My first thought was to call my Mum and Dad but it was only 5am in the UK so I called upon my forum friends at ENZ for support until such time as I could call my parents. The ENZ forum has been such a great help throughout the whole immigration period, and continues to be a source of friendship and advice even now.

To cut a long story short, I had two patches removed after showing the Doc another area on my arm that I'd had concerns about - to be safe he removed both. Then the waiting - an awful week passed slowly and the results came back. The arm biopsy was nothing more than a derma-fibroid and the chest patch had been sun damage but no signs of cancer. WHEW!

I've always been a sun worshipper, and have olive skin that tans at the mere whiff of sunlight, but since we've been in NZ I'm a total nag to people who don't put on suncream. But the damage I'm now seeing was probably done 10-20 yrs ago.

For a while I felt very conscious about being in the sun but now I'm back to normal again and just more vigilant in the shower! That was a scary time for us both, poor Woz didn't know what to think, but we're past it and boy did it give us a kick up the arse. We are mortal!

Since that day and my last post we've also had the kitchen ripped out and most of the new one is now in place. We are waiting for the granite tops to be cut and then the sink/taps/floor can go in and the finishing can be done. Hopefully it willbe finished by mid November! I hope so as I don't have any running water in the kitchen at the moment!

The whole house is in chaos with the kitchen in the lounge and the kitchen being half built!

So what else have we been up to? Well the vineyard has been totally pruned and the canes laid. We had a lady come in to tutor us and she'll come back every stage of the way to tutor us in the skills to keep the vineyard running and get the best from the vines.

The garden has sprung to life and is keeping us very busy at the weekends (keeps me out of the shops!!). I went all flower power last month and collected up some of the garden blooms...

We've started fencing the chooks in as they have taken to roaming the garden and managed to decimate my veggie patch within 20 mins of finding it! ARGH...

The spa area is being spruced up ready for summer (bring your togs folks!) and the BBQ is being overhauled. The grass is growing at a rate of knots and so are the weeds (bring your trowels too!).

Sheffield/Waddington now have a market committee and we hope to open the Malvern Market by the end of the year! Watch this space!

Oh, and the other news is that I have got a jobette at the local gas station in Sheffield!! I work from 4pm - 7pm every weekday and I shut up shop/garage! It's very laid back and pays better than the Library!!! I'm enjoying it so far. Only in my 3rd week!

It's Nor'wester season and the gales started this week - hot, dry winds from over the Alps - I quite like them but the locals say that divorce and suicide rates rise during the Nor'wester season!

I've also managed to find a sponsor for my column, so I'll get paid now! It's a local company called Malvern Glass.

Mum and Dad arrive on 10 December - can't wait! It'll whizz by and I've got soooo much housework to do!! Hah!

Well, that's stretched my writing muscles a bit, I'd better do some proper work now!

One for Gromit

2006-08-30T18:41:00.000+12:00

Well I couldn't quite last the entire 6 weeks until tasting my first ever Cheddar - I succumbed with just 3 days to go!!

It's still young at 6 weeks but I needed to know that I had the basics right. It tastes lovely, albeit immature. Slightly zingy already and a really lovely aftertaste, almost goats-cheese like.

I have another one on the go which is only a week old and I'll be cloth wrapping that one in the traditional manner and saving it until December. I was very happy with the natural rind that I achieved on this one, just brine washing and turning every few days, so if the cloth wrapping is too fussy I'll go back to natural. In the next few weeks I'll be getting my first 10 litres of raw milk (unpasteurised) and shall be making another cheddar and a hopefully a blue, but I need to sort out some storage now that the house is heating up.

Unfortunately I shan't be able to sell my cheese until I can get in to a registered kitchen (bloomin' regs) so for now it's for family and friends only....

Mud Plug

2006-08-20T20:52:00.000+12:00

Today was our first visit to a Mud Plug. Wendy, Dazza and Luke came over and we all headed off into Sheffield to try and find where the event was being held. Helen's first guess was the Show ground but all we found was a footy match. Dazza said he thought it was a few Km out of Sheffield so we headed back out of Sheffield towards Waddington only to find it was a stones throw from our front door!

By the time we got there we could already see a sea of parked cars, 4X4s and pickups, the local paper later reported that over 750 vehicles full of spectators turned up to watch the 50 vehicles that had entered. This was one of the biggest events to happen in Sheffield in a while.

A Mud Plug appears to run like a Motorbike trials event where you have to drive through sections without hitting posts/markers and you are scored on how well you do but to be honest, nobody we found knew for sure. We picked a spot near a steep bank that dropped off into a deep muddy swamp and waited for the first nutter to come through.

This part of the course did not look easy. Many failed to even get up the bank to the start of the section, more just sunk into the swamp needing to be pulled from the swamp by one of the huge tractors that were on hand. The odd few, highly customised monsters flew through with ease to great cheers from the crowds of people.

I was a great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon; we will certainly be back for the next one.

It's Snow Fun

2006-08-19T23:31:00.000+12:00

Warren here!! This weekend was the first weekend since we moved to New Zealand that I planned to venture onto the slopes for some fun in the snow. My board was treated to a full pamper earlier in the week, everything was set and ready to go.

Or was it?

The weather reports were getting worse as the week went on and now it looked like the resorts would be closed due to a massive Nor'Wester that was due to hit Saturday morning.

Saturday morning came, a quick glance out the window revealed clear blue sky and no wind. I checked the Mt Hutt webpage and it was still reporting the resort closed but said check back at 9am for an update. Tick... Tick... Tick... the page is updated and its good news, the resort is open.

Craig, a fellow Brit, and I load up and head the hour up the road to Mt Hutt. It’s the first time I have been along the access road to the resort but at least we could see the road, normally it’s covered in snow and ice. The Kiwi's are not big on crash barriers even when there is 14Km of road where the edge of the road is a drop 100's of feet. This is not a road for the squeamish.

The good news is that the slope is not packed, looks like the weather reports put many off.

After the short ride of the quad chair its time for the first run of the day, and also my first run in a few years. From the top of the slope you are greeted with a stunning view of the Canterbury planes with sprawling fields all the way to the sea and the Rakaia snaking its way to the coast. I am starting to remember why I love being in the mountains with views like this.

A quick look down the slope shows what looked fluffy from the chairlift is actually more like hard pack ice with a thin layer of sluff on top, bugger.

Time to start the first run... It appears that while your body does remember what it should be doing to snowboard it turns out that initially its more a caricature of what it should be doing... splat, nothing like a face plant on ice to wake you up.

After a few shaky turns and the face plant it is starting to come back to me and I feel more confident letting the board pick up speed. After a few hours the ice is starting to melt a little under the beating sun and the surface starts to soften up. By the end of the day I am back up to speed and even feel confident enough to hit a couple of jumps.

The day flew past and before we know it the sun was no longer on the slopes, the light went flat and another day on the hill is over. It's then just a short trip back to catch up with the girls to see how their day has been.

Meanwhile.. just one hour away, back down on the Canterbury Plains in Waddington...

Kate and I nursed our hangovers from the previous night whilst sat on the deck eating "frish iiggs" collected that day (they had all stayed the night before to ensure the boys got up the mountain early but, despite our best efforts (honest!), the boys didn't hit the sack until 1.30am and Kate and I, well.. err, Kate and I nearly saw 3am!!).

The weather was gorgeous and blooming hot - we grabbed the thermometer and stuck it on the table... 28 DEGREES and it was only 10.30am! And still winter!

Kate had bought the kids swimming cozzies and I dusted off my jandals and we hopped in the car and drove to the Waimakariri Gorge (2 mins down the road) so the girls, and Summer, could cool down in the river. It was at this point the girls found out just how cold the Waimak's water is!

A cold beer later we decided to go for lunch at Jo Seager's new cafe in Oxford - the kids had their own little "lunch plates" which were brilliant and consisted of little rabbit-shaped marmite sarnies, polenta fries, an iced bun, dried fruit, carrot sticks, little cheesey/bacony toasts and chocolate milk - all for $7 !! Iiigs Benedict for the ladies!

The boys returned home buzzing at 4.30pm and we sat down to lasagne and a pav! What a great day. And tomorrow is to be the Sheffield Mud Plug and Wendy, Dazza and Luke are coming over in their suped up Pajero (complete with new winch and snorkel - wahey!!).

No more blues....

2006-07-27T12:50:00.000+12:00

What is it with Kiwi's and their love of blue paint? Every single house we've lived in or owned here (which is three) has had a room entirely painted in blue - a vivid, yet dark, blue. The sort of blue that makes your eyes bleed and blood freeze. The previous two houses we were in it was at least limited to the bathroom, but here they'd gone mad and decided the entire lounge should be blue. Yuk!

But that all changed this week, we are finally "Kiwi blue" free.

Our bedroom was a pukey pink and the kitchen-dining-mezzanine area was a funky 70's wallpaper which had been partly covered with another awful pastel colour so that had to be painted over too.

The painters were so old that I felt guilty that they were up and down ladders all day - sometimes stopping to warm their arthritic hands on the coal stove!! But they did a fabulous job and finished the lot in 2.5 days!

Say Cheese!

2006-07-23T10:50:00.000+12:00

Well, this is my first attempt at making cheddar cheese! I spent about 4 hours yesterday making it from scratch (10 litres of farmhouse milk, rennet, culture, big pans and a lot of patience!). I removed it from the press today (above) and will brine it and store it. This one I intend to test/eat in 6 weeks time. I'm making two more this week - one I will leave to mature until when my folks arrive and the other I will (try) and keep for 18 months.

I learnt this craft on a one-day cheesemaking course run by NZ's famed cheesemaker and author, Katherine Mowbray. The course was held at Langdales Winery just down the road from us in West Melton. It was a great day and I met so many interesting ladies (no men turned up!) from all walks of life - there were geologists, food writers, artists, chefs, hoteliers and even a lady from Zambia who used to run a huge cheese factory there...

We learnt to make feta, cheddar, ricotta, haloumi and mascarpone! Now I need to find a local dairy farmer who can give me 10litres of raw milk at a time!

Can't wait to taste it along with our wines which have now been racked off and are clearing nicely!

Meet the New Gals...

2006-07-20T18:52:00.000+12:00

Here's Queenie and Q-Tee! They're half Silkie, quarter Australorp and quarter Barred Rock pullets and are due to start laying in spring.

Why those names? Because I thought that with the others being the 3-P's (Penelope, Prudence and Priscilla) I could then say, when asked what I do, that I mind my P's and Q's....

.... well I thought it was funny!

Hola Padre!

2006-07-18T12:15:00.000+12:00

Which, translated, means "Hi Dad". He is in Mexico City on business for a few weeks (he's only just back from Prague!) and big hugs to my Mum who's been left behind in sunny, and relatively sparsely populated, Findon! The figures? About 18.5 million people in Mexico City (2nd largest city in the world behind Tokyo at 25 million) and about 18 people in Findon... including cats.....

In the Bleak Midwinter...

2006-07-16T13:31:00.000+12:00

What a lovely Sunday we're having. Our hens started laying again today - well, one of them did - perhaps they know we're picking up 3 more next week and think their days are numbered. We had a cooked brekkie on the deck, faffed around the house and I'm now about to settle down and do some writing, Warren is outside burning off the remainder of the garden rubbish in Oscar's amazing incinerator contraption and the two dogs, Bonnie and Summer, are belting round the grounds after each other. Bliss!

The Wintersweet tree (it's gone past being a shrub!) in the main garden area is flowering and the smell and sight is glorious, especially on a beautiful winters day like today!

Shame I can't post the perfume... or bottle it!

Not exactly a bleak midwinter.

For Flax Sake....

2006-07-12T15:29:00.000+12:00

Today was the day. After a few weekends trying to save our flax-monsters we had to bite the bullet and have them removed - mechanically! My "bread knife and axe" method was working but would have taken me months and months to get them cut down - and I would still have been left with loads of tubers in the ground.

So, we called on Dave and his Bobcat to come and do the deed.

Here's a couple of "before" pics:

And here's what it's like now..... the pic below is the same location of the one above it (taken from different angle - I was standing by the round window when taking pic below).

The place looks like WW3 has begun, but we've re-landscaped in the past, and having seen the rubbish coming out from under the flax, plus the sheer weight and density of the plants, it's defintely been a task worth doing and it'll look fantastic once we've planted it all up again.

Little Brother is Watching Us...

2006-07-11T15:04:00.000+12:00

My little bro, Mike, sent me a pic of our house, taken from Google Earth. They must have been doing some work on it since I last looked as we are now in high res!! Scary really - must remember to do my hair when I feed the chooks!

Here's how it looks on Google Earth (it's basically the whole triangular bit - you can even just make out the lines of the vines on the left and the grass tennis court)!

And whilst we have our heads in the clouds, here's a stunning shot taken on 12th June when nearly the entire South Island of New Zealand was covered in snow.

Busy in Brizzie

2006-06-26T13:50:00.000+12:00

We have finally made the trip across the Tasman to Australia. The main reason for the trip was to see Coldplay in concert, but we fully intended to "do" Brisbane too and to thaw out after the previous weeks freezing temps.

Arriving at around 5pm it was pleasantly warm (more so because I was still wearing a scarf and a merino jumper seeing as it had been 5 degrees in Christchurch). The skyline prepared us for what Brisbane was... a big city. The third largest in Australia. Our pre-booked coach took us straight to our hotel - the Hotel Ibis right across the river from South Bank. We've stayed in Ibis hotels throughout Europe as they are cheap, have great locations and have all you need when you're on a city break, and this one was no exception.

We were the only people on our transfer coach, except for an older couple who had come in from up the coast a little to attend a 21st birthday party. They told us about their garden.. okay, their 100 acre "yard" and ohhh how they laughed as they told us of how they "lost" their cute resident possum and couldn't find it anywhere until they found a 2 metre snake under their shed with a possum-shaped lump in its "throat". Welcome to Oz! *gulp*

We dumped our bags and headed straight for Tukka in the West End where we had a booking for dinner. We had chosen this restaurant as it offered us a chance to savour lots of Australian wildlife (in Oz it's eat or be eaten!). We had the "Discovery Menu" with accompanying wines - it was a fantastic experience - the meal took 3 hours and we had to get a cab back as we were so full (and drunk!). I've copied out the feast we had below - it's not your average fayre.... and good that they give you an accomanying wine because it's really hard to know what goes well with possum!! Warren is now totally in love with a 2004 Shottesbrooke Merlot but we couldn't find it for sale in any wine stores - if anyone spots some for sale please let him know!

appetizer - smoked kangaroo and lilly pilly berries
__________

selection of native berries and smoked meats, home-made damper, macadamia oil & bush dukkah

2000 Logan “M” Cuvee Sparkling – Orange (NSW)
__________

seared north queensland crocodile, avocado and grapefruit salad, vanilla and grapefruit butter

2006 Fermoy Estate Sauvignon Blanc– Margaret River (WA)
__________

rare emu fillet, watermelon glaze, slow roasted baby turnips

2004 Shottesbrooke Merlot – McLaren Vale (SA)
__________

mandarin and rosella sorbet
__________

seared wallaby, celeriac purée, ginger and lemon aspen jus

2000 Campbells Bobbie Burns Shiraz - Rutherglen (VIC)

possum rillettes, grenadine and onion jam, mountain pepper brioche
__________

tukka’s chocolate assiette

2002 Sirromet Finito Rosso – Granite Belt (QLD)
_________

The next day, Friday 23rd, we headed straight for a dreaded mall to get some essential shopping - t-shirts! Thankfully it was the first and last mall we visited. Not our thing. The day was muggy and warm-ish (23 degs). Cities just aren't the place to be when it's warm and muggy. We did what we had to in the mall and quickly escaped down to the river and across to the South Bank area. This area of Brisbane is lovely, it's well set out with the culture centre, art gallery, museums, science centres, lovely walkways through tropical gardens, an inner city man-made beach and bars and restaurants along the banks of the Brisbane. We caught the City Cat and watched the city roll by as we cruised up the river as far as we could to Brett's Wharf. On the way back we stopped off at Eagle Street Pier, a very corporate area, and enjoyed lunch on the river at the Jade Buddha

That night we made our way to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre for the Coldplay concert, we got there by train and got talking to many others who were also heading out that way. What an amazing gig in a fantastic venue. We danced our socks off, screamed the lyrics to just about every song, embarrassed ourselves by knowing the words to Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" and generally sweated away a few pints of Tooheys.... a fab evening. Although the huge cockroach squidged on the floor nearby didn't seem have enjoyed the concert quite as much as us. The upside being it was the only wildlife I saw in Oz that I didn't eat or view through 2 inch thick safety glass at the museum.

After the show we found ourselves queuing for a cab with a Scottish couple who now live in Perth - seems that those things that irk some Brits in New Zealand also apply to those in Oz - I mean, what sort of conversation starts with "can you get Hellmans over in NZ?" !! We chatted for ages about the differences in life in NZ/Oz/UK and generally whinged about whinging Poms (to the delight of the group behind us!). We shared a cab back into town and they were last seen heading for the Pig and Whistle - great couple! I think he'll be the first to post Coldplay's "f**k the Dutch" comment (in relation to their having invented Big Brother)... you'll have to Google and see if he has!

Saturday was spenting brunching, lunching and reading on the banks of the river with cappo's and salads (yes, salads in winter, it was warm!!). We went to the museum which was pretty much like any other museum except for the Aboriginal displays which were interactive and, quite frankly, hilarious. Being told to "rub it harder, rub it harder" and getting blisters whilst doing it, in front of fellow museum go-ers, is bound to give anyone the giggles (and me having the giggles in a shhhhhh'd museum just made it worse....). You know what, I'm not even going to tell you what I was rubbing, but it was fun and very hard work and eventually I had to get Woz to finish it off....

Early evening we made our way to Chinatown. Well, two streets that had lots of Chinese restaurants and supermarkets. We had a HUGE chinese meal for a piffling amount of $$ and very nice it was too - but portions were stupidly huge. I had the remains boxed up and took it with me in case I spotted any more homeless en route to the casino but we ended up in a cab and I binned it.

The casino was pretty crap. Sorry, but it was. Nice decor, lovely old building but awash with pokies and only a few select poker tables going so we decided to shove some dollars in the pokies, have a drink, and leave. Except we ended up on a winning spree on the 1cent machines (yes, the ONE CENT machines) and came away having doubled our initial $100 outlay! Woohoooo!

Sunday was the day we flew home. We spent all day in the Botanical Gardens, it's lovely and the cafe there has wonderful food. We sat and read by the river and the weather was lovely (in the shade!). We watched the Ibis birds - strange creatures and native to Oz. They were found near the riverside cafes and were a bit of a pest - a bit like seagulls except a lot bigger and with a beak that made Barry Manilow look button-nosed. Apart from some rather large ants, that's about all insects we saw (and yes, we were looking quite hard to find the ants!!).

Our flight home should have been a nightmare, but it was hilarious. We arrived at the airport to find almost an entire school lining up to check in... ON OUR FLIGHT! Oh joy. We decided we'd be very un-British and not queue - we went to the front and sneaked in saving us at least 2 hours queuing time. All the while dreading which one of us would have a spotty teen fidgeting next to us all the way home. But, all's well that ends well as, seeing as they were all 15-ish, it meant that we had the emergency exit seats with the legroom as they aren't allowed to seat anyone under 16 in them - hooray! And to top it all we sat next to an hilarious Aussie who we laughed with all the way back - I think the 4 bottles of wine I drank helped me on the way too as I don't actually remember anything after disembarking at Christchurch!

The house was as warm as a morgue when we arrived back and Woz couldn't go to work the next day as his fuel tank had frozen (or something technical like that). We think the Mini might be going to the big scrapheap in the sky soon. We collected Summer later that evening, she looked like she had enjoyed her stay at Bunny Lodge, it's a great place to put your pets.

So, would we go back to Brisbane? No. Why? Because we've "done it". There's really not very much to do there that you can't do in any other city. And we don't really like cities, within an hour or so we were fed up with the crowds, the traffic, the noise, the heat, the mugginess, the intermittent showers (yes, I know, it's tropical), the endless roads of shops, cafes and restaurants and tripping over homeless and drunks. It's also the first time we've seen a Big Issue seller since we left the UK.

Would we go back to Australia? Of course. Brisbane is but a speck on the continent and there's so much we want to explore. But the big cities aren't what we'll be returning to, unless Coldplay play there again - now THAT'S something worth putting up with a city break for...

Winter Wonderland...

2006-06-17T13:25:00.000+12:00

A few more piccies taken on Monday and Tuesday. It's now Saturday and we're finally beginning to see the ground through the snow. Thankfully many plants are beginning to straighten out and the chooks have more space to scratch about. Discovered they love avocado!!

All piccies taken in Waddington.

We literally put the kettle on...

Summer was totally confused by the snow and would dig holes and roll in them - weird animal!

We're waiting to see what the next cold weather system due on Sunday night/Monday morning will bring - we've been told to expect more snow and that it could hang around until Thursday. I'd prefer it if it would go away on Wednesday as we fly out to Brisbane on Thursday!! And yes, Mike, ironically we'll be thawing out there before heading off to see Coldplay!! hehe

Here's hoping all our friends in Canterbury who are still stuck or without power are managing to keep warm and safe.

The big freeze

2006-06-15T20:16:00.000+12:00

Wow, there is nothing like 36+ hours without power during one of the biggest storms in decades to shake up the routine a little. The sort of storm that can cover the South Island in a blanket of snow. The sort of day the Weather people should warn you about but somehow fail to see coming. Let me rewind a little to Monday morning.

I get out of bed and walk to the light switch in the dark. click... click... b^&&@r it, bulb's blown. Stumble... Stumble... click... b^&&@r it, power's gone. I stumble my way to the kitchen to re-load the stove with coal, its a cold morning. Summer is on my heels already demanding her morning walk. I open the kitchen door to let her outside, thud... I hit something solid?

After more stumbling in the dark I find the torch. What is going on... Snow? A lot of snow, 30cm already and coming down thick and fast. I wake Helen. We stand and watch the storm outside. There is a beauty to extreme weather, it has the power to mesmerise.

Reality hits. Its a huge storm, we are snowed in without power. To make matters worse the wood pile is covered in snow. To top it off a short trip outside to the coal bunker reminds me we really really need more coal.

We get the basics done. Get the chooks some food and lock them in. Get a big pile of wood indoors so it can start to dry. Fill the coal stove and refill the coal scuttle.

We have no internet because the router needs power but at least we have a phone line, an outside link. The Electricity company's phone system lets me know I have called during a busy period and should call back later. When I finally get through to a human they let me know we will have power up at 8.30. I really should have thought 12.5 hours and not 30 minutes when I heard this and with hindsight, even 12 hours was optimistic.

I call work to let them know I won't be in. We now know there is snow on the coast in Christchurch, a good 50Km away.

All that is left to do now is get the fire going, settle down and wait out the storm. In the end the storm kept going most of the day and dumped about 60cm of snow on us.

Spot the Mini

We ventured out at times bashing snow off trees and plants trying to minimise loss but the damage to the garden will be huge. We won't know the full extent until the thaw but many trees and plants are crushed and broken. At least the house has held up well.

The only thing that matters during situations like this are heat, food and shelter. We lived in front of the fire the first 24 hours. When you have no idea when you will get power back you just have to get on with the basics.

Tuesday was clear blue skys so we could get out. Do a stock take, clear snow and dig out the cars. Once the road outside had been cleared we could venture out and get some coal and more food. We then got the fire going and started to settle down for another night without power. We got power back about 7pm that night.

This was a massive storm. Some still don't have power and might not be connected until next week. There will be damage to property and lots of dead live stock but the Kiwi's are a hardy bunch.

Was it really that bad... Not really.

Once your mind accepts the situation you just get on with it. Time changes and loses meaning, similar to being on a long flight. We were mentally set for the second night without power so when it came back on it was a little while before we put on the TV to get the news.

The Big Cover Up....

2006-05-16T17:16:00.000+12:00

Finally, the curtains have arrived!! Just how excited can one person be about the installation of curtains?! Hopefully they will help keep the place warm, with 50% of the exterior walls being glass it's a task keeping the heat in... but not for long with SEVEN sets installed today! They're all thermal lined AND have a duvet-like inner to keep drafts out and heat in... or so they claim! Time and toes will tell...

Full marks to Millers Homeworld in Christchurch for a job well done, even though the fabric took a wee while to import and cut, the end result is just what we wanted. Next task - telling Woz how much they cost!!

Brrrrrr'thday in the Boonies...

2006-05-15T16:48:00.000+12:00

Another year gone!

My second birthday in NZ.

And I'm a misery guts and full of flu.

BUT... after sticking my head under the pillow until midday and feeling decidely sorry for myself I kicked myself up the butt (there's a knack to it!), got togged up and headed for the snowy mountains with Summer.

I quickly checked the Met Service site to make sure I wasn't heading into blizzards and bad driving conditions, heated the car up whilst it was parked in the drive and, once warm, headed towards Lake Lyndon which is about 20 mins drive up the road....

From Highway 73 (soon to be renamed The Great Alpine Highway), which is accessed from pretty much outside our front gate, I took a minute to see if the trip was going to be worthwhile (i.e. visibility). The mountains looked moody and it looked like it was still snowing at the peaks, but knowing I wasn't going to be climbing too far into them I took the decision to go for it...

Looking to the mountains from Highway 73, just a few metres from home....

Between Springfield and Lake Lyndon the road begins to climb.... and it get's slushy and ice/grit warnings appear everywhere... *gulp*

Not quite as much snow as we've encountered on previous drives around the world... how's this for snow at the side of the road - taken in 1998 in Yosemite (California) !

Back to NZ... once Summer and I arrived at Lake Lyndon the sun broke through and it was glorious - I munched on a sausage roll and warmed my hands with a cappo and Summer rushed straight into the lake ..brrrrrrrr!

And what does a m-m-mad 38 year old and her dog do at a snowy lake in the mountains of the South Island of NZ? Makes a snow pup of course !!! (It's the one on the left!!)

Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes and pressies and cards! Did well for an oldie!

Gotta dash - I think the postie just dropped off the committal papers.......

Brrrrrr in the Boonies....

2006-05-13T14:27:00.000+12:00

After being cooped up for a few days with the worst flu I've ever had, I felt well enough to venture out of the house, and we took Summer out for a walk round the village. The views alone were enough to warm the cockles of our hearts. We just love the scenery round here, whether it's snow-topped or lush and green, it always makes us smile and we always wish our families and friends were here to share it.

Here's the view that greeted us as we emerged from our gate (which is off to the left hand side - the boundary on the left is ours).

The road above, Waddington Road, is one of the two "main" roads of our township!

Further down Waddington Road... busy eh?

We wandered down the road to the water race for some stick throwing and swimming - Summer not us!!!

We were unable to go out last night for the birthday get-together and we've now cancelled tomorrows lunch at Pegasus Bay, and unfortunately it looks like Woz is about to enter the flu-zone :-( , so we're cancelling my birthday this year, which is great because it means I get to stay 37 for another year!!!!!

Skidoo Buggery....

2006-05-10T12:43:00.000+12:00

.. and other random thoughts. That was pretty much the basis for Ross Noble's stand up show that we went along to at the James Hay theatre last weekend. Was a great night out - we frequented our new Japanese eatery and were then entertained by Ross for over 2 hrs - great show! I bet there are lots of people currently trawling Christchurch to find his "shed up a stick" - we know where it is and we're not telling!

My friend Julie, from the library, brought her dog Bonnie up to meet Summer on Sunday. They got along brilliantly which means we are more than happy to look after her at weekends when Julie heads home to Canada for a few weeks in July! It helps us out too because we'll discover if we really want 2 dogs or if Summer is enough!!

The only bad news is that I seem to have caught "man flu" which has knocked me for six. Hopefully I can get rid of it in time for Friday night as we have dinner planned with friends for my birthday and Warren has also booked us into Pegasus Bay on Sunday which I've been dying to go to for months and months!! Some global finger-crossing may help.....

Humble Harvest...

2006-05-03T11:12:00.000+12:00

We have now collected all the grapes! We were very selective about what we kept and what we left for the birds. Because the grapes weren't in the best of condition (we suspect they hadn't been pruned back the previous year) we decided we'd only pick the best looking.

Not only that but we didn't go mad buying wine making equipment so we limited it to three 25 litre fermenters.

First we removed the nets and picked all the acceptable bunches. Because we haven't yet identified all 4 varieties we simply decided to do one red and one white! Once picked we had to give them the initial "crush" which we did in the traditional manner!!

Great fun but blooming sticky! Luckily our huge fatsia japonica flowered at the same time and the local bees were swarming that, and not my legs.

Next, we left the crushed grapes, or "must", to sit for a couple of days and added a campden tablet (stops wild yeasts taking hold.. apparently...).

A few days later we added the yeast and we're using the method whereby we leave, with skins, for another week. In a couple of days we'll press the musts through muslin and probably rack it off a couple of times before we leave it be for a few months, after which we'll either drink it or use it to strip the walls in the spare bedroom.

Dylan Moran in Concert...

2006-04-24T17:05:00.000+12:00

Yesterday (Sun 23rd April) we went into Christchurch, to the James Hay theatre, to see Dylan Moran (far right in photo) in concert. He's one of our favourite comedians - we first came across him in Black Books which is hilarious and, if you haven't see it already, is worth seeking out on DVD.

Beforehand we went to a Japanese restaurant opposite the casino which was really good - we'll be back there in May when we're off to see Ross Noble (another stand up comic), also at the James Hay theatre.

And not long until we're off to Brisbane, Australia, for the ColdPlay concert in June!! We've sorted our visas and the hotel is booked - so where the bloody hell are we?

The Sheffield A&P show

2006-04-16T15:35:00.000+12:00

OMG, a post from me (Warren :))

For those with confused looks, we did not rush back to Sheffield in the UK to go to its annual Agricultural & Pastoral show. In fact Sheffield in Canterbury NZ bears little resemblance to its UK namesake having a population that can be counted using your fingers and toes, it might have a slightly bigger population than that but not many. Sheffield is our nearest neighbouring village being about 2Km down the road.

Being such a tiny village we had no idea what to expect so were pleasantly surprised to find the large crowds of people, as much as you find large crowds in NZ when away from town. The weather even managed to stop its cold/wet spell and give us some sun.

The show had everything you would expect such as best produce competition, stalls selling arts and crafts type bits and food, farm machinery, show jumping and livestock judging but it is also a chance for the community to get together and celebrate what they do.

It was the first time we had seen Llama and Alpaca close up. They are related to the Camel family, which is very obvious in their face. They are very graceful creatures, probably the long neck that does it, and appear to be very gentle. The funniest sight though is the poodle like cut that is given to many of them in the summer months to stop them overheating.

The demonstration that really let you know you are unfit was the axe men demonstration. This was a bunch of 60+ year old men making small work of huge lumps of wood with very sharp axes. The speed that they hacked through 1ft+ logs of wood was impressive as is the fact they have their feet still attached to their bodies as shown below. When they do the same, 12ft above the ground stood on jigger boards (special precariously balanced planks off wood you attach to the pole and hope they hold), then you really feel you should get more active.

Its great seeing a community get together in this way and it is also when you realise you are becoming part of the community as you recognise people you see in the local town and they recognise you.

Granny B's 75th Birthday!

2006-04-16T15:26:00.000+12:00

It was my Granny Broom's 75th birthday back in March!!

You've got to admit, she's looking bloomin' good for 75, hope it runs in the family!

Happy B'day Gran......

There's a rumour...

2006-04-08T19:18:00.000+12:00

That my better half will write a post soon..... like I said, it's just a rumour..... *ahem*

Cycling, Creole, Casino, China and Chilling....

2006-02-27T12:59:00.000+13:00

That pretty much sums up our weekend!

We spent Saturday wearing Summer out down at the Waimakariri Gorge (5 mins down the road). We loaded up the mountain bikes and sun-cream (28 degs) and set off on a mission to tire out the dog as we planned to leave her in the house all evening.

After much gravel skidding, sinking in sand and general mucking about by and in the river, we headed home and got ready to head into town.

We had decided we would go to the casino. We haven't been there for a while and I was craving a live poker game and wanted to check out the scene before I decided whether to enter the New Zealand Poker Champs being held in Christchurch in April.

Beforehand we ate at a restaurant directly opposite the casino entrance, Zydecos. It's a Cajun/Creole restaurant. The food was fantastic, I suspect it will become a regular stopping off point prior to playing!

Back at the casino, we both sat in on a $4/$8 Texas Holdem Pot Limit game. Pleasantly surprised by the poor playing, and even more pleasantly surprised at the great company, we were asked if we wanted to play in the regular Friday night game, we may just do that.

We both left the table, 2 hours later, up on $$, to the point where we effectively had a free evening out in town.

After we left, it was dark, and time to visit the Chinese Lantern Festival being held in Victoria Square. Very surreal to see the centre of Christchurch decked out in lanterns, the wailing of the Chinese singers (sorry, but it did sound like a cat in pain!) and the smell of MSG in the air! The lanterns were lovely, some extraordinary subjects, the cow, sheep and sheepdog being my favourite! They even baaaaa'd! Unfortunately, whilst I can play a mean game of poker, I'm crap with the camera and only after I'd shot several unsuccessful photo's with the wide angle lens in place, did Woz realise that said lens was blocking half of the flash - hence the big black areas on the photos!

Luckily I managed a couple of decent shots!!

Spent Sunday in the garden mowing, pruning, weeding and generally chilling out.

What a great weekend!

Helen Gets Published....

2006-02-24T13:46:00.000+13:00

Finally, a break.

Next week my first column appears in the local paper! "A Brit in the Boonies" will be a fortnightly column appearing in the Malvern News, a very small local paper, with a 4500 circulation, but it's a start!! I have also had interest from a national paper who are too wussy to give a newbie a go and want to see how it is received locally first!

What is the column about? Here's a taster.....

Why is it, that despite the plethora of information available, thousands arrive in NZ daily believing it to be the land that time forgot, a land of milk and honey? Where houses are ten a penny, it’s warm all year round, there’s no crime, the roads are safe and it’s “just like Britain in the 50’s”?

I think someone forgot to update the “What to Expect on Arrival” leaflet handed out to the passengers of the Charlotte Jane.

And just what is it that makes a pale-faced I.T geek from Slough think he is Farmer Barleymow and can easily make the transition from terrace house with postage stamp garden to a 10 acre lifestyle block on the Canterbury plains? And exactly what lifestyle do you get from a lifestyle property?

The Brit in the Boonies, a new fortnightly column, reveals how immigrants see NZ and how NZ sees immigrants. Follow an immigrant’s observation on everyday life, their cock-ups and successes, misunderstandings and steep learning curves. From housing to hoons and jam to jandals, even the mundane can be a hurdle for a Brit in the Boonies!

My two year Journalism and Feature Writing course with the London School of Journalism ends in July and by then I hope to have a couple of columns on the go. I may even get around to finishing the two books I have started!

Watch out Bryson, here I come!

Hotting Up in the Garden

2006-02-24T13:31:00.000+13:00

With temps in the 30's, and a few days of rain, the garden is rocketing! Despite our very late plantings, the corn that Mia planted is above my head and the tomatoes are finally going red.

Warren and I spent Sunday putting up the nets on the vineyard. This prevents the annoying habit that birds have of pecking a hole in each grape. We intend to make wine this year, if we enjoy it we'll keep the vineyard, if we don't we'll dig it up and do something more useful with the land! Brutal eh!

Putting nets on vines is pretty easy really - we used a hoe and broom handle and eased the nets over! Voila! No divorce either!

The Moorfield's Christmas Vacation

2006-01-25T21:53:00.000+13:00

I am sure that family and friends back home have already had the 3 hour slide show with bonus 1 hour photo sesh with Mike, but for those more fortunate here's a few piccies of their stay!! We miss them madly and hope they'll be back soon.

A quick drive up the road is Castle Hill, right next to Flock Hill (where Narnia was filmed). You can no longer get to the plains where the filming took place.

We visited the West Coast, stopping off at Shantytown and Arthurs Pass on the way. Accommodation was 2 chalets at the Top Ten Holiday Park in Greymouth. We threw buckets of prawns on the barbie that evening, before a walk on the beach during sunset.

The next day we headed further up the West Coast to Punakaiki, which is also known as Pancake Rocks.

The whale-watching was wet! But we saw whales, and lots of albatross. Unfortunately the sea claimed some victims and lets just say Warren, Ellie and myself DIDN'T have the need for sick bags! And don't go blaming the crayfish, Mike! Talking of crayfish, we had a superb meal out in Kaikoura at the White Morph, which is renowned for its seafood and, of course, it's fantastic name! Mike and I shared an amazing crayfish and seafood platter, and, unfortunately for their parents, the girls have now acquired a taste for crayfish and salmon - sorry folks!

Mike, Mia and the kids took an amazing helicopter trip around Mount Cook - Mia was so taken by it she cried and the kids thought it was fantastic - what an experience! I'm hoping Mike can give me some photo's and I'll post them here! Hint, hint! They went on the same flight as Warren and I did almost a year ago, but not the same pilot.

We just had to take them to Akaroa for the scenery, and the fish and chips! They are simply the BEST fish and chips we've ever tasted - I'm drooling just thinking about them. No trip to New Zealand at Christmas would be complete without seeing the amazing pohutukawa tree, which blooms bright red during the festive season - it's aptly called the New Zealand Christmas Tree. We found a gorgeous example on the beach at Akaroa.

Often, Christmas is associated with miracles, and we all witnessed one - MIKE COOKING... but not only that... COOKING VEGETABLES!

At this rate we might even get him to bare all and get in the spa! Or is that pushing it??

So, what else did we get up to?

We did some "edukayshunnel" stuff - the museum and the Antarctic centre...

We ate "out" a lot....

Well, well, well... what can I say? New Zealand really has quite an effect on some people!!

Wow, great memories.

Next to visit is my Mum and Dad, who have booked their flights and arrive early Dec and leave end December 2006!

Can't wait!

Empty House...

2006-01-04T17:39:00.000+13:00

It's all so quiet.. ssshhhh... sssshhhh

The family left at the weekend and we returned to a very quiet home. In a way it was nice to get back to "normal", but in more ways it's sad that our family are back over the other side of the world. I'm sure they'll be back! And my parents have just confirmed they are coming over for a month for Xmas 2006!!

We all had a fab time, despite the weather, and managed to pack in loads of trips between gardening! The first week or so the weather wasn't kind, not cold, just a bit wet and overcast (bit of a bugger when you live in the shadow of mountains yet can't actually see them!).

The travellers recovered and then set to work on the garden, helping us to weed and to dig up spuds and plant new herbs and veggies. Cait and Mia dug up the four existing spud beds and we are still, four weeks on, living off the fruits of their labour! Mike and Woz tooled up and went to work with saws and dead branches! I tackled the vineyard and Ellie and I tended the new herbs and veggies and weeded various beds around the garden!

Mia and Cait get to grips with the potato plot...

Mike gets destructive in the orchard...

Processing the fruits of our labour...

Wanted - child labour for grape harvesting!

LOADS more to follow... watch this space!!

In Their Own Words.....

2005-12-30T23:38:00.000+13:00

On the eve before their departure from NZ back to a cold and snowy UK, I asked the girls for their thoughts on NZ and what they had seen and done. Here is what they said, in their own words....

Ellie (age 9)

The roads are very quiet in the country and in the UK it would be busy.

Going up on the mountain in the helicopter was very exciting, and the snow landing was weird because it was summer!! We saw Mount Cook, massive!

The people are very friendly and when you are in your car they wave and I think they are very proud of their country.

The whales aren’t something you see everyday in Worthing, and we saw Kiwi’s and it is the only place in the world where you can see them.

I loved the trams in Christchurch. We had a really funny driver who was taking the mickey. We went to the museum in Christchurch and I learned more about the Egyptians. I learned most of it from the book Aunty Helen is writing.

We had teppanyaki at a Japanese restaurant where the chef cooked it straight in front of us. Cool!!

I tried new foods, I tried crayfish, prawns, cream soda (I love it!), broad beans and raw peas in their pods from Aunty Helen’s garden.

We used the gardens special places to play farms, especially in the vineyard and orchard (where we kept our horses). I helped in the garden by watering the plants and digging up potatoes, I helped Aunty Helen weed the new herb garden.

I didn’t like being ball-girl because I wanted to play tennis, I was better at tennis than Caitlin.

I loved Peter and Susan in Narnia. We sat in the VIP seats and had our dinner delivered to our seat – we had pizza and drinks. Aunty Helen and Uncle Warren live near where they filmed Narnia and there was a special exhibition of photographs in the local village. Some of the local people were used in the film.

Summer is gentle, like our dog Frosty. It’s nice to have a dog here in New Zealand to keep us company because we miss our dog. I got a little bit homesick, but Aunty Helen said this is normal.

I want to come back because I will miss Helen, Warren and Summer.

Caitlin (age 6)

It’s stunning (her words, not mine!). It’s very fun especially the Antarctic Centre and the jet boats and the helicopter ride which was very exciting. I wasn’t scared. It was very high up.

I think it is funny that the people are called Kiwis. I think Kiwi birds are cute and friendly and funny beaks. I was very brave in the dark Kiwi house.

I loved Science Alive in Christchurch. The best bit was Glow in the Dark Golf!!!! We also went to Aunty Helen’s library in New Brighton, it was fun because there was loads of things to do.

I learned to eat with chopsticks at a Japanese restaurant. I was the best! I have tried lots of new foods, and I now love salmon, raw peas in the pods (Aunty Helen grows them), choc milkshake ice-cream and broad beans.

I learned to do the poi’s and the New Zealand 12 days of Christmas song (a Pukeko in a Ponga Tree).

I liked helping in the garden and digging up potatoes.

I was good at being ball-girl in the tennis court – better than Ellie. I met Rebecca and Luke and they taught us a game on the trampoline called “Crack Egg”, it’s fun! I can now do a double seat drop on the trampoline, I played on the trampoline almost every day.

We went to see Narnia, I love Lucy and Aslan but I didn’t like the pizza we ate in our seat that the lady bought to us. I didn’t like the White Witch because she was bad. We saw the fur coats from the film at a gallery in the village, I love Lucy’s coat.

I love, love, love Summer the dog. I will miss them all. TIMMY!!! (Caitlin’s new word!). Warren taught her that!

We're Bursting .....

2005-12-01T13:47:00.000+13:00

.... with excitement!

It's Thursday 1st December and the next few weeks are going to be SO exciting.

Tomorrow I shall be driving up to the new house (dosed up with painkillers as I have hurt my back) to feed the chooks and to drop off a few bits and pieces that we don't want the removals mob to handle. Warren will be driving up after work to meet me there .... it's OURS!! Still hasn't sunk in, even as I sit here surrounded by packing boxes and bare walls!

I shall miss New Brighton. We are so glad we didn't heed those that told us to steer clear of the area. Granted, it has it's bad areas, but then NZ is like that - some grotty houses in even the nicest of areas. Certainly more of a community feel here - eclectic is a good description. It's had a bad rap for decades, ever since the arrival of "malls" into NZ society, which meant people didn't have to come out to New Brighton at the weekends to shop as the malls now opened up at weekends too.

New Brighton is currently one of the fastest moving property areas in Christchurch as more and more people see its potential, there are more and more houses being renovated, more 30-somethings and professionals moving in to the area and the Mall here is currently undergoing refurbishment (opens next week). Then there are plans to beauty the seafront and finally the expensive apartments on the coast are being moved into ... you can smell the change in the fresh coastal air.

There's got to be a down-side, right? Yep, for those who are sensitive to such things there is a larger % of Maori living in the area. And yes, it's definitely not as "monied" as other areas of Christchurch - so if you're looking for a predominately white, "ladies who lunch" type area, steer clear. If, however, you want a laid back, don't care what you wear, beach lifestyle and will take full advantage of the location, then New Brighton is for you.

And that concludes the broadcast from the New Brighton Residents Fan Club..... Waddington here we come.....

Where on earth is Waddington....

2005-11-23T22:53:00.000+13:00

Good question! Even some of the Kiwi's I work with don't know where we are moving to. Here's a map that gives you a better idea of where we will be in relation to Christchurch.

Whew, what a scorcher...

2005-11-23T22:37:00.000+13:00

This week really was a scorcher in our house!! We were high on the news from last Wednesday that we'd sold the house and our purchase was complete, the next day we heard that Woz had secured a three year contract from the UK and can now work from home, then on Friday he received a nice payrise from his NZ employer and an equally nice Xmas bonus! We were on fire......

.... literally... last Friday night we had to call out the fire brigade as our chimney caught fire. The smoke alarm in the upstairs bedroom went off (halfway through South Park movie - how inconsiderate!) and we cursed and Woz rushed upstairs to rip out the battery... only to find the bedroom full of smoke! I dialled 111 and within 5 mins the fire brigade was rushing up the drive (ok, sauntering up the drive ). After standing in our gardyen with "oooh's" and "aaaah's" as they watched the orange glow emanating from our chimney, they finally decided that they ought to get a ladder and a hose....

The chimney was soaked (washed the windows too, yay!), and they proceeded to have a look at the house and decor . Have to say, one of them was quite hunky so I immediately delayed their departure with a house and garden tour .

So, all in all, a week to remember!! And this weekend we were finally able to relax, in a house that we've left nice and messy after being sick and tired of keeping it spick and span for house viewings, and on the deck in the hot, hot sun.

House Update....

2005-11-19T02:09:00.000+13:00

It's official - the house is ours! Contracts have been signed, deposits paid and we move in on 3rd December - 2 days before my brother and his family arrive in NZ!!

We're (read that as I'M) avidly reading up on chooks (that's Kiwi for chickens) as the owners are leaving their three hens (Penelope, Priscilla and Prudence!). They are Plymouth Barr Rocks (sp?)(see, I'm learning!!!). Time will tell..... it's eggs or roasted chook!!

More ramblings on my day off...

2005-11-07T15:54:00.000+13:00

I finished the previous blog entry thinking "whew, we HAVE been busy", and then realised I had missed out MORE goings on in the Leggatt household!

We went to see the Black Eyed Peas in October!! They were in concert at the Westpac centre. We really enjoyed it, but the acoustics could have been better! At one stage I had to lean over and ask the (rather young) girls next to me if I was deaf or if the sound was a bit muffled - thank god they agreed it was muffled!!

We have now booked to see Coldplay (Twisted Logic tour) in Brisbane (Oz!) next June - can't wait!! A long weekend in Brisbane...

And finally... we have put in an offer on another house!! I think I take after my grandparents and will be challenging their house-moving world record! The house is inland, near the mountains. Our house is currently on the market. Strangely we are not too fussed whether we move or not. Both houses are great. The one we are currently trying to buy does have more land, which is what we wanted, so fingers crossed that we may be in for Xmas!

Here's a photo of it:

Separate from the house is this tower! Great mountain views from up there, we'll fight over who gets that for their hobby room!!

It's November already.....

2005-11-06T14:59:00.000+13:00

Where did the last couple of months go? We haven't had a fire lit for a few days now and the temps are climbing back into the 20's (was 27 degs on Saturday). Spring has definitely arrived. And with the arrival of Spring comes the imminent arrival of my brother Mike and his family. Three weeks to go!!

Today is Sunday November 6th. The winter has ended and we've all crawled out of hibernation into a glorious Spring. We have been in New Zealand for over a year, surprisingly it feels like a matter of months. We still love it here, although we are more grounded about New Zealand in general. More on that in another post.

On Saturday 5th November, New Brighton pier hosted the annual Christchurch fireworks display, but this year we didn't venture out as we stayed indoors to look after a scared Summer. Fireworks night here is so different from those back in the UK. Not only does the display have to start later (9.30pm)to ensure it's dark, but it's also not cold and/or wet and it just doesn't "feel" right not hugging a hot chocolate or watching sparkler dust land on your knitted mittens and wondering if they're going to burn through.... Instead we had our friends Tanya and Richard around for a bbq before packing them off with their 1metre sparklers down to the seafront... we watched the display from a first floor bedroom with the dog under the bed!

So what's been happening in our lives. Initially I thought I'd be struggling to come up with anything remotely interesting to enter into this blog. But on reflection we've been very busy!

I started a new job in September. I am now a Network Library Assistant across the 16 libraries dotted around Christchurch! Yep - me a librarian! But no twinset and pearls here - no hair scraped back into a bun and half moon glasses.. ohhh no. Libraries here are far removed from the musty, dusty memories of UK museums, sorry, libraries. Here the libraries humm to the sound of the inhouse cafe's cappucino machine, of headphone-wearing children playing Xbox and Playstation games whilst sunk into comfy beanbags and of after school children running up and down the aisles of the homework zone. I love the job. I was in training for 4 weeks and they let me loose on the network around 4 weeks ago.

Ok, time for some "not so good" news. We had a car accident in September and wrote off the Rav4! Thankfully we were both relatively unharmed - the usual neck / back soreness and cuts but we're fully recovered. We had the accident on a Saturday, the car was assessed and written off on the Tuesday and by Friday we had the $$ in the bank - how's that for good service from our insurers (State Insurance - had to plug them!). By Saturday afternoon we had purchased our Subaru Grand Wagon - and we love it - even though it is automatic (I'm a convert!!).

On the home front we've been REALLY busy! We have had the back room (Mike's bedroom) totally renovated. We ripped out all the walls and Greg, our builder neighbour, insulated and replaced all the walls and re-aligned the ceiling! We then turned our attention to the bathroom and study/sun room and these too have been totally redecorated! And as if that wasn't enough on our plates, we have ripped out the bottom of the garden and put in another lawn!! Phew - even typing all that makes me tired! I had better insert some photo's as proof of our toil....

The back room is almost finished...

No more horrid dark blue rooms in THIS house! The bathroom is transformed in green...

And finally, a new lawn. This area was originally a vegetable patch, we kept the feijoa tree and the black boy peach tree but removed a small nut tree, a small feijoa, one of the avocados (re-homed at Pete and Veronica's!) and a few currant bushes... we still have more than enough fruit-bearing plants in the garden.

Drifters Backpackers....

2005-08-14T18:05:00.000+12:00

Our good friends, Pete and Veronica, set up Drifters Backpackers on Gloucester Street, Christchurch, last year. They too are recent arrivals from the UK. They have started a ski/snowboard equipment shop, Snowmania, along with the backpackers (these guys never stop!!).

Drifters is also the venue for lots of "meets" where we get together recent arrivals and old-hands for drinks and nibbles! Well, mainly drinks...... It's a great chance for newbies to meet up and swap info and advice. Many of them we have previously "met" on one of the emigration forums we belong to.

A few pics from last night!!

(From left to right - Richard, Tara, Dan, Richard & Warren (he IS awake apparently!)

Me and Tanya (Richard's (far left in above pic)wife)

More of the mob!

The Moorfields are Coming...

2005-08-14T17:06:00.000+12:00

My brother, Mike and his wife Mia and two girls Ellie and Caitlin are coming out on 5th December for whole MONTH!!

We can't wait... and neither can they it would seem ...http://www.iqc.co.uk/howlong.asp

New Fence, New Lawn

2005-08-14T13:09:00.000+12:00

It's not all mountains and sight-seeing. We do have to maintain some sort of "real life" here - and maintaining a house is enough to bring you back down to earth with a bang!

In the next few weeks we are having 40metres of fencing replaced, a massive poplar (30ft) removed and a large portion of the garden turfed. It's nearly Spring here so it's worth getting it done now before everything starts blooming.

Having said that, it's very strange to have daffodils and snowdrops growing alongside each other. And a couple of our fruit trees are blossoming too. They're all a bit confused because of the unseasonably warm weather. Last week I was able to sit in the garden in a t-shirt!! We are, however, expecting a very cold blast from the antartic in the next few days (which, in turn, will give a nice dump of snow in the mountains so Warren and I shall hopefully be taking off for a few days to Queenstown and/or The Remarkables.

A Weekend in Hanmer

2005-08-11T15:29:00.000+12:00

Last weekend we packed up the car and headed to North Canterbury and the thermal spa resort of Hanmer Springs. It's a lovely 1.5 - 2hr drive from Christchurch.

Hanmer is situated in a high country basin 385m above sea level and is the International gateway to the South Island. You can sit in the thermal pools all day, different temps and water types (i.e. with or without stinky sulphur!), or take advantage of all the spa treatments. We didn't "do" the pools this time round as we forgot our togs (that's Kiwi for swimsuits!). And I didn't fancy "hiring" a swimsuit there (ewww gross!!)

We stayed in a great motel where we had a "townhouse" to ourselves. The bonus was that they allow dogs to stay too! For an extra $10 Summer could come AND stay in the property. The place was called Greenacres Motel http://www.greenacresmotel.co.nz/. Hanmer is one of the few forest areas in New Zealand where the Dept of Conservation (DOC) allow dogs. The Kiwi, Takehe, Weka and Kakapo are some of New Zealands flightless birds which must be protected, hence the heavy restrictions on where dogs can be walked.

Some friends had told us to wrap up warm, so we did. We arrived in Hanmer to find summer temps and people walking around in t-shirts!! We slowly stripped down to thermals and tee's as we walked around the High Street!

The view from the lounge balcony:

The view from the bedroom balcony:

Summer inspects her accommodation!

Hanmer's main street:

The result of a clear night - a frosty morning walk!!

On our way back we took a drive up through Lewis Pass. We stopped at the beginning of the St James Walkway (famous 5-day walk), but no dogs are allowed on the walk so we went for a riverside wander....

Ellie's Birthday...

2005-07-18T19:50:00.000+12:00

On 14th July it was my neice, Eleanor's (Ellie), 9th birthday!!!

On the following Saturday Ellie co-hosted a radio programme on Worthing's Splash FM!! She was so good, we were listening from New Zealand via the internet and I even managed to get a message to her live in the radio!

Well done Ellie - next stop, the world.....

Orana Park, Christchurch

2005-07-14T21:18:00.000+12:00

I played Aunty Helen for a day and took Rebecca and Luke to Orana Park, Christchurch's zoo!! It was just a good excuse for ME to go on a fun day out and eat chips!!

Rebecca and Luke are the kids of our good friends Tanya and Richard. They moved here in November last year, from the UK, although Tanya is a returning Kiwi!

We had a great time - even if it DID decide to rain all day! Probably the ONLY day it rained in the whole of July too! At least it wasn't toooo cold....

Orana Park is actually pretty good, as far as zoo's go. I'm not a great fan of them myself, but at least this zoo had nice big paddocks and a more "natural" environment than, say, London zoo's moulded-cement enclosures.

We'll go back again in the summer when the Moorfields arrive - by then the extensive lion and tiger enclosures should be finished and, hopefully, the weather will have improved!!

Skiing Lessons at Mount Hutt

2005-07-07T22:50:00.000+12:00

Even though this is now, officially, the warmest winter since New Zealand records began, I decided I'd head up to Mount Hutt with a girlfriends husband, Richard. Today (Thurs 7th) I can't move from the waist down..... god it HURTS!!!

I'd decided that I was going to learn to ski, I can't snowboard anymore because of my ankle injury. Well, I booked into the learner lesson and was then told to go up to intermediate after a quick "test"! Hooray! I loved it, can't wait to go again, with Warren in tow this time! (It was "safer" for me to go on my own for the first attempt to save Warren from any of my "I can't do it" tantrums!! ) I had 2 x 2hr lessons - knackering!

My instructor, Josh, was great and I plan to have some private lessons with him once there is some decent snow (their worst season for years at the moment!).

Mount Hutt itself was glorious ( http://www.nzski.com/mthutt/ ), and it's just a 1.5 hr drive from Christchurch. From the resort there are beautiful views out over the Canterbury Plains across to the Pacific Ocean. The day I was there we had blue skies and it was lovely and warm (until about 3pm when the sun disappeared behind the mountains!). The access road is, errrm, scary, to say the least. Gravel with sheer drops either side (ring any bells Mum?!).

Oh, and Prince William arrived in a helicopter as I was making my way up to the top of the beginners slope on the magic carpet!! So I was snow-ploughing in good company!

Right, I'm off to buy an illuminous "all-in-one" ski-suit with matching leopard skin head band.... haha.

The Surf Shop

2005-06-21T21:43:00.000+12:00

Was playing around with the camera at work, so figured I'd take a couple of my "office" in Sumner !!

And the view from the office....

Revisiting Mount Cook

2005-06-06T00:16:00.000+12:00

One of the first places we visited when we arrived was Aoraki, Mount Cook. We revisited to attend a business meeting - it was a five hour "commute" but I think you'll agree it was worth it for the scenery alone!

Whilst I was in the meeting Warren went for a quick tramp (that's hike in Kiwi-speak!).

YES! That's winter weather!

Our House is now a Home

2005-06-01T16:56:00.000+12:00

All of our belongings that we didn't sell or Ebay off in the UK have now arrived and the house is feeling more like a home. The back room, however, which is housing all the stuff we can't use or "house" yet (mostly books!), is the designated junk room.

MAF decided we looked like an honest, law abiding couple and didn't charge us a cent nor did they open anything. Good - that's extra beer money! (or Monteiths money - Warren's new found beer-friend!!). After arriving in the country the boxes took just 10 days to be delivered to our door.

We've bought a few items of furniture - mainly recycled rimu which we love - and as the house is made from recycled rimu it fits in nicely.

Here are some photos of the house as it is at the moment - we start decorating tomorrow. It only needs a lick of paint.

The amount of "stuff" that we have unpacked is unreal! We thought we'd ditched all the superfluous junk but we still seem to have alot of it! We'll have to have a garage sale - which is what the Kiwi's LOVE to do on a weekend. The Brits have car boots sales and the Kiwi's have garage sales. You basically sell your gear from, yes you guessed it, your garage! There are loads all over town every weekend! You need to get up early though, they start at around 8am and our neighbour had people knocking on their door at 7am!!

I digress.

Crockery. How much does one couple need? We have enough crockery and cutlery to cater for the whole of Christchurch and still have spare sideplates! We just can't believe how much we had accumulated.

We're off to the Hermitage at Mount Cook again on Friday. I have a biz meeting with the manager on Friday afternoon and we've been given free accommodation and dinner/brekkie etc too.

I'll post more on the house in future posts.

Oh, but wait, I forgot to post one more photo of the house - Mike, here's your bedroom.. it WILL be done in time, honest....

New Brighton Beach

2005-05-16T16:55:00.000+12:00

We thought we'd miss Sumner beach, but now we've been using Brighton beach we actually prefer it! It's so long and deserted most of the time. There's a great bike track along the dunes which goes north towards Bottle Lake Forest Park which has km's of mountain bike and walking tracks. http://www.ccc.govt.nz/Parks/NaturalAreas/bottlelake_recreation.asp

The beach is a 0.8km walk from the house through Rawhiti Domain (our local park), across Marine Parade and over the dunes.

This first picture is looking north along the beach towards the pier. The second is taken from north of the pier looking south with Scarborough Hills / Banks Peninsula hills in the background. You can see the pier in the high resolution version.

More about New Brighton in future posts!

Our Container from the UK arrives in NZ...

2005-05-10T22:48:00.000+12:00

On Sunday 8th May our container, containing 68 boxes, arrived in New Zealand. All our personal possessions (and more importantly for Warren, our gadgets!) are now on NZ soil.

We now have to wait until Customs have done their checks, then the boxes will be delivered to our home. However, we can't open any boxes until MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries) have been to the house - they will then open up random boxes and check for any dodgy goods!

Will let you know how it goes!

Oh, and we have a new camera so will get snapping about the house and garden.

* No Pics for a While *

2005-04-24T13:33:00.000+12:00

Our digital camera is kaputt. So no more pics for a while folks, until Warren has found us a new one!

Helen's Headhunted...

2005-04-14T23:17:00.000+12:00

As if one job wasn't enough, I now have TWO!

I have been headhunted by a Christchurch advertising agency to head up their Direct Marketing operations! It's part time and I can work from home so I am going to keep the surf-shop job too as I really enjoy it.

Warren is also working flat out with some work from the UK plus his full-time job. He also has a reallly exciting business proposition in the pipeline but shhhh, that's under wraps at the moment!

The work ethic here is so much more laid back than the UK. People here recognise that you have a life outside of work. The salaries aren't great though and the cost of living isn't that much different from the UK. Ok, house prices are cheaper but not when you are earning Kiwi dollars! So, don't come here expecting a life of luxury, cheap housing and good pay! But.. do expect a great quality of life, beautiful uncrowded countryside, safety and friendly people.

Put it this way - UK's population by mid-2005 will be c. 60million. Population of New Zealand is c. 4million - and it's about the same size as the UK! Only 1 million of the NZ population live on the South Island!!

Hence why we can drive for 3 hours and see just a handful of cars!

I digress...

So, as you can see we are very busy here on the work front!

We've Bought a House..

2005-04-14T22:54:00.000+12:00

Well, our roots are firmly planted in the sandy soil of Christchurch, New Zealand. We have now bought a house in North New Brighton. We moved in on 1st April (yeah, yeah, get the April Fools jokes out of the way...). The move went relatively smoothly - the removal van turned up 4 hours late. A removal van? I hear you say. Yep, we've gathered alot of "stuff" since arriving here in September with just 3 suitcases and 2 laptops! Our BBQ is the size of a small bus so that in itself warranted getting in extra hands!

We've been here nearly two weeks now and have settled in really well. Our sofa arrived a few days after moving in and all our white-ware is now in place. We bought a great bed from a friend and we are now just waiting for our gear from the UK to arrive. It left Tilbury in the UK on a boat bound for Lyttleton Port (just outside Christchurch). It arrives here on 8th May (hopefully intact) and we will then have to sort through all 58 boxes and re-home it all here! It will be like Xmas when it arrives - we can barely remember what we had! Strange that all that gear seemed so important to us when we were in the UK, but having been without it for so long it just shows that "stuff" isn't that important in the scheme of things.

Probably the worst part of "sorting" our lives, for me anyway, was having to throw stuff away. I do hate to throw away even the smallest, oldest, tattiest item! I was able to justify keeping the smallest piece of scrap paper but Warren managed to prise it out of the packing boxes!! But having had a real sort out before we left Scotland (including throwing out nearly 25 pairs of shoes!!!) it was actually very therapeutic.

Amazingly, the most treasured items were fairly worthless in monetary terms. My most treasured possessions being family photos and memorabilia, the scrapbooks and My Life album that my parents prepared for me throughout my childhood and my wedding chest. I know Warren has been pining for all his gadgets!!

Well, back to the move. We have now had a chance to explore the garden and we are totally amazed by the amount of fruit and veg we have:

Avocados
Lemons
Strawberries
Tamarillos
Blackcurrants
Rhubarb
Apples
Peaches
Tomatoes
Leeks
Potatoes
Beans
Peas
Pumpkins
Courgettes
Herbs

to name but a few! We've already used some of them but Warren stood on my one and only courgette and mashed it..needless to say he hates courgettes..hmm suspicious eh!?

Summer has settled in really well, and has lots of cats to, errr, play with! She has lots of room to belt around the garden and loves lying around on the verandah in the sun (yes, it's still sunny even in Autumn!). Just down the road is the golf course and next to it is a lovely big park which she LOVES! The beach is further down the road so there's plenty for her to do!

Now, whilst it is sunny here in Autumn, it is also damned cold in the evenings or in the shade. We have both mastered the art of setting up the woodburner and it's lovely and toasty! We have ordered lots of firewood (macrocarpa) which should turn up in the next day or so. The woodburner is the ONLY form of heating here, and that is the case in most Kiwi houses. They don't seem to have caught on to the idea of central heating!! It is the most common complaint amongst immigrants. Coupled with the rarity of double glazing it makes for rather cold homes here! Hence the popularity of thermals and electric blankets! So, any budding double glazing salesman should book a flight to NZ pronto! New houses do allow you to choose if you want double glazing or not but woodburners are the preferred choice.

The house needs nothing doing to it except cosmetic work such as redecoration (the colour scheme here is decidely dodgy) and the garden needs taming. We're in no rush to do the interior until our belongings arrive so we're concentrating on the garden.

Photo's will follow!

Easter Weekend

2005-03-30T00:10:00.000+12:00

It's very strange getting used to the seasons here. No more chicks and daffodils at Easter - instead the beginning of Autumn with a definite chill in the air and the trees beginning to turn red and gold. Although it's nice to be able to pig out on Easter Eggs without worrying that you need to be in a bikini in 3 months time!!

There is even a smattering of snow on the distant mountains - a good sign for a good ski season to come.

This Easter weekend we were due to visit the West Coast - staying over in Punakaika near Pancake Rocks. However, we ended up at the vets on Saturday morning as Summer had hurt her claw and was limping and in pain. Sooo, we couldn't leave as early as we needed and ended up staying at home over Easter.

However, we did go for a drive on Sunday - we headed west out of Christchurch towards the mountains and after a few random turns ended up in the village of Lake Coleridge. What a find! It was like we had driven to Austria. In just 1hr 15 mins!

We zipped down a gravel track and arrived at a remote area of the lakeside. Summer enjoyed chasing sticks into the clear, cold lake and we just sat and listened to the deafening silence.

It's moments like this that we love in NZ - after the usual schedule of work and life it takes just a short drive to remind ourselves of why we made the huge decision to come here.

We now have Permanent Residency in NZ!!

2005-03-04T10:03:00.000+13:00

One week after submitting our ITA we received a letter from the NZ Immigration Service confirming that we are being granted Permanent Residency.

That means that we can stay in NZ indefinitely and can leave and return to the country as residents. This is what we have been aiming for since June 2004. All in all, from submitting our initial Expression of Interest in late July, to being selected from the Pool in August and receiving our lovely PR stickers in our passports took just 8 months.

That's it, all done and dusted. If we want to go for citizenship we need to live here for 5 years before applying. We think it would be neat to have two passports as we can go for dual nationality and keep our British passports!

A Mad Couple of Months...

2005-02-26T23:48:00.000+13:00

A short, sharp February but packed with excitement!

February went by in a blur with both of us now working. Feb 14th was spent at the local bistro "Cornershop Bistro" where we generally pigged out and then walked the dog, half-cut, along the esplanade at midnight! We discovered Villa Maria - our new fav NZ red wine!

And we discovered Monteiths "Summer Ale" - a fab beer that we just can't get enough of. Hmm, beginning to see why February went by in a blur!

BUT - during the shortest month of the year we also managed to find and buy a house AND get our ITA (Invitation to Apply for residency) submitted.

We don't move into the house until 1st April (yeah yeah, get the April Fools jokes out of the way!) which seems AGES away. It's a "quirky" house - lots of rimu (wood) and lots of space - 3 double beds, quarter acre garden, cathedral ceilings upstairs, and lovely wooden terrace outside. I won't depress you all in the UK with the price ;-) Oh, and did I mention it's 2 roads back from the Pacific Coast and one of the best beaches on the South Island?

I am sure more Monteiths will ease the waiting!!

Urban Surf Chick!

2005-02-07T22:01:00.000+13:00

Well, I have a little job-ette!

I'll be working part-time at Urban Surf here in Sumner with my friend Jo, who owns the shop! She came to me the other day asking if I'd like to work with her! Would I? Of course! We get on very well and have known each other since day two of arriving in New Zealand as we had to raid her shop for fleeces due to the unseasonably cold weather!

Can't wait to start on Wednesday (9th Feb)... can take the dog with me too if I like and it's literally round the corner!

I remember the days sat in an office in London dreaming of living somewhere hot and working in a dive shack or shop... well, here I am (ok, the hot weather won't last ALL year but you can't have everything!).

Oh and the staff discount will come in handy!!

How to Speak Kiwi

2005-02-07T02:49:00.000+13:00

Some light relief, and for those coming over, practice makes perfect!!

Milbun - Capital of Victoria
Peck - To fill a suitcase
Pissed aside - Chemical which kills insects
Pigs - For hanging out washing
Pug - Large animal with curly tail
Nin tin dough - Computer game
Munner stroney - Soup
Min - Male of the species
Mess Kara - Eye makeup
McKennock - Person who fixes cars
Mere - Mayor
Leather - Foam produced from soap
Lift - Departed
Kiri Pecker - Famous Australian businessman
Kittle crusps - Potato chips
Ken's - Cairns
Jumbo - Pet name for someone called Jim
Jungle Bills - Christmas Carol
Inner me - Enemy
Guess - Vapour
Fush - Marine creatures
Fitter cheney - Type of pasta
Ever cardeau - Avocado
Fear hear - Blonde
Ear - Mix of nitrogen and oxygen
Ear roebucks - Exercise at gym
Duffy cult - Not easy
Amejen - Visualise
Day old chuck - Very young poultry
Bug hut - Popular recording
Bun button - Been bitten by an insect
Beard - A place to sleep
Chully bin - Esky
Sucks peck - Half a dozen beers
Ear New Zealand - An extinct airline
Beers - Large savage animals found in U.S. forests
One doze - Well known computer program
Sex - One less than seven
Iggs ecktly - Precisely
Beggage chucken - Place to leave your luggage at the earport

HELEN GETS HER WORK VISA!

2005-01-25T18:30:00.000+13:00

I GOT MY WORK PERMIT AND WORK VISA TODAY !

In fact, I got 4! Well, firstly they have put a Permit AND a Visa in my passport, but they mucked up the first set of 2 and had to stamp VOID all over them and then they issued them with the CORRECT leaving date! Glad I spotted their mistake as otherwise I'd have had to leave the country next weekend!!

Was it easy? Yes... very. After Warren got his Work Visa I was legally able to apply for one too. I made an appt to see my case officer at the Chch office for 10am today, 25th Jan. I took along a letter from Warren which stated he was my hubby and that he had a job and visa etc and how long we'd been married. I also took his passport with his Work Visa in it.. plus my marriage cert and, of course, a completed application form.

I think I was nearly a dead woman in the Immigration Office. There was a huge queue and I just waltzed past them all and said I had an appointment. Oooh if looks could kill - I think some of them had been camping there for weeks by the state of them - I was whisked to a corner where I gave in my bits, he said come back in an hour. I came back an hour later, smuggly walked past the SAME people in the queue and he handed me my passport ... DONE (well, except for the date issue but he sorted that in mins!!).

So, if you are in NZ and have a case officer allocated for your ITA... contact them for visa's etc and you'll be whizzed through..

Right, time to find a job!

Summer Finally Arrived......

2005-01-10T18:06:00.000+13:00

If there's one thing we both wanted when we were settled in New Zealand it's a dog. We did some scouting about before Christmas but decided that we would wait until we had bought our own property. Sensible huh!

Little did we know that there was a dog out there looking for us.

Whilst preparing the Christmas Dinner on the BBQ we spotted a dog hanging around the garden gate. We went out to investigate and this poor little dog was scared stiff, rather shabby and looking very lost. Assuming she had escaped we proceeded to go round the neighbours houses asking if they were the owners etc.. to no avail.

After an hour or so Warren made the unpopular decision to ring the Dog Pound. There were tears. How could we do this to a poor dog on Christmas Day.. put sense prevailed and not long after the Dog Man arrived and carted her off to the Pound. Oh boy, that was awful. We made it clear that if she was not claimed we would like to take her!!!

Every single day I rang the Pound asking how she was and if she had been claimed. Finally, on the Wednesday after Christmas I was told that she had indeed been claimed by her owners. Mixed emotions - glad she had been reunited with her owners but sad that we would not see her again.

Imagine our surprise, and delight, when TWO WEEKS later we had a call from the Pound asking whether we were taking her or not as she was, literally, on death row. I rushed over and picked her up and ever since she has been an amazing companion to us both!!! We are SO happy. And so is she! We have never walked so much! In total she gets about 5 walks a day! She loves the beach and swims like a fish, she is amazingly well behaved and it appears she has been trained as a gun dog. She is a collie/pointer cross so full of beans and runs like the wind! She knows all the regular commands and within hours we had her off the lead and coming back to us on command! We're very lucky!

Meet Summer....

1400km's and 800+ Photo's Later....

2004-12-30T17:09:00.000+13:00

What a trip! We think we managed to show Karen, Craig, Emily and Michael most of what is on our doorstep here in Canterbury - in reality we only scratched the surface but 2 weeks just isn't enough to do more than the local area!

We travelled as far north as Kaikoura and as far south as Geraldine/Tekapo and everywhere inbetween.

We visited Arthur's Pass, the viaduct, Methven, Tekapo, the salmon farm near Pukaki (where we bought a HUGE salmon for just $24!!), Akaroa where we saw dolphins and dodged seagulls after our fush'n'chups, Raikai Gorge (the speedboat "hell ride"!), and the Antartic Centre in Christchurch.

Camera's clicked constantly and eye's popped out at each turn in the road as another amazing view presented itself!

It's easier to "show" than "tell" as the beauty here is hard to put into words... so here's just a small selection of our 800+ piccies which, hopefully, will give readers of our weblog an insight into our new playground!

DOLPHIN WATCHING IN AKAROA - Whilst most of us were camera shy in our wetsuits, Michael was in his element - a future water-baby!

WHALE WATCHING AT KAIKOURA - What an amazing amount of luck we had - we were priviledged to see not one, but FIVE Sperm Whales with a rare viewing of two side by side on the surface! It's such an emotional experience to see such huge creatures in their natural habitat and up close and personal! The most amazing moment is when they dive back down and their tail emerges for a split second....

KAIKOURA SEAL COLONY - just a couple of miles drive down the coast from the settlement of Kaikoura is the Seal Colony. Sometimes you are literally tripping over the seals here on the rocks. This time was no different and we stumbled (quite literally in one case Craig!!) into quite a few seals!

RAKAIA GORGE "HELL RIDE" - You can't come to New Zealand without scaring your pants off on a jetboat ride on one of the many gorges! We went to Rakaia near Methven and boarded the "Hell Ride"! Well, everyone except Craig who can't swim! The ride was thrilling and the 360 degree spins hair-raising.. but FUN! http://www.canterburypages.co.nz/rakaiajet/

Just look how relaxed Warren and his sister Karen are!

LAKE TEKAPO - Even the kids were amazed at the scenery here (kids? loving scenery? MUST be good eh?!). We all spent quite some time at the shore skimming stones and paddling in the water. Some idiots also did a spot of rock climbing.. anything for a "different" photo!!

Of course... someone HAD to copy us afterwards.. a lone Japanese tourist decides he's also going to mount the rock.. he wasn't quite as graceful as us.. as this picture of Emily captures.!!

Nearby Tekapo is a salmon farm and we just couldn't resist taking one back for the BBQ! No boys, I won't pretend you caught it!! Jeez....

THE KEA'S AT ARTHURS PASS - Now everyone KNOWS you shouldn't feed the Kea - but how else can you get them THIS close? (Don't tell the Ranger!!!)

THE ANTARTIC CENTRE (Christchurch) - Great place for kids and big kids too! Lots of great displays and the Snow Storm experience is cool...literally... it's freezing as you stand in a room whilst they simulate a wind storm down to minus 20 degs!!

But at least Karen got CLOSE to finally getting a fur coat... !!!!

When we weren't travelling around we were padding in the sea, cooking up barbeques, shopping (!! Karen can shop for Britain and the Christchurch retailers were very sad to see her leave !!) and generally chilling out. Unfortunately the weather was unseasonably bad - but to be honest we're glad we didn't have to drive around in high temps.

All in all, we all had an amazing time - a real holiday of a lifetime for them and us too!!

COME BACK SOON GUYS!

HOORAY! Our ITA Arrived Today...

2004-12-24T12:17:00.000+13:00

What a great Christmas present. Our Invitation to Apply for Residence (ITA) arrived in the post today!! We now have four months to complete and submit it and we shall then be Permanent Residents of New Zealand!

We have been working towards this since May 2004, were selected from the Expression of Interest pool with 125 points in August and have been waiting for the ITA ever since... so it's a big step forward with our plans to live in New Zealand permanently!

Our First Few Days On Holiday

2004-12-18T16:43:00.000+13:00

Hi it's Emily and Michael here again.

After a couple of days shopping (Mummy Karen loves to SHOP!!) we bought lots of souvenirs for everyone back in the UK. We bought paua shells (x3), a spider bat, alot of postcards and some jewellry and Michael bought a paperweight and sweets.

We all went to pick up the car - it is white. We went for a drive on our own and got lost. Craig went up some big hills to look at the houses.

In the evening we went to a Japanese restaurant where they cook the food in front of you. Weird. It is called a Teppan Yaki restaurant and it was called Mount Fuji. The man who was cooking threw omlettes into our mouth and Mummy (Karen) was the only one who caught it in her mouth!!! BIG MOUTH!!

Aunty Helen forced us to eat with chopsticks! Craig and Emily were the best and even Michael and Karen can now eat with chopsticks! It was really cool.

We have been to Lyttleton to see the harbour, Craig loved it. He was wondering how the boats floated as they were HUGE! We then drove over the big hills to Riccarton Mall and we met Warren from work. He is now on holiday.

Emily & Michael Arrive in NZ

2004-12-16T18:24:00.000+13:00

hi emily here I am 11 years old, i enjoyed the fligt but when we arrived at singopore (our stop so we can change planes) it was really humid. we changed planes and after about 11-12 hour we arrived in christchurch. thankfully it wasn't to hot it was about 17-18 degrees, we went down the beach and had a burger (it was huge.) we also went into a cave!!!

hi I am Michael, I am 8 years old. I thought the plane was cool. I played on the games and watched videos alot. I slept twice. Once on each plane. My favourite game was Marioland 2. I think New Zealand is amazing and the views. First thing I did on my first day was got off the plane and went through an Xray to make sure we didn't have weapons so could not kill anybody.
Then we went to the beach and I climbed over the big rock and in the caves. We found some shells. We took some of them home and left the others in a small ditch in the cave.

We had a HUGE burger which mummy had to finish!! It was about 10inches high!

We came back to Aunty Helen and Uncle Warrens house and went looking for our bedroom. We saw a wardrobe in our room and there was a brown door which looked like a wall. Uncle Warren came up and said have you seen the secret compartment - the brown door led into a secret compartment which was actually an attic room. we have had great times in there! We took the books into the room and piled them up in the room. We shall have to think of some good games!

We are going to pick up the car on Friday and we are going to a trip to the mountains.

WE LOVE NEW ZEALAND!!!!

The water is clear and some is really blue.

Countdown to the Rellies Arriving...

2004-12-08T19:47:00.000+13:00

In just 7 days we shall be picking up my sister-in-law Karen O'Hara, her partner Craig and her two kids Emily and Michael!! It's gone so quick - it seemed like it would be an AGE before they arrived.

They fly from Heathrow on Monday 13th and arrive here, in Christchurch, on Wednesday midday.

In the usual mad rush on Saturday, Warren and I went out to buy stuff for their visit plus the Xmas decorations - very hard to feel Christmassy when it's summer! Having said that, it's beeing pee'ing down for a few days so perhaps we'll have a typical British Christmas afterall.

We decided that we'd take a look around the $2 Shop! Everything in it is just $2... I knew that, so why did I keep picking up stuff and shouting to Warren "how much is this?"? Doh. We felt so good when the total came to just $14!! So amazed at what we could get for so little we decided to buy a pack of $2 chews from the counter... yummm. We plucked said package from the bowl whereupon we were told it was $2 for EIGHT packs!! Our teeth hurt today.....

All that is left to do now is decorate the house and tree and stock up the freezer with beer! :-)