Camping at Lake Hawea.
Today is New Year’s eve and we are camped at Lake Hawea, a huge lake surrounded by mountains near Wanaka. Continue reading
Christmas Road Trip – Lake Hawea & Queenstown
Month: December 2007
Christmas Road Trip – Abel Tasman
Anchorage Bay, Abel Tasman
Our sprint around the country continues and we head north to the Abel Tasman National Park. We catch a water taxi from Marahau to the beautiful Anchorage Bay where we are dropped of on the deserted beach for the morning. Continue reading
Christmas Road Trip – Taupo to Nelson
Inter-island ferry to Picton.
We packed up the car today and said good-bye to Howell, Tracey, Iwan and Megan who are heading north from Taupo to Auckland, where they’ll stay in our house for a a couple of days before heading back to the UK. We’re heading in the other direction to Wellington where we’ll stay overnight before taking the ferry across to the Cook Straight to South Island.
Christmas Road Trip – Taupo Sky Dive.
Ruth surveys Taupo from 12,000ft.
We’re staying in a cabin in Taupo with Howell and Tracey Havard and family who are on their way back to Auckland to fly home to the UK after a three week tour of New Zealand and, more importantly, their beach wedding.
What to do in Taupo on Christmas Eve ? Continue reading
Christmas Road Trip – Whakatane.
Sunset at Ohope.
School finishes for Christmas today and it’s also my last day at work before the long Christmas (summer) holidays. we have a big road trip planned during the three weeks + that I am off work. Were heading south from Auckland for Queenstown with much planned on the way there and back. Continue reading
Achievement Assembly
Today was St Heliers School End of Year Achievement Assembly. St Heliers is a primary and intermediate school catering for children up to year 8 (13 years of age). We chose the school on the basis of a meeting with the spectacularly impressive Craig McCarthney who had recently joined. St Heliers is a decile 6 school. Continue reading
Beach Wedding.
Beach Wedding, St Heliers Beach (Rangatoto hidden from view)
My best mate from home, Howell Havard, rang a few months ago to let me know that he was coming out to New Zealand for three weeks in December with his partner Tracey and their two children Iwan and Megan for a holiday. Howell runs a Breconshire-based sheep farming operation with his brothers and has been to New Zealand before shearing. I can’t remember quite how the telephone conversation went but it concluded with the decision that I would arrange for them to get married while they are in New Zealand. Continue reading
Auckland Harbour Swim #1
After the swim, with Movember moustache.
For some reason I have entered Auckland Harbour swim. The 2.8km from Auckland’s across the harbour with Auckland Harbour bridge on your right hand side to the Viaduct harbour. I am an average swimmer and have done little in the way of open water swimming. All very different to laps of a pool. Continue reading
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