Tawa-Paekok July6-12

As Hilary does every Sunday, we cleaned the house, though not as well as she does! Junior does make a lot more mess, what is it about boys/men that creates dirt? Then I went shopping & then cooked ‘Family Dinner’ for us plus Adam, we had a nice time but it was a bit odd without Hilary. Then they wanted to watch a DVD, so I banished myself to the study to write this blog for last week, I know this is one of the reasons why Hilary doesn’t allow Junior to move in, she wouldn’t be able to call the house her own.
On Monday I drove back to Paekok, not sure why really, seemed like a good idea at the time! Needed more clothes anyway. Erola was late home as she was on a course with Porse, her nanny agency, but she then updated me on her week, she was only in one night. I left again Tues morning, but agreed to go back on Thursday for a Landmark Introductory, more later.
On Tuesday morning I met Wayne at my site, supposedly so he could show me exactly where the house was going to be positioned. But he didn’t have a tape measure with him & the site plan is wrong, so it was all very unsatisfactory. I also noticed that someone appeared to have taken a ‘chunk’ out of my section at the front, which goes down to the path through the reserve, so checked with the Carrus developers office, they said they’d get back to me. Returned to Tawa, Ali & I went into town to meet Gordon at Wagamama for lunch, when she tried to explain indirectly that she didn’t really want to go & stay with him once I go home on the 19th, very difficult! Then Ali & I went to Te Papa to see the Rita Angus exhibition, it’s really good, we thought most of the paintings were very impressive & it’s good to see her story explained. I think Ali is quite glad of the company since Junior is practising a lot for his performance at World Youth Day in Oz, when he goes to see the Pope.
On Thursday I said goodbye to Junior since I won’t see him again before I go back. He managed to fix Hilary’s printer/scanner so I sent off my application for the little house in Leighton Buzzard I hope to rent. Then I went back to Paekok for a walk along the beach and to try & sort out how to get some money to Emma to pay the rental agent for the referencing process. It’s not possible now in Nationwide without using the card-reader which I haven’t got, we didn’t think it was safe to send it by mail since I STILL haven’t got any post! In the end my ex leant it to me/Emma, it’s good to be the needy person for a change! I met up with Erola at Vicki’s house for the Landmark Introductory session. Landmark is an organisation which provides (very expensive) self knowledge education really, I won’t be doing it but it might be useful for Emma, will think about it once I’m home if I have any money at all! On Friday we cleaned the house thoroughly, I went to see Johannes in the afternoon because my shoulder is still very painful, though I’m hardly knitting at all. On Saturday Erola cooked, best I kept out of the way so I did some errands for her and cleaned the bathroom. It was her birthday, she ‘s 64 but doesn’t want anybody to know, I promised not to sing the obvious song at the party tomorrow! I took her out to dinner at the local Fisherman’s Table restaurant, we were hoping to get a table with a view of the waves, but got the car-park instead! It was a horrible day weather-wise, so not that disappointed really.

Paekok-Tawa Jun29-Jul05

This week has been very different from the rather dream-like state I feel I've been in since I got here. Reality can be very cruel indeed.

The week started very happily, with Gordon, Hilary’s ex, coming to ‘Family Dinner’ on Sunday. Of course I thought at the time that would be the last time I’d see him before I returned to the UK, so we said our goodbyes, hugs all round, even Hilary got one. The weather was absolutely appalling all weekend, I was really glad I’d come back early, and later in the week there was snow in Palmerston North, which hasn’t happened for about 10 years. So the Kiwis are really paying for their wonderful summer, but the rain is very much needed to fill up the hydro lakes.
I came back to Paekok on Monday and heard all about Erola’s week while I’d been away, she seems not to have been home much at all, which is good I guess. On Tuesday I went to visit her where she nannies in Ngaio, where the 2 children are very gifted, but she thinks ‘Nicky Noodle’ (see above) has Asperger’s syndrome. He does seem a little bit odd to me, but he did take to me, Erola said I would make a good nanny if I couldn’t get an IT contract back in the UK! I think I’ll stick with being my grandchildren’s Nanna thanks!
On Wednesday everything changed. When my sister emigrated to NZ with her second husband Gordon, she left her daughter Liz from her first marriage back in the UK. There had been a huge falling-out, but there was a later reconciliation. Liz had an on-off relationship for at least 8 years I think, with Gary, a guy with quite a few problems. I got the dreadful news on Wednesday that Gary had committed suicide the previous weekend in Liz’s flat, & she had found him. He had broken in to do so, they were apart at the time. Of course Hilary took the first plane available back to the UK, which meant going via Sydney and took much longer than usual, and she arrived without her suitcase. I haven’t heard from her since, she has written one email from her ex-husband’s house, and texted Ali a couple of times, but of course it is very difficult for her. Apparently Liz is holding it all together, but only cos Hilary’s there I think. I hope to see them both once I get back too, Hilary had a return flight booked for 27 July, not sure if she’ll be able to persuade Liz to come back too. Liz has 2 dogs, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, who are her babies, & even more so now, one of them was Gary’s, so she won’t want to leave them.
So of course I offered to look after Ali (& Junior) in Hilary’s house for the duration of my visit. Ali is suffering from post-viral syndrome, which means she keeps going down with infection after infection, though fortunately she seems relatively OK at present. I’m just making sure she looks after herself (she’s Type 1 diabetic), and I feed them both proper food. Junior is never allowed to stay overnight while Hilary’s there, but of course he’s there now! He is off to Australia to see the Pope on the 13th anyway, so it isn’t for long.
I didn’t actually leave Paekok till the Friday, because Erola and I had booked tickets to see The Music Roadshow put on by Paraparamu College in the theatre at Southwards Car Museum (see above) on Thursday. It was very good, the boy on the far right is Joe, one of Erola’s Taiko drummers.
On Saturday I took Ali to Stephan’s restaurant north of Otaki, because she’d been wanting to go there for ages and we had planned it with Hilary anyway. Her friend Lucy, who died in the car crash I mentioned way back, was a chef there, and for a while there was a dessert named after her on the menu, but no longer. Otaki has some outlet stores, so of course we went shopping. I intended to buy stuff for me, but ended up as usual buying clothes for the grandchildren. I also bought some tops and a jacket for Ali for her birthday, which isn’t till next month but I won’t be here. It took our minds off things anyway.

North Island holiday Day 7 NAP to WLG Jun 28

Day 7 Napier to Wellington Sat Jun 28
The day dawned bright blue and clear, despite the forecast, so decided to do the ‘Art Deco’ walk at 10a.m. There was a big earthquake in Hawke’s Bay in 1931, which destroyed most of the old Victorian/Edwardian buildings in Napier, mostly because fire broke out and the water mains were fractured. Next door Hastings was not so badly hit. So downtown was re-built in the ‘Modernist’ style, only called Art Deco much later. Napier also gained lots more land, because there was an inland lagoon which rose 2 metres, so lots of new houses were built then too. An awful lot was accomplished in just 2 years. The Public Trust building above was one of the few which survived the earthquake, being built of reinforced concrete. The last picture of the 6 wooden houses, the ‘Six Sisters’, also survived because the fire swept inland driven by the sea breeze and missed them. So the new buildings were built out of reinforced concrete too. A lot of them look good on the outside but the interiors are just plain concrete, it being the time of the Great Depression and so not much money around. It is lovely though, and the guide was very knowledgeable, I learnt a lot in a very short time. The replacement street names were set into the pavement, there being no building on which to hang the signs. Like a lot of other places, even some of the 1930s building were destroyed right up until 2000, but they’ve stopped now!
As I drove on Highway 2 back to Wellington, I could see heavy rainclouds and snow on the central plateau, but it didn’t start raining heavily till I got to Woodville, where I stopped for brunch and switched to Highway 3 for Palmerston North, to come down the coast rather than the ‘scenic route’. I have noticed that there are a lot of rainbows in NZ, far more than in the UK, I guess because the weather is so changeable. The worst bit of the drive was coming through the Gorge, but I followed a camper van which was going quite slowly so that was good, in very poor visibility. Arrived at Hilary’s at about 5, having had a very interesting week. There are some places I would like to re-visit, Gisborne is on the list! Also, Hilary hasn’t been to Whakatane & I think it’s well worth a trip. We plan to go to Banks Peninsula and Hanmer Springs on South Is when I’m next here, and a camping trip (complete with kitchen sink, Hilary doesn’t do anything too basic!) to Hawke’s Bay. Hopefully we will do the full day wine tour next time, while the children do their own thing. I’m really pleased I took the time out to see a bit more of this beautiful country, I shall miss it, only 3 more weeks here!

North Island holiday Day 6 MOR to NAP Jun 27

Day 6 Morere to Napier Fri Jun 27
I stopped at a coffee shop south of Wairoa for breakfast of pancakes and bacon, unfortunately not crispy bacon like the Americans have, which is what I prefer. Very nice though. Arrived at the Napier information centre just before 12 noon, having decided that I would try to do a wine tour that afternoon, rather than wait till Saturday and then drive afterwards! Luckily for me a group of wives whose husbands were attending a horticultural conference had arranged to go on one with Odyssey tours, I did get the details from the internet last year when Hilary and I were thinking about a long weekend in Hawke’s Bay. I booked accommodation in an expensive B&B on Marine Parade, Mon Logis, so I could walk into town for dinner, had 15 minutes to get there & check in before the bus arrived, a bit of a rush!
It was a beautiful day, Napier was the warmest place in NZ that day, at 18, so I did the right thing. We visited 4 vineyards, Church Road, Matariki, Ngatarawa and Vidal. At Church Road we were taught the basics of wine-tasting by Daphne, & then tasted 6 wines, we did slow down a bit after that! Of course it isn’t necessary to drink every last drop, in fact I did throw away quite a bit which I didn’t like. However I did manage to buy at least one bottle in each place we visited. At Vidal, which we got to at about 4, we had a beautiful large platter of food between two, containing chilli peppered squid, their speciality, steak, smoked cheddar, green mussels, peppers, marinaded mushrooms, salmon & at least 3 different types of bread. Needless to say I was too full to need dinner, so it was a bit of a waste choosing a place so close to town. Gareth, the driver of the bus, also stopped at a restaurant called Pacifika on Marine Parade on the way back, to get us all menus. It changes daily, depending on what’s fresh, and the restaurant was being judged that evening for the Finals of Cuisine magazine’s Restaurant of the Year competition. I have no idea if they won or not!
I watched the news and saw how awful the forecast was for the weekend, and decided that I would give the south Wairapa a miss this time. I didn’t fancy being blown away at Cape Palliser and then being blown off the road through the Remutakas going ‘over the hill’ back to Wellington.

North Island holiday Day 5 HKB to MOR Jun 26

Day 5 Hicks Bay to Morere Thurs Jun 26
I really wanted to go to East Cape lighthouse, just to say I had been to the eastern-most part of NZ. Probably against Avis rules, because the road is gravel for about 10k and a bit scary to drive, I did go there, but chickened out from climbing 600 steps up! On my own I did think about what happened if I fell, nobody would know till they spotted my car and people die every year in NZ going ‘tramping’ on their own.
The road going down the east side of the cape doesn’t hug the coast, and was a bit easier to drive, the west coast was very tiring. I noticed lots of scrap cars in the backyards of the local ‘shacks’, and also lots of horses. I did meet 2 herds of cows being driven by Maori cowboys, the old-fashioned way but a very good idea now petrol is so expensive. I took photos of the old Shipping Company building in Tokamuru Bay, now in ruins but there was a box in the door asking for ‘koha’ (donations) for the upkeep! The bay itself is a beautiful turquoise, and some very up-market houses were under construction on the small slope behind the beach, I bet it is reasonable to build here, but a long long way from anywhere. I stopped in Tolaga Bay, some distance south of Tokamuru, for coffee, and heard people discussing where they bought petrol to go into ‘town’, being Gisborne, over 30k away!
I had intended to stay the night in Gisborne but had not booked anywhere. I wanted to see both Cook Memorials, since this is where Captain Cook first landed in NZ. The view above shows ‘Young Nick’s Head’, named after the lookout boy who first spotted the anchorage. Cook called the area Poverty Bay, because ‘it afforded not one single thing we needed’ (a paraphrase!), but it is very fertile round about. Gisborne was being dug up, maybe as a result of the earthquake last December , but at any rate I couldn’t get near either place I wanted to see. I debated stopping in town, and if I had I would have gone to the Museum, which I’d have known about if I’d taken my 1001 Things to do in NZ book which was a gift from Avis. I have used it extensively, but it was too heavy to put in my case to take on the train. I decided to drive on to the next place, Morere Hot Springs, because I love hot pools. I was able to book a cabin across the road, which was lovely, almost new, though I had no food with me so had to buy a very expensive tin of soup from the tiny shop to heat up later for my supper. Then I went and sat in some very hot pools of ancient sea water, very unusual, and the pools were stainless steel so it was a bit like being cooked for supper! Bliss though, it’s my very favourite thing to do in NZ.

North Island holiday Day 4 OHO to HKB Jun 25

Day 4 Ohope Beach to Hicks Bay Wed Jun 25
The overnight forecast had been very bad, and there was snow on the Desert Road (going south after Taupo) which meant it was closed, but in Ohope the day dawned bright and clear but with a cold wind. Brian said grace before breakfast and then Pat insisted on saying a prayer for me before I went on my travels. I didn’t mind but I guess some people would. East Cape is the least visited part of NZ, and very Maori, extremely beautiful (of course). My drive today was up SH35 round the west coast, a series of little coves, mostly with blue-black volcanic sand, but some sandy ones. Very few villages, hamlets really. In fact there are no towns at all in the whole of East Cape, so I made sure to fill up with petrol in Opotiki. Hardly any cars at all, just a few trucks and lots of roadworks. Landslides and washouts (where the road has disappeared) are very common in NZ, a lot of the roads do go through narrow valleys on hill/mountain sides. I stopped at a new hotel in Te Kaha hoping to get lunch, Pat & Brian had mentioned it, but it wasn’t open for business. They told me the builder had gone bust, but later on the motel manager in Hicks Bay told me the owner had sold the hotel rooms on a timeshare basis, but hadn’t realised that no-one would come in the winter, so he had gone bust. Fortunately the local cafe next to the postshop in the village was open (the only 2 commercial premises in the place) so I was able to get lunch there. The local Maori pensioners were on a minibus outing, in fact I was the only pakeha in the place. I didn’t feel unwelcome though. Later on I saw lots of notices on land beside the sea saying ‘Private No Trespassing’ etc. Apparently Maori believe they own the foreshore, and so, although it is probably illegal, they prevent people camping in this part of NZ, or even walking on the beach. I don’t think anyone would argue with them, as you’ve probably seen from the rugby, most of the men are huge!
Hicks Bay motel didn’t look very open at 3 when I got there, so I drove on to Te Araroa which on the map looked like a reasonable size place. It did have a few shops, mostly closed in winter, and was being dug up, obviously winter is a good time to do all these things, serves me right for going at this time! I did go into the local dairy (corner-shop) to get a paper and asked if there was anywhere I could get a coffee. She said over the road, but it didn’t open till 4, so I sat & looked at the waves crashing in for a bit & then went back to the motel. I checked in and discovered that breakfast was between 6:30-8, because of the ‘construction workers’. Of course the motel keeps open in winter by putting up all the workers whom I’d seen on the roads coming up! Consequently dinner that night and breakfast were HUGE meals. My room was very nice, had a heater and a tele, only got 2 channels though, but at least I could catch up with the news and feel warm at night! It was very windy overnight but another blue sunny day dawned for the next leg of my expedition (it felt a bit like that, all alone in the wilderness!).

North Island holiday Day 3 ROT to OHO Jun 24

Day 3 Rotorua to Ohope Beach Tues Jun 24
Forgot to mention that I finally heard from Wayne at Golden Homes yesterday. Apparently he has now out-sourced my plans, costing the company $800, I’m not sure I believe him! Should have the site plan by the time I get back on Monday, I wonder?
Drove 10K south towards the thermal park at Wai-o-Tapu which I haven’t visited before, but gave up and turned round because the weather was absolutely appalling, sleet and wind, no fun!
It would’ve been a very scenic drive north to Whakatane beside several lakes if they hadn’t been shrouded in low cloud. Fortunately by the time I reached Whakatane (pronounced F**k-a-tarn-i, so most pakeha call it ‘wocca’!) the weather had improved dramatically. I went to the information centre and got a very good map showing all the local landmarks, so first I went to see the statue of Wairaka, the Maori maiden, at the entrance to the harbour . This is the first place where Maori landed in the 1300s, legend has it that the women and children were left on the shore while the men explored inland. However, being a harbour, the tide came in and started to wash the canoe out to sea. Although women are not allowed to paddle canoes, Wairaka decided to jump in and bring the boat back to shore, thus saving it. Whakatane means ‘I become a man’ in Maori. It is a beautiful statue, I found it quite moving looking at it. Then I climbed up to an old ‘pa’, where there was a spectacular view over the town. Then I visited the waterfall in the town itself, again, very significant to Maori.
I bought a hand-thrown pottery bowl because it makes sense to buy stuff for my new house when I see it, and then went to my next B&B in Ohope Beach. I watched some young guys surfing on the lovely beach, bright blue skies by now. Again, I had been ‘handed over’ to my new hosts, Pat & Brian, ex-farmers from Napier in their 70s, who knew Judy but she hadn’t mentioned it. The house was spectacular, made out of macrapaka wood brought from the farm and insulated with wool of course. I watched Coronation St with Pat, in their lounge, a very interesting room since it’s octagonal and contains about 15 chairs. It turned out they are devout Christians and hold regular meetings there. The doors contain stained glass made for them in Israel when they visited a few years ago, depicting the Mt Ararat dove, & the water & hills of NZ, very beautiful. The house was much warmer than Judy’s, but the north coast of NZ is warmer anyway. I had bought another thermal vest and a cheap merino wool jumper in Rotorua just in case! Ate in a very up-market local restaurant, Ohope Beach has lots of swish holiday homes in it so I guess that’s the normal clientele.

North Island holiday Day 2 HAM to ROT Jun 23

Day 2 Hamilton to Rotorua Mon June 23
Got the sad news this morning that my ex sister-in-law Jackie died at the weekend. She was only 62, had early onset Alzheimer’s, had a fall, and then refused to eat, so everybody thought it best to just ‘let her go’. She didn’t recognise anyone, and was a vegetable really, so it’s upsetting but probably a relief. Of course I won’t make it back for the funeral, but Emma and David will both go. Only my ex, John, left, of the 4 children, I wonder how he feels?
Fred very kindly gave me a lift to collect my rental car, it was still pouring and very cold. This time they didn’t ask for my staff rental letter, of course I had it with me! I had planned to visit the Botanic Gardens in Hamilton, but the weather was so horrible I just drove straight to Rotorua. I stopped for coffee (‘morning tea’, though most Kiwis drink coffee not tea) en-route, at the suggestion of the Avis agent, at Tirau, ‘many cabbage trees’ in Maori. They used to catch pigeons for food who nested in the cabbage trees, the cafe was called ‘Cabbage Tree’ and was also fascinating because the tables were old school desks, with lift-up tops, brought back memories!
I decided to visit the Museum in Rotorua and leave the thermal park till tomorrow, because of the weather. The museum is well worth a visit, I spent over 3 hours there, it is the old Bath House, very famous in its hey-day, and now being extended back to its original size. I had a guided tour all to myself, and watched a couple of very good films. One actually gives you a ‘jolt’ when you watch about theTarawera volcanic eruption which destroyed the Pink & White terraces and a complete village in 1886, with about 120 people killed, the exact figure is unknown because complete Maori villages were buried.
Fred and Diana had ‘passed me on’ to Judy, another ex-farmer in the B&B book, who now lives in a villa on the edge of Rotorua. She is 74, and very chatty, I was her first guest for some time, nobody except mad English ladies holiday at this time of year! I went for a meal at Cobb & Co, and was not that surprised to see it decorated for ‘Christmas’, with tinsel and twinkling lights. I had heard that some Kiwis celebrate a ‘traditional’ Christmas in June, since the weather is more like a Northern hemisphere winter. Judy’s house was extremely cold, no heating at all in the bedrooms or bathroom, thank goodness for an electric blanket!

North Island holiday Day 1 WLG to HAM Jun 22

Day 1 Wellington to Hamilton Sun Jun 22

Hilary took me to the train station at 7a.m. and was breathalysed on the way back! The police were trying to catch people who’d partied all night after the international rugby, fortunately, although we’d had several glasses of wine the night before, she was fine! As predicted, it was pouring with rain, and then we had to get the bus from Palmerston North to National Park, a 3 hour journey, because of a freight train de-railment on Saturday night. So I missed seeing some of the spectacular bridges and viaducts, and then National Park could have been anywhere. I met a couple who had come down on Friday, when the weather was beautiful, and they could see Mount Taranaki (Egmont) in one direction and Mount Ruapehu (active volcano) in the other, such a shame. So I’ll have to do it all again one day. At National Park station all the passengers from the train down from Auckland and we from the south ate lunch in the cafe and waited while the engine was run around to the other end (hence we sat backwards on our onward journey, rather strange) and the luggage was transferred. Several times train staff came in asking if there were any more passengers for Wellington and then the buses left and we got on the train. Unfortunately, one woman and her child were still on the platform! It turned out she should have got on the bus, it was our conjecture that she was foreign and was going to a station en route, so didn’t understand that the train/bus was eventually bound for Wellington. Being NZ, we all had to wait while one of the buses turned around and came back for them. One back-packer also got off the train and got on the bus when the announcement was made that the train was going to Auckland, not Wellington!
I did get to go around the famous spiral, where the line goes through a complete circle, 3 horse shoe curves and 2 short tunnels, taking 11.5k to travel 5.5k in a straight line down. There is one tale told of the consternation of a train driver, who, seeing red tail lights ahead, brought his freight train to an emergency stop, only to find he had caught up with his own guard’s van!
We were 45 mins late at Hamilton, I had phoned the B&B to let them know, but Fred had already left to meet me at the station and hadn’t taken his mobile. He was very grumpy when he picked me up, but fortunately mellowed later on. I had dinner with them, Fred is a Dutchman who’s been in NZ for 55 years, Diana is a Kiwi of Irish descent, ex-farmers who have done B&B for 30 years. It was very pleasant talking to them and a very good job I didn’t have to go out, since it was still raining, and cold with it! Their house was beautiful, very close to the Waikato river, it would be nice in summer.

Paekok June 15-21

Sunday is the day we bring up the wood for the week, Erola gets underneath the house and chucks it out to me, then we stack it in the living room. Got out loads this time, since may not have time next weekend before I go away. Erola reckons there’s only 4-5 weeks worth left, I assume she blames me for using more than she usually does. I think that when she is here on her own she actually goes to bed practically as soon as she gets home, so she is prepared to do that after I leave. The weather today was terrific, went for a lovely walk on the beach, like summer really, and watched the Surf Rescue club practising, they win lots of awards.
Went down to Hilary’s for ‘family dinner’, so Ali & Hilary could help me choose some paint colours for my new house. We decided that of course I have to decide on the carpets, kitchen unit colours, tiles etc before we can really settle on anything, but they did persuade me that I’m better off going more neutral in order to appeal to more people in the rental market. I can always have ‘sea colour’ accents. Having not yet got even the ‘site plan’, which was supposed to come last Friday, I’m not hopeful of nailing everything down before I leave the country, which having been here so long will be extremely annoying. Erola tells me I’m too soft with the builders, she’s right! I’m still in 2 minds, house prices are dropping so I may even buy after all, but not till next time!
Tuesday ‘windy Wellington’ really lived up to it’s name, I thought the house was going to take-off at one point. It is sort of built on stilts at the back, so this would not be an impossibility! Gusts of up to 100kph apparently, I went for a very quick walk later on when it had quietened down a little.
In the evening Hilary, Ali, Junior and I went to a new restaurant on the waterfront, Wagamama, where Adam has just got a new job. We were expecting him to be cooking in full view, but it turned out that he was ‘prepping’ and then washing-up. Hilary thinks it’s just as well, he worked in a restaurant once before doing a similar thing, and he loved it, until the Manager changed. Whoever is in charge of him has to understand his condition, and that’s not always the case. He seemed to be doing fine though, Hilary’s only concern is that the job is not full-time so he won’t be earning as much as he was as a lifeguard. She also pointed out to me later on that the cultural differences between Junior and ourselves were highlighted, which Ali will have noted, but she thinks she can change him. Junior ordered the most expensive meal on the menu (it was a trial run for Family & friends so was free) and then complained on the comment card because it came on a big plate but the food wasn’t heaped up & didn’t completely fill the plate. Goodness knows what he’d make of nouvelle cuisine! Apparently it was only the third time he’d ever been in a ‘proper’ restaurant, and it showed. We all enjoyed our meals, & the service was really quick too, and since everybody arrived more or less at the same time this was brilliant. I may go back one lunchtime before I leave on one of my trips downtown. It opens officially on the 21st.
Wednesday was almost like a summers day again, just a slight nip in the air. I walked around the village for a change, taking photos of some Kiwi houses, particularly the ‘shacks’!
On Saturday Hilary, her ex-colleague Verena Mary (V.M.) whose job was ‘dis-established’, and I went to Downstage theatre to see a one-woman show, My Brilliant Divorce, starring a very well-known Kiwi actress, Ginette MacDonald. It was a full house, and the play was very good indeed, funny but with some powerful insights into the divorced state. Apparently Erola used to ‘flat’ with Ginette, but is not in touch now and so couldn’t get any freebies. The weather this week has been great, but unfortunately the forecast for tomorrow is not good, not good news for my train trip.

Paekok June 8 -14

Forgot to mention 2 things last week, Monday was the Queens’ Birthday ‘Bank’ holiday, strange they celebrate it here but not in the UK. This one was a bit special because it was a Remembrance Day for the Kiwis who fought & died in Vietnam, I had no idea they were involved, rather strange too, since we weren’t. Apparently they had the same problems as in the US i.e. they were forgotten about and not thanked or recognised, until now that is.
Second thing is that Erola had a ‘home visit’ from an acupuncturist, though here he only applied acupressure and gave her a sort of massage/manipulation. Since I have given up with the chiropractor, he had a look at me too, and seems to have at least identified the cause of my problems. It looks as if all the excess knitting(!) has caused tendons in my neck/shoulder to become inflamed. Went to his office on Friday and actually had acupuncture, I have had it before a long time ago, so was not alarmed! It seemed to work for a while, but I’m back on painkillers again now. It can’t be good for me! Will try & visit him again after my holiday.
I am busy planning a week touring the North Island, I have booked the Overlander train on Sunday 22nd, to go to Hamilton, for $49, a bargain! It does leave at 07:25 in the morning though, fortunately I think Ali will get me there in time, Junior gets up very early for Church on Sundays. Then I stay in Hamilton for one night, pick up an Avis car (of course, I have found my staff letter and put it with my holiday stuff!), and travel to Rotorua, Whakatane, East Cape, Gisborne, Napier and then back via southern Waiarapa to Wellington. I want to visit Cape Palliser on the southern tip of North Is, hopefully to see some seals. I can’t really afford it, but it seems silly not to see more of the country when I’m here for so long. I didn't tell Erola till Wednesday, on Tuesday she came home in tears, having had a bad day with ‘Nicky Noodle’, the child she thinks has Aspergers but the parents ignore both her and him apparently. She said how grateful she was that I was there to talk to, so I couldn’t tell her then I was going away could I? I am trying to persuade her that she definitely does need another ‘flatmate’ when I leave, for monetary reasons, but I think she’d prefer to go back to living alone.

Went downtown to check out the wood pellet fire, but decided to stick with the gas one. Will still work in a power cut because has battery back-up, whereas the wood pellet one has electronic ignition so doesn’t. Power cuts do seem increasingly likely, unless lots of rain falls in the next week or two to fill up the hydro lakes. Decided to go to the South Coast again, because the sky was blue and I wanted to see snow on the Kaikoras across the Cook Strait, but it was very hazy so not possible. Watched the surf crashing in though, & had a nice lunch at ‘The Bach’ restaurant where I took Tricia & Hils for coffee in May. Wellington really is a beautiful city, I will miss it.
Got lots of paint charts so I can decide my colour schemes, it’s not easy. Resene is the local paint, they have so many standard colours it’s impossible, I am enlisting Ali’s help. I am also having a glass splashback in the kitchen, which can be matched to any colour, so had to get a kitchen plan from Wayne. Not as detailed as I’d like, but may be OK. I was supposed to get the site plan on Friday, but didn’t, it HAS to come next week, otherwise, after all this, I am seriously considering pulling out. If I don’t have detailed plans when I leave it will be impossible to continue. And the fall in house prices is worrying me a lot, and my ability to remain solvent. This year is not a problem, when I return to the UK in June next year I will definitely need to enlist the help of my children, could well end up on Emma’s floor, & I’m not joking! I will have my old-age pension by then, but even with the Avis pension it’s not enough to rent somewhere and also eat. I knew this of course, which is why the ‘grand plan’, I just hadn’t though it through properly, & with all the delays I don’t think I can sell the house till 2010. However, depending on the house price situation, I may try & live in it for 6 months (for tax reasons) in 2009 and then sell it, but NZIS will probably prevent that. It’s all so complicated, sometimes I just want to curl up in a ball & forget the whole thing!
Visited Erola in the house where she nannies in Camborne, the children, Caitlin & Ethan, see above, are lovely, but Caitlin does have terrific tantrums occasionally & Ethan is very allergic to dairy and other things, it’s an emergency 111 call if he eats anything like that since he can die! I wouldn’t have Erola’s job for anything, and I wouldn’t be Ethan’s Mum either, having to leave him for financial reasons I guess, but it must be so worrying. Went to the Porirua place to see about a storage unit, but I have to have a 4m x 3m one because you can’t drive into the smaller ones, they are internal. They didn’t have one available anyway, so sorted one out later in Plimmerton, 4.5m x 2.6m, so there will be lots of room! Will cost $215 per month, not good but I have to bite the bullet. I don’t think my car will lose in value, because everyone is looking at small cars now because of the petrol price hike, and it might be difficult to find another one in a hurry when I get back early next year.
Sent lots of houses I might like to rent by email to Emma, hopefully one or two of them might still be available by the time she can see any next week. I’ve decided to up the budget a little to try & get 2 bedrooms plus a garage or storage area (one of the houses had a cellar), so that I can get rid of my storage areas in the UK. It’s much easier to sort it all out on site, having lived here for a while there are some things I was going to bring which I now won’t. My Royal Doulton china is an example, posh dinner parties don’t exist, not in the circles I move in anyway, but I may decide to bring it anyway because it fits in the bureau unit I’m definitely bringing!
Saturday we went to Porirua Little Theatre production of ‘How the other half Loves’ by Alan Ayckbourn, it was amateur but really well acted and particularly well directed. If you’ve ever seen it you will know what that means! It is another theatre with tables you sit round and drink wine, eat nibbles, a really good idea we could import I think. I guess we haven’t got the room though.

Paekok June 1-7

Erola spent most of Sunday preparing the evening meal, I didn't get long in the kitchen to make the dessert, a rhubarb crumble, from rhubarb still growing in the garden. The seasons are a bit confused here, we have spring flowers and we haven’t had winter fully yet! Hilary & Adam arrived in the evening, Adam managed to connect up the gas bottle at last, so at least I will be warm in the day. We all went to Vikki’s, but Adam didn’t understand the Mahraji talk, & he gets twitchy if he doesn’t have dinner at 6.30. I think I’ve already said, he has Asperger’s syndrome., so routine is very important to him. The food was lovely, Erola is a very good cook, slow-cooked lamb shanks & parsley mash.
Tuesday I went to see Wayne, to get the dates for my build sorted out (again). I should get the site plan by the end of next week, and the detailed plans by July 4th. After that I have one chance to correct anything, for free, and then the plans go for building consents etc. I think he wants to start in September, but am holding out for October! I will need to decide colours both of exterior and interior before I go of course, so am starting to think hard about those things. Still want a ‘seaside’ palette, though the danger is it will feel cold, and I’m very aware of that!
On Wednesday some old friends of my sisters came to stay the night with her, Mike & Isla who were her neighbours in Auckland. Mike is ‘a geezer’ (after a TV programme apparently, I don’t remember it), i.e. he’s a broad Cockney, still talks in a lot of rhyming slang. Isla is a Kiwi, but lived in the UK for 25 years, where she met & married Mike. It was great to have a meal with them, I left after midnight, Mike & Hilary stayed up talking till 3! They live on the Gold Coast in Oz now, and have some regrets at leaving NZ of course, mainly the scenery, where they live is very flat & brown, but very warm. We have an open invitation to visit them, so will try & do so on one of my visits I’m sure.
Finally got round to going to see the Immigration service about the time I’m allowed to come for, & it’s true, I’m only allowed 9 months in any 18. So, I can only come back for 4 next year. I can apply for an extension to 6 once I’m here though. I will have to sit down with a calendar & work out exactly what I’m going to do going forward, I have no idea how people manage to do 6 months here & 6 months in the UK. I guess they must get extensions each time, which is a hassle, form-filling etc, but think I will check via the Internet. It’s not really a problem next year, as long as the house gets finished in the time. I do want to stay for 6 months in 2010 though, in order for our Inland Revenue to accept the house as my main residence. I suppose I could delay coming out here, will have to plan carefully! Had a lovely day in the city though, it was World Environment Day and my train ticket was only $1. Went to see the Bucket Fountain in Cuba St, famous because the water often doesn’t go into the buckets, but splashes on-lookers, and then went to Te Papa museum again (which is free) and walked along the waterfront. Cold but blue skies, the harbour sparkles.
Hilary & I went to a House & Home event at the TSB Arena on Saturday, I had a discount ticket from the Food & Wine show. Hilary got more out of it than I did, there was lots on insulation & she needs to do something about her old house. I did find some info about a shower coating, which I want to do when they are new to save cleaning problems, and I’m also considering a wood pellet fire, instead of my gas one. Environmentally friendly, & cheaper, just doesn’t look so nice. There will almost certainly be power cuts this winter, because of the lack of water in the Southern lakes which we saw on our trip. Vast majority of power is hydro-electric. Electronic ignition though, so have to go to ‘The Fireplace’ shop again to see about battery back-up. Need to let Wayne know if I have changed my mind, since it obviously affects the plans!

Paekok May 25-31

While in Te Anau, had an email from Emma very excited, saying that her friend Mandy was finally moving out of her privately rented house, & the landlord was happy to let Emma have it. Moving date for her is July 22nd, not ideal as far as I’m concerned, since I get back to Heathrow on Sunday the 20th! I will be jet-lagged and not quite with it while all that is going on around me, & it also means of course that I have to find somewhere else to live. This will not be easy, since the minimum rental is 6 months I believe & I’m not home for that long. Will have to be an overlap I think, always costly. Thought briefly about staying on in Thame with Paul, Emma’s ‘lodger’, but he doesn’t pay enough and anyway the house is too big for 2, and I want to be on my own again! I wonder why? Scoured the Internet & decided that Buckingham or thereabouts is possibly the place to go, not too far from Emma & family, nice place, and cheaper since no train station. Has a Tesco’s and a sort of university though, so some sort of employment should be possible. Also, not very far from Milton Keynes, where there must be work, but would need a car for that. Raised with Emma the possibility of her giving me her car, as part of the vast amount she ‘owes’ me, I keep a book, but didn’t really think I’d need to call on it till much later in life! It might be possible, since it’s looks as though she’s going to get a new job, in the same company, which comes with a company car. However, my ex bought her the car, so could be complicated!
Had the engineers survey report on the house site before I went way, & was hoping to see some progress while I was away. Fortunately the site is not in a ‘specific’ wind zone, which would mean extra strengthening, but only in a ‘very High’ wind zone apparently. I’m a bit surprised by this, but on their heads be it. I’m sure the council will check when they submit the plans anyway. Talking of which, Carrus, the developers of the whole sub-division, who have final say on plans, have just rejected a Golden Home plan submitted by a colleague of my sister’s, on the grounds that it’s ‘too ordinary’. Discussed this with my contact Wayne, who says that Carrus are very inconsistent, and they have accepted other Golden Homes plans. Mine is not visible from the road, it’s down a right-of-way, so he doesn’t think it’s a problem. I will be going next Tuesday to discuss ‘definite’ dates with him, hopefully things will then start moving at last!
Forgot to mention before, but needed to see the chiropractor 3 times the week before we went away. Erola recommended hers, a guy called Harry, she would’ve chosen him, he’s about 50 & very good-looking! Didn’t seem to do me much good, I’m having problems in the clavicle region, he says it’s trapped nerves, all I know is that it’s very painful! Existed on Neurofen & Panadol on the holiday, & then went again this week 3 times to his locum, since Harry’s gone to the UK on hols. The locum is rather a brusque woman, and she doesn’t seem to have done any good either. She suggested swimming, particularly backstroke, & since that’s the only stroke I can swim with any proficiency anyway I shall have to do it I think. There’s a swimming pool in Raumati so I’ll start going next week! Heaving up wood from under the house every weekend isn’t helping, but I’m still not lighting the fire till at least 4 each day. I stay in my cosy dressing gown till quite late in the morning, and then chase the sunshine round the house! I also go for my walk of course, which does warm me up. Must start expeditions to free places, but petrol going up all the time. Not as bad as the UK, but now over $2 a litre, expensive by comparison when NZ wages are a third of ours. No protests here though!
Saturday Erola, Hilary & I went to see ‘Second-Hand Wedding’, a lovely film set locally in Paraparaumu, so of course all the audience watched all the credits right through to see if they recognised anyone. Erola knew some of the actors of course. Hilary & I thought it was really good, Erola thought it was rather slow-moving. Then we all went for a curry at an Indian restaurant in Mana, which Hilary hadn’t been to since she lived in Whitby, but said was very good. Well, the food was, though not at all like ‘English Indian’, but the service was appalling, they seemed to be concentrating on take-ways and forgot about us sitting upstairs.

A visit to another country (South Is) Day 5-6

Day 5 Te Anau to Christchurch May 23
Drove leisurely back to Queenstown to catch our flight back to Christchurch, stopping on the way at a lovely new coffee shop at Five Rivers. They asked if we had any change, since it was a very long way to the nearest bank! The weather did seem quite gloomy, low cloud, but by the time we got back to QT it seemed brighter. There was lots of snow on the Cardrona peaks, and it was noticeably colder. We walked around the shops for a while, Hilary wanted to go to Minus 5, which was an Ice Bar, but it didn’t open till 3 and we had to get to the airport for our 4.40 p.m. flight. She bought a merino wool cardigan & I bought a pair of possum wool socks (for David), we’ll fit it all in somehow! Took the car back and received the staff discount OK, had emailed Delia and she had very kindly got someone in HR to fax a letter to CHC Airport. I promised I wouldn’t do it again! Sat in the airport with a glass of wine (bit early but no more driving to do!) and watched 2 planes go out (Air NZ) & a couple of little ones come in. Terminal at QT is new, all that Asian money I suppose, so very pleasant, but the way out did look a little scary, all those mountains. We weren’t able to check-in for our Jet Connect (Qantas cheapie) flight because they weren’t sure whether it would be cancelled or not, and guess what, it was! The incoming flight was diverted to Invercargill, about 2.5 hours drive away, but Qantas have no security to take off from there, so the plane flew back empty to CHC & we went by bus! We drove all through the High Country on practically the same route we had taken down, just not over the Cardrona mountains! Couldn’t see much though, because dark by 6, only that it looked as if it had snowed there. We learnt later that QT airport only operates in daylight hours, it has to get the last flight out by 5.15 at this time of year. Also that Air NZ fly 90% of the time to the correct destination, Qantas only about 50%! Useful to know next time, though I doubt we’ll come so late again unless it’s to go ski-ing (I’m joking, I don’t ski, Hilary does, but doesn’t like it!). We stopped for a hot meal at Lake Tekapo, then drove into the centre of Christchurch to drop off a tour group staying at the Millenium Hotel. Had we known that our final destination was the other side of town from the airport, we would have got off there too & got a taxi, but instead we went back to the airport & were then dropped off outside a very closed domestic terminal. Then had to walk round the international terminal to find the hotel shuttle buses, all at about 00:30, we were not happy bunnies!
Fortunately a shuttle bus was just ready to leave, so we eventually got to our YHA Old CouuntryHouse accommodation at about 01:00. We had hoped for an evening in Christchurch, but I have been before, so it wasn’t so disappointing. CHC has a problem with boy racers, I didn’t believe Hilary when she told me about it, when we saw a large group of young men & souped up cars by a park while we were on the coach. We heard them later though, at about 2 a.m! Lots of the roads in CHC are very wide & tree-lined, so I guess it lends itself a bit. Too much money obviously.
Day 6 Christchurch to Wellington May 24
Only saw the street outside the YHA (very nice, our bit looked new and central heating by radiators, practically unheard of in NZ!). Had booked a shuttle back to the airport, which arrived promptly, & fortunately our flight back was fine. Ali met us so all very easy. I stayed for lunch & then drove up the coast to ‘home’. I must say it felt rather odd to return, despite the beach & the views I felt ‘down in the dumps’, I suppose we’d had such a great time & talked lots. I am closer to my sister now than I ever been I think, good news for both of us, since there’s only us and one cousin still in contact on ‘our’ side of the family.
Came home to find that the cat (Wizzer) was very sick, possible pneumonia, and Erola needed my help to give him his medicine. He’s practically a wild cat, he went missing for 7 months and fended for himself, so she has to hold him tight in a blanket while I shoot the ‘pen’ thing down his throat. We have both been viciously clawed, I want danger money! He’s a big Tom cat (neutered fortunately), and Erola is only little, so catching him & holding on to him is not easy. I couldn’t do it, too scared!
Thoughts re South Is
Wild & woolly, & not just the landscape! Very beautiful, very open, I think about 1 million people live there in total, less than a quarter of NZ’s population but the land area is much larger than the North island. A quarter of it is the Fiordland National park, which we just visited a very tiny part of at Milford Sound. It is a ‘different country’, but not just to look at, it feels different too. In North Is, it is difficult to imagine what it must have been like for the early pioneers, down South they still live there! We hardly saw a Maori or a Pacific Islander, it is very European. CHC is English, but as the town names imply (Invercargill, Dunedin,Fairlie), further south it is definitely Scottish. However, it does look like it is changing, from an upland sheep-farming place to dairy farming. I’m sure it’s the ‘land of opportunity’ if you are a multi-skilled handyman & don’t mind the cold. We did get ‘beauty overload’, around every bend is still more stunning scenery & after a while it does become a little mind-numbing. However, it’s great to know that in the Western world such places do still exist, long may it remain so.

A visit to another country (South Is) Day 4

Day 4 Te Anau to Milford Sound May 22

The promised rain/snow happened overnight, fortunately for us not actually in Te Anau, though there were warnings on the road to Milford, & more later.

We went on an organised trip in a minibus, 'Trips 'n' Tramps', which Wendy Laws had recommended to me. She went on a bus which delivered the mail on the way, & so got to hear lots of local stories. Unfortunately 2 buses went today, and the mail bus, we later discovered, was the other one! It didn't matter, our driver/guide Chris was very good, & we did get to do one mail drop. She was a real Southern lady, very outdoorsy, Hilary said the right thing when she said how insignificant we felt when we made our first stop, in a wide valley surrounded by very high snow-capped mountains. It was raining quite heavily then, but not really cold. We then stopped at Cobbs something, where we saw a DVD about the avalanches which occur regularly on the Milford Road, fortunately we are too early for them! A couple in our bus were staying with one of the helicopter pilots who goes out to 'bomb' the snow to generate an avalanche deliberately, so they can try & keep the road clear, i.e. in a controlled fashion. People have some great jobs down here don't they?

We stopped at an old settlement called Gunns Camp with the mail, down a remote valley on the Hollyford River. We heard stories about the building of the Homer Tunnel, pictured above, which took many years to hack out with pickaxes in the 1930s-40s. These pioneers, not so long ago, were a different breed entirely from us Northern softies!

As you can see, it was snowing by the time we got to the Homer Tunnel. It was originally single track, and you still have to wait for your turn, but it has now been widened so it's every man for himself in avalanche season. On April 1 every year, the local youngsters race naked up through the tunnel (it's a 1 in 10), given a choice of a torch or a pair of shoes. Funnily enough, most boys choose the torch!!!

We also stopped at 'The Chasm', which we thought was one of the best bits, where a narrow fast river has formed remarkable 'sculptures' of rocks down through the narrow cleft. However, this is where we realised that our Milford Sound cruise would be taken with hundreds of Asian tourists, bussed from Queenstown, a long way in one day, since they also stopped here. Remarkably, Queenstown is only 30 odd kms from Milford Sound as the crow flies, but nearly 200kms by road. So there are plans afoot to build a gondola (long-distance cable car) over the intervening mountains and right through the National Park 'over my dead body' according to Chris. It'll be interesting to see if it ever happens.

We were a little disappointed in the actual Milford Sound cruise, probably because of the weather, which was grey and cold, but at least we could see the top of the famous Mitre Peak. The fiord was not as long as we had anticipated, & we didn't see any seals or dolphins. However, we had added on a trip to the Underwater Observatory, to our amazement the boat we were on carrying about 220 people stopped just for Hilary & I to get off! We joined 2 others down below with a very young, very knowledgeable marine biologist, and saw some fascinating fish and coral, the only place you can see black coral in NZ (it's white). A few others joined us later, but it seems a pity so few do take the option.

We all dozed on the trip back I think, there were 10 of us, mostly middle-aged/pensioners like us, but also a young French couple who were always the first to want to get back in the bus, we think they must have been from the South of France and were therefore cold!

We had our first (and only) 'posh' meal that night, just as well when I get to tomorrow, in a restaurant very close to the hostel. Expensive, well in NZ terms, $50+ each i.e. about 20 pounds for 2 courses including wine!

A visit to another country (South Is) Day 3

Day 3 Queenstown to Te Anau May 23

Couldn't afford to stay in QT for very long, just found the Airport (where I'm going to return the car) and next to it was a new retail park, so we thought we'd take a look! Only went to a coffee shop (run by Asians of course) and to the most up-market branch of 'The Warehouse' which we'd ever seen. The Warehouse is a cut-price store, red in colour (usually) selling lots of cheap stuff made in China mainly, useful occasionally of course. This one was unique in that it was built from 'schist', the local grey stone, as used in the Church of the Good Shepherd. We meant to take a photo, but forgot!

Decided to drive straight to Te Anau, since heavy rain/snow was forecast and we didn't know what the road was like. Fortunately it was very good, a bit bendy to begin with along the shores of the lake, but a surprise to us, the countryside around was really green and lush (all that rain of course). Cold though, we are definitely getting nearer to Antartictica! Took the Scenic Route again via Lake Manapouri, the deepest lake in NZ, it actually goes 276m below sea level, quite odd when you think about it. 34 islands on it too, very pretty. It was saved from flooding in the 90s, they wanted to put in another dam for hydro-electrics. Now used as a starting point for trips to Doubtful Sound. Later in the hostel we heard about an overnighter on a boat there, I would like to do that some time, but in warmer weather! Expensive too, so on my pension I probably can't afford it. Notable event was the car filling up with pesky sandflies when we left the door open while looking at the map, they bite! Even Captain Cook had trouble with them.

Te Anau was very different from Queenstown, a definite Kiwi town. We did find one dept store, & guess what, my sister lived up to her reputation and bought a pair of shoes (she has 70+ pairs already)! I did too, only problem is how to get them back, we have both brought too many clothes, though the layers are proving essential. We went to a lovely film in the little local cinema, which was really a helicopter view of the Fiordland National park set to music, amazing and very moving.

YHA Hostel practically new, lots of very young foreign students, dirty kitchen, fortunately we ate out at the local Indian so not a problem!

A visit to another country (South Is) Day 2

Day 2 Twizel to Queenstown May 20
Travelled on through the High Country, very few ‘stations’ as the farms are known, as in Australia. Very brown countryside all around. Went through the Lindis Pass, very dramatic and stark. Again, full of admiration for those early pioneers who found these routes, how did they do it? Struck lucky again when we stopped for brunch in the middle of nowhere, a tiny place called Tarras but I recommend it if you’re passing! Had an up-market clothing shop attached, very strange really but I guess it’s on a tourist route so they must make money. Hilary really loved a merino wool cardigan, very stylish and a bit unusual but she reckoned there would be more choice in Queenstown. Wrongly as it turned out, she never saw something similar again and is still regretting not buying it at the time! Arrived in Wanaka, where we stopped for a brief walk round, and experienced the delight of the only heated public toilets I have ever come across, right on the lake-front. Wanaka is an up-market resort now, apparently on their first trip around NZ when they arrived 14 years ago,my ex brother-in-law wanted to buy a motel here, pity they didn’t really, would’ve made lots of money. However, as Hilary says, Gordon isn’t a handyman & guess who’d have ended up doing all the work? Also, she was very much in culture shock, having lived in cities all her life, & at the time South Island was even more basic than it is now. We saw one lonely penguin sitting on the wharf, I guess all his buddies had gone South already!
Took an unforgettable road from Wanaka to Queenstown, through Cardrona. We hadn’t realised we were so high up, until we came to a scenic look-out which definitely had spectacular views of the mountains & valleys all around. Fortunately Hilary said just drive on to me, because knowing my fear of heights it also had a view of the road we were about to go down, and I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it! We were incredibly high up, and coming down that through one hairpin bend after another with sheer drops at the side is not an experience I wish to repeat in a hurry! However, at least there were safety barriers (ALMOST all the way down!) & the snow didn’t arrive till that night. When we returned to Queenstown on Friday the mountains were covered in it, so that would’ve been ten times worse.
We visited Arrowtown, originally a goldrush town, now very ‘twee’ and expensive. Erola remembers the river here as a beautiful blue, it was only a trickle when we were there. She had told us that Queenstown had been taken over by Asians, and she was right. Every business seemed to be run by Japanese/Chinese, and there were loads of Far Eastern tourists. I continue to be extremely surprised by the blatant prejudice of Kiwis, I have to say I can understand their resentment that one of their towns has been virtually ‘taken over’, but then they were slow to see the potential. We stayed overnight in a Backpackers, which was en-suite but not so good as Twizel and much more expensive. We ate out at one of the oldest restaurants in town, also expensive! QT is full of young people, for all the adventure activities I suppose, and not really our sort of place. I would've liked to take a trip on the SS Earlshaw, pictured above, but the timing wasn't right. I will be back I'm sure. Didn't go up the gondola either, that fear of heights again, & Hilary has already done it.

A visit to another country (South Is) Day 1

Day 1 Wellington to Twizel May 19
Hilary & I flew Pacific Blue airline to Christchurch at 08:15, so an early start. When we landed, it was a ‘balmy’ 0 degrees, quite a shock to the system but we were prepared with our hats & boots. Picked up the hire car, but realised I’d forgotten my all-important letter authorising my staff discount. Resolved to email Delia later to try & rectify the problem, otherwise would be much too expensive. We hired a manual car, which was cheaper, which meant I had to do all the driving, since Hilary can no longer remember how to drive a manual. Strange that manuals are still cheaper here, given that most Kiwis drive automatics so they must be much more plentiful. Drove straight out of CHC along Highway 1 until we reached ‘the Inland Scenic Route’ turn-off for Geraldine. I have to say the Canterbury Plain was very boring, not much to see at all until we reached Geraldine, where we had a very pleasant stop for coffee. After that the road started to climb slowly through Burkes Pass towards the snow-capped mountains, through the beginning of the ‘High Country’. I am full of admiration for the pioneers who made, & continue to make, a living from this rough pastureland, which is Mackenzie Country, and does look very much like Scotland. However, we didn’t see many sheep at all, apparently there are now ‘only’ 30 million in NZ, where there used to be 50 million. A lot of farmers have converted to dairy, because there is so much more money to be made. Certainly dairy products are very expensive here, cheese is now so dear it is out of the range of the poorest families and those of us who can sort of afford it wait for ‘Specials’. Lots of late autumn colour, but we are a little late for the true beauty, mostly golds rather than browns and reds as in the UK, but very unlike the North Is, where the seasons hardly show at all in the trees. We headed for Lake Tekapo, where we visited the Church of the Good Shepherd, built in the 1930s out of local stone as a gathering place for those hardy souls, with a spectacular view from the window over the altar out over the lake. Hilary took a picture but you weren’t supposed to, so I’ve only got the outside view, being a law-abiding Brit! Then we journeyed on to Lake Pukahi with spectacular views of Mount Cook, the highest mountain in NZ, my picture doesn’t do it justice, it is the sort of 2 pronged roof-like one! It’s Maori name is Aoraki, which coincidentally is the name of the road where my house is going to be built, mine will be 11 Aoraki Rise. Aoraki was a Maori God apparently. Kept seeing the same people along the way, roads very empty, this is the ‘in-between’ time, too late for Summer and too early for ski-ing, though we passed lots of ski areas along the way. Ended up late Monday afternoon in Twizel, which was closed! Erola & friends did laugh at us staying in Twizel, it is a ‘new’ town, only built in the 1960s to house workers building the nearby dam system. I didn’t realise before today that the vast majority of NZ power is hydro-electric, will definitely be a problem this winter because there is very little water in the rivers after a very long hot summer, so there will be power cuts. In fact our YHA room was the best we encountered on our trip, the heater was already on, there was a fridge, ensuite, tea & coffee maker & a TV, definitely spoilt! I think we were the only people in the place, which was huge, there may have been a couple of others! We had to go to the local pub for our evening meal, it being the only place open, my introduction to the male South Islander. A rough tough breed indeed, I think Hilary caused a bit of a stir with her coiffured hair & red-painted nails! The meal was fine though, & we were lovely & warm next to the wood-burner, & slept very well in our nice warm room afterwards.

Paekok May11-18

I think Erola was rather upset when I accepted an invitation from Ali & Adam to spend Mothers’ Day with them at Hilary’s. Erola had assumed that we would be doing stuff together, but of course I would rather be with my family, after all it is the reason I’m over here at all! I hope her son Ginner does contact her from Sydney, but not sure the date is the same in Oz, so she may be disappointed.
Obviously I stayed over Saturday night, & in fact stayed Sunday night too, because I had a few glasses of wine and was not legal to drive home. Adam cooked Cottage Pie for the main course, Ali & Junior did a prawn with chilli salsa starter & a scrumptious (should that be yummy?) chocolate mousse for dessert. We were very spoilt, and it was lovely to be part of the celebration. Ali wrote me a lovely card, and gave me flowers and a photo picture under glass of Wellington, which was very generous. It was interesting after dinner to learn what Adam remembered of his life in UK before emigrating here, he remembers quite a lot, though he was 14 when they came out so I suppose that’s understandable. I hope David will be able to come over with me or at some time early next year so they can renew their friendship. Although Adam has mild Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism, he manages to hold down a job and look after himself in his own flat. They always got on very well as children, Hilary used to have David every holiday for a week or so because she was a stay-at-home Mum & I was working, so they do know each other pretty well. Of course he’s now an adult (well almost, for a man!) so things will not be quite the same.
Wednesday night has become ‘my evening with Hilary’. We were watching ‘Five Days’ on TV, an English drama which I didn’t see when it was on there, though it has now finished. NZ TV is generally speaking dire, I am resolved to record any and every decent programme on to DVD once I’m back & then bring them here to watch at my leisure next year. I have even become a fan of Coronation St, which I didn’t watch at all back home. We are now watching Tracy Barlow’s trial, some way back from the English timeline I believe, so don’t anybody spoil it! ‘Bleak House’ aired recently, very late on a Sunday evening for some reason, I would’ve watched it again and Erola would’ve enjoyed it too, but much too late when she gets up at 5.30 on a Monday!!!!
Saturday Erola & I went to the Wellington Food Show in the Westpac Stadium (nicknamed the Cake Tin, because it looks just like a giant one). It was very good, we both spent too much on stuff we don’t really need! Last year apparently there were loads of free samples, so I was looking forward to the free chocolate, but this year there wasn’t much at all, signs of the times of course. Things seem to be getting worse here, lots of jobs being lost, hope is that interest rates will be cut, I hope so since I have tied up the funds for the house in short term deposits which pay a high rate of interest by UK standards, and once it’s gone on the house I won’t care. Also, anything which will help improve the exchange rate of the £ to the NZD will be very welcome, it’s been appalling since I got here.

The weather has been fantastic again a couple of days this week, cold at night but warm during the day, see the kids playing on the beach in T-shirts above, remarkable for 'mid-November'. I know South island will be colder, though I think we have have gone OTT with our thermal undies and boots, but there was snow there a week ago so you can't be too careful!

Tricia & Hils’ visit May 4-10

Had a phone call from Tricia last Wednesday, they are coming to see me for a couple of days on their way north, having spent 2 months in South Island. They planned to get the ferry from Picton at 2 on Sunday, & I had invited Hilary to come up as well for dinner, but the ferry was cancelled because of engine failure so they didn’t arrive till the Monday. The weather has turned extremely cold, with strong southeriies, so they had an ‘interesting’ crossing! They are staying in the local Backpackers, which is very cold, so I lit the fire ‘early’ & we had a long chat on Monday. Since Erola & I had cleaned the house all day on a very cold Sunday, 12, with NO heating, I didn’t feel at all guilty!
On Tuesday we planned to go into Wellington, but by the time I had taken them to see my section, called in on Hilary at work and gone to her house where they had a lovely chat with Ali (still off work sick), we decided to come back & walk along the beach because it was a beautiful day. I picked up a bag of kindling and successfully kit the fire with it.
On Wednesday I drove to the South Wellington coast, where we hoped to see seals, but the tourist facilities are being re-built and the path was blocked. But it is an amazing bleak landscape, really wild & woolly, with a capital city literally just round the corner. We watched the aeroplanes wobbling into the airport, and picked Paua shell from a little secluded beach, then had a very late lunch in Oriental Bay. It was a lovely day, and I have never been to that area, so it was really good.
On Thursday we went into town by train, a bargain at $20 return for all 3 of us on a Group ticket. We went on a tour of the NZ Parliament buildings, I have been before but it is free (!very important where ‘the girls’ are concerned!) & well worth doing. We saw the earthquake protection which has been put in place, very impressive. Does bring it to mind again though, I have only felt one very minor ‘tremble’ since I have been here luckily. The Parliament buildings are only 400m from the major fault line, so they do have to be very careful. We had lunch in the old BNZ building, the vaults have been converted to a Food Court, & then went up to the Botanic Gardens on the Cable Car, a ‘must do’. There is a lovely view from the top, & lots of nice, if hilly, walks, we only went a short way because we were all tired by then and it was getting chilly, once the sun goes down it is noticeably autumn now.
I had various things to do in Paraparam on Friday, so first Erola invited us to a special performance by her Taiko Performing group, at 8 a.m. i.e. before school, it was lovely but a bit early on our holidays! After that we went to the Nga Manu Wildlife reserve in Waikanae, I had no idea Kiwis were so big, the size of chickens. We saw 2 really close up, it was great. There is also a lovely bushwalk, it is very easy to see how difficult it must have been for the first explorers, very dense forest, really quite jungle-like, & this one was swampy, fortunately with a boardwalk above it. Although it is quite a small area, we all thought it was well worth the $10 entrance fee, particularly as I had a one get in free voucher from Hilary!
The ladies left early on Saturday morning, so I got up to have breakfast with them beforehand. I have really enjoyed their company again, think I had got into a bit of a rut & last week I was definitely homesick, so it was great to get out & about and see more of the local area. Of course it all costs, & I am watching my pennies, particularly before our trip to South Island which is coming up very soon.
The relationship between the ladies & Erola was interesting to watch! Tricia is very much ‘in command’ and has absolutely nothing in common with someone who believes in astrology, clairvoyance etc. I cooked for them all here every night, apart from Friday when we had fish and chips, so they spent quite a lot of time here. After they left Erola told me she was rather glad they’d left, she’d had enough!

On Saturday Hilary & I went to the theatre in Wellington, 3 plays back-to-back which were ‘The Pick of the Fringe’. The first one was incomprehensible & not at all funny (to us), the mostly student audience seem to find it so! The second play was the best, a sort of modern morality play complete with Chorus, much better acted & very funny. The last was ‘2b or not 2b’, which as the title suggests had very close references to Hamlet and other very famous plays, so it was fun to try & spot the original dialogue within a modern tale of teenagers with angst. Afterwards we went to the Sushi Bar nearby where I was introduced to sushi by Hilary last year, I really like it, though I don’t eat it at home!