The Nobles in New Zealand

Beautiful But Deadly!

2010-11-24T19:54:00.000-08:00

We're in the middle of summer camp at school and a team-building exercise was come up with a tribal name and design a flag & create a chant for your tribe - so the staff joined in! Ourname 'The Black Widows' (wonder who thought of that?)
Our slogan 'Beautiful But Deadly'..
- do you like the flag design? I had fun with it!

PRIZEGIVING

2010-11-23T01:04:00.000-08:00

Getting dressed up in our gowns and attending Prizegiving is always fun!

Tea Time..

2010-11-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

We went for high tea at a 'secret' location and had a lovely time, among the white roses in the garden. Sweet nibbles and lots of giggles! Who's got the best hat?

BRAIN BEE COMPETITION!

2010-07-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

Sophia and four of her classmates made it to the Final of the Brain Bee Competition which is held each year in Auckland, at the Centre of Brain Research. To qualify they had come in the top 2% in New Zealand in Round 1 of the competition. Brains obviously run in the family!

I took them in to the University for the day and it all began with the individual competition which was intense! There were 38 competing schools, some of whom had travelled from Wellington that morning and you could feel the competitive edge in the room.

This was followed by tours around the labs, lectures by neuro scientists, looking at bionic ears, analysing DNA and looking at actual brains (one of the teachers thought it was a model and picked it up!)

We came in the top 10, but sadly didn't win the challenge - I think Sophia would make a excellent neuro surgeon, so I made friends with the professor in charge and we're going back for a private tour of all their 'brain' stuff for her..

The four of them are talking about being mentors for next year's team!

THE BALL !

2010-06-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

Jessica's Year 13 Ball was a Parisian theme this year, at the Langham Hotel Ballroom in Auckland. They were served a three course meal and the Hotel was decorated with an Eiffel Tower and bonbons.
It was lavish affair with Jess wearing a cherry silk dress with rose accessories and the 'date' (Mackensie) gave her a mini rose corsage and wore a matching tie. Needless to say, the hair took longer then expected and we arrived eons late for the pre-ball.. and the after Ball was a 'Chocolate Factory' theme.. so much excitement - we can all look forward to a quiet life now (Sophia's turn next year!)

BIRTHDAY GIRL!

2010-05-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

Sophia's birthday was a 'Wonderland' theme this year and fancy dress was compulsory. Early morning saw the arrival of a caterpillar, white rabbit, Queen of Hearts, Mad Hatter and March hare on the doorstep..

We booked the Water Gardens for the day and had the place to ourselves - it's a stunningly beautiful place in the summer and at this time of year the lotus flowers were ended, but the bright blue water lilies covered the ponds and the trees all had yellow and red leaves..

We were lucky with the weather and set tea up in the pavilion, by the lakes, with the waterfall in the distance.. the girls absolutely loved it and wandered amongst the flowers, before settling down to scoff all the goodies we had made..

The chocolate hedgehog cupcakes went first, then the pink flamingo ones, the 'mad' teaparty Birthday cake was just that and had three layers - chocolate cream, vanilla and raspberry and sponge. There were white rabbit droppings (chocolate sultanas) and jellies in tea-cups and jam tarts and heart biscuits ... and...

Then they went off to the croquet field at the top of the Gardens to play in the sunshine, while Jess and I replenished the food - it had to be an eternal tea-party, like in the book! We put the fairy lights on in the pavilion, for when they returned and set up games..

When the day was over we piled them all into the mini-van and took them home for a late night feast and DVDs and present opening..

On her actual birthday Sophia went rockclimbing and ordered caramel cheesecake for dessert. Mama Mia restaurant served up a gorgeous Italian feast for us and she slept well! Happy 15th Birthday!

BOTANIC GARDENS !

2010-04-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

The Botanic Gardens were opposite our hotel, literally across the street, so we spent a few hours the first day, as dusk drew in, having a wander. As we were going through the 'jungle' section of the Gardens the girls and I noticed how noisy all the birds were in the treetops - but when we looked up, they weren't birds at all! They were giant bats!

We had thought the shapes on the trees were fruit, but as dusk drew in the bats started opening their wings and chittering away to each other - thousands of them - and then they started flying in the direction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge..

We discovered that if we stood on our hotel balcony we were level with them as they flew by, they were huge, and so many of them! No chance of any bugs being able to spoil your evening meal outside, with all those hungry mouths to feed!

They had a wing span of about a metre and were grey-headed flying foxes, endemic to Australia, and unfortunately the colony has grown over the years and now they are damaging the trees in the Gardens, so they are going to be forcibly relocated - by playing loud noises at them, so that they don't roost there. I wonder where 22 thousand bats will go?

The Gardens themselves are filled with exotic trees and glass pyramids, fountains and sculptures - we only managed to see one half of it, so... next time!

They curve around and out into the Bay and give spectacular views of Sydney and the Opera House and Bridge. I suppose it's as odd as Central Park in New York, you just don't expect this huge, green space. We had to walk to, and of course, sit on Mrs MacQuarie's Chair!

SYDNEY AQUARIUM !

2010-04-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

We spent a morning at Sydney Aquarium – right on the waterfront, it doesn’t look very big from the outside – but it took us 4 hours to get round and we could easily have stayed longer!
One of the areas had a sign ‘dugongs’ and there was a queue ...we joined it to discover that, worldwide, only six dugongs are held in captivity and two of them were in front of us.

They look a lot like manatees and are the only survivng species of ‘sea-cow’ in the world. Dugong actually means ‘lady of the sea’

As you can see they have no fins or limbs, look a bit like a dolphin from above and a bit like an elephant in their face. We watched feeding time and they must have hoovered up sixteen cabbages.

Dugongs are hunted – the Japanese again! It’s now near extinction even though laws have been passed (some nations think they are exempt)

They live, if allowed to, for up to 70 years and can grow up to 2 metres – gentle giants really
Cave drawings have been discovered of dugongs, the drawings are over 5000 years old!!

My second favourite was the ‘leafy seahorse’ SO cool!

CIRCULAR QUAY !

2010-04-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

Circular Quay (originally Semi-circular Quay) in Sydney is where Governor Philip and his crew arrived two centuries ago.

It has one of the world's great views as you stand on the quay, facing the harbour. The famous Opera House on the right with its dazzling, seemingly white roof and to the left Harbour Bridge, which seems to edge its way into every photograph.

In the distance is the glimmering Luna Park, an amusement park, with what I would say was a slightly terrifying head, for an entrance.
Then, there are all the chunky ferries arriving and leaving with rapid regularity and tanned, smiling workers marching out of them, looking as if they quite like going to work.

And, behind you, towering skscrapers with gleaming windows and acres of shimmering metal.
It's the place to be!

This is where we based ourselves at the Sir Stamford Hotel (more about that amazing fellow later!)

CHINESE GARDENS of Friendship !

2010-04-07T03:16:00.000-07:00

At the southern end of Darling Harbour in Sydney there is a green oasis - the Chinese Garden of Friendship.It was created in 1888 to symbolise the friendship between China and Australia.

Up at the pagoda

We were on our way to somewhere else - it was included in our tourist passes - so we popped in.. and stayed for three hours.It was peaceful with little pagodas and jade carvings and carriages in the small museum.

At the Dragon wall

There was an exhibition of flower art, which was amazing! Huge pictures made entirely out of petals and leaves, in the most intricate designs.

The gardens were beautiful, with lakes and streams, statues, willow trees and a huge temple.

We 'took tea' in the pavilion while the girls opted to dress up as Chinese maidens...

Jessica being prepared

and wander the gardens with tourists asking for photos with every step! They had fun and fluttered their fans - the costumes were beautiful.

By the Dragon carving

Girls at lakeside

WENTWORTH FALLS !

2010-04-04T03:35:00.000-07:00

Remember the three explorers I mentioned? Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth?

Well, Wentworth Falls are just one of the discoveries that they made and named after themselves. William Wentworth was a colourful character - he was born on board ship bound for Australia, as his parents were convicts ( not the most auspicious of beginnings). He eventually got sent to school in England and returned as an explorer, with his two friends he discovered Wentworth Falls and was given land as a reward from the Crown.
He published books and poems, studied to be a lawyer, and became one of the wealthiest men in the Colony (but alas, not respectable or accepted because of his convict mother).
He had seven daughters and three sons - busy!
He died in England but his body was returned to Australia for burial. What a life he must have led!

Following in his footsteps, we stayed at the historic 'Grand View Hotel' (which had a view of the new main road they were building)..

and had tea at the Carrington Hotel - which was lovely oldy-worldy inside.
Apparently, Charles Darwin stayed here and went for a walk along the cliff - they named it imaginatively Darwin's Walk (maybe he didn't walk much).

Anyway, having unpacked and visited the gloomy sitting room with its giant screen TV and Victorian overstuffed sofas, we went for our first descent to Wentworth Falls. As we climbed down the uneven steps, jollied along by signs stating 'Good View of the Falls' we descended into a light mist (actually it was cloud ) and saw the Falls for about 60 seconds before being enveloped in a dense white world.

That one glimpse was breathtaking - a huge waterfall, divided into lower and upper falls, dense gum trees surrounding it and flocks of white cockatoos. It was like an animated scene of The Lion King, come to life.

It seems mean but as we sat waiting for the cloud to disappear, several groups of tourists stumbled down the last steps, peered into the mist, which was dense white by then and stumbled back up again.
We smiled.
No wonder no-one discovered the Falls for a quarter of a century.

BLUE MOUNTAINS !

2010-04-01T02:17:00.000-07:00

The Blue Mountains are the scenic and long-impassable hills lying to Sydney's West. They look, in the distance, soft and green with gentle undulations, but are, in fact, rent with treacherous gorges, bouldered canyons and sheer rising cliffs with waterfalls torrenting out of them.

For twenty-five years the Blue Mountains provided a barrier to explorers, until, in 1813, three men, Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth and William Lawson made it through!
The Great Western Highway that we followed takes their almost exact route from nearly 200 years ago, so the roads are somewhat torturous.
Our first stop was at a small town called Katoomba and a viewpoint titled Echo Point (for obvious reasons I'll explain later).

The view is outstanding - a huge green eucalyptus forest, pierced with jagged rocks called the Three Sisters. Their names are Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo, with the usual story of being turned to stone when pursued by lusty young men from another tribe. But they never got turned back into girls..

There is a Giant Stairway to a cave at the base of one of the Sisters, and a difficult walk to the base of Katoomba Falls.

If you don't have a head for heights, or legs for thousands of stairs, you'll be pleased to know that there is one cafe in Katoomba and they serve semi-decent coffee, with tables hung over a spectacular view and thieving magpies who'll make off with all your possessions!

AUSTRALIA !

2010-03-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world and its largest island.
It is also the only island that is also a continent.
It is the only continent that is also a country.

Australia has no state religion.
It is the only nation that began as a prison.
It is home of the largest living thing on earth, the Great Barrier Reef.

Australia has the greatest number of reptiles in the world, over 755 species.
It has one of the most famous and striking monoliths in the world, Ayres Rock.

It has the longest fence in the world which runs for 5500 kilometers.
Australia is the flattest continent with the oldest, least fertile soils.
It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else.
Five of its creatures are the most lethal of their type in the world.

Its creatures seem to have evolved as if they have misread the manual.
And eighty percent of all that lives in Australia, plant and animal, exists nowhere else.
So, it is a place that simply MUST be seen!

ON HOLIDAY !

2010-03-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Where have we been? - you have to guess from the photograph of the girls...there's not a lot we haven't done these last two weeks and we have had SUCH fun!

We visited some amazing temples (another clue)and made a lucky wish each with our incense sticks..

We've been up things on SkyWalks and cable cars and trains (which were almost vertical) and lifts and walked up and down more steps than my legs wish to remember..

We stayed in motels and in pubs, cabins and one gorgeous hotel where we had a room with a view and on one morning a triathalon taking place underneath our balcony. Every evening we watched huge bats flying up from the gardens across the road and past our windows.. have you guessed where we've been yet?

We did see some wicked creatures - for example this spider - you can get a vague idea of the hugeness of it (I was chosen to go and stand behind it!)One in particular - no photo I'm afraid - but I saw a dugong for the first time and a leafy seahorse!

There were lots of fountains, waterfalls, streams, brooks, waterfalls, rivers, canals, waterfalls, harbours, lakes and waterfalls..

The snakes were HUGE and I had a python round my neck at one point, but the girls kept a careful eye on me.. stroked an alligator, he was a bit snappy!

We went on ferries and boats, cruise ships and watertaxis, even in a submarine and on a warship called the 'Vampire' (which was appropriate after Jess being in Dracula)

We were somewhere close to the sea for a week and then somewhere mountainous for the other..

There was something about those spiders though!

If you haven't guessed yet, this should do it! Me and Roo! He wanted to come home with me but we thought Biosecurity might notice!

Here's the clinching icon (and yes, we climbed up the Pylon - all 600 steps!)

The tour around the Opera House was fantastic - but more about that on another blog, later..

The girls first proper fun fair in four years and they went on everything!

We got up close to koalas, kangaroos, echidnas, wombats, kookaburras and flying foxes.. both real and in teddy form..

Having survived two weeks in a country boasting the top ten most venemous creatures in the world - we felt relieved to get home!

Lots of tea times ( Australians can't make coffee!) on verandahs..

And wonders of the natural world in the Blue Mountains (they really are blue!)
Nice to be home - I'll blog more later!

We're Going To The Zoo...!

2010-03-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

We spent the day at Auckland Zoo and took part in National Frog Day! All the animals were out and active and the tigers were especially playful - they are the cubs born last year, and they're huge now.

The frog population is in serious decline and New Zealand has the world's rarest frog which lives on Stephen's Island called the Hamilton Frog..there are only 300 left in the world!

In usual NZ style, the 4 types of native frogs that live here (3 went extinct last year) are unusual even for frogs. they have tails and nine vertabrae, they make no sounds, have no eardrums, and use chemosignals to communicate with each other. Even the frogs are odd!

The cockatoo at the zoo said 'Hello Mate" to me and chatted away to the girls, we have yet to find the talking tui!

We quite liked this sign on the blue penguin enclosure..

The lemurs and monkeys were out in force and one of them had a plaster cast on its leg..

So much to do, and so little time!

The giant toroise was looking well considering his most private part was on display in the museum..

And this meerkat is for our friend Emma! He was definitely on guard duty..

ALBERTON HOUSE !

2010-03-07T22:59:00.001-08:00

We visited Alberton House, a romantic timber mansion with fairy-tale decorative balconies and towers, to partake of tea on the verandah..the girls love ‘high tea’ and this British pastime occurs very rarely here! So, we dressed up, donned gloves and hats and set out!

Sophia partaking of tea

The tea was delicious and served on tiered plates. Each teacup bone china. Last year the Hall ran an appeal for bone china cups and acquired a 1000 of them. They were so pretty!

reclining on the lawns

Historically, for those of you who are interested, and you’ll see how we miss the National Trust, this house began as a farmhouse in 1863 and then expanded to 18 rooms as more children arrived. For New Zealand, this is extraordinarily old!

The sewing room

Girl's bedroom

It was owned by the Kerr Taylors, a leading family in Mount Albert. Mr Kerr Taylor (they added the Kerr because Taylor was a common name!) was important, but his wife more so! His wife Sophia was an outspoken advocate of the vote for women, as well as a singer, gardener and mother of 10.

Balcony

Greg at tea

In its day, Alberton was famous in the 19th century for its balls, hunts, garden parties and music. The girls who inherited were into racing horses!

Girls at the front of the House

Back of Alberton House

Girls at the Entrance

We had lots of compliments for our hats and the Morris dancers turned up and explained this ‘odd, pagan’ English pastime to everyone!

Dining room

Writing desk with quill pen

Tea consisted of layers of pastries and quiches, chocolates and tartleys, asparagus rolls and cakes, scones and sandwiches, all served with pots of tea or coffee.. we were full!

Beautiful teacups

Girls sat on the roof bench

Bedroom where 10 children were born

Bathroom with modern claw foot bathtub

Silly moment

KON-TIKI !

2010-02-16T23:31:00.000-08:00

We took the boat and a picnic out for the day, and decided to have our lunch at Takapuna.

When we arrived we discovered a waka stranded on the beach - quite a strange sight!

The owner/carver came and sat with us in the shade and explained that the captain, from the Bahamas, had misjudged the tide and they were stranded!
(Typical Bahamian!)

The boat was handcarved and there are 4 of them in NZ, specifically for young people to learn navigation the old way, by the stars, like their ancestors.

CAKE CREATIONS !

2010-02-10T22:49:00.000-08:00

We've been SO busy this month that I haven't had time to blog!!
So, one of the things I did was go on the 2nd course of cake decorating (I'm building my way up to Wedding cakes!)
It sort of combines my love of baking with art..
Anyhow - here's the result and we have only just finished eating all the sugar flowers!!

The basket weaving effect with icing takes absolutely ages.. thankfully we spent a whole day making the different kinds of flowers for the decoration and only had to ice and place on the second.

I only managed photos this far - the next time I looked - it was half eaten, so I gave up and joined them! I came home with tubs of iced violets, pansies, roses and apple blossoms - so I shall make cakes for everyone's birthday.

AUCKLAND ANNIVERSARY DAY !

2010-02-05T20:50:00.001-08:00

The ferries stop running their usual routes and are given over for the day to the public - and they venture to areas forbidden to shipping usually. We boarded on a gorgeous day and went for a ferry ride around the ports and the terminals.

There were some amazing views of Auckland and plenty of photo opportunities for Sky Tower as you've never seen it before. The weather heated up rapidly and we were glad we'd brought the sunblock!

The Seafood Festival tents were lined up along the dock and we could see the floating bridges being put into place and the bottles of wine being put out for everyone, in anticipation of their arrival.

There were some interesting ships moored up, including a Japanese 'research' station (just as well Jess wasn't there or she'd have boarded it!)

The ferries were full and when we got back to the quay, the next lot of eager spectators was waiting. I hadn't thought it would be so popular.

The cranes and machinery were huge and impressive - it seemed strange to think that our container, with all our worldly goods had come this way, only 5 years ago. Hasn't time flown!

Then off to find the seafood, wine and a decent coffee. On the way there were plenty of 'street artists, musicians and displays to celebrate the day.

Of course, the anniversary is to celebrate the arrival of William Hobson, later the first Governor of New Zealand, in the Bay of Islands in 1840.Just another thing to thank the British for!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS !

2010-01-08T16:53:00.000-08:00

Only 3 days left before the return to work - but here is us on holiday!

SEVENTEEN !

2010-01-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

Jessie is seventeen! My, I feel old! here she is, to tell you about her day...

Lucky for me, my Birthday was on an extremely beautiful day - which was perfect seeing as I had chosen to go to some gardens for the day. A breakfast of petite pastries was lovely, and then we spent the best part of the day out amongst flowers and trees with a picnic and croquet set.

i got some absoloutely lovely presents - thank you to everyone! Plenty to amuse me, and i felt quite nicely spoilt =)

I had a very yummy dinner out at a Japanese restaurant, and then we went to see 'Avatar' in 3D at the movies, before going home for some very late night trifle ... which tasted fantastic (thank you Mummy!). Overall it was a wonderful day, and I enjoyed myself hugely. Thank you everyone!

HIGHWIC HOUSE !

2010-01-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

The house has a story... Alfred Buckland and Eliza Wallen married in England and emigrated to New Zealand in 1850 on the sailing ship "Sir Edward Paget".
They settled in South Auckland where they became established quite quickly by buying and selling land. Here are the girls outside the Main House..

Twelve years later, the two of them purchased 5 acres and moved to Epsom. They named their property Highwic.
Most of Highwic is hidden in the centre of the town by mature trees and high hedges. It has a very Victorian Garden on what remains of its land with a croquet lawn.

The house is known as one of New Zealand's finest Carpenter Gothic' houses its design found in ' A Symmetrical Cottage' from an 1850 pattern book.
Eliza Buckland did not live long at Highwic, she died of pneumonia in 1866.
She had seven daughters and three sons.

Ten months later Alfred married the servant girl Matilda Jane (how very Jane Eyre!)
She and Alfred had seven daughters and four sons, making a grand total of 21.
By the time the last one was born Alfred had 24 grandchildren - it must have been busy! The stockings set up for Christmas made us realise!

Alfred Buckland – father of the 21 children – had Bucklands Beach named after him!

The girls did some country dancing in the Ballroom which was added, along with a dormitory for the boys, when it all got too small!

I can't imagine having 21 children!!
The nice thing is children have free entry to the house and it really is a hidden treasure - by appointment only - with a talk by the live-in tenant.

MOUNT EDEN !

2010-01-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

We took Jon to the highest volcano cone in Auckland, Mount Eden. It is a dormant eponymous volcano (for you Science nuts) & the summit is 196 metres above sea level. It has fabulous views of the city and harbour..

NEW YEAR 2010 !

2010-01-01T19:03:00.000-08:00

Well, 2010 got off to a flying start - glittered young men greeted us and girls in feathers (which took Greg's fancy) we headed for Sky Tower once it was dark and were ushered through the crowds to the lifts and our table in the revolving restaurant..

Champagne was flowing, there was the pre-dinner bubbles and the midnight bubbles, party hats and everyone was in a party mood!

The city was lit up below us and we could see people gathering as midnight approached, to see the fireworks from the Tower. Dinner began with the Chef's Taster platter and strawberry and lemongrass sorbet to cleanse the palate.

I had sumac crusted tuna loin with diakon salad for entree, the girls had baked goats cheese wrapped in filo pastry - everything was delicious..

Main course arrived on our third revolution of the restaurant - thankfully no bungy jumpers were allowed off the top on the night! The walls are all glass and we had a window table (good job there was lots of champagne). Here we had shitake and oyster mushroom risotto with fresh pea salad, akaroa salmon with seared parmesan polenta, Jon had Hawkes Bay lamb loin with kumara & cumin mash & truffled asparagus - all the other choices were just as delicious!

Dessert (although we were full) was a choice of chocolate & hazelnut bavarois, liquorice panacotta, cheese & quince selection or an interesting citrus soup with almond & orange cake!

Jessica was a little worried about the way Uncle Jon was wearing his party hat and I captured her being disconcerted! The restaurant staff were brilliant, everyone was smiling, when the fireworks went off we were at the top of the tower and now I know what it feels like to BE a firework! Awesome!

We headed home at about 1 am amidst the revellers and the girls only told me I had my party hat still on when we were almost there! Mean!

Happy New Year!!

JONATHAN !

2009-12-29T21:05:00.000-08:00

My brother Jonathan visited us from the UK for the holidays...

We took him up several volcanoes..

To cafes for coffees and wine tastings..

To several beaches.. banana boating, boogie boarding..

He climbed Lion Rock with us..

and experienced Otara Market and the rapper..

We went for New Year's Eve up Sky Tower and for his birthday, to the Langham - both blissful meals..

Had some brother/ sister bonding time..

and that was how he spent the start of his his 40th year ! Not bad!

PASS THE PARCEL !

2009-12-28T23:45:00.000-08:00

Sophia had a Christmas Party and all her friends were instructed to wear fancy dress.. she decided to go as a present and this is the result!

We teased her that her friends would play 'pass the parcel' with her!

But this was nothing for a girl who used to wear a dinosaur suit!

She definitely won the best costume!

BOXING DAY !

2009-12-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

Boxing Day was bright and sunny, the sand is soft, the sky is blue - here we are as Beach Babes!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

2009-12-25T20:41:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2009 Everyone! It was a gorgeous day, 34 degrees, blue skies and sunshine! Christmas lunch out on the patio and parrots flying overhead.. it's a hard life!

The girls were very excited by their piles of presents and elected to have their favourites photographed to share with you. We spent most of the morning opening pressies - thank you to everyone for your thoughtful, yummy, beautiful presents!!

Breakfast was homemade fruit scrolls, freshly baked by the girls, they made lunch as well! Dinner was mine.

There seemed to be a pirates theme (and Johnny Depp) this Christmas - ranging from flintlock pistols, to ships, to posters..

But also perfume, and chocolates ..

and Johnny Depp ..

and novels ..

and pirate stuff and slippers in the shape of bears ..

and cook books ..

and pirate pistols ..

the girls took a break to make lunch .. so we have lots to do, lots of treats to eat, lots of wine and champagne to drink and lots of books to read. We hope your Christmases were as wonderful!

GINGERBREAD HOUSE !

2009-12-24T00:28:00.000-08:00

The girls and I made the traditional Gingerbread House on Christmas Eve.. it even had stained glass windows (made from lollies)and chocolate button shingles on the roof. It took hours to make and moments to eat!!

We're talking serious gingerbread creating here!

The assembling, icing, decorating and baking, kept the house smelling sweet and gingerbready, for hours!

and it was fun!

MURIWAI !

2009-12-23T22:41:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas excursion for us is to Muriwai. Muriwai includes a windswept rugged coastline, about 60km of surf beach and rolling dunes of black sand. It is it one of Auckland's most popular west coast beaches.

You arrive at Maori Bay and walk up to Muriwai Beach. There, at the top, is the spectacular Takapu (gannet) Refuge at Otakamiro Point, one of only three mainland gannet colonies in New Zealand.

The best time to visit the gannets is between October in February. The chicks hatch in November then leave for Australia at 15 weeks old (they don't all make it) and return to breed when they are seven years old.

Here we are at the beginning of the walk, some kindly American passer-by took our photo. The gannet colony ends up directly below you - and you smell it before you see it - fishy!

You can see that the rock they nest on at sea, used to be joined to the mainland - just behind Sophia. The gannets are spectacular to watch, their wings are 2 metres across and they fish just off shore. they hit the water at about 100kph - which makes the fishermen out on the rocks jealous!

This place is unique as it's the only gannet colony you can get this close to, and it doesn't seem to bother them a bit - you can look down on their nests and see them feeding the chicks and bringing back their fish.

FAIRY FALLS !

2009-12-20T22:11:00.000-08:00

It was a gorgeous day again, so Fairy Falls became the event for the day. The bush walk is through the Waitakeres (why-tack-er-ees) and up to the falls. Some strange folk kayak in the mini lake created at its base and it's popular with families for a picnic (but they don't tend to do the 4 hour walk!)

It's a circular tramp with panoramic views in the Hunua (hun-oo-ear) Range.

MOTUTAPU !

2009-12-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

Motutapu Island - its full name, rarely used, is Te Motutapu a Taikehu, "The sacred island of Taikehu".
It is a recreation reserve. We went out in the boat today to visit it, because Sophia has been there twice for tree planting days.

It's close to Rangitoto, so when it erupted it was burned and covered in ash - it is still mostly meadow and grassland, but there is a huge reforestation effort underway.
We did the walkway across the island, it was hot and peaceful. Then picnicked on strawberries before swimming back to the boat. Greg lost his hat on the way back!

QUEEN'S STREET !

2009-12-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

We went into Auckland City today to get into the Christmas mood and discovered a trail of giant baubles glittering along Queen's Street towards the Harbour.

We also found the giant Whitcoulls Santa (which has been renovated especially) which dominates the Main Street. It's the NZ equivalent of Oxford Street and yet nothing like it!

We did lots of girlie shopping, had lunch in the sunshine at a cafe and found the most awesome gelateria down by the Harbour! The girls bought summer clothes and we all agreed that it should snow, because it's hard to believe it's nearly Christmas..

SANTA PARADE !

2009-12-05T01:52:00.000-08:00

The Santa Parade in Howick was busy this year! We decided to skip the main Auckland street parade this year and to our surprise thousands lined the streets of our little town! We even have a Town Crier who led the parade!

After getting Greg organised with his Coastguard float Jess and I went to find a spot to watch from and when I next saw her - there she was - Queen of the Coastguard Float! Wonders will never cease!

I did see one float that inspired me - The Red Hat Society - all oldies wearing the most amazing red hats and purple outfits - remember the poem 'when I'm old, I shall wear purple'? Looks like the Club for me!

I got quite excited by the kiwi and the pukekho on the floats - so I took photos!

I liked the way the kiwis see Xmas as a Birthday celebration - quite uncommercialized.

Miss Howick 2009 and 2008 joined together to do a drive by..

Howick is sometimes caled Chowick - there are a lot of Chinese who live here, so it has a nickname! But they know how to do a parade!

The Johnny Depp look-alikes had a turn...

The Historical Village had a float - to do with the fencibles..

Cinderella made an appearance, Disney has made it over here..

There was a lot of sunshine and merriment on the streets - we were sad that Sophia missed it! (she's at Field Centre)

DECEMBER !

2009-12-01T01:36:00.000-08:00

The pohutakawa are in brilliant red flower, so we know it will be Christmas soon!

SCULPTURE GARDENS !

2009-11-26T18:15:00.000-08:00

We went to the Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens today. Every year the Botanical Gardens displays twenty New Zealand artists and Sophia makes sure we see each and every one - so, I thought you could share our experience...

Here you have 'The Teenage Text Bunny' (we liked the tortoise logo on his shirt) apparently he's a typical teenager, brought to the gardens by his 'olds' but he doesn't want a 'bar' of it! The girls thought it was funny!

Then there was this one called 'Intensified Rain'. It was actually quite pretty when the sun shone through and which gave us some ideas for what to do with our cut-glass dishes..

They didn't seem to realise that they couldn't hide behind it..

but then, neither did I.. this one got two of our votes, as you can tell!

This one, is in typical New Zealand style - it's called 'Water Tanks' (which is exactly what they are!)only, they have somehow become 'art' and cost $15,000 each!

Greg liked this one - I suppose it was functional!

Here we have 'Listen and Learn' and we could hear the bells ringing before we saw it. This was a 2.9 metre high bronze work in the shape of a bell, with bells hanging from it.

Next was slightly unbelievable.. the mound of grass the girls are irreverently standing on was our next sculpture..'The Land is Slowly Liquid' and price was on application!

This is Todd Butterworth's masterpiece 'Wedge,Skew,Splice' which looked a bit like an out-of-kilter Toblerone.

Apparently Mr Butterworth likes bees and repetition - as you can see..

This was different, it's called 'Screen' and, since it was windy while we were admiring it, it was quite spectacular. And it only cost $3000 for your garden!

"It is based on the human figure" says the artist (can you see it?) A snip at $25000!

'Ancestral Light' was made out of macrocarpa, so it looked like stone, or bone - Henry Moore inspired methinks..

Now, here was a weird one.. 'After The Flood'

"The Sacred Grove' was recognisable, and we liked his 'Big Rock Dog' last year..

It was dedicated to Geoff Park, in his memory.

And here you have my least favourite, but then I've never looked at clowns the same again since Stephen King! The sculptor, Richard Wedekind is an "earth scientist" when not sculpting (what is that?) This is $8500 and called 'Bread & Circuses'.

This one was an optical illusion and changed shape as you walked around it.. 'Ascension' got one of our votes. We then picnicked on strawberries and sage paninis stuffed with fresh salad and feta. Nice day..

SEAFOOD COOKING CLASS !

2009-11-22T22:37:00.000-08:00

This was one of my Birthday presents! (Thank you Jon!) A day out at the Auckland Seafood Cooking School.
It began at 10 am and I arrived at number 22 ready to cook.

We were greeted by white-aproned staff and seated on red cushioned chairs and served with a glass of wine.
While we gathered - there were about 30 of us, the chef appeared to meet and greet us - it was Peta Mathias - and we looked at seafood recipe books on display.

Once everyone had checked in we were guided to the demonstration room, where Peta cooked the meal for us that we were going to cook for ourselves later - you can imagine the concentration.
In between cooking the 3 course meal - this was smoked oysters in batter, pesto and gruyere paste on bagels and whole salmon roasted in rock salt with herb stuffing - she regaled us with stories about her cooking travels and her views on men!
She has written the famous book 'Can We Help it if We're Fabulous?' and her recent satire 'Just in Time To Be Too Late - why Men are Like Buses' is now on my must-read list!

Once the hour demonstration was finished and we'd had question time we were ushered into the cooking room, where we were in teams with one hour to cook the same meal!
You've never seen a Team work so well! Boning the salmon, making the stuffing and creating the rock salt mound was hectic.. at the same time we were making batter and chopping vegetables, peeling asparagus and blending the soup.

I grabbed the pestle and mortar and pounded the paste, covered the salmon with salt, made stuffing and peeled and chopped until my head was in a whirl and I was ready for my next glass of wine! All the time there were sous chefs at your disposal, clearing away bowls and supplying items - cooking with no mess and an instant assisstant (my idea of heaven)

We paused to eat our starters at long tables set up for Christmas, with shining glasses and a goodie bag on each chair, of foodie items and recipes.
There were two selected wines, one for the oysters and a second white chardonnay chosen to go with the salmon. We all got quite tiddly.

Then it was back to check on the salmon, serve it out and eat with the chef who came and gave her considered opinion of our efforts. We were all quite proud of our end product (there were 5 of us - 2 sets of mums and daughters & me) except that we think the cornflour was in the soup by mistake..oh well!
What a lovely morning! She runs a cooking trip to Marrakesh next year - I'm sorely tempted!

THE VIEW !

2009-11-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

This was the view from the balcony this morning!

WOODLANDS Historic Homestead

2009-11-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

We were on our way up to explore Hamilton, when we came across a little brown sign saying 'Historic Homestead'. Because it was coffee time, we stopped, drove up the long gravel path, and discovered a hidden treasure! Almost "national trusty!"

It seems that, in 1864 the Crown confiscated a tract of land, and 98,000 acres of that land were bought by the Piako Swamp Company, who drained it..
By 1902 there were herds of cows and sheep and most of the land had been converted to pasture...
The land was subdivided (no-one would buy the lot for $1 an acre) and sold off...

The Homestead was built..

After WW1 it was sub-divided between the sons of the owning family..

During the Depression it became a Relief Camp for suffering families..
I like the fact that in 1941 300 Army horses were sent there to recuperate..In 1976 the property was bequeathed to the Presbyterian Church..
In 1988 15 acres were made into a 'historic site' and this is the Homestead that we visited..

The house itself is built out of kauri wood and no-one knows who the architect is..
It has a waterwheel and is a rare surviving homestead of that era - you have to remember that 125 years is HUGE here!

It's the closest to a National Trust property that we have discovered here - so we thoroughly enjoyed our visit!

The gardens had little Monet style bridges and hedged walkways, there was even a lake.

The rooms had Victorian era furniture in and the dining room was all set out for tea. There was a musty cellar and croquet lawn - must remember to bring the girls here for a picnic in the summer! Have to find a croquet set though, and dress up as Alice!

The chamber pot was a nice touch; we're talking history here!

They do weddings and parties here, it's a beautiful backdrop..scones and tea in the gardens afterwards! lots of climbing roses and manicured lawns.. then we drove on to Hamilton to explore.

ARMAGEDDON !

2009-11-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

Sophia and her friends went off for the day to the Armageddon Expo at the Events Centre in Auckland. I wasn't quite sure what it was (doesn't sound good, does it?!) only that it involved 'dressing up' as a character and that Sophia was going as Johnny Depp (there's a surprise!)

Some of the amazing events included the biggest pillow fight ever in Auckland; 'See if Your Stomach can Handle the Eating' competitions, film screenings, zorbing in a pool a roller derby, live music and a Masquerade Ball. Sophia's friend went as Will Turner (which you can tell from the facial expression!)

Of course, there was a 'Meet The Twilight Stars' table, which proved popular!
I need to find a Team Edward T shirt for Christmas!

ST HELIER to MISSION BAY

2009-11-06T21:35:00.000-08:00

This is probably one of my favourite walks which I've discovered this year. I drive to St Helier,which you can see is a little, palm tree lined, seaside town..

I park next to the tiny Library and walk to Mission Bay (a busy, cafe crowded, vibrant little town) which is a total contrast to St Helier..
Once there, I buy a coffee in one of the many cafes and then walk back to St Helier.

There is a boardwalk all the way along the coast and it goes much further than I've ever managed. My usual walk takes me past three coves and Kohimarama Beach (which means gathering-in-of-light) is the central one and a very quiet, sedate spot, which has the imposing yacht club.

Folk jog, cycle, walk their dogs (and cats) all the way along, and for the whole walk there is an open view of the ocean and all the activities that NZers get up to - the windsurfers, banana boats, skiers, jet boats, even The Spirit of NZ can be seen from the shore sometimes.

It's a beautiful walk and St Helier has been put on my list of quiet, scenic places I would like to live - but within a 15 minute walk of ice-cream parlours, cinema and shops, restaurants and cafes. So, civilization is just around the corner (literally)
It's interesting that St Heliers used to be a horse stud park and was called Glen Orchard - the idea was to provide a horse tram service, but that failed and it became a quiet residential area. No sign of any horses these days!
All along the path there is the ever-present view of Rangitoto, against green manicured lawns or soft white beaches.

Here are some of the photos along the way - an eclectic mixture of housing runs parallel to the coast road, some of them are like dolls' houses and others must cost millions. When I win the lottery I'll be spoiled for choice!

So...when you come to visit I'll take you on the walk!

BIRTHDAY AGAIN !

2009-11-02T23:38:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again! Another year older and wiser, isn't that what they say? Sadly, I was at work on my birthday this year - but my students knew (somehow) and the day was quite pleasant, with a few hugs thrown in!

The day began with a special breakfast (the girls were up at 6.30 to make it!) and present opening.. thank you everyone who remembered!

The weather was beautiful - it's the start of summer here - and the after school meeting was cancelled, so we hurried home for the birthday feast! Instead of going out for dinner the girls cooked.. creamy mushrooms in brandy, on toasted bagel with bacon and roasted vine-tomatoes.. chicken and chorizo spicy risotto .. one of my favourites.. and the piece de resistance.. homemade marbled chocolate cheesecake with coffee cream.. then a stagger to the sofa, to watch a DVD Ju sent!

Beautiful bouquets of flowers, sweet peas,roses and lilies, chocolate from England (Yay!) and so many other lovely things - I feel thoroughly spoiled! Another year to wait now..THANK YOU girls! XXXXXXXXXXX

HALLOWEEN !

2009-10-31T23:08:00.000-07:00

This Halloween Sophia was back late, from completing her Duke of Edinburgh tramp in the Hunua Ranges.
So, the event was hosted by a friend who hadn't gone tramping and we made the Spider cake!
Sophia went as a pumpkin (no photos allowed) and managed to score lots of goodies from her Trick'n Treat walk..

GREG'S BIRTHDAY !

2009-10-19T01:53:00.000-07:00

Well, for two weeks Greg is as old as me! What it is to be a toy boy! He asked to girls to make him a Black Forest Gateau and here is the result - it tasted divine!

Dinner was at a Thai restaurant and he got a Track Day, a cooler full of beer, a Birthday poem and a handmade photo album.. as well as lots of other little goodies!

So ... my birthday soon! I've asked for a chocolate cheesecake..we'll see!

MY TURN !

2009-10-16T03:18:00.000-07:00

Since the girls had such fun on their cupcake course I decided to go to a 'grown-up' session! It even comes with a certificate if you pass. First up was learning how to make sugar roses and other flowers - this was my completed effort, in a heart shape.. then we had a different challenge..

Then a fondant creation - since it's spring here the girls voted for a veggie garden and this is what I ended up with - it won Prize 1 !!! (The roses have changed into purple cabbages!)

All in all a fun session and all my friends will be getting rose cakes for their birthdays this year. Add this to our mega muffin and cupcake repertoire and we're set! Hmmmm what shall I do next?

Happy baking and decorating everyone...

FAIRY CAKES !

2009-10-14T03:05:00.000-07:00

The girls love baking and cooking, cupcakes are the latest craze over here, so we booked onto a 'decorating' course for a day in Parnell. It's based at 'Millie's Cookshop' and was quite a surprise..

The shop has a section to it which is a cooking school, complete with demonstration kitchen, tables and all the equipment an aspiring chef could ever dream of! There were 'cups' to make cupcakes in (when we all know the name originally came from the amounts in the cake 'a cup of flour, a cup of sugar' not what it was baked in!)

We had to take our own aprons, but everything else was provided and the fun began! It was very hands on, the girls were fully occupied and I was distracted by all the goodies in the shop section and spent a small fortune...

They made Cookie Monster cupcakes, flowers, clowns, meadows, bee hives and more, and of course, my girls were the best..

It was difficult to resist until we got home and had a cupcake fest - of course, the next day, when I arrived home they'd made a whole batch more - so we're cupcaked out!

here's an 1833 recipe for you to try..
"Cup cake. Cup cake is about as good as pound cake, and is cheaper. One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and four eggs, well beat together, and baked in pans or cups. Bake twenty minutes, and no more."---American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. Child

AUCKLAND CATHEDRAL !

2009-10-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

After years of walking or driving past the Cathedral in Parnell, we decided to venture in and have an 'explore Parnell Day'.

We began, where you always begin with children, in a playground!

Parnell is a wealthy residential suburb of Auckland, with some interesting historic buidings and a collection of churches.

It was in this cathedral that the funeral of Sir Edmund Hillary was held last year...

The Nave of the Cathedral was designed by N.Z. Architect Professor Richard Toy. It was begun in 1991 and was completed in 1995, and is stunningly beautiful.

The glass doors the length of two sides light this vast space, and accentuate the roof, which looks like it's hanging, unsupported.

The Cathedral is most famous for its modern stained glass windows, which you can see here!

There is a unique window featuring a Polynesian Christ with vividly coloured Pacific motifs.

The set of eighteen windows along the sides of the Nave, and tell the Christian story using a combination of traditional and Polynesian designs. It's an eclectic mix of beliefs and designs that takes some getting used to!

The overall design of the cathedral has been described as the world's only example of the "Pacific Gothic" style. It's always 'one of a kind and nowhere else in the world' over here!

And we ended our day with a three course lunch at an Italian restaurant, with a different view of Sky Tower. Parnell still has lots for us to explore on another day!

TIRAU !

2009-10-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Tirau is Maori for "place of many cabbage trees." In the past the Maori used to come here at night and catch the kereru (local pigeons) as they roosted for the night in the trees. there aren't any left, but the cabbage tree is still the symbol of the town as you enter it.

We pass through whenever we visit Rotorua and it makes a good stopping place, lots of little boutique shops and cafes and some of the most playful building designs!

This 'Woolshed' is a souvenir shop and the tourist office resmbles a giant dog - we could make the connection between the sheep and all the wool products for sale - but a dog and tourists - I'm not sure?

Perhaps it has something to do with the giant shepherd who is standing just out of the frame, at the side?

Tirau has a huge population of 800 - so when you drive through it, it doesn't take long!
It's a quirky little place, it seems every town has to have a speciality - whether it's their public toilets, apples, murals or pies - in this case it's the corrugated iron signage! The town has used discarded corrugated pieces to advertise their shops along the way and it has become almost an art form!

This is definitely the haven for all things corrugated! It used to be a flag station on the railway. Now, the street is lined with speciality shops - a clock shop, teddy bear shop, flower shop, honey shop, even a toy collection museum - the same type is never repeated.

If the cafe is called 'Poppy's' as in this case, then there will be a giant bunch of corrugated iron poppies on the roof..

I wonder if you can guess what this shop sells?

And where would we be without a corrugated iron pukekho?

ROTORUA !

2009-10-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

I've just spent a few days in Rotorua, and I can assure you there are few places on earth like it! It's right in the middle of North Island and is famous for its geothermal activity! In the photo that's a sulphur lake behind me, constantly hissing and steaming with heat and gas from the centre of the earth!

A friend and I rented a little place on Lake Rotorua for a few days - that's the second largest lake in New Zealand. Just to confirm that, the name 'rotorua' means "second largest lake" ..from 'roto' meaning lake and 'rua', two...so imaginative!

The lake itself is actually a crater from the Tarawera eruption, rivers and streams flow into it & so it is now a lake, covered with ducks and black swans and with occasional islands in the middle.

You can see Mokoia island in this photo here, which is the view from our Lodge. The island is actually a rhyolite dome - a big volcanic rock similar to granite, that erupted out and fell back into the crater to make the island (pretty big piece of rock to be flying around if you ask me!)

Basically you can smell Rotorua before you get there - it's a rotten egg smell from the sulphur fumes which are emitted from the lakes and the ground, it's a constant boiling, seething landmass, which brings alive the fact that the city sits over a caldera. Its nickname is 'Sulphur City'.

It's very popular with tourists because of its thermal pools, sulphur baths and mud bathing - sort of a new Zealand equivalent of a spa, but set out in the open above a possible volcanic eruption amongst scenery that resembles Mars or somewhere like that!

You begin with a walk around the 'park' with bubbling lakes, steaming fumaroles, boiling mud pools and hissing vents coming out of the ground and the most wonderful safety signs - like this one!

It also has the largest hot waterfall in the Southern hemisphere - imagine sitting under that! Everything has a strong sulphur smell and if you stop to think for a moment you realize the enormity of what must be happening under your very feet!

So, we had booked a mud pool and sulphur bath at a place called Hell's Gate (appropriately named when you see it!) The mud bath was interesting andvery hot! We got covered in the grey mud (the white mud is for face packs and the black mud is too hot to bathe in)

From the mud pool you move to the sulphur baths which have healing properties and go up in degrees of hotness - I didn't make the hottest one!

then I walked around Sulphur Bay where hundreds of birds were coming in for the night - the noise was deafening.

JESSICA'S JOURNEY !

2009-09-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

"There is great meaning in life for those who are willing to journey."
Jessica recently went on a ten day voyage aboard 'The Spirit of Adventure'. It turned out to be one of those "life-changing experiences" and so I'll hand over to her, to tell you all about it!

Jess here! Like mum said...I went away on the 'Spirit of New Zealand' for a 10 day voyage and it was AMAZING. The longest 10 days of my life and I had such a good time!
The picture above is some of my "watch group" (we were put into four) - Starboard A. On board were about 36 teenagers between 15-18 years old; both boys and girls, and by the end of the trip everyone knew each other and I made some really good friends.

I met people from all over New Zealand, as well as some teenagers from Germany and Denmark which was really interesting.

This is where I lived for 10 days!
The beds weren't the comfiest I've ever slept on (a roll of canvas you tucked away during the day and pulled out at night) but they weren't half as bad as I thought they'd be.
During the voyage I: learnt about sailing (we did lots of rope pulling and moving of masts etc.), did heaps of scrubbing of the deck and hosing down sails, had to wake up at 6:30 am every morning to leap into the sea (wake up call!), went tramping in Great Barrier, had a barbeque on an island...wow we just did heaps!

The dynamics of a ship are more complicated than I thought, and especially on the first few days it was a pretty big challenge figuring everything out- what rope pulled what, and if you untied this, would that fall down?
We had some pretty diverse weather as well (if you noticed the first picture) with REALLY rolling seas and rain and freezing wind on the first couple of days.
Some of the trainees (what we we were called) got quite seasick, but I was ok.
The sun came out though, and it was hot enough for all 36+ teenagers to fall asleep all over the deck one afternoon.
It probably looked pretty funny to the crew (there were 8 of them and they were FANTASTIC).

I also (cliched as it sounds) learnt a lot about myself and other people during my time away.
One other thing I did, which was really intense (for me), was to climb all the way up to the white part on the front mast of the ship...if you can see it then I touched that!
Anyway, enough about my adventure and back to mum...but I had the time of my life on board the Spirit of New Zealand and thank you so very much, mum and dad for making it possible (cheesy but true) =)

CUPCAKE DAY FOR THE SPCA !

2009-09-07T00:42:00.000-07:00

The SPCA (the equivalent of our RSPCA) have an annual event "Cupcake Day for the SPCA" and Sophia & her friends joined in this year.
They got out their aprons and cookbooks, went shopping for ingredients and spent a weekend baking hundreds of cupcakes!

Then they got permission to sell them at school for $2 and it was a huge hit! They raised nearly a $1000 overall !

There were moccachino, chocolate, caramel, strawberry and vanilla cupcakes AND 'Mega Muffins' (what we would call a Giant Cupcake) one was sold and one raffled.

Being New Zealand they also had competitions - Most Extreme Cupcake Eating and Most Artistic - to put on display in a Museum in Wellington! People were bungy jumping with cupcakes and diving (a bit soggy) with them..and some people even dressed up, as cupcakes, to eat cupcakes on the beach!

The City Cake Company and Celebration Cakes were two companies who gave us cupcakes - professionally done - for our Cupcake Day. Thanks to them!!

Once they had the cheque for all the money they raised they went to the SPCA Village for a tour and to receive their badges (in the shape of paw prints!) There were rabbits, pigs, chickens, horses, sheep of course,pups & dogs & cats...the girls wanted to bring all of them home!

MANGERE MOUNTAIN !

2009-09-06T23:42:00.001-07:00

On Sunday & we tramped up volcanoes and went to Sky City to celebrate Fathers' Day for Greg.

He chose one of the many volcanic cones to work up an appetite for lunch.

This is an aerial view of the volcano we climbed! There are over 50 in Auckland, this one is a scoria volcano called Mt Mangere.

Here it is from the side - good views from the top !

Half-way up..remember that this is not an extinct volcanic field..there is a region of hot rock known as a hot spot or plume located about 100km beneath the city. It simply gathers molten rock until there is enough to erupt..

Here are the girls at the top celebrating after the ridge walk..the peak is 107 metres above sea level, making it one of the largest volcanic cones here.

The dots at the bottom are a herd of black cows who are kept here by the local iwi. The lava dome you can see in the centre is a unique feature, compared to all the other volcanoes in Auckland.

The last eruption was 600 years ago..we saw lots of lava bombs in the crater ( they look very similar to cow pats - you have to be careful!)

Also, signs of Maori occupation with pits dug into the sides of the crater. It used to be the site of a major pa.

Quite a view from the edges of the crater rim..
Then we went and had a six course lunch up Sky Tower!!

FIRST DAY OF SPRING !

2009-09-01T00:19:00.000-07:00

Since our seasons in reverse, today was the first day of Spring. It was beautiful!
It has been pretty wet and wild recently, so it was a lovely surprise!

The magnolias (and they are giant!) are in full bloom and the daffodils have sprung up out of nowhere. There are countless lambs jumping in the fields.

The Farmer's Markets and jazz festivals are set to start and we can leave the log pile for another year!

TUI !

2009-08-20T01:47:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of Spring here, the pear tree in our garden is in blossom and the ferns are uncurling, even the honeysuckle and jasmine have started scenting the evenings on the balcony.
One of the ways we know winter is over is with the arrival of the tuis who squabble over the kowhai tree and when the flax flowers in the summer, they arrive at the patio and drink the nectar noisily.
So, what's a tui?

It's a New Zealand bird, endemic, so, only found here..they are related to the Honeyeaters and sing the most beautiful song. I guess the best way to describe them is that they are the nightingales of New Zealand! Sometimes, when there is a full moon, they will even sing at night.
They are a metallic green/black colour with a purple sheen to them and a distinctive white tuft at their throat.

Captain Cook wrote about them while at Dusky Sound in 1773 on his second voyage.
“Under its throat hang two little tufts of snow–white feathers, called poies, which being the Otaheitean word for ear–rings, occasioned our giving that name to the bird; which is not more remarkable for the beauty of its plumage than the sweetness of its note. The flesh is also most delicious and was the greatest luxury the wood afforded us”.

Stories have it that the Maori kept them in cages, that they taught them to speak, as they are highly intelligent and can imitate human speech, like parrots. They trained them to welcome people to the marae!
Nowadays we have a beer here called Tui, which uses the bird as its logo.

And of course TUI (Text User Interface) is another acronym, for all the computer geeks who thought that was what the blog was about!

CUPCAKE !

2009-08-18T00:25:00.000-07:00

It's my friend Miriam's Birthday - and you know what we're like as a family about this special Day! This year I decided to make her a cake.. but not an ordinary Cake, no... a Giant Cupcake...here it is!

It has a special tin and has to be assembled - so I'll take you through it.
This is what it looks like when it's baked & still warm from the oven..

This one was a banana cake with vanilla frosting..yum!
I made the vanilla icing, chose a suitable girly, pink colour and decorated to my heart's content.
This one was decorated with handmade sparkle flowers (all edible),sparkle sugar and confetti sprinkles!
Wish it was my birthday!

A few days later we had to have another go, it had been such fun - this time a Sophia version - with a glitter fountain and handmade sugar rosettes. A lot more colourful!

We couldn't wait for it to cool and it was still warm when we scoffed it!

Sophia is organizing a 'Cupcake Day for the SPCA ' (that's the equivalent of the RSPCA), so I'm sure there'll be another cupcake blog!

IT'S ONLY MONDAY !

2009-08-17T03:27:00.000-07:00

And it's only Monday !

HOW TO SPEAK NEW ZEALAND !

2009-08-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

What helped me to understand New Zealand "speak", was to read each item out loud; TRY IT!

Peck - to fill a suitcase
Min - male of the species
Pigs - for hanging out washing with
Pug - large animal with a curly tail
Nin tin dough - computer game
Munner stroney - soup
Mess Kara - eye makeup
McKennock - person who fixes cars
Mere - Mayor
Leather - foam produced from soap
Lift - departed
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
More Examples of: How to Speak New Zealand
Fear hear - blonde
Duffy cult - not easy
Day old chuck - very young poultry
Bug hut - popular recording
Bun button - been bitten by insect
Beard - a place to sleep
Ear New Zulland - an extinct airline
Beers - large savage animals found in U.S. forests
Amejen - visualise
One Doze - well known computer program
Brudge - structure spanning a stream
Tin - one more than nine
Iggs Ecktly - Precisely
Earplane - large flying machine
Beggage Chicken - place to leave your suitcase at the earport
Sivven Sucks Sivven - large Boeing aircraft
Sivven Four Sivven - larger Boeing aircraft
Cuds - children
Pits - domestic animals

There are so many more!! Come and visit soon!

LOLLIES !

2009-08-10T00:32:00.000-07:00

I did say that everything is bigger in New Zealand.
Here they call all sweets and lollipops "lollies", basically anything sweet and sugary! Crisps are "chips",and other words are pronounced differently! We've had to learn to speak 'Nu Zillund' over the last 3 years!

BETHELLS BEACH !

2009-08-08T23:21:00.000-07:00

Spent today on Bethells Beach - the East Coast Beaches are temporarily closed...
It's a dramatic place, out West, where the music video for Shania Twain's single "Forever and for Always" was filmed, the British/New Zealand movie 'The Man Who Lost His Head', and episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess. So, it has a claim to fame!

The waves were wild, with the wind blowing off-shore, and we walked to the sea cave at the end, which you can get to at low tide.

The Maori name for this place is, Te Henga, meaning sand, and it was settled over 1000 years ago. There are always lots of squid shells curling along the beach & the lone surfers and fishermen. People walk their dogs and other assorted 'pets' here!

It gets its modern name because John Bethell negotiated the sale of the land for the nation & people. He was one of seven children of a family of early settlers, who, aged nine was taken out of school and sent with his brother to clear family land in the Waitakere forest.
The sixth generation of Bethells still supervise the land, and have the only cottages there.

There are no shops, no petrol, no houses and this is what keeps it special. It simply has a beach tower, for the lifeguards, which operates in the summer.

When the sun comes out the sands sparkle, because they contain quantities of black titanomagnetite which comes from from the volcanic rocks around there.

THE FOOD SHOW 2009 !

2009-08-04T01:22:00.000-07:00

Another feast for the senses and the tastebuds! We go every year, and it's always different. This time the prices had rocketed, but we joined the queues nevertheless (when will we learn to buy our tickets in advance?)

Inside it literally took us 4 hours to browse around the four immense halls, filled with artisans, companies promoting products, individuals starting food gourmet products, cooking demonstrations and taster sessions.

The Lindt stall, pictured here, was raided by the girls throughout the day!

The visiting chef Donna Hay had a book signing, food magazines were launching their glossy products and every food of every type, consistency and edible need was there!

We tried four different types of coffee, all freshly made and delivered, curries, pastries, ice-cream (Kohu Valley has my vote) sorbets, vegetarian risottos, chocolates, biscuits, bagels, pizzas, flavoured crisps, brownies, dumplings, sausages, turkish breads, fruit teas, jams & chutneys, fat olives and blue cheeses, and aisle after aisle of liqueurs and wines, vodaks and gins - just to vary the pace.

There are 'rest' stations with chairs and of course, you can buy anything you like at a discount. The 'incredible edibles' meant we didn't even want dinner when we got home. We also got some cupcake & decorating ideas. Phew! I need a rest until next year!

MANA ISLAND & SPA RESORT !

2009-08-01T01:22:00.000-07:00

This was different! A pier that came all the way out to the ferry and reef on all sides. It seemed a busy place, heaving with tourists - somewhere to investigate next time!

BOUNTY ISLAND !

2009-07-30T00:51:00.000-07:00

Bounty Island was our 2 night stop-over on the way home - anything rather than stay in Nadi! It's a small resort near the mainland, which takes 25 minutes to walk round. It's a nature sanctuary, lots of coral on the beach, a pool next to the sea and a long Happy Hour.

It had an almost deserted feel to it - and we were thanked for coming despite Fiji's crisis and governement (the first time it had been mentioned during our holiday)
The food was buffet style, the bure was adequate and right on the beach.

We met new people at dinner and lots of folk from the UK, travelling the world.

We encountered 'sea-lice' which bite you and cause a rash when you go swimming - I decided I'd done enough snorkelling. And at night black tip sharks came into the shallows, literally a foot away, herding shoals of fish for supper. I'd never realised that sharks hunted in packs, it was an amazing sight!

Our last few days were spent walking around the island, finishing off our novels, watching the spectacular sunsets and chatting to people from around the word. Not a bad end to the holiday!

LOVO !

2009-07-28T02:13:00.000-07:00

Our lovo experience was at Naqalia Lodge - and it took all day to prepare. The family came and fetched us to watch the preparations at each stage. First they picked six breadfruits from around the resort.

Their cooking area was in the center of the family's house, apparently so the smoke repels insects and strengthens the roof thatching. They didn't have any mosquito netting at all, and the fire was on day and night. The breadfruits were baked whole.

The lovo is an earth oven — a fire made in a pit in the ground (it was like a giant sandpit) lined with heat-resistant stones. It was similar to the hangi here in New Zealand that the Māori have.

The stones were collected and piled up together, then the logs were lit underneath and we had to come back several hours later.

Once the stones were hot, and we knew this because they were white,the wood was removed and the food, wrapped in plaited palm leaves and also covered in green banana leaves, was placed in the pit.

This was fine, until they began to cover the leaves with sand and a wheelbarrow turned up with soil in, which also went on top.

We stood and looked at our dinner.

It was all left to cook for hours until it was dark, before being exhumed and the sand dug away and the parcels of food removed and eaten.
There were some burned fingers and our torch came in handy - a lot more of the soil was removed than would have been.. I think!

Some of the dishes cooked this way included palusami, parcels of taro leaves saturated with coconut milk, onions, and fish, chicken, & tubers of cassava.

This is taro in coconut cream!

Of course, the lovo began as a ceremonial cannibalistic ritual to make the missionaries tender enough to eat (including their leather shoes!)

NAQALIA LODGE !

2009-07-27T00:50:00.000-07:00

We booked our Fijian island hopping holiday months ago - but, be warned, that doesn't mean you will get what you booked! When we arrived at the airport we were greeted by a perspiring travel agent who told us that we could not go to WayLeiLei, which we had booked, and we would have to go to Naqalia Lodge istead (there were no options)

Greg in the coral bed at low tide, finding octopus for dinner...

It was described as a 'new resort' which is always a bit worrying.
The bure was huge and comfortable, if not quite built yet! The walls only came up to roof height and then there was a gap at the top, open to the jungle. This meant that the first giant spider was spotted by Jess who immediately leapt onto her bed, when this was followed by the largest cricket we've ever seen, we knew we were going to have fun!

Mosquito netting was on the front windows, but none of the others and we had to send out to another island for mosquito nets.The showers were cold.
It was a family run resort and we had booked for 3 nights.. we walked to the nearby village through head height grasses and next cove along, and the resort we would have been at (we shouldn't have done that)

The family were fabulous and couldn't do enough for us - all we had to do was ask - I think they served us food they thought we liked (it was dreadful)

The highlight was when they did a lovo for us and baked the dinner under hot stones and sand (bit like a hangi)we had snapper and chicken, taro and cassava and the kava ceremony in full regalia.

We had a lovely time really and experienced the 'real' Fiji, it's just that I don't like the big spiders or the cold showers!

OCTOPUS RESORT !

2009-07-23T00:50:00.000-07:00

We've been here before - last time we stayed for two weeks and relaxed and got to know the crew really well. It was amazing how many of them remembered us after a year!
The three days went really fast, in our favourite place under the tree, meals that were delicious and Movie Night, by the pool.

It has new managers, who greeted us on the beach, and they seemed to be adjusting to Fijian life and the "don't worriee, be happiee" approach, which I'm sure can be frustrating when you run a resort!

Sophia played volleyball with the locals (if there is a National Fijian sport it would have to be volleyball), I had a Fijian massage (which was a bit of a surprise!) and Greg went wall-diving amongst the sea-urchins.

OTTO AND FANNY'S PLACE !

2009-07-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

Otto and Fanny are brother and sister - and what typical Fijian names they have (not)! Here is Fanny with the girls - she had some tall tales to tell about the tourists over the years .. but that didn't put Greg off going on the cliff walk!

We weren't quite expected, even though we had booked months ago, and weren't expecting what was there either! The bure was large and spacious and set in the middle of what used to be a coconut plantation, so lots of coconuts everywhere and grass leading down to the beach.

Fanny told us that we had arrived during an "eight day wind" cycle and it gusted all along the beach. However, a five minute stroll, headlong into the wind to the tip of the island, and you turned the corner into absolute sheltered silence, warm, sunny and sandy - bit of a secluded surprise!

Another thing we weren't expecting was the food - Fanny used to run the catering for a large resort in Fiji, and wow, was she a good cook - we had three course, home-cooked meals and thoroughly enjoyed them!

They chopped down coconuts for us and we had a drink, it was thirsty work lounging in the hammock!

We noticed that in the afternoon tourists from other resorts came over in boats for 'tea' and gobbled cakes and drank huge mugs of tea at our place. There was a little sign on the beach listing banana, chocolate and lemon cake for teatime treats. Word seemed to have spread.

They also took us, by boat, across the bay to the Blue Lagoon for the afternoon - the snorkelling was beautiful and the resort along from the lagoon looked like somewhere I could live, forever!

It was called Navutu Lodge and is on my wish-list for when I win the lotto (highly recommended for anyone visiting Fiji)

MANTA RAY RESORT !

2009-07-18T00:49:00.000-07:00

This resort was one we spotted from the ferry boat last time - we had taken a Day Trip to it, to see if we could find the Giant Manta Rays and swim with them!
This time we stayed for 3 days in the hopes of spotting them - but no luck.

We did think at one point that they were airlifting them in for us,and that this was a bit extreme - but this one had been injured. It gives you an idea of their size!

There was excellent diving and kayaking and snorkelling.
We had one bure on the beachfront, with its own hammock and sea views and one garden top bure for the girls, with vines around it and birds in the trees.

The down side was that it was an Eco-resort (which means that it's all environmentally friendly) so the showers were all cold and the electricity was limited - the generators went off at 10pm.

What it did mean, was that the stars were amazing - with no lights to obscure them we could see galaxies and star clusters so clearly it was unreal.
Also, the crabs came out at night and danced on the sand and dug tunnels, which we wouldn't have seen otherwise. Jessie's underwater camera took this picture - it's a whole other world under the water!

The restaurant was a steep climb up the hill but that meant we had an appetite and a view! There were palm trees and hibiscus everywhere, the girls collected hermit crabs and raced them and began to get tanned running, kayaking, snorkelling around everywhere.

We went kayak surfing with our guide (who lost his sunglasses in the waves) Jess was nearly lost at sea, while Sophia and I skirted around the wildest piece of water and made it to the beach on the other side of the island. Kayak surfing involves lots of high pitched yelling and hurtling kayaks - I'm surprised there aren't more accidents!

ISLAND HOPPING !

2009-07-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

We spent two weeks in the Yasawas - hot and heady days - blue skies and sunshine - escaping from the New Zealand winter!
I found my hammock and the bar at Happy Hour!
We visited Otto and Fanny's,Octopus Resort, Nagalia Lodge, Bounty Island, Manta Ray Resort, Nanuya Lodge and The Blue Lagoon, we sailed past Treasure Island and the island where Tom Hanks made 'Castaway'. Add Botaira to that and Beachcomber and we've 'done' nine Fiji resorts and are now experts!

I have my eye on Vomo for next time (but it's $2000 a night!)

SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK !

2009-07-16T02:44:00.000-07:00

EARTHQUAKE !

2009-07-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake has shaken New Zealand this morning, prompting a tsunami warning for parts of the Pacific Ocean ...we heard about it while sunbathing on a Fijian island! There are earthquakes all the time here, but not this scale.. so we're watching the news when we can.

The Hawkes Bay earthquake that caused so much damage in 1931 was 7.8, so it's amazing that no-one was hurt.There are between 10,000 and 15,000 earthquakes in and around New Zealand each year but most of them can't be felt - this one was, right across South Island!

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL !

2009-07-10T00:25:00.000-07:00

We've been to see the circus - The Cirque du Soleil - we went a few years ago, but not VIP tickets - so we were excited! The show here was called 'Dralion' and promised to be spectacular! It was just the girls and I and even then the price was shocking!

Cirque du Soleil was founded in 1984. It has over 3,500 employees from over 40 countries and produces 15 shows over every continent except Africa and Antarctica. On the programme we noticed the clown was from France, the ringmaster was Australian and the planted audience member was Brazilian - an eclectic mix!

It's strange to think it was originally a one year project, founded by 3 friends, who, when they ran out of funds walked 56 miles on stilts to raise enough funds to continue! I can't even get up on the stilts! Why would you?

Each show has a storyline and is an reinvented style of circus, with no ring and no animals. We've seen plenty with the trained elephants and even one in France where they rode an ostrich round the ring - I prefer the non-animal ones..

Our show, Dralion, had a setting which is Eastern in nature. Its theme was the clash between the Eastern and Western worlds - there were dragons involved, wall climbing,trapezing, incredible trampolining, juggling, shadow dancing, body bending, ballet on lightbulbs, somersaulting, aerial hoops, amazing aria singing, balancing acts and acrobatics,clowns who were actually funny and a hourglass connecting it all.

Since we were VIPs we met the performers and visited the Big Top in advance for champagne and canapes. Servers carried hors d'oeuvres in baskets: smoked scallops, spring rolls, seared beef noodles, seasoned chicken sticks, dumplings and countless others! And all the while wines and champagnes flowed. The girls got special boxes with toffee popcorn, jelly beans, fruits and chocolates in, to keep them going during the performance!

In the interval we had a desserts only episode, served by acrobats and surrounded by ice sculptures of a dragon and a lion - quite spectacular! There were strawberry brownie, red berry mousse, passion fruit jelly, creme de menthe pastries, and other yummies that we didn't have a name for, but we ate them anyway, while the ice sculptures melted slowly and steam swirled off them!

So, no sticky candy floss and queuing for popcorn... noone behind us being sick - children don't sit in the VIP area... no struggling to park the car, we get a valet...and being five rows from the front, no danger of being picked on, but the best views! Gorgeous food and pampering all the way! Wish we could always do things in this style..

It was a real girl's night out, and tomorrow we're off to Fiji - there's a hammock and cocktail out there with my name on..aaahhhh, the life of the New Zealand immigrant, it's a tough one!

WEEKEND AWAY !

2009-07-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

Off to my favourite place, Piha, West of Auckland, in the Waitakeres. Only this time we rented a little bach and stayed for a long weekend.

We went on the cliff walk.

And along the beach as the sun set.

The sun shone but it was cool when the wind blew.

Around the cliffs is The Gap, where the sea rushes in through a channel through the rock, and the waves are awesome.

What I love about it are the cliffs, surfers, and crashing waves. You can keep the miles and miles of sandy sameness that they have in Australia..

Lion rock looks different from this angle

Our bach had an amazing view and we snuggled up inside when it got cold. Must buy my lottery ticket this week!

The Gap

Lion Rock

NEW ZEALAND FLAG !

2009-07-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

The New Zealand Flag is symbolic of the people of New Zealand, and a hot debate at the moment is that it should be re-designed.

Its blue background represents blue sea and sky.
The stars are the Southern Cross & show our location in the South Pacific Ocean.
The Union Flag is all about the history and the fact that New Zealand was once a British colony.

The first design for the flag was rejected by James Busby in 1833 because it contained no red, 'a colour to which the New Zealanders are particularly partial, and which they are accustomed to consider as indicative of rank'

Rejected design

In 1834 the Maori chiefs gathered at Waitangi to choose the flag from 4 possible the current flag got 12/25 votes and became the NZ flag.

When the Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840, the Union Jack replaced the Flag of New Zealand as the official flag of New Zealand. As the story goes, the Maor warrior Hone Heke, then cut down the flagstaff with the new flag on it 4 times!

During the NZ wars Maori tribes designed and carried their own flags into battle, to signify their mana. One memorable one was 52 ft by 4ft (or just under 16m by 1.2m),captured by Te Kooti in 1868.
It was decorated with a crescent moon, a cross, a six-pointed star, a mountain representing New Zealand and a bleeding heart, thought to symbolise the sufferings of the Maori people. Apparently it ended up being used as a duster in the NZ Museum !?

The New Zealand Flag has been official since 1902 and is flown from Harbour bridge every day and everywhere else on special days, such as Anzac Day.The Union Jack is used when we have a visit from Royalty!

In 2005 there was a competition to redesign the flag, incorporating the silver fern emblem. James Dignan proposed this design.

Another design being considered is Kyle Lockwood's idea here..

Here's my favourite suggestion for the new flag from the 2007 suggestions..by Alexander Jago

In reality it's probably the All Black's flag which is most widely recognized - but I don't see any red there? Is that where the expression "seeing red" comes from - the Maori?

And here we have the 'unofficial' Maori flag!

LIGHTNING STORM !

2009-06-30T02:09:00.000-07:00

What a view of our electrical storm!
There were more than 1000 bolts of lightning in the space of an hour and it seemed as if it was right above us!
Sophia slept right through it - none of the rest of us did...
I didn't realise that lightning kills more people than hurricanes or tornadoes.

At any moment, right now, there are 2,000 lightning storms around the world.
There are some 16 million lightning storms in the world every year occur on average 44 ± 5 times a second, for a total of nearly 1.4 billion flashes per year!!

The flash lightning storm that has caused me to realise all these things, has brought down trees, powerlines and lifted roofs across the Auckland. But it was the electrical display that was so amazing and terrifying.

Much of the damage caused here missed us and was a result of a thunderburst which produced all the forked lightning.

You do know, don't you, that your chances today of being struck by lightning is approx 1 in 600,000 (better odds than winning the lottery).

And then there's..the place where lightning occurs most often- the small village of Kifuka in the Congo,(I'm so not going there!)On average it receives 158 lightning strikes per square kilometre a year.

Singapore has one of the highest rates of lightning activity in the world.. and I have been there!

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A 61-year-old man and his horse were killed instantly yesterday when they were struck by the lightning during their annual hare hunt, near Dargaville.
Some schools were evacuated, boats were pulled from the their moorings, trees fell on homes and cars and surface flooding blocked Highways in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. I told you - it was "awesome".

This week's downpour of rain, following the lightning bolts,is expected to be about half the size of Cyclone Bola which hit eastern parts of the North Island in March 1988 ! Told you we were having weird weather!

OMANA PARK !

2009-06-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

View of Rangitoto

Out into the sunshine for a day at Omanu Park. It has an intriguing name which is a shorthand version of O-Manawatere ("the dwelling place of Manawatere") a Ngai Tai pa site in the park. And the views are gorgeous!

Sophia and Trixie

One of those bright blue winter days - we did the perimeter walk and met Pixie,Dixie and Trixie ( the pet goats) and fed them bread.

View of Auckland & Sky Tower

Omana used to be a mission farm, in 1837, which explains the goats! It was one of the region's first farms. Around it, the forest was felled for timber, dug for kauri gum and even prospected for gold and silver.
Then in 1970 it became a regional park.

The walk took us through forest filled with native birds such as fantails (piwakawaka), grey warblers (riro riro), tui and native pigeon (kereru). Pukeko, spur winged plover and paradise shelducks (putangitangi) were roaming around the farmed area of the park. There was even a boardwalk through the mangroves.

The whole place is edged with white sand beaches, Kelly's Beach ( we wondered who she was) and seabirds flying over.We also spotted barbeques to come back for in the summer and hundreds of sheep. A gorgeous walk in the sunshine..

Then down to the beach at Maraetai for one of those awesome ice-creams - and it's winter!!

TUATARA !

2009-06-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

Okay - you didn't like the weta blog?
Don't go to Australia, that's all I can say!
They have the 10 most dangerous and toxic creatures in the world (and the swine flu!)

Anyway - our creatures are cute and interesting by comparison...
Take the tuatara for example!

It's an endemic (only found in New Zealand) lizard..and it's been around for over 200 million years..basically "living fossils". Cool!
The name "tuatara" derives from the Māori language, and means "peaks on the back". They have a cute row of spines along their back.

They have a third eye on the top of their head, which grows over as they mature. The only animal in the world to have three eyes!
They have no external ears, but they can hear..how do they do that? And they are nocturnal.

Here's one for the boys.. male tuatara don't have a penis...hmmmm

They can hold their breath for up to an hour.
There are only two types of tuatara left in the world, because they are endangered: The Brother's Island tuatara has olive brown skin with yellowish patches, while the colour of the other species, and the Cook Strait tuatara which ranges from olive green through grey to dark pink with white spots.

The tuatara only lays eggs once every 4 years, which is why there are so few left. But they do live to about 100.
Isn't that nicer than those Ozzie menaces?

WETA !

2009-06-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Here in New Zealand, although there are no poisonous insects, snakes or other venemous creatures, we do have some rare and special insects. One of these is the weta - kind of like a giant cricket!
The weta is an amazing insect, and is found only on Little Barrier Island in its largest forms.

The giant weta is able to grow lengths of up to 90mm and weighs up to 70grams. This means weta are the heaviest recorded insects in the world! On the Mainland wetas have been wiped out by small rodents. They have been around pre-dinosaurs and haven't changed much (see Walking With Dinosaurs). They are nocturnal and hunted by our morepork owl.

Weta is strictly a New Zealand name that derives from the Maori name of wetapunga that was given to the giant weta.
Wetapunga translates roughly to "God of ugly things".
Besides the giant weta there are cave wetas - which have no ears and make no sound..we've seen lots of them in abandoned goldmines, I'm always worried they'll drop on my head!

Then there's the tree wetas - our valley is filled with them and in summer they make a lot of noise! Next are tusked weta, which live in tree holes and there's a ground weta.The mountain stone weta can survive being frozen for months and has learned to 'play dead' to defend itself..
They range in size, but with their big bodies, spiny legs, and curved tusks, and are definitely one of New Zealand's most recognisable creepy-crawlies.

YOU CAN GO TO THE BALL !

2009-06-13T02:13:00.000-07:00

The date of the Ball has finally arrived - the dress is here, the jewels, the shoes are teeteringly glittery. Jess spent the day at the hairdressers and the nail salon, trying on the dress and getting all fluttery about the Big Event.

We were all invited to the Pre-Ball (there's an After Ball as well!) and met the parents and her date, and his parents and spent two hours chatting, nibbling and admiring girls who I hardly recognised - they looked so grown up!

It'll be strange to see them back in school uniform on Monday!
The Ball itself was at Sky City, in Auckland and it had an Oriental theme - acrobats, jugglers, waiters & waitresses dressed accordingly, even the cuisine was themed. Jess got a red rose from her fella, who was "the perfect date" and seemed lovely.

And.. yeah... as they say here - that's all until next year! Just imagine, I have four years of this to come!!

SANDCASTLES !

2009-05-24T01:33:00.000-07:00

Sunny this weekend, so out to the beach and sandcastling... this was one made earlier, sadly not by us ..just AmaZing!

This was our favourite!!

BUzzY BEE !

2009-05-23T02:11:00.000-07:00

We seem to come across 'kiwiana' all the time.. the buzzy bee is just one example, so it deserves a blog.. although we have seen some unusual versions around the country, that were quite disturbing..

"How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour
And gather honey all the day
from every opening flower!"
Isaac Watts, Divine Songs for Children (1720)

The Buzzy Bee is a really popular toy in New Zealand.
It resembles a bee with rotating wings that move and make a clicking noise while the toy is pulled along the ground and it was designed and first produced in 1948 by Hec and John Ramsey.
Hec was a travelling sales man who took the Buzzy Bee to his brother’s wood turning business in New Lynn. He developed a design made originally in a small workshop in St Benedicts Street in Newton, Auckland by toy and wood craftsman, Maurice Scheslinger.

The Buzzy Bee became popular during the post-war baby boom, with its bright colours and clicking call, a fond childhood memory to many New Zealanders.
It is one of the most well-recognised items of Kiwiana.

Since then the Buzzy Bee has 'popped up' all over New Zealand,in books, jigsaws and clothing at our 'kiwiana day' in Howick, I lost count of the number of toddlers trailing one behind them..the girls and I found this Queen Bee in the town centre!

Lucky for the Buzzy Bee, it got a "free promotion" when the Prince and Princess of Wales visited New Zealand in 1983 with Prince William, who played with one.

As an iconic New Zealand symbol, the Buzzy Bee caricature was used on the keel of NZL84, one of Emirates Team New Zealand's entrant yachts for the America's Cup held in Valencia, Spain, in 2007.
It has appeared as the subject of paintings, sculptures, television advertisements, postal stamps (twice), magazine covers, school murals and parades.

Buzzy Bee™ is now often presented by New Zealand dignitaries to VIP’s with children who are visiting New Zealand, besides Prince William it's been given to Princess Aiko from Japan and the Spanish Royal family.

SWINE FLU UPDATE !

2009-05-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

As I said before, it's all a bit unreal over here - even the news on television doesn't mention what has happened to the H1N1 virus - you have to go searching for information.
Jokes about the infection are the only comments I ever hear, and then it's dismissed as trivial and hysteria by the rest of the world.

Typical New Zealand.

However, what is happening in the world beyond our island?
101 cases in England and the government has signed a contract for 90 million more vaccines (do they know something we don't?)

Japan has 176 infected people.
Mexico has 3103 cases of infection, including 68 deaths.
The U.S. has 4714 confirmed cases, including four deaths.
The outbreak worldwide has extended to 8,829 infections in 40 nations.
Health officials from more than 190 countries are meeting for the World Health Assembly in Geneva this week.
There have been three flu pandemics in the last 100 years.. did you know that?

PLAYING WITH FOOD !

2009-05-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

We had fun playing with our food today!

Makes you look at sun-dried apricots in a different way!

Brie mountain, with a stripe of blue..

Broccoli is really having 'trees' for dinner

Skiing on sprinkles ( or as they call them here, 'hundreds and thousands?')

TOWN HALL LIGHTS !

2009-05-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

This is Auckland Town Hall which was the focus of our visit to The City last night! This is what it looks like in the daytime..
It is a historic building in the main street of Auckland, a five-storey building was specially designed to fit the wedge-shaped piece of land that had been bought for it.

The Town Hall looked different when we got there..

It turned into a kaleidoscope of colours last night! Stopping traffic and attracting hundreds of spectators, us included..
It was to celebrate the official launch of a 3G network, XT.

While we stood and watched it was transformed into: a giant house made of multi-coloured liquorice allsorts,jelly tot windows and candy cane pillars. It looked almost edible and the colours were vivid..

Transformed into a gingerbread house..

Sweetie heaven

Then, it changed into a huge sandcastle on a beach, and in the windows you could see animated people putting seashells on for decoration. The way the lights used the windows and the tower was very clever..

Next, it became a light house,the tower flashing like a beacon and at the base the waves crashing and seagulls flying by!

A striped lighthouse...

You can see the rocks and waves crashing...

A touch of culture next with the London Underground platform, complete with commuters and train windows full of people. Followed by a recognisable British icon..

A taste of London with Big Ben..

Big Ben all around

It became an Italian villa, but so that you could see the inside of the rooms and people dancing and furniture, like a dolls' house, opened up.

The inside of an Italian villa

Italian house from the side

The mathematical mountain was strange and slightly disorientating, with numbers floating up into the sky. A bit Matrix like. The greens and blues were effective..

It looked like an Angel Falls at one point, the waterfalls beginning at the top of the tower and them running to a gentle trickle once they reached the lower rooms.

Waterfall close up..

Really impressive, was when a rocket appeared on the tower and blasted off into space. Planets appeared and astronauts and then the world, seen from the ship and far, far below, we could see New Zealand!

Space, above and beyond..

We even had a version of the Pink and white Terraces, with colours dripping down the sides of the building..

Quite an impressive display of technology!
We voted for the sweetie one!!

WATERSPOUTS AND HAIL STONES !

2009-05-12T00:42:00.000-07:00

This is Mount Manganui, where we went at New Year! Covered in snow..
Well, the weather has turned unusual over here!
A storm has hit the Bay of Plenty with heavy rain, waterspouts and hail stones!
The wild weather has churned up massive offshore twisters and a Shopping Centre had to be evacuated!
There were five waterspouts, lasting about 10 minutes.

After the hailstorm the beach looked like it was coated in snow.The hail was the size of our 20c coins!

The storm was so bad that Papamoa Beach school was shut down, and the kids went snowboarding, on the beach!

One of the local farmers found four of his cows dead. He thinks they may have been struck by lighting.
The weather's gone wild!

PIG FLU !

2009-05-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Have to say, this is all a bit unreal and I'm getting slightly panicked by this new influenza A,called by the friendly name of H1N1.
It is a new flu virus of swine origin (so we call it pig-flu). It seems to have come from Mexico and people are dying!
It was first detected in April, 2009 and is infecting people and spreading from person-to-person.

An increasing number of cases are being reported internationally as well.
Well, when a group of students from Rangitoto College (down the road) got it - that was it - we are now ready to stay at home for weeks if necessary - having stocked 'the Doomsday cupboard'.

What puzzles me is the way people here just seem to ignore it all!