A small backlog to post

We have only had borrowed Internet access here in Ohope, and we can only get a signal in some of the places in the house so whilst I have been keeping the journal up I have not been converting the entries to blog posts, so here comes the past few days:

Saturday 25th April (Bad Weather & Danny's Birthday)

The forecast for today was heavy rain all day, as a result we planned to stay around Ohope, though as it turned out it was overcast all day and we had a few brief showers but the heavy rain did not materialise.

This morning we drove into Ohope and played a game of mini golf, as we were starting out one of the showers started but we persevered and it soon past us by. Lisa won, I came second and Baggage came last. After the golf we took a look up the Kiwi area walking track, obviously there were no Kiwi about as they are a nocturnal bird but it was a nice walk and let us see what it will be like if we return there after dark one evening. Then we drove up to the lookout on the point between Ohope and Whakatane, the views are spectacular, shame visibility is not that good today.

On the way back into Ohope we stopped for bread and flour, the latter is for Baggage to do a papermache jellyfish as part of one of her guides projects, though I had to get a pretty big bag so will use some of it for pancakes one morning. We then stopped off at a garage based book stall that was closing down, we got 10 books for $2, it will give Baggage and Lisa something to read in Fiji.

When we got back to the house we had a quick lunch and then Baggage and I tried to record a clip for the website about what Baggage feels about the trip so far, this did not work, Baggage lost the plot a bit so we decided to put that on hold for now, instead Baggage and Lisa got on with making the jellyfish. Whilst they were making it I took a quick walk to get a few photos of the very windswept beach, a very different scene than the sun drenched beach we were greeted by back on last Wednesday.

We all played a game of Monopoly, time limited to one hour, Baggage one as both Lisa and I could just not avoid landing on her property, then for dinner we had jacket potatoes, cheese and salad. After dinner we watched Bridge to Terabithia on Disney Channel, though Lisa got a bit bored with it as she does not do fantasy films, and I also lost the plot a bit, not the best film I have ever seen.

After Baggage has gone to bed Lisa and I watch Fly Boys, another mediocre effort, the highlight of it is a Skype session with Danny in the middle of it so that we can wish him a happy birthday, he is 21 today.

Before bed I have a sausage sandwich for supper and watch the qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, tomorrow the race will be a bit of a challenge it does not even start here until midnight, though I want to watch it live if I can stay awake.

Sunday 26th (Broken Tooth)

Well my tooth finally went today, it was not a crack in the filling that was causing the pain but a crack in the tooth itself, when I was eating a bowl of meusli for my breakfast it gave in and the back section of tooth broke off! A visit to the dentist tomorrow I guess.

We are not going far again today, Baggage is going to spend the morning doing schooling and then I am taking her to the movies this afternoon to see Race to Witch Mountain. Whilst she is doing the schooling I do some washing and get it out on the line and then go out for a drive. The rain that was forecast has still not really arrived, as yesterday there is a full blanket of cloud cover, very grey in places, but the only rain so far has been very brief showers.

Whilst out I head in the opposite direction from Whakatane and pull over a couple of times to take photos, then on the way back I stop at an Oyster farm that has a fish and chip take-away and buy deep fried oysters, muscles and squid, together with some chips for our dinner. Neither Lisa nor Baggage really go for the muscles or oysters, so I have to eat most of them, I much prefer the muscles to the oysters, but both are nice.

After lunch I spend a bit of time on the laptop then Baggage and I head into Whakatane to the movies. We get there a bit early so go into the Warehouse and I buy Baggage a couple of DVDs to watch for $5. The film is OK, but I would not bother watching it again, still the main reason for going was because Baggage wanted to see it, and she enjoyed it, it was made for kids after all.

We got back to the house at 6pm, Lisa had enjoyed her time off, she had managed to catch Katie on MSN and just chill doing her knitting.

For supper we have chicken and sweet-corn soup, Baggage watches one of her new movies and Lisa and I start thinking about how we want to spend our time when we arrive back in the USA in San Francisco, it is difficult to research what we want to do here though as our borrowed Internet connection is not reliable and when it is on it is pretty slow.

What I did manage to do over the net however was book tickets for Baggage to go and see Demi Lovato when we are back in Florida in August, can’t wait to see her face in the morning when I tell her.

It is the Bahrain Grand Prix tonight and the time here when the race starts is midnight, but as I am writing this it is now 11:54 and I am determined to watch it all, though the end may be through slightly bleary eyes, and if it is not a good race I may well drift off, but I have made it to the start and want to see it out. I still have a couple of bottles of Speights to see me through the race so here we go ........

Monday 27th (Pizza)

I managed to stay awake and watched the Grand Prix to the end, and it was another great win for Jensen Button. As a result though I was a little later getting up this morning.

When up one of the first jobs was to call the dentist and get myself an appointment, the earliest they could fit me in was Thursday so I made sure they gave me a big enough appointment to give me a filling, after all I know I will need one.

After that I showed Baggage the booking for Demi Lovato, she is very excited and it gives her something to look forward to as our trip is coming to an end.

For breakfast we cooked some pancakes, had to use a bit more of the flour after all, they were good pancakes, however we only had lemon and sugar to put on them, no alternatives for us to chose from.

Baggage spent quite a bit of time on Skype this morning to Katie, and Katie put a video up on You Tube for her which she really liked, she does miss her big sister.

After Baggage had finished on the computer we went into Whakatane for a walk along the river, Baggage had a play in a play area and we walked through the botanical gardens. We then popped into the supermarket to get some toppings for tonight’s pizza, we are going to give the pizza oven a go. Whilst we are in the supermarket Baggage goes into the Warehouse and I end up buying her a new top, a skirt and a couple of short vest tops, bras for young girls, she is starting to grow up, maybe even a bit too fast!

When we get back to the house I light the pizza oven, it takes about two hours for it to reach enough heat to cook the pizzas, we have cheated a bit as we have bought ready made pizza bases, however the plan is for each of us to top our own pizza. Baggage has cheese and pineapple, Lisa has cheese, pineapple and ham and I have camembert and prawn. The pizzas oven is easy enough to light and there is an ample supply of dry wood to ensure a raging fire is soon burning inside. It takes about 2 hours for it to burn down to very hot glowing embers at which time we can put the pizza in, the result is very good, could do with one of these back in the UK.

After dinner Baggage watched another of the 6:30pm Disney Channel movies and I spent the evening in, keeping Speights gold company.

Tuesday 28th (Bubbling Mud)

Today we are off to Thermal Wonderland, about 20 minutes past Rotorua. At first I had no desire to visit this place, the name conjured up an image of a tacky theme park making use of the thermal characteristics of the area to support a variety of boring rides, luckily the guide book painted a different picture and it is possibly just the name that is mis-chosen.

We got to the park area at just after 10:30, unfortunately we had not done our homework, we missed the eruption of the Lady Knox geyser by 15 minutes, it is encouraged to blow at 10:15 daily. It does however rumble on for about an hour and the rumblings were still pretty impressive and we did not had the crowd of people there by the time we arrived. The park area has a walking route through it that takes you past all the thermal attractions, the bubbling pools, craters, sulphur caves, thermal springs, champagne pool, mud terraces and sulphur mounds (plus probably a few more things I have forgotten). It is an easy walk and Baggage really loved it, she was fascinated by what she was seeing. Though they say the walk takes only 75 minutes if you walk the full track, we were in the park for more than 2 and a half hours, though we did keep on stopping to take pictures and we also filmed an instalment for the website.

After we came out of the park we ate our picnic in the car, it was drizzling a bit so we could not make use of the picnic benches that were all around the car park.

After lunch we stopped off at the mud pools on the way out of the park, the largest mud pools in the Southern Hemisphere, or so they say. It was strange to see the mud bubbling away, to look at it was like a thick soup bubbling on the hob.

When we left Thermal Wonderland we drove across the valley to Waikite Pools and Spa, here there are six thermally heated pools of varying sizes where you can bathe in the warm mineral waters. There is a large swimming pool, two relaxing pools, a hot soaking pool and a couple of cooler plunge pools. The hot pool was at 40 degrees, the rest about 37, the plunge pools at a chilling 32. We had a good swim, being in the water for nearly 2 hours in total after which we had an ice cream then walked up the valley to the source of the water. The thermal spring that feeds the pools was amazing, the water gushes up out of the ground and when it surfaces at the springs source it is at 98 degrees, the water is then cooled by a series of pipes and terraces, plus through being jetted into the air in a fountain before it can be used in the pool. In many ways the spring here was more impressive than what we had seen earlier in the day, the simple fact that the water coming out of the ground was at 98 degrees and the volume of water constantly bubbling up, with the occasional jet pushing up through the surface, and the thick steam rising form the surface of the pool.

On the way back to the house we stopped off in Whakatane and picked up an Indian takeaway, Baggage had popcorn chicken from KFC as she did not fancy an Indian (too spicy!). It was OK, but I doubt had we eaten from there earlier in the week we would have bothered to go back. Whilst in Whakatane I also picked up some new supplies on the beer front, a small case of Mac White and a couple of bottles of Radler, my supply of Speights is finally dwindling. I have not been as experimental with my beer in New Zealand, but then I found beer I really liked very early on, in Australia the beers varied more as we travelled and also I struggled to find one I really enjoyed.

We were very lucky with the weather today, it rained most of the way to Rotorua, but when we were walking around it was mostly dry, we just had one brief shower for about 10 minutes, it was dry throughout our time at the thermal pools and then it rained almost as soon as we got back in the car and stayed wet for most of the journey back to Whakatane

Wednesday 29th (a day at home)

We have tried to give Baggage some space this week and let her get on with whatever she wants to rather than us dragging her about, there will be enough of that next week in Auckland, as a result we decided not to stray too far from the house today. It turned out to be a good decision as it rained non-stop all morning.

After a lazy morning and a brunch of French Toast I decided to go into Whakatane, no particular reason but we needed a few provisions and the rain had stopped. On the way I took a couple of Barnaby photos, we have been carrying the school bear with us since the beginning of the trip and have not been very good at remembering to take his photo wherever we go, we have done OK sometimes, for example we remembered him at Ayres rock, however we have been forced to cheat a couple of times, for example Barnaby did go to the Sydney Opera house in our back pack, but we forgot to get him out, thank goodness for Photoshop!

When I got back it was quite a nice afternoon so we decided to go for a walk on the beach to catch the last of the light, we timed it perfectly and enjoyed the sunset over the far end of the beach turning the shallow waters golden as the sun finally dipped out of sight, hopefully I got a few good photos.

For dinner we fried up a stir fry and had some cous cous Lisa had bought when we first got here, only it was more like pasta balls than any cous cous we have ever had before, it was OK though.

We did not get Baggage into bed too late tonight, though when she did go she kicked off about being downstairs, the first time since our first night here, and ended up sleeping in our bed again and being moved just before we went to bed.

I finished the Speights tonight and also finished off the Raddler that I bought yesterday, Mac white for the next few evenings.

Friday 24th April - a day spent in (mostly)

The forecast for the next few days is not too good so we are planning our only major activity whilst we are staying here, a day out in Rotorua, for next Tuesday when the forecast says it should have brightened up a bit, but hey forecasts are usually wrong!

This morning we try to sort out a plan for the next couple of weeks that Baggage is also happy with, the end result is that she wants a bit of a rest from all the sightseeing and wants to spend a bit of time doing ‘fun’ stuff. That works well for this week whilst we are in Ohope, we have already decided to see if we can get her out on a surf board and to play a round of mini golf in the village, not so sure how well it will work next week whilst we are in Auckland, guess we will have to play that one by ear.

Lisa and Baggage get on with a bit of school work and I head out to the local shop to get a few things to go with tonight’s dinner, Lisa and Baggage are going to the cinema this afternoon and I will not have a car so get what I need now.

It rains briefly this morning and the wind is up a bit, but the persistent showers that had been forecast do not materialise, still staying in gives us the opportunity to get a few things sorted. One such thing is that I find an email from the US that says we have no contents insurance on our policy for our house over there, so nothing that was stolen is insured, I struggle to believe this is the case, but we took the policy out over 5 years ago and I cannot remember what we were thinking then, but luckily Danny is still at our house in the UK so I get him to find me a copy of the policy. The copy I have clearly states I have contents cover, maybe not enough, but clearly more than the insurance company are saying so Danny is going to scan the documents and email them to me and I will take it from there.

One of the things we decide with Baggage is to give her chores to do, trying to make life a bit more normal, therefore she prepares lunch today, we get a variety of goodies and some bread to make our own sandwiches. With the sandwich filling Baggage also prepares a bit of fruit, principally feijoas, a fruit that was recommended to us in Martinborough and which we picked up a bag of from a roadside fruit stall on the drive across from Napier. the feijoa is a small green fruit that you eat the centre out of which consists of a fleshy part and soft seeds, quite distinct in taste, very nice, and very strongly smelling when in a basket of fruit on the side. Baggage and I like them, Lisa is not so sure.

After lunch Lisa and Baggage head into Whakatane to the cinema to see 17 again, a film Baggage has wanted to see since it came out, I give it a miss as it is not really my scene and anyway my not being there will allow for a bit of Mother and Daughter time. Whilst they are out I take a short walk and a few photos then catch up on my journal and do a few other jobs I need to get out of the way. Jannette pops in with a heater as it is getting a bit colder now, not sure we will need it but it is good to have the option, and I ask her about our using the pizza oven, she is more than happy for us to give it a go and explains how it works and what to use to get the best results.

My tooth has been niggling all day today, at first only when I bit on something, but now just about all the time. Hopefully if all I have done is disturbed the filling it will settle down in a few days, I will just have to wait and see.

Lisa and Baggage get back just after 5pm and we are eating in again tonight so we get something on the go, Anyone feel like chicken tonight?

After dinner Lisa and Baggage are set to watch American Idol, will have to find myself some alternate therapy as that does not really appeal.

A beer and my laptop, still Speights, but that is fine, though I am getting close to the end of the case.

One mystery has been answered this evening, great what you can google, in Australia and New Zealand they refer to bedding (the cotton stuff) as Manchester, why, this has bugged us since we first saw it. Seems that in ‘olden days’ this stuff came in cases labelled Manchester, after the place in the UK where cotton items were made, seems the name just stuck. Good on ya mate!

1st full day in Ohope

Thursday 23rd April

This morning we did bit of sorting out and Baggage did a bit of school work.

Whilst Lisa and Baggage were stuck into Maths and Science I decided to go for a walk and walked along the beach towards the village and then back around the streets. the sun is out and it is very warm, so warm in fact that when I get back I suggest we all go down to the beach, Lisa and I can take our books and Baggage can build sandcastles.

We are on the beach for just over an hour, it is very pleasant, I read for a bit and then have a sandcastle building competition with Baggage, I build a rambling structure and she builds a very compact and highly decorated castle. Lisa is the judge and Baggage wins :-(

After lunch we decide to go for a drive around, ending up in Whakatane, at first we head out to the point of Port Ohope, here we take a walk along the beach, then we head up to the other end of Ohope beach, here Lisa finds a nice shell and gives it to Baggage who puts it in her pocket. We then drive into Whakatane and head for the tourist information office, after we are leaving here as we walk across the car park Baggage is fiddling with the shell when something inside it moves, it is a hermit crab and she freaks at the thought that it was just in her pocket! I am given the shell and liberate it back into the bay by the side of the boating ramp, hopefully in a position where it will not be too obvious to sea birds. Whilst in Whakatane we visit The Warehouse and Baggage and Lisa both get new and warmer nightwear, we then visit New World for a few basic provisions that were missed yesterday.

We get back to the house just before 4pm, we have decided to use the barbecue tonight and I want to get it going to be able to eat at just after 5pm as it does get dark quite early, we have chicken and sausages to put on it. I decide to use the charcoal barbecue rather than the gas one, though do have to use the gas burner lance to get it started, with this mini flame thrower lighting it is really easy. It is a great barbecue, the grill is high enough above the pit to cook the food without burning it and the end result is very tasty food, I cook over a mix of charcoal briquettes and wood. It is a bit cold outside whilst we are eating and we do not stay out there too long, after we have eaten we are quick to retreat into the house. If we do any more barbecues in New Zealand we should do them at lunch time.

We all watch Meet the Robinsons on Disney Channel, then when it is time for bed Baggage loses the plot again. We have been travelling for more than 3 months and it is starting to show on us all, we all want to continue and finish the trip as planned as we know we will regret it if we do not, but Baggage in particular is very homesick at the moment, missing school, friends and other family members. I end up putting her to bed as her losing the plot turns into an argument with Lisa, and it takes me quite a while to get her settled down. After she has gone to bed Lisa and I decide that we must be a lot more careful about how we spend the rest of our trip, in particular how we spend the next two weeks in New Zealand, we want Baggage to enjoy the trip and have as many great memories as we do and it is clear she needs to be considered carefully. Not all 11 year old girls have their whole world turned upside down because Mum and Dad fancy a bit of travelling.

After Baggage is finally settled I do not feel like doing much so settle down to watch whatever I can find on the box and eat a bit of Bombay Mix. As I bite into one of the pieces of mix I get a pain shoot through one of my teeth, it is one I have had a lot of reconstructive work done on and the bit I bite down on is very hard, I do hope I have not just damaged it to the extent that I will end up seeing a dentist, I guess only time will tell. I have decided however, no more Bombay Mix on this trip, if I need to snack on something it should be something just a little bit softer. Maybe this is yet another sign of old age creeping slowly in? The sign I am now noticing every day is my eyesight, more and more I struggle to read in poor light without the reading glasses I bought in Florida at the end of last year.

Only one bottle of Speights tonight and then a hot chocolate (well a Milo) before I go to bed - old man!

Arrival in Ohope

We set off just after 9am this morning, though before we left Lisa and Baggage went back to the aquarium to see if Baggage’s ring had been handed in, the one she was given on Monday she lost on Tuesday, no luck though, it was gone.

First stop was a craft shop Lisa had been recommended to visit as she is looking for a New Zealand scene cross stitch, no joy here though it was not that impressive so we hit the road.

We let the sat nav dictate the route we take, there are two roads from Napier to Ohope, either up the coast via Gisborne, or inland via Taupo. The sat nav took us via Taupo which was where we ended up stopping for lunch. We stopped on the lake shore and right by where we parked was our first encounter with a hot spring, the water was coming out of the ground as warm as you would want to touch and as a result the water in the lake near the shore was very pleasant.

On the drive out of lake Taupo we saw plenty of other hot spring and geyser sites, though we did not stop, the plan is to head back out to Rotorua to get a closer encounter on one of the days from here.

We arrived at the house at just after 3pm, it is fantastic, again set right across the road from the beach and very well appointed. We will be here for 9 nights and it looks like they will be very comfortable nights. This is a three bedroom upside down house to get the full benefit from the view. Downstairs you have two bedrooms and a bathroom, upstairs you have the master bedroom and the living space. Outside is a barbecue and a pizza oven in a very nice sheltered patio area, as a minimum a barbecue is on the cards whilst we are here if the weather holds.

Once again we arrive in a place on a lovely warm afternoon, the temperature outside is 19 decrees centigrade. It does make a difference, but the location and house are so nice that it would have looked good whatever the weather.

I take a quick wander across the road to check out the beach, it is a lovely sandy beach and today the sea is mostly calm with some well formed breakers rolling onto the beach, there are a few surfers in the bay enjoying the waves.

We unpack, then Lisa goes out to get the basics and meals for the next few days, she is fed up of the ‘junk’ I buy so has gone to get some of her own.

Whilst she is out the lady who owns the house turns up, Jannette, she currently owns a farm in the area, but is in the process of selling and at the end of the year the plan is that this house will be her retirement home, and a very nice place to retire too. I settle up with her for our nine night stay and am given an overview of how the things in the house work.

This house does not come with Internet access, however when I turn my laptop on it finds a network, by the strength of the signal I would say from the house behind, that I can connect to. That will make staying in contact a bit easier as we will not have to find a free public network. Fine for email if someone is generous enough to share their Internet.

I finish unpacking and just as I am Lisa returns, I help unload the car then give it a quick was as we drove through lime deposits on the road earlier and they made a right mess of the side of the car.

For dinner tonight we have prawn kebabs and savoury rice, though the rice is a bit bland and lacking in flavour, Baggage and I eat ours, most of Lisa’s goes in the bin.

We have satellite TV here so as I am writing this Baggage is settled down on the sofa watching Enchanted on Disney channel, though as I said that she picked up her laptop, it was obviously not entertaining her enough!

We have a great house, beach front location and some Speights on the side, seems ideal!

Napier

Today is our one day in Napier.

Breakfast in our hotel room then we walked into the city for a look around the Art Deco architecture that Napier is famous for. The majority of the city centre was laid out in the 20s and 30s and the buildings were built in the style of the time. As the centre almost exclusively dates from this period this is one of the best example cities of the architectural style, and definitely the best example in New Zealand. The buildings are impressive and in general well maintained, a great opportunity for many photos from which I will try to get some on Baggage tonight as we will have no permanent Internet now until we get to Auckland at the end of next week.

Whilst out we pay a visit to Model Railway World, the layouts are impressive and maybe the best in New Zealand, though I have definitely seen far more impressive collections in the UK. It is a fun way to spend half an hour however, though you would not need much longer than that, but then the entry price reflects that.

We grab lunch in a small café in the city centre, both Lisa and I have pies, mine is a steak and cheese, I am getting quite a taste for these. Lunch is good, and at $20 for the three of us great value also.

After lunch we head back to the hotel and check out our new room, whilst we are out they have moved us and we now have a two bedroom suite with the spa in the main room.

Next we head for the Napier Aquarium which is just across the road from our hotel, it is a small aquarium but has obviously earned the title of New Zealand National Aquarium due to the quality of the facility. We get there just in time for fish feeding in the Ocean tank, Baggage really enjoys watching it as a diver is in with the fish feeding them and they all crowd around, including some pretty large rays and a few sharks. There is a quiz for Baggage to complete as she goes around which always adds an extra dimension for her and helps it become an educational visit as well as a fun time out.

Back to the hotel after the aquarium and I can a video for Danny for his birthday, he is 21 on Saturday and we will not be with him to wish him happy birthday and as we will also not have Internet this at least enables him to hear from us on the day. After getting this on-line we then head out for dinner. Tonight we wander down the road to Cobb & Co. where we all enjoy a roast beef dinner, not quite as nice as the roast we had back in Lakes Entrance, but nice not to have something with chips or pasta.

After dinner I go for a walk back into Napier whilst Lisa and Baggage head back to the hotel. My aim is to see how the buildings in Napier are lit for the night and take some night shots. When you consider the opportunity you have to illuminate art deco with all the lines that can be lit with coloured fluorescent I am some what disappointed. Only one building really makes good use of light, however I manage to get some good shots despite this.

Back to the hotel, and when I get there Lisa and Baggage are in the spa, when they get out it is my turn and I do enjoy relaxing in the bubbles with a bottle of Speights in hand, that is the life.

Now though I am finishing this post of with a cup of hot chocolate, Milo in fact, a New Zealand drink that is more like Ovaltine than drinking chocolate.

good on ya mate!

Backlog to post

Friday 17th Eastbourne to Martinborough

Today we are moving on again, though it seems harder today than it has previously. We would have stayed in Eastbourne longer if the house was available, but it is not, new people move in tonight so we cannot extend and hence are moving on to Martinborough. Whilst we are packing up Baggage is back next door playing with Grace and a couple of boys who were stopping over last night, she will hate to leave.

After Lisa and I have the car packed we pop next door to say good-bye to Chris, not only has Baggage found a friend here, Lisa has too.

We get on the road at about half 10, first stop Upper Hut. Here we pull in to the town centre as Lisa needs the toilet and end up spending some money in a newsagents and I get a hair cut, number 3 all over, that should see me through to Florida.

Beyond Upper Hut we drive up over the Rimutaka range, the scenery from the top is breathtaking, time to stop for a few photos. After we drive back down the other side we stop just before Featherstone in a picnic area for lunch. We arrive in Martinborough just after 1pm and find the house we have rented, luckily it is ready for us as we were not expected here until after 3.

The house is an old house again, though this time it has not seen the extensive renovation that Guthrie Cottage in Eastbourne had seen, the fixtures and fittings are in period with the house, a little bit old. As we have found in all the places in New Zealand the floors are polished timber with scatter rugs and again we have a large wood burner in the main room that may come in handy. Though when we arrive here the wood burner is far from our minds, the sun is out and it is well in excess of 20 degrees, a nice welcome to a new place.

This house comes with bikes, when we look in the shed we find six and from them manage to find one suitable for each of us so we hop on them and cycle back into the centre of the village, Baggage has a card to post to Grace and we need a few basic provisions.

Whilst in the village I check out the library which offers free public wireless and find it will be as simple as turn up with your laptop and off you go, great for email. Time for an ice cream before we cycle back to the house.

After we have been back in for a while Baggage and I head back into the village to the Library and hit on the Internet for a bit after which I pop into the butcher and grab some meat for a barbecue, it is a nice day and the house has a barbecue that is cleaner than most we have found on the trip.

When we get back I give the barbecue a quick clean and then get on with our dinner, Chicken, Sausage and Venison burgers together with a jacket spud and a bit of salad. All the meat is great, it was areal village butcher who cuts his own cuts and makes all his own sausages, I chose pork and sage and they are really good.

After dinner I catch up with my journal and now it is time for a beer!

We still have a decision to make as to how long we stay here, we have three days booked and nothing booked then until we get to Ohope in a weeks time, we could stay here a bit longer or leave here after the three nights and then stay somewhere near Napier which is about half way to Ohope.

Earlier this evening I managed to get an Internet connection, I guess via a neighbours network, don’t you love people who do not secure their networks.

Saturday 18th Win. Olives then more wine ...

No rush to get up this morning, though when I do I pop out to the library and park outside to do an email exchange.

In the house Baggage can almost constantly get internet from a borrowed unsecured connection, yet I can rarely see it.

After I get back we go out for a walk, we have some post to put in the box and fancy a walk around Martinborough. It is an interesting place, almost totally designed as a town by one person and having been a key component in the NewZealand wine trail since the 80s. Not only were the streets laid out by one person, they were all named by him after places in the world he had visited, we are staying on Venice Street.

After lunch we get the bikes out, this afternoon we are hitting the wineries. First stop is the farthest away winery, Te Kairanga, it is only about a 20 minute cycle, would have been less if we had not been travelling at Baggage speed. A good array of wines to taste, a $5 tasting fee, but you only have to pay it if you buy nothing, so after the tasting we buy the bottle we prefer, a Cabernet Sauvignon, to go with our barbecue later on. Baggage likes the winery, whilst we are tasting she is able to visit the vines and help herself to some of the grapes that had missed the harvest. Next stop is Olivo, an olive grove and oil production farm. We get to sample the various presses of the oil, including some very nicely infused flavoured oils. We all like the fennel oil best (I think!). One more winery on the way back to the house, Muir Lee, a small family run affair, only three wines on offer to taste, the last being a fortified wine, all very nice, probably nicer than those we tasted at Te Kairanga, though all were very nice. The volume poured for tasting at Muir Lee was very generous, particularly of the fortified wine at 17% proof. We would probably have gone on to another winery had Baggage not been with us, but she had got to the point she wanted to go back, and we were both feeling the effect of afternoon drinking!

Martinborough is very compact, you can walk from the village square to more than 20 wineries, most within 10 minutes, most offer tasting, thus you can get the worse for wear very quickly.

Back at the house we played Boulles on the lawn and then I got the barbecue going, tonight we have lamb chops to throw on which we serve with new potatoes and minted peas. I also sort what we are doing for the rest of this week, though we like Martinborough we chose to move on Monday and will spend a couple of nights in Hastings before we head on up to Ohope on Wednesday having extended our time here by a couple of nights.

After dinner Lisa and Baggage settle down to watch a young chick flick Disney film, I take my cue and watch a Nicholas Cage thriller on my iPod.

A couple of bottles of Speights later, whilst Lisa finishes the Cabernet Sauvignon and we get a reasonable night, must have been all the wine and fresh air.

At just after 1am we are woken by what sounds like an air raid siren, it cranks twice, reckon it was a call for the fire crew. After it has woken Baggage though she cannot get back to sleep, it is two hours later when I finally get back into my bed and fall back to sleep.

Sunday 19th Cape Palliser

Today we are off to Cape Pallisa, Lisa was told it was well worth a visit by Bella’s mum in Eastbourne so we thought we would take a look.

The drive there is just under the hour, the first stop as we reach the cape is at Ngawi where we look at the fishing fleet and ageing tractors that are used to drag them to and from the water. The tractors are great, all shapes and sizes and the rigs they have for the boats, on one of the bigger ones it is just like a mobile jetty that the tractor can manoeuvre on the beech, it even has a walkway for the crew to get up onto the boat as part of the mobile jetty. Most boats seem to have a dedicated tractor, there are then some newer tractors which seem to operate a service for any casual launches to come along.

From here we head on for the point of the cape towards the lighthouse, after Ngawi the road becomes a gravel track, the car will definitely need a rinse when we get back. In some places the track is not too wide and you can see recent evidence of cliff slides.

On the way to the light we pull over at the side of the road when we come across a seal colony, it is impressive, there must have been more than two dozen seals on the rocks by the side of the road, some of them even on the grass bank. We spend quite a while there photographing them, they are great to observe, so nimble when they are in the water yet they seem so clumsy as they come out and make their way across the rocks. Baggage and I also use this location to record the next Being Baggage instalment which I hope to get online when we have Internet again tomorrow night.

The final stop is at the light house, here we have our picnic before climbing the 250 steps up the side of the cliff to the light, the steps are not too solid in places, probably very safe but quite steep and one of the few climbs where the coming down was much worse than the going up. The climb is well worth it, the views from the top are expansive, on a clear day you can see all the way to South Island, today we can only just make out the shapes of the distant mountains through the haze.

On the way back we make a few stops for photographs, including at the tractors again as I want to capture a bit of relevant video for Baggage and also want to take a shot of Barnaby sitting astride a tractor as evidence of his visit to Ngawi.

We get back to the house just before 4pm, a cup of coffee then I swill down the car, it was pretty caked with the dust form the gravel. Tonight’s dinner is again in the house, it is the Chinese Grand Prix this evening, an excuse for Speight’s and a sit in front of the box.

The Grand Prix is OK, wet and there is a lot of action, a good win for Vettel. I enjoy the Speight’s

Time now to finish my Speight’s and process all the photos and video taken today before I go to bed.

Monday 20th - Not sleeping here!

Today we leave Martinborough and our destination is Haurmona where we have booked a house for a couple of nights.

The first stop is Paua World in Casterton, here you can see Paua shells being processed and polished for sale plus made into Paua jewellery. We have a look around a buy a few gifts, Baggage is given a ring and pen by the lady on the till as she likes her.

After Paua world we push on past Mt. Bruce, having our lunch as we are driving. It has been raining since we got up today, should not complain, if it is going to rain a day when we are travelling is as good as any.

We make a brief stop at the TUI brewery, Baggage and Lisa stay in the car whilst I get out to take a few pictures and pay a visit to the shop.

We arrive in Haurmona around 2pm, we find the house easily enough, but after I have had a very quick look at it I call Lisa in and we agree that we do not want to stay there that night, or any other. It is just not up to the standard of any house we have rented to date, coupled with the fact that the owners live upstairs and there are no doors between us an them so we would have no privacy. After less than a couple of minutes in the house we exited and headed for Napier where we are now staying in a very nice hotel. Luckily as it was a late booking we had paid no deposit, so nothing was lost, though even if we had we would have still walked out and lost whatever we had paid to secure the booking. I will have to check out our accommodation in Hawaii as here we are also sharing the house with the owners, though I am sure in this case we do have a private apartment in the house.

The hotel we are in, Pebbles Beach, is on Napier’s Marine Parade, just across from the beach, the room we have tonight has a king and single bed in one room, tomorrow we are being moved to a two king bedroom suite. Both rooms have an in room spa pool. Whilst checking in I got talking to one of the owners, the hotel is owned by two brothers, they bought the land and had it built five years ago, they have done a really good job!

After we have been in the room for a while we head out for a bit of shopping and something to eat, we end up at a Hogs Breath Cafe, the meal served here is better than that we had in Hogs Breath in Australia, and more reasonably priced.

The hotel has free Broadband so we all catch up on email and I get some photos and a new Baggage episode posted.

We all hop in the spa pool, it is easily big enough for the three of us (costumes on of course!) and Baggage has great fun in the bubbles after we put a bit of bubble bath into it.

A bit more time on the Internet whilst enjoying a bottle of Speights and then we settle down at just after 10pm as we are all in the same room and Lisa and I cannot keep on doing things if we want Baggage to get some sleep, tomorrow night we will have the advantage of being able to put her to bed at a more reasonable time.

Last full day in Eastbourne

Today is our last full day here, tomorrow we move on to Martinborough. As a result we decide to spend another day around the house and give Baggage a final chance to play with her new friends, unfortunately next door go out mid morning so she ends up doing some schooling.

I pop out mid morning to get some basics we are lacking, including a case of Speight’s Gold Medal which is after all a basic essential. I also pick up a couple of bottles of wine for the parents of the girls Baggage has been playing with, both of them have been great with her and made her feel very welcome, inviting her out to do things with their children and enabling her to play with kids of her own age rather than just having to spend their time with Mum and Dad.

This afternoon Baggage and I record the next episode for the web site and then we make some picture ‘Baggage Art’ with the shells we have collected which I photograph for posterity.

On and off through the day Lisa and I have been packing ready for our departure tomorrow.

At about 4:30 Lisa goes next door to deliver their bottle of wine, Baggage is already there, I do not see the pair of them again until about 7:30, guess it gave me the opportunity to catch right up on the web site work, though I did not need quite that long. Lisa really likes it here and I reckon would happily move here, the only problem we would have is where do we get an income from to justify an emigration. I must admit I like it also, it is a bit livelier than South Island, yet we are far enough away from the city that we are staying in the country. In fact the city is less than 2km away across the water, but not many people venture this far. We have had great weather again which always makes a place seem much better, but if we were to leave the UK New Zealand would definitely be top of my list and Eastbourne would be well up there. I doubt if we will move here, but we will be back to visit.

After supper I go for a short walk on the beach and then finally fill the bath outside the front of the house, the evening is relatively warm and I make the bath very warm. Lisa and Baggage get in first then when Baggage gets out I hop in, we all have our costumes on, don’t worry! It is really nice to lay in the bath under the stars with the sound of the waves lapping in the background, I now wish we had done it earlier in the week.

After all this it is pretty late and we do not get Baggage into bed until after 10.

Just time for a bottle of Speight’s before I turn in myself.

Te Papa

Wednesday 15th January

Today we went back to Te Papa. Drove into Wellington and at first had a bit of trouble finding somewhere to park until we got to the car park by Te Papa (our house) and found plenty of space.

This is possibly the best museum I have ever been in, very modern, very family friendly and very well laid out. We started by walking through the Bush in the City exhibition which is a recreated area of New Zealand bush outside the museum walls. Today was a school day for Baggage and this is a field trip so where possible we explained what she was looking at to her.

We had lunch in the museum, the food was good, not too badly priced. After lunch Lisa and Baggage continued to look around the museum and I took the opportunity to go for a walk around Wellington and take some photos. I walked for about an hour and a half and took over 100 photos. When I got back to the museum I joined the pair of them for a visit to the Golden Days exhibition which was ‘interesting’, you enter a room full of memorabilia that is laid out like a junk shop and the screen at the far end shows a scene as though you are looking out through a shop window. The owner then shuts up shop, you see the blind pulled down and then the display comes to life. I guess it was fun.

The Maori displays in the museum are fantastic, a full sized Maori meeting hall which had its decorations originally carved at the end of the 19th century is a centre piece and there is also a newly created meeting hall that is used for meetings etc. today.

You could easily spend a couple of days in this museum, we left after at the end of one day and had seen just over half of it and some of that only briefly.

After leaving the museum we travelled along the coast through Oriental bay out to the airport to look at the sea front and see Wellington’s famous wind sculptures. We eventually got back to the house at just after 5pm and all got on with our own thing. Whilst out walking today I picked Lisa up some wool and knitting needles she wanted as she has been having a real desire to knit, must be an age thing!

For supper we had tomato soup and then Baggage got on MSN and later Skype with one of her friends, she was on-line chatting for over three hours when at 10pm we decided she really should go to bed.

I have been doing what I can to sort out the situation in the US this week, though from here that is not a lot and I am somewhat reliant on the Roy who looks after the house for us to do it all for me. The whole situation is not one that I wished to come along when we are supposed to be enjoying ourselves.

We have also been keeping an eye on the situation in Fiji, the government here has put out a warning against travel to Fiji on vacation, yet the UK government has issued no such warning and the contacts we have in Fiji are adamant it is very safe. Whatever the situation it is typical that the Fijian Dollar has just been devalued by 20% and Fiji was the one country that I pre-bought all my currency for before I left the UK.

Anyway enough for my journal today, time for a beer!

Kayaking and a Cycle Ride

Tuesday 14th April

Today baggage has been invited to go to the cinema with Jas and Bella, two friends she has made here, they are picking her up at sometime after 11.

We take the opportunity of a bit of time before hand to borrow the Kayaks from next door and Lisa and Baggage go for a paddle. They are not in for long as it is pretty cold this morning and Lisa gets a bit wet getting in, but they are out there long enough for Baggage to get the hang of it and decide she quite likes Kayaking.

Baggage is getting more and more restless about being away from home so Lisa sits with her and does a pros and cons exercise about this trip, unfortunately the cons outweighed the pros, but at least it gives us an idea of the issues so we can work with them.

Not long after we have returned the kayaks Baggage is collected, it was a good job the kayaks were not out for long otherwise she may have still been on the water. The three of them are going into Lower Hut on the bus for a McDonalds lunch and to watch a film at the movies, it turns out they are going to see Monsters vs Aliens, never mind I am sure she will happily watch it twice, especially as this time it is without Mum and Dad.

Lisa and I decide to take the opportunity to borrow the bikes from next door and head out towards the light house. We cycle for about a couple of hours in total, we do not quite reach the light house but do stop at some nice little areas of the beach along the way. Once beyond where the majority of the walkers go we do find a number of really nice examples of Paua shells.

When we get back we have a toasted cheese sandwich for lunch before walking into Eastbourne village, we need bread and Lisa has no wine to drink tonight.

After this I take the opportunity to move the rest of my blog entries into the Journal software and have a chat with Katie on MSN, she seems much happier now.

Baggage gets back just after 4pm and has to go immediately back out again as she has lost the purse she bought in Hong Kong, luckily she finds it as she had thrown it away in a carrier bag she was binning just at the top of the road.

I have prepared tonight’s dinner and baggage is back next door in their spa playing with the three girls, Grace has her two nieces around who are more Baggage’s age. Seems strange Grace is 5 and her nieces are 9 and 11.

Baggage pops back in for a bit to get dressed but has been invited next door to dinner so Lisa and I end up eating on our own, that has not happened many times since mid January!

When she does come back she shuts herself in her room watching youtube videos on her new laptop. We will forget what she looks like. I had hoped we would all go for a walk on the beach tonight by torch light, maybe tomorrow!

Oh well at least my journal is now written, Baggage seems a bit happier and Lisa and I are positively chilled!

Time for a beer.

Not a lot going on!

Today we had considered going back into Te Papa, however Baggage was out first thing with the girl form next door (Grace) and by the time we got her back we decided to delay Te Papa and have a fairly relaxed day instead.

I walked into Eastbourne this morning to get some basic provisions and something for dinner tonight, it is about 15 minutes to stroll in from the house we are staying at and it is a very nice walk, on the way back I walked mostly along the beach.

After lunch we went for a walk on the beach, heading out towards the lighthouse on the point of the bay, we did not reach the lighthouse, Baggage had enough well before then, but we did get quite a way and find a few nice shells and take a few good pictures on the way.

When we got back I decided to compile a video of the best bits from South Island for Baggage setting it to the music of Speight’s song Southern man, see how it turns out on www.beingbaggage.com.

Just before we have dinner Baggage is back next door in their spa again, she really is loving having other kids about. For dinner I heat up some leftovers from yesterday and Lisa gets a pre-packaged ping dinner, extravagant living eh!

After dinner do not do a lot, spend most of my time moving these blog posts into a journal management system I downloaded for my Mac yesterday.

Almost time for beer!

Not a lot going on!

Today we had considered going back into Te Papa, however Baggage was out first thing with the girl form next door (Grace) and by the time we got her back we decided to delay Te Papa and have a fairly relaxed day instead.

I walked into Eastbourne this morning to get some basic provisions and something for dinner tonight, it is about 15 minutes to stroll in from the house we are staying at and it is a very nice walk, on the way back I walked mostly along the beach.

After lunch we went for a walk on the beach, heading out towards the lighthouse on the point of the bay, we did not reach the lighthouse, Baggage had enough well before then, but we did get quite a way and find a few nice shells and take a few good pictures on the way.

When we got back I decided to compile a video of the best bits from South Island for Baggage setting it to the music of Speight’s song Southern man, see how it turns out on www.beingbaggage.com.

Just before we have dinner Baggage is back next door in their spa again, she really is loving having other kids about. For dinner I heat up some leftovers from yesterday and Lisa gets a pre-packaged ping dinner, extravagant living eh!

After dinner do not do a lot, spend most of my time moving these blog posts into a journal management system I downloaded for my Mac yesterday.

Almost time for beer!

A rather large egg!

Sunday 12th April

This morning we were all awake by just after 7am so we got Baggage to hunt for her egg, she found it in the wardrobe in our bedroom but missed what it was sitting on top of. After being sent back for a second look she could not believe what she had found, a nice shiny new laptop and it was for her.

As I had managed to get it set up she could go straight on it, she was delighted.

At 9am Baggage was collected to go off on her egg hunt, she was collected by a whole group of kids and it was good to see her able to have a bit of independence. She came back at about 10am with some 60 odd lollies (what the Kiwis call sweets) not all chocolate eggs.

After she was back we let her spend a bit of time on her new laptop before dragging her out, then we headed for Wellington.

First stop Queens Wharf car park and we had a picnic at the water’s edge before heading into the national Hot Rod show in the TSB Arena. There were about 60 cars on display, probably about the same number as you get to see on an average night in Old Town Kissimmee if you head there for the Saturday Night Cruise. It was a good show though and you had to vote for your favourite car on display, mine was definitely an almost mint condition 1969 Ford Mustang GT.

After the Hot Rod show we wandered along to Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum, entry is free and it is an impressive place, we had a look in the sea creatures display and the Awesome Forces of nature display but then decided to leave and come back later as it was pretty hot in there and we were not dressed for the heat. The plan is definitely to come back before we move on from Wellington.

Before heading back to Eastbourne we walk up to the Beehive, New Zealand’s parliament complex. It is certainly different and the contrast of the modern beehive alongside the more traditional buildings does achieve an impressive contrast.

On the way back to the house we stop at the Chinese take-away in the village for dinner, 2nd time since we have been here. This time I opt for a Chicken Satay, Baggage has sweet and sour pork again and Lisa goes for fish and chips.

When we get home Baggage goes around next door and has a dip in their Hot Tub with their daughter, we also have a chat with the owners of this place to see what options we have for extending our stay here, not sure if we will or not just wanted to know the options.

Things are a little tense between us all at the moment, Baggage seems keen to go home even though she has found friends to play with and both Lisa and I are not sure about what we are doing. It is likely that it is just a combination of the problems in the US, concerns over Fiji and Danny leaving us all at the same time and I am sure we will push on through it, but at the moment it all seems a little hard. We will be taking it a lot easier this week to give us all a rest, but I know at the moment that none of us really want to get back on the road again. Unfortunately this place can only offer us 1 extra night which is probably not worth worrying about.

After Baggage has gone to bed Lisa and I have a long chat about what to do, nothing is resolved but both of us know if we bail out now we will regret it.

A beer seems to settle the situation.

The day after

Saturday 11^th April (Shopping)

Before Lisa and I were even up and about Baggage was with the girls next door on their trampoline, we then saw her briefly before she went around to the girl who was visiting next door for a sleep over last night’s house. Mid morning she reappeared and announced she had been invited into town with the other girls for a manicure, later on we again saw her briefly before she was invited round for tea and when she did finally reappear she had an invitation to an Easter Egg hunt tomorrow morning. She is already loving it here, an opportunity to play with other children and it does not even bother her that they are significantly younger.

This morning I went out to get the basic supplies, not knowing where the shops are I ended up about 15 minutes away in Lower Hut, here I found a shopping centre with a Woolworths and got most of what we wanted, though no Easter eggs, they had already sold out.

After a Baggage free lunch Lisa and I went for a walk on the beach, I even found a small bit of Green Stone and a Paua shell. Whilst we were walking we decided to buy Baggage her own laptop, she was due to get the one that was stolen in Florida yesterday so it seemed only fair she should still get one. After the walk I drove back into Lower Hut and paid a visit to Dick Smith, we had decided that if we were to get her a laptop here it should be a Macbook as we are very comfortable with the quality and Apple’s worldwide guarantee, so I pick her up an entry level system. We could have got it cheaper for her when we get to the US but the bit extra we pay to get it now and give her the use from it for the rest of the trip is well worth it.

When I get back still no Baggage so I decide to set it up for her, the plan is to give it to her as an Easter present and the chances are that if she had not been absent for the majority of today she would not have got it as it would not have been possible to get it without her knowing.

For dinner Lisa and I reheat the leftovers from yesterday’s Chinese, there is plenty.

Baggage finally gets back just after 7pm. She uses my Macbook for a bit, with no idea that tomorrow she will have her own and then we play Monopoly before she goes to bed.

I settle down to watch Shanghais Noon with a beer, I have bought a six pack on Monteiths Summer Ale, a bit like ginger beer with Alcohol in it.

I spoke to Katie on the phone again today, she was feeling much better, still very annoyed and upset though coping with the whole thing much better. She had even been out again today and left stuff in the house without too many worries about the house being targeted again.

Just before I go to bed at 11:30 I exchange text messages with Danny and he tells me he is now back in Guildford and a he had a good amount of sleep on the plane he will be heading down to Devon later in the day.

A day best forgotten

Friday 10^th April (Good Friday!)

The day started as would be expected, we got up finished packing and got ready to leave South Island. Danny leaves us today, he is flying back to the UK.

We were in no rush as we were not flying until 2:45 and were not leaving the house on Mt. Pleasant until 12.

About an hour before we were due to leave Lisa found an email from the chap who looks after our house in the US. It had been broken into, damage had been caused and a number of items had been removed. This was bad enough, but what was worse was Katie is staying there with her friends, they had only arrived yesterday and today they were out at a theme park, their suitcases had also been rifled through and it was felt sure stuff had been taken but until Katie returned from Disney we had no idea what.

We left Mt. Pleasant and drove to the airport, after we had checked in I tried to call Katie on her mobile again but still got no joy. After checking in I took the hire car back out of the airport to fill it with petrol, rather a lot on my mind and I had forgotten to do it on the drive to the airport.

No real dramas at the airport, though there was a slight issue with Danny’s lighter as it is a petrol one and they could not decide whether he should have it in his pocket or his checked baggage, in the end he took it on in his pocket.

Danny is taking back a case for us full of the souvenirs from the trip so far, it is good to be a case light again, however it would be very painful if it were to get lost in transit.

We arrive in Wellington on time, collect the bags and the hire car. I finally manage to get hold of Katie as we are loading up the hire car, she is at the house in Florida now. I could not get hold of her earlier as she had left her phone at the house, after all she might lose it if she took it to the theme park, along with her handbag, laptop, ipod ….. In fact Katie had lost loads, they had even taken some of her clothes and a bottle of shampoo and conditioner she had only just bought. Katie was very distressed, but at that stage I could not talk to her for long and she had the Sheriff there to deal with, so I told her I would call her back when we got to our house.

The drive to the house in Eastbourne took just over half an hour, I will come back to what the house is like later.

When I called Katie back she was a little calmer, the Sheriff had assured her that she was safe in the house that night and she was a bit for circumspect about what had been lost. Luckily I backed up all her photos when we were with her in Florida and I am pretty sure I have a copy of these in the UK for her to have back when she returns. Losing a laptop is a personal thing and whilst Katie was distressed that they had rummaged through her clothes and even taken her underwear, she was very concerned about what they could find out about her from her computer.

Whilst talking to her on the phone I just wanted to hug her, however I cannot, I am currently over qtr of the way around the world from her and the best I could do was talk.

I have to confess to not understanding the pay as you go phone charging here, I was on the phone to Katie for more than half an hour yet it cost less than $10? Still I guess I am not complaining.

Baggage was very good today, last time we were in Florida we told her she could have the laptop we keep there and take it back to the UK after we leave Florida this summer, she was very excited to be getting her own laptop. When she heard that Katie’s laptop had been stolen, but we did not know if our one in our cupboard had also gone she said Katie could have the one we keep in Florida, the one she had just been given, unfortunately both had gone so neither girl now has one.

I talked to Katie a couple of times before the evening was over, the last one at about 2am her time. She was OK in the end, very upset as I am sure you can understand and also very cross, having gone through the phase where she wonders if she had done anything different how it might not have happened and now just cross that someone could do this to her when she has never done anything to hurt them!

To cap it all I find out when investigating the insurance Katie has from the Au Pair agency she is working for that it does not cover personal effects, hopefully our house policy in the US will?

Back to our trip.

The house is great, all that is between us and the beach is a single track road, you can hear the waves crashing on the shore as you sit in the front room, an in fact in any room in the house. The owners live next door and seem very nice, we had not even unpacked before we were offered the loan of bikes and a kayak if we want to go out on either the cycle track or the bay respectively.

When we arrived Lisa set the burglar alarm off which bought everybody out of their house, a good way to announce our arrival, They have a young daughter who is nearly 6 and immediately Baggage hit it off with her, in fact within an hour of arriving here they were outside on next door’s trampoline together as if they had known each other for years.

It is a compact house after what we have been used to in Christchurch, but we are now back to being only 3 and it is more than we actually need so will be fine. There is a bath set in the front lawn, an interesting touch, great for washing off after a day on the beach, but I am not so sure we will be using it. Saying that Baggage seems pretty keen to give it a go.

I popped out for a few basic provisions and dinner, I found a local Chinese takeaway and that did nicely for tonight, then when we had eaten it Baggage went off to bed and I spent the next couple of hours emailing various people about the stuff that had been taken from our house. Bank Cards, Park Tickets, Computer etc.

When I finally went to bed I had far too much on my mind to sleep, never mind I have invariably had a bad night’s sleep on my first night in a new house anyway. I did not even have any beer in the house to comfort me this evening, none of the shops sell take out beer on Good Friday in New Zealand.

Not such a good Friday eh!