Blog

Well, today was a long awaited trip to the local dormant volcano.

we got up early to get the ferry from downtown Auckland and arrived on the island about 10am ish

  

we decided to walk all the way to the top of the volcano rather than getting the tourist 4×4 (although that would have given us a bit of a commentary on the way.  we got that from Kezia instead.  although her version was a little more moany.

it’s a weird place with all these crusty old bits of lava lying around rather like someone had ploughed a field.  but it’s just how the lava on top kind of dried and got all crusted up as the lava underneath was still flowing

it looked more like someone had smashed up an old road, or the remains in a fireplace the morning after a good fire

despite all the desolation it’s actually very green as trees and flowers found their way on to the island.

there were plenty of lovely plants

these are kidney ferns which curl themselves up to minimise their surface area so they don’t get too hot from the sun (or the rock itself which was really hot just from absorbing the sun’s heat)

 

we eventually made it to the edge of the crater.  here are esther and kezia looking down at the cone shaped inside.  it looks a little better on the google maps version down below.

then we climbed the final bit up to the top

the views were quite amazing.  jane and i had another one of our ‘gulp, we actually live here’ moments.

here’s the harbour bridge i go over on the way to work each day (i work in the CBD – Central Business District which is south of where we live on the North Shore)

we stopped and had a picnic next to this lady.  she had a curry and cooked peas all washed down with a huge bottle of tonic water.  nice job lady

esther and kezia advertised their old school for the today with both their hats and their leaving jumpers.  their jumpers were only really needed at the top, as although it was quite a cool wind, most of our walk was round the sheltered side.  and with the extra heat from the rocks (warmed by the sun rather than anything geothermic) we were plenty warm enough

we then went for a walk round the rim of the cone

before heading down to the lava caves

jane read in the leaflet we should bring torches which was fab as it meant we could explore some of the lava caves ourselves without bashing ourselves about too much

this was a classic kiwi health and safety thing.  loads of natural rock to bash your head on in the dark, but no warnings, and plenty of fun.  hoorah !

when we emerged at the other side of the cave we found this sign.

here’s some of the scenery which was less barren

finally we made our way back down the hill again

it’s always nice to have a sign explaining how prisoners made a toilet wall

 

and how about this – it’s a flip flop tree (or jandals as they are called here) outside a bach (short for ‘bachelor pad’ or little basic holiday house type thing)

we also managed to do a geocache and took this travelbug

 

i suspect everyone will sleep well tonight !

View Larger Map

read more about rangitoto here

 

well here it is.  our special no danger kiwi designed and built spring free trampoline.  and it’s great !  two chaps came along this afternoon and constructed it.

 

there’s no steps which makes getting in to it a bit of a challenge (as demonstrated by jane here).

we were also given a load of sandbags to put on the legs so it doesn’t blow away in a hurricane.  we didn’t know we might get a hurricane.  so that’s exciting ‘int it ? (you can answer in the negative and i’d agree with you)

i didn’t see much of jane this evening as after tea she whizzed off with friends to the cinema.  I’ve just had a text message to say she’s now in some cafe or ice cream parlour, so i expect she’ll be back before too long.

our container is confirmed for delivery next wednesday and thursday which is good news.  although the timing could have been a bit better as i’ll be down in wellington those two days so jane will be in charge.  but at least that means we won’t have to have heated discussions on where to put different pieces of furniture (at least not in front of the removals people).

apparently the MAFF (biological dirt police) have to come along to watch and if anything is dirty they’ll take it away to be treated or something.  so that’s quite exciting.

tomorrow we’re off to walk up a dormant volcano which should be fun.  it requires a boat trip to get there which adds to the excitement.  if you’re a regular reader you’ve seen the volcano on the horizon on the various beach shots.

right, best load the geocaches on to the satnav.

see yous all

dave

here’s jon aka buzz aka bignoseduglyguy.  I’ve mentioned him a number of times as the person who guided us in to NZ, and who kindly let us stay at their house last easter whilst they were away visiting.  and who has also invited us to spend christmas day with (hoorah).

anyway, we met up for a business lunch today in a local Thai restaurant.  and it was jolly nice just to catch up and put the world to right.  not the best picture of buzz unfortunately, but the food was nice.

any guesses what this is ?  the stick in the background rather than the modern art ruinous thing in the foreground ?

i had some work drinks things after work which was nice.  i didn’t stay too long as i was tired, dependent on buses and had to drive home from the bus station.  but that was fine.

meanwhile jane had the exciting day sorting out loads of house things with a handy man, and organising for the arrival and construction of our trampoline which should arrive and be constructed tomorrow.  hoorrah !

oh, and kezia went to play with a school friend after school and that went very well apparently.  Jane and Esther took full advantage of their freedom and went to the local shopping mall to eat cakes

toodle pipkins.   dave

thought i’d take my turn at writing the daily blog today.  I took the picture above in Auckland yesterday afternoon. Apparently all will be revealed on the 22nd November.  But i recon I can already guess what it’s going to be:  a giant father christmas perhaps ?

I was in that part of town as I’d just spend 2 hours in a Telecom Retail Shop ‘meeting and greeting’ members of the kiwi public so i could learn what it’s like at the coal face.  It was hard work, and i was glad to be back to my desk today.

 

jane mentioned i went to the doctors yesterday.  i’ve been having pains that felt like either an ear infection or wisdom teeth.  so i paid my £25 quid (approx) for a doctors appointment and came home with some subsidised neurofen, and various hayfever sprays/tablets etc. and the ear pain is some virus which will hopefully go away in a day or two.  hoorah.

the docs is very fancy and has its own cafe.  and a burger king (just off to the right of this picture) to drum up more trade i suspect.

 

The pharmacy lady said it was open 8am to 8pm every day of the year including christmas which is handy.   And here’s that KFC which is open on xmas day too.  

we went out for an evening constitutional stroll after tea. esther was our tour guide

 

here’s kezia and jane’s legs

 

and here’s the creek on the other side of the hilly bit where we live.

oh, and we’re getting to know the insect life a little better.   here are some ants on the window devouring some bird poo.  nice.

 

see yas

Today’s thrilling news is that I mowed the front lawn! It’s quite alot of bovver with a hover. Then my across the road neighbour came out and mowed his, showing off with his petrol mower.

Actually, more exciting than that is the news that out stuff might be here by the end of next week. I’m a bit worried about where we are going to put it all. I now publically pledge to do a bit of housework everyday so that the house is nice and clean before it arrives. In a way I quite like having minimal stuff, it’s easier to keep on top of.

Yesterday I registered with the doctor, good job, because Dave went to the docs today as he has an earache. It’s a viral thing apparently. So he went to be early. So no photos again.

Hello,

No photos today. We bought a lawnmower at the week-end on the NZ version of Ebay, which is called Trade-me. So we think we’re proper Kiwis now. This afternoon I tried it out. Now we need to get a new dustbin for garden waste.

A  bird has pooed on our new garden table already.

That’s all the news for today.

I’m sure you couldn’t wait to see what our finished garden furniture looks like. Well here you are.

We had some people round after church today for morning tea and used it.

 

Then it rained. Because our visitors were here we didn’t put the cover back on. It’s still raining by the way.

Hope you haven’t blown away in the storms.

Here is Kezia checking her emails. Don’t forget we’d love to hear your news.

Today we bit the bullet and bought some outdoor chairs and a table in anticipation of all the lovely meals we’ll be having outside. Esther and Kezia had to make their own entertainment, during the tedious buying process.

 

 

Here is Dave putting it together

 

He looks confused. Perhaps it’s because the instructions are less than clear.

 

To celebrate our first month of being here we went to trendy Mission Bay

and to an Italian restaurant

 

 

 

During our meal I made everyone say what their best thing about being here was.

Dave’s was spending more time with the family and working as a team at being brave.

Esther’s was that we will be getting our trampoline very soon.

Mine was that we have been pretty good at meeting people and I have  met some very nice  potential good friends already.

Kezia’s was starting a new school.

Cheerio

it’s been another day or just everyday doing – a fitting way to spend our one month since arriving anniversary.

i had my first meeting with some of the execs who live on the top floor of the building and that went well, so i think i might have properly arrived at work.  i had 5 separate meetings so the day whizzed by.

two of my meetings were in a building down the road, and i shocked my colleagues by saying i was going to walk there and back.

“but there’s a free bus” said one.

“i know, i replied, but i’ve got 30 minutes to the meeting and it’s just a 20 minute walk” i replied.

“well, if you really don’t want to get the bus you should get a cab” was her reply.

in the end it took me 12 minutes to get there and 15 minutes to get back (it was uphill coming back)

The other highlight of the day was the Compliance lady come round at 4.45pm telling everyone to go home because it was the weekend.  And you know not to mess with a compliance lady.

Meanwhile Jane was out for the day being shown shops by some established ladies from church.  Not sure if ‘established’ is the right word, but you know what i mean.  She’s been very self controlled and doesn’t seem to buy anything during her shopping trips.  or perhaps she’s found somewhere to stash everything in the house – i wonder if that’s what’s behind the mysterious door in the garage which we can’t open because the door handle mysteriously fell off.

anyway, this evening i put the girls to bed and watched Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle in HD whilst Jane went out to some exclusive business launch party for crafting things.

Tomorrow is the weekend (hoorah) and the girls are being assessed for Violin lessons in the morning.

Then we’re off to a restaurant in the evening to celebrate our one monthyness.  Who knows what else we’ll get up to.  exciting isn’t it ?

i got given a second big project at work today which is all good.  i can’t tell you what it is unfortunately, but it sounds quite interesting as far as i can tell.  unfortunately it also requires me to read a couple of hundred pages of documents.

just when i thought my head couldn’t take any more i got drafting in to a course on ‘clear english’ which is about how to right properly and all that.  including stuff like capital letters ect.  this was the rather distracting view from the training room window !

anyway, exciting thing of the day at home was that we got Sky installed because the house hasn’t got any freeview HD reception.  most people have Sky in NZ which is interesting.  it has the same remote as the UK, but is rubbish – just a few channels, none of them showing anything worth watching, and no series link on the PVR.  but hey ho.  (can you tell it’s me writing this and not jane?)

meanwhile jane seems to have had a good day, and was pleased with her various activities of the day which included various domestic chores before heading off for afternoon tea with some of her new chums.  she may have volunteered herself for a walk up a mountain and learning to sail (two separate activities), but wasn’t quite sure when/how/where.

this evening i went out with the girls to chuck the frisbee about in the park behind our house, and after tea jane went for a nose around the neighbourhood with esther.  Once the girls were in bed jane and i watched a bit of telly and that was that really.

then we realised we hadn’t done the family blog, so here it is.

hope all is well in blighty and the other places you read this from.  i keep up with facebook and twitters on the bus on the way back from work, which is all very modern. feel free to drop us a line (or ‘flick us an email’ as they say here) with your news.

i saw a KFC with a big sign on its window saying “Open on Christmas Day” from the bus the other day.  I’ll see if I can get you a picture …

see ya

dave