I'll pick up from wellington where I rejoined the family after their brief tour of the south island which they all loved. We toured from Wellington through the art deco town of Napier indulging in all the fine food and wine that one comes to associate with spending time with the family. From here we headed up to Taupo the self proclaimed skydiving capital of the world the celebrate my Mum's 60th by throwing her out of a perfectly good airplane.
Mum, Hannah, John and myself all stepped out of a plane at 15,000 feet to enjoy an awesome freefall of over a minute over the beutiful lake Taupo before serenely drifting down to the ground. A thrilling experience that has instilled in me a desire to learn how to do it myself stringer than ever.
The rest of the holiday was set at a more sedate pace and it was back to the fine food and wine. We headed up to beautiful Whitianga to spend three days on the beach with my Uncle John and his partner Liz and her daughter Hannah. Here's John and Hannah on the beach, I wonder what that devil on Hannah'a shoulder is telling her. While there it wasn't just the eating and drinking, we went to a hot water beach where there are a couple of hot springs on the beach and after digging a hole in the sand we could sit in natural hot tub which we had to be careful not to scold ourselves in. Everybody loves a bit of geothermal activity. Heres the gang at the beach, where space was at a premium (click text)
While everybody else went back to my Uncles I took my sister and John back to Tauranga to try and find some dolphins to swim with.
Unfortunately there werent enough dolphins to get in and swim with but we were lucy enough to spend some time with the Dolphins swimming by the boat. They are truly remarkable beasts and it was humbling to have them interact with you even while you were in the boat.
It was then back to Auckland to spend the rest of the time with my family before some emotional departure lounge goodbyes. Heres ma'n'pa enjoying a glass of that fine wine before heading home. And heres the less crincklies (minus liz)
While back at my Uncles John and I managed to get out in some rather scary surf, here's some evidence that I did get wet and survived. Back in the bay of plenty we stayed at a colleague's of mine to look after her house and her mischievous kitten.
The next emotional parting was a happier one as Dave and I said goodbye to our trusty steed, Krystaal.
Yes thats right, after having taking us round the Country's two islands for thousands of miles and even managing to overtake 11vehicles in that time, we parted company. We got more than we paid for her - 1800 dollars (600pounds), which after the repairs means a poultry loss of 600 dollars each for me and Dave. Thats not a lot to spend for 6weeks travel and accommodation.
So that means I was left without wheels, but in this country pedestrians have a worse deal than most insects so i have rectified the situation. I have abandoned the idea of a large practical car and inspired by the porsche I went for braun over brains. I now have a Subaru Legacy 2L twin turbo which goes like stink. But its not all impractcal, i have also bought a roof rack. Not wanting to be outdone dave has also got a new car and are driveway is now looking pretty sweet.
Its not all goodbyes, i have finally been reunited wit my kayaks, snowboard, bike and climbing gear so now i feel I have finally arrived and can start to take full advantage of this world class playground.
But before i do there is one more goodbye and thats to my current house, I'm getting kicked out tomorrow and as a result will be homeless till next week when I move into a new place along the beach. It does have three balconies though.
So that wraps up the latest post, just a happy new year to all and thanks to eveyone's goodwishes and a sorry to everyone for not being in touch its been a busy period but I'll be ringing round soon.
Here's Dave's pimping Skyline maybe not the power of the Subaru but it oozes class and style.
