It's December!

 Merry Christmas from New Zealand

It’s the first weekend of December and our first Christmas living together, in a beautiful country, with beautiful weather!

So, there’s no better time to put up our Christmas Tree!

I must say, I was very impressed with Mikko’s tree decorating skills, very impressive…especially for a male, it was a great team effort and Jedi didn’t even EAT it!

WakeBoarding

Wake Boarding

Oh yes, the time had come! Kai Iwi Lakes HERE WE COME!

We arrived early afternoon, the boys launched the boat into the lake and I climbed aboard, leaving little Jedi on the launch ramp. In a matter of seconds he was whimpering and whining as he was left behind, unsure of what to do. But he quickly found his swimming legs and paddled out to us! Mikko with his big, long arms reached over the boat and grabbed him out the water.

We cruised around the lake in Hayden’s control, before Mikko took over and went full pelt! Awesome fun! But, the day far from over and the others arrived so we headed back to land to get action on the wakeboard.

I took the girls to the rope swing, which was extremely comical! No one could hold on but me! Hilarious to watch when someone falls off or doesn’t even reach water! Eventually, most of them got the idea! Jedi was feeling a little left out, so we got him back in the water for a swim before he went surfing…

Ah yes, woohoo! The moment I’ve been waiting for! I quickly got my wetsuit on and off I popped into the boat, eagerly waiting my turn. David tried giving me a few tips before I got to the water, but that didn’t help much! I leaped into the water…THEN put the lifejacket on…Pfffft how silly! Ok, so, the board is on my feet, I signal over to the driver and held on tight… arms straight, yep yep up I went, and down went the board, and the rope went flying out of my hands! Dammit! This happened every time, and Mikko (the pro) wasn’t on board the boat to give me any top tips!

Back on land again, and it’s time to be towed on the surfboard! Mikko showed us how it’s done, and got straight up from the pier and made it look easy, as the boat turned around, the rope swung out, and Mikko almost hit dry land. Estaban also wanted to try it out on the surfboard, and after a couple of attempts got the hang of it. Last but not least, it’s me! First attempt I was up!... and down again. But then I got it! Yes! It was a lot easier from the pier, but harder on the surfboard as your feet aren’t strapped it, but I managed to stay on for several seconds! I was so proud of myself! I got the biggest cheer from the audience!

What a fantastic day!

 

 

Fullers Half Marathon

Keri Keri

One of our New Year resolutions was to take part in a half Marathon, and back in September we were told of the Fullers KeriKeri half marathon which would take place on November 18^th. But first we needed some good quality running shoes, before starting our training.  Success…I immediately fell in love with some Grey and florescent Nike trainers whilst Mikko was like a woman in a clothes shop.

We had 7 weeks until the half marathon, and it was now or never. I was a novice at this malarkey so wanted to be well prepared. Mr Fitness on the other hand hardly had to train; he ran 10km on his first run and found it easy! I see I have my work cut out here.

By the second week I was getting the hang of this, I was running further and further and taking tougher routes.

BUT…1 week to go and I wake up with a football for a foot! For some unknown reason my foot was swollen…  I thought nothing of it and took Jedi to the beach whilst Mikko surfed. But it gradually worsened…it was that bad I could hardly walk and it was getting painful. Oh no…the next day I couldn’t walk on it... time to see a professional! The pharmacist gave me some antihistamine tablets, but was doubtful I’d be walking the half marathon never mind run it! Looks like am allergic to white tailed spider bites!

As the days were counting down to the half marathon…it was becoming clear I wouldn’t be running any time soon, I couldn’t even go to work.

The day arrived and although I couldn’t take part I was hoping Mikko and Logan would do well. It was 7am when arrived in KeriKeri, The race started at 8am from ………so I wished them luck before the bus whisked them away to the start line.

It had only been 1 hour since the race started and the first person came striding through towards the finish line! 21km in 1 hour! This guy didn’t even look red faced or even out of breath! LEGEND.

I eagerly waited by the finish line hoping to get a snap of my man crossing the line. Then before I knew it, 1 hour 48 minutes he came running over the line! I was so proud!

If you are thinking of running a marathon…. get the right size shoes! Otherwise you will be running like a pigeon and end up with black toe nails before they drop off.

After getting his breath back, he got a well earnt recovery massage, just before Logan crossed the finish line in 2 hour 35 minutes! Pretty good for a guy who hasn’t done any training!

Time for a nice cold beer, Subway and relaxation in the sun!

 

Aratapu

Aratapu Tavern

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” I was once told.

It was Friday night, and not sure of our plans, until our good friend Logan came over and got us in the party spirit, we quickly got our party frocks on before meeting up with the fellow travellers at the beach for a few drinks before the courtesy car came to take us to the pub!

The evening started off with LIVE MUSIC.… A bad singer on Karaoke Eek! But after a couple of drink she sounded great. A short while later the DJ came to rescue the night with party songs galore and we ended the night with the Macarena!!

Bonfire Night

 

Bonfire Night


 

We may be the other side of the world, thousands of miles away, but Guy Fawkes is still known and celebrated with fireworks and bonfires. So I arranged it for Saturday night down on the beach at Glinks Gully, inviting the new backpackers from England, Germany,Mexico and Chili.

Summer and the Season

Summer and the season

Cutting & Planting

The plants are ready and rearing to go, we have the wonderful task of opening 50+ beds before all the workers arrive next week.

Job done.

So, Sunday morning everyone finds out the task at hand, and how it should be done. Bizarrely the plants are cut in bunches, with no roots attached, placed in small crates before being planted (the next day) and somehow they will grow into kumara!

Whilst that’s being taken care of, I have to pull all the irrigation (water hose) out from the beds, not easy when there are 3 in each bed 100m long and the plants are twisted around them. Mikko is a tractor man, and gets to turn the ground and water the plants.

Day 2. Planters start work. So my main task is transporting the plants from the cutters, to the shed, then to the planters. I get to do this via two trailers on the quad bike! : ) Along with this, I also need to pull irrigation out from the beds, turn water on for the beds (5 at a time) re-fuel the water pump every 3 hours, placing the irrigation down again once it’s been cut, and cover with plastic (as it has to grow again) and make sure there’s no holes in the irrigation. (usually I find several) Busy busy busy.

Rugby World Cup Final

Rugby World Cup Final..

It was Sunday October 23^rd, The Rugby World Cup Final! Which means... big party! Not only that, but the ‘All Blacks’ (the New Zealand team) were in the final and faced France! So Auckland City here we come.

Now I’m not a rugby fan to say the least but there aren’t many parties that go off in New Zealand so I didn’t want to miss this one!

We arrived in the city at midday, and took to the streets, where people were chearing, chanting, singing and busking all day long. But the most popular attraction was…wait for it… Jedi yes our puppy! He was centre of attention as people of all ages wanted to pet him for his cute little looks and the colour of his fur! He was the ‘All Blacks’ puppy!

The game didn’t start til 9pm so we enjoyed the day before heading for the lovely big queues to get into the venue!