Sunday 28 December 2008

The stuff of legend

Yes, it is finally here, THE STUFF.

After seeing them boxed up and taken away on 1 October our worldly possessions were returned to us on 23 December. After horror stories of containers left on the dockside in Singapore for 8 months, Somali pirates, shipwrecks and officious NZ customs officials we were very pleased to see them arrive.

However, after the initial pleasure came a period of unease, bordering on the mild panic. Sure, having stuff is good, but it also means that you have to look after it and take it with you when you move etc. You're no longer just away for an extended holiday when you have all your stuff with you.

Now, after much sorting out, it's all starting to feel more homely. There is a sofa to sit on instead of the floor. A bed to sleep in instead of a mattress on the floor (the floor has played a big part in our life for the last couple of months). There are pots and pans for all your cooking needs, rather than restricting meals to those that can be made in 2 saucepans. There is a choice of clothes and shoes - hopefully work colleagues will no longer think that I sleep in my clothes for a week.

Of course there were some casualties in the move. A couple of bowls and glasses and a desk, to name a few. The oddest was my Nintendo DS, of which I have the charger, instruction booklet, games and pointer, but no games unit itself. Still, everything is straightening itself out, including Nero, and the good news is that if you come to visit there will now be something for you to sleep on and to sit on.

Thursday 25 December 2008

Christmas in the sun


Merry Christmas!!
Christmas in the sun is a weird concept to get your head around as a Northern Hemisphereite. Yesterday we took a drive over to the Wairarapa which is a region to the east of Wellington. We drove down towards Cape Palliser which is the most southerly point of the North Island.
When we got back we took a walk along Oriental Parade where Anthony took the great picture of the frisbeeing Santa.

Saturday 13 December 2008

Kiwiana Part 1




Lots of New Zealand towns have a landmark to make them stan out from the crowd. I'll record these as I come across them. This is the first batch. the plane doubles as a cafe.

Tuesday 2 December 2008

Tri-ing too hard?

Triathlon is almost a way of life in NZ. On my way home this evening I had to negotiate ranks of dripping runners newly emerged from the harbour. 

I recently saw an advert for a triathlon event for 5 year olds. They obviously start them young here!