Happy Family

Well it is wonderful to have the two of them here although they are still suffering from the excessive jetlag a bit.

 We have already been busy seeing the local sights in Papamoa and Tauranga, with a first walk on the beach then brunch and coffee (flat white of course!)

This weekend we went back up to Hahei and Cathedral Cove - stayed in a VERY superior backpackers lodge

, and both kids did some great fun off road driving in the new car - we all just have to be careful when getting out of a very muddy car - the washing machine is working overtime with muddy trousers!

It is definitely cooler when the sun goes down but this morning it was lovely so Rhian and I braved the pool and the jacuzzi. Not so bad for the equivalent of late January!

 

So tomorrow is a birthday celebration and a visit to Hobbiton then hopefully skiing later in the week on Mt Doom. SOOO much to do!

What a week!

Hello again, so sorry we didn't manage a post last week, we were both feeling 100% grotty with bad chest colds/flu. The NZ bugs are mean to unsuspecting newcomers from across the world!

We were both knocked out for nearly 2 weeks and Malcolm even took 2 days off work which is unheard of!

The really special events have been happening back in UK with:
Rhian's second graduation
Heather and George celebrating a wonderful 60 years with a great family party in the lake district
Iori making great progress and hopefully getting home this week
and all the preparations for Rhian and Cal's visit to NZ.

And we have been part of all of these through Skype!, including being all dressed up for the Taylor family photo at 7.30 in the morning (8.30pm after dinner) and talking to Iori in hospital at 3.30am (4.30pm vising time!!) It was especially wonderful to speak to both Iris and Iori for the first time on Skype thanks to the kids linking their ipads up through their phones.

So they arrive tomorrow - great excitement.

We did manage some trips last weekend, including to Okere falls where the 4th hydro scheme in NZ was set up and supplied electricity in 1901!(you can just see the remains of the turbine in the first photo and the trout pools in the last wee video) I hope we can go white water rafting there with the kids. Then to look at some amazing fresh water springs at Hamurana.

Then another celebration on Sunday at the Mt Monganui sailing club- rum and coke all round. The boat Malcolm was crewing on won their class - so a (large) bottle of Mount Gay Rum was presented. It is a lovely tradition that everyone shares a rum and coke whilst the prizes are given out. A very small but friendly club, very reminiscent of the NW Venturers our club in Beaumaris.

Come on be a tidy kiwi

This made me laugh!

 

Hi we had an interesting time on land and sea this weekend. The exciting start was watching the local Rugby team the chiefs beat the crusaders in a game made even more memorable by having 3 streakers invade the pitch at the same time, so the security guys didn't know who to chase first!

Then we headed over to the west coast of the North Island to a lovely wee place called Raglan where we took our new car on it's first off road drive, it performed excellently.

The beaches were spectacular as well and Malcolm had a go at holding a kite surf kite, the blue jelly fish looked a bit off-putting though! then a visit to the spectacular Bridal Falls.

Then last but not least on Sunday we had our first sail with the Mount Maunganui Sailing club in their winter racing series aboard Jetstream, neither of us can remember what type it is but she was definitely set for racing with no extras! the winds were very light so a lot of the time was spent tweaking the sails, Cunningham, spinnaker, luff etc etc etc. All a bit too serious for the more cruising orientated! Very friendly folk though and everyone is treated to a tot of rum back at the clubhouse!.

Both of us have now gone down with bad chest coughs, with Malcolm having 2 days off work (unheard of!) but we should be fine by the time the kids come out. I have just started doing some paid work with Prendos Malcolm's company to help with sorting the filing etc in preparation for their moving offices in October. It is very flexible so I wont have to go in when the kids are here.

Monkey bread, Matariki in the Marai and a Medicine Mandala

What a wealth of culture we have seen this weekend all in beautiful Whakatani (fa ka tan ee) courtesy of our friends John and Ruth. This is a view from the headland overlooking the town.

Matariki is the Mauri celebration of mid winter when the constolation Matariki, which we know as the seven sisters or pleiades is visible on the horizon for a few weeks. It marks the time for planting kumara (sweet potato) and celebrating family and remembering those who have passed. We were invited to a local celebration at their fabulously carved and decorated Mauri meeting hall or Marai. There was a super range of singing, guitar, classical piano, hakka and recitation. if any of you have seen Whale Rider, it was just like that!! (no whales though!) Interesting food as well, I loved the smoked eel but the mutton bird (manx shearwater at home!) was just too fishy to take!

 

Ruth and John have a lovely home in a beautiful setting, where we had the delicious orange monkey bread which is a family speciality for Sunday brunch, which the couple who live in the flat below, and amazingly this chap (another John) originally from Penarth was taught geography by the dad of one of our very good friends Hywel - it truely is a small world!

 

 Then we went to a very different Buddhist cultural event where 2 monks had spent 2 weeks making a very intricate medicine buddha Mandala picture out of individually placed grains of sand. This mandala was then blessed by the monks in a long chanting ceremony and then destroyed so that the blessed sand could be put in the river to bring blessings to Whakatane and then flow out into the world. We could only stay for part of the chanting but it was very peaceful. (and different!)

 Other news we now have a car suitable for the off road areas of NZ - a 1999 Honda CRV, so (hopefully) no more disasters! Only 3 weeks till Rhian and Cal come out, can't wait!. Just booked them on a whistle stop tour of the south island with Kiwi Experience, so they will see both North and South.