Sydney tomorrow

We have finally left Piha and handed over the lovely van (Ron) to Tom and Claire. As we are about to end our adventure in New Zealand so theirs is about to start. We have mixed emotions about leaving NZ. I am very excited to move to Australia and can't wait to see the Opera House. I am also really looking forward to renting a place and not living out of the van for a while.

Will is a bit sad as he has had to leave his friend behind but I'm sure he will cope once we are on the plane, and Sam is as usual just living in the moment and is currently excited about the mini bar. It's a very early start for us tomorrow as we have to be at the airport for 5:30am and as yet we still have no where to stay!

It's so nice to say, 'tomorrow we are going to Sydney' and that not fill me with fear, freeze my blood and have me running to the loo. For any of you who don't know, travel used to make me do just that, in fact at one point even a simple trip to the cinema would do that - so it's amazing for me to think, tomorrow we are going to Sydney and be really excited about the fact. I'm sure many people will remember my trip to Belfast for work, when I arrived at the venue in floods of tears because I had made it in one piece, and that fact scared the life out of me and all I wanted to do was go back home, the clients had to take me for a glass of wine to calm me down. Or the time I left the office for a holiday in Spain, waving everyone goodbye and sobbing my heart out because I didn't want to go.

Do you know I think I might be growing up - Another thing is that I am far less tollerent of people and really quite like that fact. There was a time when I would have just gone along with stuff because it was easier than arguing or standing my corner, but now I enjoy saying, 'no, I don't think I would like to do that thank you very much' and not care what people think about me. Perhaps I'm turning into my dad (not that I have a grey beard and look like a gnome).

So now we are going to make the most of the hotel, Will is watching the rugby, Sam is making Hot Chocolate and I am charging everything in sight and am about to have a bath and then lie on a comfy bed (yipee).

Last week in NZ

Have not been able to update for a few days as we have not had internet access. Tom and Claire arrived safe and sound from the UK and appeared like two people who seriously needed sunshine, sand and relaxation after the stress of the British Summer, I'm pleased to report that after 4 days in the sun they are now looking and feeling much more healthy. We have had to shift the dynamics of our little trio to accommodate the new comers and this has been an interesting shift but we are now all camped up on the Piha campsite... and of course we are counting down the days to Sydney. I am really excited about going to Sydney. I was chatting with a German guy on the site the other day and we were discussing the fact that although we (and he) are travelling for some time, the part before you move to another country (or back home) needs to be a period of quiet contemplation, to reflect on and absorb all that you have seen and learned over the period of travel... this time in Piha feels like a little beach holiday before we leave Oz.

So thoughts on NZ - After the leaving the mount I think it took me a while to get into the swing of NZ, the space and the countryside. I was amazed by the way that NZ reminded me so much of England even though it was on the other side of the world, with a similar climate and lush green fields. NZ is very clean and there is little rubbish here (from what we have seen), the people are very friendly and you very rarely see police cars or police men around. In Central America the three of us were a tight unit, unified by the strangeness of Central America, here we have had to share each other with more people and this has sometimes changed the dynamics of our group. In some ways I miss the closeness we had in Central America but we all enjoy the freedom that other people bring to the trip. It's lovely to lie on the beach now and chat to Claire whilst Will and Tom surf. Sam has enjoyed fishing with Tom and not just having to talk to me and Will, he has also made friends with some of the local kids. I am no closer to understanding the integration of Maori culture into the NZ way of life but we have tried our best...I would have liked to get Sam a greenstone before we left but ho hum.

But much as I have enjoyed NZ I am sooo looking forward to Oz and can't wait to see Sydney and walk over the bridge and maybe see the opera at the opera house. Most of all I can't wait to get out of the van and into a house!!!

We are all fine here but Sam has strained his wrist and is a bit upset that he has to stay out of the surf for a few days (poor little Sam) but he is on the mend fortunately!! Am off to make food now but will update on Sat night from our posh hotel (yay!)

Piha Cafe...

Still in Piha, only quick update today because will and Sam are hassling me. So we love Piha and are going to stay here for evermore - well for a few more days anyway. The usual things are present here, good surf, kids and a cafe. Today me and Sam were home schooling and a lady took a picture of us for the facebook page check it out here http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Piha-Cafe/327904323645?v=wall

Only a couple of weeks left in NZ now and then we head to Sydney - just need to sort out accommodation but have a few friends on the case...hope all's well back home x

ps. pic of Sam paddling onto a 'bomb' will explain surf lingo in another post - wait until you hear about the 'wax jobs'!!! No pic sorry - stupid computer

The spirit of adventure

Well Hot Water Beach lived up to it's name, we dug a hole in the sand and the hole filled with hot water, actually it was bloody boiling in some places and we spent a good three hours lazing in our own private volcanic pool. It wasn't quite as private as it sounds as there were actually about 100 other people lounging in their own equally private hot water pools but there you go. After our soak we found a campsite down a long winding track, the track went on forever and soon turned into an unsealed road and then we crossed a river and by this time I was getting flashbacks to Nicaragua, but eventually we pulled up in the Coromandel national forest and paid a pittance to stay in a lovely forest. The only downside were the showers, I had hoped for a nice shower to wash off the mountains of sand which had accumulated in my pants in our private hot water pool, but showering in a forest is never fun and so I decided that a few strategically placed wet wipes would suffice.

The next day was great, a really unplanned brilliant day. We got up and did some French and then walked into the forest along a stream, passing old gold mine tunnels on the way. We wandered down to the stream and paddled out, jumping on the rocks and building a damn in the middle with all the huge boulders. After this we drove into town and went to the supermarket buying fresh bread, ham, cheese and avocados for a delicious sandwich and then headed off to find another camp site. The main sites are all very expensive this weekend as it's New Zealands national day on Sunday but we managed to find another site off the beaten track where there were no other campers so we had the whole place to ourselves. We unpacked and cleaned out the van and made a lovely stir fry with loads of fresh veggies, got the washing done, read books, played cards and generally had a nice relaxing evening (I even managed to get that much needed shower). Then I updated the blog and booked our final nights accommodation in Auckland at the Travel Lodge yippee!!

I also thought some more about the trip, sometimes I lose sight of what we are doing and slip back into not doing the things I want to do (for example I'm really mad that I didn't ride the advanced Luge in Rotarua, I mean when will I ever get the chance to do that again). So I have decided to lighten up again and make the most of each moment, I'm not sure when I stopped doing that, I think it was around Napier, maybe that's what I needed to do then after the manicness of Central America, but it seems like such a waste. Anyway I feel like I have woken up again to the spirit of what we are doing and the spirit of adventure. Enjoying the freedom and I realised yesterday that I actually really like travelling (even in a small van with two smelly boys).

So today we are heading out of the Coromandel I think and moving towards the Bay of Islands, we need to be in Auckland to pick up Will's friend Tom and his girlfriend Claire who are arriving and travelling with us for the last week of the NZ leg. So I invite you all to embrace your day today and perhaps do something a little off the wall to also embrace the spirit of adventure - please let me know what you did.

ps. In the forest I had a dream that I met Laurence Delaglio (is that how you spell it?) and then another dream in which my Dad was due to have lunch in Gold Brick House with Joe Cocker but cancelled it because he thought he was too fat (my dad not Joe) so instead myself and Debra Wren went and met him and Debbie was wearing a wedding dress, make of that what you will!!

6 months in

We are now in The Coromandel which is a peninsula just around the bay from The Mount. We drove up here yesterday to amazing views (although if I’m honest I’m a bit over views at the moment). We stopped at a place called Hot Water Beach which is a gorgeous white sand beach and at low tide you dig a hole in the sand which fills with hot water to bathe in. The water is heated by volcanic rock close to the surface. Actually a lot of volcanic rock seems to be quite near to the surface in NZ and truth be told it’s a little unsettling if you think about it too much, and someone told us yesterday that there have been 3000 aftershocks following the Queenstown earthquake in August last year!! Still we will come back later today and dutifully dig our hole. We were planning on visiting Cathedral Cove just around the bay but it’s been closed due to the heavy storms that hit the region last weekend.

We are now 6 months into the trip and it seems to have flown by , I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times when I wished the finishing post were in sight but to be honest the time has gone surprisingly quickly. I look back on Central America now and wonder where the time went, I can’t believe that was three months ago, I also can’t believe that I was that brave, I mean honestly, jumping off a platform in the rainforest attached to a bit of wire, who do I think I am... Lara bloody Croft!!

We have also learned a lot on the trip, at least I have. I think you have to when you are all living in such close proximity. For example it’s important to take your own space when you get the chance, for Sam and Will that’s surfing and for me that’s walking around the towns or sitting on the beach watching the sea, or reading. We also have to be very organised to live in the van, everything has its place and there is no waste and no rubbish, we can’t accumulate more that we can carry so have few unnecessary possessions, for example as soon as a book is read it’s offloaded to the nearest reader and replaced with a new one. Even walking around the shops isn’t so bad anymore as you know that you can’t have more than you can carry so new clothes replace old ones and old ones are given away and anything new has to be travel sized. Money is precious and each purchase is thought about, if we treat ourselves to a meal then we know we will be drinking tap water. If we want a milkshake we know we will have to forego the cookie, it’s a good lesson for us all, not just for Sam.

It has also been great spending all this time with Sam. It’s true you can learn a lot from kids and I realise how good he is at living in the moment and not worrying about the past or the future. It’s also great that people we meet along the way come up and tell me what a lovely boy he is. For example a family on the campsite all came to me individually and said how lovely he was with the younger kids, organising them and looking after them, making sure they didn’t get hurt. At the Maori meal the family next to us said how great he was as he offered to make everyone a cup of tea after the food. He also has such a good way with adults, asking questions and taking an interest in their lives. Very proud! He is also a pain in the arse and a stroppy teenager so let’s not get too carried away and still a bit of a tyrant!

And speaking of tyrants then there’s Will. Will is loving the trip and I don’t think he wants to glimpse the finishing post, he is loving surfing, meeting people and living in the van!! He is our driver, wheel fixer and cheif looker afterer and is generally very happy so long as there is surf around. I think one of the hardest things about travelling as a couple is that when you are pissed off with each other there is nowhere to go – I can’t sit in my friends house and cry and he can’t go and knock down a wall but together we have managed to create enough space to go off in our own strops and then come back together once the storm has passed.

So there you have it, 6 months in and we’re still rolling along, sometimes more jolting along actually but for the most part it’s pretty smooth... that said there is a bit of jolting going on in the front right now as Will and Sam do maths which can go either way, some days it’s all laughter and others days there is definitely NO laughter (it’s like that today)!!!! So I’m off for a walk on hot water beach... have a great day y’all.

Whistle stop tour...

Well we had a really good day in Rotarua. We spent the morning making the most of the hotel, using the shower and watching the telly and luxuriating in a real bed, then we drove out to the luge. These are karts which shoot down a track really fast and there are three different levels. I went down the scenic route once and that was enough for me but Sam and Will spent the afternoon whizzing down the advanced track. Then they went on the sky swing, this is a huge ball which you sit in and is then launched out over a valley at about 150k in 2 seconds... I watched that one as well (must be getting old). Sam thought it was absolutely brilliant, crazy child.

In the evening we went to a Maori show - it was a right rip off. When we got there there was some maori host who thought he was a comedian and we sat in a huge marque, like being at someone you don't know very wells wedding. Then we elected a chief from the group (don't ask) and went to see where the hangi was being dug up. After this we watched a canoe being paddled in by some maori kids and then sat and watched a maori show. It was all just a bit...tacky...really. The maoris seem so proud of their culture and this just seemed like it was demeaning it a bit (not sure if that's the right word). And no Dad, it's not just me because the other couples on our table felt the same. After the show we went back to the marque and had the hangi and this is where we got our moneys worth as you can imagine, we piled our plated high with delicious lamb, chicken, potatoes and kumara (sweet potato) which had been cooked in the ground and then followed this with chocolate cake and cups of tea. Finally we went for a walk in the dark with torches and saw the glow worms and the 'comedian' told us about how the maoris used the trees for medicine etc... which was quite interesting but I'm not sure he knew what he was talking about!! The upshot - if you are in Rotarua don't pay to see the show it's rubbish just meet some real maoris and talk to them for free, much more enlightening and emotional.

The next morning we drove to Hell's Valley (think it was George Bernard Shaw who christened them this) and saw the bubbling mud pools and sulphur springs which were pretty cool, like walking on the moon with steam coming from the ground and bubbling water shooting up in a barren landscape. Then we drove to Raglan which is an excellent surf spot and a lovely little town. Will got some great surf and we spent a miserable night in the van in the rain parked outside a campsite because the gates were closed and all squashed onto one bed, but the next morning the sun came out and I spent an amazing morning wandering around the Raglan art trail which was on in all the shops and cafes whilst Sam and Will did maths in the van. The art trail was amazing and so much better without Will and Sam who would have been very bored! Then we drove to The Mount and stopped by to see Coralie (Ellie's next door neighbour) we are now parked up on her grass and will stay here for a couple of days until we head up to the Coromandel.

Mum said there are reports of cyclones and flooding in the North Island, it has been a bit wet and stormy but it's all fine now and we haven't been washed out or anything. Sorry it's been so long but have had no power for a few days.

A bed a bed a bed a bed......

Yesterday we drove from Taupo to Rotarua after Sam and Will spent the morning hitting glof balls into the lake trying to win a prize. There's a platform out to sea and you have 18 balls to try and get into the hole, the prize is $10,000!!! We didn't win but Will was very close.

The drive to Rotarua was lovely as the landscape here is very volcanic and there are lots of funny shaped hills, steaming geysers, bubbling mud pools and hot springs, however it was spoilt slightly when there was a funny noise and a grating sound and we stopped on the side of the road with a burst tyre. The next 40 minutes were spent trying to unhook the spare tyre, jack up the van, undo the bolts, change the wheel (for the dodgy looking spare) and then put the burst tyre back in the spare tyre place under the van. The whole time we were covered in little flies, it was pretty disgusting, but fortunately Will is the strongest man in the world and managed to do it all pretty quickly and suprisingly calmly. Funnily enough it was quite an enjoyable experience!! (for me anyway but I was mainly watching).

When we arrived in Rotarua we bought a new tyre and then went to the info place to arrange our activities (it's not called Rotavegas for nothing) then we narrowed down our activities to the following: Ride on the luge, Maori experience including concert and a Hungi (a meal cooked by hot stones in the ground) and possibly some other god awful extreme sport!

We then decided (and this is the best bit) to spend the night in a hotel and found a nice hotel with a spa with the natural mineral waters. So we are now sat in bed, Sam is watching Telly, Will is reading the complimentary paper and I am drinking coffee in bed (made by Will!) and charging all the electrical equipment, the only down side is we have to be out by 11:00 am so only 1 and 1/2 hours to go!!

Result....

We have a result - Travel Mood have agreed to refund us the money they charged us for changing the dates on our tickets, having been threatened with exposure through the media and legal action they have fessed up that they shouldn't have charged us and are a bunch of no good idiots!! (well not quite but that's what they meant). Once the money has been refunded I will ask for a good will complimentary upgrade to 1st class on our flight home. Fingers crossed they will agree to it and never tangle again with the the Morris -Morris Hobbs - Browne Cole gang!

Yesterday Sam went off with Ben on the bikes at 10am to the local swimming pool and arrived back at 5:00. He had a great day - there were, slides a climbing wall and a wave machine in the pool as well as a huge inflatable, so I think the birthday plans have changed and we are now headed for a day at the pool.

Last night we went for tea with Al and Liz and had an amazing dinner (have realised am a bit obsessed with food as always writing what we have eaten) But last night we had home made whitebait fritters (the whitebait is not like we know in England as they are much smaller) but taste lovely (have also realised am a bit obsessed with brackets and double exclamation marks!!) Then we had a roast chicken with roasted veg a la Jamie Oliver and it was delicious, so deliciolus that we couldn't stop eating and it was another very windy night in the van (but for very different reasons). This was topped off with a home made chocolate pudding, ice cream, meringues and a bottle of wine or two. We slept like babies.

This morning Sam and Will got up and went for a surf with Al (surf picture attached). Will is now in Malcolm's bus as I write this. Malcolm and Kay are lovely and invited us in for a beer yesterday and showed us all their holiday snaps!! and we also met Keith (i think) who is Malcolm's next door neighbour and lives in a static caravan, he also invited us in for a beer.

So that's all for now off back into town again.

Important stuff

Last night was the windiest night in the whole world - the van was blown from side to side, the wind howled the rain lashed, the tarpaulin clunked on the roof and all in all it was Brilliant!!! At one point me and Sam needed a wee but didn't want to trek the 5 miles to the loo so we squatted outside the van in the driving rain it was hilarious... each time we opened the van door it was like a scene from a film where rain and wind gusted into the van and then stopped abruptly as the door slammed shut. After a while we got sick of the tarp banging against the roof so we sent Will out to untie it, he ran out into the moonlight naked and got soaked, there was a light shining by the van and it lit up his big white bum like another moon - me and Sam were in fits. Surprisingly we all slept really well and when we woke up this morning the worst of the storm had passed and it was just a bit breezy.

I spent the morning sorting out bits and pieces on the internet. We have written another email to travel mood (who's office in Bristol has now closed, but they promise to look after existing accounts like ours) they haven't got back to us so I have threatened to take things further if they don't reimburse us - will keep you posted... then I applied online for our Aussie visas, emailed a few people about important stuff and checked the accounts online. Sam meanwhile did his maths with Will (he is still a cocky little beggar - perhaps that's what happens when you're about to become a teen - not on my watch!!)

In the afternoon we walked into town and Will decided that we have eaten out far too much recently and need to cut back on our spending so we went to a cheap super market and bought lots of veggies and cooked our own tea... and actually it was lovely (but I didn't think it was the right time to ask about that perfume I wanted so will have to make do with visiting the perfume shop every day and dousing myself in the testers - best one so far, Kate Moss Vintage - I think they might chuck me out soon!!) As we ate our tea Liz and Al dropped by and invited us for tea tomorrow night, and guess what, we are having a roast...yippee!!

We have also decided we will stay until Monday - that way we are here for Sam's birthday and the rough plan is: Get up and open pressies, go to Uranganui (something like that) where there is some sort of beach thing going on and Nic and Ben are going, then in the evening we will go out for tea to Crowded House which does lovely food, sounds like a pretty cool 13th birthday to me!!

Still no photo due to silly internet connection stuff!

Wet, wild and windy

Woooo it's very wet, wild and windy up here as we get the remnants of cyclone something or other blowing up a storm. We had no idea the windy weather was heading our way until Malcolm (who lives in a bus on the campsite) said we had better not stay camped on the hill and would we like to move in by his bus which is sheltered by the trees. We drove 10meters over to his pitch and were on a bit of an angle, 'don't worry' he said and came back with some wedges to level up the van. 'Would you like a tarpaulin?' he asked, and trotted back with a tarpaulin and some rope and rigged up a little shelter outside the van. We realised that we were out of battery on the computer and asked if he minded charging it for us. 'Hold on' he said and came back with an electrical cable which he plugged into his mains and means that we now have electric in the van. Another crazily brilliant New Zealander to add to the list.

This was perfect as it started to rain last night, the storm was providing good swell, so Will went down for a surf and Sam and me settled down to watch 'Die hard with a vengence' on the computer. An hour or so later Will came back grinning from ear to ear, he had just had the best surf of his life, not only were the waves amazing but he had also been surfing with a pod of Orca Wales. All the surfers who had been enjoying the swell had come in to shore, apart from two other people and Will, who stayed out with the wales. They were swimming about 5meters away from where Will was surfing and then a pod appeared behind him, playing around and thrashing their tails. He said it was absolutely amazing, the best day of the trip so far and was so excited that he couldn't sleep... me and Sam were happy for him but very jealous, especially Sammy Attenborough... it was gutting to know that they were so close and we had missed them.

Today we had a pretty lazy day doing not very much (although I think we walked about 5 miles) and then we went round to say goodbye to Mike and Jackie who are flying back to Bristol in the morning. Sam got a telling off for being too much of a bossy-bloody-little-know-it-all and will be banned from going out with Ben on Thurs if he doesn't reign it in!! Now we are sat in the van with the wind howling, the rain lashing and the tarpaulin banging overhead, Sam has just been learning about the periodic table, atoms and elements, Will is reading and all is well (if a little wet) in the world....No picture tonight wind playing havoc with connection!!

Ahhh luxury...

Yesterday we visited the local museum and learned about the history of Taranaki, the volcano and the maori culture of the area. We have seen a few museums since we left but this one was really interesting and well laid out.

We also visited a local farmers market which was a bit disappointing as there were only about 5 stalls! When we returned we had a message from Nic and Mark to say that they were going out that evening from about 4:00 and would we like to use the house for baths, tv etc... We had such a lovely afternoon there. I had a really long hot bath and even Will and Sam jumped in afterwards. Sam watched Pirates of the Caribbean on the telly and Will watched a surfing DVD. Then we made dinner: pasta with a bacon, sausage, pesto, spinach and courgette sauce, and it was so nice to cook it on a real cooker with enough space to chop things properly on nice clean surfaces. Then we finished with a cup of tea in a china mug (not a smelly plastic one) perfect. We came back to the van and were all in bed by nine, so relaxed from the evening that we slept really well. It made me realise how nice it will be when we get to Sidney and rent a house for a month - just having our own space and not being on top of each other all the time. That said it is really nice living in the van but it will be great to be back in a house again. There is a website for house sitting in Australia and we looked on there - it would be good if we could get a house sit as you don't have to pay for accommodation and often just need to look after peoples pets whilst they are away which Sam would love.

This morning we all got up and went in the sea (even me). Then me and Sam walked up to the shops to get milk and a coffee and a chocolate croissant. When we came back Sam did his English school work and Jessica phoned as she has found some flights to Bali, flying in on 20th June...that's just brilliant as it means she will be there for my birthday and it will be really good to see her and Al. Later we are going food shopping and to get the rest of Sam's b'day pressies and this evening possibly heading back up to the Festival of Lights to see a band.

Pic attached of Will going out surfing at Stent Road - also could anyone give me an Archie update please?

Rugby, Russians and Reading...

Well it was another lazy day in paradise today. Last night we headed to the club where we drank a few wines and then Sam went with his friend Ben to play on the play station. Nic and Mark invited Sam to stay the night and so we had a Sam free night in the van and Sam had a really good sleep in a comfy bed. It was an early start all round this morning, Will arranged to surf with some of the blokes at 6am (that's right 6am!!) of course he got up quietly (not!) and I stretched out, having the van to myself and was just dozing off when the door was flung open by Sam saying 'quick Mum where's my board we're going in for a surf!'... It was now 6:45am and I realised that there was to be no more sleep for me, so I got dressed and wandered down to the beach to read and watch the surf (you may be wondering why Sam was up at 6:45, actually he got up at 6am to help Ben do his paper round!!).

At about 9:45 they came out of the sea and got changed as we were due to be round at Liz and Al's for 10:15 for home made scones and coffee - we were running a wee bit late but got around there and sat on their terrace overlooking the ocean and eating the most delicious scones with butter and jam...mmmmm. Not used to the early morning start we headed back to the van and got a bit of rest before heading back up the road to catch a lift to the rugby. We had decided to watch a match whilst in NZ and this one was a local NZ side V Russia (in training for the world cup). Again we were about 10 mins late, this is very unlike me but because we haven't had to rush for 5 months we're all on a bit of a go slow.

The rugby was great and we sat watching the game and eating a picnic (the Russian team are an ugly bunch which was disappointing because I don't really get rugby so the highlight for me is watching the nice muscular rugby players running around).

So now we are back at the van - it's 7:45pm and Will and Sam are back in the surf. I have uploaded a pic of the van parked on the hill where we are camping, it's a great spot, literally 30 seconds from the sea. The only problem is it's about 5 mins to the loo (not great in the middle of the night!)

Update...

Gosh it's been a few days since the last update - where to start? Well we have some new friends here in New Plymouth (the ones that Will met in the barbers) some lovely people from Bristol who have moved over here and are being visited by their relations. The great thing is, not only are they smashing (love that word) types but they also have a 14 year old who gets on brilliantly with Sam.

The days have been spent here surfing, schooling and fishing (the usual). But we have been going to the festival of lights on an evening - this is brilliant because it's in the local park and the trees get lit up on an evening, you sit on the grass and have a picnic and watch live bands and best of all it's all free. A couple of nights ago we watched a maori choir which was really moving...once the choir had finished a group of Maori kids (late teens) stood up in the crowd and performed a kind of haka to the singers who stood respectfully on the stage. Apparently it's a mark of respect and was really powerful and moving and brought a tear to mine (and Will's) eye, not Sam's though as he thought they were being aggresive and didn't really get what was going on. It's not the first time that seeing the Maori culture has made me emotional. In Mahia I bought will a bone carving pendant, it had been carved by a big maori man who was selling them and it had a beautiful meaning about sharing ones journey together etc. So I bought it and the Maori man performed a blessing, holding the pendent with me as he said the words, I was stood with Leonie, who is also over emotional and we both stood there fighting back the tears. I got back and presented the gift to Will who said...'I'm not wearing a bloody necklace!!' Ho Hum.

We have had a couple of BBQ's. A couple of nights ago at Liz and Al's house (a NZ couple) who are friends of Nic and Mark (the Bristol couple) invited us to their house and we had amazing food and Sam spent the evening in the jacuzzi with the other kids!! Yesterday we were due to borrow some bikes from Nic and Mark and turned up at 10am, had a cup of tea, then another cup, then a BBQ and didn't get anywhere on the bikes, we ended up leaving about 3:30 and then in the eve we went back to the festival of lights for reggae music, a picnic and a bottle of wine.

Today Sam has gone with Ben (his friend) and his family to a museum, that was at 10am and we haven't seen him since. Me and will walked into town and bought his some birthday pressies for Sam and will go pick him up in an hour or so (5:00). Tomorrow we are planning on doing something a bit more touristy and may go up mount Taranaki (where they filmed 'The last Samuri' i think!)

Hope all is well with you all x Sorry no pic as wouldn't upload!!

Musings continued...

Forgot to add yesterday that of course there is a lot of Maori culture here and it's interesting to see the mingle between the Maori and other cultures but still not quite sure of the mix yet. I was referring more to the European settlers finding their place in NZ. Also to add that having a newish culture here has benefits in that there is not nearly so much red tape to pass laws etc because the laws weren't made back in 1220 and don't have to be decided by lots of really old 'honorable genlemen' who shout at each other and spend all the money on themselves...so sorry if it was a one sided argument yesterday...more of a ramble as I tried to work out why I missed the dirty streets of England.

Today we surfed and fished and generally loitered around the camp site. We didn't catch any fish but caught quite a few rocks instead...hmm think we may need to work on the fishing skills. Sam did English and is getting good at answering questions, the wrong questions I grant you, but still his answers are getting better! Tonight we are taking a picnic to the festival of lights. This is an event held in New Plymouth until end of Jan and every night a park gets lit up by amazing lights and bands play from 7.30-9.00, should be fun.

Very windy today, van parked on a hill and think we might blow away.

Haircut

Huzzah today I had a haircut, it was brilliant, just like being a real live person who doesn't live in a van and wear a birdsnest on her head full of split ends, it was brilliant I had a shampoo condition and a full on head massage. Will and Sam went for a wander and arrived back at the salon to reveal a new barnet for Will, a grade something or other he had done at the salon up the road. Whilst in the barbers, Will and Sam befriended a couple of blokes from Bristol who they arranged to meet for a drink this evening (small world).

It was a fantastic day though, just doing normal stuff. We had brunch in an amazing Parisien Cafe where we ate lovely food, I drank great coffee and we looked through a book about Oceans. We walked 6K along the coastal path and then Will and Sam went for a surf. After which we met their new friends from the barbers in the local bar (Will is still there - god knows what time he will get back).

One musing on NZ I have is the lack of history here, it's such a new country that when you drive through the city's there are no old buildings, all the graveyards are new (compared to England) and it makes me appreciate the history of England and the sense of a past that it brings. The dirt and grime of England are like an anchor, weighting you to the past and giving you a sense of grounding which is not present here - it makes me wonder how the people of NZ anchor themselves.. that might sound strange but I remember speaking with a New zealander who said that without a past it makes it difficult for them to envisage the future, at the time I wasn't sure what that meant but now I understand a bit more... with no past life seems a bit floaty and I wonder what kind of a future NZ will create for itself, or indeed if it needs to, perhaps the future creates itself but the people are to busy looking for a past to notice... anyway have had a few wines so not sure if that makes to much sense... anyway must go now as Sam needs to call his Dad and I need to make the beds up. Pic of Bernard O Higgins Street, Santiago attached for Dad (better late than never) x

What a lovely day

This morning we woke up and drove back to Stent Road so that Will could have another 'awesome' surf but it was too windy and the waves were blown out so we parked up the van had our weetabix and me and Sam did some Science work, which Sam is getting on really well with. Then we drove back to New Plymouth and stopped off along the way for Sam and Will to have a little surf and I read Marian Keyes (Ah Marian Keyes what would I do without you!)

We then stopped in New Plymouth as we had to top up the internet key and try and get in touch with the Aussie embassy to try and get our visas sorted for Feb. We managed to top up the internet but the consulate was more tricky, got put through to one of those voice messages...'If you would like to apply for a visa press one, if you have already applied press 2, if you want to speak to an operator be prepared to wait 4 hours and listen to annoying music!!' It was taking up all our credit so we will try again on skype later. In New Plymouth we wandered around the shopping centre so Sam could look for birthday pressies, he really wants a snorkel set but honestly I don't know how much we can carry now we have already added a skateboard and a fishing rod to the three surfboards, 3 wetsuits, 2 backpacks and 3 day packs, we will have to start booking a crate on a ship to take our stuff from country to country!! I looked longingly in the shops but know that there is no use buying anything new, I have no idea what's in fashion now anyway...but I might get a hair cut as have split ends like never before. After the shops we had an Indian for lunch (Will's idea) and then found an amazing campsite by the sea. We are parked up on a hill with amazing views out to sea and across New Plymouth and of course of Mount Taranki (although it's a bit obscured by cloud today). We have just been for a walk and Sam a skate board along the coastal walkway. Beans on toast for tea tonight and more surf and a spot of fishing tomorrow.

West Coast

Today we left the ‘Hotel Hocking’ (Scott and Karen’s house) after a fantastic night of pampering, for me that involved a hot bath (even though it was a really hot night) for Will it was eating his body weight in Thai food and for Sam it was lying in bed with a cat, watching telly and eating chocolate covered peanuts... bliss. So we were very sad to leave all our new friends this morning and head of on our own again. As Sam said himself ‘it’s not nice to say goodbye’ but on we go to a new adventure.

We drove across the country headed for New Plymouth and wound through gorges and the usual telly tubby hills. But this time there were much more people around and towns with more than two houses and a random sheep, hoorah, civilisation! The jewel in the crown however was Mount Taranaki which is a huge volcano which loomed before us like something from a film, beautifully lit by the sun with a bit of cloud just below the peak and snow glistening around the top (and fortunately no smoke – it hasn’t erupted since the 1700’s thank god). We stopped at a campsite by the sea and Sam is now sat with Will doing his maths (well, actually Will has just made him cry) and I have been reading my new Xmas book and am about to make a salmon salad, we still need healthy food to detox from our Xmas overeating/drinking binge! Tomorrow we will continue around this peninsula along the ‘Surf Highway’ towards New Plymouth.

I wrote that the other day but we had no internet to publish so have an extra update... today we got up and drove further around the 'Surf Highway' it really is very pretty over here. We stopped at a place called Stent Road which is apparently the best wave in NZ and Will had a brilliant surf, it was a 5 star day (which means the waves were brilliant) not so amazing for me and Sam though as it rained quite heavily whilst we were waiting in the van but we passed the time by learning French and then had a bowl of porridge to warm up. After Will's surf the sun came out and we found another beach for Sam to surf at, it's nice to get back into a routine again. We are now on a campsite in New Plymouth and Will is cooking and Sam is skateboarding. New Plymouth seems to have a fair bit going on so I think we will stay around here for a while. There is a 10k walkway which has been built along the coast so we will probably have a stroll along that tomorrow as well as a surf and possibly a horse ride. Pic attached Xmas Day when we put out the Kontiki.

Happy New Year...

Sorry for the delay in blogging but we have just spent 10 days in an internet free zone in the wilds of New Zealand. We were in a place called the Mahia Peninsula and if you look at the map it's the little bit sticking out on the east coast of the North Island. Will's friend Sid, has a batch there (that's a holiday home). It's a lovely wooden building on an acre of land about 10 minutes walk from the nearest beach and is very peaceful and relaxing. Sid and Leonie had various friends and family members joining them for Xmas and the New Year and at any one time there were about 20 people there. Most were staying in tents pitched up at the back of the house, which left the front free as a frisbe ground, badminton court, football/rugby pitch etc...

The days have been spent drinking beer/champagne and eating freshly caught lobsters for lunch dipped in hot melted butter and then a humongous BBQ of steaks/chicken/chops/fish and salads, I have never eaten so much red meat in my life and need a massive detox. In amongst the eating we managed trips to the beach for a swim/surf/stroll and fishing. Sam had a fishing rod for Xmas and has been learning to use it and we also used a Kontiki, which is a motorised fishing line that gets sent out to sea with about 25 hooks attached, you leave it for an hour and then reel it back in... unfortunately the fishing wasn't great and we only caught a couple of sting rays which we had to put back.

Sam has had an amazing time, he has mowed the lawns on a ride-on mower and ridden up and down the beach on a quad bike which he thought was amazing. There have been loads of kids to play cricket and swim with and of course use the new fishing rod. For Xmas day he also got a skate board, rash vest, shorts, books and card games and was very happy with it all (although I'm not sure how we are going to carry it all).

Today we left Mahia and were invited to stay with Scott and Karen and their family. They are friends of Sid and Leonie and said we could stay and use internet/wash clothes etc... bless them, more wonderful NZ people. So here we are back in Napier and I am using the computer, Sam is watching telly and Will is drinking beer in the shed with Scott (all NZ men have a shed to dring beer in!) Tomorrow we will leave for New Plymouth and will try and sort out our Aussie Visas, which hopefully won't be too much of a hassle although I think we need to send in our passports as we are staying for longer than three months.

So a belated Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to you all... May 2011 hold lots of adventures for you and bring you lots of happiness.

Splash Planet

Today we had a brilliant day and just what was needed to lift me out of the down in the dumps mood into which I was sinking. We got up fairly early had our usual weetabix with honey (4 for Sam, 3 for me and about 12 for Will) and then we drove to Splash Planet about 20 mins up the road. This is a water park and we were a bit worried that the rain which has dogged us for the last two days would continue... but it held off. If you went to a theme park in England when the school hols had just started it's rammed and you have to queue for at least 2 hrs for each ride and it costs about £70 to get in... but not in NZ, this is when the lack of people is a blessing. We paid £35 for the three of us and took a picnic of salmon and avocado sarnies and spent the day shooting down tubes into massive swimming pools. It was brilliant. We also played crazy golf, went on go-karts and jungle buggies and spinny dingy things. Whilst we were there we met up with a family from the camp site so Sam also had more kids to play with and honestly, there were no queues... unbelievable.

We spent all day there and left as they closed the gates, we drove back to the campsite and cooked up a pasta with mushrooms, courgette, aubergine, asparagus, onion and garlic with tomato and cream sauce mmmmmm... followed by chocolate and red wine (coke for Sam). And we have just realised that we have now passed the 4 month mark today!!

I would attach a picture from the splash planet but the stupid camera broke again (we will have to pick up a new one in the Jan sales) so instead here's a picture of all the lovely surfers from the Mount... by the way Mum and Joni thanks for the girly hugs xx

Xmas time...

We are still on the campsite in Napier and Sam has spent two very happy days playing with his mates on an enormous jumping pillow, in the pool and is currently zooming around on a go-kart!! The site is full of kids which is brilliant. Meanwhile Will has gone mountain biking with his friends and so I am sat here in the computer room waiting for the computer to charge and feeling a bit sorry for myself because I want a friend to play with too!

The guy Will is mountain biking with is the one whose house we are going to over Xmas, we met them yesterday and they seem very nice people and it sounds like there will be quite a few people arriving at their place over Xmas. This will be good as it's cool to have people around but it also makes me a bit nervous as they are all people that I don't know and I hope they are all nice! This is where boys and girls don't work the same way, Will says 'Of course they are all nice, they're my friends' and logically I know that, but being a girl it's also nice to get a hug and a bit of re-assurance, that's when you miss your girly friends the most!

Today me and Sam went for a walk into town and had a cake and a drink in the local bakery, we agreed that we really like Napier as it's a big town but not so big as to be overpowering and it has the Xmas spirit that was missing from Gisbourn. There's also quite a bit to do here and we will visit the water park and the aquarium over the next couple of days. The weather here is changeable at the moment and swings between being overcast and drizzly to sunshine but so long as it's not raining lots it's fine. We will head to the Mahia peninsula in a few days (I can't believe it's nearly Xmas - It doesn't seem so close!)

Attached a picture of the van and Don (the lovely guy who lent us his workshop in the Mount)