Christmas and beyond.

December 9th 2019. Oh my word...... what a disaster!. White island, which we featured in an earlier blog (12) on a trip to Whakatane, erupted yesterday with 47 people on the island. Sadly most seem to be from a cruise ship, Ovations of the Seas, which docked in Tauranga Harbour that morning and visiting White Island was one of the excursions on offer.

December 10th. News continues to slowly emerge....... from near misses...... acts of incredible bravery.... to devastating news of the numbers of people who have died. Equally the number of people with life changing injuries in specialist burns units throughout New Zealand.When you see the photos it is no surprise. 

Two weeks ago we were watching Griff Rhys Jones, in a documentary from North to South of New Zealand, standing on the rim of the Volcano with a helicopter pilot......... discussing the volatile nature of White Island. Just so sad for everyone involved. Yet again Jacinda has stepped up to the plate with her actions and words.. Really sad the UK can't have a statesman of her ability to lead the country in times of crisis. Not much choice for you UK voters on Thursday and my fear is Boris will win with a large majority. Let's see! Tickets for the Chump meets Trump will be priceless!!!!

December 11th. News continues to reach the public but it is not good news. Too much activity on the island to retrieve the eight bodies........ 25 people in critical condition spread across the whole of NZ in specialist burn units. We all fear this death toll will rise and the majority appear to be Australian. It seems the cruise ship left Tauranga this morning, heading for Wellington. I bet that is a really sad cruise to still be on.

As a distraction, we took up Jen C's recommendation and went to see Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen in The Good Liar which we thoroughly enjoyed. 

December 16th. Lynn's birthday. The day began well with cards and a cup of tea followed by a call from Barbs which was lovely. Plans for the day are to travel to Waihi, at the bottom of the Coromandel and stay over and meet Sarah, Jo, Jan and Robbie for golf then lunch. The forecast is dreadful so we pulled out of Golf and agreed to meet for lunch. Driving an hour north through torrential rain meant the golf decision was looking good. While staying over at a very nice Motel and eating at a Thai restaurant, we received an update from Sarah re brunch at Waihi Beach, which we duly accepted. In the Motel we had birthday calls from Cathy DR , Flo and Karen from sweltering Perth. It was one of the nicest birthday celebrations Lynn has had. Flo's story of the last meet up in London sounded horrifically dangerous. They missed us............. but I think it was a lucky miss on our part!!!

December 17th. Met up with Sarah and Jo, last seen in Southbourne in the summer of 2014 doing their last minute supermarket sweep for their Italian house. Also, Jan Martin and Robbie, last seen in the Coromandel with Hobbit earlier on this year.

Here we all are: Alison, Sarah, Robbie, Jo, Jan and Lynn.

It was great to catch up with them all and tell them how we came to be living in NZ. When we last saw S n J there was no mention of that as we were living in Southbourne with our parental responsibilities..

What a five years it has been for us all.!!!! 

Final preparations for Patsy's arrival are taking place. Menu's agreed after weather forecasts received....personal matters taken care of this week and more firsts to be had.......... by cooking our first lobster tail tonight in garlic butter and lemon juice. Scrummy yummy!!!!  Tomorrow I am making a Bengali Fish Curry, as seen on TV, which I am really looking forward to. Think we might move a bit more to Asian cuisine in 2020. Tomorrow sees me at the Hygienist again for another hour long session! She is very good ...........but an hour!!!!!! 

20th December. The Bengali Fish curry was a hit..... even with Lynn who is not a fish fan. Today we collected the meat orders from the butchers and did final shop while Patsy is slowly making her way over here.... it is long enough without a 6 1/2 hr delay on top of a 5 hour transition!!! Poor P left Heathrow on Thursday evening at 8.30 pm = Friday 9.30 am NZT and won't arrive in Auckland til Sat evening 7.50 pm NZT ...... some 35 hours after leaving! Wow... she will be knacked!. Apart from last minute bed making and tidying we are set. The plan is to collect Patsy from Hamilton Station and drive to Rotorua to see the thermal pools etc. Lunch by the Lake and then home to Kereru Place. Menu for Christmas Day is surf and turf on the BBQ and Boxing Day cold roast beef, ham, pork pie , jacket pots and pickles so a mix of down under and traditional........ we hope. Several trips planned but more on them as they occur.

December 22nd. Absolutely gorgeous day... clear skies and 23 deg. That prompted our first BBQ of the year with sausages and Kofta. Yum! 

Read about the floods in England. Massive fires in Australia are causing mayhem...... wish some of your rain could make it over there. The food processor broke yesterday so went out and bought replacement today. Considering we went to an electrical department two days before Christmas... we parked right outside and didn't have to queue for the click and collect section. When that happens you know you are in New Zealand! Patsy has spent the day on the hop on hop off bus in Auckland and we will speak to her tonight about the plans for tomorrow. More........ after she has arrived.

December 23rd. After all that planning and all those hours travelling Patsy has arrived.  One small step for Patsy, one giant leap from the UK!!!!

All is well and we travelled home via Rotorua ( steam in background). 

Nice lunch at Third Place Cafe overlooking the Lake. Now at 15 Kereru Place and an afternoon settling in to new surroundings. 

Christmas Eve. Visited the coast with Patsy for the first time. Patsy and Lynn next to Tsunami warning sign and then later walking on the beach surrounded by the NZ youth playing at the seaside...... just like we all did, back in the day!

Patsy is cooking tonight before the Kiwi Christmas Day and the UK Boxing Day.

December 27th . Christmas has been and gone........ with remarkable ease! The pre Christmas guest chef's Pasta went down well as did Surf and Turf on Christmas Day.......along with a beach visit.  Presents were exchanged with some surprises revealed. 

Boxing Day saw us at the pictures in the pm. We were going to see Cats but the reviews were so bad we went to see Knives Out with Daniel Craig instead. We all enjoyed the film and the UK Boxing Day meal as previously described.

27th. Today we went to Dave and Veronica's for coffee and a catch up with them, only to bump into them in New World as we shopped on the way home. Tonight we are having Fish and Chips so all chef's get a night off!!!!

December 28th. Trip to the Transfer Station followed by the market and the Historic Village. Patsy managed to find some gifts to take home with her.

Boat trip tomorrow.

Dolphin and a hammer head shark were seen on the boat trip but not a lot else.

 I got stalked by a NZ resident who, during our conversation, revealed he was a supporter of Trump.... and Boris.  I said if we were both placed on a spectrum we could not be further apart! This did not put him off as the interrogation continued...... then he went up on top deck and stalked Lynn! His teeth were like old gravestones and he sat within your personal space. Forever known as Orca the Stalker!!!!!

30th December. Trip to Whakatane and Ohope Beach. Cold beef sandwiches and horseradish!!!!

White Island was active.

A smug owner of the new gismo.......... that also peels potatoes!!!!!!!

BBQ in evening

New Year came and went without us as we were heading off for the Coromandel for a couple of nights before the luxury of The Cordis Hotel in Auckland. Click on the link for our five day trip. https://spark.adobe.com/video/tF1ayHRRXXfYG

The Waihi Gold Diggers train journey wasn't good enough to make the holiday slide show but it did have the Preece delay bug present as the engine wouldn't start and had to be replaced.

January 3rd. Road trip to Auckland went well after breakfast at La Casa. Slight hiccup with rooms as previous occupants had not checked out and had left the hotel to go into Auckland. The Preece delay bug returned with a vengeance. Eventually after a two hour delay we were able to check in. This prompted the manager to provide bubbles while we waited and a free meal in the restaurant that evening as an apology. The upgraded rooms came with access to the Club Lounge...... all very nice for high tea and free drinks before dinner. 

January 5th we left Patsy at the Hotel for her last night before she flies home. Sad to leave but happy that she has loved New Zealand and I am sure we will see her again. She generously  ordered a Noel Leeming Gift Voucher as a thank you for her stay. Such a lovely surprise!

Thanks P for the picture of Auckland last night with the smoke from the Australian fires. It dominates our news at the moment even though people are still in intensive care from the earlier tragedy at White Island. Two people still haven't been found.

As I write this P will be boarding the plane......... hopefully leaving the Preece delay bug in NZ. I intend to publish this while she is in the air so she gets a record of her trip when she arrives home. Next blog will be after our many visitors and our trip to Adelaide.

Tau Hou hari (Happy New Year)