Pre Christmas and travels through the North Island
October 31st. "No to Halloween Trick or Treat" poster worked and kept the unwanted from our door. Instead we watched with interest the blackbirds encouraging their baby to fledge. They have been feeding it around the clock and we expected it would be catching its own worms when we got back from Queenstown!!!! Eventually it made it out of the nest to the other side of the garden in the grape vine. Now it is up the tree so we know it can fly.
Mum or whitey as she has been known with worm to feed baby. Baby below in the vines.
The other exciting news was the arrival of Lynn's Christmas present 6 months after I ordered them. Walkers Cheese and Onion crisps!!!! Had to test them out though with a weekend sherry!!!!
Win came for lunch yesterday so it was good to catch up with her. She is still unsure about her shoulder and is going to see if she can maintain its improvement with pain management and mobility.
Our spring cleaners came today and all looks great. Just got to wait for the weather to warm up to be feeling Spring like.
November 19th. Ten days on from the election in the USA and it is all going off. Tweet sackings, hasty impulsive actions while thousands continue to die of Covid 19. OMG you could not write this stuff!!.
On a brighter note, our blackbirds had two babies who now fly and self feed. Amazing how they have grown........
The garden is looking good too as we move into summer temperatures.
Next thing to look forward to is the T20 cricket played at The Bay Oval between NZ and Windies. Going with Dave and Vrons so looking forward to that on the 29th November. They popped in for coffee today so had a good catch up.
Had another knee injection (x2) two weeks ago and things have improved . She was able to put in 7ml of Fibrin which was nearly twice the amount I had before and although stiff for 48 hrs, it eased quite quickly. Went back to the Gym yesterday and have not suffered today so that is promising. Have scheduled another set of injections for the 25th November to hopefully cement my progress with regard to improvements in reducing my pain.
December 5th. Knees are improving so keeping my fingers crossed on that front. Enjoyed the T20 cricket at the Bay Oval between NZ and the WIndies. We took the imported walkers Crisps as part of the packed lunch........ living proof of the poor weather at the beginning but then a glorious day out.
Holiday begins with a drive to Hamilton for one night before tour collects us. Leaving car at Motel for one week free of charge!!!! On arrival in Hamilton went to the gardens that are amazing and have been constructed on an old rubbish tip. Information link to Hamilton Gardens
View slide show. Hamilton Gardens slide show. The motel was excellent and we will definitely stay there again.
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Itinerary Day 1 Lunch with Debbie and Fraser Robertson at Crosshills Farm • Arrive at Taumarunui for two nights.
Day 2 Visit Lauren’s Lavender Farm near Taumarunui • Lynn left her contact details here because the owner went to Taumaranui High when Lynn taught there!!!
Sad story behind the name....... Lauren was the owner's daughter who had finished with her boyfriend, by phone the day before. He was working in Sydney and had been for two months. Following the phone call he got on a plane to Auckland, hired a car and drove to Taumanarui and shot her. Lauren Natasha Shepherd, aged 21, was found dead with extensive head injuries in her home. He then drove off, crashed his car and shot himself. How tragic!
Her Mother named the farm after her.
Beautiful place.
Day 2 .Ride the rail carts on The Forgotten World adventure • Lunch at the Whangamomona Hotel on the Forgotten World Highway • slide show Taumarunui, carts and boat.
Day 3 Catch the jet boat from Pipiriki up the Whanganui River •
Either take a 40 minute walk to The Bridge or explore further upstream on the jet boat •
Day 4 Visit Whanganui Regional Museum and the Sarjeant Gallery • slide show Gentle Annie, Napier and Gannet colony.
Day 5 Drive the Gentle Annie road over the Central Plateau •
Day 6 Follow Napier’s Art Deco Trail with a local guide
• Take a private tour out to the Gannet Colony at Cape Kidnappers •
Day 7 Lunch with Stephen and Jeanette Williams at Moondance Manor
Returned to our motel in Hamilton after 6 nights away, 4 motels and 1319 km travelled. Went to the Chim Thai restaurant in Hamilton for Lynn's birthday. A great ending to a really enjoyable trip. Arrived home in Pyes Pa on the 17th with everything in order ......neighbours had brought in bins, parcels and post which was nice.
Sunday 20th December. Lynn has been busy getting the summer garden furniture out as we have Molly and Dave coming over for drinks. Haven't seen them since we used to meet for coffee in lockdown NZ.
Spoke to Marshy last night and feel so sorry for all of our English friends who are about to experience even more restrictions. Of course, Marshy and Steve should be in NZ now but we are all being very philosophical about the current situation, especially as there has been a new out break in Sydney causing Jill and her family to change plans over Christmas. All we can do is hope the vaccine and 2021 can bring some relief to this Annus horribilis . I will leave you with the New Zealand Christmas Tree and wish you all well for 2021.
