Tuesday, 31 March 2009

wif, wifi, where for art tho wifi

well hello from sunny new zealand, as seems to be the norm these days i have had to find a computer with internet as no where seems to want to provide wifi, it would seem the laptop we brought might have proved redundant had it not been for the fact we are using it as a dvd player to keep ourselves amused at night. we are in the middle of the first series of 24 - i soo cant believe we have never watched it before - we are quickly becoming very addicted and are straining ourselves not to have to watch too many episodes a night so we can stretch it out further.

since i last blogged we have had a change in scenery again and arrived in new zealand on saturday afternoon to lovely sunshine. makes a change from the rain that almost seemed to follow us around in sydney however we did have a beautiful day on friday for our bridge climb, it was an amazing thing to do although our legs felt a bit weary afterwards and the views from the top were breath taking - i am only glad that the photos they provided were complimentary as i wouldnt have paid to recieve an image of us both in the extremely attractive grey jumpsuits you have to wear although i think ricky was quite taken with his, he looked less so of a michelin man in his than i did.

auckland was a completely different kettle of fish to sydney and a lot more hilly - very hilly actually, but it did lend itself for some lovely views across the bay to the islands in the distance. we went to the auckland museum where we spent a very educational afternoon learning about maori culture and history and it made us really excited about getting to explore new zealand and learn more about its people.

the fun started when we picked up our van on monday - i wouldnt exactly call it modern and ricky still hasnt got the hang of putting it into reverse without using two hands. to say it is a bit of a beast is an understatement but its quite cool in a mini bus kinda way. we had a lovely (if a tad stressful) drive through the kiwi orchards and vineyards heading towards rotorua where we stayed at a campsite last night. its basically a thermal area with lots of natural thermal springs and boiling mud pools which is pretty cool although the air does resemble picnics when you were a kid as there is something of the egg sandwich about it. obviously this is coming from the sulphur in the air and not ricky (well at least i hope it is)

the van decided not to provide us with any power last night and after a lot of swearing and screaming (it dawned on ricky we wouldnt be able to catch up on the latest episode of 24) we phoned for help and got the owner of the site to come and see what was wrong however everything seemed to be fine, que a trip to the garage this morning (all is now resolved but it was pretty annoying way to start our trip)

however we didnt let it bother us too much and we visited wai o tapu which is a kinda volcanic thermal wonderland, there were geysers and lakes coloured the most amazing blues and greens through minerals coming through the surface. tonight we are off to maori performance and traditional feast and tomorrow we will make our way south to lake taupo before heading for wellington on thursday. as usual time is running out so will speak to you soon - fiona will give you a buzz soon to make plans for next week - so excited about seeing you

speak soon xxx

1 comment:

  1. Hey Emma,

    Sounds amazing! That's so funny you guys have just discovered 24 too! I started watching Series 1 last May or so and got hooked...only for Alex to remember, after about 9 hours, what happened in the end so he went off it and I didn't finish watching it til February this year!! lol!!! The thing that made me laugh most about it is just how productive Jack is!! When does he check his facebook or wander down to the staff canteen for a cuppa!? And we thought Nicola was busy!?!?!? lol!


    Well New Zealand sounds amazing, totally different to Oz - a bit more cultural I guess? Bet the landscape's breath-taking. I'm so envious!!

    Not much to report here, we've started on the kitchen so working from home this morning - awaiting an electrician to come round. Hmm. The clocks have changed so it's lovely to see a difference! My sister's coming down tonight to stay til Sunday so we're off to the theatre tomorrow night to see La Cage Aux Folles - which stars Graham Norton in drag! Can't wait!

    Take care guys and have fun with your friends next week. Big hugs - Sarah xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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