A Mum & Dads travel Diary

Mum & Dad Little :

Having travelled half way around the world and via Hong Kong, evading possible drug traffickers, cyclones, numerous plane movies and Chinese carry – outs you would think our arrival at Wellington airport would be greeted with yells and smiles, not our Amanda…. floods of tears, reminding us of a Tsunami, and burbled hello’s. Thank goodness a kind kiwi took her under her wing and composed her for our arrival!! 

After a lot of cuddling and hugging we managed to get our grossly overweight 2 x cases (weighing in at nearly 3!) to Amandas car and put mum in the back seat with one of the cases. I thought we would be for a car ride to Amanda & Stu’s home but no sooner had the car started than we were there! That’s living close to the airport… in fact we both looked up to the sky and saw the pilot waving at us!!

What a lovely house they have, each bedroom with a balcony, a little back garden and the obligatory garden table and barbeque. In fact Amanda had organised a great first night barbeque and, knowing I wanted to eat healthy also included fresh exotic fish… I thought possibly Stu had caught them the same day but when I asked what they were he responded……FISH!

Our next day / night in Wellington started with Mum & Daughter shopping for clothes, I wish Stu had got me temporary job … hate shopping… means spending money…

In the evening to celebrate our anniversary Amy had booked a recommended restaurant on the waterfront, table on a balcony and really great personal service, and the prices for the meal with the exchange rate was out of this world… could stay here for a while.. p.s. Thanks for the Champagne.

As usual get some Scots around a table add wine add champagne next thing we knew we had made friends with more Kiwis and a German girl…In fact when the restaurant closed and we all went walk about to find another watering hole we had said kiwis, German girl and our waitress at the restaurant all in tow… what a night to remember even on to a pub with a scots girl serving…. But the only comment I have to make is they do like to shut shop early…..3a.m. come on….Stu and me, we could have went on all night……..

After taking it easy next day we went on to do our road trip to Rotorua  with Stu driving and Amanda taking care of the Itinerary.

First stop was going to be Gumboot city, no problem getting a motel we were told!! Oops no room at the inn when we arrive, but Stu had brilliant idea of looking up his tourist book and phoning. Found Farmstead, like a bed and breakfast with old 70 year old woman with great views of a recently active volcano, we were all that tired from the previous shenanigans it was easy to fall asleep and the beds were so comfy…. Breakfast was great too.

The trip to Rotorua was through some spectacular scenery, we both loved the desert part of the trip and seeing NZ Mount Fuji….

Next stop Taupo, try some golf into the lake, hole in one and win a million dollars, easier to say than to do, we all tried, lost many a golf ball and proceeded on our way.

Finally Rotorua and the little cottage where Amy and Stu first started there NZ experience awwww……

Poor Amy calling for the little lamb that she had befriended all that time ago, we all tried identifying the right one in the flock in the next field but to no avail…the scenery from the cottage to the lake is fantastic, the air so clear and the drifting smell of barbeques mouth watering,I’m sure I could smell the crackling of lamb chops from a nearby fire!!! Any way the dog was still there and what a friendly mutt it was….. always around when we were cooking. Talking about cooking I will always remember the tasty eggs that Amanda would pick from the chicken coup each morning, believe me fresh eggs like this you cannot get from Tesco’s.

Our stay was punctuated with trips to Rotorua, the lake, the craters of the moon, the bee farm, the waterfalls and Stu’s Zorb experience, only surpassed, in my mind, by Amy and Mums “Swoop”… that should have been called “Bungy extreme”!!!

Clare if you read this be afraid be very afraid….

Hats off to both of you….

My memory is the Helicopter ride with Amy & Mum and the bit when the pilot saw how nervous mum was and he turned to her and said “Look no Hands!”

Met Amanda, Willie and kids, Amandas parents and decided to go on the lake and race each other… what happened Stu? Where did all our energy go, beaten by the locals, the shame of it. Then the Maori Haka, the meal was great, my version of the Haka caught on film, Stu don’t show it!! tourism can’t take it….

After seeing Stu off at Rotorua airport Amy Mum & Me continued the road trip making our way back to Wellington with Amanda doing all the driving, what a star, never thought I could relax for 5 hours while a woman drove…

Safely back to base and Wellington, rejoined Stu and you never guess another Barbeque and more freshly caught fish. They were starting to call me Omega man….

Our first experience of Sushi eating was in NZ. Excellent….Then we met Amy and Stu’s friends Rachel and Mark, lovely people.

Our first experience of Japanese food was in NZ Excellent but messy…. This is all on video by the way just apply for your copy!!!!

Our first experience of NZ rugby game, boy was it freezing that night, thank goodness for the pom pom girls…

The visit to some of the bays around Wellington was awesome, our favourite being Scorching Bay…always think of you two when we say that. Kiwis have funny names for their coffee’s Flat white, tall skinny etc….

Nearing the end of our stay we saw the Cuba carnival, saw it from up high on a balcony overlooking the parade, great end to the holiday.

All things must come to an end and we had to get ready for our next stop to LA, Thanks to both of you for a great time, great company, great experience and the only thing we regret that we couldn’t stay longer…(also Mr. VISA was calling me saying he had enough!)

I’ll finish as we started, back at the airport, Tsunamis …………..

Luv

Mum & Dad

Swooping and Zorbing the weekend away.

Amy : It’s been a while since we updated the blog. Thought we better put a wee update on the last two weeks goings on’s so you know we’re still in the land of the living.

Since our awesome Kayaking experience we’ve taken things kinda easy as Mum and Dad Little were due to arrive in Wellington on the 14th Feb. We spent a lot of it getting the house sorted. We did go to the Vodafone X-Air with our friend Joss last week. This was an extreme sports festival which was a right good laugh. The funniest sights were had at the Water jump where random folk from the crowd got up and took off a ramp into the lagoon riding skateboards, cycles etc. Some funny spectacles there. Stu I think enjoyed the bikini competition the most though

We also spent a bit round Wellington itself and took in another Twilight Movie at Hatatai’s Velodrome not far from us. “The Devil Wears Prada” was showing so off we went, tartan rug, vino and a few winter woolies and sat under the stars watching the movie. Its a great experience even if the film was pants.

As you can imagine I was so excited for the whole week as my folks were arriving. So I planned out a whole itinerary for them. They arrived safely and on time on the 14th Feb as planned. They looked so tired bless them. The flights here arent the shortest but they made it never the less. We took them out a couple of times round Wellington and had a few hangovers after that. Then we headed to Rotorua.

The drive took forever cos of the traffic. Arriving back in Rotorua was amazing. We even managed to stay in the cottage that we lived in when we stayed there. Whilst we were there we did a few touristy things that we’d already done. Then we watched Stu do a wet Zorb (http://www.zorb.co.nz/)! He was drenched but seemed to like it. A video of Stu doing the zorb is attached. It looks reasonably slow coming down the hill but Stu reckoned with the water in there it felt like he was on a fast spin in the washing machine. All good clean fun !

Mum and I did a Swoop. Kinda a swing bungy jump. I was so impressed with Mum. I think Dad and Stu thought she was going to pass out when they watched us swinging back and forward. You can have a look at the video here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLG7os47e8A

We also took in a Hangi and Maori concert. I got up with the women Maori tribe and danced the Poi and Dad got up with the men and did the Haka. All very entertaining.

After a few very very hot and busy days in Rotorua, me, Mum and Dad drove to Taupo (Stu had to fly home to Wellington as he was working during the week) and stayed two nights there. Again it was in the high 20’s, way too hot but we still had fun packed days. We did Craters of the moon, Hukka Falls and then a helicopter ride over the whole of Taupo taking in volcanoes and landing in a geothermal area where we got to wander round and see caves etc. I think Mum and Dad have thoroughly enjoyed their time and were amazed how much NZ has to offer.

I bet they cant wait to chill out in LA after everything here and relax for a bit!!

A Big Day Out

Amy : Last week was a nice short week for us at work. We were off Thursday and Friday cos we were in Auckland for the Big Day Out and off on Monday as it was Wellington Day. – Just as well as we needed it !

On Thursday we traveled to Auckland with our friends Mark and Rachel. It was a long drive up so Stu and I halved it. We arrived around tea time and checked into our motel and headed straight out for dinner. We decided to go to the Viaduct Basin in Auckland where all the Americas Cup Boats are. Lovely views out over the harbour. When we were there we noticed the band Jet were also there. So off Rach and I went and got our photo taken with the lead singer. Our wee claim to fame. The photo of me with the lead singer is attached.

After dinner and getting over our excitement of seeing a famous person we headed off to see Kasabian at a tiny wee venue (nobody has heard of Kasabian over here). Because of that I think there were more British there than Kiwi’s. Met a few Scottish and Irish people and got chatting to them before the gig. Kasabian were amazing. We knew they would be but it was such a good gig. Our ears were ringing in the morning and we all had husky voices from singing way too much. The evening was just the best. After the gig we went to a few pubs, including one for the homosexual type which Stu and Mark made us leave very quickly. I quite like the colourful flags and feminine people there :O) Stu and Mark were more worried about what was in their beer !

On Friday we all nursed a hangover on the bus to Mt Eden Stadium in Auckland where Big Day Out was. Big Day Out is like a mini music festival. The sun was shining but there was a nice wee wind every so often. The venue itself I wouldn’t say was the best but the bands were good. Sound was a bit poor as each stage only had two speakers and there were no speakers in the middle of the grounds to project the volume but as we knew all the bands songs it didn’t matter as we could still sing along. We managed to see/hear Kasabian, Lilly Allen, Muse, Jet and the Killers as well as a few others such as My Chemical Romance and a few kiwi bands. The atmosphere was great.

Saturday we all headed to Rotorua for a catch up with friends. We went to Off Road NZ where we met up with Mike. He gave us a good deal for the 4 off us to go on a 4×4 off road monster truck thing. It was defo more a mans thing to do. There were a lot of screams from the back from me as we were going up hill and bumping over massive mounds of mud.

All in all the weekend was a success. It’s so nice having a few days off during the week. Our next day off will be the 6th Feb for Waitangi Day…I love these public holidays here.

Stu : Was a cracking wee festival although there was some weird rule whereby you could only booze in certain areas of the festival. Bit pants but still didn’t stop us from having a good laugh. As Amy said the Kasabian gig on the Thursday night was superb. They are definitely one of the best live bands around at the moment. Muse gave them a run for their money at the festival on Friday though.

I had the ‘ol Carlisle United “deckchair army” shirt on Thursday and over the course of the night was approached by a family from Langholm and a couple from Carlisle. Bordertastic ! There’s certainly no mistaking the green, red and white stripes of the shirt right enough. Nice.

Rotorua was superb but I’ll say now – Don’t trust any kiwis named Mike behind the wheel of a 4×4 monster truck. Crazy fecker ! Good time was had by all though.

P.S. Went fishing along the coast on Monday and caught another wee trout. One of these days we may even catch a one big enough to eat ! Was certainly bigger than the one Amy caught last week so going on that evidence this weekend may be the time to get the BBQ stoked up for some grilled trout !

Wellie boots in Wellington !

Amy : Well it’s gonna be another long entry as we’ve not had the chance to be online recently.

So where do I start, probably our last few days in Rotorua.  Last Friday was our last night in our lovely wee cottage.  We spent the evening saying various goodbyes to all the lovely friends we met in Rotorua and this even included a few Kiwi’s…..shock horror !!

It was a bit of a sad goodbye on Saturday.  I had to hold the tears back saying bye to Joof et al.  Especially with Jake their dog and wee Mary Poppins :O)  We will truly miss Hamurana but will be back at some point.

Well the first stint of the journey was a slow one as I was driving. Hehe. In NZ there aren’t many speed camera’s about but somehow I managed to find one and set it off and those who’ve been in the car with me know I don’t go much over the speed limit.  So we’ll wait and see if it was real.  The 5 hour journey down was pretty tiring.  We went through ever kind of scenery possible including the desert.  There’s a main road called the Desert Road and man it lives up to it’s name.  I think it’s the driest part of NZ we’ve seen.  Normally things are so vibrant and alive and here it just wasn’t.  We went through Levin where we swithered to stop off in as the NZ Idol finalist, Matt was there in the mall.  Stu decided to keep driving tho!!

Then as we reached the outskirts of Wellington you could feel the winds and rain.  The car rocked, I felt sick and we both had a feeling of ‘What are we doing coming to a big city’.  Life in Rotorua was so good and we knew our way around and had a small circle of friends.  Then coming to the Capital was awffy daunting.

It took us a while to find our apartment.  Wellie is renowned for it’s one way systems and pedestrianised places and guess what…our appt was on a one way system and a pedestrian area!  So we quickly pulled the car into an illegal parking space for Police Cars and unpacked the car then went back to find parking.  Stu turned the key and nothing…the old girl’s battery had died…no not me the bloomin car.  Now a while back I said we should get breakdown cover but Mr Lloyd said No we’ll be fine.  So it cost a bomb to get the AA out. Now we’re faithful members and love them to bits as within an hour we were all sorted and had a new battery installed, all with two simple visits from nice AA men.  One reminded us of Mr Miagee from Karate Kid :O)

All in all we have well and truly fallen in love with another NZ city.  We love  Wellie.  It’s got lots to do and see and so many opportunities to see other parts on NZ.  Our appt isn’t in the best area as it’s like staying in Rose Street come Grassmarket so there’s loads of pubs and kebab shops but for our purposes it’s fab.  Easy to get to interviews and work.  Hopefully in the next week we should have our own place.

Stu’s currently working on The Terrace with Fujitsu and I’ve got a couple of interviews lined up next week.  All the recruitment agents here have been wonderful and so helpful.

We had a strange meeting last night.  Can you believe that we met up with Christine my old Manager from Standard Life last night.  How weird is that ?  We’re at the other side of the world and meeting up with people we know.  It was nice seeing a familiar face and getting to bore her and Harry of our travels and thoughts so far.  We have our fingers crossed for nice weather for them as the weather has been awful.  Although yesterday and today were sunny and dry.

Anyway apologies for not replying to everyone’s emails.  We dont have WIFI in the appt and I have to frequent McDonalds and Starbucks to get a connection!!

Take Care everyone!

Trout and about

Amy : Well it’s be another fun filled week for us. Considering we have only been in NZ since August we are doing OK on the social side of things. Last Thursday we went for a BBQ at our friends, Kasia and Mikes in town. We mentioned a while ago we met a nice chap at Claypigeon Shooting well that was Mike, he works at Off Road NZ. We had such a ball there. Chatted all evening like we’d known each other for years. Unfortunately I was Taxi for the evening and Stu drank his share and mine yet again. I am tallying up how many Taxi’s he owes me now.

Last week I worked all week at the Kaharoa Kennels which was extremely tiring but it’s cash. Its quite nice getting out the cottage as well. In between sorting the cats and dogs out I helped Joof with the chickens, feeding Mary Poppins and having Jake their Tibetan Terrier as company. He’s adopted me as his second Mum I think as Lin is still in Holland.

Well as most of you know my hubby got another year closer to 40 :O) On Monday there and to celebrate we had Mike, Kasia, their kiddies, Joof and not forgetting Jake round for a BBQ on Sat night. That is the most I have drunk in months!! We had another great night and partied till 4am! I don’t think I’ve seen past midnight since we’ve been in Rotorua. Thoroughly enjoyed myself.

On Sunday, to clear the BBQ cobwebs, Joof took us fishing on Lake Rotoiti. True to form Stu caught two massive Rainbow Trouts but I’ll let him tell you about that as they were no ordinary catches. On our first leg out on the Lake we stopped in on some natural hot pools for an hour or so. You can only get to these by boat. I didn’t want to leave them! It’s amazing that from one natural spring you can get all this hot water. And when I say hot it is bath hot boiling water. We submerged ourselves in the pool for ages then ran into the Lake to cool off. Bloody hell that was cold. I did it once and it was torture. Stu and Joof were a bit mental and did it a few times! There’s a jetty into the lake so they took turns to jump in and swim back to shore.

Well I’m sure if there’s anything I’ve forgotten Stu will keep you posted with things. We’re off to Windy Wellington at the weekend and I’m quite looking forward to that. So from Country Bumkin posts on the blog you’ll be reading about our City Slickers life.

Stu : Yup – as Amy says we’ve had a cracking week. The fishing on Sunday was awesome. We were only fishing for an hour or so but I was lucky enough to catch two good sized rainbow trout. They gave a fair old battle and it was pretty tiring work getting them onto the boat. The larger of the two we brought back home with us and Joof gave us some instructions on how to smoke it on the BBQ. It was delicious. There’s something quite satisfying about eating something you’ve caught and killed yourself ! Guess it’s just the caveman genes coming out. Anyway – there’s a photo of said trout attached.

Anyway – Amys covered everything else so I’ll not bore you by repeating. Hope everything’s going well back home.