Queen's Birthday

It has been a LONG time since the last post, so I thought, being a long weekend and all, it was timely for an update. School is going well, this term has raced by and we have now finished 6 weeks. I've managed to survive the silly season of reports, and have also been crazy busy with marking internal assessments. The changes to NCEA level 2 this year have added hugely to my workload. Last year my year 12 class had 2 internal assessments and 5 external, whereas this year they have 6 internal assessments and 1 external...

Badminton is going well, my next Wellington Masters match is next weekend. We are at home, playing
North Harbour and Counties who are both strong teams. I'm also enjoying helping my OBU rugby team out on match days. Last weekend was a good opportunity to give the camera an outing & take a few pics. We beat Stokes Valley by 3 points, which was a good result considering we lost to them by 3 in the first round.

Will has also been practising on the numerous Kereru who visit our property. He managed to snap these on a gorgeous crisp autumnal day.

There is not much else happening really. I've been counting down the days to this long weekend. My school also gives us the Tuesday off which is nice. I've got a haircut booked for Tuesday morning, then will meet up with Emmaline and Lucy (my two QMC friends who are both now on maternity leave) for a late lunch.

Second week of hols

On Easter Monday Will and I drove out to Makara. It is less than half an hour away from home, but somehow we had never got around to it in the last 2 and a bit years... The beach was pretty busy with loads of people taking advantage of the public holiday, and reasonably good weather. We had a lovely bracing walk up the hill to the gun emplacements. It was pretty windy up on the tops, as you might be able to tell from my rather wild hair in our self-portrait below!

We had good views of the Makara wind farm, and went for a wander to one of the turbines which has good public access.

After we had walked back to the main beach we stopped in the cafe for icecream before heading home. We'll definitely be back.

During the middle weekend I had a road-trip to New Plymouth with Geoff and Richard to play my first ever masters badminton tournament, the Taranaki Masters Open. It was loads of fun. I did OK, coming 3rd in the doubles with a woman from Manawatu whom I had never met before (let alone played with!) and then winning the mixed plate final with Richard. A couple of Geoff's friends from North Harbour also came down to play, and the 5 of us staying in the motel managed to win 9 bottles of wine amongst us, so it was all good! The weather on the Saturday was gorgeous and I had time to wander down to the waterfront and chill out a bit before the badminton started. It had been ages since I was last in New Plymouth, and I was impressed by what I saw. My friends Nicky and Neal who live nearby(ish) in Eltham came to watch me play a couple of games, so it was great catching up with them. Here's a couple of pics, not exactly the type of day you want to spend inside in a badminton hall!

 

During the last week of holidays I managed to fit in a Pilates class every day bar one, so that was good. I also spent a bit of time in the garden. I pulled up the last of the tomatoes in the greenhouse, and am trying some leeks, silverbeet, beetroot and onions in their place. I'll also put in some more lettuce/salad leaves. The best thing about the greenhouse is that the chooks don't tend to go inside, so shouldn't scratch everything up!

I was pleased to grow my first ever red capsicum... We had several of them and they tasted amazing. We've got stacks of carrots we're eating, plus still have a few beetroot left, albeit topless because the chooks have demolished all the leaves...

Another holiday job which was good to cross off the list was booking our flights to the UK this Christmas. We fly to the UK on Sunday 9th December, fly from there to Singapore on 31st December for a few days catching up with the bro and his woman, and hopefully a few days chilling at a beach somewhere (Malaysia?) before arriving back in NZ on the 11th Jan. Am looking forward to the trip already!

Easter Holidays

A few weekends back we went to the first Hurricanes home game of the season. We went with Elvie and Mike, and it was an entertaining game. It was very close, but the Hurricanes just fell short. Nevertheless, they are still doing a heck of a lot better than many predicted this season, after losing so many of their stars...

Recently we have bought ourselves our first digital SLR camera (the Canon EOS 600D for those of you with an interest in that sort of thing...). We are really enjoying it, although haven't really got it off its 'auto' settings yet... It will be fun learning how to use it properly. Brendon Doran, I might be asking for an hour or two of your time and expertise to go through a few things with me a bit later down the line!

Birds in our garden have been the first subjects we've been practising on. Luckily they are in plentiful supply...

The chooks have also been willing subjects. They really are part of our family, but sometimes they do take things too far, as seen below! We almost need to put one of those kiddy-gates on the patio doors to keep them out of the house! Yesterday I was working down in the garden so had the patio doors shut to keep them out. I heard one of them start squawking, so came up to discover she was all alone. Her two sisters had managed to get into the house by hopping up onto the outdoor table, then entering the house through an open window!

 

Dad came to stay for the night recently, and he bought down a huge bag full of surplus silverbeet from the garden for 'the girls' which was much appreciated. It remains their all-time favourite food.

A couple of weeks back my rugby team had their first match of the season. I'm not playing this year, but I helped out as needed with a few of the managerial type duties. I was kept pretty busy, and was tired by the end of the match, and I didn't even play! Traditionally, we always have the first court session of the year after the first match. I, along with 3 others, were the judges for the evening. The theme was super-heros for the forwards, and super-villians for the backs. Us four judges decided we would be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...

 It was a good fun night, and good for team bonding, which was the main purpose. Everyone entered into the spirit of it, and us judges didn't get anyone to do anything too nasty...

 

 

Last weekend Will and I attended the wedding of Anna and Dane, friends of mine from badminton. They had the most perfect weather for it, and it was a lovely afternoon/evening. It was held at Ohariu Farm, out the back from Johnsonville, and it was a gorgeous rural setting. Good food, good wine, good company... What more could one ask for...

My school term finished on Wednesday afternoon, so I now have a glorious 2 & a half week holiday to enjoy. It hasn't got off to the best of starts as I've had a stinker of a cold the last few days. It seems to be improving, so fingers crossed... The upside was, I did manage to read three more Jack Reacher books in the first three days of holiday, as I wasn't really up for much else! I've now read the first 12 in the series, meaning 5 left to go.

Birthday Month

It is over 3 weeks since the last post, so well and truly time for an update. The last few weeks flew by, mostly in a whirlwind of social activities...

On the 18th February we had a combined 75th birthday party, celebrating Will's 40th which was on the 17th February, and my 35th which was on the 20th Feb. We had a BBQ and it was a lovely evening filled with all kinds of people from all of the various facets of our lives. It was a most interesting mix including Will's engineering geeks (self-confessed, I'm not being harsh!), my work friends, korfball players, rugby players, badminton players... It was a bit like our engagement party and wedding all over again!

The following weekend was the Classic Hits Winery tour at Alana Estate in Martinborough. We drove over on the Friday night and stayed at the Martinborough campground. We were going with my friend Elvie and her man, and they had managed to book the tent site right next to us which was awesome. We had a few quiet vinos on the Friday as a warm-up to the following evening.

Saturday morning was pretty chilled. Elvie and Mike did a bike tour of a few vineyards while Will and I wandered into town for a relaxed brunch. At about 3pm we cooked up a huge feed on the BBQ, meaning we only had to take snacky/nibbly type things to get us through the evening at the concert. It was a brilliant concert. The weather played its part and we enjoyed Avalanche City, followed by the Mutton Birds who had reformed after a 10 year hiatus, followed by Gin Wigmore. We had left our chooks 'home alone' (with plenty of food and water) for our two nights away and they were fine. We arrived back to 6 eggs, which they had all decided to lay in the same nesting box!

The first weekend in March was a chance to catch up on some house stuff. The poor old house had been a bit neglected due to our crazy busy February. I also had my first Wellington Masters badminton training which I attended on the Saturday and Sunday. You only need to go to one of them, but I thought since it was the opening weekend I'd pop along to both... I have since been named in the top team which is exciting. We'll play in division 2 Masters, and will have away trips to Auckland, Waitakere and Wanganui during the season, as well as a home tie. I'm really looking forward to playing masters, last year they reduced the eligible age from 40 to 35, meaning I get the opportunity a lot earlier than I thought I would!

On the sporting front I have also just finished a 4-week block of outdoor training sessions held at Waitangi Park. These were excellent. They were a cheapo deal through one of the voucher sites and really well done. Usually there were about 8-10 people training and it was not at all 'boot-camp' style, it was much more supportive than that. It was nice to train outdoors with other people, plus the instructor was good at mixing it up and varying each sessions. Through another voucher site I also signed up to a $35 unlimited pilates for a month deal run by a studio in town. I have now done 2 weeks (of about 3 sessions a week) and am also enjoying that. Boy is it tough though! It's really hard work... I'm relatively strong, but the instructors work you to absolute fatigue. There is a maximum of 10 people in each class, so nowhere to hide...

Last weekend my dad flew into Wellington and stayed Sunday night so it was great catching up with him. He enjoyed meeting the chooks for the first time. Then on the Monday and Tuesday nights we had Anne Flintham and her husband Tom staying with us. I used to teach with Anne at my UK school, so it was great to see her after a few years. They are touring the country in a camper van and having a great time of it.

School is going well, although the weeks seem to be racing by. It's been pretty manic lately, I have been crazy busy marking internals the last week or so. I'm now on top of it all, so it should calm down a bit... My classes are lovely, I really am lucky to work in a good school with fantastic kids.

Yesterday was Elvie's birthday and in the evening she had a BBQ round at her place. She lives walking distance from us, so it was nice that Will and I could both enjoy a few wines. It was a very enjoyable evening. Tonight we were also out celebrating a birthday. This time it was Dale, one of Will's friends from work. We had a very nice meal out at a restaurant in town.

Tomorrow should be pretty relaxed... I'm looking forward to a decent sleep-in, have a little bit of marking to do, and then have badminton training from 4-6. I'll finish with this very cute photo of Will and 'the girls'. They really are entertaining. Every now and then we'll be in the lounge watching TV or something, and we will look up and see three little chook faces peering in at us! They love hopping up on the picnic table. We did have to 'shoo' them out of the lounge several times today.





School Camp

Last Tuesday we headed off to the Abel Tasman National Park, 80 year 11 girls and 11 members of staff. One ferry trip and bus ride later we stopped at Pelorus bridge for lunch, swims and ice cream. The girls loved jumping in off the rocks, it is a beautiful place to swim.

We all spent that night together at Old MacDonalds farm in Marahau. The next morning we split off into 4 groups and headed for different parts of the park. My group had a 2 and a half hour kayaking session in the morning, before walking the Marahau to Anchorage leg of the track. We had absolutely stunning weather and gorgeous views along the way.

 

We stopped at the lookout just before Anchorage for more gorgeous pics... I don't usually wear sunhats, but we make the kids, so I thought I had better set an example... I decided I wasn't having several days of flat hair, hence the styley visor look I'm rocking!

 It was a gorgeous evening when we got into Anchorage. We took the kids for a swim, before they cooked themselves some dinner and headed for bed, exhausted after a full-on day!

 The next day we walked from Anchorage to Bark Bay. It was another absolutely cracking day, so it was nice for the girls to see the Abel Tasman at its best.

Along the way we stopped at Cleopatra's Pool for a refreshing fresh water dip. With no showers at the camp sites it counted as my daily wash! Behind that big front rock stretching out to the right is a natural water slide where the water from the waterfall gushes down a channel worn through the rocks. The more adventurous of the girls enjoyed hurtling down it.

People we had met on the way to the pool had told us they had seen a big eel in it. We told the kids about it, but they thought we were joking... Until it popped out to say hello! Some of the girls got out of the water pretty quick!!!

This was a very scenic day of walking, I love the area around Torrent Bay. I'd like to actually camp there the next time I'm in that neck of the woods.

The Falls River swing bridge was also a highlight, although some of the girls were a bit nervous about crossing it...

We eventually arrived at Bark Bay and took the girls swimming straight away before they cooked their dinner. There was a bit of excitement during the evening when one of the girl's gas canisters exploded in the cooking shelter. Nothing that a dry-foam fire extinguisher couldn't handle... No harm done... Except to the cooking shelter that ended up covered in white foam!

On the Friday we just had a short (approx 2 hour) walk to Onetahuti. Just before you hit Onetahuti you come across the most gorgeous turquoise blue water imaginable.

From here we had our water-taxi pick-up back to Marahau. Instead of taking us straight back, the drivers took us the scenic route home. We checked out the seals and were shown a little rock pool which acts like a nursery where the baby seals learn to swim.

We also went cruising past Split Apple Rock.

From here we had a bit of time to kill before the buses arrived to take us back to Nelson airport, ready to fly home. We were booked on 3 flights and I was lucky enough to be on the first one. I arrived home exhausted but happy after another brilliant school camp.