TravelStream™ news feed for member shonandgraham on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/shonandgraham en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:29:55 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1230763920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1230763920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1230763920/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:29:55 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

My parents went off to explore the South Island for 10 days from 14th Dec and we picked them up from the ferry on 23rd Dec. Both Graham and I had to go into work on Christmas Eve, but we both finished at midday. I came home, whilst Graham spent the rest of the afternoon finishing his Xmas shopping. Christmas Day we spent at home doing the usual eating and drinking and watching films on the TV - I think I managed to watch 3. We had a roast chicken, turkey breast, roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese, but it still isn't the same when it's not freezing cold outside. On Boxing Day we went into the city centre and had a walk along the waterfront, as it was a lovely sunny day. We stopped for an ice cream at Kaffee Eis by Frank Kitts Lagoon, and watched people in the pedal boats.Saturday we were back in the city centre because we had given my mum a spa package as her Christmas present. Once she had had that, we all met up and went for a curry for lunch. Afterwards we went to Te Papa, (the best museum in the world) for the afternoon.The rest of the time we spent just relaxing at home with my parents, and then all too quickly it was 31st Dec and time for them to head back to the UK. The 5 weeks they were here had flown by and it was lovely to have them over here, especially for Xmas.On the way to the airport we had plenty of time, so we went for a little detour to Scorching Bay to find the Chocolate Fish Cafe. We knew it had closed down but were pretty sure it had opened up under a new name. The cafe used to be popular with cast members when they were filming Lord Of The Rings. We eventually managed to find it under it's new name of Scorch-O-Rama, and had a nice hot drink and cake, before driving to the airport. After we said our goodbyes at the airport, we spent New Year's Eve watching a movie on the TV and letting the new year arrive quietly.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1229117640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1229117640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1229117640/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:09:27 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

On my birthday this year I had to be at work, but it wasn't too bad as most of the day was spent out of the office at our division's Christmas Party. I did make the mistake of telling a few people previously that it was my birthday so I was made to wear a Happy Birthday Banner all day. Our team, does morning tea whenever it is someone's birthday, so I had that to enjoy halfway through the morning, then at 11am we all went outside to get on the bus to take us to the venue for the party. We had hired Tawa Rugby Club, and had set up some games for each team to play, but first it was lunchtime, and we'd hired a caterer to come in and sort out lunch for us. The food was delicious and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We split everyone into pre-arranged teams and then had a round of 4 games for each team to play and compete against each other. It was an afternoon of fun and laughter for all involved. There was also a quiz, a crossword and a sudoku to do whilst the games were taking place.We were lucky with the weather as it was sunny whilst we were doing the games, and then the rain came down. There was indoor facilities though so we had the prizegiving inside. I got a special mention for my birthday and everyone sang happy birthday to me. I felt a bit silly but it was quite sweet really. As it happens, my team also won the games, mainly due to the fact that Ross was in our team and he is a walking encyclopedia, so we won the quiz by miles, which bumped up our score quite considerably. We were picked up at 4pm and headed back to the office, to collect our stuff before heading across the road to the bar. My parents and Graham joined us as well for a few drinks before we decided to go to Lonestar for some food. However, that turned out to be pretty disastrous and in the end, it was almost 10pm and we still hadn't had our food so we walked out, as none of us were hungry anymore. We went home and had some cheese on toast instead!Next day, I had organised a BBQ to celebrate my birthday properly with friends. It was sunny but quite windy so in hindsight, it would have been better on the Sunday, but everyone seemed to be coping with the wind and still enjoying themselves! We started around 3pm and finished around 8pm so a nice amount of time. It seemed to be a popular day for BBQs as some of my friends had either already been to a BBQ or were heading to another one after ours. It worked out quite well though as not everyone turned up all at once, so we cooked food in dribs and drabs! A nice way to end my birthday celebrations.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1228722660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1228722660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1228722660/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:04:28 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Paihia, North Island, New Zealand

As my parents were here visiting, we decided to take a day off and have a long weekend in the Bay of Islands. I had to be in Auckland on the Monday anyway as I'd bought a ticket to go and see Kylie, with my friend Jen.My parents were already up in Auckland as they'd been touring the North Island. We flew up on the Saturday morning at 8am. I was very hungover as on the Friday night, we went to the pub from work. My boss Clive was buying the drinks as he was going back to the UK for a month so wanted to go for a drink beforehand. Once he went home, there were some other work colleagues in the pub so I continued drinking with them. I stumbled home via McDonalds at 10pm - not a late night but I then had to pack.Anyway, the consequence of this was that once we got to Auckland, our parents picked us up and we headed north towards the Bay of Islands, stopping at the first place we could find that did breakfast. There's nothing like a full breakfast to cure a hangover!We arrived at Paihia around lunchtime and went straight to our accommodation, Nautilus Resort. I hadn't stayed here before, but for a 2 bedroom apartment it was one of the most reasonably priced, and as it turns out, it was a very nice apartment as well, with access to an outdoor pool, and spa area, and also a spa bath in the apartment as well. Lovely!We sent my parents off to visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and Hururu Falls, whilst we walked down to Paihia town centre to book a cruise for Sunday.Sunday morning we were picked up from the hotel and taken to the wharf where we boarded our boat, ready for a day out on the water. We were on the Cream Trip Cruise and luckily the weather was perfect. Blue skies and calm waters and very hot. All of us caught the sun, and got a little bit burnt, even though we used sunscreen. Even my mum, who has never been burnt in her life!! We managed to see some dolphins but we couldn't swim with them as they had juveniles with them. Maybe next time we will get the chance to. At lunchtime we stopped at Urupukapuka Island, where there is a cafe that we had lunch at. We had 1hr on the island so there was plenty of time to have a dip in the sea as well. It was pretty cold!After we returned, we were going to have a BBQ but in the end we couldn't be bothered to cook so went out for a curry instead.On Monday we headed back to Auckland and after checking in to Jet Park Hotel by the airport we headed back into the city centre to browse round some shops. Graham then left on the airport bus to catch his plane back down to Wellington. I left my parents exploring Auckland whilst I went to Vector Arena to meet up with Jen for the Kylie concert. Afterwards, I met back up with my parents and we went back to the hotel. It made sense to stay there as I was getting an early flight in the morning, and my parents were heading out of Auckland to continue their tiki tour of New Zealand.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1227451800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1227451800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1227451800/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:32:54 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

The first weekend after my exam was spent relaxing and having fun. On Saturday, the couple, Andy & Jenny in flat 3 of our block of 4 held a BBQ. This was really Jenny's leaving party as both of them are heading back to Perth, Australia as they were only in NZ for a year. However, Jenny was leaving a bit earlier to go to Melbourne for a massage course first. Anyway, they invited some of their friends and all the flat occupants to the BBQ. We also invited a couple of friends. It was lovely to meet some more new people in Wellington. The weather was also good - not too windy. Jenny made a couple of cakes as well which were superb.Later, when the sun went down we moved the party into Andy & Jenny's flat. Jenny had been on some sort of massage course already so she gave the girls a head, neck and shoulder massage which was divine. A perfect end to the day.On Sunday, it was Run/Swim number 2, this time in Eastbourne. Anna picked me up and we headed over there. The official times still haven't been published but I think it was around 24 mins or thereabouts, so an improvement on my time at Kilbirnie a few weeks ago.Afterwards Graham met us and we went for a little walk around Eastbourne. The Eastbourne carnival was taking place that Sunday so we had a look around. Plenty of stalls - crafts, food and clothes etc. We also walked past an Open House so we had a nosey round to see a typical beachfront house. Nice, but really overpriced!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1226253180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1226253180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1226253180/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:01:22 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

Guy Fawkes night this year was a Wednesday night. Last year there was a fireworks display at 9pm on the waterfront. This year there was also a display, but the Wellington Free Ambulance were doing some fundraising so had put on a whole evening's entertainment called Ride of your Life Spectacle. There was a stage with The Beat Girls performing, and a selection of carnival rides and stalls etc. We went down to waterfront around 8pm and met up with a few guys from work to watch the fireworks.On the Saturday we, along with some friends, decided to do the Heartwalkers 5km walk along the waterfront. It was a lovely, sunny morning and we just ambled along chatting away. After the walk, we had a drink and some lunch in the neighbouring playground cafe, before heading our separate ways.Sunday was another day of exercise for me. Along with my work colleague, Anna, I headed to Kilbirnie for the first of our Run/Swim events we had entered. Each event progresses in distance until the final event which is running/walking 5km and swimming 500m. The first event we were doing was actually the 3rd of the series, and it was a 3km run followed by a 300m swim. It was my first competitive run since the Round the Bays 7km run in Feb, so I was a bit nervous about whether I could run the whole way or not, but I managed it no problems. Swimming was a bit harder as I am woefully out of practice, but I was pleased with my time of 33mins. Next time will try and go faster!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1256699100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1256699100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1256699100/tpod.html Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:18:46 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Picton, South Island, New Zealand

We went away to the South Island for the Labour Day long weekend. It was a belated birthday present for Graham. We flew to Nelson on the Friday night and after picking up our hire car from the airport, spent one night in Kingsgate Beachcomber Hotel which was very comfortable and not too far from the beach or the airport. On Saturday morning we went to Nelson city centre to go to the famous Saturday Morning market that is held there every week. It seems to sell just about everything and we picked up a few different varieties of flavoured olive oil to use in our cooking.After a spot of brunch, we headed out to Cable bay to have a go on the Skywire. It was a good ride and as it was quiet, we had another go, free of charge. It was actually quite peaceful and not the adrenalin rush I was expecting. Still good, but I think the Flying Fox in Gravity Canyon would be more of a thrill.Afterwards we headed on our way to Picton, which is approx 2hrs drive from Nelson. We stayed for 2 nights at Broadway Motel. Again, we couldn't fault the accommodation and the staff were friendly and helpful.Sunday morning, we had pre-booked on the tour Nature's Best Walk 1 - a tour that would cruise along the Marlborough Sounds and drop us off at the start of the Queen Charlotte track - Ship's Cove. We would spend a few hours on the track and make our way back to Furneaux Lodge in time to be picked up at a pre-arranged time. We'd booked on the earliest boat as we wanted to include a drop off at Motuara Island where we could spend 1hr or so on the island. It's a predator - free wildlife sanctuary and we were hoping to see the blue penguins up close and personal.Anyway, as we got out towards the island, the waves became a bit too choppy to be able to dock at the island safely. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but DOC (Department of Conservation) were in the process of upgrading the jetty areas, so there wasn't really a decent enough place to be able to get onto the island. Or as the skipper put it - he could get us onto the island but wouldn't be able to pick us back up. We didn't fancy spending a night on the island so we carried on straight to Ship's Cove.As we were dropped off at Ship's Cove a lot earlier than expected, we had time to go in the opposite direction from the track to go and visit a waterfall - it's about a 30min round trip. Then it was time to start our walk.Queen Charlotte Track is one of the well known tramps in New Zealand. It takes between 3 and 5 days to walk it, but what is special about this track is that instead of the usual DOC huts on the other multi-day tramps, this walk actually has a range of accommodation at the end of each day ranging from camping to backpacker lodges to luxury resorts. Now that is my kind of walk. We were only doing the first day's walk, but the aim is to go back for a number of days and complete the whole walk at some point in the future. The walk itself was really enjoyable. We had good views out to the Sounds and saw Weka and their chicks.It was very peaceful as well, we only saw maybe 2 other walkers and a few mountain bikers on our way. I think it gets very busy over summer and I know there are restrictions on when cyclists can use the track. We got to Furneaux Lodge with plenty of time to spare, so we had some food and some drink at the bar there and just relaxed as we waited for the boat to arrive to pick us up, and take us back to Picton. We had a relaxing evening after that and the next day we headed back to Nelson in the morning. Our flight wasn't until 4pm so we had a couple of hours just mooching around the city centre before returning the hire car to the airport. It's only a 25 min flight from Nelson to Wellington, so we were soon back home!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1224448500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1224448500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1224448500/tpod.html Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:44:09 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

After the eventful last two days, we decided on Saturday to just do our own thing. We had a lazy morning and then Marie rang to say she was going to Warringah Mall. Graham, me and Graham's other cousin Andy decided to go, so we walked down to Dee Why Beach (a 10 min walk) to meet up with Marie and her friend Sarah.We then caught the bus to the mall and had a wander around. I was after a rash vest for my Run Swim series I had entered (to take place later in the year) and managed to find one in the first sports shop we looked at. We met up with everyone after an hour and then caught the bus back to Marie's. We had some lunch and then after saying goodbye to Marie & Andy's parents, Marion & Mick, as they were leaving later that day, we went to Sydney via the bus and the ferry, as there was a car show that Graham wanted to look round and we had tickets to see Simple Plan in the evening. A band no one seems to have heard of, but we first saw them in Brisbane when they supported Green Day in 2005. They are a Canadian band but seem to be big in Australia, at least they were when we lived there.The car show was by Darling Harbour so we walked from Circular Quay, which took around 30 mins, but it was a lovely sunny day so we didn't mind. We spent quite a while looking round the car show, which I must admit isn't really my thing, so I was a bit bored. However, the 4wd track was good. We were able to go in a 4wd and get driven round an obstacle course - good fun, and free, which is always a bonus.After the show, we grabbed something to eat at the Edinburgh Castle Hotel - a pub on Pitt Street. Upstairs is quieter and the food was tasty, a good portion size and reasonably priced.We then headed to Hordern Pavillion where the gig was. Unfortunately we didn't know exactly how to get there so we spent longer than we should have done, wandering around. We knew it was in Moore Park, but just not which end of the park it was. Anyway, we managed to get there in time - luckily they had 3 support bands so when we got there there was still 1 more support band to go. It was general admission so we could sit or stand anywhere - but we managed to find some good seats just to the side of the stage to sit and enjoy the band. They were as good as the first time we saw them, if not better, and we thoroughly enjoyed the show. The only downside was we had to leave a little early, to make sure we got the bus back to Circular Quay to get the last ferry over to Manly, and then the bus. We only missed the last encore song so wasn't too bad, and we managed to make it home, so no dramas there.Sunday we packed up and checked out of the house, then went to Marie's flat. Marie and Neil had already left for their honeymoon but Neil's parents were staying there so we were able to leave our cases in the garage and spent a bit of time in the flat before going out for a wander along the beach. We'd arranged an airport shuttle for early afternoon, so after a bite to eat it was time to go.We said our goodbyes and headed to the airport. There was still time for more drama though. As we were checking in, the computer screen was showing that I needed an onward flight out of New Zealand. I did point out that I had my residency visa and returning resident's visa in my passport, but the lady still had to go and phone New Zealand immigration to make sure. Luckily all was ok, and I was allowed through to departures, and we managed to get back to Wellington with no more problems. On the way out of Wellington airport, we stopped by duty free to stock up on spirits, as the allowance from Oz is a generous 3 bottles each! A marvellous way to end the holiday!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1224222360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1224222360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1224222360/tpod.html Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:34:52 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

The day after Marie and Neil's wedding, we had a went for a walk along the cliffs towards Dee Why Beach in the morning, and then in the afternoon we went to the Opera House for drinks with the new Mr & Mrs Watson. We caught the bus to Manly, had some lunch and then went across on the ferry.It was a very hot Sydney afternoon so we had to be careful not to get sunburnt. We spent the afternoon mixing with Marie and Neil's friends, getting to know them and having lots of cocktails!Around 5pm we left to have a quick look round Sydney City Centre and to have something to eat, as I remembered a place in one of the food courts that did really nice savoury crepes. I also needed to get some new sunglasses as Graham had broken mine earlier, when he was trying to fix them.We wandered up George Street and headed to Myer, a big department store, where I managed to find some sunglasses. We then headed down to the food court for some food, before getting the bus all the way back to North Curl Curl, as it's a lot cheaper than getting the bus and ferry.The evening was spoilt a bit as we had to wait an hour in the freezing cold for the others to come back as Donna had refused to give us the key to the apartment when we left the Opera House, and no one else was in. Needless to say, we were not impressed. However, we spent a pleasant night chilling with Graham's uncle Mick, whilst the others went over to Dee Why Beach for some food. It was the first time I've spent any quality time with Mick, as he works in the Yemen, and so it was good to get to know him properly.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1224208560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1224208560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1224208560/tpod.html Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:27:54 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

We had a 5 day break in Sydney, for Graham's cousin Marie's wedding. We left on Wednesday afternoon on a direct flight from Wellington to Sydney. We were delayed for 30 mins before we took off, as one of the passengers had checked in but hadn't boarded the plane. For some reason she didn't hear or chose to ignore the many announcements in the airport but eventually she did turn up and board the plane to sarcastic cheers and applause. Stupid woman!We landed in Sydney and after picking up luggage etc we caught the train and then the bus to North Curl Curl, where we were staying for 4 nights. Graham's aunt and mum had organised the accommodation and we were all staying together in a big house, with a separate 2 bedroom apartment downstairs. We found the place fine thanks to Google Maps and a nice bus driver who told us when to get off the bus. Graham's aunt and uncle and cousin were all sleeping upstairs in the main house, as was Graham's mum. We were downstairs in the apartment with Donna, who for some reason unbeknown to us decided to take the bigger double room, and left both of us and our luggage crammed into the smaller twin room. It actually wasn't too bad as we'd packed light, but common sense should have prevailed.Anyway, the next day was Marie and Neil's wedding. We weren't getting picked up until 2pm so we got up early and went for a walk to Manly and back and then spent the morning sunbathing on the deck before getting showered and dressed in our posh frocks and suits (for the men). The place where they got married was called The Tea Room at Gunners Barracks, Georges Heights. The weather was fantastic - couldn't ask for a better day. However, we had to delay the wedding slightly, as the bus that picked us up was also meant to pick some other people up from Manly, but the driver didn't know this so he just drove the 5 of us to the venue. The people he forgot to pick up were Neil's family amongst others! Luckily when Marie turned up, she spent time having some photos done whilst everyone who was missing managed to get taxis and arrive.The rest of the wedding - ceremony and reception passed without a hitch. The bride looked stunning, the groom was nervous and the guests all enjoyed themselves immensely. There was lovely food, funny speeches, lots of cupcakes and good times on the dancefloor. Marie had even arranged a bus to pick us up at midnight and take us back to our accommodation. A lovely day through and through and just glad we could be part of it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1223537520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1223537520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shonandgraham/emigratenz/1223537520/tpod.html Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:54:16 -0500 New Zealand is coming! Our one way ticket to a new country and hopefully a new life...

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Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

On the Monday evening, once we had unpacked from the long weekend, the weather was still nice, so we decided to take Joan and Donna up to Mount Victoria, via the coastal road. On a clear day, you can see the South Island from the coast, and it was one of those days.Tuesday was back to work for me and Graham. However, we both have flexible bosses, so managed to negotiate working 6hr days instead of 8hrs, so we could spend time in the afternoons with Joan & Donna. On Tuesday we drove to Miramar to visit the Weta Cave, a museum based on the Weta Studios. Weta Studios is owned in part by Peter Jackson, and responsible for the digital and animated effects in Lord of the Rings trilogy and other films. Unfortunately they don't do studio tours as such, but the museum has opened up recently. Best of all, it's free!After we had looked round Weta Cave, we then went to Island Bay Empire Cinema to watch Wall E. Empire Cinema is a small cinema, with only 3 or 4 screens, but it has lovely, big and comfy seats, and you can take alcohol into the cinema, and sit there quite civilised with a glass of wine or a beer.On Wednesday afternoon, we drove over the Rimutakas to the Wairarapa. It's a very windy and slow road! We went to Paua World to get some souvenirs, and then we had coffee and cake in our favourite cafe - Wild Oats in Carterton. On the way back, we stopped at the top of the Rimutakas. There is a cafe and parking spaces there so you can stop safely and get some good photos of the views.On Thursday Joan & Donna left for Sydney so it was back to working a full 8hrs a day again.
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