A family visit to New Zealand

 We are in New Zealand to visit my family.    In fact we have been here for over a week, and having a lovely time.  Plenty to catch up on, so lots of talking and memories shared, helped along by glasses of good wine and delicious food.

Andreena also came with us, and Margaret met us in Christchurch.   Lots of fun as we, Walter, Margaret, Andreena and me, travel around visiting family.

First stop Melbourne Airport, where the above photographs were taken.

After we collected Margaret, we visited our lovely aunt at her beautiful apartment in a retirement village.  Then it was an early night before we set off next morning, destination Wanaka.

First stop, our favourite cafe in Geraldine.

Morning coffee whilst sitting outside in the sunshine, surrounded by a beautiful garden.

A stop at Lake Pukaki, and a chance for a selfie.   Very funny.

Lake Pukaki, on a clear fine day has brilliant views of the surrounding mountains, and especially Mt Cook (Aoraki).    We stopped alongside all the other tourists, in coaches, vans and cars.   A popular place.

Walter took this photo.

We stayed in Wanaka at our brother's house in Wanaka.    Brian and Susanne run a very comfortable B and B there.   There is also Brian's magnificent garden, full of quirky art and sculpture work which is really captivating.   

The driveway into a two storey house which they rent out.   We stayed there this year, and a very comfortable place to stay in too.   The driveway, shaded, and full of interested is beautiful to walk along.

We visited the Transport Museum, which is full of interesting old toys and vehicles.

I think models of every car we, and our parents, ever owned, were in the museum.   Talk about travelling down memory lane.

We saw the biggest display of souvenir spoons, too many to look at them closely.

There was even an old Air New Zealand plane in one of the sheds.   It was fascinating to look inside the plane at the old seats, with plenty of leg room.

A lovely walk beside Lake Wanaka.

The famous tree in the lake, very photographed by all the tourists.

Brian, Margaret, Walter and me dressed in our warmest clothes.   Quite a cool breeze blowing.

Another selfie, with Margaret looking very smart in her new bright blue jacket behind Andreena.   Perfectly posed, Margaret.

A beautiful 70th birthday celebration for Brian.

I must mention the mostly glorious weather in the South Island of New Zealand.    Certainly no harsh hot climate here.   While Adelaide has sweltered in 40 degree heat, with no rain in sight, we have encountered rain, some 4 degree temperatures in the early morning and some beautiful sunny days, with temperatures in the mid 20s.

A short blog

A short blog, for me anyway, before we leave for a three week trip to New Zealand.   Looking forward to seeing all the family again, after a two year gap.    

We have all been been our usual busy selves.   The grandchildren are all back to school, and busy with their studies.   Emma and Steve have looked at many houses for sale, and have missed out on a couple of houses due to offers coming in that were higher than theirs.    But they have now agreed to purchase a house, before it went on the market, so had no competition.    There is a very strong market for houses in Aldinga Beach.   More about this when we return from New Zealand.

Donna and Patrick had his aunt and uncle, Liz and Graeme, to stay for nearly three weeks.   They came all the way from Scotland, from one extreme temperature to another.   It was really lovely to spend time with them.   Donna and Patrick really enjoyed their visit and were sad to see them leave.

My lips have finally healed, thank goodness.   I had to resort to putting Sudocream on the edge of the lips and on the skin surrounding them, in order to heal the broken red skin.   But I have learned my lesson and I will be wearing a hat plus face and lip screens during the day.

This climate can be very harsh, and I especially wished I was back in Joydens Wood, on one early morning walk with the dog.  The wind was strong and dry, a north easterly, so keeping a hat on was extremely difficult.   The sticky flies kept hanging around my face, and every time we stopped before crossing the road, Piper got covered in ants.    And my lips were very sore.   Oh for a cold walk in Joydens Wood, even in the mud.

But mostly the climate is not so difficult and I love the early morning walks at Port Willunga.

 We celebrated Donna and Emma's birthday at our house, with a good Aussie barbeque.    Isabel made a delicious carrot cake.

 The birthday girls, Donna and Emma.  And no they are not twins, just born on the same day, but not the same year.

 Blowing out the candles.

 Shades of the Cote D'Azur.   A luxury boat looking lonely out in the bay.

We went to the Camping and Caravan show, in order to look at anything small enough for us to tow.   Almost impossible in this country.   Big, big vehicles of all sorts.    All made for large four wheeled drive vehicles.

We loved the little baby kangaroos, so snug in their purpose made pouches.    Sadly their mothers were probably killed by motor vehicles.

The huge chassis' on most caravans here add to overall weight.

A line up of the big vehicles.

We were interested in the trailer tents, both hard and soft topped, but even then a four wheeled drive vehicle is needed to tow most of them.

In the end we thought this small light weight A framed caravan the best option for us, if we could afford one in the near future.    The roof folds down in minutes, and then it is a matter of towing a trailer.   The little caravan comes with a water tank, hot water system, plus air conditioning and heating.   And there was a stove and sink inside.  Plus two beds.  No toilet, that will have to be a portaloo in a little toilet tent, complete with a local snake or two.   No floors. 

We finished the day off with a wine and a beer at the Brighton Hotel, followed by a very hot Thai curry.    Delicious but not great for the lips.

Saturday morning we will be on the move again.  Just like old times. Looking forward to it.

Exciting weekends

Another day when I am confined to the inside of the house.    Not extreme temperatures this time, but as the result of the hot sun.    I know that I should always keep my lips covered, as I harbour the cold sore virus, or more correctly, the herpes simplex virus. in the bottom corner of my lips.   it stays nicely dormant until it is exposed to extreme weather, that is hot sun or wind, and bitingly cold winds.   I can count the last one out here thank goodness.  

And now I am paying for a day in the sun, with a pleasant breeze blowing in my face, which made it difficult to keep a hat on all the time.   And I remembered the sun cream later on in the day.   I only have myself to blame, I know.    I now have a peeling nose, and a swollen bottom lip, which is covered in huge sores.    I feel very sorry for myself.    

It has been a very exciting two weekends though.    Two weeks ago we were gearing up for the Tour Down Under race days which were taking place in this area.    On the Saturday there was the added event for the amateur cyclists, hundreds of them from Australia mostly, but also from other countries.   Last year the event was cancelled due to the extreme temperatures, which must have been a great disappointment for those that travelled from elsewhere.   But this year, although the temperature had been in the 40s earlier in the week, Saturday proved to be a balmy 26 degrees.   Perfect for the cyclists.

Steve took part, and completed the Myponga to Strathalbyn section, about 100 km on hilly country roads.   It was the most scenic part of the route.    He managed it extremely well, and did not look at all tired at the end of it.   

Emma and I dropped Steve and his bike off Myponga, which is about a 15 minute car journey from our house, at 7.30 a.m.

All ready for the ride.

 Luckily we were all there to cheer Steve at the finish.    After we dropped him off we went home to have breakfast.   It was while we were drinking a leisurely coffee that Emma declared that we had better drive to Strathalbyn immediately.   She had been tracking Steve on his phone and he was already passing through Goolwa and was on the last leg of the event.

Luckily we arrived in time, and saw him speeding down the road and around the corner.   An action shot.

 Steve, looking very cool, calm and relaxed at the end of the event.   All riders were required to wear yellow tops, in order to identify them from people who may join the event without paying the required fee.

 Strathalbyn was buzzing. first all the riders in the Challenge Event arrived over a period of four hours, some of them had ridden from Glenelg, others joined the event from Myponga, Victor Harbour and Goolwa.   Then we waited for the competitors in the Tour Down Under.  After walking around the town, then drinking a much needed coffee, accompanied by cakes, we settled on the grass and watched the progress of the race on the large screen.   It was quite hot, but luckily we had hats and plenty of sun cream.   Emma even managed to cover her shoulders with the help of my fold up shopping  bag.

 The main peloton riding at speed towards us.

The following day, on the Sunday the Tour Down Under race took place in the McLaren Vale, Willunga, Aldinga Beach area.   We drove the car to Aldinga Beach and then walked up onto the cliffs above so that we could get a good view of the cyclists as they came around the first time.

Many of the holiday homes were decked out in flags, and bunting, plus there were quite a few parties in progress.

The helicopter that followed the cyclists.     It was a beautiful day and not too hot.

Steve and Emma set up on the beach.   When the cyclists came around the second time, we watched them go past from this position.   After that Walter and I decided we had had enough so went home before the third time.

A walk on the beach early one morning.   Poppy and Piper having a lovely time.

Now you may wonder, when you see the photograph below, why our Honda was stuck in the sand!   At 7.30 am.

And a very good question too.   The answer was Australia Day madness! 

We were all up at 6.00 a.m. in order to get the position that we wanted on the beach.   Enough space for two gazebos and two car awnings.   Emma and Steve had also planned on a 7 a.m. swim with the running club.   We knew that it was going to be a high tide, but fingers crossed we thought we could manage it.

Of course we had not accounted on there being a storm during the night which made the tide come in further, with very high waves.   Now Emma and Steve were not able to go swimming but they did get to the preferred spot, half way along the beach, before the high tide.   With difficulty.   So they sent photos via WhatsApp,  to let us know there was no rush, as they had marked out our spot, and the beach had become impossible to drive on.   Best to wait on the road above and wait for the tide to go out a bit, they messaged.   Sensible.

But of course I was running around at home, in a panic, as the pressure to get to the beach was uppermost in my mind.  No time to turn a mobile phone on.   Walter was driving the Kia and was parking on the road, anyway, so he was not particularly worried.   He just said in passing that the beach was not drivable but I did not really listen to him.    Too absorbed in my panic to get to the beach before the hordes of people.  So Andreena and John headed off in their little 4 wheel drive, with all their gear, and I headed off too, with chairs, table and Piper.    A comedy of errors waiting to happen.

Also never listen to men who drive 4 wheel drive vehicles.   Another lesson learned here.  I arrived at the ramp to find people driving onto the beach, with many vehicles getting stuck in the dry soft sand.    So I was told by a man to drive on the wet sand which would be harder.   First mistake, as some parts of wet sand become bogs, and it is difficult to tell until one steps on it.  Or in this case, drive on it.   I got stuck of course.   I then became surrounded by lovely, sympathetic and helpful people.   So appreciative of this, the last thing I needed at this stage, was to be told about my stupid driving error.   However mistake two was listening to another man in his four wheel drive, who offered to tow me out backwards.   Put your foot right down, he said.  Consequently the car became even more embedded in the sand, some of which sprayed up the side of the car, and in through the open window. 

The best advice was 'wait until the tide goes out and the sand will dry out and then it will be easy to dig the car out'.   Meanwhile the water was lapping around the bottom of the car.

Everyone saw the car sitting forlornly on the wet sand with the water lapping around it!    People of course were taking photographs.   It appeared on Patrick's Facebook page, and I have since been asked on a number of occasions was that my car stuck on the beach.   So embarrassing.

John and Andreena also become stuck in the dry soft sand, due to stopping their car, in order to come and see if I was okay.   But they managed to dig themselves out.

We had to take everything out of the car and carry it along to the beach to where we were going to set up our camp for the day.    Oh our aching arms.

Later on that morning, we got word to say that a man, from the local football club, had begun to move the car backwards, using his four wheel drive and motorised hitch.   It was the first time he had used his motorised hitch, he was very proud of it.  And we thought it was wonderful, as we were all prepared to dig the car out. 

Steve drove the car along the beach to our spot, and received lots of cheers from people.   I am so pleased I asked him to drive it.

Emma standing by the nearly freed up car.

The mess we made of the beach.   Oh well, it should be gone after the next high tide.

Our very spacious area.

And further along, two rows of vehicles, and plenty of bunting and flags.   By the time I took this photograph it was hard to believe that a few hours previously this area had been covered in water.

We had a really lovely day, in perfect weather as it was pleasantly warm with a slight breeze blowing.   John first cooked us bacon and eggs for breakfast, which was very much appreciated after the traumas of getting onto the beach and setting up.   He also cooked a delicious barbeque for lunch, which went down very well with the salads, beer and wine.

The surf was also perfect for taking the boards out too, with plenty of big waves.   And Steve set up his wooden blocks game, which everyone enjoyed.

There was also plenty of sunburn, with burnt teenagers (sun tops no longer appeal), John's feet, and my lips and face.    That sun was very deceiving!

The Honda has not suffered any damage.   We took it to the car wash, the next morning and used a pressure hose on it, to get most of the salt water and sand off it.    Then I spent the following morning using our hose to go over it again, underneath the car, inside the wheels, and down the inside front of the car.   So much sand!

The front of our house, and driveways, showed the evidence of our trip trip to the beach.   Sand everywhere, a massive amount from our Honda, plus Andreena's car, Emma and Steve's car and Darren's car.

Evidence of a great day at the beach.   

A good day for writing a blog

A good day for writing a blog.   Too hot to move from the airconditioned house, with temperatures in the 40s.  We cannot even be bothered going to the local shopping centre, or to the cinema, we did that last week on two very hot days.  As there are extreme weather warnings, the U3A walk has been cancelled, Walter's bowls has been cancelled and Emma and Steve were told to work at home.   Jackson and Isabel are not due back to school until next week.  Luckily it is a big house so we can all find a spot to call our own.

So here I am, many weeks after I wrote my last blog.   Just where the time goes to, I do not know.   The days seem to roll into one, where we follow the hot weather routine, which is get up early, have breakfast, take Piper for a walk on the beach, come back and clean the house, have coffee, then lunch, followed by an afternoon nap, read a bit, make dinner, eat it, water the garden, watch a bit of television, and bedtime.    I intersperse the routine with a few outings, and of course some wine.   I seem to be opting out of quite a few of the U3A walks and cycle rides due to being too hot. 

It has been one year since we sold our house in Joydens Wood, and so much has happened during that time.  It certainly has been a busy year.  Moving countries is not for the faint hearted for sure.

One of my recent tidying up sessions involved changing my Amazon account to Australia.    This should have been easy, but due to using my telephone number as extra security I could not log into my UK Amazon account, in order to change over to an Australian address.    Of course I put an Australian sim card in as soon as I arrived, and cancelled my UK sim card, before thinking of changing my Amazon account.    Plus my Kindle reader is attached to the Amazon account, which I realised when I ran out of books.  In the process I managed to attach the Kindle to Amazon NL which meant all books were in Dutch, in fact everything was in Dutch!   But patience and some logical thinking saved the day!

My heart and mind is often still in Britain, especially at the moment when the Government is in even more disarray then usual.   Every morning I read the UK newspapers and my heart sinks a bit more. 

I could write heaps about the absolute mess the Conservative Party has made of the situation since the referendum in June 2016.    The initial boastful remarks from certain key government people, about how easy it will be to leave the European Union, how much money the country will save, how great it will be to have no EU bureaucracy, about the joys of being free and taking back control, plus having a strong and stable government, just has not happened.  Instead we have a situation, after nearly three years, where those in power cannot reach a consensus about how to exit the EU.   We still have plenty of posturing by some key figures, although many of them have disappeared from the scene.   It has been estimated that more than 2 billion pounds has been spent so far, with basically nothing achieved, except for a Conservative Party in total disarray.   

And the deadline of March 29th, 2019 is looming very fast.  The perspective from this side of the world is one of disbelief, at the lack of common sense, and of a country gone mad.

I think it is time for photographs.

Christmas morning on the beach.   What a great way to start the day. 

A perfect morning at Port Willunga beach.   Blue skies, calm seas and plenty of white sand.

Christmas starters, cooked prawns, was a great way to begin a long feast.  The rest of the family, the non prawn eaters, had disappeared, when the photograph was taken. 

The prawns were delicious, as can be seen from the smiles on the faces.

Andreena and me, looking very happy.

My apologies to the rest of the family, as I have no more photographs.   It was a very hot day, with lots of sticky flies, but we managed extremely well.    We put the food, buffet style, on the table under nets, in the air conditioned house.   Other than the hot potatoes, dinner consisted of cold meats and salads plus very yummy desserts.

You may be wondering what we did with the prawn shells, and no we did not dispose of them in the nearest public bin, after dark.   I know some people must have done this, due to the terrible smell coming from public bins the next day.   We did the right thing and put the prawn shells in the freezer until our next rubbish collection day. 

We all received lots of great presents.    My Oma cup, with the loose tea holder in it, very laid back.   So cool. 

Walter and I received a Google mini each, so much fun, giving instructions, and  especially funny was thanking Google every time it followed instructions.   One does need to be polite!

A few hours on Aldinga beach, under the pull out awning attached to Emma and Steve's car.

Parking on Aldinga Beach.    We noticed that the pull out awnings are very popular here. 

Just to keep in with the crowd, we have one too, on the Honda, on the front passenger's side. 

A seal swimming happily under the Glenelg jetty.

Two days after Christmas the Adelaide Harriers organised a fun run from Glenelg to Brighton jetty and back.    A very hot morning I might add, but our threesome managed very well.

Walter, Andreena and I decided to walk the distance, so we left an hour earlier and managed to get back to Glenelg about the same time as Emma, Steve and Donna.   We were very happy with our achievement, even if we did not get medals.

And of course a delicious coffee afterwards was definitely needed.

Our teenagers received plenty of floaties for the pool.

An delicious evening meal of fish and chips, with Darren and Jespa, at Normanville Beach plus a beautiful sunset.

The kiosk at Normanville Beach, where Jay has a holiday job. 

Andreen and Donna stayed with us for two days, which was lovely.   The three girls having a refreshing dip in the pool, watched over by Poppy and Piper.

Steve bought a kayak, which will get plenty of use here, both at the beach and on the Onkaparinga River.    Emma and Steve carrying the kayak on its first outing.   It was early evening, not dusk, but the camera lens decided otherwise.

Carrickalinga Beach, another beautiful beach.    The U3A cycling group starts here and ride along the coast, and then inland to Yankalilla, where we have coffee and cakes at the bakery.   I love this ride, both for the scenery, the cool tree lined road, and the well kept bike paths.

I finally walked in Aldinga Scrub, with the U3A walkers.   It was extra interesting because one of the walkers had officially led groups on walks here, and gave us plenty of information about the trees and plants.

The photograph below was taken on an extremely windy day, although not apparent from this photograph.    We had to give up our plans to walk on this beach, from Silver Sands to Sellicks Beach.   There were plenty of horses there, out for their morning exercise.    They and their riders did not seem to mind having sand blown into their faces.

Finally Piper, stretched out on the mat, on this extremely hot day.

it is 45 degrees outside.  Silly temperatures.