Tramping in the Tauraruas

Excitement this weekend was an overnighter at Powell hut in the Taurarua Mountains just 1.5 hours north of Wellington. Ian and I headed up Saturday after lunch and although its only 3 and a half hours to the hut it feels pretty much up most of the way (1300m). Great hut though - perched on the side of the mountain with excellent views from the balcony - though the wind really did howl through the gaps at night time.
So after about 5 hours sleep we took the river route back and had a bit of a paddle in the swimming pool along with the other biting creatures, but it was gorgeous and sunny so it didnt matter. On returning to car, Karen fell promptly asleep zzzz....
but woke in time to play Munchkin with friends on Sunday night.

Karen x

Thailand and Laos photos

Being on the slow down to Christmas I have finally got round to uploading photos from the Thailand and Laos trip earlier this year. Just follow this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13841202@N05/
(PS these are photos I was showing to my photos club - hence there arent any people ones - but hope you like them anyway as its such a pretty country.)

Karen

Flying Fish and DIY Christmas Trees

...long time no write. Well its all been relatively normal over the last few weeks. Been walking down the hill to work in the mornings., going to the office, walking along the harbour front at lunch times and if Im still feeling healthy walking back up again. Been trying to get fit for our big walk over Christmas - the Keplar track which is a ridge walk over 4 days. We will be in hut 2 for Christmas day - unfortunately that means carrying our dinner up the hill on day 1, but it will be well appreciated. We just bought new cooking pots for our gormet pasta and sauce or hopefully something a bit more festive! Also been going to pilates for those abs of steel so hopefully I wont crumple under the weight of the rucksack....and a wee bit something different which leads me to....

Ian and Karens most amazing day...

On the weekend just past it has to be admitted that we were having a bit of a social tumble weed moment and were missing friends and family.... Then Ian (being a total gem) suggested on Sunday we go for a kayak in Welly harbour. So we just hired the double kayak for an hour and paddled around oriental parade including through the big fountain in the sea. This was entirely Ians fault as he wouldnt stop paddling, though he did say he did slow down eventually - like when I was under the fountain getting soaked! So I soaked him with my paddle (ahh sweet revenge!).
So we were pottering around the harbour for an other while when we heard a scream and Ian shouted "karen. Dolphins. Lots of them. Paddle fast!) Wow there were loads of them - my guess is 100 or so. They were swimming really fast in a big circle
round the harbour hunting fish and ...playing! They were jumping and twisting and riding just below the front of the kayak. They were all around us and the other 10 or so kayakers who were out. One even came up and squirted Ian in the face - I really like seeing them race in and out of the water, jumping and flicking their tails in the air. So for an hour we paddled like mad to keep up with them. It was great!
Apparently about half a dozen times a year the dolphins corner shoals of fish in the harbour and go on a mad feeding frenzy. So we joined in and had fish and chips for dinner. I actually did dream about dolphins that night - I dont think I will
forget that experience.

Christmas...

We got a tree up last week yippee! - and its really cool as Ive never had one before (Ian had a Christmas weed once with some flatmates). Ive included a few photos of what is quite possibly the ugliest tree in the southern hemisphere - though we did cut off a random branch and tied it to the big gap on the trunk of the tree. I think northern hemisphere trees are definately a better shape for hanging the baubles on. Saying that there arent going to be too many trees in the southern hemisphere
with a knitted santa claus! (I actually knit these first in primary school - Jen actually still had the pattern - must be a museum piece by now).

So its 7 working days to go and counting - cant wait!

Karen x

David Beckham visits Wellington

Very excited about this weekend because all-star footballer David Bechham is playing against our local Wellington Phoenix. He probably could beat Phoenix on his own but he also has the rest of the LA Galaxy with him. Its a friendly match on the Saturday. David has signed up that he must play at least 55 minutes of the match (the local council who are subsidising the game stipulated this!).

What he won't realise is that although the Wellington Phoenix are near the bottom of the Australian league (the A-league) and hence a bit rubbish.. the fans are totally bananas, and known to be the loudest in the A-league! The fan club (the Yellow Fever) organise a different song for the terraces each week. They are organised by a highly loyal bunch of ex-pats from the UK - but in total around 10,000 yellow-and-black Phoenix fans turn up each week and are known to have a lot more energy than the rugby fans. It is very funny to hear all the British accents and the chants that come straight from the Premier League, e.g. when Adelaide came to play in their red and white strips, they were politely told that 'they're red, they're white, they're full of f***in sh**e' as they came on to the field. The players were a bit stunned because soccer is a completely family sport in Australia - not the case here!

Already some songs have been prepared by the Yellow Fever:
Loos, Loos, Rebecca Loos, Loos, Loose, Rebecca Loos.

Beckham's come to Welly, his knees have turned to jelly, Come on Phoenix, come on Phoenix!

Oh dear!

Tramping in the Tararuas!

Hi Blog

sorry its been so long!


Some folk at my office decided to become more 'manly' by going on a tramping trip. This is what they call 'walking' in New Zealand. We decided to head up to around 4,000 ft and stay in a mountain hut overnight. This meant carrying our food and clothes on our backs up a steep climb from a place called Otaki Forks.

We climbed up through podocarp forests with Punga trees (Fern Trees) everywhere. It was a very typical Kiwi scene, totally green with thick vegetation until you got to around 2,500 ft. high. Quite a few vines hanging down to practice my Tarzan swing on. Karen was very tough and managed to the top without me having to carry any of her stuff, I'm impressed.

We got to the top and the scenery opened up to reveal more of a 'Scottish' type of vista. Continual hill peaks that stretched to the horizon in the north and east. The blue Tasman Sea lay on the West, with Kapiti Island appearing to float in the sky as clouds gathered around its base. in the distance to the South we could just about make out Wellington with the Inter-Island ferry making its way into port.

Stayed overnight in the oldest mountain hut in the mountain range, made in the 1920s - it had old photos of when mountain-walking first became a hobby and the hut and tracks were built in pretty inhospitable conditions, very interesting link here:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=34146

It had an old fashioned wood burner to keep us warm at night - which was a challenge given there was light snow falling around us. We had to collect firewood and chop it with an axe - there was something wonderfully primal about that - Karen seemed particularly adept with the axe as you can see above!

New video clip of Oz

Look at the old posting (a few pages back) on 'Ian off to Oz' to find a short video clip of Mark, Stefan and Ian at the pub in Melbourne. Ian is introduced to Australian culture, their liking of VB beer (no other will do), and the way they say 'cheers' in Australia (avoiding all eye contact). As well as this the boys get violent on a leaf.

Click here to go to the video

Out to Red Rocks to see the Seals

For some time now we have been meaning to walk beyond the city outskirts and along the rocky south-coast. Wellington's last bay before wilderness sets in, is Ohiro Bay. A few eccentrics live out here and they don’t seem to mind the constant wild winds and salt water which eats away at their funny looking houses. One guy has built his house in the shape of a light-house, another has an up-turned boat as his balcony.

The Red Rocks Coastal walk takes you from Ohiro Bay car park along the rocky shore line where the edge of Wellington meets the Cook Strait. On a good day you can clearly see the Kaikoura mountain ranges of the South Island. Today was not a good day! We pushed ourselves against the wind and cold, plus occasional icy shower. The destination was the seal colony, about 1.5 hours walk.

We thought we had missed it entirely, until we noticed one seal fast asleep only metres from us – its oily grey and brown skin was the colour of the rocks. In fact it was using a spiky rock as a pillow. Looking around, we suddenly realised there were dozens of seals everywhere – they were all lying on rocks, all well hidden because they were motionless and the same colour as rock. Each seal looked like it had just finished a hard night on the drink and wanted nothing else to do apart from recline on a nice wet rock! Luckily, some of them started to wake up and move around a bit shortly after we arrived. I captured a few lazing around and a couple even made a vague attempt at fighting! Have a look below.

R2D2 bird

Hello all

my first attempted vid clip on the blog! I have just filmed a Tui bird that always wakes us up each morning with its crazy bird song. It is a New Zealand native, and has a bizzare looking pair of fluffy ping pong balls attached to its throat!

It is the only bird that can continually talk to itself all day, whats more it does it in an R2 D2 crazy-talk manner. See the clip!

Ian

TURN UP THE VOLUME ON YOUR COMPUTER TO HEAR IT PROPERLY!

New Megalithic car

Dear all

With tidings of great joy, and a little bit of materialistic glee, I can tell you we are now the proud owners of a Nissan Cefiro grey station wagon (ok don’t all jump and down with excitement!). This is actually the first car I have ever bought and so I am totally excited, and currently giggling like a little boy!

The car was bought from Turner's car auctions (everyone from our taxi driver, to our church elder had recommended this as the place to get great discounts).

So with great trepidation I ventured to Turners. I was overwhelmed with the large number of cars, mainly all Japanese imports. With Karen staying at home and praying for me, I did my ‘Binnie basics’ mechanical inspection and test drive. You can only test drive it around the car park, so that meant getting up to around 35-40 mph in a space of about 60 metres. Just as well the brakes worked!

I then started bidding with a racing heart, I managed to hold off against an evil car dealer guy who went up to around 1800 quid. He couldn’t reach my bid and the car was mine!


Becuase it was a Japanese import, we found some weird Japanese videos and a pair of chopsticks in the car.

Only thing is I realise that I have bought a megalithic car. It’s a huge – between 2.5-3 metres long – a massive American style size wagon. Driving this huge chunk of metal will be a real challenge around the tiny streets of Wellington. I’ve worked out it will take around a nine point turn to get the thing into our garage!

Still it will be great for getting out and seeing some of the NZ countryside (we've used it for a trip to the Rimutuka forest park already!)

Here are a couple of pictures – one shows you the size of an adult male in comparison with the car.

Photos around our town

Hi all - want to see some photos of where we live? READ BELOW!

I have created photo albumns on Flikr (thanks for your suggestion Simon!). The first photos set are from around Wellington.

Karen took some of these to show:
her walk to work
the Botanic Gardens
the Harbour front of Wellington
our house and around it.



The second set of photos are of our trip to Napier - sun, sea, sand and lots of 1930s art deco buildings!! (described in our previous post).


Happy Flikering. Please see the link (either on the side bar to the right, or right below this).

Wellington photos

Trip to Napier

We recently took a trip up the East Coast to a town called Napier. The town was completely destroyed in an earthquake in 1930 and so they had to rebuild it quickly. Because the trend at the time, all the architecture is art-deco = lots of pastel colour, sun-bursts, and go-faster stripes!

Although it was quite cold, we headed to the beach. The beaches on the East Coast are beautiful - miles and miles of yellow sand, very wild looking becuase there is not much civilisation. ALso wild because it faces the Southern Ocean so the winds get quite fierce and its sometimes dangerous to go swimming. So I headed down the beach with my full artic gear on!

You can see photos but you have to sign up to Bebo (dont worry Bebo is not a dodgey web page, its a really useful way of keeping in touch with folk! I have lots of Bebo friends!)

http://www.bebo.com/invite/2056647a8607986b229

Skype set up!

Dear all

We have great news! We are connected with broadband and ready to Skype with anyone with gossip worthy news...

Our Skype user name is ian.binnie

Look forward to hearing and seeing you

K and I

Karen moving day = New House!

Although I hardly slept a wink the night before, moving house day went really well. I got help from people at church moving things, the shipment came on time with only 2 breakages – though I was annoyed to find out that the bike had no pedals and there were no screws to hold the table together. The pedals they eventually found in the rubbish the next day! Getting all our things was like Christmas and made our new place really feel like home, especially now we have the matching his n hers knitted water bottles, lots of nice art and pots and plates. About lunch time I was happily unpacking in the sunshine when a rainbow appeared on the wall next to me which made me feel very blessed to have such a nice place to live – so I took a photo of it:






Been in the new job a week or so now and am really enjoying it. Been on six sigma training (which is kind of a wow wee technique to making businesses efficient. Im also swotting up big time on NZ electricity where my first job will be. I thought it was interesting that 60% of NZ power is from hydro dams (which is great so long as it rains), there is no nuclear power and the whole thing works on a giant cable which runs from the south island (where all the hydro dams are) to the north island (where all the people live).
And despite my first impressions – its not a late hours place. I guess you’ve got to give everything a 2nd and 3rd chance.

Got the bike pieced together and its was looking brilliant so I took it out for a spin on Sunday which turned out to be the windiest day for ages (Ian was working in the office and wondered if the office was going to collapse when a mug fell of someones desk!) So needless to say I whizzed at super speed out past the lovely rugged scenery, not that different to the west coast of Scotland or Ireland but by the time I turned to come back I felt like a flea flying into a gale force 10 – I even had to push a bit of it. Even so this was in contrast to the blue skies and sun of the rest of the week so cant complain!


Wellington has been buzzing lately with the annual comedy festival. We went to the San Francisco Bathhouse to see Brendon Lovegrove who had funny insights such as NZ having a camped up Hakka to really scare off the opposition. At the other end of the intellectual scale we went to see Uncle Vanya a play by Checkov – very stimulating oh yah darling!



K

Ian off to Oz

I looked forward to my first proper trip to Australia ever! Till now the most Id seen was the inside of an airport hotel in Melbourne. But I felt terrible about leaving Karen behind to move house, but the modern woman has to feel able to take on traditionally male tasks like moving house and lifting beds and tables! (Karen: Ian did actually have the choice to edit this out or take the punch in the arm). Arrived in Melbourne at 8am, couldn’t wait to see Mark and Stephan as its been 6yrs since I saw him last.

The two Aussies that I had hung out with London all those years ago hadn’t changed a bit – still Bogans with dodgy mullet hair dos. They call everyone ‘mongrels’ and randomly break into philosophical rantings, before returning to their normal Bogan selves. We downed a few VBs and went to the Aussie rules football game to see the biggest live rumble I’ve ever seen (apparently this happens in most games!). We had a great weekend, Melbourne is a lovely city (nice and warm) with a mixture of old and bold new architecture – and a great night life. I hope to post a video of Mark and Stefan doing their ‘full on treat’ moves soon.

Click here to see the video of Stefan and Mark introducing Ian to Australian culture:

Home sweet home (and stuff)!

Dear blog,

I write to you sitting outside the “Satay Kingdom” – a cheap asian eatery in the Cuba St (West endy) side of town. Im off to photography club tonight and Ian is working on a presentation for tomorrow.

Im trying to psyche myself up for the mad end of the week when Ian will be visiting friends in Melbourne (4hrs away) and I will be starting a new job on Thursday and moving house/ receiving shipment on Saturday. All of which have felt a long time coming and although Saturday will probably be slightly traumatic with so much to do (hopefully I will have some helpers with a car to move our stuff) it will be fabulous fun to open all the boxes we packed mid-Dec. Ians most missed item is the ipod and for me Im really looking forward to the big comfy purple sofa, and the nice plates (gone will be the day i.e. Sunday when I did a dinner party with two tinny pots), oh and the games, nice bed linen and the blue pictures….

We are moving to an area called Northland which has a little row of shops including a bike shop and 3 Pizzerias – so it’s a good job we can still walk to the city centre.
As for the job – not sure about it especially as I was at the monthly team meeting on Friday where the guy who during the interview said he always leaves at 5.30pm each day was working to 2am the night before mmmm….

Ian has been playing for the Karori Swifts football team – scored the only goal on his first game too! However, the average age of the team is 40yrs and the team they were playing against consisted of University professors.

Voluntary work reviewing the YWCA charity shop is going well – have developed surveys and a work plan for the next month and are trying to get marketing students from the uni to do the leg work. I am also helping set up for a funeral tomorrow – its for an older man that a lot of people knew in the church so as a newbie its good I can help out.

Cultural whinge of the week:
You pay for EVERYTHING here! – they charge for taking new released books out of the library, for credit cards (if you can find a bank that will give a non-resident one), to get internet banking, for basic health checks…..on the other hand the Seafood Laksa dinner was less than ₤3 and yummy!


PS Ian says he has nothing else to add as hes being boring these days (but he will be living it up at the weekend!)

Jaunts and jobs...22 April 2007

Ian has been working hard this week....and so have I, though in the house and job hunting kind of way. The update on which is after 5 hours of interviews I now have a job offer! Though Im kind of mulling it over and have Weds to decide whether to take it or not..... In the meantime I have another interview to keep me occupied....

Been quite cultured this week, Ian and I went to see Snowcake last night which was just great – Alan Rickman was brilliant – its pretty thought provoking, though there are bits that make you laugh and cry and jump. Its a recommended go see if you are into the GFT or the QFT for that matter. On Thurs when Ian was working late I took myself to the eccentric Wellington Poetry Society – I was probably the youngest by about 20 years and with my red glasses and fuzzy hair probably blended reasonably well with the characteurs who were also there – most were aging hippies. The guest speaker was a poet from Belfast which was really nice as he stirred up images of the area my granny lived in and of the Belfast city centre. The best poem I heard all night though was by a school teacher type who had struggles with the pleasure and pain of chocolate and her poem ended with the brilliant lines: “inside, outside, in my bed. I'll eat chocolate till Im dead!”


Im constantly impressed by what a pretty city Wellington is. I walked the skyline which is a ridge walk along to hilltops which surrounds the city, it starts just down the road from our house and takes about 5 hours to walk. The best part is being able to see the sea on both sides of you (the picture above is of our neighbourhood from the ridge) and the way the sunsets over the long grass in ripples. From the other perspective Ian and I took a boat out to Sommes Island yesterday which is about 30mins boat ride from Wellington city. The island was used to quarantine the new settlers in the early 1900s, and then as an internment camp during WW2. You can still see the old buildings there today but it is mostly known as being a wildlife sanctuary. It takes about an hour to walk around but we spend most of the afternoon with our sushi lunch watching the yacht race in the sunshine from the top of the hill (ohh ya!). Sat on the top deck of the boat as a kind of endurance chill test in order to enjoy the view coming back into Wellington.

Ongoing annoyance is not being able to get moved out of the house and into another as the property management is rubbish. On the other hand our stuff finally arrived! So I took a trip out to the warehouse and filled a taxi with as many suitcases as I could, as we want to have the main delivery of our stuff to the new house. So beaming happy as I opened the cases to find lots of my nice warm clothes, skirts and shoes, it then dawned on me to my horror that hardly any of Ians things were in the suitcases! So I had to suppress my delight somewhat though I did find a suit and a jumper and a few pairs of socks for Ian!



Here is a wee picture of the back of our house.

Karen x

The gathering of friends...

We have met up with lots of friends from the UK this week – its very strange to see people out of context, and on the other side of the world!

We met Joel and Marie on a beach at Castlepoint on the East Coast – a wild and windy headland with a lighthouse – seemed like the kind of place people meet on Hitchcock movies. We had an excellent weekend, staying in Greytown in the Wairarapa region (New Zealand's answer to France's Provence). Joel and Marie had to leave for the South Island ferry on the Sunday, it was sad to say goodbye but I knew they would have fun on their tour.

We were excited to see Jo from our church in Glasgow – who was on holiday and staying with her friend Jo, who emigrated from the UK last year. Not to be confused with 'researcher' Jo (see below)!!! Karen had a fun girls night out with the two Jo's and some others. I came along for the beginning of the evening because I was intrigued to find out what girls talk about – however I soon felt out of place when I tried to strike up a conversation about beer. So I left them to it, they had a nice meal and probably talked about the various inefficiencies of men.

Happy to see Alice from Northern Ireland again (she moved here three years ago). Alice was en-route to the Queen Charlotte Track and the Nelson Lakes. We had a great dinner and a general catch up on life in New Zealand.

Attended a NZ social research conference this week. I was impressed to hear Helen Clarke (the NZ prime minister) talk – she seems like a very determined and successful woman. A bit like Tony Blair - she has led Labour to three successive election victories. The conference had several Maori speakers, including a 1 hour opening ceremony involving the haka, tribal welcomes, singing and a 'hongi' - where everyone presses their noses against each other as a greeting. I did the hongi with a short lady beside me, so I had to bend over almost to 90 degrees! At one point I looked across and saw a researcher from Scotland that I recognised (called Jo). As far as I knew she was still working for the Scottish Executive – but as it turns out she and her husband moved here last year. We agreed to meet up for dinner, and the coincidences continued when I found out she lives round the corner from us in Karori.

Alongside the fun of meeting friends, its been a bit stressful looking for a new place to stay (our place is unsuitable because it has cat hairs embedded everywhere and Karen is allergic to them). We also need to find a tenant to move into our place so we can escape our existing contract. Karen has had three job interviews this week – and she has others lined up for next week. So all in all its been a bit of a AAAHH! week.

To relax we visited the Karori wildlife sanctuary today. It is a large sanctuary area surrounded by a predator proof fence – so that no possums or rats can get in and kill the protected birds such as Weka and Kiwi. These native birds evolved on their own in New Zealand over millennia and are hence rubbish at defending themselves against the rodents that humans brought with them. We also saw Tuatara - an ancient lizard that has lived on in NZ since dinosaur times – and cave Weta (a species of insect that is so repulsive it made me want to throw up!).

I think things should be a bit more settled next week..

IAN

Monday 9th April - Easter!

Karen: Considering we are really into Autumn here the weather has been lovely for the easter break. Ian and I hired a "cottage" in a place called Greytown where we stayed with a couple of Ians friends who were on the New Zealand leg of their round the world trip. Greytown is certainly not grey - its more like a village in the south of France with its wineries, delis, fancy shops and even a french baker. It is on the edge of the Tararua mountain range which provided a nice walk across the gorge on a rope bridge and up into the forested mountains. Im happy that such a nice area is only an hour or so away from Wellington. We also went to the beach at Castlepoint on Friday which has an imposing lighthouse and surfer beach where Ian went for a run along the beach then splashed around in the sea while Karen was really lazy and read her book. Walked the Martinborough wineries too and were completely amateur tasters though did enjoy sitting in the sun with a nice lunch. To top the weekend off Ian and I had a picnic at Rivendell on the way back (no gollum!) which is really a pretty bend in a river in a forest park. (must go back there for some proper walking someday....).
Other than our Easter weekend adventure Ian is looking for a football team to join and Karen is looking for work (got a second interview this week). Meeting up with friend Jo from church in Scotland tomorrow as she is on a New Zealand holiday - so that will be fun!

Saturday 31st March

Its been a productive week...Last weekend we climbed up Mount Doom, otherwise known as Tongeiriro (four hours drive from Wellington). We met with our friend Pete – who moved across from Scotland last year to Auckland - and headed out the national park. The mountain was formed from a massive volcano, which still emits sulphuric gases. It was unlike any other walk we have been on – climbing up lava deposits, walking over steaming ash, across red craters, and past mineral green-blue lakes. The view from the top of the nearby mountains, Lake Taupo and the North Island plateau was spectacular. We then dropped down into a pleasant forest and finished walk. On the Sunday we went on a short walk to Taranaki Falls.

Started out with good intentions to do lots of social things in the evenings – but ended up staying in all week until Friday when we thought we would join the 'new Wellingtonians' for drinks – this is a social group for recent immigrants. We had gone to one of their events - a pub quiz – and been slightly disappointed - but we thought we would give it a second chance! Glad we did because we met with some really great characters and had a fun evening at the pub and then at a salsa club with live music (great brass section!).

Karen: Had an exciting week, especially since I got my cv and have been firing it across Wellington. Have half a dozen meetings with recruitment agents planned, and first job interview on Monday. Which meant I had to frantically run across town to buy a suit on Friday afternoon as our stuff is still not here... Also went to the Volunteer Wellington centre and asked if there were any charities I could help, so Im helping the YWCA review their second hand clothing shop which is not making a profit. Its all very exciting as we need to look at location, finance, what they sell, who they sell it to, advertising....in fact all aspects of the business. So Ive been to the library to learn more about marketing. On the night Ian was working I took myself off to see “the Namesake” at the cinema which was a really nice arthouse film about an Indian family migrating to US complete with happy, sad and funny parts. Also finished reading Lucia Lucia by Adriana Trigiani which was the life story of a glamorous 1950 Italian American seamstress.

Making it up to the blog...

Due to neglect by Ian and Karen the Blog has undertaken to interview itself.....

Q: So Ian and Karen what has the first month in Wellington been like?
a) Sitting on a roundabout with everything whizzing by so quickly you cant take it in
b) A roller coaster - mostly highs and a few lows
c) A magical mystery tour - where you really dont know what to expect next

A: All of the above


Q: Whats work like?

I: Its fab! We have a team that is a bunch of fun, they sing a 'welcome' song for new people, and on your birthday you get to choose a cake and choose a song that everyone else must sing. There is beer, coke and champagne in the fridge. They seem to get a new shiny coffee machine each week. They have a bbq deck. They do work hard and get things done but its kind of hard to be too serious here! Liking the social research here, its quite like Scotland, but a bit less cheapskate!


K: Ummm.....I havent done any yet though I have been cleaning our house like a mad thing trying to get rid of the cat allergy I have from the previous tennants and also their "boy cleaning" tendancies. I went to Wellington volunteer centre to offer some free consultancy type work to charities while Im looking for work.
Over the last few weeks there have been lots of set up tasks and unfortunately shopping (our shipment is still not here!)...oh and I did go on a 10 day holiday with my friend Jen to the south island, which was fab! Jen is my oldest friend of the "Ive know her since I was 5yrs old sort".
I know there are a lucky people thinking of coming to visit so heres what we did in 10 days to give you an idea:

1 - Ferry from Welly to Picton and bus to Abel Tansman

2 - 1 day kayak along the coast. Started out a bit rough on the water and we sang songs to not think about sinking - well I did anyway. Thankfully the afternoon cleared up and Abel Tansman was transformed into the turqoise sea and white sand island cove bliss it usually is. Celebrated being back on dry land with gorgeous meal at park entrance.

3 - Hung around our backpackers with views over the bay and read books then walked into the park to find the perfect sandy bay.

4 - Spent forever on the bus down the west coast to Fox glacier. Sore back

5 - Woke up 7am with sore back so opted out of the full day glacier hike Jen was doing. Went back to bed and felt sorry for myself when at 10am decided since it was such a gorgeous day that Id go for a wee helicopter ride. It was great - I got to sit next to the pilot, we took off up the river plain then into Fox glacier valley - it was unbelievable to be at the top and looking down the glacier. We then went over a few snowy peaks to Franz Joseph glacier and out along a Jurassic Park green valley. The 20mins of the flight had me buzzed for the rest of the day, but even so I walked up to the glacier foot to read my book.

6 to 9 - Bus day to Queenstown where we stayed for a few days. Highlights were:
The chocolate shop
The luge - downhill go-karting
Eatting mussels by the lake
Biking up Arthurs point to suprise Jen who was doing a bungee swing, only to find after an hour uphill it was on a private road so I couldnt go there - still downhill was good
Posh spa where we sat in a hot tub with rain pouring down on us
By sheer fortune/ charm managed to get ourselves on the only non-cancelled flight leaving Queenstown (fog) at no extra cost

10+ Hung around Welly with Jen for a few days which Im really glad she enjoyed as its such a lovely city


Q: What is the weather like?

A: Mostly gorgeous and breezy with it. A few days it has bucketed rain including a southerly wind from the antarctic one night which left the house shivering cold and Karen running out the next day to buy an electric blanket and fix the heating


Q: Done anything fun in Welly so far?

A: Cuba carnival
Greek food festival
Photography club
Pilates (though its hardly fun with posture like mine)
BBQ at Ians work colleagues place
eatting lots of sushi (its so cheap)
Finding a church we like
lazing in the flower garden at the back of the house
Wellington city beach (unbelievably clean)
exploring the feast of cinema, theatre, restaurants to entertain us throughout the winter


Q: Most annoying things?

A: our stuff is still not here despite packing in Dec
the shipping companies measly compensation for not putting our stuff on the boat
the rental agent being completely unhelpful
being allergic to cats (karen)


Q: Most looking forward to?

A: enjoying new church
meeting the new Wellingtons social group for newbees
meeting friend Jo in the next few weeks
doing the Tongarara crossing with Pete this weekend
Karen getting a job with work colleagues as nice as Ians
The shipment getting here!


Q: What will you do to make up to the blog for not writing?

A: We will be slaves to the blog and write every week. we will respect the blog.

First weekend to explore around Wellington

Saturday by 2pm had been to Cuba St Carnival, the Greek food festival for lunch and relaxed on the city beach.

In the evening watched the carnival parade, stilt walkers, samba bands and colourful processions.

Sunday - went up the Kapiti coast to explore the beaches there!

Arrived in New Zealand!

Despite the in flight entertainment the journey seemed to take forever ... zzz...

Ians office organised a bbq lunch for us on the deck of their 9th floor office. Scottish flags adorned the office and a castle and piper poster on the door. The tried to set up bag pipe music but it didnt work. We had a lot of laughs and great food! Seems like a really fun place to be. (They also sent us flowers and a food hamper which Karen really appreciated!)

Next seven days we house hunted almost non stop. Its hard to find accomodation here to rent, especially for less than a year. It feels like a boom town here, the restaurants and hotels are always full and its hard to even hire a car!

Ian first few days at work - happy to have a personal office with a view over the harbour, where I can watch sea gulls fly past the window. The office shares a fridge with communal coke, beer, wine and champagne. Within the first three days they have had a party for Ian arriving, the CEO leaving, chocoloate cake for Ians first day, champagne and drinks for it being a 'Friday'. Real work to start soon....

Wed 14 - Valentines in Bangkok

Valentines surprise was we were flying out today and not tomorrow! After a frenzy, met with Eamon and his daughter again and went to get a boat to the Grand Palace. However boat drivers are as bad as tuk-tuk drivers and the boat skidded away as soon as Karen got her foot on board, leaving everyone else behind. After about an hour of wacky races going up and down the river trying to meet, we made it to the magnificant palace full of intricitally decorated buildings capped with Golden roofs.

Went to a shopping centre for lunch primarily because it had air conditioning and everyone was melting. Very happy time was had with meeting Eamon and his daughter but we said goodbye for our 830 flight.

Managed to take off avoiding the cracks in the runway which are threatening to close Bangkok airport. Feeling happy to be on our 10 hour journey which includes air con, a comfy seat, a vehicle that works and a competent driver.

EXCITING HEADLINES IN LOCAL THAI PAPER THAT DAY:
'Chaing Mai Police give a rose to a foreigner to mark St Valentines Day and for cyclists who obey traffic laws and wear helmet' (nice picture of bloke on bike with rose and helmet).
'Vientienne pushes soap off air' (TV soap gets too controversial because it deals with a character having an illigitimate child - its against Laos culture)

Tuesday 13 - Going to Bangkok

Guest house owners and staff waved us good bye as we departed for an 'air con' train to Bangkok. THought I was going to roast arrive as the air con was broken and a monk took our seats next to the fan and no one dared to ask him to move. Once cooked got to our guest house easily enough, met a friend from Ireland called Eamon and his daughter (on their way to Laos). We went out for tea which was fab. Spent the evening navigating the bustling streets of Bangkok.

Sun 11 - tour of Khao Yai park

With three Americans, us and two German bird-spotters in our pick up truck, our guide Mr A was out to impress. He was determined to show us 110% of the park. He had us worn out darting here and there in the jungle in the search for interesting species. But it was well rewarded, we saw
- a white handed gibbon swinging in a fig tree
- lots of Macau monkeys
- a sleeping crocodile
- rear end of an elephant
- barking dear
- lots of coloured birds (our German friends were giddy with excitement!): owl, the great hornbill (1 metre long), ground cukoo
- antelope

We visited the waterfall featured in the Leonardo di Caprio film The Beach.
Tired but happy end to the day

Sat 10 - Khao Yai national park

Lazed by the pool in the morning then hitched to the park. Had an adventure in the jungle. Saw the beautiful rag-tailed drongo bird, a snake which made Karen scream, and a strange bristly squirrel, and scarcely another person. Heard a lot of rustling and other noises, hoping to find out what they are tomorrow on an official tour..

Fri 9 - escape Laos

Having given up on getting to Angkor Wat we decided to head back into Thailand to a national park called 'Khao Yai' (selected via finger-on-the-map method).

We were glad to escape Laos via the 'friendship bridge'. During our journey we met a Belgian named Kurt who managed a hotel in Bangkok and a Fillipino music band. 10.5 hours later we were dropped at a road junction in the middle of nowhere. Happily after some local assistance we were transported to our guest house in about 10 minutes.

Animal noises on our roof scared the pants off us (we had been told that Khao Yai still has wild tigers!... in the morning we found it was a pair of household cats fighting.

Thus 8 - Vientenne - capital of glorious Laos PDR

Alas could not get a flight to Angkor Wat. Went to Laos arts museum - lots of religious artificats but no signs in English to explain anything - a bit typical of Laos. However went to Laos national museum.

A small fee was paid to un-welcoming reception. A cross between a Communist propaganda machine and a genuine attempt to chart some of Laos history and pre-history, the museum has a distinctly amateur feel to it. From paper machet dinosaurs to photos of the peoples' revolution against the French imperialists (again interesting but no English explanations). However, it was cool to see the heroin and meta-amphtemines and illegal weapons seized from the 'un-desirable social elements - and photos of happy workers and children.

Wed 7 - journey out of Luang Prabang

The VIP express bus was when pastel frilly curtain was in. Problem with the bus was not just the engine breaking down and roasting our feet, but the see-saw motion as we twisted round the mountains. Most of the 10 hour journey was focused on looking out small square window to avoid being ill. Although the young Laos people do not travel well and kept throwing up discretely during the whole journey to Vientienne.

1st impressions of Vientienne - not that impressed or as Ian put it 'a dump'.

Tues 6 - waterfall day

Money tight 'hippy Chris' recommnended we hire a couple of bikes and cycle out to the waterfall.

Most sane people took taxis to the waterfalls (tuk-tuks) so as we cycled out of the town we were quite an attraction. People smiled and shouted 'sabidee' (hello) and kids wanted to 'high 5' us as we cycled past. The road outside the town was awful - we choked on dust. Realised that outside the tourist centres, Laos is a very poor nation - mostly villages made out of bamboo huts - despite what the Communists may claim their revolution has not led to a successful economy. We kept seeing projects funded by charities and other countries, the country is heavily reliant on foreign aid.

Ian said this was the hardest cycle he has ever done, 35k through the heat and dust, only four of his gears worked, and it was uphill towards the waterfall. It was ok in the end because the sensation of plunging into the aqua pool in the jungle was the biggest 'ahhhh' ever. Especially since we had it to ourselves. Walked past a number of other pools to reach the big waterfall, where Karen fell asleep on a bench. Saw some rescued bears and a tiger on the way out.

On the way back home we entered into a bike race with some school boys for about 45 minutes and a troop of four little girls blew Ian kisses.

In the end the enticement of a tuk-tuk past the roadworks into town was just too much. Karen had a Laos massage in the evening which was like having your body egg whisked.

Some things we did in Luang Prabang

Took a boat across the Mekong - saw three wats (temples) - one a working wat, antoher a wreck, another up several hundred steps with a fantastic view over Luang Prabang. Pregnant Ozzie lady made it up the steps behind us - she told us that the hazy view over the Mekong was due to the 'slash and burn' agriculture - something that causes haze all over S.E. Asia - bang goes our romantic theory it was due to the tropical atmosphere. Talked to a couple of monks - wearing their bright orange saffron robes - we realised they were only about 13 or 14! They were like ordinary kids who wanted to practice their English.

Ate a few times at the night market in Luang Prabang, fish on a stick, fried veg. and waffles.

Hired rubbish bikes and had fun zipping around the town, which is a peninsula at the head of two rivers. We saw a wat, the royal palace - now a museum because the Communists kicked out the royals in 1975. The king went to Vientiene and died there and the princess set up a swankee hotel, the children are now in France, it was known a 'bloodless coup'. Seems the last king had a bit of an ego - he created a fancy thrown compared to his predecessors. The most interesting part of the museum was a collection of diplomatic gifts received by the king over the years - the USA gave Laos some moon rock!

A trip up the river to see the 'cave of a 1000 buddahs' - the journey along the Mekong was welcome, we liked seeing the lush vegetation along the river's edge. But the cave was over-run by tourists, which was a bit disappointing.

4th February - Laos Peoples Democratic Republic!

We have now been installed in Luang Prabang, Laos for 3 days....it all kinda started one afternoon in Chiang Mai when the pollution had just gone to Ians head and he said "lets go to Laos tomorrow". Well it all pretty simple reserved flight on internet that evening (although strangely you couldnt pay online but that was ok)....or was it?
Next day up early and discovered my Leatherman knife was missing (and also a few other bizarre things like vitamins from the side pocket of my rucksack). We then deduced that they probably went AWOL when my luggage got diverted and had a trip half way round the country. So after feeling pretty miffed - we decided that it wasnt so bad as we had insurance. So it was on the third police station that we managed to track down the english version of the claim form. Then despite the slowest tuk tuk in the world we made the airport in the nick of time...only to find that the person on airline duty wanted twice the fare advertised in cash only - sounds sus...but apparently there is a separate fare for foreigners! Sometimes like it or not you just got to go with it.

As for Luang Prabang - its a beautiful mountain kingdom filled with 32 temples protected by UNESCO at the confluence of the Meekong and "another" river. The best bits are the temples, street markets, french food (Ians croissants), the French colonial buildings, the riverside restaurants and our guesthouse with its veranda and v comfy beds (rare commodity at back packer prices) - ok living it up back packer prices... So all in all are enjoying ourselves.
Its also worth noting that in coming to Luang Prabang you probably havent reached "the undiscovered land" as actually there are loads of tourists here - I guess it feels more concentrated as tourists only go to a few places in Laos.

Love Karen and Ian

Jan 29 - flower festival day

Now what I really liked about this day was doing tourism like the Thai people (not many non-Thai there). People here really love this festival (65000 were there on Sat) and its done in honor of the King – who they also really love, as people wear wrist bands and bright yellow tee shirts which say so – there is also a temple made in his honor at the centre of the park. Oh and they play the national anthem in the streets and in restaurants twice a day when everyone stands up to show respect – although Im not a big fan of the monarchy there is something nice about the national unity it brings…
Really impressed by the organization – gardens are more ornamental than I expected and the best bits of the day were the orchids, the karate display, people watching (especially the monks in their saffron robes having fun) and the firework and light display at the end of the day.

K x

Jan 28 – Wedding anniversary!

In the end what really matters on your anniversary is being together – and not having a change of clothes or anything booked doesn't really matter….Woke up to a big bunch of roses (which I later got put in my hair – Chinese style!) Ventured out into the Wacky Races City of streaming traffic and pollution but brilliant markets, gold “Wat” temples on every corner and adventure! Eventually got nice but modern hotel – got class lunch for 50p. Went to visit the Wat Phra Singh with the reclining buddah, jade buddah, sitting buddah, gold buddah…. Was surprised to see that it was a working compound with monk school and trading stalls. (Oh also got an “I Do” henna tattoo to commemorate the one I got in Isle of Wight music festival when Ian proposed). Then had dinner at the Riverside which was fab – had a big chunky steak – too many noodles!

K x

Jan 27 – Bad day

Travel from Khao Sok to Chiang Mai by plane. Should be simple…

Ian flipped in Bankok as we tried to contact home through incredibly complex phone card system. Ian realizes he has lost mobile phone. Flight was delayed four hours as cracks appeared on the runway of the brand new airport at Bangkok. Karen’s bag re-directed 400 miles in the wrong direction. Could not find accommodation anywhere in Chaing Mai – would we be left homeless on our anniversary (Jan 28)?

Could not even get any taxis from the airport to town because of over crowding. Half of Thailand is in this town for the famous Flower Festival.

Terrible day! – (though did have a Thai foot massage at the end which was really nice.)

Jan 26 – Scary cave day

Woke up at 7am to the view across the lake & jungle forest. Heard the occasional gibbon hoots - sounded like clangers! Went for morning safari on a boat and saw a gibbon swinging comically between branches.

After breakfast walked through the jungle towards the caves. Ventured into the caves to see strange rock formations and stalactites – lots of bats sleeping – big spider with red eyes. Waded through a 2 metre waterfall and had to swim to the cave exit! Thoroughly exhilarated we blinked into the day light.

Ian found a nice hat made of jungle leaves.

Left the lake and stayed at a beautiful tree hut.

Jan 25 – Raft houses

Longtail boat through the floded landscape of Cheo Lan lake - a man made lake created 25 years ago submerging a village and temple below.

Arrived at raft houses - wooden and bamboo huts tied together and floating on massive logs. This was our luxury accommodation for the night. You could open your front door and dive into the lake! Everything swayed constantly. Very 'swallows and amazons'!

After fried rice lunch, had a sweaty and humid trek through the jungle to a view point - more of a rock outcrop.

Went on a night safari, didnt see any animals but nice to float through the mystical landscape and hear stories about student communist revolutionaries who sheltered here in the 1970s.

Jan 24 – arriving in Khao Sok

Steaming hot journey via boat and mini vans. Stayed overnight in a jungle hut with open windows. The noise of the jungle – random croaks, creaks and roars required the use of ear plugs. Karen worried about snakes coming in through windows, Ian worried insects eating his flesh.

Saw family of mackaw monkeys at the watering hole which was cool

Jan 23 - Beach Day

Thinking about leaving island now. Sat in beach hut, organised and disorganised our travel plans several times. Decided to just wing it in the end once we got to the main land!

Had our last dinner at Ko Lanta in our favourite restaurant GOOD DAYS followed by a cocktail on the beach watching the stars.

Cant leave Ko Lanta!

Been in Thailand a week now, mostly in Ko Lanta which is a tranquil island to the south of the country. Stayed in beach huts at the island’s long beach, each has its own little veranda and garden overlooking the sea.

For the first three or four days we laid around the beach, sometimes eating, sometimes drinking in little bamboo huts and hammocks!

Things we love about Ko Lanta,

o Long sandy beach lined with trees on one side and blue horizon on the other
o Watching the sun go down on the beach
o Swimming in the warm sea
o Eating lots of fresh Thai food
o The laid back atmosphere, laid back people, laid back travelers, laid back music - even the sea doesn’t seem to be bothered to break waves at all….mmm bliss

Things we don’t love about Ko Lanta

o Was quite disturbed to find a giant beastie in my wash bag – though Ian tried to comfort me by saying I should think of it as a small bird – as that would be cute
o Otherwise we are too laid back to think about anything else

Jan 19 - Friday

Once we were outbeached we ventured further afield – hired a moped and went to east coast of island – had a coke in jungle clad hill with mangrove sea seats and view over lots of islands rising strikingly out of the sea.

Had lunch on a restaurant with stilts.

Went to Mai Cai caves. Had to walk through jungle to get there and crawl on our bellies for a few metres, saw some big spiders, and final treat was sleeping bats on the way out!

Jan 20 – Saturday

Sat in beach hut and had Thai massage

Jan 21 - Sunday

Kayak day! Longtail boat out to some islands for kayaking. Saw steep sided cliffs with strange rock formations and lush vegetation hanging off the side. Stops included, crawl into cave, fruit on beach, kayak into sea cave (fishermen sheltered here for 2 days during the tsunami), curry lunch on beach. Interested to find that they previously used dynamite for fishing in this area. Final highlights were stop at Bubu island for a coke and hammock. Fed a troop of monkeys some fruit on the way home.


Jan 22 – Monday

Nemo day! Went snorkeling to Ko Rok saw Angel fish, Tiny orange and white Nemo fish, Stick fish, Spotted fish, larger fish with blue fluorescent fins, and three four foot lizards that tried to steal our lunch

We plan to leave this island soon.....

Karen and Ian
x