Back in the UK

We were up at 4am on Wednesday, ready to be picked up at 5 for the fishing. It was a glorious morning, although the sea was a bit choppy. It was too rough to launch at the ramp that Colin normally uses so we went a bit further around the coast where it was more sheltered. Unfortunately the fishing was rather poor, Will & dad caught some under-size snapper that we had to throw back, & dad also managed to haul in a small shark. The highlight of the day was a large pod of dolphins who turned up for bit of a play. It really was magical, they were darting all around the boat, ducking in & out of the wake. They are beautiful creatures. Unfortunately the fish were just starting to bite when we had to call it a day. A small matter of having a plane back to the UK to catch! The flight back went well, all 24 hours of it... We slept a lot more on the way back than we did on the trip over, so that was good. Leaving at 11pm helped, not to mention the fact we had been up since 4am! I really enjoy flying Air New Zealand, it was a very comfortable flight with excellent food & good service. We had a fantastic holiday, I can't quite believe the amount we managed to pack into our time there. It was lovely to catch up with everybody that I did see, & big apologies to those that I didn't... It was always going to be impossible seeing everyone that I wanted to.

It was quite hard returning to the UK weather. The biggest thing we are missing is the light. We've been back a couple of days now, but have been suffering a bit with jet-lag, myself more so than Will. Today was a really nice day, we went to Will's parents place for lunch, then also called in on his brother & his family, as they live quite close to his parents.

I'm back at school on Monday, but only for a teacher-only day, then it's business as usual from Tuesday. I was meant to be playing a rugby match Sunday, but luckily it has been postponed a few weeks. Partly because the weather is atrocious at the moment, & partly because I'm horrendously unfit after nearly 4 weeks of not training, & eating & drinking my way around NZ!!! I have a game next Sunday, but at least I'll be able to fit in a few gym sessions before then...

Below is a couple of pics of the ring, as several of you have requested.