Dunedin

I have had a lovely holiday in Dunedin with the Roes. I flew in Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday morning I went on a family outing with the Roes to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, which is like a smaller version of Zealandia in Wellington. The highlight was seeing one of the two takahe they have there. We didn't see them the first time when we had the kids with us (teenagers and silence aren't really compatible...), but at the very end of the walk the kids went to the cafe/giftshop and we tried our luck again. After a noisy family who were picnicking departed, one of the takahe eventually wandered out from his clump of tussock. He hung around for 10 minutes or so before wandering back...

We also saw tui, silvereye, kaka, fantail, bellbird and south island robin

Richie took most of the photos on this post as I didn't have room to bring our camera down with me. Will was flying straight to Dunedin from the States (42 degrees Celsius!) so I had all of his winter stuff, as well as his stuff for the ball. My bag was fully laden... Luckily I was able to use the self-service check-in and chuck it straight onto the bag-drop so it didn't get weighed!

Will flew in on Friday morning, he was in remarkably good shape considering he had done a 30 odd hour trip door to door. He had a sleep in the afternoon to set himself up for the evening. Rach & I went and got our make-up done in the afternoon, Rach had found a really good deal on one of the voucher sites. The woman did a good job, I very rarely wear any so was a bit apprehensive, but it wasn't too OTT.

The ball was at Larnach Castle and there was a group of us going together. We gathered at the Roe's for some cocktails first before getting a bus from the railway station out to the castle.

The ball was great fun. It was  Scottish Ceilidh style dancing with called dances in groups and lots of partner swapping. David Bain also happened to be at the ball, and Rach ended up in a dance group with him. It was a continuous finger food buffet and the food was plentiful and of a very high standard.

When we arrived at the ball we were announced into the ballroom. Rich & Rach were the 'Duke and Duchess of St Clair' and Will & I were "Lord and Lady of Wilton'. We decided that the 'Duke of Wellington' was already taken! Above you can see Laurie and Karen who were part of our group being introduced. 

Laurie's brother Alan was a great laugh. He was very taken with the candelabra and spent most of the night carting it around and posing for photos. He had grown his Victorian whiskers especially for the occasion. The pic below is of him and a random woman in a steampunk inspired outfit which was one of Will's favourites.

All in all a great night was had by all. Saturday morning was a very quiet affair, in fact it didn't really exist as most of the household didn't surface until around lunchtime. It was a grey and miserable day anyway, so no great loss... Apart from that day we have had remarkably good weather down here, much warmer than expected. 

On Saturday night a few of the Roe's friends came around for a soup and bread dinner and a few drinks. It was a fairly quiet chilled night, a couple of the group were still recovering from the ball the previous night...

On Sunday the weather we had come to expect was back. Will and Rich went and took a few pics of the neighbouring Cargill's Castle. They also popped down to the beach to take some pics of the St Clair poles. Rich wants to get some good shots to put onto canvases.

Later on Will and I went for a stroll down to the beach. It was just nearing dusk and there was some lovely soft light. As we were leaving a sea mist was rolling in. 

Today Rich and Rach and the kids were all back at school. I am lucky in that my school always gets 3 weeks off for the July holidays. Will and I had a relaxed morning, then Will went into Otago Boys with Rich to do some marketing/promotion for robotics at Victoria University. I enjoyed a nice afternoon shopping in the city centre. Tomorrow we have a morning flight back to Wellington.

Holidays

My 3 week holiday has arrived, and it couldn't come soon enough. This last term was pretty hectic, right the way to the end where I had parent-teacher interviews for 3 hours on both the Tuesday and Thursday nights of the last week.

The Saturday before last my rugby team had the honour of playing at the Basin Reserve, our prem team's home ground. We were allowed to play there because we were celebrating Shorty's 100th game for OBU. It was pretty special for the girls to be able to play at such a historic ground. The changing rooms were certainly more roomy than what we are used to!

It was a good match against Wainui which we won 15-12. I have officially retired, but still help the team out with various bits and pieces on match day when I'm around.

Back at our clubrooms, the Cambridge Hotel, we had the official after-match function, then one of the girls (who conveniently happens to be a chef!) presented Shorty with a cake she had baked. It was pretty damn good!

She's an awesome player and an awesome chick, so it was great to see a big fuss made of her. 100 games for any club is a special achievement.

I have had a lovely chilled start to my holiday. On Saturday night Geoff and Richard came over to have a few drinks and play some cards. We did enjoy watching the 'Canes beat the Crusaders first... Rugby, red wine, cards, a roaring fire... Pretty much my idea of a perfect winters night in!

On Monday night Will & I went to the final Flight of the Conchords show with Em and Wayne. It was a brilliantly entertaining evening, they are incredibly talented. They opened with Too many dicks on the dancefloor, very similar to this version, right down to the same outfits! Business Time was another crowd favourite.

Yesterday I popped round to Hiria's for a bit to set up her house-warming present, a mini pop-up garden. I put several types of herbs in it, as well as a bit of lettuce, spinach and broccoli. I hope it grows!

I was planning on heading to the gym that afternoon, but got a bit distracted stacking firewood instead... 3 hours later... I haven't quite finished, I'll spend a bit of time finishing it up today. As you can see, it was quite a pile to stack!  

The chooks were out and about keeping me company as I worked in the garage. They enjoy making a mess by scratching all of the bark out of the front garden. They still haven't fully moulted, but they have lost a few feathers from their chests, so are looking a bit scraggly. Their egg production has slowed slightly in the cooler weather, but we are still getting at least 2 eggs a day, just not always the usual 3.

That's about all... Will flies to Philadelphia on Friday, then on Wednesday I fly down to Dunedin to spend a few days with the Roes. Shorty & her boyfriend are minding the house while we are away, she's pretty excited about looking after the chooks!