Catchup

Hi. Time again for another catchup. Now that winter is here we seem to have a lot more time on our hands. It has been 12 months since we moved off of the farm , but has gone by really quickly. It is weird but neither of us give farming a thought any more, it's like something that happened in another lifetime. Having a year off has been great but we are starting to get a bit restless again and need something to get into (as in part time work or some sort of business) .

Tim is still working for Toyota in Blenheim , but I think he will be away soon. He has just come back from Surfers with a lady friend (casual travelling companion only). I think he will try to wear his snowboard out this winter and then head to Aussie to meet up with some mates. Kelly is living with us again as she is between flats and boyfriends . I have to pick her up from the airport tonight as she is returning from Sydney. She has been there with her work mates and boss from the hair salon she works at. That girl never has much luck. She just text ed me, she is still sitting on the plane at Ch Ch and isn't allowed off yet as another passenger has swine flu like symptoms and they can't move until a doctor has given the OK.

Hayley is flatting in Blenheim still. She is working at a hotel housemaiding in the morning and has some part time work cleaning at the hospital at night. Last years coarse in travel and tourism has only produced a large student loan so far. She is still young though, plenty of time to increase the debt !!!!.

Over the summer we have been on a few trips mainly around the top of the south island. This one was on the coast above Westport at a place called Mokihinui. We biked along where an old bush railway used to be from Seddonville to Ngakawau. The ride was about 4 hours through typical west coast bush with some amazing scenery. Of coarse a bonus with riding on the coast is that there is normally a great pub right there at the end of your ride. Doesn't get much better then that.

In all we spent 4 days there biking and exploring and will definitly head back there again.

Fishing with our neighbour

Another adventure I went on recently was down to southwest Fiordland where I have a mate that has a commercial white bait business on the Cascade river. The only way in is by Jet boat or flying. That is another amazing part of the country that is worth a trip to. I spent a few days exploring, fishing ,and doing what comes naturally on the coast ( you know what), then flew out in their whitebait plane. The photo above was taken the day we flew out, you will notice that the water falls are are actually going up . Not good flying weather. Also notice in the next shot that the only seat in the plane is for the pilot. So I spent most of the flight somewhere between the ceiling and floor.

I have trouble with this blog layout so I hope it turns out all right.

Dave