so the pictures here run the span of christmas time celebrations. the images all down the left are from andy's apartment where i spent all christmas day. his family came over for christmas lunch: we ate prawns, oysters, pork, ham and turkey with stuffing that i made (and manage to make taste quite good)! andy, oh so kindly, told his whole family it was a recipe passed down from generation to generation in my family - in reality i found it on epicurious.com the day before!
the two dogs below are andy's cute bichons named ferris and georgie - adorable. we took the dogs on a nice walk to three different parks in the area post feasting and pre dessert.
lara s, rav, david, simon and ajita joined later in the afternoon and thus ensued an evening of card games, vino and even some dancing - possibly by just me. also down towards the bottom is a pic of the molasses cookies lara s made for christmas - so delicious. and also the wind up monkey mum sent as part of my stocking and was an amusing hit throughout the evening.
the picture of lara and i at the very bottom is from lara s's paddington inn christmas party where the whole staff was dressed in holiday atire: elves, santa, mrs clause, and lara dressed as an angel! good fun evening.
the bloody mary's above were from boxing day afternoon, woke up and spent the day relaxing and watching test cricket, which is a five day match between australia and south africa. i now actually understand the sport thanks to wikipedia, so it was much more interesting to watch then my past attempts.
was a nice holiday period, though you all at home were certainly missed!!!
tomorrow is new years eve and lara and i will be going to simon's office in the city, which overlooks a place called darling harbour. some bbqing and beers, should be nice and relaxed with a balcony view of fireworks.
pictures to come...
lara f.
Our guide was a really funny Kiwi boy who spent the whole time making fun of the Aussies that were there and generally just answering in ways that were funny, yet unnerving. (Ex. Lara Fuller: So, just out of curiosity, how long have you been doing this? Kiwi Boy: *Checks watch* About twenty minutes. *Silence*)
Included in this outing was a warm muffin upon return, along with your choice of alcoholic beverage, both to be enjoyed with your fellow cavers in a real sketchy hot tub.
Afterwards I wondered how we were able to participate in this activity without some sort of licensing or training - it was no joke. Then my mom informed me that there is no such thing as liability insurance in New Zealand, and a lot of things got a lot clearer.
The last two days of our trip we spent in Greymouth, one of NZ's original gold mining towns on the West Coast of the South Island. We get there the first day after a seven hour drive down the coast. It was rainy and we poked around a bit, eventually heading back to our hostel to generally just be unsociable in a room full of what seemed like very nice and hungry backpackers. I don't really know though. This is only what I could observe from the corner Fuller and I were hunched in. having a nice little pasta dinner nad avoiding eye contact.
The town itself was creepy but we resisted the urge to flee straightaway because we had seen a brocheure about caving and had gotten kind of fixated with it. The next morning we drove up to check out the Pancake rocks (middle pic) this crazy national rock formation. It had been raining quite a bit and the water crashing about in the center of these formations sounded very close to thunder and left you feeling a bit awestruck. Also notable about this stop was we met THE ONLY RUDE PERSON IN NEW ZEALAND. He fixed Lara Fuller a tea, and a proper, yet unjustified, scolding to go with it.
After the Pancake Rocks we went on a little hour hike to some waterfalls. It was just meant to kill time before our caving adventure, but it ended up being a very beautiful trek through the rainforest and we were the only ones on it.
The town itself was creepy but we resisted the urge to flee straightaway because we had seen a brocheure about caving and had gotten kind of fixated with it. The next morning we drove up to check out the Pancake rocks (middle pic) this crazy national rock formation. It had been raining quite a bit and the water crashing about in the center of these formations sounded very close to thunder and left you feeling a bit awestruck. Also notable about this stop was we met THE ONLY RUDE PERSON IN NEW ZEALAND. He fixed Lara Fuller a tea, and a proper, yet unjustified, scolding to go with it.
After the Pancake Rocks we went on a little hour hike to some waterfalls. It was just meant to kill time before our caving adventure, but it ended up being a very beautiful trek through the rainforest and we were the only ones on it.
We went to visit Dougie for the weekend in his hometown of Wellington. Caught a ferry over and reached the otherside just after a spectacular sunset. On Saturday we went to a Spanish tapas place and had dinner with D and a couple he is friends with, super nice. Following that, we went to Sheba's album release party and performance, who happened to be the sister of Adriana, who we had dinner with. It was this really cool jazz island hip hop fusion, kind of like MIA. She mixed in Chinese and Swahili, and we danced our faced off, as per usual.
The next day we went to the New Zealand National Museum, which I thought was better than any of the museums in Sydney. We got ice cream and walked along the water. We wandered into a bar with a big beer garden. There was lots of little cubby tables and people were playing board games and enjoying the sun. We and bought a pack of cards with the idea of playing rummy and having a glass of wine... four bottles of wine, fifteen hands of cards, and one huge Deep and Meaningful later, we had a bit of a photo shoot (as we do).
Was so nice to see Doug, and so nice to be taken around to his favorite spots. Wellington is a cool city too. A bit Northamptonish, with a big focus on music and arts.
The next day we went to the New Zealand National Museum, which I thought was better than any of the museums in Sydney. We got ice cream and walked along the water. We wandered into a bar with a big beer garden. There was lots of little cubby tables and people were playing board games and enjoying the sun. We and bought a pack of cards with the idea of playing rummy and having a glass of wine... four bottles of wine, fifteen hands of cards, and one huge Deep and Meaningful later, we had a bit of a photo shoot (as we do).
Was so nice to see Doug, and so nice to be taken around to his favorite spots. Wellington is a cool city too. A bit Northamptonish, with a big focus on music and arts.
This was my favorite place we went to, and I think Fuller's too. Its a National Park in the top corner of the South Island, and you can hike or kayak along the coastline for us to two days. I'm fully convinced that all the beautiful shots of NZ forests and coasts are taken here. Even on a rainyish day it was amazing. The black rock beaches, the crazy thick forest, the bright aqua water. I could have stayed there all week, and I'm not even into that type of shit.
We hiked for only a few hours because we were on a tight time schedule. The trail was through a rainforest, with a leaf canopy overhead, and lots of tiny rickety wooden bridges and baby waterfalls. The dozen or so people we passed all have these big packs and canteens and boots, and we were skipping along in our hoodies and trainers clutching Diet Cokes. Best day ever.
LS.
We hiked for only a few hours because we were on a tight time schedule. The trail was through a rainforest, with a leaf canopy overhead, and lots of tiny rickety wooden bridges and baby waterfalls. The dozen or so people we passed all have these big packs and canteens and boots, and we were skipping along in our hoodies and trainers clutching Diet Cokes. Best day ever.
LS.
On the Second day we drove up to Marlborough to tour some of the vineyards. We rented bikes and did a five hour ride through the valley, and hit about five vineyards. What seemed like an easy fun activity turned out to be slightly strenuous in reality.... as one of the women we chatted with at a vineyard out it... "you backpackers.... gluttons for punishment."
It was really cool to see some of the places that produce some of the wines that have become our go-tos. Cloudy Bay and Dog Point, and a few we just learned about there too.
We finished up the day by having a cheese plate and a glass of wine at the High Field Estate vineyard, on a patio with a pretty sick view that overlooked the whole valley. You were encourages to borrow straw sun hats during lunch.... so cute.
It was really cool to see some of the places that produce some of the wines that have become our go-tos. Cloudy Bay and Dog Point, and a few we just learned about there too.
We finished up the day by having a cheese plate and a glass of wine at the High Field Estate vineyard, on a patio with a pretty sick view that overlooked the whole valley. You were encourages to borrow straw sun hats during lunch.... so cute.
Our first day in NZ we landed in Christchurch and drove straight to Kaikoura, a town on the East Coast of the South Island. We had big plans to swim with dolphins, but after a few hours of driving hairpin curves next to steep ocean drop offs (all while concentrating on staying on the lefthand side of the road) we were kind of beat. The drive itself was amazing, and it was the whole week. So much green, so few people, and snow covered mountainpeaks in the distance. It was actually surreal.
We found a hostel, which turned out to be the most interesting one of our trip. It was "Far Side" comic themed. There were a horde of octogenarians occupying all the rooms around us. The only bar in town (located directly to floors below our room) played Fergie's "London Bridge" on repeat to two or three toothless fishermen. Truly bizarre.
The next day we walked down to a rock beach where we poked around and collected shells and annoyed the sunbathing seals by getting entirely too close. Fact: Seals smell terrible.
Schmitttttttt
We found a hostel, which turned out to be the most interesting one of our trip. It was "Far Side" comic themed. There were a horde of octogenarians occupying all the rooms around us. The only bar in town (located directly to floors below our room) played Fergie's "London Bridge" on repeat to two or three toothless fishermen. Truly bizarre.
The next day we walked down to a rock beach where we poked around and collected shells and annoyed the sunbathing seals by getting entirely too close. Fact: Seals smell terrible.
Schmitttttttt
October was good food month in Sydney and The Good Food and Wine Festival was set up in Hyde Park for the last Saturday of the month. All the best restaurants were there serving an entree and main each. The food was delicious along with some vino, desserts and a gorgeous day next to the fountain! Was the perfect kick off to spring events in the city.
about a month ago a huge sculpture installation was set up along a coastal walk by the beaches. here are some pictures i snapped...was a pretty amazing exhibition. lara f
