Tongariro Alpine Crossing

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is over 19km long, and was described to us by Paul as 'one of the best one-day walks in the world'. Needless to say, the rest of us were dragged along with him to check if this was true. Andy approached the day complaining that he was an old man with vertigo, and that Paul was trying to kill him, again! However, the day dawned sunny and clear and we were treated to some stunning scenery from the word go. Unfortunately I decided that maybe 19km was too much for me, especially at the pace the boys would set, so I completed only 10km, and didn't get to the top this time. Andy, Paul and Joe, however completed the whole walk and arrived back at the hotel somewhat weary, but absolutely amazed by the whole experience. I think you will agree that the pictures speak for themselves.

Setting off, with a snow-capped Mt Ruapehu just visble

The day was so clear we could even see Mt Taranaki in the distance!

Mt Tongariro letting off steam!

The red crater

The blue lake

The emerald lakes

From the top!

We had a tired carful on the way back to Wanganui, where it was a pint, fish and chips and an early night.

Leonard Cohen

Paul and Joe have arrived to spend Christmas with us and it is lovely to have them here. We did a bit of Wanganui sight seeing on Monday and on Tuesday evening saw the Hobbbit at the cinema. What a long film and I am sure that a lot of it wasn't in the book!

On Wednesday we set off for Wellington and had a lovely day. The sun was shining, but being Wellington it was windy! Joe and I had a look around, parliament buildings, waterfront and of course Te Papa, while Paul went off to the botanical gardens to do his own thing, and Andy was at the Vietnamese embassy trying to get a visa for his trip in March. 

All met up later in the afternoon and had a pint sitting in the sun on the waterfront,

then on for an early supper, the best meal Andy and I have had since arriving in New Zealand!

The highlight of the evening however was the Leonard Cohen concert in the TSB Arena. We have had the tickets for months and it was well worth the wait. Amazed at how he remembers all the words to songs and poetry. His supporting band was great, made up of successful musicians in their own right. The best for me was the violinist from Moldovia. The violin is not normally my favourite instrument, but I could have listened to him play all night.

Fishing on the Rangitikei river

It was another beautiful day today, and we went back to Hannah and Marcus's place in Taihape. Hannah has gone to the UK for Christmas, but Marcus kindly let us go back so that Andy could have a couple of hours fishing in the Rangitikei river. On the way to the river, again on the back of the quad bike, Marcus took us to the shearing shed, where we watched the shearing team in their back breaking work.  Apparently they each shear about 400 sheep/day, amazing! Then on to the river which was as beautiful as we remembered it to be. Andy managed to catch two rainbow trout, small ones so steak for tea, but a good day again. 

A Christmas Carol, Wanganui Repertory Theatre

Well, my week as a thespian has come to an end. I really enjoyed it but can't believe how tired I was after a week of rehearsals every night followed by 8 performances. Overall the reviews were good and the audiences receptive. I am amazed at the capacity of some of the actors for remembering lines, and not just the young ones either. It has been a very interesting experience for me.

Andy came to see the show, not through choice I think, but because he had a free ticket!

Me as Miss Loveday! the organist.

The cast

Now it is back to preparing for Christmas and the long trip home. The family starts to arrive next Sunday, 15th, and we are getting excited about seeing them all after such a long time. It is nearly six months since we waved goodbye to Steve and Kath at Lancaster station!

Fran goes home - 25th November

So it was briefly back to Wellington again to take Fran to the airport for her trip home. We decided to go on Sunday night so that we had time on Monday morning for a spot of sight seeing. 

We had a look at the parliament buildings and a walk along the waterfront, before spending the last hour or so in Te Papa. Fran, of course, managed to get herself lost, she is so like my mother! So I spent much of my time in the museum trying to find her! Then it was on to the airport and a wave goodbye. It has been lovely having Fran to stay. I must make a trip to the tip with the empties ;) !

The lovely waterfront at Wellington

Yet another Len Lye masterpiece! This one is the Water Wand I think.

So, a drive back to Wanganui and straight on to my rehearsal for 'A Christmas Carol'. It is opening night on Friday and the next couple of weeks are going to be very busy. However, once that is over, it will only be a week until Paul and Joe arrive and 2 Weeks until Kate and family get here. I am so looking forward to seeing them all.