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New Zealand... and busy, busy life!

We have had a busy, busy life the last few weeks. Immediately after finishing painting and cleaning, my German friends came from Köln (Cologne) for a week with us. We did lots of great things and they are so charming that they just love my house and love to stay in and we cook and eat and drink lots of wine and talk a lot!

While we are in NZ, they are driving Brisbane to Sydney, through the Hunter Valley. They LOVE Sydney (who doesn't) and over the more than 20 years we have know each other, have been many, many times. When I am more flush (with money) we usually go to Germany or they come here, but I haven't seen them since 2009 when we met up in Cyprus. It is always like we have seen each other the last week.

 Waitomo caves


We saw some ostriches while driving and stopped. They are huge and were very animated puffing up their wings and flapping them to scare us away no doubt.
 Food is playing a big part in our holiday!
 Riding in the Redwoods on rented bikes.
 Hitting the disc brakes too quickly - me after falling into knee deep mud!
 Lake Rotorua
 Lady Knox Geyser
 This lake is huge and at about 100 degrees celsius!
Sulphur at the hot pools colours the crater waters.

We are having a great time in New Zealand - North Island only. We have visited Auckland, the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, Rotorua and the mud pools and thermal reserves, ridden bikes in the amazing Redwoods outside of Rotorua and are now in Tauranga. We have also been having the most glorious weather apart from some rain in Auckland. A real treat as the weather reports were for rain the whole week and we have had little of that. Actually Auckland can be a lot like what they say in Melbourne - if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes.. but not this trip, luckily for us. A few days left before I get home and fly to Sydney alone to have the last few days with my German friends before they go home. What fun !
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Judith said…
Busy you both might be, but what a great amount of fun you are having - great memories in the making. Rotten luck with the bike fall, but at least you weren't wearing any new clothes you had made! Keep on enjoying - will catch up when you get back ... J
28 September, 2013 07:56
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