Invasion of the Parental Units 1.0

Wow, where do I even begin!? The last month has been a whirlwind of moving flats, Kevin's mum and stepdad visiting, travelling to the Cook Islands with them to meet up with my dad and his partner, coming back to Wellington to work for a few days, travelling to the South Island with my dad, and then trying to settle back into a routine. Phewf! After only working two and a half weeks of the last seven, I think I need a vacation from our vacation. And I've got 'heeps' of photos from all of these adventures, so let me start from the beginning...

Elaine and Dean came down on 18 January for a brief tour of Wellington before we buggered off to the South Pacific. That weekend, our flatmate Paul (official blog introductions and tour of our flat to come) was celebrating his big 3-0 by taking 18 of us on a sailboat around Wellington harbour. The weather was a bit gloomy, but the clouds held onto all of the rain and we enjoyed a booze-cruise that included "I'm on a Boat" being played only 4 times in a row.

The following day we then took the parentals over to one of my most favourite places in Wellington, Breaker Bay. We walked along the WWII information points and were lucky enough to have beautiful sunshine and turquoise waters.

Monday, we all hopped on the train over the Martinborough for a guided wine tour. You just can't do New Zealand right without a few (or many) wine tastings. So drink we did! 

Dinner that night was at Southern Cross for a delicious stone grill platter, which included a giant smoking-hot stone slab with raw lamb, beef, prawns, and halloumi cheese. You just put your goods on top and watch it sizzle to perfection!

The next day we had more beautiful weather and more delicious food and drinks. We joined a guide from Zest Food Tours through the Mojo coffee roastery, a gourmet chocolatier, Moore Wilson's gourmet grocery store, and ended at Logan Brown for an unbelievably decadent lunch. 

All I can say is, good thing I wore my stretchy pants. More photos and stories to come shortly! 

So This Is What We Do For Fun... Part II

Autumn has nestled its way well into Wellington these past few weeks and winter will be peaking its chilly head here soon. While Wellington does not get snow in winter (ok, it did snow in Wellington last August, but that was the first time in 40+ years...), those who have Skyped with us recently have commented on our layered garb and constant tea-drinking. Let us note, however, that it's only the inside of our flat that's particularly cold. Outside, it's usually a pretty warm 12°C. Unfortunately, due to a serious lack of insulation or double-glazed windows, we have resorted to bundling ourselves in hoodies and blankets to save on our power bill (which is significantly more expensive here). Saying this, we have continued to play outdoors when the sunshine blesses us with a visit. Like Vancouver, Wellington has a strange way of making you forget that it has just rained for 3 days straight by giving you the most beautiful clear, sunny days.

I've been meaning to post these first pictures for ages! This little knitting project (inspired by the lovely Robyn) was started on the airplane from Vancouver to Auckland, continued as a passenger on our cross-country roadtrip, and finished during my housewife period. I'm somewhat notorious for being a ridiculously slow knitter (i.e. my skanket, anyone?). But seriously, guess what everyone's getting for Christmas? I'm assuming that everyone has iPads... If not, too bad!

Below are also a few snapshots I've been holding onto for whatever reason. Easter long weekend fishing on at Lyall Bay, where the kahawai were seriously hungry. Note the many fishes suntanning on deck (or stuffed into that man's bucket).

After the farmer's market one beautiful Sunday morning, Kevin and I wandered into Te Papa, which is New Zealand's national museum. We meandered through the exhibits, particularly enjoying the gianormous squid and Maori artifacts.

Since we've acquired Sophia the stationwagon (not the llama--I know, disappointed), we have had the luxury of exploring the city heaps more. Two weeks ago Kevin and I took a drive out to Breaker Bay, which is literally a 10 minute drive from our flat. In those 10 minutes we went from city-dwellers to feeling like we were on vacation. These pictures seriously do not do justice to how incredible this beach is. It's funny how the ocean here seems so much bigger and vaster than back home. The roar of the waves goes right to your bones. I think we're both looking forward to spending summer evenings with a bonfire, a few bottles of wine, and some friends.

Last weekend, despite the grey cloudy weather, Kevin, his workmate Nathan, and I went out to Makara Beach for some tramping/geo-caching. For those of you who aren't familiar with geo-caching, it involves using GPS coordinates to play hide-and-seek with containers. Nathan had downloaded a few caches in Makara and, SUCCESS, we found all three! I was really hoping for some gold chocolate pirate coins or something, as the whole process kind of felt like Easter egg hunting for grown-ups. Unfortunately, there was no candy, but we still had a blast. Plus, the view didn't hurt!

And of course I need to leave you with clearly the most important part of the whole tramping/geo-caching adventure... SHEEPS! Probably my most favourite animal ever (those of you who know me well have been introduced once or twice to Butt-Lambie), it took all my might not to go run and hug them. Next time you sheeps, next time...

Baah!