Weekend

This weekend we went on a walk just around the corner from our house - hard to believe that on Monday we had 4 inches or more of snow and on Sunday it was picnic weather!  

Here are some pics...

 Just around the corner from our house there is a walking track around the coast ....

 Cute bay....

 

Baby (somewhere under that jumper!) takes first go on climbing frame  (is it a boy or a girl - we know and you don't- nah nah nah nah nah!!)

Boxes

The boxes have now been picked up by Pack and Send, Bristol (who were excellent and very friendly!) and will depart for NZ on 5 August... As we can see the port from our house we may even see the ship arrive on 5 September!

More snow pictures...

Here are a few more snowy pictures from Lyttelton, Cristchurch!

SNOW!

Yesterday was Monday but SNOW means an unexpected day off!  Yes, It is July and it is snowing hard... After seeing the snow I was wanting a Christmas present but sadly that isn't a July event and i still have to wait for December ....  It was the second coldest day in ChCh ever with about 4 inches of snow...Nathan was going to try and take Alberta (the car that is) to work rather than the van but we quickly realised Alberta was not designed for snow ploughing down our very steep drive (at least if Alberta and Nathan both wanted to live).... A day off then.  Nathan was obviously disappointed about missing work but managed to console himself by snowboarding down our road...I went to town (literally) with my camera.  It hasn't snowed like this for over 15 years so it was quite an event!  

Snow on the port side

The "dairy" (we would call it corner shop/newsagents in English) - closed due to quake but adverts looked good in the snow

Port authority building - prob will be demolished but nice shapes

 Dawn view from our living room

 Ahh cold beauty

 That's me bottom of the circle mirror

Groovy buildings in the snow - Red Stickered (meaning unfit after earthquakes)

 Port building and more snow on the hills

 Industrial reflection

 Snow on the port side

 More boarded up buildings in the snow

 Liking the contrast of the crane on the snow filled sky

View from home after more snow

Tomato

Ahh the common tomato... in Asda you are £1 for 6.  I would throw you away sometimes.  I treat you as a disposable unimportant item.  Well no more!!!

This is NZ home of the expensive tomato.... Tomatoes are now $16.99 a Kg here (about £9).  4 tomatoes cost about £4  WHaaaaaat!!!  Every time I have got our fair red fruit from the Funky Pumpkin (after checking the price in 3 different places!) I have had a chat with some one about the price of these golden veggies... Last time the man on the checkout had such  a long conversation with me he ended the discussion with "so where are you from then...Bristol?" - I almost fell from my trolley (aka "trundler" in Kiwi speak)... Seriously?!  I have to do something about my accent if I am being identified as a Bristolian from the other side of the world!!

The second conversation was with a delightful old lady who told me about where she had found cheap tomatoes at great length only to not remember where the place was I should be going to.... oh well.  We had tomatoes this weekend as it was Nathan's birthday(!).  Apparently, it is due to Australia not having any due to their recent floods and so they are buying the Kiwi ones.... ahh like edible gold.

Nathan's birthday tomatoes

Quake

I am embracing the local obsession in mapping earthquake tremors which is available online - At 5.30am this morning we had quite a long big one (5.1).  Imagine someone jumping on your bed for 20 seconds - that is what this one was like!  Circled in red is where we live and where the centre of the quake was....

This weekend

This weekend we did a bit of a road trip... best illustrated by a map and pictures (to make you sick of “winter” here in NZ...)

1. Lyttelton – Where we live....
2. Birdlings Flat.... massive span of pebbles and roaring ocean in eerie setting – cold and open
3. Magnet bay – beautiful views on the way down to the beach for lunch – surf spot, turquoise waters, blue sky, green green grass
4. Akaroa – “French” colonial village – arty and in a beautiful harbour

  

Birdlings flat.... 

View on the way to Magnet Bay (turn your head sideways...I can't cope with the technology today!)

Nathan goes downhill mountain biking and I drive down!

The beach

Turn your head again!

Rolling hills.. at Magnet Bay...

Me !

 Akaroa harbour - with evening light

Spring lamb!

Setting sun