the waiting room

sorry for this one…

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:24 +0000

sorry for this one…

Why do I think this is funny? I can’t answer that.

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:52:08 +0000

Why do I think this is funny? I can’t answer that.

w/e06 (sunday) - Flying home

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Its was a stunning day to fly back to Auckland from the south island. We managed to get some fantastic shots of the Marlborough sounds and of Mt Taranaki.

Mt Taranki

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Mt Taranki

Marlborough Sounds

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:00:00 +0000

Marlborough Sounds

w/e06 (saturday) - Marlborough Wine Festival

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:00:00 +0000

We extended this weekend with some annual leave and flew down to Blenheim in the Marlborough region to meet my parents for the infamous Marlborough Wine Festival. We spent the Thursday and Friday touring round the winerie’s celler doors sampling the wines on offer.

The actual Festival was on Saturday, at the Brancott Estate Winery, where again we sampled more wine. The day was goregous and we spent the most of it sitting on a blanet in the sun drinking wine and eating some reall nice food. There were a couple of NZ music acts playing like Nathan Haines and Koru but it all got a bit blurry towards the end. Nearly a perfect day if I didnt get a full glass of wine spilt on me by some random drunk guy who was struggling to stand up.

Nice, a lamb shank and a glass of Marlborough’s finest...

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Nice, a lamb shank and a glass of Marlborough’s finest Sav.

Zoe, Mum and Dad

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 11:30:00 +0000

Zoe, Mum and Dad

Some green things - not sure what they are but I think...

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Some green things - not sure what they are but I think i’ve seen them somewhere before.

w/e05 (sunday) - Rangitoto Island

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 03:30:00 +0000

We took the Ferry over to Rangitoto Island just to get some more demanding trekking done. Rangitoto is a massive 260 metre high volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland which last erupted about 600 years ago. Its a good steady 30-40mins walk to the summit and when you get there it has the most stunning views of the whole Auckland Area. It was a humid and over cast day in the city and it look like it was going to pour it down. But out on the island the sun was burning hot which made the trip a little harder. Altogether we walked for about 4.30 hours with a quick break at Mackensie Bay for a swim!

The largest forest of pōhutukawa trees in the world

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 03:02:00 +0000

The largest forest of pōhutukawa trees in the world

Extremely friendly Wax Eye

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 03:02:00 +0000

Extremely friendly Wax Eye

Standing on a main lava flow looking up towards the sumit

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 03:02:00 +0000

Standing on a main lava flow looking up towards the sumit

w/e05 (saturday) - Watching the city go by

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 02:02:00 +0000

Pretty much did bugger all all day. Nuff said.

w/e04 (monday) - Visitors pt1. Auckland Anniversary day

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0000

It was first Public holiday of the year and to make the most of it thought we’d show Mum and Dad more of the Auckland Region. So we decided to drive to the Tawharanui Regional Park - another of my favorite beaches.

The beach wasnt too busy, and i mean busy by NZ standards. The water wasnt too cold either and I would’ve stayed in a lot longer except for the bloody great big shadow that kept swimming around my feet. I know Rays are mostly harmless but its just something I cant get used to seeing here in the water.

After having enough of the sun we headed off to Leigh SawMill for some food and after we had said goodbye to the parents as they headed off up north to start their tour, we headed of to Goat Island and sat until the beach was empty - well mainly to avoid the long traffic queues back to Auckland.

Tawharanui Regional Park

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:00:00 +0000

Tawharanui Regional Park

w/e04 (sunday) - Visitors pt1

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:00:00 +0000

It was again another stunning day and I thought it be good to show my folks a couple of our favourite haunts out West. So we took a quick stroll (!) down the Goldie Bush walkway. Had a couple of wine tastings at Coopers Creek and Matua Valley. Got the kite out on Muriwai beach and then stopped off at Hallertau for some dinner and a few beers. Pretty productive day alround.

Kite Boarding on Muriwai Beach

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Kite Boarding on Muriwai Beach

w/e04 (saturday) - Visitors pt1

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:00:00 +0000

My parents are visiting from the UK. They arrived today and after a 26+ hour flight, a BBQ, and a few glasses of wine I left them dozing on the back deck.

Photo

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 04:36:00 +0000