Rangiora Zoo

The animals at Rangiora Zoo (ie Darren and Shane's) have a lot of character, so deserve to have some photos posted on my blog - Arku the parrot, Bart the cat, Holly and Benson, Mindy the peahen and one of the many ducks.

All quiet on the NZ front

It has been a quiet few days here in Rangiora, so as you can see the blog has been a bit neglected. On Boxing Day, Shane took us to a shopping mall and as the sales had started, it was absolutely heaving. I have been having cravings for a decent curry and was ecstatic to see that there was a curry counter at the food court in the mall. It tasted ok but wasn't hot and spicy enough. Unfortunately the chicken tikka masala was a bright red colour and I dread to think how many E numbers there were in it. I am surprised I wasn't climbing the walls! Luckily we only suffered one more day of eating the turkey, although I wasn't able to persuade my mum to make turkey curry (boo hoo - she is not a big curry fan). I know I keep going on about getting my curry fix, but when you are used to eating it often (and with a triple dose of chillis when Julie and I make it), you really get withdrawal symptoms. Thailand here we come.

On 27th December, Darren drove us to Akaroa in Banks Peninsula. Banks Peninsula was formed following violent eruptions of two volcanoes. The twin craters nurse the picturesque harbours of both Akaroa and Lyttleton (which we saw from the top of Christchurch gondola on Christmas Eve). The Ngai Tahu tribe had already discovered the charm of the peninsula before Captain Cook sighted it in 1770 when he initially mistook it for an island. From the mid 1830s onwards, settlers arrived from both British and French colonies, which influence is still prevalent today.

Akaroa is 84km south east of Christchurch and perched on the edge of a deep volcanic harbour. The journey takes 1.5 hours and includes some spectacular views (see photo of me, my mum and dad). Akaroa has British, French and Maori heritage and is considered one of Canterbury's first established townships. Visitors can swim with rare Hector's dolphins or see white flippered penguins or New Zealand's fur seal colony. Did we partake in any of these cultural delights? No, of course not - after a picnic by the beach, we went shopping instead and ended up in the pearl shop.

Akaroa Blue Pearl is Akaroa's leading manufacturers of handmade, high quality, blue pearl jewellery. Blue pearls are a mabe pearl, cultured in the New Zealand Abalone Shell (Haliotis Iris, which is also commonly known in New Zealand as Paua). Rather than being the traditional whole pearl shape, it is a hemispherical flat back pearl - an ideal shape for pendants, earrings and brooches. True to form I did buy myself a pearl but looking at the best quality pearls first meant that everything else paled into significance. Darren managed to persuade me to buy the most expensive of the three I had my eye on (ie twice the price of the one I wanted to buy), on the basis that I would kick myself if I didn't. That has completely blown the budget, as I bought a loose pearl and will have it set in Dubai (with diamonds of course!) and I am still in shock. Thanks Darren - but it is lovely. Baked beans on toast for the rest of the trip I think.

Mum and dad flew back to Sydney for New Year on 28th December and now the real partying has started (only joking!). I have become quite fond of all the animals chez Darren and Shane. I even discovered another aviary with more birds and parrots which I hadn't noticed before, as it was tucked away in some corner of the garden. Holly and Benson (the long-haired dachshunds)are really cute, so much so that Darren bought them some santa outfits in the sale (see photo). They are sprightly young things but as soon as the outfits were on, they didn't move an inch, probably because they were totally shell shocked by wearing a straight jacket. Bart the cat has also taken a liking to me and he is sitting by the computer as I type this blog. He also has a habit of coming to visit you whilst you are on the loo but he has stopped giving me frights in the night. Arku the parrot is two years old and likes lots of attention. He will squawk and shriek when you are not in the room and if he knows you are in the kitchen he will say "Hello" and "What're you doing." They are great animals.

Yesterday I decided to check out the sales in Christchurch and it was a really pleasant experience, as there was hardly anyone in town. There were some good bargains to be had.

Today (Sunday 30th) we drove to Manuka Bay and Gore Bay (see photo of me), which is 115km north east of Christchurch and not far from two great fishing rivers, the Waiau and the Hurunui. Known as one of the safest beaches to surf, Gore Bay offers wild pounding surf at one end of the spectrum and peaceful streams amongst pockets of native forest at the other. On the road just above Gore Bay, you also have views of the Cathedral Rocks, which are formed of limestone (see photo). I also got to experience Shane's white knuckle ride driving - 140km down the highway overtaking all those Sunday drivers - not for the faint hearted and I am sure a I have gained a few extra grey hairs! We have seen some lovely properties for sale in that area, with stunning views over the sea. Maybe I should use the proceeds of the sale of my flat to buy a property and Vernon and I can retire to the wip wops. I think Darren and Shane like the idea of living in a granny flat in the country.

Tomorrow I am going on a two week adventure trip around the South Island. First stop is a sheep station near Mount Cook and on New Year's Day we will be taking a walk up near Mount Cook. Apparently it is quite a tough day, which will be interesting, as I have been practically sitting on my backside for the last two weeks. The weather was really nice today (it got up to the 20s!) but a cold front is coming in, so I have made sure that I have plenty of thermals. I am not sure how much internet access will be available when I am away, so if I do not update the blog, do not panic! I am probably having a really good time somewhere.

As I will be the first of anyone to celebrate New Year (albeit with a few sheep), I will wish you all a Happy New Year and see you in 2008.

Christmas near Christchurch

We arrived in Christchurch on Monday 24th December to stay with my cousin Darren and his partner Shane, who live in Rangiora, which is in North Canterbury and about 30 minutes drive away from Christchurch. During the afternoon we went up Christchurch cable car, which gives you spectacular views over the city (see photo). Darren and Shane's place is like being on a farm, with numerous lovebirds and a parrot in the house, two sausage dogs (Holly and Benson), another dog (Karma) (see photo), a cat (Bart) and various white doves, ducks and peacocks which roam around in the garden. Most of the animals seem to get on with each other. Last night I was up late updating my blog but I could hear the dogs barking a few times and thought I heard the wooden floorboards creaking outside in the dead of night. My imagination was running away with me as usual. Bart is about 20 years old and as black as the ace of spades - I was sleeping on the sofa and could hear him purring away and when I turned to look at where he was, he was staring me out, inches away from my face. It frightened the life of out of me.

Today (Christmas Day) we cracked open the sparkling wine at about 10.30am and I felt pretty sozzled by about lunchtime (and we hadn't even had the turkey by that point). I played boules in the garden for the first time ever and ended up being the Handforth champion - I think the booze must have helped but then again, much to Vernon's annoyance, I have always been a bit of a pool hustler, so my skill must have rubbed off! The turkey was delicious (as were the cold turkey sandwiches we had later) and Shane made the biggest trifle I have ever seen. It was delicious but we all felt so stuffed from pigging out earlier in the day.

Hope you all have a great Christmas and enjoy the turkey. We missed the Queen's speech earlier, which is probably just as well, as I won't be able to spoil it for you. Enjoy!

Hawkes Bay Wine Country

Hawkes Bay is New Zealand's leading food and wine region and apparently has some of the best weather in New Zealand with about 2200 hours of sunshine. Napier and Hastings were destroyed by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale in 1931, which resulted in the towns being completely demolished and rebuilt in Art Deco styles. There are also more than 40 wineries in the region, which is famous for the Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. We spent Friday afternoon visiting three wineries - Mission Estate (see photo), Trinity Hill and Craggy Range, which produce some great wines. I haven't been a fan of white wine for a long time but I found a lot of the wine easily drinkable (but then I am a bit of an alcoholic!). The wineries were a lot friendlier than the ones in Hunter Valley - possibly because they don't get as many tourists but the people serving us were a lot more laid back With the international luggage restrictions, however, it does mean that we can't take any wine back in our hand luggage, so we made up for it by tasting plenty of wines.

After visiting the wineries, we drove up to Te Mata, which is a mountain lookout in the Havelock North part of Hastings and there are spectacular views over Napier and Hastings and the Ngaruroro River which runs through Napier and Hastings (see photo).

The scenery in and around Hawkes Bay is very picturesque and varied, with lots of hills, shrubs and greenery but it lies on an earthquake fault. I had wondered to myself when the next big earthquake would be due in the region but I hadn't known by that point that at about 9pm on Thursday evening, Gisbourne, which is about 220km up the coast, had suffered an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale. The news said that the shudders could be felt miles away, even in Christchurch but we were busy drinking the local glug and thawing our bones out in the pub in "Taumata..........etc etc etc" to even notice. Good job we weren't in the area when it happened - time for a quick exit!

I spent Saturday (22nd), the day of my 35th birthday, in the car driving from Napier to Wellington to catch the Interislander ferry to Picton on the South Island. The drive was pretty uneventful, but we were lucky enough to have lunch at what is allegedly New Zealand's best deli in Masterton - the Wild Oats deli. There was a much better variety of food than what we have had in other cafes, but nothing like the sort of delicacies you can find in delis in Europe. My brother keeps raving about steak and cheese pies, so we finally tried one here - not bad but not sure why it is so special. I am not surprised if I turn into a pie with the number I have eaten this week in New Zealand - what happened to good old healthy salads!

We didn't see much of Wellington before catching the ferry apart from having a coffee by the marina (and the view from the harbour is nice) but the main shopping street in the Cuba district is a bit of a dump and reminds me of Market Street in the Arndale Centre of Manchester. Anyone who has been there will know what I am talking about! We checked into our hotel just before midnight in Blenheim in the Marlborough area, which again is wine country with over 110 wineries.

When we woke up on Sunday morning, Blenheim was basking in sunshine - hooray! Blenheim gets around 2400 hours of sunshine a year and the first thing you notice about the Marlborough region is how dry the landscape is compared to the North Island. I much prefer the landscape in the South Island, with the mountains towering around you. Tramping here we come.

Our final stay on Sunday was in the thermal town of Hanmer Springs, which is about 90 minutes drive from Christchurch (see mum and dad in the photo above). The Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa in the town attracts visitors seeking the benefits of its natural mineral waters, which are drawn from a bore adjacent to the complex. It is surrounded by forests and mountains and the pools have nine open-air thermal pools and three sulphur pools (which really do stink). The pools range in temperature from 33-42° Celsius, which is supposedly perfect for soothing away aches and pains - I can testify to that, as the niggle in the back of my knee which I have had for a while seemed to get better. In desperate need of some pampering, my mum and I had a facial and a massage and then a belated birthday dinner. Lovely jubbly!

A Few Maori Stories

The Maori guide at the Te Puia Maori Cultural Centre in Rotorua told us how New Zealanders became to be known as Kiwis. He explained that New Zealanders were sent to war (during the first or second world war - I can't remember) with Kiwi shoe polish and had a reputation for having the shinest boots on the front. The other allied soldiers would barter for the shoe polish in exchange for cigarettes and hence, the NZ soldiers became known as "Kiwis". Kiwi polish was actually invented by a Scotsman married to a New Zealander and when she died, he named the shoe polish "Kiwi" after her. Whether this is true or not, who knows, but it sounds like a good story anyway.

The Maoris tell another story ("Te Ika A Maui") as to how New Zealand was discovered. Maui was half man and half god and knew many magic spells and because of this, he was known as Maui Nukurau (the Trickster). Maui's brothers planned a fishing trip without him, so he hid under the floorboards of their canoe. When the brothers paddled out to deep water, they discovered Maui under the floor boards, who laughed and boasted at how he had unwitted them. Angry at Maui's sudden appearance, they immediately decided to turn back. Maui encouraged them to keep paddling, saying he knew of a place where they would fill their nets. The brothers, tempted by the promise of good fishing, followed Maui's advice and were astonished at the size of their catch.

Maui waited until his brothers wanted to return home before he told he wanted to fish. An argument ensued and when the brothers agreed to let Maui fish but wihout bait, Maui smeered his own blood on his jawbone hook and threw it as far as he could. When the canoe rocked, Maui knew he had caught a very big fish, pulled and pulled, the sea was in turmoil and Maui tugged until the fish broke the surface. Maui had not caught a fish but had fished land. Realising what he had done, Maui said to his brothers "I must go and make peace with the gods because I think they are angry with me." As soon as he had gone, the brothers started to argue over who should have possession of the land. The argument became fierce and soon the brothers began to slash and carve the land with their weapons. To this day those cuts and bruises of long ago can still be seen in the valleys and mountains of the North Island.

On Thursday morning (20th Dec) we drove from Rotorua to Napier, stopping at Huka Falls on the way. The Huka Falls are a set of waterfalls on the Waikato River which drains Lake Taupo. A few hundred metres upstream from the Huka Falls, the Waikato River narrows from roughly 100 metres across into a narrow canyon only 15 metres across. The volume of water flowing through often approaches 220,000 litres per second. At the top of the falls is a set of small waterfalls dropping over about 8 metres. The most impressive, final stage of the falls (pictured above) is an 11 metre drop. The drop is technically six metres (cliff beneath the water) but the water flow raises the level to 11m. Hukafalls Jet (which you can see in the picture) takes tourists within a few meters of the bottom of the final stage.

After lunch at Lake Taupo, which is the largest lake in New Zealand and lies in a caldera created following a huge volcanic eruption approximately 26,500 years ago (and according to geological records, the volcano has erupted 28 times in the last 27,000 years), we headed to our hotel in Napier for a quick check in, and then continued the drive further south to visit my dad's brother and his wife who live near Waipukerau, which is about 100km from Napier. It is truly in the wip wops - they have a lovely house which they have spent the last few years renovating and an amazing garden but unfortunately, they live next door to the neighbour from hell. He is the infamous local farmer and apart from rearing his cattle, he seems to have nothing better to do than terrorise the neighbours and let his cows and sheep run amok.

We also visited the town which has the longest name in the world (about 15 minutes away from their house) - "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamatepokaiwhenaukitanatahu" (see photo), which is in the Guinness Book of Records. Why on earth someone would name a village with something which is unpronounceable to us ordinary mortals I don't know, but the plaque by the name explains that Tamatea was a well known chief, warrier and explorer of his time. He is the ancestor of the Ngati Kahungunu people of Porangahau and acquired many names to commemorate his prowess. Whilst passing through the inland district of Porangahau, Tamatea encountered the Ngati Hine people and had to fight them to get past. In the battle known as "Matanui", his brother was killed. Tamatea was so grieved at his loss that he stayed for some time at that place and each morning he would sit on the knoll to play a lament on his Koauau. Hence, the name indicating the hill on which Tamatea, the chief of great physical stature and renown, played a lament on his flute to the memory of his brother.

By this point the rains came in and it was really wet and miserable. We therefore sought warmth and solace at the only pub in the village and sampled the local fare - fish and chips. For some reasons the locals managed to spot us as tourists a mile off but then again, we were the only nutcases freezing our backsides off wearing shorts and T-shirts. And we thought it was currently summer in New Zealand!

Maori Culture

Apparently the Aussies take the mickie out of Kiwis because of the way they talk - the way they pronounce their vowels is different but sometimes to the non-native speaker, it can be quite subtle. I am not sure what is so hilarious about the way they talk, but then again, we English do make fun of geordies and brummies. The Kiwis do have some sayings which are quite quaint, for example, being in the wip wops (being out in the sticks) and a box of fluffy ducks (what you reply when someone asks you how you are and you are feeling great). Of course, there is no shortage of cows and sheep here.

Yesterday (Tuesday) morning we drove down to Rotorua, the home of Maori culture. Our hotel is located on Lake Rotorua, which is one of the best known thermal areas in the world. The first thing you notice when driving into town is how overpowering the stench of sulphur is (the area is teeming with volcanic activity). On a good day, it smells like bad eggs; on a bad day, like a men's urinal (sorry, but they really stink sometimes). There is so much to do in Rotorua and where time is limited, it can be hard to choose. In the afternoon, it poured down, so there wasn't much opportunity to do any outdoor activites and instead, we wandered around the shops. I thought I was in the back of beyond in Cairns, but other than restaurants and some of the big spas, the place shuts down at 5/5.30pm!

Rotorua and its surroundings are steeped in Maori legend and history. It has its own Romeo and Juliet story: Hinemoa, a girl of high birth, loved Tutanekai who lived on Mokoia Island on Lake Rotorua, but was forbidden by her family from marrying him. Every evening she sat forlorny on a rock on the edge of the lake listening to the sound of his flute lilting across the water until one night she decided to join him. With the aid of floating gourds, she swam all the way to the island and was reunited with him. In the face of such passion, their families relented and the couple lived happily ever after. Good job it didn't have the Romeo and Juliet ending, as a lot of Maoris are descendents of these two tribes.

Today was a day filled with lots of Maori culture and geothermal activity. First stop was Waimangu, about 10km outside of Rotorua. The Waimangu volcanic valley was formed by the Tarawera eruption on 10 June 1866 - before that date, the area was rolling scrub-covered hills with no surface hydrothermal activity. On the night of 10 June, a line of craters from the northern end of Tarawera mountain all the way to the Waimangu Valley was formed by a violent eruption. This completely destroyed all plant, animal and bird life in the whole area of the country and could be heard in Christchurch on the South Island. Tarawera, a restlessly sleeping volcano, has erupted five times in the last 18,000 years. The walk from the visitors' centre down to Lake Rotomahana is about 4km long and along the way you can see plenty of geysers, hot water creek and springs, craters and eruption deposits.

Second stop was Te Puia, New Zealand's Maori Cultural Centre in Rotorua. There's plenty on offer, including carving and weaving schools, interactive galleries and a Maori village but the highlight is the Whakarewarewa geothermal valley (with mud pools) and the Pohutu Geyser. The Pohutu geyser is the largest of several geysers in the valley and erupts on average once or twice each hour and can reach heights 0f up to 30m. It is thought that a geyser requires an intricate plumbing system involving one or more chambers into which hot water, steam and gases are all fed. Eventually this reservoir becomes sufficiently pressurised and hot enough for the water to begin boiling. From the rapid and violent pressure within the chamber, water is forced up the geyser vent and then ejected into the air. We were lucky to see the Pohutu Geyser erupt from the beginning and 30 minutes later, it was still going strong (see photo).

Back at the hotel we had a Maori hangi and culture evening. The hangi is an ancient New Zealand Maori method of cooking food using super heated rocks buried in the ground in a pit oven. Modernised hangi methods are still used today and are often saved for special occasions due to the large amount of time and preparatory work involved. Before dinner, two warriors performed a formal Powhiri (welcome) (see picture) and following dinner, Te Roopu Manaia, which is an award-winning Maori Culture group, performed various songs and dances. Some male members of the audience, including my dad, were pulled onto the stage and taught to the do the haka, which was very amusing indeed. All that grunting and sticking your tongue and eyeballs out to psyche out the enemy has been recorded on video, so my dad can never deny he ever did it and I am sure the grandchildren will find it very amusing!

I really like Maori culture. They have some great wood carvings and costumes and the sight of those strapping men with short skirts and bulging thighs are enough to make any woman go weak at the knees! (Of course, there is only one man for me, but there is no harm looking!). I also seem to have picked up some souvenirs along the way - New Zealand jade and New Zealand paua shell (which is a type of abalone and supposed to be very tasty).

Tomorrow we are off to wine country - Napier/Hastings viaLake Taupo and I am sure there will be a few winery stops on the way. I have just seen on the TV that it is minus 6 in London - I don't think I should complain about the weather here anymore.

Kia Ora (which means goodbye in Maori (although it also means hello and thank you and has various other meanings).

Auckland

We arrived in Auckland without any problems, other than the flight being delayed by two hours because the baggage conveyor at Dubai had broken down. My parents got upgraded to business class, because they have flown so many times with Emirates and both have gold cards. Personally, I think it must be because the woman at the check in desk felt sorry for them - what with me being in business class and them being in goat class!

I really like Auckland, from what I have seen of it so far. It is right on the harbour and there is a lot of green country side, parks and great look outs. It really reminds me of being back in the UK, but without the stress and hassle. My cousin Dawn, and her partner Kay, their dog Oscar (see picture) and three cats) live in Pukehoe, which is a market town just about 50 km south of Auckland city. I don't know how they have managed to keep my mum and I out of the shops, but by some miracle, apart from going to the local supermarket, our credit cards have been deprived of seeing the light of day.

On Sunday we did a driving tour around Auckland. First stop was One Tree Hill (see picture). One Tree Hill (or Maungakiekie in Maori) is a 182 metre volcanic peak located and is an important memorial place for both Maori and other New Zealanders. The suburb around the base of the hill is also called One Tree Hill. The hill's scoria cones erupted 20,000 - 30,000 years ago, creating lava flows which covered an area of 20 square kilometres, mostly towards Onehunga, making it the largest (in terms of area covered) of the Auckland area. The summit provides views across the Auckland area, and allows visitors to see both of Auckland's Harbours. One Tree Hill has become No Tree Hill - unfortunately, in around 2000, some Maori activist wanted to reclaim the land back in that area and chopped into the 125 year old pine tree on top of the hill with an axe. Because of fears strong winds could topple the tree, the 125-year-old pine tree on top of the hill was chopped down on October 26, 2000. Another native tree is being planted on the site.

We then went to Devonport, which is a posh part of Auckland where the naval base is situated, had a spot of lunch and then drove to Mount Victoria. Mount Victoria is the highest volcano on Auckland's North Shore but rises to a mere 87 m. It erupted some 20,000 years ago, and its lava flows now line much of Devonport's waterfront. Named after Queen Victoria, the hill provides panoramic views of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour and the inner Hauraki Gulf (see picture). Over the years the peak and upper slopes have housed a signal station for shipping, artillery emplacements and various concrete army bunkers, some from as early as the 1870s. One bunker now serves as the venue for the Devonport Folk Club.

After Mount Victoria, it was on to the Fish Market at the Waterfront. I have never seen such variety of fish at a market before (other than the markets in Hong Kong) and at such cheap prices. We bought a hige bag of green lipped New Zealand mussels for about NZ$6.80 (less than 4 pounds) - it would probably cost that much for one mussel back home. We have eaten a lot of fish, prawns and steak since we have been here. In the cafes here they serve chips, pies and scones and I really feel at home!

Today (Monday) it absolutely poured down and I think the bad weather is supposed to last until Wednesday. Fingers crossed that summer finally comes. We drove down to Waitomo Caves, which is about two and a half hours from Auckland. The Waitomo Caves are a village and cave system forming a major tourist attraction in the southern Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand, 12 kilometres northwest of Te Kuiti. The word Waitomo comes from the Maori, wai meaning water and tomo meaning a doline or sinkhole. It can thus be translated to be water passing through a hole. You can see all the limestone formations and plenty of glow worms, which are in fact fly larvae, which generate some chemical which reacts with their excrement - the result, their bum glows. It is quite impressive as there are thousands of them on the cave ceiling. Unfortunately they would not allow us to take any pictures inside the caves.

For dinner we tried pavlova, which was apparently invented in New Zealand after some Russian ballerina - Anna Pavlova (or if you ask the Aussies, they say that they invented it). It's been years since I have had it, but if was delicious with fluffy egg whites - enough to disguise the thousands of calories which you scoff with every mouthful.

Tomorrow we are off to Rotorua, which is where they have the hot springs and lots of Mauri culture. I am looking forward to seeing the haka. Ka Mate Ka Mate ha ha!

Hunter Valley Winos

On Wednesday morning I went to the Pylon Museum, which is in the south-east tower of the Harbour Bridge. It is a small museum which shows all the different stages of the building of the Harbour Bridge and gives some interesting facts about it. The views at the top of the tower over the city, the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera house are pretty amazing as you can see from the photos. You can also see people doing the Bridge Climb, which involves a walk up the Harbour Bridge. My dad was doing the walk whilst I was up the Pylon but I last did it in March 1999, so decided to give it a miss.

My mum, dad and I then drove up to Hunter Valley, which is the region best known for semillon and shiraz wine. On Thursday we spent the whole day touring round the various wineries like there was no tomorrow (they aren't called vineyards in this part of the world) and getting sloshed for free! I was proud of myself for actually being quite restrained. The last time I was there in 1999, my cousin was driving, so I didn't hesitate to try everything off the tasting list. I must be getting mature in my old age. I suppose the reason I didn't go overboard, is that I don't have much room left in my luggage (having shopped till I dropped in Sydney to replenish my somewhat lacking wardrobe!) and with the liquid restrictions, I can't take any as hand luggage. Last time I bought some nice wine to take back with me to the UK, but this time I can hardly imagine it would have lasted beyond New Zealand. It really is good stuff. I also enquired about getting the wine shipped back to the UK, but at $260 per case of 12 (and VAT and customs fees in the UK on top), it makes a bottle of wine rather expensive.

This time we visited the smaller wineries which had won awards for their wines - Bimbadgen, Audrey Wilkinson, Vinden, and First Creek. I felt like a bit of a wino tasting the wine at 10am this morning, but we didn't have much time before we had to return to Sydney and I guess when in Rome.....

I have been quite disappointed with the weather since I arrived in Sydney. It rained for most of Thursday afternoon in Hunter Valley, and apparently all the tourists visiting the wineries were moaning like hell because it was so cold. I feel like I am in a time warp and still suffering from our cold and miserable summer! All the locals are quite glad of the rain, as whilst the weather has not been this bad for a good number of years (in Hunter Valley it is normally over 30 degrees at this time of year), Australia is in the midst of a drought, so a few inches is much needed. Today was much warmer in Sydney, so my legs have now seen the sun again.

The scenery in Hunter Valley is great, although with the crap weather, I did struggle to get a good picture (see above). It was also quite exciting when we were driving back to Sydney just out of Hunter Valley, when a kangeroo bounced in front of our car to cross over the road. Makes a change from seeing squashed headgehogs and the like in the UK.

Tomorrow we are off to New Zealand - we are flying to Auckland to stay with my cousin for a couple of days. I think the weather is worse over there, so it may be time to get the thermals out! We will also be 13 hours ahead - it is hard enough staying in touch with people in the UK from Australia and I don't think I have been to bed before 1am over the last few days. Mind you, it is a full time job updating my blog and I seem to be too busy to do it during the day - what with all the shopping, sightseeing and genreally not engaging any brain cells before 6pm! I will also be glad of some exercise. There is never any shortage of food in my family (especially my Chinese family), so I feel like I will be rolling myself off the plane (again). It's hard work being a tourist!

Another Wedding

I am being eaten alive by mosquitos! For some reason they like my blood. Apparently if you eat lots of sugar, they like the taste of sweet blood and it probably doesn't help that I eat a lot of fruit and veg, chocolate and red wine. I am itching like a mad monkey - garlic and spicy food is also supposed to ward them off, but I eat tons of the stuff and it doesn't seem to help. Anyway, I have stocked up on 80% proof deet and if that doesn't keep the buggers away, I don't know what will.

My uncle Anthony (my mum's brother) got married in Sydney Registry Office today (see the photo above). His wife is originally from Shanghai and lives in Hong Kong but as she doesn't speak English, my mum had to translate the whole of the ceremony. I imagine it is quite difficult trying to translate "I do solemnly and sincerely declare that I know not of any lawful impediment.......". After the ceremony we went for the obligatory dim sum for lunch. Dinner was four hours later but to kill time I went to the Outback Centre in Darling Harbour where there is a half hour show by an Aboriginal guy playing the didgeridoo and telling us about its history and how it is played (see photo above). It has inspired me to practice on the one I bought in Cairns although I will probably be pretty crap at it.

For dinner we had a 10 course banquet with lots of seafood. Sharks fin soup was on the menu, which I haven't had in years but I wouldn't order it myself now, as it is not ethical in the way in which the sharks are killed. They cut off their fins and throw the shark back in the water and leave the poor thing to suffer a painful death. I must weigh a good few kilos heavier after spending the last few days eating. I have set the alarm for an early jog tomorrow - at least the thighs are no longer stiff from the 10km run I did on Saturday.

How the Chinese do it

I arrived in Sydney last Thursday evening and have been doing the usual run around catching up with family, hence the radio silence. I haven't seen my brother (Justin), sister-in-law (Jo) and my nieces and nephew for a couple of years and I haven't seen my Chinese side of the family since 1998 (in Hong Kong) and then in 1999 (in Sydney). My gran (my mother's mum), who is a sweet Chinese old lady, happens to be a rather devout Catholic and goes to mass every day. She said that she prays for me every day, which is just as well that there is someone looking over me and stops me from getting into too much trouble. I didn't realise that she nearly became a nun when she was younger but then met my grandfather (who sadly passed away a couple of years ago) and that idea became a distant memory. Just as well, as I wouldn't be sitting here typing this! She also does not know how old she is, as in the year she was born the Chinese destroyed all birth certificates. We reckon she is about 87 years old but she is still in good health.

It was my cousin Mary's wedding yesterday, which was interesting, as I have never been to a Chinese wedding before. We arrived at my aunt's house at 9.30am for the tea ceremony but before that starts, it is tradition for the groom to try to gain entry into the house to see the bride. The bridesmaids then ask him to carry out all sorts of silly tasks before they will let him in, so poor Stanley had to various tasks such as donning a straw skirt and dancing some girlie dance with his groomsmen, by which time the girls felt sorry for him and finally let him in. At the tea ceremony, family members (starting with the bride's parents) sit before the bride and groom and bestow gifts of jewellery (gold and diamonds) to the bride and lysee packets (red money packets) to the bride and groom and, in turn, the bride and groom offer you tea to thank you and celebrate good health and long life. Mary was wearing a lovely Chinese red dress with intricate embroidery and then changed into her wedding dress. The difference to English weddings is that family stays behind to see the couple go off to the church, so that we have already seen the dress by the time the bride walks down the aisle (I think I like it the English way, so there is a bit of anticipation from everyone to see whether the bride is wearing a hideous meringue or not).

It was a catholic ceremony but unlike other ones I have been to which seem to drag on forever, this was ok. I think the whole of the church other than my dad, Justin, Jo and I didn't go up to take communion, but then we seemed to be the only non-Catholics in there. After photos outside the church, the bride and groom then went off to have more photos taken, so in usual Chinese fashion where we always think about where the next meal is coming from, we stuffed our faces for the next couple of hours with lots of dim sum in a Chinese restaurant in the city.

The evening do started at 7pm and it was at the Shangri La hotel in central Sydney, which is pretty posh indeed. My dad drove us there but anyone who has driven around Sydney without much of a clue where they were going will realise that it is a bit of a nighmare, as some of the streets are one way and when you want to turn left or right, you can't. It took us an hour to find the hotel and somehow we ended up on the Harbour Bridge going north of the city and it wasn't until we turned around to go back on the bridge that we finally saw the hotel!

My youngest niece (Tilly, who is three and a half) and my nephew Sonny (who is five and a half) seemed captivated by my digital camera and wanted to take photos at every opportunity, so that I seem to have quite a lot of photos of the carpet and bodies without faces on them! Still, we had lots of fun, and of course, when it was time for Mary to throw the bouquet, I didn't want to come across as some old spinster fighting to catch it, but my mum suggested that I look after Tilly and Sorrell (my other niece who is 9), who were trying to catch it themselves (she must be hinting for me to get married off). Needless to say the bouquet came nowhere near me, so there will be no wedding bells for me!

As dinner started quite late by English standards, there was no DJ or dancing but what I do like about Chinese weddings is that there is jewellery galore for the bride and it is no coincidence that I love my diamonds! It is really expensive for close members of family, however, but Mary, Stanley and their respective parents put on a really lavish do. There will be a ceremony in Singapore, where Stanley's parents live, which will be in the Raffles hotel, and I can imagine equally as sumptuous but I will be in New Zealand by then.

Today (Sunday) I went into Sydney and saw the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. As I was here in 1999, I don't have the urge to do lots of sightseeing. At the moment I seem to be doing lots of eating and shopping for Christmas presents. My uncle is getting married tomorrow (wife no 3), but it will be in a registry office and a much smaller affair (Mary and Stanley had 212 guests!).

Unfortunately the weather has been a bit hit and miss here and we have had quite a few thunderstorms. Luckily it isn't too hot but I am not complaining that it has rained a bit - I hear that it is cold. wet and miserable in the UK and I know where I would rather be!

I have uploaded a couple of photos from the evening reception - the first is my gran with Sorrell, Sonny and Till and the second is my mum, dad and me.

Daintree Delights

I woke up this morning at 6.30am feeling quite terrible. I am not sure whether it was the couple of beers I had had the night before with some of the divers or going to bed quite late (which meant waking up completely full of cold again), or a combination of the above and the fact that I also could not sleep. I kept having nightmares about Patrick Bateman (aka American Psycho). Part of me wishes I hadn't started reading it, as I hate blood and gore and parts of it are quite grim. It makes me wonder what kind of person you have to be to write stuff like that - ie a bit of a sicko.

I was picked up by the Billy Tea Safari Company at 7.15am by John, who I swear was Rolf Harris' twin brother (with beard, glasses and everthing but the didgeridoo - he is dressed in blue above). Two hours later, we arrived in the Daintree Rainforest in Tropical Northern Queensland. It is a World Heritage Tropical Rainforest, which merges with the Coral Sea.

First stop was a cruise up and down the Daintree River on the lookout for crocodiles in the mangrove swamps. Apparently their optimum body temperature is 28 degrees (or thereabouts) but as the water temp is about that at this time of the year and the water levels are high, it meant all those crocs decided to hide away under the surface. We did spot a baby crocodile but I couldn't see it for the life of me. I kept seeing blobs of mud rather than anything resembling one, I have been told that it is on the photo I took but I may have to blow it up a few times to see if the guide was making it up or not. We also saw a large colony of flying foxes (fruit bats) which made a huge racket.

We then did a walk through the rainforest. I can't believe how many different species of flora and fauna there are and the oldest recorded living ferns live here (a few hundred years old). We were on the hunt for the Southern Cassowary, which looks a bit like a cross between an emu and a turkey and is an endangered species. They stayed away but we did spot rather a lot of cassowary poo. Each piece is the size of an egg and contains plant seeds, which are eventually germinated in the Cassowary's "compost heap". There are some other nasties lurking in the rainforest, such as the leaves of a plant which are poisonous and will give you a migraine for two weeks if you handle them and tentacles which dangle from a type of tree which will cut you to shreds if they stick to you.

Just before lunch (steak on the barby!), we fed some kangaroos. They were so cute, with lovely soft fur and shame I couldn't smuggle one on the bus! After lunch we swam at Emergen Creek and I tried for the first time three different types of sapote fruit (black, green and yellow). Interesting texture, although the yellow one smelt and tasted pretty unpleasant. I tried billy tea for the first time, which is native to Queensland,. We were told that the main thing with billy tea is that it doesn’t matter what it tastes like, you have to look really good making it. So it is no wonder those Queenslanders have a whole craft made up of forked sticks, jam pots tied with wire, gum leaves and bearded bushies swirling boiling water round their heads. Despite this display, it tasted like ordinary black tea to me.

Final stop was at Cape Tribulation beach. There was no time for a swim, which is probably just as well, as I didn't fancy being in waters infested with stingers and the possibility of being chomped on by a crocodile (there were signs warning us all to stay away from the water as one had been spotted in there recently!).

All in all it was a good trip and in my usual fashion, I snoozed every time I was on the bus. I must still be a bit run down and jet lagged, plus it's hard work being a tourist!

Tonight after dinner, I finally did the deed and bought myself a didgeridoo. I am slowly getting the hang of flapping my rubber lips and for one nanosecond I actually managed to make something which sounded like a "wha wha" noise. It is being shipped back to Manchester, so I expect Vernon to be an expert didgeridoer (is that a word?!) when I get back.

I'm flying to Sydney tomorrow to stay with my brother and my cousin is getting married on Saturday. Good job I have recharged my batteries, as there will be lots of eating and lots of eating.....king crab (yum yum!).

PS. The rash has gone so I am back on the seafood for now - hooray! The food in Cairns has been quite good.

Walking Wounded Returns

I arrived back in Cairns this afternoon after four interesting days on Taka Liveaboard. We set sail on Friday at 5pm from Cairns Pier with 30 divers from all areas of the world - the US, France, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada and, of course, the ubiquitous Brits. After a massive dinner, which was a sign of meals to come (ie there was absolutely no shortage of food), and then an early night, we arrived the next morning to start our first dive on the Great Barrier Reef.

Unfortunately I sucuumbed to a diver's worst nightmare - the dreaded cold! At the start of the second dive on day one, it was quite painful equalising and after the constant crackling in my ear for the rest of the day, I decided to take it easy, so that I would be able to do some of the dives in the Coral Sea the next day. This meant missing the cod feed at the Cod Hole (ie with huge potato cod). I was, however, not able to dive for the next two days, as my ears were completely blocked. I slept for the whole of day two, feeling completely worn out, and it was the first time I was able to relax since leaving England last Saturday. Mind you, reading American Psycho is not exactly the way to relax on holiday! On the third day, I managed to snorkel a couple of times and saw a reef shark and a turtle (exciting by divers' standards) and probably saw more than than I did on the first two dives. Snorkeling does make you feel vulnerable though, as you end up flapping around on the surface - easy enough for some shark to mistake you for a seal and lunch. Another drawback of snorkeling without a wetsuit is that the water is full of small stingers, which meant that I was covered in little red stings all over my body. Very attractive! Good job for the antihistamines - my first aid kit has been a life saver.

I managed to get in the last two dives today, which should have been quite chilled out. On the first dive this morning (at 6.30am!!!) my buddy Kelly and I came across a Titan Trigger Fish. They are known for being quite aggressive, attacking people and taking big chunks out of fins with their nastly little teeth which can crush coral into tiny bits. Three years of not diving must have eradicated some of my brain cells, as I decided to get a bit to close filming one on my video camera. All of a sudden, the Titan went for me and luckily I had the protection of my video camera, which it proceeded to headbut. I turned to continue my dive, but felt a little nip on my leg (luckily I was wearing a full wetsuit) and when I turned around the little bugger was coming back a third time. This time, after screaming like a banshee, I gave it a massive karate kick with my fin (Bruce Lee would have been proud!). Don't go calling the RSPCA or feeling sorry for it, as it is the only way to deal with them. Back on the boat I learnt that it is nesting season right now, which means they get very territorial near their eggs and it had tried to attack a few people on our dive.

I am not sure what was going on with the filming on my video camera on the first day. It must have been all the cold tablets, antihistamines and cough mixture I was loaded up with. I could hardly point the camera for more than 2 seconds in one go, so that the whole footage looks like it is taken by someone who is on a load of ecstacy tablets going nuts at an all night rave!

Taka Liveaboard is run like a military operation - ie it is geared more for beginner and intermediate divers who need a bit of guidance but there were quite a lot of experienced divers who felt a bit patronised by being told what to do. Chilled out diving it wasn't, for example, we were made to swim half a mile in three metre swells to get to the reef (almost drowning with my camera trying to hold onto the line) and then after the dive, instead of helping us into the rib, they would tow us back like shark bait. I was not that disappointed that I missed two days' diving, as none of the experienced divers said that the dives were amazing and the visibility was not great - 10 metres in part - but this could have to do with the fact that it is coral spawning season in December. I also think that the weather was quite bad - we had two nights travelling in quite bad swells, with the boat rocked 45 degrees side to side.

As well as bruises on my arms and legs from lugging my luggage and banging myself against the boat, I somehow managed to fall down the steep stairs on the dive boat back to my room and I now have scrapes on my right arm and my ribs and a bruised and bloody elbow. I look like I have been in a war zone!

Still, at least the food was good, my fellow divers were nice and I feel quite relaxed. I have just come back to my hotel after meeting up with the divers for a drink, but after not drinking for four days, I feel like a complete lightweight! My only excuse is that I have a 7am pick up tomorrow for a trip to the rainforest.

I am back at the Hotel Cairns where I was last week, except that I have been upgraded to an executive suite - which means a bigger room and a balcony (the last room you could hardly swing a dead cat in!). I must have done something right last week - ie smile sweetly rather than doing my usual scowl! Anyway, my Aussie Guru tells me that in far north Queensland, wireless internet connection it is not widespread and in fact in many parts of Australia, broadband is not available. I am so pleased that the Hotel Cairns has decided to join the internet revolution!