What a glorious day to be back on the road. But there was so much to do before we could leave. We spent the morning dismantling the pool, topping up the chicken food and packing the van ready to go. You’d think we’d be good at it by now, but nope. It’s much easier once you’re on the road.
It was such a gorgeous day and I just wanted to hit the road, but Mike had a doctors appointment at 1.30pm. The plan was for Jenny and Barry to meet at our place at 2pm and Mike would do a couple of small things on their van. But, the doctor wanted him to have a scan. She said it wasn’t urgent and could wait a month until we got back. But I thought it might be a good idea to get it done earlier, get it out if the way. Being the thursday before the start of a long weekend, I didn’t fancy my chances but thought i’d take a chance. I rang around a few radiology places and finally found one that had one appointment left at Te Rapa at 3.15. So Mike had his scan, and we were on the road by 3.45.
As it turned, our delayed departure time suited Jenny and Barry and they got away just before we did. The found us a nice spot at Whakaipo bay, close to the toilets, and across from the lake. It’s very very busy on the long weekend, but it’s free, so we’re not complaining.
It was 6.30pm by this time and still hot, so we all went for a swim. We’ll, everyone except Barry. The water was crystal clear, and actually surprisingly warm, especially on the top layer.
A crazy last minute idea from sister Lynda found us climbing Mt Te Aroha.
Our fitness had dwindled away over the winter months to be replaced by rolls of belly fat and wasting muscle. But still, that didn’t stop us from attempting to climb to the summit.
We started out quite fast, eager to get to the top. Five minutes in, my heart pounded and I thought I might faint.
“I’m going to stop and take lots of footage,” I said to Mike. Really, that was code speak for, I’m going to stop and take lots of rests.
Brother John, Nephew Quinn, and Sister Lynda had left us in their dust, striding their way to the top.
Many other day walkers overtook us, clearly thinking we would never make it. They were probably right.
About 45 minutes in, we made it to a viewpoint, where sister Lynda waited for us. The township of Te Aroha sprawled out below us, colourful roof tops dotting the Hauraki Plains. We munched on an egg sandwich whilst admiring the view.
“I’m not sure I’m going to make it to the top,” said Sister Lynda.
“Don’t worry, we don’t think we will either. I’m knackered already and we’re not even halfway!”
We decided to keep walking until we’d had enough.
Sister Lynda headed off, while we chatted to a few others that had stopped at the view point. None of them were continuing. This was the end of their day hike.
Mike and I headed off in silence. Without the other walkers around us, the bush was eerily silent, with only the occasional chirp of a bird.
I continued to take regular “camera shots” while we climbed our way up.
Then the path got steeper. I’ve found in the past that it is hard to slow yourself down, so I’ve learned a few tricks. I said to Mike. “Let’s walk for ten minutes and take a 30 second break.”
Thirty seconds later. “Scrap that. Let’s walk for 30 seconds and take a ten minute break.”
With our newly formed tactic, we struggled on.
A short while later we stumbled upon Lynda who was having a rest.
“I’m probably not going to go to the top,” she said.
“Don’t worry, nor are we. Why don’t we just walk until we’ve had enough?” I said.
Lynda agreed and we continued on, stopping to take many “camera shots.”
About two hours into the walk, we stopped for a decent sized lunch break. While we were sitting on a rock admiring the view, brother John texted to say that he and Quinn were at the top already. Wow, those two are machines!
We headed off again, still in an uphill direction. At this stage, nobody wanted to give up. Heck, we’d come this far, why would we?
I kept looking out for the tell-tale broadcasting tower but couldn’t see it, my frustration increasing not knowing how far we had to go.
We stopped again, but this time for a “Vlogging break.” I pulled out my GoPro and started rambling about something when Mike said, “Look in front of you.”
I turned, took two steps forward, and there in all its glory sitting proud upon the mountain was the Eiffel Towers ugly cousin.
Excitement bubbled out of my mouth. “That’s where we’re going Mike. Look! Look! That’s where we’re going. Look!”
“I know, I just told you that.”
From that point on we knew we would make it to the top. We scrambled over rocks, pulling ourselves up by tree roots, the occasional glimpse of the Hauraki Plains egging us on.
Then I stepped out of the bush and into a clearing, where the broadcasting tower loomed over me.
We’d made it and were rewarded with 360 degree views over the Hauraki Plains, Mt Ruapehu, and out to the ocean.
None of us wanted to scramble down the way we’d come up, so we decided to take the road route down. This was not a good idea.
Having seen that it was 1.5 hours back to the domain, we figured it would be a little longer via the road, maybe an extra 30 minutes?
After we’d been walking downhill for two hours, I wondered why we were still in the clouds. It seemed we still had a long way to go.
My calf muscles burned and my knee ached. I tried walking downhill backwards, but it was taking too long.
Jo: “Are we there yet?”
Mike: Silence. He was having his own personal battle behind me.
We caught up with sister Lynda and Quinn, and she said, “Do you want the good news or the bad news?’
“Gawd, we’re lost aren’t we!”
“No, that’s the good news. The bad news is there’s two more hours to go to get back to the Domain.”
“Arrrrgggghhhhh.” Actually, those weren’t my exact words, but we’re keeping this blog clean.
Had there been an option to call a cab, I definitely would have done it, but we pushed on, because we had to. I sang songs, something I always do when I’m struggling. That, and dreaming of an ice cold beer at the end.
But we made it. It took us seven hours, up and down, but we made it! And even though it was hard work, it was easier than some days we had on camino. Some of those days I was in so much agony I had to limp into camp. So, we must be fitter than we realised.
So, all in all, a great day out. Highly recommend it, but maybe come back down the same way.
This is a bit of a practice post to see if I can blog from my phone while I’m jetlagged.
We had a good flight through to the UK. We flew premium economy with the hope of getting our recognition upgrade to business class.
The flight however was chockers and we missed out. I’m blaming the white caps (nz female cricket team) for taking all the business class seats.
Our stopover in Los Angeles was a shocker. We stood in a queue for 1.5 hours waiting to clear immigration. At Heathrow there were no queues and we cleared the smartgates in 10 seconds.
So, after a 24 hour flight, we picked up our rental car and drove to Bournemouth where I now sit writing this boring post.
Another great thing about housesitting in the far north, aside from the beachside property, amazing fishing and Buddy the dog, is… bananas! Yes, you heard me. Those yellow things that grow on trees but only in exotic places. Well, they grow up here too! Does that make us exotic?
Only problem is, they are way up there!!! How shall we get them down?
Mike has the answer – with a machete!
Watch the video to see what happened next…
Well, we’ve ticked that off our list… Here’s Mike showing off his little bananas
He leaves his summer residence, carried away by the Autumn breeze in a blaze of colour. The show is over as he falls from a dizzying height. He lands amongst his brown and withered friends, wondering if this is to be his fate. The colour of death surrounds him as he takes in the view from his final resting place. He has left his summer residence, his destiny complete.
It’s Friday. I’m sitting at my desk eating my lunch. I glance to my left and am confronted with screen full of testicles.
“What the hell are you looking at Roy? Testicles?”.
“It’s the inside of a nose” replies Roy.
I’m not sure which is worse. Now for some reason I can’t stop glancing at Roy’s computer. This is really putting me off my lunch. Roy is a young Asian guy with a kiwi accent who sits next to me. He is in my team, but works on other systems to me. I politely ask him to refrain from looking at noses and testicles until I have finished my lunch.
Speaking of young asian guys with kiwi accents, a chat pops up on my screen
“Hi Jo, how’s it going?”
“OMG, Kevin!” I type back.
Kevin is an old workmate from my previous job in Auckland, and he is now working for the same company as me, but in Auckland. We chat for about 30 mins, catching up on gossip etc. I’m glad he finally got away from our old firm – he was way too good for that place. When I finish chatting to Kevin, I realise I am all alone in the office. Mark has gone for a 2 hour lunch to play board games with his mates. Yes – you heard me right – I said board games. Visions of the guys in Big Bang Theory springs to mind.
I’m not sure where everyone else is. Antony is no doubt in a meeting, Brian and Evan are no doubt in the pub, and Thomas is in Argentina. I was friends with Thomas before I started work, so I get to read about all his travel adventures on facebook – how he got upgraded to business class, cycled around Dubai, photos of him drinking pints in London, and this morning he just landed in Buenos Aires. The fruit is rotting in his drawer as we speak.
At 1.30pm an email pops up on my screen.
You have won tickets to tonights rugby – Hurricanes vs Force.
“I’ve won tickets!” I announce to the empty office.
They have a ballot at work for spare tickets whenever there is a sporting event on in Wellington. I decide to walk up to the 10th floor to pick up my tickets. By the time I get to the 7th floor, my legs are like jelly. I struggle up the remaining 3 flights and am wheezing by the time I make it to reception. Note to self: I must do more stair walking (or take the lift next time).
By the time I get back to my desk everyone is back in the office so I wave my free tickets around to gloat. Mark spoils my thunder by saying “They are having trouble getting people to go, they are practically giving tickets away”. I look on the internet to see if this is true. It’s not.
The afternoon drags on a bit. I was planning to finish early, but now I have to wait around to 5pm as we are going to the game. Mark is busy concentrating on something. I see he has an earphone in one ear – which means he is either watching a movie, a Manchester united game, or something on youtube. There is a fornightly meeting downstairs at 4pm, which we are allowed to take beer to, so I drag Mark along with me. Mark doesn’t drink though. He’s a diabetic vegetarian who doesn’t drink. So that basically rules out any of the good stuff for him.
The meeting was ridiculously boring, but by the time it finished, I had time for another beer before Mike arrived to pick me up.
Today we got our Tesco fix. When we live in England we NEVER venture into Tesco due to large queues and screaming kids. But somehow, after being in NZ for so long we are tempted by the large supermarket with it’s variety of cheap stuff.
Our first stop was a cheap Tesco breakfast. This is something we would NEVER eat when living in England, so not sure why we do it now. It’s a buffet of bacon, eggs, hash browns, baked beans etc that has been sitting on display and it really is quite disgusting but for £1.50 ($3.00) each, it is pretty cheap.
Then just the usual grocery items – beer, beer and more beer. OK, it was on special and we got 3 cases for the price of 2 (sort of).
Our first day in Banbury was a wonderful sunny day and warm too. We went for a canal walk with Matt and Sonia to a pub in King Sutton – about 4 miles away (7 kms).
Walking to the pub
Pub's way over there...
Having little frollic
Finally – there’s the pub. Matt and Sonia look thirstier than us.
The pub
My first pint.
first pint
We caught the train back to Banbury and had wood fired pizza for tea. Matt made the pizza sauce and Sonia made the bases. It’s was really yummy.
Here we are again, sitting in the Koru lounge at Auckland airport, grazing and drinking beer while waiting for our flight to London. We haven’t had our upgrades confirmed yet which sucks a bit. We haven’t flown economy for ages. In fact I can’t even remember our last economy long haul flight, but I guess that’s the price to pay for giving up work and living the free life.
We’re sitting at the airport Waiting for our flight We’re here a bit too early As we don’t leave ’til tonight We didn’t get our upgrade So we’re flying cattle class All the way to London We’ll be sitting on our arse.
Here’s a little blog about some of my favourite aircraft at the Bournemouth airshow last weekend. Most photos are by Mike.
Vulcan
The Vulcan comes soaring in like a giant eagle. It glides by, gracefully, without a sound.
Everyone is mesmorised as this majestic bird comes in for the kill, silent, yet capable of mass slaughter. We forget this plane is designed to destroy, until it arcs up into the sky with an ungodly roar, loud enough to burst the eardrums of newborn babies, and scare the shit out of unsuspecting spectators. The demon wail subsides and is silent again, on it’s serene approach, sending shivers down my spine and a bit of wee down my leg.
Eurofighter Typhoon
Ah, the Eurofighter, star of the show, solo artist, show off, wannabe nobody, cos he is the shit! Nobody is gonna steal his thunder. We watch as he flashes by, faster than the speed of sound. We hear him, but we don’t see him for a second or two after.
He shoots up into the air, afterburners glowing like he doesn’t already have enough to boast about. He zigs, he zags, he loops the loops, man he is on the ultimate high. He is Eurofighter Typhoon, star of the show!
Wing Walkers
Two red and white planes putter in with what looks like a giant dildo strapped on top.
Is it a dildo, is it a fella?
no it’s Danielle and Stella
Doing acrobats on top of the plane
They really are completely insane
I watch them against a clear blue sky
Don’t they realise they could die?
Lancaster Bomber
This old fart flew in propped up by a Spitfire and a hurricane, obviously needing a little help in his old age. He’s not doing too bad for an old guy, 65 years old, semi-retired, occasionally doing some freelance work for airshows.
Some old time war music played as he droned around the skies. If you imagined everything in black and white, you could just feel you were in the war with this lofty beast coming across the channel for the kill.
Apparently the Lancaster bomber had a lot to do with winning the war, although I don’t see that killing a load of Germans is really something to boast about.
