Middle Earth is ALIVE!

I have too many photos to post from Manna's visit so I have to write another blog entry to show them off.

The girls went to stay with their Uncle Rodney on his Dairy Farm for the rest of the school holidays. They get two weeks off during Easter - between terms.

So while the kids were away - Manna and I got to let loose and have fun! Unfortunately, we were both suffering from really bad colds... which turned into the flu! We had intentions to walk the Tongariro Crossing - which is an 8 hour hike through craters and volcanic valleys... but we weren't well enough.

Soooo... we went to Rotorua to see the Geothermal activity. The day was a bit cool so the steam was extra steamy coming out of the earth! We saw natural mud pools bubbling up out of the earth. The whole place smelled like sulphur. It was alive with activity! To see a video of some bubbling mud click here. At any moment the earth could open up and eat us live!

No trip to Rotorua would be complete without a trip to the Luge! Manna doesn't have her licence so she had a great time zipping down the luge tracks on her cart. She wasn't as competitive as Brian... so she didn't give me any good races... but we had heaps of fun nontheless.

Brian has family in Rotorua - his cousin David lives there with his family. They were very gracious to let us stay with them for the night (thanks Grant and Kelly for giving up your beds to sleep on the floor in the lounge!). We had an easy dinner at McDonalds (which looks like a Marae)...
before enjoying the Polynesian Spa for a soak in the Sulphur Mineral Pools. Grant came along with Manna and I - and afterward we enjoyed sampling the testers in the gift shop! Grant was a great sport! He loved the fact that we were using him as a model for the products.... as he admitted that his mum would NEVER let him do this!

Yes, I bought some products.

The following day Manna and I drove down to Taupo and stopped at Huka Falls for a hike. To our delight we came across a natural hot river which flowed into the Huka River. It was off the beaten track and not at all a tourist spot. We thought we found a little piece of heaven. Too bad we didn't have our bathing suits! It didn't stop me from tearing off my shoes and hopping in for a wade...





It was like having our very own natural spa pool. Imagine having one of these in your backyard?



Our next stop was a place called "Craters of the Moon" which is like being on another planet. The place is SO alive with geothermal activity... the earth sizzles. To see some sizzling earth click here. New thermal holes appear daily - which is a bit of a worry when you're walking along the trails because it really could just disappear from under you feet and you could end up in a boiling hot mud pool just under the surface of the earth. Notice the sign... it says "Danger Unstable Thermal Area"... Crazy stuff.

Manna from Japan!

My friend Manna has just been staying with us for 10 days. I met her when we were living in Stratford - we were on the same dragonboat team. She was working as a Japanese translater for an Automotive company. Her father is Canadian but she was raised in Japan and came to Canada for University. When I first left for NZ, Manna subletted my apartment. And that's my history with Manna!

She has been doing her Masters of Teaching in Australia and did a term in Nelson (in the South Island). She came to stay with us en route back to Japan where she will finish her thesis.

It was so great having her here! It was like we were back in Canada... except for the touristy stuff we did. The girls and I took her to the Kiwi 360 - where they grow Kiwi fruit. It's in a town about 15 minutes away called Te Puke. We also went to see a Bee Display that day but for some reason we totally forgot to take photos! It was all quite fascinating. Did you know that worker bees are female? The males can't collect pollen. Their only purpose is to mate with the queen - and once they do that, they die! Below the girls are doing the "Price is Right" model thing and showing us the beautiful Kiwi fruit growing on the vine. Manna is happy to pose with the luscious Kiwi fruit dangling behind her.

Then we took a drive to Maketu where they make the famous "Maketu Pies". Meat pies are a staple food of the Kiwi diet. You can buy hot pies from every gas station across the country. Maketu is quite an easy drive from my house and I'd never been there before! It just goes to show how great it is to just hop in the car and drive sometimes. We didn't know where we were going.

Here Manna is enjoying her Maketu pie AND L&P which is a complete Kiwi meal. YUM!








We went on a day hike with a group of girls from my church through Native NZ bush. Our objective was to look at two of the oldest Kauri trees in the area. Kauri is a NZ Native tree - they are the Redwood of this country. Most of the Kauri were chopped down in the 1950's but these trees were spared due to the fact that they were deep in the bush and it would have been too difficult to get them out. Lucky for the trees!

We had to cross the river 8 times to get to the trees! It was such a fun trek! The girls were so impressive. No one fell while crossing the rapids and no one complained of cold wet feet. Kiwi girls are tough as guts!














And here are the girls hamming it up. The two on the left are mine. We have seen the trees... we have eaten our lunch... and now we are about to cross the 8 rivers we crossed to get here.

Facebook has taken over my life!

It's been a while since my last post. The biggest reason for that is Facebook - I have reconnected with friends I haven't spoken to for more than half my lifetime! It has been crazy. I'm not sure whether it might be classed as mid life crisis... the desire to reconnect with people you knew when you were young... but it sure is a buzz. Seeing photos of my friends kids is surreal - who are these little strangers living with my friends from highschool? My friends look the same but what's amazing is that they all have the same personality. It's fantastic!

Now more than ever I have reason to write in this blog - to update those old new friends who have no idea what I've been doing with myself for the past 16-20 years. I AM writing a book but don't plan to have it finished anytime soon. I'm too busy!

However I do want to update you on what's happening around here. When I'm not on facebook, my time has been spent working, chauffeuring the kids and going to the gym! Finally I am doing something for me. I have been working out 5 days a week - I take yoga/pilates class twice a week, pump class twice a week and my circuit training once a week. I do cardio for 40 minutes after each session. So far I haven't noticed a difference physically (I still can't do up my pants) but I am certainly getting stronger. People have commented that I've lost weight - but I think it's just in my face.

Brian has been busy working on the renovations for the clinic. The weather was wet last week so he had to take a few days off work - which meant that he was here to renovate. I found a door on Trade Me (of course) which cost $1.50! It is an old solid wood door with a design of a sun - see photos - which looks fabulous looking out to the garden. Even the colour matches! But we'll be painting it blue to match the rest of the trim. The electrial is done and Brian has insulated and lined everything. I found some carpet and underlay (on Trade Me) for free... my landlord is going to try to get it picked up from Auckland. It's all coming together - albeit slowly. But I am in no major rush... though it would be nice to have some more money coming in. Things have been very tight since we left Mrs. P's!

I am very impressed with Brian's building skills. I think even he is amazed at what he's capable of doing.

The photo to the left shows what the room looks like from inside - with the Japanese screen dividing the two rooms.

Speaking of Japan... my friend Manna is arriving on Sunday! She is the girl who subletted my apartment in Stratford. She has spent the last year in Australia doing her teaching certificate and now she is doing a locum in Nelson (the south island). She is coming to stay for 10 days before she flies back to Japan. I can't wait!

And for those of you asking... I don't have a date set for surgery yet but I finally got my pre-assessment appointment which is on the 16th of April. I hope things will roll quickly after that. I'm tired of waiting - and Immigration is holding my application until I get a clear bill of health. They are such bastards.