Eastbourne Week 15

Saturday was finally the day of Joss's birthday party after all the hard work put in to make the house and garden look good for it over the previous weeks. We still had lots to do in the morning though including preparing all the food and decorating the garden, but luckily we finished with time to spare and by the afternoon all his friends arrived and it was a huge success. We had a big water fight and spent lots of time in pool, and the kids had fun playing some of the party games I prepared, and the food went down really well which was a proper classic party buffet. I think we're going to be eating party food for the rest of the year though as there was a lot left over as we bought so much!

The following day we tidied up from the day before and when putting the rubbish out it created an absolute mountain of stuff! As it was such a nice day in the afternoon we took Joss in the pool, although the water level had gone down a little from the party from the kids jumping off the ledge into the pool! Later in the afternoon Joss went out his Dad for a couple of hours and as it was so nice we went back into the pool until he came back. In the evening we had a bbq as we had bought sausages and chicken wings for the party but as we had so much other food we didn't cook them so that made even more leftover party food to get through!

Monday was the start of the last week of school for Joss, all be it just a day and a half. He had a hospital appointment in Wellington in the morning however so we had to get there, through morning rush hour traffic, before dropping him off at school. After he came home from school we got all the Christmas decorations out and decorated the tree and house with all sorts of stuff! It feels weird having Christmas in summer again although their decorations did include a dancing santa in jandals and swim shorts! The following day was the last day of school before the Christmas holidays which are effectively the equivalent of the summer holidays in the UK. Joss only had a half day so he returned home about lunchtime. It was a pretty chilled out day all in all.

On the Wednesday we took Joss out to the swimming pool in Lower Hutt for the first time to check out there facilities, and it was actually really good. We went into the hydrotherapy pool which was a 33 degree pool designed for people with disabilities, and it was actually really relaxing. There was even an electronic bed to easily get Joss changed, and a ramp in and out which made access really easy. Liz was even on about getting in next time which is saying something! In the afternoon Joss went round his Dad's for dinner, so I took the opportunity to give Max a good walk up in the bush, heading up and over to Days Bay and back along the coast, stopping for an ice cream at the pavilion on the way. It will be more difficult to walk Max regularly now with Joss off school as Liza doesn't like me not being in the house when Joss is there in case there's an earthquake or something.

On Thursday we went to Queensgate as Liz hadn't had any chance to do Christmas shopping, so she bought Joss so he could help buy Liza a present and give her ideas of what he wanted. It was incredibly busy there though being so close Christmas, although the perks of having a disabled person meant we quickly got a park right next to the front door while everyone else struggled to get a park! Me and Joss did get bored after a while though going in several health and beauty shops, so we went and got an ice cream and even visited Santa while Liz was looking round. When we got home Joss wanted to go for a swim. For some reason his favourite place to swim is the pool in the back garden which is also the coldest one to swim in, especially when it's not sunny which was the case, but he still wanted to go in so we braved it!

Friday was a busy day as we had to try and incorporate entertaining Joss with doing all the housework. We managed it in the end, and in the afternoon even had time for another swim in the garden. Joss was round his Dad's for the weekend, returning home on Christmas day. His Dad even arrived early which gave me more free time in the evening. I just popped into Queensgate to look round, as well as preparing myself for the weekend with the plan being to do another walk in the Tararuas. It was incredibly busy again but I managed to buy everything I needed.

Eastbourne Week 14

My plan for the weekend was to do a tramp in the Tararuas, although with Joss staying the night at home this meant a slight change of plan as I couldn't really leave him alone. Luckily his Dad picked him up relatively early and he gave me a lift to the railway station so I wasn't really impacted too much. The Tararuas are a mountain range north of Wellington and there is an array of hiking opportunities available. I was originally planning to walk part of the Holdsworth Jumbo circuit, stay the night in Powell Hut, and then head into the Waiohine Valley the following day, leaving as early as possible to hitchhike to the car park at the base of Mount Holdsworth. Instead I caught the train into the Wairarapa and got off at Matarawa and went for my planned walk the opposite way round. It was funny getting off at Matarawa as it is a request stop and is literally in the middle of nowhere, the station basically a halt with a shed. I was the only one to get off.

From Matarawa to the car park at Waiohine Gorge was a fair but doable walk and I was half hoping to hitch a ride there although only two cars passed me and I was unsuccessful getting a ride. I got there in the end though and started my walk into the Tararuas, crossing a particularly long swingbridge over the gorge. The path followed the gorge above it crossing a few tributaries along the way which were pretty. I eventually made it to the Totara Flats where the gorge opened out to some grass flatlands and I followed the river to the Totara Flats hut. Just after the hut I crossed a pretty intense swingbridge which was essentially metal wires with a soft mesh to walk on. The crosswind as I crossed made it very wobbly!

The next part of the walk briefly followed a tributary of the Waiohine River before starting my ascent through the forest to join the Holdsworth Jumbo circuit. It was a long slog but I eventually reached a ridge line before continuing the long slog up to the junction where I met the circuit. From here it was nice and flat as I followed the ridge line along a more open stretch with views of Mount Holdsworth in front. I eventually reached the Mountain House Shelter which signalled the start of a very steep ascent towards Powell Hut. It was very hard work but I eventually made it to the hut. About 400m prior to the hut though the ascent left the forest and went into open tussocks which presented me with great views of the Wairarapa, but also incredibly strong winds so I was glad to reach shelter! The hut itself was pretty busy with probably about 30 people inside, predominantly families, so it was nice to speak to some like minded people.

Through the night it was incredibly windy and it even rained. It felt at times the hut was going to blow away as it was literally shaking! The weather in the morning wasn't great with the hut effectively in the clouds and it was a bit moist in the air. I decided to crack on pretty early though and I was the first to set off, heading up to the 1470m summit of Mount Holdsworth. The ascent was slightly interesting with incredibly strong winds making it very hard work staying on my feet but I made it. There were no views however due to the cloud. From Mount Holdsworth I had a choice between dropping back into the forest for cover or continuing along the open tussocks to the next peak, the 1405m summit Jumbo. I went for the latter and getting there was very challenging, especially crossing the ridge which had sheer drops both sides and a savage crosswind but I made it, just. The were occasional breaks in the clouds too so I got a few views along the way, all be it very briefly!

The descent from Jumbo to the Jumbo Hut was a bit easier as the wind was behind me instead of a difficult crosswind, and it was nice to reach the hut just to get out the wind for a bit. From the hut I was soon back into the cover of the forest and made a pretty steep descent down to the Atiwhakatu hut and stream, which also meant it became hot again. I followed the stream all the way out to the car park, which included several swingbridges on the way. Just before reaching the car park I did a short excursion up to this lookout of Mount Holdsworth and you could see how bad the cloud cover was on the top! From the car park I hitched a ride out to SH2, which from there I easily got a lift back into Petone, all be it with some religious family which was interesting. All in all though it was a good weekend and a real challenging hike which I enjoyed.

On Monday I discovered that the vomiting/diarrhea bug which Joss had was enjoyed by Liz and Liza over the weekend, so I had a lucky escape avoiding one of Joss's illness again! They were both hoping to do some work out in the garden over the weekend and were unable to, so I went out there for a couple of hours in the morning before it got too warm. When Joss got home from school he was much better then when he left, and we therefore went inside his pool for a bit while Liz did some painting. The following day there was no swimming as the school were going to the cinema in the morning. After school we did have conductive though and Joss apparently did really well in his walker.

On Wednesday I had to go into school in the morning with Joss and help out with this triathlon thing they were doing. As with a normal triathlon, the three disciplines were swimming, cycling, running and Joss was able to do the first two disciplines. Liza even came to watch although was absolutely fuming after he was effectively completely excluded from the rest of the year by doing his swim on his own whilst everyone else was cycling, so he had basically no one to cheer him on. After his bike ride we sat in the park and cheered his friends on in the run, before heading back in the afternoon to do some more work in the garden. I cleaned the front of the house whilst Liz and Liza painted over the odd little bits which needed doing on the deck. It will hopefully be looking good for Joss's birthday party at the weekend now!

Thursday was another really busy day, with the school having a day down the beach. In the morning however Joss had an appointment at conductive about getting a new walker. Liza has been fighting for funding for a long time now to get a hydraulic walker which would require no physical effort to get him in and out, hence meaning his teachers could use it at school, and could be used without my help. They basically wanted to see Joss walk in current walker and luckily he did so fingers crossed there one step closer to getting the funding. After conductive it was down the beach where we were able to try out this beach wheelchair we'd hired for the day, which was actually really good as it enabled Joss to go on the beach and it even floated in the sea with him in! I did take him in without too though as he does like normal swimming. It was a nice day and we even had lunch and played games at the pavilion.

When we got home from school we went straight out to the dog wash place to wash Max as he was getting very smelly, tieing it in with Joss's haircut appointment. Joss enjoyed helping wash Max and it tied in perfectly with getting his haircut after, something he doesn't like doing as he won't stay still. It was quite challenging too having Max with us as each time we got the wheelchair in and out he jumped out the car! And would only go back in when I carried him back in. Not long after we got back Joss's Dad arrived to pick him up for the night, so I decided to pop into Petone for the evening. Friday was another busy day getting ready for the birthday party the following day, spending much of the day when Joss was at school doing the housework, as well as popping into Wellington to return the beach wheelchair. We only just about got back before Joss's taxi arrived! We then spent much of the rest of the day preparing food for the party and sorting out a few odd little bits in the garden.

Eastbourne Week 13

The weekend was another scorching one for weather with the area going well and truly brown now. There's even apparently going to be a hosepipe ban if it doesn't rain soon as the sun is really intense. We therefore went to the market in the morning before it got too hot before heading back home. After lunch we went outside and set about assembling Joss's swimming pool as we thought if there is going to be a hosepipe ban it's best to fill it before that happens. As the pool was particularly big his Dad and partner came round to help us and we soon assembled it. After it was up we went left the hosepipe to fill it up and went back inside to do some baking, as well as preparing stuff for a bbq for dinner. The pool took a fair few hours to fill but it got there in the end, all be it deeper one end than the other because of the slope of the garden.

The following day we had a more relaxing morning as Joss went out with his Dad to see the wonky donkey. After lunch we headed out to Silverstream which is home to a small railway line. There was basically an event which meant they were running a diesel locomotive and a steam train along the track, as well as a museum you could look around with old trains inside. The place was not very wheelchair friendly and it was hard work getting Joss to the platform along what was a gravel path on a gradual incline but I got him there. We then managed to arrange to get him onto the train for a ride, where he was allowed to even drive the diesel locomotive with the driver! He didn't drive the steam train though as that would have been slightly more dirty! After grabbing an ice cream we headed back home where we tried out the swimming pool for the first time. Joss enjoyed playing on his inflatables although the water was slightly fresh!

Monday was back to school although whilst Joss was at school we went out to Mitre 10 to grab some things for the garden for the deck so we could carry on painting it. By the time we came back and had lunch there wasn't long until Joss came from school so I couldn't really get much done, and when Joss did return he didn't want to go outside so I stayed inside and entertained him whilst they stayed outside and did some painting. In the evening there was a carol service in Eastbourne although Joss didn't want to go but was forced to go in the end which he was not happy about. Liz and his Dad went whilst I stayed and helped Liza in the garden. With peace for a couple of hours we managed to get a fair bit done.

Tuesday morning was swimming once again, although the small pool was closed to be cleaned which meant we weren't sure if Joss could go or not. In the end I thought I would tryJoss in the big pool and it was actually probably easier as it had steps in and out which meant I could get him in and out by myself, unlike the the a small pool which takes 2 people getting him and out as it has a ladder and ledge. The only difference was it was slightly deeper in the big pool. During the day it was nice to relax for a couple of hours, and after school Joss didn't go to conductive as they had a meeting there about getting him a better walker in terms of lifting him in and out and they felt it would be better if he stayed at home. We therefore baked a Christmas cake which he enjoyed!

The following day was sailing once again and it was a relatively windy day which meant the boats were going nice and quickly. After sailing I planned to quickly fill in the holes Max had dug, although before I could finish several police cars turned up outside the house. We soon found out there was a robbery at one of the houses in York Bay and the police had supposedly cornered the suspects. Instead they escaped into the bush behind the house which resulted in police dogs being deployed to find them! With Joss round his Dad's after school for dinner I was going to pop out although I decided to stay inside in the end under police advice as they had deployed police cars along a few of the bays to try and intercept them. They managed to escape in the end!

The following day the people who escaped were caught as the police knew their identities and arrested them at their house, so they were pretty dumb. Apparently the persons house they attempted to rob was one of the robbers ex wives and they luckily managed to unsuccessfully steal anything, leaving behind just a smashed in window through their escape. Away from that Thursday morning was swimming once again, and I took Joss in the big pool again which he enjoyed. It's nicer for him being in that one as he's with all his classmates then instead of the early years children. When Joss came from school he wasn't feeling very well, and started vomiting which wasn't pleasant.

The following day we didn't send Joss to school after the previous day, and he apparently had a restless night. Luckily he had stopped vomiting but he did have diarrhoea which meant lots of nappy changes throughout the day. By the afternoon everything was under control though. With Joss at home all day I couldn't really do all the housework, and he would have also gone swimming in the morning too which he obviously couldn't so it actually gave me a pretty chilled out day. We even baked some cookies. In the afternoon he was meant to go round his Dad's for the weekend although Liza and his Dad decided it was best for him to stay at home for the night so his Dad came round at his usual pick up time and stayed round with him and put him to bed as Liza was out.

Eastbourne Week 12

Everything this weekend in theory returned to normal with Joss and the arrangements with staying round his Dad's, hence giving me the weekend off. With the Christmas holidays fast approaching though which are essentially the same as the summer holidays in the UK it wouldn't surprise me if that changes! The weather forecast for the weekend wasn't ideal however with cloud forecasted for the Saturday and showers on the Sunday, so I wasn't sure what to do. I ruled out any overnight hikes in the Tararuas or Rimutakas which I'd been considering as bad weather and wilderness aren't a good combination, in the end opting to go over to Wairarapa once again, this time to Castlepoint.

Castlepoint is located on the Wairarapa’s east coast, about 68 kilometres from Masterton. The area is essentially a fossil rich limestone reef dominated by the 162-metre high Castle Rock. To get there I caught the train to Masterton from Wellington which as before was one of only two trains the whole day. From Masterton I then hitched a ride to Castlepoint which was slightly more challenging than I expected but I got there in the end. When there I did a walk up to the summit of Castle Rock, following the inland route which gave great views of the lagoon and lighthouse. At the top I took in the views which included views the other side towards Christmas Bay and south, before dropping down to Deliverance Bay and along the beach by the lagoon. I wanted to go onto the island at the far end of the lagoon but I decided not to risk it in the end as the waves were quite strong and I would have needed a leap of faith between the waves to get across.

Once at the bottom I went over towards the lighthouse which is an iconic New Zealand landmark which I've seen many pictures of! I explored the fascinating rock formations here and fossil rich limestone rocks before going up to the lighthouse itself. From here I headed back down to the bottom and hitched a ride back into Masterton. I was originally considering breaking the journey and stopping in Tinui to do a walk to this cross on top of a hill, famous for being the location of the first Anzac service although it was getting late so I opted against it. I instead got out at Henley Lake in Masterton which was a pleasant lake full of birdlife, before heading into the Queen Elizabeth Park which included a deer area and swingbridge! When I finally made it back into Masterton town I had a little look round the town before grabbing some dinner.

The following day I was unsure what to do with a dodgy weather forecast, so I decided I would have a more chilled out day exploring some of the towns in the Wairarapa along SH2. After breakfast I left Masterton and hitched a ride to Carterton which I had a little look around, although there wasn't really anything exciting to see. Carterton is perhaps most famous for its modern replica of stonehenge although it was shut when I was there so I couldn't visit. I therefore hitched a ride to the next town along, Greytown. Greytown is perhaps the most touristy town in the Wairarapa along with Martinborough with it being home to many cafes and boutique style shops making it a popular place to visit for people from Wellington. I decided I would go for a walk here as there happened to be a geocaching circuit which looked good. The walk took me from Greytown to Woodside along the old railway line which was interesting, before following the river back into Greytown. There were some really original geocaches en route.

After finishing the walk I explored Greytown itself which had several interesting shops, and I even went into this popular chocolate shop to try some chocolate which was nice. Next stop after Greytown was Featherston which I visited the week before. I had another little walk round before continuing south over the Rimutakas, stopping at the summit of the mountain pass which was home to a viewpoint and a couple of walks. At 555m, there was a walk up to the summit of Rimutaka at 725m so not much to climb so I thought I'd do that. It was unfortunately a bit overcast up top which was a shame as apparently you can see right out over the Wairarapa on a clear day. From the summit I hitched a ride back into the Hutt to get back to York Bay. It was actually a really good day and I found 46 geocaches in the process!

On Monday I was able to have a much needed lie in with Joss round his Dad's,  although Liza decided she would have the day off work so we could start painting the deck outside. We used this special deck cleaner at first before Liza painted the deck with a special deck painting thing whilst I painted the edges and tricky places to get to. Joss even came outside to help when he got home from school and when it was finished it looked good although it will need a second coat at some point. I was a bit unsure how it would come out as she wanted it black but it actually worked and hid all the imperfections very well. We even had a bbq in the evening so it was a good day.

The following day was another busy day with swimming in the morning, and conductive in the afternoon. Joss even apparently walked across the school field and back at conductive so he did a lot of exercise throughout the day, it's just annoying he won't use the walker properly at home! On the Wednesday we had sailing although it was a very still day so it wasn't ideal conditions. In the afternoon I thought I'd go and pop over and see Melva as Joss was round his Dad's for the night. It was as ever awful public transport, with the bus drivers on strike until 2pm and then the stupid timetabling where the Hutt Valley line train pulls into Wellington as the Kapiti line train pulls out meaning you have to wait half hour for the next one. There were also rail replacement buses on the Kapiti line on the way back so not the greatest journey. It was nice to catch up though.

Thursday was swimming once again in the morning, and I was also treated with a decent kick off for once for the Southampton game so I was able to listen to the first half and got back in time for the last 10 minutes. Joss was round his Dad's for the night so after school he only came home for a couple of hours so it was a pretty chilled out day. The following day was a busy day however as the school put on an additional swimming session last minute again in the morning, which included an audience as Liza and some healthcare officials came to watch to see how he was doing. This did mean I started housework later than usual which meant by the time I finished everything Joss had come home from school. We did have the weekend with him though so we had a bbq in the evening.

Eastbourne Week 11

I was happy when the weekend came to finally have a couple of days off to go out and do something, as I only really get the chance to go on proper days out somewhere when Joss is round his Dad's at the weekend. I therefore decided I would finally get over and visit the Wairarapa, focusing on the southern parts. I in particular wanted to visit Cape Palliser Lighthouse and the Putangirua Pinnacles so getting there effectively required hitchhiking. I therefore caught the train out to Featherston which only operates twice a day on a weekend, before catching the bus down to Martinborough. It was interesting going through the tunnel through the Rimutakas which reminded me of the alternative route from the doing Rimutaka Rail Trail a few weeks previous.

When arriving in Martinborough which was particularly busy due to the Toast Martinborough event scheduled for the Sunday, something I hoped to visit, I walked for a little bit down the road to try and get a good spot to hitch a ride down to Cape Palliser. I knew it would be particularly easy to get a ride as bar a couple of turn offs to some small settlements the road only went to Cape Palliser. In the end it was easy and I was picked up by a local which meant I practically got a free guided tour on the way down there, the scenery en route pretty special. In the end I got dropped off in the small village of Ngawi about 5km before Cape Palliser as I wanted to check out the bulldozers. Ngawi is known for having the highest ratio of bulldozers to people in the world and they aren't wrong!

After leaving Ngawi I walked the rest of the way to Cape Palliser, stopping en route at various points for photos of the dramatic coastline and black sand beaches. A particularly interesting feature included Kupes Sail which is a geological landform formed through plate tectonics and literally looks like the ground is sticking up in the air. There were also plenty of spots en route to spot seals which were particularly active and in high numbers. I eventually reached Cape Palliser Lighthouse which is the southern most point of the North Island. The lighthouse itself was red and white stripes and lonely planet rank in the top 10 lighthouses in the world to visit. Getting up to the lighthouse required climbing 258 steps, although I did climb some rocks to get a better view too!

When leaving the lighthouse I headed back the same way back towards Kupes Sail and Mangatoetoe which I passed on my way to the lighthouse. From here I started heading inland into the Aorangi Forest. I knew doing Ngawi, the Lighthouse, and the Pinnacles in a day would be ambitious in terms of getting back to Eastbourne as the train passes through Featherston late afternoon, so I instead planned to do a walk from Mangatoetoe to the Pinnacles which happened to pass 4 DoC huts en route, allowing me to stay out somewhere overnight.

The walk followed the Mangatoetoe stream through a valley to the first hut which was pretty. After arriving at the first hut I decided to continue to the second hut as I still had a good couple of hours of daylight to play with. I continued to follow the stream which narrowed before heading up into the forest with a few decent viewpoints, before dropping down into the Kawakawa valley where I followed that stream to the second hut. It felt very remote and when reaching the second hut I decided to base myself there for the night as I didn't want to be in what was basically absolute wilderness at night which would have been the case if I continued. It was nice to relax and have a fire going before it got dark so I think I made the right choice staying at the second hut.

On the Sunday I was up pretty early as the sunlight woke me up, although I didn't have a great nights sleep because I thought it was going to be a cold night but by the time I got in my sleeping bag and left the fire to die down it was really hot inside the hut. After breakfast I pressed on through the forest, initially following the stream before climbing up an incredibly steep path through the forest before dropping down an equally steep path to the third hut by another stream. The terrain was very challenging with loose sediment and many tree roots, and in a navigation sense I had to be on the ball the whole time as animal tracks and hunters trails made following the correct route a challenge. After the third hut the path once again climbed up in an incredibly steep manner before following a ridge line and dropping down into another valley to the fourth hut.

After the fourth hut came the most challenging climb which was practically a scramble to reach the ridge line although I was rewarded with the best views yet and could finally see the coastline again. I followed the ridge line for a while before decending this time at a more gradual gradient towards the pinnacles, which by the end of the path was a 4wd track so easy terrain. The Putangirua Pinnacles are an example badlands erosion. When the Aorangi Range was an island, 7 to 9 million years ago, screes poured gravels onto the coast. The Putangirua Stream which runs through the valley has exposed this ancient layer of gravels to the erosive forces of rain and floods. Where cemented silts or rocks within the gravel beds prove more resistant than the underlying sediments, spectacular individual pinnacles or “hoodoos” are formed. The eerie scenes in The Return of the King as Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ride along the Dimholt Road to meet the Army of the Dead were also filmed here.

After checking out a couple of lookouts above the pinnacles, I decended into the valley to explore the fascinating landform from below. There were several little paths leading up into the rock structures and I spent a while exploring before following the stream through the valley back towards the coastline and the end of the hike. The coastline itself here was stunning with views across to the Rimutakas in the distance. From here I hitched a ride into Martinborough where I was literally picked up by the first car that passed me. It was fun though as the couple who picked me up had a truck so I sat outside on the trailer bit which was slightly illegal but a great way to see the scenery!

When in Martinborough I checked out the toast event. The Wairarapa is particularly famous for its vineyards and this event takes people out to some of the surrounding vineyards for wine tasting. I didn't do that although I did explore Martinborough itself which had lots going on in the way of food and music in the square for the festival. It is tempting to return to Martinborough at some point with a bike and visit some of the vineyards when it's a little less busy. From here I hitched a ride to Featherston which I had a little look round, before hitching a ride to Wellington, ironically with the same guy I met in the pinnacles. When making it to Wellington I had dinner by the harbour before heading back to York Bay later that evening.

It was nice Joss was round his Dad's Sunday night as this meant I could have a much needed lie in on Monday morning and a relaxing day before he came from school. The following day Joss went swimming which is something weather dependent he will be doing every Tuesday and Thursday morning. As he obviously can't swim unaided I have to go in the pool and swim with him. It's a nice little swimming pool located in Eastbourne only open during the summer as it's outdoors, and Joss seems to enjoy it so it should be a nice little thing to do with him. After school Joss had conductive so after that he was pretty tired having done swimming in the morning, and all his stretches and walking in the afternoon!

On the Wednesday it was sailing once again, and despite it being pretty windy was surprisingly still on. This made it look fun though as the boats were going really fast although Liz was having an absolute heart attack at the speed and tilting of the boats! Joss seemed to enjoy it though. Joss went round his Dad's for dinner after school which gave me the afternoon off, so I just walked into Eastbourne and found a couple of geocaches and chilled on the beach. The following day was swimming once again in the morning, and it was another really nice day. The school even messaged Thursday evening to say that there would be a one off swimming session the following day too.

On Friday we therefore took Joss swimming in the morning although it was only short swim compared to the previous days. When we got back instead of doing the housework I was asked to wash the cars instead which a nice change. It was Black Friday though so after lunch Liza went out in her nice and clean car and came home with a load of stuff rammed inside it! After school Joss was only home for a couple of hours before his Dad came to pick him up for the weekend. In the evening there was some twilight Christmas parade thing in Petone which I thought I'd check out which was basically a parade followed by someone turning the Christmas lights on. There was quite a lot of people out for it so it was worth seeing.

Eastbourne Week 10

Originally Joss was meant to be round his Dad's for the weekend, although this changed last minute due to a misunderstanding in communication. This meant we had the weekend with Joss which was nice but a little frustrating as I had planned to go to the football in Wellington to see the NZ v Peru game. Luckily Liza still allowed me to go so I didn't totally miss out on my plans for the weekend. The morning was spent with Joss while Liza and Liz went out and sorted out a few things, and I then headed into Wellington for the match in the afternoon while they stayed at home and did some baking with Joss.

The match against Peru was the first leg of a play off for a place at the world cup. Peru ranked 10th in the world were no mugs finishing above Chile to secure this match and until the last round of fixtures were above Argentina! There were a lot of Peruvian fans in town and there were an estimated 5000 in the ground and they made a lot of noise. It was great to see a haka live before the game and the national anthems were good. The game finished 0 0 although NZ absolutely defended for their lives so it was an exciting game. I headed back after the game to put Joss to bed, although I wished I was going out in town after the game as there were Peruvians everywhere and they were very lively so it would have been fun!

The following day we had a more chilled out morning, watching the All Blacks game against France which was actually quite exciting as despite destroying France in the first half the French came back in the second half before finally losing. After the game we headed into Wellington to go to the market which was a lot bigger than the one in Lower Hutt. We got a few groceries before grabbing some lunch which had a pretty infinite selection of cuisines. I went for Chilean in the end which brought back some good memories! We then headed back to Eastbourne, where Joss spent a couple of hours with his Dad later in the afternoon. I spent this free time taking Max out as he hadn't been walked all weekend.

On the Monday I just had a chilled out day as the weather wasn't too clever with showers all throughout the day. The following day was a bit nicer so I decided to take Max out for a long walk once again, this time along the coast to Eastbourne, and then up into bush via Hawtrey Trig and down to Days Bay. Max was exhausted by the end though as it was quite a steep path and the kind of track not walked very often so some pretty uneven terrain. It was good to get out though.

Under normal circumstances it would have been the week Joss goes round his Dad's on Wednesday and Thursday night with the weekend at home, however after what happened at the weekend Liza decided to change this as it would have meant if we swapped weekends with his Dad he would have been been staying round there for 5 nights. Instead it meant he just went round his Dad's for dinner on the Wednesday after school, to then go round his Dad's for the weekend before the routine returned to normal the following week. This effectively gives me two consecutive weekends off which is good. Joss had sailing in the morning although it was a very still day which isn't ideal conditions for sailing. After lunch I had a few hours spare so I decided to go into Petone down the beach as it was a nice afternoon.

Thursday was another nice day, so I popped into Eastbourne during the day where I went to the library to read a couple of travel books for inspiration. I even found a pretty exciting multi geocache here which was hidden inside one of the books on the shelf! In the evening we had a firework display in the garden although the fireworks were more small and pretty than impressive. The following day Joss went round his Dad's for the weekend, which meant after doing the housework and looking after Joss after school before his Dad picked him up, I went out in the evening. I just popped to Queensgate and looked round, stopping via the pub on the way home.

Eastbourne Week 9

The weather forecast was great for the weekend and we were originally going go make the most of this and go out with Jossy but Liz was under strict instructions to rest her leg to help it heal so we couldn't go very far. To ensure this was the case me and Liza took Joss out to the market in Lower Hutt to allow her to rest, before coming home to pick up Max where we took him down the beach which he liked while we sat and a couple of drinks in the pub. We were out for a fair amount of time in the end and even bought some fireworks on the way home. In the evening we were originally going to go out to this reggae thing in Wellington before watching the fireworks in the evening although there were very high winds and Joss threw a tantrum to not go so we didn't go in the end. We could still see the fireworks from the balcony though. Apparently it's the last year they're having bonfire night in New Zealand though because they say Guy Fawkes is nothing to do with the country and should instead have fireworks to celebrate Matariki which is the Maori new year. It's seems a bit stupid though considering Maori are just 25% of the population and many white people here are of British descent.

The following day was another nice day, although Joss wasn't feeling very well so we decided to do a bit more work out in the garden, chopping up all the wood we brought down to make a wood pile. This cleared lots of space in the garden and we were able to plant some more strawberries, this time with a netting over the top as Max dug up the last load. I also filled in many of the holes round the garden he's dug so we'll see how long that stays like that. It looked a lot tidier when we were finished. When we came in we did a bit of cooking where Liza taught me how to falafels. We had a bbq as well for dinner which was nice. By bedtime Joss had a really bad cough though and really wasn't well so fingers crossed that doesn't get spread around!

On Monday we couldn't send Joss to school as he was unwell, so this meant a day at home with him. He was also originally meant to have a hospital appointment too but was too unwell for that too. By the end of the day he was a little bit better, and we still had a good day making some cookies and playing out in the garden as it was a nice day. The following day he went back to school, although I couldn't go very far during the day just in case he was sent home. Luckily he wasn't although it was nice to relax after quite a full on previous few days! We did have a hospital appointment with the guy Joss goes to conductive with after school though.

Wednesday was meant to be sailing although that was cancelled due to the weather, with it deemed too windy. With respect it was pretty bad as I found out when walking Max as I could barely put one foot in front of another and the waves were crashing into the road which made it pretty sketchy. As sailing was cancelled I decided to head into Lower Hutt, as I needed to go to the post office and the bank to sort out a couple of things. I also went into the library which I hadn't visited yet, with it being much bigger than the one in Eastbourne. Under normal circumstances Joss would go round his Dad's for dinner on a Wednesday although he couldn't this week which meant I had to be home for after school. He was happy about that although his illness had spread to Liz and Liza who were both pretty ill, with Joss not 100% still himself.

On Thursday I took Max out for a long walk in the woods behind the house, finding a few geocaches in the process. He seemed to like it and it's quite a good workout for me too climbing the hill onto the ridge! The following day was housework day once again which kept me nice and busy. When Joss got home from school we thought we only had him for a couple of hours before his Dad picked him up for the weekend. This wasn't the case however as he didn't turn up, which we didn't think much of it to start with as he is bad at communication and the time he picks him up varies every week. When after a couple of hours he still hadn't turned up and wasn't answering his phone we started to get a little worried, so gave Joss his dinner. We knew something had to be up as he is always really good with Joss, so me and Liz ended up going round his house where there was no sign of him. In the end Liza came home as we didn't know what to do, and was not happy with his Dad so we put Joss to bed. In the end he messaged us saying that he wanted to swap weekends, something apparently Liza hadn't agreed to, so it was all very confusing.

Eastbourne Week 8

Joss was round his Dad's for the weekend which gave me a couple of days with a great weather forecast to do as I pleased. I keep meaning to go out over to the Wairarapa but with just 2 trains a day over there on the weekend, 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening, and no public transport to get to the areas I particularly want to visit I would realistically have to hitchhike or cycle, or go on a weekday when trains are more frequent. I therefore decided to save that for another time where I could perhaps stay somewhere overnight with a bit of planning. In the end I decided to go and try out the Rimutaka Rail Trail which I was going to do the other week on the bike. I left pretty early and made a more successful bus journey over to Tunnel Gully than before.

The Rimutaka Rail Trail is an old railway line which linked Wellington and Hutt Valley settlements to the Wairarapa over the Rimutaka mountain range. A long tunnel was constructed underneath the Rimutakas in 1955 however and this remains today as both a commuter and freight railway. The trail is particularly popular with cyclists although I decided to walk it, starting at Tunnel Gully. The first section was through the forest before doing a bit of road walking to reach the official start of the trail. When reaching the start it started to get more of about old railway line feel and the path soon followed the Pakuratahi River and over the Munitions Bend bridge into a valley which was pretty.

I eventually made it to the Pakuratahi tunnel, the first of 4 tunnels en route and the shortest one before crossing a couple of old railway bridges over the river, a particular highlight the one at Ladles Bend which had a great view of the river and Rimutaka mountains behind. The path eventually got to a point known as the summit which was the highest point of the track and an old workers settlement and yard for the trains. There were a few old locomotives up here and a nice picnic area. I then continued on through the summit tunnel which at 584m was the longest tunnel en route before the path decended at the other end along a section called the incline which is the steepest section at an average of 60% gradient. On the descent I passed through the Siberia tunnel which at the other side had the remains of an old viaduct known as Horseshoe Gully, as well as Prices tunnel, eventually decending down to the Cross Creek yard which was another former workers settlement which is where I stopped for lunch.

On the way back I headed back up to the summit the same way through the tunnels, getting some great views of the Rimutakas around me. Apparently the journey up the summit took about 50 minutes by train and bearing in mind I walked up quicker it shows how steep and slow the train would have been. When reaching the summit I primarily followed the same route back over Ladles Bend and the Pakuratahi bridges, before diverging off an alternative route back to Tunnel Gully via Goat rock which was a shortcut all be it up and over a hill instead of round it. It was a pretty solid walk in the end and I covered a fair bit of distance, but it was worth it. When getting the bus I headed straight back to Petone where I sat and watched the sunset and had dinner before going down the pub for a few well earned pints.

The following day was another great day although I had a bit of a lie in as it was a long day before. In the end I decided to go and do a bit of geocaching as I hadn't been since July, tieing it in with going over to Wainuiomata which is the other side of the hills. Geographically Wainuiomata is actually closer to York Bay than Eastbourne, there's just a big hill in the way and on my way over I found a few geocaches, the highlight being this multi where I had to find this plane wreckage. When getting to Wainuiomata I had lunch before continuing to the Wainuiomata Recreation Area which was home to an old dam and wetland area, as well as several swimming holes which were tempting to get in! I then headed back up and over the hill to Eastbourne, finding a few more caches before dropping down into Days Bay. It was very humid inside the trees so I was glad when I reached the coast again!

After a busy weekend it was back to school on Monday, although they had sports day which meant we went down to watch for a bit in the morning. It was probably pretty boring for Joss though as he primarily had to watch everyone else, although I did help him in one of the throwing events. The afternoon was pretty chilled out, and when he got home from school he was pretty tired being out in the sun all day as well as being in his bike. The next day was a normal school day although it was conductive after school, and after dropping him off we went to a small garden centre to look round before picking him up. We even had a bbq in the evening as was such nice weather, fingers crossed summer has now well and truly begun.

On Wednesday it was Joss's week where he goes round his Dad's for a couple of nights, so after taking him sailing I had the afternoon to myself. I therefore decided to pop over to Paraparaumu to visit Melva. It took ages to get there though as public transport in NZ is a joke which I've said many times but it was a lovely day by any means. It was nice to catch up and I even stayed for dinner, not getting back until late. It was a warm evening though, finding a few geocaches on the way back. The following day Joss came home after school for a couple of hours before his Dad picked him up, and after he went I popped into Lower Hutt for the evening as it was another great evening for a few beers down the pub, finding a few more geocaches in the process!

Friday was housework day again and I've got a pretty solid routine now to get it done more quickly. In the afternoon we popped out to Mitre 10 and the supermarket to buy a few things for the house, although all the recent good weather ended and it was horrible outside. In the evening we were going to go out but the weather put us off, although Liz had an accident and cut her leg open on Joss's walker which meant we had to go to A&E which meant our evening was spent there instead. In the end after a few hours waiting Joss's Dad came to pick me and Joss up and took us home so he could have dinner and go to bed. In the end it was a late night as the cut was so deep it needed an x-ray in case of bone damage and then needed stitches, so I had to keep an eye out for Jossy at home while Liza looked after Liz at the hospital. They didn't end up getting home until gone midnight but luckily she was OK!

Eastbourne Week 7

The weekend was a bank holiday weekend with it being labour day on the Monday, which apparently commemorates the 8 hour working day or something as they say you should have 8 hours work, 8 hours recreation, and 8 hours rest in a day. It was a bank holiday regardless so it meant a long weekend. On the Saturday we headed into Wellington in the morning to pick up these chairs for the kitchen, before dropping them back home and going out to the market in Lower Hutt. After the market we went back home for lunch before I went out with Liza to Mitre 10 to buy some things for the garden. In the evening we went into Lower Hutt to this festival of lights event, going for dinner at this Mexican restaurant beforehand. The event had loads of uv light and entertainment areas which looked really impressive. There was even a firework display when it got dark too and we had front row seats for it, one of the perks of being with someone disabled!

The following day we went out in the garden for much of the day, where we started clearing much of the weeds and undergrowth which were on the bank next to the house. There was a heck of a lot up there and we took a whole car load of it to the dump. Just clearing the undergrowth, as well as cutting back some of the big ferns and other trees which were dead brought a load more light into the garden. In the evening we had a bbq outside on the new fire burner bought for the garden, so I was put on fire duty and showed them how to make a fire. We even had dinner outside before heading back in when it was dark so it was quite a busy days gardening outside.

The Monday was labour day which meant another afternoon out in the garden, where we continued to clear the bank and even got the chainsaw out to remove some of the bigger stuff. When finished it looked really bare but we scattered the area with loads of meadow based seeds so if that establishes it should look nice. On the long term my job is work my way up the bank clearing all the dead stuff which when done should hopefully bring in even more light. We also cleaned both the balcony at the front of the house and deck in the back garden so that required lots of moving things and cleaning things like the pots and furniture. In the end it was another busy day, which was finished off by watching the fireworks in Wellington to celebrate diwali from the balcony.

By Tuesday it was back to school although all our gardening and moving things about over the weekend meant the house was a little messy so I spent the morning making everything a bit more tidier. In the afternoon Joss had conductive after school which meant going over to Naenae again. While he was there were just went and sat by the river for a bit and did a bit of shopping.

The following day was finally a nice enough day for sailing to be on, all be it a little windy. We picked Joss up from school and took him down to the place they do it near Point Howard and he seemed to have a good time as the wind meant they were going really fast! After sailing I pretty much had the afternoon to myself as it was the week Joss goes round his Dad's for dinner on a Wednesday after school before coming home in the evening. I was going to go out for a walk but a greater priority was to get some new walking boots which I managed to hopefully get a good deal for with Kathmandu having 50% of all their boots for members, and I managed to blag a free membership so actually did quite well. I then just headed into Lower Hutt as they've just opened their new h&m store, the first one in Wellington and just the third in NZ since the one in Auckland opened not long after I arrived, so I thought I'd see what the fuss was all about.

On Thursday I had a far more relaxing day which was nice after being on the go so much the previous days. The following day was housework day again and I had a few extra little things to do around the house which kept me busy until lunchtime. After school we only had Jossy until about half 5 before going round his Dad's for the weekend. I just had a relaxing evening when he went though instead of going out which was nice.

Eastbourne Week 6

Saturday was a great day in terms of weather so I decided I would take one of the bikes in the garage out for the day. An ambitious ride would have been a 2 day 1 night ride along the Rimutaka Cycle Trail, effectively a large loop starting and finishing in Petone. That would have needed some planning though as it is effectively wild country so in the end I decided to cycle the Hutt River Trail which is the first part of the Rimutaka Cycle Trail. It was a nice and flat ride, although I was against the wind which was pretty strong which made it hard work. The path just effectively followed the Hutt River and there were lots of people out.

I eventually made it to Tunnel Gully in the Pakuratahi Forest. From here I had to decide between cycling the Rimutaka Rail Trail over into the Wairarapa, or to do a walk up Mount Climie. I opted for the walk in the end as the bike was playing up a bit and I didn't want to risk a mishap. The rail trail is definitely on my to do list though as apparently it goes through old rail tunnels and bridges. I instead followed the Tanes Track which went through the forest including this waterfall en route before heading up to the summit of Mount Climie. The views were disappointing however as it was really hazy and very windy up the top. When heading back down I visited the Mangaroa Tunnel so I at least got to see one of the old tunnels before cycling back along the Hutt River Trail into Petone. It was a lot easier on the way back with the wind behind me.

The following day was a pretty miserable start although the forecast was good so I took a gamble and headed towards Wellington, and when arriving the sun was out. The first thing I did was have a look round the shops as I'm going to need some new walking boots soon as my current ones are nearly dead. It's difficult to know what to buy as I know from experience that a cheap pair doesn't last long, and the ones I had this time which were a more expensive pair only lasted a few months, so I don't know if should buy a really expensive pair, or just concede to the fact I do a lot of hiking and it's inevitable they won't last long. I got a few ideas regardless.

After looking round the shops I caught the bus out to Island Bay to head out on a walk to the Red Rocks. It was a beautiful day and I headed round to Owhiro Bay to reach the car park at the start of the track. The path effectively followed the beach on a 4wd track and I eventually made it to the Red Rocks appropriately named because they look a little red. I continued a bit further from here to Sinclair Head to see the seal colony although there weren't that many out. There has been sightings of leopard seals recently but I didn't see any of them. To head back to Wellington I decided to head inland over the hills where I got some great views of the coastline and I eventually emerged at the Brooklyn Wind Turbine which I visited the week before, this time getting great city and harbour views unlike the previous visit.

Heading back into Wellington I was unsure where to pick a bus route from, so I just thought head down was the best option. This took me through the Aro Valley which was an area I hadn't yet explored which was pleasant before emerging in the city centre without even realising. I decided to stay in the city for dinner, sitting by the harbour as it was such a nice day before heading back to York Bay to tie in with sunset as you need to be that side of the harbour to get the best sunsets. It didn't disappoint and when finally getting back I just chilled out as if had been a pretty full on few days!

On Monday it was back to the normal routine with the school holidays over. Joss went straight to school from his Dad's though so we didn't see him until after school, and he was excited to see us when he got home! The following day I took Max to the dog wash place which he absolutely hated again but I made him nice and clean and when we got home gave him a good brush as he sheds a lot of hair otherwise! When Joss got home we took him straight out to his conductive class which he will now go to every Tuesday after school to do some exercise. He even finally managed to get a new walker which seems a lot more practical and easier to use than the one we have unsuccessfully been using. We even used the bbq for dinner as it was a really nice evening!

On Wednesday we only had Jossy before school before going round his Dad's for the night after school. He was meant to have sailing though in the morning but that was once again cancelled which seems like the case every week! It seems like anything other than clear blue skies and it's cancelled! Despite it being an overcast start to the day it became really nice in the afternoon so I decided to do some more tidying up in the garden as the grass needed cutting. I managed to clear all the weeds off the stone wall so with a bit of pressure hosing to get all the mud off that should look good again hopefully.

The following day was a more relaxing day with Joss round his Dad's, although he did come home for a couple of hours after school before his Dad picked him for dinner and to stay the night as his work means he can't pick him up from school. During the day I just went out and helped with the shopping, and when Joss came home from school we took him to the hairdressers before his Dad collected him not long after we got back. In the evening it was really nice so I went and watched the sunset which I always enjoy being the right side of the harbour to get good sunsets when it's nice. Friday was housework day again so that kept me busy until lunchtime, and we even had another bbq in the evening as it was so nice!

Eastbourne Week 5

The weekend was a full on one with Jossy at home all weekend, although the weather on Saturday restricted us from going very far. Even Max didn't get a walk as it poured with rain the entire day! What we did do however was lots of cooking and we made a carrot cake with Jossy before Liza gave me a beginners lesson on how to make curry from scratch which is actually more double than you would expect. It just took a long time to prepare but when we finally got to eat it it was very nice. The following day it was still pretty grotty weather although it did clear up by the afternoon to an extent and we went out for a drive, heading up to the Brooklyn Wind Turbine which overlooks Wellington. The views up top were great. On the way back down to headed over to the southern coastline and Owhiro Bay where we went to this cafe and had cake before heading back home by dinnertime.

On Monday it was still pretty miserable weather but it once again cleared up by the afternoon. This allowed us to go out for a walk with Jossy along the promenade in Eastbourne so we at least did something. The following day the sun finally came out all day and we therefore did a bit more work out in the garden, cleaning the decking and removing a load of weeds from the side of the house. Fingers crossed it will be bbq weather soon as it's actually quite a nice little area to sit when it's nice.

On Wednesday Joss had a hospital appointment in Wellington in the morning. This meant an early start to get him ready, although I didn't have to go with them to the hospital as his Dad was meeting them there, instead staying and doing the hoovering and dog instead. That saved me doing it after and also sitting in a hospital for hours as they were out for quite a while. When they got home Jossy was only there for a couple of hours before his Dad picked him up. He's staying round there until Monday so it's going to be longer weekend than usual which will be nice. After he left I decided to head into Lower Hutt and look round the shops just to get out the house, despite it raining, although it did clear up by the evening.

With the day off on Thursday and a good days weather forecast I decided to head out for the day to the Kaitoke Regional Park, located north of Upper Hutt. To get there was a challenge with 3 different buses taking me to about 1km off the southern entrance, and it obviously didn't go to plan as I missed my last connection by about a minute meaning I had to kill an hour in Upper Hutt. I hadn't actually been there yet so it was nice to look round. When eventually arriving in Te Marua about 2 and a half hours after leaving, I followed the road to the car park where I headed up to a lookout over the Stuart Macaskill Lakes, a twin reservoir which supplies much of Wellingtons water. I then headed up along the ridge track, which was very muddy after all the recent rain but did give some great views of the Hutt Valley to the south and Tararua Ranges to the north.

I eventually headed back down and into the touristy part of the Kaitoke Regional Park which is popular with Lord of the Rings fans as being where the set for Rivendell was filmed. With a bit of imagination and help from these information boards you were able to recreate parts of the film, and there was even an arch created to replicate part of the Elvish Kingdom. I then followed this path with gave views of the Hutt River Gorge before entering the rainforest which had some pretty impressive trees inside, some even loosely replicating Hobbit holes. It eventually emerged at a swingbridge where there were more great views of the Hutt River Gorge, as well as this weir further upstream. The final part of the walk took me along the Pakuratahi River which had several swimming holes, which would have been tempting if the water hadn't been turned brown from all the run off from the recent rain!

When exiting the park I had about a 6km walk along the road to get a bus back to Upper Hutt. En route I stopped at another viewpoint of the Stuart Macaskill Lakes. It was frustrating when arriving at Te Marua however to find out there wasn't any more buses from Te Marua to Upper Hutt so I had to walk a bit further, all be it along the Hutt River Trail which was pleasant, to get another bus. The bus I caught however was meant to go to Petone but was cancelled to there and only went as far as Upper Hutt which was again frustrating as it meant an hour wait for the next one. I therefore had dinner in Upper Hutt instead of Petone where I was intending to kill the hour. When I finally got a bus it just topped it all off that I had to wait 40 minutes for a connecting bus towards Eastbourne, meaning it took nearly 4 hours to get back, not my idea of fun.

The following day is was back to normal in terms of weather with it being a miserable day. Luckily it was housework day so that kept me busy in the morning, although I didn't really fancy going very far in the afternoon. In the end I just had a chilled out afternoon, spending time looking at things to do over the weekend which looked like it would be nice, as well as starting to consider my options for when my visa for New Zealand runs out on March 5th which may sound a long way away but I'm sure it will come round quick. Come evening I went out for a few beers, although I went into Petone instead of Eastbourne just to try out somewhere different.

Eastbourne Week 4

Jossy was round his Dad's all weekend which gave me the weekend off to do whatever I fancied. I therefore decided it would nice to go and visit Melva, tieing it in with a walk en route. Many people have recommended the Paekakariki Escarpment Track to me which is a relatively new track on the hillside linking Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki railway stations, so I thought I would do that. When leaving however it was pouring with rain although I just went for it to make the most of the day and by the time I arrived in Pukerua Bay the sun was out. The walk started from the station and basically ran parallel to the road and railway line, all be it on the edge of the hill. Some people call the track the stairway to heaven and you could see why as there was some 1500 steps throughout the track as well as 2 swing bridges which I always enjoy.

When arriving in Paekakariki I stopped for a drink as it was so hot, before continuing along the coastline into the Queen Elizabeth Park. From here I followed an inland track through the sand dunes parallel to the coastline which like the Escarpment Track presented great coastal views. I eventually emerged in Raumati which from there I followed the expressway into Paraparaumu to see Melva. It was nice to catch up although I stayed a lot longer than expected! After leaving I headed straight back down into Wellington where I had a couple of beers before deciding to just head back to York Bay as I didn't want to stay out too late.

The following day I had several options of things to do with many walks now on my to do list. I eventually decided I would go and watch the rugby and go for a walk in the afternoon. As New Zealand were playing Argentina away it was a late morning kick off and the pub were doing bacon sandwiches so I had to go, as well as the draw in the Australia South Africa game meaning New Zealand knew they were champions before kick off. They even beat Argentina so it was a great atmosphere. Afterwards I headed out into the Percy Scenic Reserve where I headed to this waterfall, the tallest one in the Wellington region. I then continued heading up through the woods to these rocks called the sugarloaf which gave a view over Lower Hutt and Wellington Harbour. When heading back down I went via Galbraiths Gully which followed a stream right back into Petone.

Jossy returned home on Monday morning as it was school holidays and his Dad had to go to work. This meant I had to keep him amused all day, although I did spend much of the morning doing the hoovering and cleaning out the car which was covered in foliage from where they had done dump trips of the trees I cut down over the weekend. After lunch as it was such a nice day we took Joss out on his bike, driving into Eastbourne where we walked a couple of hours along the promenade and back. Using the bike uses his leg muscles when the pedals turn and I pushed him most of the way, but in the long term he could potentially uses his arms to pedal, although he struggles with that right now.

The next day was another full on day, and was another scorcher. We therefore took Jossy outside on the deck in the back garden where I did a bit of gardening while he sat outside with me. After I finished what I was doing we read one of his books the school gave him over the holidays, and even had lunch outside inbetween. He even tried to teach me the words to the haka they do at school. When we went back inside we played a few board games which I obviously lost. Liza was very impressed with me when she came home that I managed to keep him entertained for so long without his Ipad which is essentially his only form of entertainment he can use without too much help.

On Wednesday we only had Joss until about 3 before he went to stay round his Dad's for a couple of nights. It was a pretty chilled out day although we did have to write a letter to the tooth fairy because he's decided he wants to buy his old tooth back and no longer wants to get new ones so that was fun. After his Dad picked him up I decided to go out for a walk in the afternoon, heading out into the East Harbour Regional Park to Butterfly Creek. The path to here was accessed from Eastbourne and headed up presenting great views of the harbour before dropping down the other side into the Butterfly Creek Valley. It was a pretty forest walk following the stream to this picnic area next to the stream, before I headed back a different way up and over the hill back into Eastbourne. I even managed to witness a pretty special sunset which I watched on the beach before heading back to York Bay.

The next day was a free day to myself, although it was a pretty miserable morning. I wanted to go out and do something though so I decided to head out to Pencarrow Lighthouse and the Parangarahu Lakes which were south of Eastbourne. To get to the lighthouse I simply just had to follow this gravel track along the coastline, and by afternoon the weather was much nicer which made it a pleasant walk. There were even lots of lambs and goats along the way. When reaching the lighthouse which lies at the gateway to Wellington Harbour on the Cook Strait, I headed out to Bluff Point where I got some great coastal views. I couldn't see south island though. I then headed inland to the Parangarahu Lakes, traversing round Lake Kohangapiripiri before heading up this viewpoint over Lake Kohangatera which gave great views of both lakes. I eventually completed a big loop back to the lighthouses and followed the coast back into Eastbourne.

On Friday Liza made sure she didn't have much work to do so she could spend the day with Jossy, heading into Wellington for lunchtime. When arriving to walked along the harbour to these food trucks which Jossy likes for lunch, ordering from 3 different food trucks to keep him happy! After looking round a few of the shops we went back to the car where we drove round Wellington for a bit looking at houses as they want to move somewhere more practical in the near future. It was nice to see some suburbs I haven't really seen yet including Seatoun and Island Bay. Come dinner time we headed to the Wellington Night Market which had lots of different cuisines and live music on offer, before heading back home. Max wasn't impressed we were out so long but it was a good day.

Eastbourne Week 3

With Jossy at home most of the weekend we had a busy weekend to keep him happy, heading out to the market at Lower Hutt after breakfast to pick up a few groceries and even have a go at some of the games on offer which was fun. We also headed over to the garden centre to buy a few plants and stuff for the garden which has now become my little project. When getting home after cutting the ridiculously overgrown grass and clearing a large amount of weeds it looked a lot better, although it will take a lot of tlc to get it looking really nice. One of the main issues is Max who likes to dig holes outside!

After spending much of the afternoon in the garden it was nice to chill out in the evening, and as it was election results day if was fascinating watching the results come in! New Zealand have a pretty weird voting system though as when you vote you vote for an individual of a party who you want to represent your area, and also vote for the party you like in general. This means that half of parliament is made up of constituency representatives, and the other half the percentage of votes the party got is the percentage of seats they get. The two main parties National and Labour didn't get a majority, and Green are supporting Labour, so in effect right now the third party New Zealand First is dictating the future of the country by deciding whether or not to go in coalition with National or Labour/Green so it's all very interesting right now.

The following day the clocks went forward an hour which means lighter evenings which is good. We also only had Jossy until lunchtime, so after doing some baking with him we took him outside to watch me chop down some trees. The way the house is positioned means the garden only gets sunlight in the afternoon. I therefore chopped a couple of trees down which blocks the sunlight to allow a bit more light in. There are still a few more to go though but we need a bigger chainsaw! After lunch Jossy went with his Dad to go skiing, not returning until Monday, which gave me some free time so I went for a walk into the East Harbour Regional Park, taking Max with me. We went up towards Lowry Trig although you couldn't see much as it was a little overcast. From there we just headed over to Wainuiomata Hill where you could see down the other of the hill to Wainuiomata itself, before heading to Point Howard and back along the bays. He was a little muddy and tired when returning though!

Jossy didn't return home until after school on the Monday, although it was a horrendous day in terms of weather which meant I couldn't really do much. I didn't really want to sit round all day doing nothing so I therefore headed into Lower Hutt to have a little look round the shops. There's a big shopping centre there which is effectively Wellingtons main shopping area other than the high street in the CBD, so all the big shops are there. After spending a couple of hours there I headed back, the weather still grotty, and spent the afternoon chilling out. You could tell it was bad because the water in the harbour turned brown from all the run off! Joss didn't return until dinner time from skiing, as he had gone to Mount Ruapehu which is near Taupo so quite a way away. He was obviously tired when retuning but he had some great photos which was nice.

It was still horrible on the Tuesday which once again meant I couldn't go very far, although it did clear up by the afternoon. When Joss returned from school we took him over to Naenae to enrol him in this after school thing which encourages him to do exercise. He is going to do that every Tuesday after the school holidays which start next week. Where it takes place was where he used to go to nursery and it is equipped for disabled people with lots of toys and games. We did make him go in his walker though which he hated, but he needs to start using it more as he effectively sits in his wheelchair most of the time which means he's getting heavier by the day.

On Wednesday the weather somewhat improved but Joss's sailing was cancelled last minute because of the weather forecast was strong winds and rain. It couldn't have been more wrong though and it was a calm and sunny day which I took to my advantage to go down the beach in Eastbourne for a couple of hours. Normally on Wednesday sailing dependant I would get much of the day to myself as he goes rounds his Dad's, but his Dad was in Christchurch for work so he came home after school. The following day was another good day although I was reluctant to head into the hills because after all the recent rainfall I knew it would be an absolute swamp. I instead headed round to the marina where I went to the secluded viewpoint of the harbour and chilled out there for a bit.

Friday was a more busy day as Joss had a hospital appointment in the morning with the dietitian. He is now on a strict diet, although I think the main issue is the lack of exercise. After dropping him off at school it was housework day again which meant a top to bottom clean of the house before having a chilled out afternoon. As Joss was round his Dad's for the weekend he only came home for a couple of hours after school before his Dad picked him up. In the evening I popped into Eastbourne down the pub to have a few pints with the locals which has a solid group of people.

Eastbourne Week 2

With Joss round his Dad's for the weekend this gave me the weekend to do as I pleased. I think under normal circumstances this happens every other week although apparently things can sometimes change around a bit. I therefore decided to head out for a walk, choosing to go to the nearby Belmont Regional Park which could be entered nearby the bus route. The walk followed this stream through the Korokoro Valley, and all the recent rainfall made the valley really fresh and green! After following the valley for a fair while I headed upwards towards the Belmont Trig which primarily went through woodland before emerging in scrubland which opened up great views of Wellington Harbour and surrounding areas. I then headed back down the other side towards the Korokoro Dam which was a pretty dam along this equally pretty stream. After the dam I got back to the turn off where I went up to do go to the trig and followed the valley the same way back to Petone where I started.

After getting back to Petone I headed into Wellington as there was both an All Blacks game, and my first early Southampton kick off since I've been in NZ. I couldn't miss this so headed straight into Wellington, having a little look round Te Papa when arriving to kill some time. After having dinner down Oriental Bay I headed to down to Courtney Place for the rugby and the atmosphere was buzzing, made even better by the 57-0 scoreline which pleased the locals.  I then headed to another place which was showing the Saints game, although as it was an 11.30pm kick off I watched the Australia Argentina rugby game before. I was unfortunately the only Saints fan there, although there were quite a few English people there which was nice. After the game I just headed back into Eastbourne, which is serviced by a night bus throughout the night. Come the Sunday I had a lie in and a very relaxing day as I didn't get back until late.

With Joss not returning home until Monday after school, this gave me another pretty chilled out day. I was happy however as when walking the dog I went over towards Point Howard and onto the pier there and saw a Blue Penguin! Apparently they a very shy and only normally come out at night so I was very lucky! Come the afternoon I decided to do go for a little walk, heading out into the East Harbour Regional Park which is literally accessible 2 minutes from the house. There are lots of paths from the Bays which take you up to the main ridge track, making an alternative scenic link to the bays. I headed up from the York Bay entrance up a pretty steep track, and it passed some small waterfalls with the occasional clearing to get views over Wellington Harbour. When reaching the ridge track I followed it for a bit despite it being very muddy and dropped back down to Days Bay. There are plenty of paths up here so I'm spoilt for choice if I ever fancy a walk on my doorstep!

Tuesday was a more grotty day in terms of weather, although we did go out in the morning to pick up a few things for Jossy as he had his artsplash performance the next day which is a performing arts events the local schools in the Wellington area do. We also went out to look for some curtain rings for some curtains Liz bought from a car boot sale they went to at the weekend which proved unsuccessful in the end. It was nice to get out and Liz showed me round Lower Hutt which was nice of her.

The following day was yet another grotty day in the morning although it cleared up after lunchtime. We did head into Petone though to pick up a few things including dog food to make Max happy. With artsplash in the evening and his Dad picking him up from school I therefore had a few hours spare and I thought while the sun was out I would go for another little walk in the East Harbour Regional Park, this time accessing it from Lowry Bay where once up on the ridge got some great views into the Hutt Valley, and some more great views of Wellington Harbour. I exited at Point Howard so it was a nice little loop walk. There was even apparently a 5.0 earthquake whilst I was out although I didn't feel it!

Come evening it was artsplash time and after getting into Wellington we went out for dinner at a local pub before heading to the theatre where it was taking place. It was actually a pretty big event with a fair few schools in attendance and despite being really scared went up on the stage and sang. They had songs from Joseph, Moana, and we few specially written songs, as well as sections of dance, orchestra, and artwork and was actually a really good evening. Afterwards as he did so well we went for an ice cream before heading home, with Jossy going with his Dad as he was staying there the night. The rest of the week was more chilled out as Jossy was round his Dad's and weather restricted me from going out very far, although he did come home for a couple of hours after school on the Thursday before his Dad picked him up after work. He didn't come home properly again until Friday after school.

Eastbourne Week 1

After meeting Joss on the Thursday after school, I didn't see him again until after school on the Friday which meant I could have a lie in. His Dad dropped him back home after dinner and as it was the weekend he was allowed to stay up a little later so we played a few games. On the Saturday we headed into Wellington for the afternoon and we went and had a ice cream and sat watching the buses as he loves big vehicles. Whilst in Wellington we looked round a few of the shops and did the food shop, before finally ending up in Toy World which he loved! For dinner we even had Paella as Cynthia is Spanish and that's their main dish and it tasted really good!

The following day was another chilled out morning, although we did head into Wellington again in the afternoon again for a couple of hours. We even met one of Joss's old au pairs who had just recently come back from Asia, who met us as he had left his car outside the house and wanting a lift over to pick it up. Unfortunately as he had left it for so long it didn't work so he ended up staying the night as it was too late in the day to get someone out to fix it by the time we got back. Come evening we went out to a local restaurant run by a British couple where we had a really nice roast dinner!

By Monday it was back to school which meant no more lie ins. The school had however decided to have a half day which meant Joss was home by lunchtime! On the Tuesday everything was back to normal in terms of school and after he went I had the day to myself to do whatever I wanted. I therefore decided to walk into Petone as it was such a nice day, following the coast road in via the marina. It was a nice walk and I chilled on the beach and sorted a few things out while I was in town. I caught bus back home though and it was Cynthias last day so after Joss got home from school we said goodbye before she went off to the airport.

Wednesday was another great day in terms of weather, although Joss goes sailing on a Wednesday morning which meant we had to pick him up from school at half 10 to take him down to the boating area. A group of volunteers take young people out into the harbour, and it's disabled friendly which makes it perfect for him. Whilst there I was even allowed to go on the power boat and head out to nearby rocks as some seals had made their home there, and they were really cute. After dropping him back off at school I had the afternoon to myself as his Dad was picking him up from school and dropping him back home after dinner. I therefore decided to pop into Eastbourne to explore the village which I hadn't done yet, following the road along the bays in. I even managed to pick up soon leaflets about walking opportunities in the Wellington area which was useful.

Thursday was a more hands on day round the house as because Cynthia had left who was staying in Joss's room, it needed sorting out. As it was an empty room I therefore did a deep clean as the ceiling was covered in mould which wasn't good! I soon sorted that and it looked as good as new. Come afternoon we took Max out to the pet shop as it had a diy dog wash. Apparently they take Max there every other week to get washed, although when getting there he absolutely hated it and knew exactly what was happening! I got him nice and clean eventually though with a bit of encouragement!

On Friday it was a more laid back morning as Joss had an appointment to sort out his walker which needed adjusting at half 10 over in Johnsonville, which meant we didn't bother sending him to school as he wouldn't have been there long before we needed to pick him up. His walker thing is designed to encourage him more put more weight on his legs and hips rather than actually walk and he absolutely hated using it, but the guy said if we could encourage him to use it for just 5 minutes a day it could help him in the long term.

After the appointment we dropped him back off at school and that gave me the afternoon to relax, although the weather was horrendous in a wind sense as I found out walking the dog along the bays! The issue is the stretch of coastline Eastbourne and the bays lies on is very rugged, with very little flat land. The road is barely wide enough for 2 lanes and a pedestrian walkway, and is effectively at sea level. As it was so windy the waves were crashing into the road which made walking along pretty sketchy. It's a good thing I suppose that most of the houses are built on the hillside because if a tsunami was to strike the few houses on the road level would have no chance! When Joss arrived home from school he only stayed a couple of hours before his Dad picked him to stay round his for the weekend. This gave me the weekend off so Liza took me down to the local pub to introduce me to a few of the locals which nice of her, before heading back via the Chinese for dinner.

Paraparaumu

After leaving the airport I headed over to Manukau to catch the night bus down to Paraparaumu. It was a horrendous journey though as it was quite busy and I couldn't really sleep. Each stop we got to the driver put the lights on and spoke over the loud speaker, and at Rotorua someone got off to go to the toilet and when leaving there husband didn't realise they were missing until a good half hour down the road so we had to drive back to Rotorua which was frustrating. I ended up getting into Paraparaumu about 6 ish so it was dark when I arrived and a little nippy, but when arriving at Melvas it was nice to sit down and relax for the day as I was a little tired.

The following day was another relaxing day although I did get a guided tour round Paraparaumu and went to the chip shop for lunch round Karen's. Come Sunday it was my birthday and it was nice to get a present in the post. After lunch we went out for a walk with the dogs down towards the Waikanae Estuary which lead to a driftwood covered sandy beach which was nice but very windy! There was also a great view of Kapiti Island across the water. It was weird having my birthday away from home but it was a good day.

On the Monday I woke up to lots of birthday messages as the time difference meant most people posted overnight. As it was such a nice day I decided to go out for a walk for the day, heading out to Paraparaumu Beach which I followed to the Waikanae Estuary. When reaching here I followed the river upstream, the opposite side from the previous day towards the swing bridge which I then crossed and continued following the river to Waikanae itself. I then followed the road and went up into the Nikau Reserve which was a steep climb through the woods to a viewpoint which had great views, including as far as the South Island. I then followed the ridge line for a bit before dropping down into Paraparaumu via the mall back home. It was a really good walk.

Come Tuesday I had a more chilled out day as it was a little more overcast, and by Wednesday after applying for several jobs a couple of people finally contacted me with jobs I had applied for. One job I applied for was an au pair job which sounded like a nice job by the description although I was worried that I wouldn't be suitable due to lack of experience. When speaking the woman on the phone though it seemed like something I could manage so I headed down to Wellington to meet her and speak about it and I accepted. We even played a few games of pool so it was probably the most laid back interview I've ever had!

The following day I left Melvas which I really enjoyed staying at, to head down to Wellington once again where I was picked up at the railway station and driven round to her house in York Bay which is about half hour drive from Wellington CBD, nearby the village of Eastbourne, and the small city of Lower Hutt. The hiking opportunities are also abundant in the area with the frequent transport links meaning I won't have to hitchhike to get round which is useful. My primary role is lifting the 9 year old boy who is disabled up and down the stairs, and into the car and his wheelchair, although there's other little things like walking the dog who is a Golden Retriever and a bit of housework every so often, and obviously engaging with the boy who particularly likes Tractor Tom and Thomas the Tank Engine!

When arriving at the house I had time to settle in and meet Liza (his Mum), Liz (his Nan), and Cynthia (a cousin from a Spanish link someone on the family who's come to visit), before meeting Joss. Liza also took me for a drive around the area which is on the opposite side of the harbour from Wellington CBD which is visible from the house. By 3 Joss arrived home and I got to meet him and although he didn't like me at first because he didn't realise he was getting a new au pair, his last one leaving unexpectedly after a couple of days. I soon made him like me though, and by the time his Dad came to pick him up for dinner as he was staying round his Dad's, he didn't want to leave me! Apparently the routine regarding when each parent has him is a little all over the place so we'll see how that goes!

Kiwi Bus- Bay of Islands and Auckland

Friday was an early start to head up towards Paihia and the Bay of Islands, although due to our antics on the Frenzi Bar Crawl the night before we got very limited sleep and was luckily woken up by someone else in our room. The bus up was just a minibus so it was quite cosy, although I ended up being stuck next to a Portsmouth fan which was interesting. They couldn't really say that much though. En route we stopped in Warkworth for refreshments, before heading up into Whangarei to check out the waterfall. We arrived up in Paihia before lunchtime which was great giving us the whole afternoon on a really sunny day.

Through winning the quiz a couple of nights previous, one of our prizes was a free boat cruise round the islands. As I had already done it previously I let Tom go, whilst I spent the afternoon down the beach to have a nap as I was a little tired. He typically saw lots of dolphins though which they advertise as a 99% chance of seeing, something I didn't see on the cruise before. We met over in Russell though and headed up to the top of Flagstaff Hill which had some great views of the islands and back towards Paihia. We then headed back down to the beach where there was a great sunset, getting the ferry back to Paihia shortly after. It was great though because I met a couple of Saints fans on the boat! We then had a bbq at the hostel in the evening before having a more chilled out evening.

The following day was Tom's birthday although we had a more chilled morning. One thing he's been talking of doing all trip was a skydive so it made sense to do it on his birthday. After lunch we got a shuttle out to the skydive centre and it was fun watching everyone jump out the plane. You couldn't see people until their parachutes opened but it made me wish I was doing one! I forced him to do the 16000ft one which was the highest they offered, and despite shitting himself he did it. Experiencing freefall is a hard feeling to describe but it's amazing so you want to get as much as you can which he thanked me for after! Come evening we went for a few drinks and it was a good night.

Sunday was back down to Auckland, although kiwi experience screwed up because they sent us up on a minibus, and had people already there which meant there were too many people to fit in the minibus. They instead had to send a few people down on an inter city bus a bit later. We volunteered which actually worked out quite well because it meant having a double seat to myself, and meant we could watch the boxing which we would have missed otherwise so it made sense staying later. We even managed to get a few hours down the beach during the day. We didn't arrive back into Auckland until late though but I didn't mind

With Tom leaving on Thursday we had 3 free days in Auckland. It was tempting to go away somewhere for a night but we decided just to be more chilled out. On the Monday we headed out to Western Springs which I haven't actually been to before. The parkland is home to lots of birdlife and it was nice walking round the lake and getting glimpses inside MOTAT and Auckland Zoo. It did however absolutely piss it down with rain in the afternoon. It was pretty mental though as the two other people in our dorm room were from Shoreham which bearing in mind the hostel covered 7 floors and had several rooms on each floor was a funny coincidence.

The following day we were debating between visiting Rangitoto Island or Devonport. We opted for Devonport in the end and left relatively early as we were up so early. After arriving we headed over towards North Head and explore some of the old war shelters and tunnels, as well as checking the view up top. We then headed down to a couple of beachs, before heading back into the village centre for lunch. We then went up Mount Victoria where there were more great views before heading back down and into Auckland city centre. From there we walked along the harbour side towards Mission Bay where we chilled out for the afternoon. On the way back there was a great sunset before getting pizza hut for dinner.

On the Wednesday we had a more chilled out day as the weather was pretty grotty, but it was nice to relax. Thursday was the last day for Tom so we went and sat down Victoria Harbour for a bit before heading to the airport in the afternoon. I went with him as I booked a bus south to leave from Manukau nearby. I was nice to say goodbye after travelling with someone for a month, although it's going to be weird looking for a job and going back to work again!

Kiwi Bus- Wellington to Auckland

After three nights in Wellington we left on Saturday to continue heading north towards Auckland. As it's a fair distance away we left relatively early, heading along the Kapiti Coast to Bulls where we stopped for a bite to eat. From Bulls we continued towards Taupo, although the weather wasn't great so when reaching the Central Plateau the volcanoes weren't really visible. We arrived in Taupo by afternoon and after checking into the hostel went for a walk down towards the Huka Falls, perhaps one of the more impressive waterfalls in New Zealand. Despite being only 9m high, what makes it impressive is the sheer amount of water which goes down it which is very powerful. Following the Waikato river back to Taupo we stopped at some natural hot springs which were nice to chill out in. It was amazing how swimming in the river was freezing but on the bank it was hot water, all down to the volcanic nature of the area. We then just had a chilled out evening.

We only spent 1 night in Taupo as the Tongariro National Park was closed which meant it wasn't really worth staying any longer, the following bus 3 days behind. We therefore headed up to Rotorua to spend 3 nights there instead. En route we stopped at some natural mud springs which were fascinating, arriving in Rotorua little over an hour after leaving Taupo. Rotorua has a very thin crust which means large areas emit sulphur making the city stink. It's great for people who like to fart though because you can get away with it as it stinks already. After checking into the hostel we still had most of the day so we headed out to the redwoods forest to check out some of big trees, taking a walk through the forest and towards an old quarry before heading back into Rotorua, commonly called Rotovegas by the locals.

On the Monday we booked a tour to the popular Hobbiton Movie Set, the location of the shire in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies. The location was used in the Lord of the Rings movies as a temporary set using materials like polystyrene, and was removed after filming leaving just some random hobbit holes in the hillside. When they announced plans to film the Hobbit film trilogy they returned to the same location, this time building a permanent set of structures to allow tours to be given after filming had been finished.

When arriving we had a guided tour round the set which included walking round the shire and getting some great views of the surrounding area, the green hills effectively resembling the english countryside which is what Tolkien based it on in his novels. The Hobbit holes themselves are only exterior though and despite the doors opening only the first 5m or so are furnished to create the illusion there's something inside, the interior scenes being filmed elsewhere. We got to see many places including Bag End and Samwise Gamgees house, before heading out to the party field and the Green Dragon pub for a couple of beers. It was a really good tour and felt like you were really there just like the movies. After returning to Rotorua we headed out to the park to see some of the bigger geysers which were pretty impressive. We also checked out the lake and the government house, before heading out for a few drinks in the evening.

Tuesday was the last day in Rotorua so we decided to head just out of town towards the skyline gondola, walking via some of the geysers. It was a really nice day and it was nice to be finally start to wear things like flip flops again. The views up the gondola were great looking right out over the lake. After heading back down we went to the zorb centre which was fun to watch! We then headed back to the hostel, which was accompanied by a great sunset before just having a chilled out night at the hostel.

We left Rotorua on the Wednesday to head up towards Auckland, and with a late morning departure it was nice to have a lie in. En route to Auckland we stopped at Rainbow Springs where we had the opportunity to visit a Kiwi breeding programme and I thought I may as well visit as I hadn't actually seen a living kiwi. It was very interesting learning what they're doing to protect New Zealands national bird, and when seeing some for myself they were actually a lot bigger than I imagined! After leaving we stopped a bit further down the road in Matamata for lunch before cruising into Auckland by late afternoon. After arriving we just chilled out, although we did do the quiz night in the evening which we actually won!

Thursday was a free day to explore Auckland, although I've obviously lived there for a while so seen a lot of it already. After going down to Wynyard Quarter and Silo Park for a bit, I thought the best thing to do was head up towards Mount Eden as it was such a nice day. The view up top was great, and when heading back down we went back via Newmarket and over Auckland Domain back into the city. Come evening there was only one thing we could do and that was the Frenzi Bar Crawl which we won free tickets to at the quiz the previous night as well as a bar tab at Habana Joe's which is the fourth and final pub, so it would have been silly not to go. It was as ever a great night.