Old Coach Road

After I finished work today we went out for a really nice lunch at the Fat Pigeon Cafe and then we walked the Ohakune Old Coach Road, a walk that goes from Ohakune to Horopito passing the old viaduct on the way. After a momentary stop under the shelter of the trees to avoid the rain/hail the sun was back out and we were on our way. Its a 7km trip there and back to the viaduct along a very muddy track! Great fun and the old viaduct was brilliant, apparently people used to bungy jump from it!

Heidi has gone on a ski touring trip for a week, leaving us with the dog for a week much to James's delight! James is thrilled that he gets to walk him twice a day and he gets to sleep in our room. Me too.....

Tomorrow we are going to Taupo to have a medical so we can extend our visa and stay in New Zealand for another year! My appointment is at 10am and James's is at 3pm so plenty of time for lunch and shopping!

Another week....

This week we got up the mountain for our usual Monday snowboarding session and we tried some blue runs. We thought they might have been a bit difficult for us, but they weren't actually much harder than green runs, maybe a little bit steeper, so we were pretty chuffed with that. I had to buy some new bindings last week, as I found out through a little bit of Google-ing that mine were designed for women, no wonder my feet were sticking out much further than they should have. If anyone is in the market for some 2005 Flow step-in bindings with a screw missing and a few scratches give us a shout.

We got our car back from the garage last Friday, we had a new radiator pipe fitted and paid for a few hours labour, so now our account is $180 lighter, but it could have been worse. There's now steam coming from under the bonnet when we drive for a while, although there is enough coolant, and no leaks from underneath. It seems to be coming from the back of the engine, near the transmission, so if anyone has any ideas please let us know! Could be something like a little bit of fluid leaking onto a hot part and making steam?? I aso had to sort of break into it today, the keys were in the ignition and the door decided to lock. Good job our flatmate Heidi knew what to do!

We've arranged another Help-X for when the ski season finishes, we're off to Lake Paringa, which is 50km from the nearest town. It sounds way different from living in Ohakune, but should be great fun for a few months. I hope our car makes the 1000km trip ok, or we'll be making our way back up north in something else!

Next week Heidi is off on a trip down south to Christchurch, so we're dog sitting for the whole week. She usually takes him for a run before she goes to work at 7am, so we could have some early mornings in store. He's no bother though and Robyn actually likes him which is a positive as she's not a massive dog person, but she's converted now!

Taupo

Last week we drove to Taupo and had a stop over for Robyn's birthday which was very nice. We stayed at a motel on the lakefront, and Simon very kindly paid for us a meal at a nice restaurant. We had a wander round town when we arrived although the weather was pretty poor. Our motel was ok, nothing flash, but it did have a jacussi bath which was pretty cool. I think Robyn thought that was much more exciting than I did.

At tea time I had another big steak and Robyn had some salmon, all of which was lovely. The place was an old English themed pub and had pictures of Winston Churchill on the wall, so made us feel very at home. Next morning Robyn spent the last of her birthday money and bought some boots for tramping (hiking/walking) and some nice big surfer sunnies.

We made it up the mountain yesterday but the weather wasn't very good. It was about -4c on the lower mountain and there was hardly anyone there, which is always a positive. Unfortunately our car has a leak, and is currently at the garage, so hopefully that wont sting us hundreds of dollars which we don't really have!

Happy Birthday to Me!

A year ago today we were all in sunny Southwold having an epic 21st celebration, while this will forever remain a day impossible to beat - I've given it a good go! After an absolutely atrocious day yesterday weather wise we woke up this morning to be greeted by the sun! Clear blue skies and little wind made perfect conditions for heading up the mountain for some snowboarding. For those, who like my mum, need proof of my ability to safely manoeuvre myself down the mountain I have attached a video, enjoy and feel free to congratulate my skills at anytime. This years presents consisted of a new Burton ski jacket, snowboard boots and gloves from James and some bindings from Mum and Dad. The phrase ‘all the gear and no idea’ springs to mind, but at least now when I fall over I do it looking good! When we had finished up the mountain we went for a walk up to the giant carrot, which is there to tell people that Ohakune is the ‘carrot capital of the world!’ Point well made. Then a trip to the supermarket to buy the supplies for my Mexican Birthday Feast! Home made salsa and bbq sauce courtesy of James. Delicious. Coupled with a case of beer and a bottle of wine, life is good!

P.S. Thanks to everyone for the cards and emails, its lovely to hear from you all!