Hi De Hi Campers…check me out…a blog post that is on time!
Places I’ve Visited and Things I’ve Done Recently
In no particular order…many walks including a walk to Parnell Rose Garden which smelt delightful with early blooming spring roses…
…will be going back as it was such a lovely evening walk…a Ferry trip with Fullers to Tiritiri Matangi Island which came complete with dolphins joining us upon arrival…
…and they stayed for the whole day and you could swim with them after exploring the island…
…I visited Tiritiri Matangi Island back in February for my birthday and it was fun to revisit as the bird life was very different due to the breeding seasons.
Like the rest of Auckland, I decided to escape the city for Labour Weekend to explore the central North Island…stopping off in Taupo to check out the graffiti…
…my travel buddy decided that he wanted to jump off a perfectly good bridge in Taupo…the views are wonderful, you don’t need to jump off it…
…a walk to Huka Falls…
…and a swimming spot at the end…
…and then another dip at Hot Water Beach on Lake Taupo.
We headed off to the Central Plateau as I wanted to walk to Taranaki Falls where I then bumped into a school teacher from my old High School that grew up on the same road as I did…
…small world and 2 degrees of separation….hence the name of our New Zealand mobile phone company…2 degrees…there is no 6 degrees of separation in New Zealand…
…looking like a giant fruit salad…
…going to see the giant carrot…Europe has fancy castles and architecture…we have giant vegetables and fruit…remember my giant fruit salad in Cromwell…
…and then eating the world’s best chocolate eclair…the shop can sell almost a 1,000 a day in Ohakune! This shop was featured on TV during the first lockdown and I’ve wanted to try one ever since…and I confirm I only ate one even though there is two in the box!
We stopped off at Waitomo Caves to see the glow warms via a boat ride…
…slightly expensive in the current Covid world so I’m going to look for some alternatives for Kiwi families as some spots are still charging high tourist prices which many Kiwis can’t currently afford.
There were plenty more adventures around Auckland including a day trip to Muriwai to visit the Gannet colony and also for a swim…I watched the surfers…
…a walk around Wenderholm Regional Park…where the walking track became a tramping track…
…checking out the light festival with Mama and Lisa…
…you can see what we need to scan in our Covid tracker app…every shop, bus, train or building needs a Covid code…including angel wings….
…we have moved on from monopoly to retro Cluedo…which I still lost as I didn’t understand the rules properly…and yes someone bought me the Sore Losers edition of Monopoly…
…watching my cousin and his bride get married at a local marae…it was so blooming hot, a big thank you to Aunty Tiny for letting me borrow your hat…
…and I made shortbread!
Christmas is definitely in the air…Farmers had their Christmas decorations out for some inspiration…
…so of course Mama and I had a little snoop…
…trialled out Hello Fresh for a week…it was ok but we decided to cancel the subscription as it wasn’t for us but you need to try these things…
…and then Lisa and Mama made a wonderful dessert…maybe this will be on our Christmas dessert menu…who knows?!?
Life Things
I voted and I hope all eligible New Zealanders voted! While I didn’t vote for the winning party, I am happy with the way that the election panned out…a lot of Kiwi’s actually strategically used their votes this election which has worked well under MMP.
New Zealand saw the ACT party gain a number of seats as they got a big surprise with the party split vote…this wasn’t a surprise for the many that changed their party vote…many realised that Jacinda was highly likely to gain full control of the government due to her past handling of Covid and wanted to see a different opposition party, not just National in government.
It will be interesting to see the next term and how Jacinda handles future Covid lockdowns and the recovery of New Zealand…having an election during a pandemic isn’t the best timing if I am brutally honest as the government had other concerns and the lack of good policies was disappointing.
There were some really interesting chats leading up to the election and I was actually proud that many Kiwis were actually taking the time to look into policies (mental health was a huge concern for many along with the recovery plans, poverty and house prices which are currently soaring) going forward and not just what has happened over the past 18 months in New Zealand.
As they say…opinions are like assholes…everyone has one…especially when it comes to politics.
Health Update
I’m feeling pretty good and my specialist thinks the same thing!
Plans for November 2020
My current contract comes to an end early in November so I’m taking some time off. Walking, cleaning, awaiting for my new sofa to be finally delivered; they were waiting for the cows to grow in Singapore apparently…maybe a road trip if I can…let’s just see. I think November is going to be a life changer either way.
xx
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