Last weekend I walked the Tongariro Crossing. This was my second time, and the weather was perfect.
While walking home from work I saw a baby blue penguin floating in the harbor.
I think he was enjoying the sunshine. Pretty cute.
The weather in Wellington is as volatile as the New Zealand currency rate. Yesterday was freezing. But today:
Very refreshing! And the pōhutukawa are in bloom by Waitangi park.
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Yesterday night I went to a birthday party. The theme was “Hollywood.”
I went as the red carpet.
Now I have three meters of red felt. I didn’t think that one through.
This year I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner at Craig and Catherine’s home. This was the menu, taken from Catherine’s blog:
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Thanksgiving Dinner 2008
Toasted Le Moulin baguette with:
Cream cheese & caramelised onions
Roast turkey with wild rice & cranberry stuffing
Kumara & orange gratin
Coleslaw
Apple pie & cream
Christmas fruit mince pie
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Catherine made everything from scratch, even the coleslaw! Here’s a photo of my adopted family in Wellington. Catherine (the chef) and Craig (the sous-chef) are on the right:
And here we are at the end of dinner, waiting for dessert:
So good! It reminded me of dutch apple pie, without the cinnamon.
Thank you so much C & C, it was superb!
I shot eight rolls of film on my holiday and here are a few:
The view from my room in Queenstown
This was one side of Mitre Peak in Milford Sound
There are hundreds if not thousands of waterfalls in Milford Sound, and the captain had a wet sense of humor
Since Sunday I’ve been in Queenstown and Te Anau. I shot eight rolls of film, this picture is from my phone:
I drove up to the top of Coronet Peak. Who knew the south island was so sunny?
Each winter my writing trickles to a stop. Who knows why?
Last weekend I went skiing on the North Island’s most popular volcano and it was beautiful:
This photo is pathetic! You have to see it for yourself.
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When I arrived at the ski area, I went to the ticket counter to buy my gear and lift pass.
“Hi, can I have skis, boots and poles, and a upper mountain lift pass?”
“Sure, you might be eligible for a youth discount. Are your parents here? How old are you?”
“I’m 27.”
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By the end of the day, I had a fresh set of bruises from:
- falling off a t-bar lift with Anouk
As Egon said about crossing the streams, “Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.” The same applies to crossing your skis. Anouk was not happy!
- jumping into a wall of snow
Not nice, fluffy snow. The water which formed this snow used to flow in the sewers of Gary, Indiana, I’m sure of it.
- dodging a boy (like a good samaritan), who happened to fall next to a ski ramp
When I landed, my skies, gloves, hat, etc. were scattered across the field, as if I were Mr. Potato Head and a screaming child threw me against a wall.
In a few weeks I’m flying to Queenstown for some more skiing (yes, I am a masochist). Feel free to fly down and join me!
