Holidaying in the South

We had a week in the South Island last week. Amazing!

NZ Fur Seal on Farewell Spit

We went to the southern most point of the New Zealand and the northern most point of the South Island. 
We saw the cleanest water spring in the whole world bubbling from the deepest spring in Australasia, the deepest lake and the longest suspension bridge in New Zealand, a 140 billion year old petrified forest and a beach of gem stones.  
We drove on one of the largest sand-spits in the world, where we saw fur seals, whales and birds from Siberia.

Purakaunui Falls in The Catlins

The most photographed Waterfalls in NZ

Seeing such amazing things is a great reminder that New Zealand is a beautiful country of amazing contrasts

Growing Stuff

Spent some time this week in Tauranga and Taupo.  That boat makes me so angry I can't talk about it.  And I lost my $10 bet on the RWC so i can't talk about that either (serves me right for trying to be loyal to my roots :-D) 

And so lets concentrate on the positive stuff:

What a gorgeous spring day!  I went for a wander round the garden and I spied tomatoes growing, and the sweetpeas are going well too.

Growing on the crochet hook is an experiment in beads and cotton.  I'm aiming for a spectacles case....

And exciting holiday news, we're having a week away in November, and we're off to Nelson, Invercargill, and the Catlins using some of the airpoints I won last year.   And since Andrew is quite anal (oops) a detailed gentleman we're even writing an itinerary!

Blog carnival time!

The topic for this months Blog Carnival is:
In the southern hemisphere it's autumn right now, the days are shorter and the nights longer.

1. What's something interesting you have found out about living 'down under'? (yes the water does go down the plughole the other way :-) ) :)
2. If you have travelled 'down under' what did you see or do?

I chose these topics to show the international flavour of the EtsyBloggers team :-)

When my parents said we were emigrating to New Zealand this is what (as a 15 year old) I knew:

My granddad and uncle worked at the Captain Cook Museum in Middlesbrough, so I knew about the Moari people wearing grass skirts.
I knew about Captain Cook because the area that I grew up in in the North of England was known as 'Captain Cook Country'.
I saw Auckland on the TV once when the French bombed the Rainbow Warrior and I heard a lot of: "Oh, you're moving to New Zealand... isn't that attached to Australia by the Sydney harbour Bridge?"
(it's not by the way - Australia is a different country and a good couple of hours aeroplane ride away :-) )

A (ahhmm) 'few' years later I know that New Zealand has the most amazing unspoilt countryside in the Alps in the South Island, 90 mile beach in at the top of the North and the plains of the desert road in the middle. I enjoy going on holiday in the country I live in, even though I sometimes would love to pop to a country pub in Britain or a castle in Europe. So the most 'something interesting' thing that I have found out about living down under is that a new (in terms of history) country is just as beautiful as an old country. They just have different beauties.
Oh - and I personally think that southern hemisphere makes better red wine ;-)

Lessons learnt from a cycling holiday

The Otago Rail Trail has fabulous scenery and is almost impossible to catch on camera, even more so if you don’t get off your bike first

When crocheting flower chokers for all of the ladies (9) on the tour whilst on the bus, try not to get too detailed, it takes forever, the shoulders and neck suffer and you will feel queasy going around corners

After the first 70 km’s it’s easy to believe that the seat has no padding, don’t believe this and leave the bike out in the rain over night, that seat is really a sponge

The heel of the hand is the place that takes most of the pressure so when making your own cycling gloves put reinforcement on that bit

When you are the youngest on the tour it can be a little embarrassing to be the last to arrive, do lots of practice

It is a fantastic achievement, totally breathtaking and I highly recommend it!

February'ness

Flying by!

I'm in the beautiful South Island with work for the next few weeks - the weather is lovely and not humid like the north which means I might get some crochet projects done (or at least started :-) )

The etsy blogger of the month of February is TiLT Creations - www.tiltcreations.etsy.com

I have a weakness for shoes and bags and TiLT is all about the bags.

I have to admit to spending a lonnnngggggg time oggling some beautful pieces.

I'm a bit of a spot lover........

Happy day :-)