A bits and bobs day

Thursday 30th April: Cold and grey today, a high of 10 degrees. Looking forward to the extra heat pump being fitted tomorrow so we'll be able to heat more than just the lounge!
In the morning we went to Playcentre. This is a NZ arrangement for children aged 0-6 and their parents. It's a bit like a toddler group would be in the UK but in their own building and with a qualified early years teacher to facilitate activities and learning plans. We have not been along before because obviously Edward is too old and omeschoolers have had a ccol reception in the past, but the current President and another committee member invited us along. The boys enjoyed 3 hours of playdough, constructing with boxes, story time and outdoor play. I was busy helping out and enjoyed a nice cup of tea.
After lunch we did some schooling, finishing up our current topics. Edward finished writing up about his Book Reader badge, his first Cub badge he has completed.
Tea was chicken and bacon pie and banana teabread and custard for pudding. Jeanette came in from next door to babysit while I went to TKD and Steve was on-call.
The photo is a piece of artwork the boys did recently, which is on our fridge door. It is a garden and used the sweet wrappers from a tin of chocolates we had at Christmas. Is that taking recycling a little too far???

Wet wet wet!

Wednesday 29th April: Did I mention rain, or the lack of it, yesterday? Well minutes after I posted the blog last night it began raining, and 24 hours later it's still going! Today's high temperature was 12 degrees and the chickens have been poddling round in a mud bath.
We schooled in the morning and the boys scooted through their work so we had time to do some baking in the morning. A friend came round for lunch. Her husband and 3 children all have gluten-free diets so she really relished the fresh loaf of bread and coconut cookies we had for lunch!
After lunch we played a board game called The Amazing Mammoth Hunt. It's a game that helps you learn where countries are on the world map and it kept us busy for over an hour. We walked to Keas and today was Jonathan's first session. Edward and I sat in a back room and worked on some of his Cub badges for the hour.
For tea we had our sausages. What a success! They were gorgeous, and the skins were easy to cut. They boys are already offering ideas for what we can try next but we'll wait until the pork shoulder joint is on special offer again. Pudding was a yummy chocolate slice that Edward made this morning.
The photo shows him making the coconut cookies we ate earlier.

Sausages!

Tuesday 28th April: Happy New School Felicity! Today was hot again, in the low 20s and sunny. I got several loads of washing done and dry. The forecast had been for heavy rain the last few days and other parts of the South Island have had flooding but so far it has been unseasonally warm and dry.
In the morning we schooled. It was so lovely outside we did some of our lessons in the front garden. After lunch we unpacked the meat mincer we bought on Sunday and minced a pork shoulder joint. Then we went off to the 'for sale' house to measure up the bathroom to work out if we can split it into two bathrooms, then returned home to turn the minced pork into sausages. This is our first attempt and we were all involved. I was in charge of filling the casings, Edward was in charge of the on-ff toggle switch, Peter was events photographer and Jonathan was ... was... helping!
After dinner (not the sausages - they're in the fridge for tomorrow) I went off to the Gym Club AGM and Committee meeting and somehow came home as Secretary!
The photos are of our outdoor 'classroom' and one of Peter's images from the sausage-making event.

Hot and blowy

Monday 27th April: Another hot day for this time of the year. The nor'wester was especially strong mid-afternoon with high temperatures of about 24 degrees again.
In the morning we schooled. This week we are continuing with sound and hearing but also concentrating on telling the time in our maths. After lunch Steve and Peter went off with a borrowed trailer to collect a second-hand chest freezer we have bought, then spent ages making space in the garage (aka aircraft hangar!) to put it.
Just after 3pm the boys and I walked to the library and then on to the High School for the first gymnastics session of the new term. Rushed home for a very quick tea and then walked Edward to Cubs for a 5.30pm start. I walked home and got changed, then walked to TKD training. By the time I got home the boys were in bed, so I settled down for my usual Monday evening viewing of Desperate Housewives followed by Spooks.
The photo is of one of our kitchen walls showing some of the schoolwork we've been doing recently.

Scorchio

Sunday 26th April: Today was 'scorchio', well for late April. In our back garden it was 22 degrees at lunchtime, but it was nearer 27 degrees in Timaru where we went for the afternoon. Timaru is 47kms north from Waimate up the SH1, passing very little on the way. Timaru is a town of about 26000 people. Early in the days of English settlers arriving in this area, ships started to come directly to Timaru rather than Christchurch. The first, the Strathallan, arrived in January 1859. Our neighbour Jeanette's great-grandfather from Oxfordshire was on board. Timaru knew the ship was on its way (it took over 3 months to get here) but they didn't get the accommodation ready in time. The drainage trenches weren't dug and the tents hadn't been put up. Timaru only had five houses at the time so all these passengers must have been a big drain on the resources. The weather was so foul it was anchored off shore for 3 days before the passengers could land. Some of the passengers decided they wouldn't stay at Timaru and so stayed aboard for another 4 days to Christchurch.
The east coast of NZ is mostly rocky shoreline, but there are some nice sandy beaches. Caroline Bay in Timaru is one. There's an enormous public park immediately behind the beach, with free parking, a large children's playground, paddling pool, mini golf, train rides, aviary, rose garden etc, all very well maintained. Today there was also a rod and custom car club gathering there so we had lots to see and do in the couple of hours we were there. There was a strong nor'wester blowing, hence the high temperatures.
After tea we had "movie night " - tonight we enjoyed 'Racing Stripes' together.
The photos are looking down on Caroline Bay from the fountain at the top of the high street of shops; the sandy beach north; the sandy beach south with the container ships docking and unloading; Steve and a car he dreams of; and a car the boys would like with flames down the side.

Anzac Day

Anzac Day: Warm and sunny again. This is the day when the Australians and New Zealanders remember those who landed at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915 in such a disastrous battle. 2721 died, I believe. In New Zealand this is a public holiday, and takes place on the 25th, whatever day of the week it is. Shops cannot open until 1pm or face a hefty fine. There are dawn services in every community and then a morning service where the uniformed groups like Scouts, Girls Brigade etc and returned servicemen and women sing and listen to speeches and then march to the nearest memorial to lay poppy wreaths.
Our three boys are now in the Scout movement and so were part of the Waimate parade today. It's amazing how so many people from such a small community are involved in this, or just came along to be part of it.
As soon as the last note of the Reveille faded away, the town clock (which is the memorial we were all around) struck 11 o'clock - eerie!
When we got home Steve went off flying his planes, and the boys and I watched our next door neighbour build an amazing trap to catch some dogs that have been killing hens on farmland around town. This trap is so big and sturdy it could keep an elephant from escaping!
In the afternoon we went to Knottingly Park. This is an 83 acre park two kilometres out of town. The first tree was planted in 1878 and there are now 3000 planted trees there - a sort of arboretum and park. It's also the site of the town's cricket pitch, horse gymkhanas, has a flock of sheep in it, a playground, pine forest, pond and a powered campsite! It's an amazing space and you can run around, climb trees and feel really relaxed.
For tea we had our first meal from the Chinese/Chippie in town. The boys had fish'n'chips and ate it all up. Steve had chicken curry (Chinese??) and I wanted chicken and mushroom. What we both got was a small amount of chicken with mushrooms, peas and large chunks of carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, courgette and cabbage and a curry sauce or MSG sauce poured over. Probably won't bother repeating that, and hoping it won't be repeating on me later!
The photos are of the pipe band that led the Anzac parade; the boys in their uniforms; a wooden hut just as the bushmen settlers would have lived in in the 1860s; an amazing eucalyptus in Knottingly Park; and some of the beautiful autumn leaves.

A morning to myself!!!

Friday 24th April: Another sunny day but definitely getting cooler in the shade each day. For the morning all three boys went to a sports morning run as part of a holiday programme. This meant I had three hours to myself, for the first time since we arrived here. Of course I had a restful facial and massage. Not! I rushed round the shops and spent an hour doing some tidying up in the house, then it was time to rush back, leaving a cup of undrunk tea on the kitchen table!
After lunch we did a bit of schooling to finish off the week, preparing them for Anzac Day tomorrow.
Tea was cannelloni followed by scones.
The photo is of some Maori carvings on a corner of Boland Park on the main street of town. It's part of what appears to be a bus stop, but as there are no buses here I guess it's unlikely to be somewhere for one to stop!

G'day mate

Thursday 23rd April: Another sunny day. We did an hour of schooling then walked to the library for another storytime session and crafts. We picked up some more food at the supermarket and popped into the post shop. After lunch we did some maths and reading then I made chicken casserole for tea.
Our neighbour Jeanette came in as always on a Thursday to put the boys to bed so I can get to TKD training while Steve is on-call.
The photo is of the boys with the bushman statue near the library. Before pakeha (European white man) came to Waimate it was an area of bush governed by the Maori Chief Huruhuru. Early in its life of colony immigration there were several saw-mills that worked to supply wood for construction. A photo was taken of an early bushman outside one of the sawmills from which this statue was cast. Although he is clearly made of metal there is something amazingly accurate and real about his face and so we always say "G'day mate" when we walk past.
Jonathan is wearing the pirate hat and parrot (he called it Fluffy) he had just made at the library.

An ordinary day

Wednesday 22nd April: A crisp night down to about 1 degree. A sunny day, nice in the sun, max temperature about 16 degrees. We schooled in the morning. Our new project started this week is hearing and sound.
After lunch we took Sunshine the canary back to the childcare (nursery) after a 2 week stay with us, then walked to the post shop, supermarket and library (we have 108 books out at the moment!). From there the boys played in the playground of one of the local schools. All the schools here have superb play areas with climbing/sliding/swinging equipment, and they are all different from each other. Once the schools finish at 3pm, and over the school holidays, they are open for anyone to use. So we do. We use the play areas in one park and three of the schools, all within a 10 minutes walk from home.
Tea was salmon fishcakes followed by coconut cookies - very yummy.
The photo is of the Waimate Post Office building in the centre of town. I love the colour of the this building, and it looks so grand, nearly 100 years after it was built. Currently the building is used as the Visitor Information Centre, and the new post shop is in a small modern, single-storey building next door.

What a whopper!

Tuesday 21st April: Warm in the sunshine, cool in the shade. We schooled for the first hour and then walked to the library for their holiday storytime session, all about Pirates, then craft time to make a paper and tube octopus. After lunch we did another couple of hours or schooling. Toad in the hole is cooking for tea while I type this.
As mentioned earlier, we have been collecting pine cones. They're not all as big as the ones in the photo! Houses here all have open fires or log burners and people will burn anything and everything to keep themselves warm. In particular Kiwis seem to like to start their fires using pine cones - cheaper than kindling wood. So the boys collect pine cones when we're out and about and sell them by the bagful. Last year they earned about $60 from this. Last year we bagged them in supermarket carrier bags, but from August this year we will be charged for carrier bags so we thought of bagging them in old feed sacks. The friends we went to on Sunday get through 40 feed sacks a day and they get thrown out, so we are helping the environment by reusing them. The evenings are getting cooler and we're hoping for bumper sales. We have several packing boxes of pine cones in the garage and know where there are plenty more.....

Back to school

Monday 20th April: Happy birthday Shane. A sunny morning but the wind and the clouds picked up later and the weather cooled right down.
Steve went to have his hair cut and then mowed and rolled a new landing strip in a friend's field ready for flying their aeroplanes when the weather is right. The boys and I started back schooling even though the rest of NZ has another week's holiday from school.
After lunch we went to a have a look at a house for sale. We spent ages looking round as this was our second visit. Lots of work is needed to bring it up to a suitable standard. Have a look at the details and let me know your thoughts: http://www.harcourts.co.nz/listing/details.do?rul=%2Fsearch%2Fprocess.do%3Fpg%3D6%26o%3DB%26ts%3D183764249%26qst%3DEnter%2BID%2B%2523%2Bor%2BStreet%26qss%3Dwaimate&id=409802 You can see views on the "more photos" section but roll down further and you'll see an icon of a camera which has even more pictures.
For tea we had a trout Steve caught a while ago and then I went to TKD training. Just now we had notification that our tenants in Frampton Cotterell have today given a month's notice to move out so hopefully new tenants will be found and the old ones will leave it in good condition.
The photo is of one front corner of the house we went to see.

Introducing Splash

Sunday 19th April: Happy birthday Lauren. Today started warm and sunny but after lunch became misty and cool. In the morning we poddled round getting the washing done, baking a loaf of bread for lunch, etc and found some time to tidy the garage a bit.
After lunch we drove to friends for an hour or two. They have two children - Arianna is a month older than Peter and Harley is a day younger than Jonathan. They live on a farm that takes one day old calves and feeds them until they are 100kg. then they go to another farm and then off to the works another year or so later. The children all played around the farmhouse while the adults chatted. Five days ago their cat brought in two tiny ducklings in its mouth. As we are well into autumn it's very late for ducklings to be born, and a visit to a cat's sharp teeth wasn't going to help either! One duckling died but they are looking after the other one. When we arrived it was swimming around a washing-up bowl and after we had all had a cuddle it went for a nap in its shoe box. They hadn't named it yet, but I suggested 'Splash' and they all agreed it was a great name. The photo is of Splash in Edward's hands.
At the farm we exchanged some of our hen eggs for some of their empty feed bags to put pine cones in to sell. More about that another day.....

Poddling around

Saturday 18th April: Ooopps, forgot to do this last evening! First time I have forgotten. Warm and sunny all day, even got the bedding dry on the line.
Steve is on-call this weekend so it's a quiet one for us. The boys played and I pottered about. After lunch Steve went to fly his little planes and Peter and Jonathan went along.
Roast dinner in the evening.
The photo is of the boys playing in their sandpit. For Christmas our neighbours delivered a couple of wheelbarrows of sand and made a sit-on digger. Here you don't buy bags of nice soft sifted sand from Mothercare, you just go and dig some up and bring it home! Here you can see how creative the boys are in their digging area, with tunnels and bridges.

Cold and grey

Friday 17th April: A chilly grey day where it didn't even manage to drizzle properly. About 14 degrees at best. Yesterday a friend had brought some fresh-from-the-cow-not-even-pasteurised-yet milk and this morning I followed some instructions from the internet on how to make it into clotted cream, which you can't buy in NZ. Not sure it was a success but we won't know until tomorrow. Also this morning we completed week one of a 4-week on-line science course called "Water water everywhere", looking at water in its three states plus some experiments.
After lunch, next door's grandson Billy came round to play for a couple of hours. He lives about 30 minutes out of town and there are about 30,000 sheep on their run. The nearest neighbour is some miles away and his school has 8 pupils in it. Billy is 9 and enjoys getting together with our three and their toys when he comes to stay with his grandparents.
Edward and I made meatballs for tea - his favourite and so simple to make.
The picture shows a problem now the cooler evenings are upon us. Most houses here are heated by a fire in the living area and they burn anything they can get their hands on. Unfortunately this means they are often smoky and stinky. Here, my washing is on the line but next door's chimney is changing that lovely freshly-washed smell for something less pleasant and more ... burnt.

From hailstones to shorts

Thursday 16th April: All night the nor'wester rattled round the campsite and most people got little sleep. Winds were 100-110km per hour and very gusty. At 8am it finished suddenly and the temperature outside was 18 degrees! We packed up the motorhome and drove to the ice-rink and hot pool complex next door. At 10am we were in the hot pools. These are not natural springs but the heat produced to make the ice is used to heat the water. The pools are outdoor and the views across Lake Tekapo to the mountains the other side are very pretty. While we were soaking in 39 degree water the wind swung round to a southerly and picked up speed again. Before we knew it it was only 8 degrees, the surface of the pools was choppy and then ... hailstones! Time to leave!
We drove across the Burke's Pass which is across open plains and so not easy in a high-sided vehicle with pouring rain and blustery high winds. We were relieved to arrive in Fairlie (small quiet rural settlement of about 850) 45 minutes later and stopped for some lunch. We were amazed at how warm and sunny it was there. From there we drove towards Cave and then turned to take a back road through the stunning limestone Pareora Gorge to the SH1 north of St Andrews, then 20 minutes more back to Waimate. What a surprise to find it was 25 degrees in the shade in the back garden at 2pm. We all changed into shorts and the boys played in the back garden while I unpacked the motorhome. In the evening I went to TKD training.
The photos are of part of the hot pools; the view from the hot pools; and the main street in Fairlie.

Amazing views

Wednesday 15th April: From Omarama we headed past Twizel and stopped at the bottom of Lake Pukaki. This lake is full of sediment and has the most amazing greeny hue to it when we have seen it in the sunshine, but today was overcast and cold so the colour of the water was a disappointment. But across Lake Pukaki we could see Aoraki/Mount Cook, 55kms away. This is the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere and where Sir Edmund Hillary "trained" for his climb up Mount Everest. Aoraki/Mount Cook is usually shrouded in cloud but when we visited last winter we were able to see the most amazing sunrise shining off the snow on the top before the clouds gathered. Today we could clearly see the whole mountain.
After taking many photos we carried on to Tekapo and set up in the campsite on the shores of Lake Tekapo. After lunch we climbed from the campsite to the top of Mount John which has several telescopes belonging to the Uni of Canterbury plus one that is used for visitors to study the night sky. It is a place with predominantly clear skies and low light pollution and recently "discovered" a new star. From the top of Mount John there is an amazing view of Lakes Tekapo and Alexandrina but there were also thick clouds forming, a sign of a nor'wester brewing.
While cooking tea in the camp kitchen an experienced camping couple arrived whose tent had been ripped to pieces that afternoon as the nor'wester hit Aoraki/Mount Cook and they had driven to Tekapo to stay in a hut on the campsite.
At 6pm the winds started to build and the lake surface became very choppy. The campsite is nestled with a steep hill behind stretching round nearly three sides, thickly forested. The fourth side is the lake.
Lots of photos today as the scenery was spectacular. The first two are of Aoraki/Mount Cook across Lake Pukaki; the next of Lake Tekapo from the campsite; the fourth of the view from the top of Mount John with one of the observatories and the clouds gathering; and finally a tiny hedgehog we found amongst the pine cones. Its colour and texture meant it was well camouflaged - until it moved.

More Lake Aviemore

Tuesday 14th April: A milder night and then a hot sunny day again. In the morning we went out for a sail, but as you can see from the reflections in the water the conditions meant it was more of a bob than a sail. We tried fishing from the boat but no luck there. After lunch Steve brought the boat out of the water and soon it was time to leave. Steve was returning home with the truck and boat as he had work the next day. But the boys and I were carrying on our holiday for a couple more days. We drove up to the top of Lake Aviemore and admired the autumn colours from the top of the dam, then drove up to Omarama (pronounced Oh-marrer-mar). This just seems to be a settlement at the junction of two main roads, and there are always tourist buses stopped at the public toilets there.
We booked into the campsite there and met some friends who were going to stay overnight too. The boys played in the playground in front of the motorhome while I made tea, then the children from both families played a board game (Ladybugs - thanks again David and Sue) before bed.

Quiet and restful

Easter Monday 13th April: After a chilly night (and no heating because no power) the sun came out and it was hot and sunny again. We tried fishing in the morning but no luck. After lunch we went out for a sail and it was quite lively, even with the main sail reefed and a storm jib. Other than that we sat and read books and generally relaxed.
The photos show the autumn colours by the lake side.

Elephant Rocks

Easter Sunday 12th April: While Steve showered the boys the Easter Bunny created and set up a tricky egg hunt around the campsite which got them thinking and running around for a while. We drove towards Duntroon but visited Elephant Rocks for a couple of hours on the way. This is a huge paddock filled with large limestone stacks, and was the location where the final battle in 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' was filmed. Currently it is being developed as a filmset for "Kingdom Come", a film about the life of Jesus, and they are constructing a set of small houses.
From there we drove through Duntroon, on through Kurow and up to our usual spot alongside Lake Aviemore. It was warm and sunny and we went out for a short sail before tea. After dark Steve went fishing and caught 2 good size trout.
Two photos are from Elephant Rocks and the third is of the new filmset being built. In the last photo, to give you an idea of scale, the little figure near the centre is Jonathan.

Dansey's Pass

Saturday 11th April: A sunny morning while we got the motorhome and boat ready. We drove south on the SH1 to just south of the Waitaki River crossing where we turned inland towards Duntroon. Just before Duntroon we turned and drove a few kilometres more to Dansey's Pass Motor Camp. This is a small site deep in a bowl with a steep drop down to the river. We took the truck along Dansey's Pass. We had read that it was narrow and winding and partly unsealed (i.e. gravel) but didn't realise what a bone-shaker it was. Fortunately we didn't try taking the motorhome along it! After 20km we decided we'd had enough and would turn round, but there was nowhere to turn round. We met a few hardy Merino sheep along the way but otherwise it was just never-ending hills of scrub and even a few dollops of snow. Finally after 40km we came to the end into a place called Naseby. This is a small town that originated as a gold-digging community.
Then we had to face the drive back to the campsite. The choice was to return through the Pass (which the sat nav said would take 4 hours but was actually an hour) or 180kms round on the next shortest route. We rattled back along the Pass.
The photos are of a couple of shops in Naseby and a view along the Pass.

Waimate airport

Friday 10th April: Warm and sunny all day. We spoke to Mum on skype in the morning to wish her a happy birthday as it was still yesterday for her today (?!). Steve got his model aeroplanes ready and we drove the 10 minutes south to Waimate Airport. There are a selection of photos to give you an idea of the importance of this airport. The runway edges are marked with old car tyres that at one time had white paint sloshed over them; and the end of the runway is full of sheep to give you a soft landing if you overshoot! Two of Steve's flying mates were there, and as you can see Ralph had brought his lawn mower to prepare their landing strip. Our boys had little planes to throw to keep themselves occupied, as Peter shows (thank you for these, Siobhan).
As I mentioned, this airstrip is 10 minutes out of Waimate, on the SH1 (State Highway 1). There are no buses or taxis or trains to get to or from it, and only a few farm homesteads on the way. On a previous trip there by Steve, a full-size plane came in and landed. Out got two men from Basingstoke (yes, really!). I don't think it had been a translatlantic flight, though. Anyway, they said they had thought they would go to Waimate to have some lunch. The problems were: 1. they had no transport; 2. there is no public transport; 3. it's a long way to walk; and 4. there's nowhere in Waimate to eat. Other than that they made an excellent choice in their landing site! We never found out what they did in the end.
After lunch we went back to the illegal blackberry bush and picked some more. While I was doing this Steve and the boys were busy playing in the river where it crosses the road. When we arrived all the water was going through the under-road channel. Somehow a few minutes later the channel was blocked with large rocks and the river flowed across the road. No-one seems to have any idea how that happened, but they enjoyed watching the odd passing car splash through the ford that had somehow appeared!

More bbrrrrrhhhhhh!

Thursday 9th April: Happy birthday Mum/Grandma. A chilly but sunny day with fresh overnight snow on Mount Studholme and the Hunter Hills in front of our house.
We schooled in the morning and went to the library (again) for (more) books - there won't be any left in there soon! Today was the end of our current term so we have a week's holiday next. After lunch I cooked a salmon quiche and a chocolate and banana teabread then we went off to Junior Athletics, the last one of the season.
Back home for tea and Steve got home just before I needed to go to TKD training. This evening I was the only coloured belt at training, with 17 white belt newies. It was chilly as I walked home so I'm snuggled round a nice cup of tea as I write this.
The photo is of the three boys enjoying a game of duck-duck-goose at athletics.

Brrrrhhhhhh!!

Wednesday 8th April: Cold and drizzly all day. The rain we heard last night fell as snow on Mount Studholme, which the front of our house looks on to. We schooled in the morning but we couldn't do sports in the afternoon due to the weather. Instead, two of the homeschool families came round and we played board games instead.
Peter went to Keas at 4pm then we nipped off to the shops to get more milk. We collected Peter from Keas and drove to a quiet lane on the edge of town where I picked some blackberries while the boys threw rocks in the ford across the road.
Tea is sausages and they are cooking as I write this. More snow expected tonight, down to 400m.
The photo isn't great but it's of part of the Hunter Hills, taken from our front doorstep.

Around and about

Tuesday 7th April: A grey gloomy day but quite warm. We schooled in the morning. This week we are learning about mammals. Having missed schooling on Friday and Monday we had got a little behind in our stories about Jesus and so had to play catch-up. This meant we squeezed in the stories of Palm Sunday AND the Last Supper into one session!
After lunch we walked to the library, returned a few books and borrowed lots more! We met another homeschool family there and went with them for a drink in a cafe, then picked up some milk from the supermarket and walked home.
Later in the evening it started raining and we are expecting the weather to cool down over the next few days.
The photo is of the rotunda in Boland Park in town, just down from the library.

Home with a nor'wester

Monday 6th April: Today dawned hot and sunny (again!). We left the campsite and drove back towards Christchurch, but then cut off the corner by heading west along some back roads to join the SH1 at Selwyn. A nor'wester gale had picked up so it was very hot and very blustery. At one point Steve was steering the motorhome to the right in order to go straight along the road! The land here is a completely flat, about 80kms wide between the sea and the foothills of the mountain ranges so the wind rushes down the plain. Some farmers have grown large tree hedges which give some protection. Above us the in sky was an amazing cloud - it was dark grey and so textured and thick you could imagine it was a piece of thick fleecy material you could grab hold of.
For lunch we left the main road slightly to visit Geraldine. Lots of people have told us we would like Geraldine as we are English, but some of the charm was obviously lost on us. There were more red brick houses than usual and an eclectic mix of small shops and a pretty park. We had fish and chips for lunch, then drove the remaining hour home. En route we saw a car with a trailer full of huge deer antlers, and fields alight where farmers are burning the stubble.
We got home at 3pm and by 3.15 we were walking to gymnastics, ran home for a 15-minute tea, walked Edward to Cubs, then home for 10 minutes before the 15 minute walk to TKD. Home at 8.30pm to enjoy a nice cup of tea with Desperate Housewives and Spooks.
The photos are of the playground in the campsite with the steep volcanic hills behind; the playground in Geraldine; and a motorhome numberplate that made us laugh. You need to say it out loud a few times to get it, but yes, it does belong to a retired dairy farmer!