It doesn't have to be all work!

So, the week started with a few days off and sorting things, writing presentation for work and getting my hair cut at last. Si's parents stayed with us till wednesday and enjoyed a few of the sights of Hamilton (there aren't many but can be pretty in the sunshine to head to the lake or the river) On Wednesday lunchtime we drove up to Auckland airport to see them off back home. Had a lovely few weeks together. After saying goodbye, Si and I popped over to Gem and James where we had a lovely dinner together before we headed back down to Hamilton for work the next day.

On Friday, Gem and James headed down to Hamilton for the weekend (because I was working evening shifts) Saturday we got up nice and early to make the most of the day before I had to go into work at 4pm so we headed over to Rotorua for a spot of mountain biking. The redwoods at Rotorua is a great spot which is purpose built tracks within the forest for mountain biking with courses for all levels and bikers only which makes for great fun! After just over 2 hours we headed back just in time for me to jump in the shower and head to work. When I got back in at 10pm they all looked pretty shattered after playing a few hours of tennis, then going for a run after the mountain biking- crazy fools!!
That night, I had possibly the best case scenario - I was on call back for ICU and got woken at 2am to go back to work to fly to pick up a patient, only for me to get in and tell me it was cancelled - you may think that is bad, but in fact, when I get called back into work, no matter how long I stay I get paid for a minimum of 4 hours - yey!!

The next morning we enjoyed a bit of a lazy morning, Gem cooked us a lovely breakfast of eggs benedict before we headed out to raglan for a surf. Really nice conditions in the water and could have stayed out there for hours if it wasn't for the fact that I had to get back to work.

Since the weekend I have had a few nice days in work, and a few days off in the week to prepare for the arrival of Esther Baker!

Oh, well, it just goes to show that even when I'm working the weekend I can have a really great one!

Weekend in Hamilton

This weekend we decided to have a quiet one in Hamilton.
During the week I had the place to myself as Si and his parents went down to Queenstown for 4 days. Bit of a quick trip there but they managed to see what they wanted to see and made the absolute most of it. They managed to book onto an overnight cruise to Milford Sound, which by all accounts is what you should do, but unfortunately they stop running end of May so I wont be able to when I go. Whilst on the boat they got to see the amazing sights as well as take some kayaks out onto the water to see it all up close.

Anyway, enough of what they were up to (as I can't really comment cos I wasn't there) :(
Whilst they were away I was busy in work - some really crazy shifts, but I quite like them, plus I managed to get out one night with a friend which was nice.

On Friday, they returned and I got picked up straight from work to go over to Raglan surfing, the surf wasn't amazing, but glad we went. Unfortunately the sun now sets before 6pm so wont get another after work surf in till next year. After surfing we got some tasty fresh fish and chips in Raglan.

On Saturday we were gonna go over to Taupo, but there was a severe weather warning, and none of us were really up for heading over there as we had seen a lot of what Taupo has to offer in other places in NZ. So, instead we went back to Raglan. On the way over it was torrential rain and as much as Si was getting excited about surfing in the rain, I wasn't and Si's parents can't have liked the prospect of sitting on the beach in the rain. However, luckily, when we got over there the weather cleared into a beautiful day on the beach and in the surf. Saturday night we went out for a nice meal in town, and while Si and his folks continued to drink, I headed over to a work do - the evening turned into a heavy night, when after meeting up with them in a bar at midnight the night progressed into all-round drunkenness and rolling into bed after 4pm.

Sunday, we were all feeling a little sore and took ages for us all to surface. We did however, manage to make it to a beautiful arboretum on the way out to Raglan. Nice gentle walk and good to get a bit of fresh air. Can definitely say that Sunday was a quiet night!!

Bay of Plenty with Si and his folks

During the week Si managed to have a really nice time off with his folks exploring parts of the north island whilst I went to work.
I had a very busy week in work, which as much as it knackered me I prefer to be busy. I did manage to have a nice night out on Tuesday night with the girls, where we went for a lovely meal and a few drinks.

Just to give you a little recap on what Si and his folks got up to.
Monday they went over to Raglan to check out the surf, as well as manage to see bridal veil falls (we went to see them a while ago), Tuesday they went over to Rotorua for two days where they fit in a fair few of the geothermal sights including Wai-o-tapu, kerosene creek, hells gate as well as visit a Maori village for the evening and enjoy a hangi. Thursday they had a nice relaxing day in Hamilton, with a lovely wander round the lake seeing all the wildlife and NZ birds.

On Thursday evening (because I had managed to get Friday off) we headed over to the Bay of Plenty for the weekend. We stayed at a lovely hostel in the centre of Tauranga, after a lovely (massive) meal and a few drinks we headed back for a relatively early night. The next day we had booked to do the swimming with dolphins trip that I attempted in November, unfortunately I was unlucky then so was given a free trip in the hope of seeing them this time. And did we!! We found a pod of nearly 100 common dolphins, pretty big and very very impressive. Plus we managed to get in the water to swim alongside them, unfortunately, because common dolphins like to swim fast you cant free swim with them cos they'll bugger off, so they drop you in behind the boat and get you to hold onto the back while the boats still moving - so so awesome! That night we went out for another good meal and a slightly later night.

Saturday we enjoyed a little bit of a lie in before heading over to Mount Mangaunui for a nice walk up to the summit. unfortunately it wasn't the nicest day but the views were still pretty amazing. After coming down we met up with Gem and James and headed over to Kiwi 360, where we learnt all about Kiwi farming. Not as interesting as it sounds, no really! We did have a few chuckles along the way - mainly involving Si and his stupidity. There was however, a helicopter ride down to the coast for just $59 which is only about £25. Bargain! Of course, I didn't bother with it as I fortunate enough to get the chance to fly with work. Saturday evening we got some food for a nice BBQ and had a very chilled night with beers and cards.

Sunday we had another lazy start, checked out the surf (which was rubbish) and headed over to Waihi to the Karangahake gorge which is a really nice walk and had a lovely lunch in the cafe before heading home for another busy day in work (and Si another week off), I'm telling you now, getting up Monday morning was NOT easy!!

Si's folks arrive

After a relatively easy first few nights, I finally finished on an absolute stinker. Unfortunately, that was the night I really needed an easy one as Si's parents, Roy and Thelma were arriving at lunch time on Friday. After sorting a few little essentials we headed up to Auckland airport to pick them up. Unfortunately their plane arrived early meaning we didn't see them walk through the gate but managed to find them pretty easily anyway.
From the airport, we went via Gem's work to pick her up and head back to hers. We decided that since we all had the weekend off it would be far better to spend it up in Auckland doing some relatively laid back things in order to acclimatise Roy and Thelma. Friday afternoon we sent Si up to Mt Eden for coffee and cake, whilst Gem and I went to do some food shopping. After meeting them we headed up the Mount for some pretty views over the city. That evening we cooked them some of the fish that we caught the weekend before using some of the new recipes from my new NZ fish cookbook. After a few bottles of wine and good chat we finally retired at around 10pm (not bad considering they hadn't got any real sleep on the flight over, and neither had I due to nights!)

Saturday we had a wine tour booked on Waiheke Island, so we headed over to the ferry at about midday, Gem came running along to meet us after having popped into work in the morning to do a post-op ward-round. Unfortunately the weather wasn't amazing, but had enough clearings in order to be able to take in the amazing scenery. After 3 wineries (with plenty of wine flowing) we were all feeling a little tipsy and headed back to Auckland for the evening. Luckily the weather cleared up that evening and we all enjoyed a nice BBQ before heading out to Mt Eden for drinks.

Sunday we headed over to sky tower for a nice brunch. For just $35 you can have an amazing 2 course breakfast with juice and coffee in the revolving restaurant, which is pretty good considering it costs $28 each to just go to the observation deck. We were lucky enough to get amazing weather and therefore perfect views over the city. After breakfast we went to Piha for the afternoon via a trip to a ski sale, where we spent far too much money on ski equipment for the upcoming season. Piha is one of the most famous beaches in NZ (probably cos of its location near Auckland) and is famous for the program Piha rescue (similar to Bondi rescue, but for the Kiwi's) Really stunning beach, maybe accentuated by the beautiful weather.

Sunday evening we headed back down to Hamilton, unfortunately I was in work Sunday so needed a relatively early night.