Surfing

Another Auckland based weekend.
I headed up on Friday evening on the bus, as Si was already up in Auckland on a paeds conference. Friday was a nice lazy evening with Gem watching a movie.
Saturday we packed up Chips van and headed up north to find some surf. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great and neither was the surf, but it didnt matter, we had fun. Saturday evening we were meant to be staying up north camping but as the weather was rubbish we decided that it would be better to head back down to Auckland for the evening. We checked out an amazing Japanese restaurant followed by a few drinks in a nice bar near Gems.

Sunday we got up early again in search of more surf, which unfortunately was alot further away but worth it. By the end of the day we were all suitably knackered and surfed out.

Auckland Birthday Weekend

Friday afternoon we went up to Auckland to attend a friends wedding at one of the vineyards, unfortunately in coincided with a storm that hit the North Island for 24 hours...so the outdoor wedding was moved indoors, still a beautiful wedding with a stunning bride.

Saturday Si and I spent the day together in Auckland whilst Gem was at a conference. Saturday night we joined a few friends that had come up for the weekend for another friends birthday. Turned out to be a pretty heavy one, great night!

Sunday we we went round to a friend place to have a good sunday brunch followed by chilling in the spa. Sunday evening we had a nice dinner with Gem in her new place with a movie before heading back to Auckland.

Birthday weekend

The weekend turned out to be the best birthday EVER!!
On the Friday afternoon 10 of us drove over to Rotorua to meet in an amazing huge holiday home. We went out for a good dinner in the pig and whistle before going back to the house to meet Gem, Bea and Bekha for some drinks, games and hot tub action. Saturday we got up nice and early to head to the river for river sledging (or so Gemma thought) however, we turned up much to her surprise at the skydive centre......HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEMMA!
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING...plus to add more to the experience, James Nesbitt did the skydive right before us, major star stuck.....LOVE HIM!

After the skydive we headed back into town for lunch before ACTUALLY going river sledging and guess who we bumped into again....James Nesbitt! River sledging was really cool, but actually quite scary really fast rapids with a big heavy sledge, several bruises and 1 black eye later (not mine) and we were all heaving our knackered bodies out the water. Good fun!!
Saturday night we were expecting a heavy one, but didnt have the energy so we just headed into town for a nice meal together (again, bumping into James Nesbitt - think he was stalking us!) before heading back to the house for more games.

Sunday we started our day with a nice brunch before heading up the gondola for some luging. Again, great fun, similar to go karting but down hill and basic brakes. After luging we headed to one of Rotorua's lakes for some chilling time and swimming before heading back to Hamilton

Wet weather fun in the Waikato

The forecast for the weekend was set to be terrible. Luckily we had not a lot planned after the friday night....which was an OUTDOOR concert with Brooke Fraser, Opshop & Midnight Youth. Unfortunately it absolutely chucked it down but we didnt let it bother us to much as we were fully kitted out in waterproof gear and lots of brollys - might have got slightly diluted wine, but since the concert was at a winery there was plenty flowing!
Saturday we had a shopping day looking for birthday pressies for myself and Gem followed by the Chiefs match, in which we FINALLY saw them win - BONUS! After the party we headed over to a friends place for their house party, barbie/action man themed.....groan! Good fun anyway, one of the best house parties in a long while - maybe improved by the fact they had a swimming pool and sauna!
We spent most of Sunday sleeping it off and chilling!

The weekend we were meant to be canyoning!

Saturday was spent studying for upcoming exams. Simon picked up a locum Saturday shift with the paeds department.
Sunday, we planned to have an amazing day canyoning at The sleeping God canyon, about an hour and a half north of here. The plan was to meet Gem and her friend there and then head back to Hamilton after. At 6am we got up and drove up to the Coromandel to get a phone call from Gem saying that they'd decided to cancel the trip based on the overall 'fitness' of the group. The website claimed you only needed moderate level of fitness, which we all think we have. Turned out, that after all our complaining and ringing head office, the 2 guides were just trying to palm us off with excuses as they couldn't be bothered. We even got a phone call from the company boss who was in Chile at the time, saying he couldn't explain his guides actions but was sorry. We were absolutely fuming after getting up at 6am to do it. So instead we headed up to auckland and went on a little adventure up a river and had our own little canoning experience before heading over to a friends for a much needed BBQ. Not bad day in the end.

Tramping NZ

This weekend, since the weather wasn't meant to be great, we decided to do some true kiwi tramping.
However, before we started with that we decided to have a good night out in Auckland. A girls night and a boys night. Gem, Bea, Sophie and I met up with Gem at a friend of hers in Grafton where we had a lovely meal and some wine before heading into Ponsenby for a few drinks. Really great evening, good company, good chat. we headed home around 2am.

Saturday we got up feeling a little sore, but packed ourselves up to head over to the Coromandel for a bit of tramping. So, with 15kg on our backs (probably less, but felt like more) with food and overnight stuff we headed out on the Kauaeranga Kauri Trail to see the Pinnacles. After 3 1/2 hrs of relentless uphill (in the drizzle and rain) we made it to the Pinnacles hut, where we were staying the night along with 75 other people. Great hut, purpose built for trampers with 40 bed dorms and cooking facilities, long drops and cold showers. Had a fantastic evening meeting new people and enjoying a few glasses of wine (yes, we carried up wine) before retiring to our well deserved bunks. In the morning we awoke to yet more overcast weather, but we decided what the heck we came this far, we'll do the extra 40mins to the summit, even if their is no view. However, by the time we got up there the sun started to burn through the cloud and we managed to catch some amazing views.
Heading back down took about 4 hours which I'd like to say was much easier, but truth is we still found it a struggle. The tramping was such a great achievement. Dont think I've ever trekked with that much weight on my back before, and I have the bruises to prove it!

That evening Si and I headed back down to Hamilton for a lovely early night.

Weekend with my Sis

Unfortunately Si was working the weekend, so I was gonna have to spend another weekend without him :(
Friday night, however we managed to go out for a few drinks in Hamilton to see off Jen, who is heading back to the UK. Really nice evening with a good bunch of people. Gem joined us around 11.30 when we thought it was probably a good idea to head back home as Si had to be in work in the morning.

Saturday Gem and I got up reasonably early and headed south back down to the climbing spot we went to a few months back. Unfortunatley the weather wasnt as great but the place we went to wasnt a place that mattered if it was a little wet as there are lots of overhangs and trees protecting us. Had a great day back there and did alot better than I did last time I was there. Even managing to lead climb a route that I had struggled on last time. Around 6ish we headed back to Hamilton to catch up with Si who had managed to get off work a little early. A few of our friends were around that evening so we all got together for a film and a curry!

Sunday we had a pretty lazy day. Gem had to head back early to meet a friend so I spent the rest of the day studying. Not so exciting but very productive day.

Scuba.....nope climbing weekend

So the plan this weekend was to go scuba diving at poor knights, north of Auckland. Apparently one of the best dive spot in NZ. Unfortunately on Friday morning, news came through of a big cyclone due to hit exactly the spot that we were diving at. So, with the diving off we were left without a plan for the weekend. Si was sorted as he had already booked to go down to Christchurch with James to visit a friend.
After being a bit annoyed that the weekend was off (and with no-where to stay in Auckland on Friday night) My boss suggested that I get a hotel room for me and Gem and we spoil ourselves for the night. So I decided to do it in style.....I picked Gem up after my mammoth trip of getting up to Auckland and took her to the Langham for the night. Complete 5 star indulgence package, where we had full valet service awaiting us, champagne in our room, and full use of the spa facilities. After cracking open the champagne, we headed up to the spa for a few hours, swimming in the rain then enjoying the sauna and jacuzzi! After that we dolled ourselves up and went for an AMAZING dinner where we picked our own choice of fresh fish, meat...well whatever we wanted an it was all cooked up in front of us, complete with fresh pancakes, waffles and chocolate fountain to finish...um, um ummmm!
The next morning we got up bright and early to enjoy more use of the spa facilities before a full buffet type swanky breakfast (which we both felt we under achieved on:(

At 10am we headed off down to Mt Maunganui for a spot of climbing and surfing with a few of Gems climbing friends (a few of the people who were scheduled to be on the dive trip). After 4 hours (due to road closures and queues) we arrived to find that the access to the climbing walls had been closed due to land slips from the cyclones. We then thought about surfing but the swell was over 8ft and far too dangerous for the likes of me! After having lunch and feeling downtrodden about our weekend we researched other things to do and found a wall about 1.5hrs away that we thought if we got up early we could make the most of the next day.
So that evening we went and enjoyed ourselves in the hot pools before heading out for dinner and a relatively early night!

Sunday we got up at 6am and packed up the tents to head off climbing.......and what a climb site it was. Towering 80ft walls straight from the beach - absolute paradise, AND we were the only ones on the beach, in the most perfect weather conditions. Could not ask for more. Had probably one of my best days in Nez Zealand (and thats saying something!)Little did we know that you can only get off the beach at low tide so we were stranded in paradise for 10 hours - shame. By the time we got off the beach it was getting dark so we headed back to Auckland.

Monday was spent having lunch with a good friend of Gems as well as helping her sort through a load of bits and pieces.

So all in all - a great weekend for backup plan 4!!

Auckland and Engagement

All week Si has been away in Thames on brat camp (well, diabetes camp to him) so after announcing our engagement I've not even had the chance to really see him. I therefore decided it was a good idea to arrange an engagement party for the 2 of us with a few friends on Friday night. Was a really nice evening with a fairly decent turnout. Even Gem, James and Bea made it down from Auckland for the weekend.

Saturday we got up relatively early so we could head up to Auckland to check out engagement rings. Went with Gem and Si to a few places and then the last place was a lovely designer with his own studio that drew out a few ideas for us. Was really exciting and nice to see my ideas take shape. After that we celebrated with a few glasses of champagne in a lovely local bar before heading back to Gem's place for dinner.

Sunday we were meant to go canyoning to Thames but since a torrential storm hit overnight it was all called off. Instead we went to the cinema and then to the climbing walll before heading back to Hamilton on Sunday evening.

The photo is of the beautiful flowers sent to me by Mum, Dad, Loz, Helen and Tom. Love you all.xx

Melbourne

Well, where on earth do I start!! Just to warn you this may be a very long blog, considering this was probably the most eventful holiday of my life so far (and a hell of a lot to fit into 1 week away!)

To start with we found out we got annual leave very last minute and decided to make the most of it regardless of the cost. So we booked tickets to Melbourne and took any accomodation we were able to get (which turned out to be pretty nice)

On the Saturday we headed up to Auckland to catch our flight (after nearly forgetting my passport) and the 1st leg of the trip went very well. Our transport was there to meet us and we arrived safely at our accomodation in central Melbourne around midnight.

The next day we went exploring, it was a bit over cast (little did we know it was due to get worse) so we spent the day going to a few museums, having a boozy lunch then heading to the aquarium (which, being Oz had some pretty spectacular sharks) That evening we tried to go for a nice dinner but unfortunately all the good places we closed as it was Sunday and we ended up having a slightly disappointing dinner, but found an amazing quirky little bar for drinks after.
Unfortunately that night I got struck down with the worst food poisoning I have ever experienced (probably the sickest Ive ever been) the next day and a half was unfortunately spent in the hotel room, with Si being an amazing carer for me. Tried to venture out but only lasted 30mins (just enough time to book a few things for the upcoming days)
Over the next day or two after things 1st got worse, a failed trip to the ED and a successful trip to an emergency GP I started to feel like I was on the mend. And on Tuesday night I felt like I could handle an afternoon out. We ventured out to a little town called Williamstown by boat, and although it was the same time as the torrential storm hit (the one that caused the QLDs floods) it felt very good to be out of bed (even if I did become very well aquainted with the public toilets) That evening I even made it to the grand cirque, an amazing gymnastic show on at the theatre.

Wednesday I really started to improve and good job as we had a full day planned. The day started with a visit to a really nicely setup local animal sanctuary where we got to hand feed the likes of Koala, Kangeroos, wallabies as well as see emus, wombats, dingos, kookaburras, tasmanian devils etc... So so cool.
After that we went to a local farm to see sheep shearing?!?!?!? (not something we planned) then went onto another Koala reserve which was great because it was a walkway between all the eucalyptus trees where the koala all live. After that we headed over to Philip Island for the highlight of our trip.....THE PENGUINS!!
After visiting a local sanctuary we headed down to the beach to a purpose built stand to watch all the penguins come in from the sea after their day of feeding, they are so amazing and you got to see them waddle right past you looking for their nests to feed their young. Great experience. That took us late into the night and we arrived back to Melbourne around midnight.

Thursday we had a sight seeing and Melbourne day. Unfortunately it was pissing it down with rain most the day, but we still managed to enjoy some sights, ride the tram, visit the home of the Melbourne open (in the rain) and have a lovely lunch. That evening we went out for a lovely meal followed by some drinks at a really cool rooftop bar (the rain had finally stopped)

Friday (THE DAY!) we woke to horrendous torrential rain, oh well - we had arranged to pick up a hire car for the day and head out to the great ocean road. Luckily after about 2 hours the weather settled and started to improve. The day was spent mostly in the car with a few lovely stops for surf shop outlets, art galleries, view point, including the 12 apostles, the highlight of the great ocean road. On our way back for the evening we stopped at another widelife sanctuary, which turned out to be no sanctuary, I've never seen such a depressed bunch of animals, even the kangeroos had no bounce left. Really sad :(
That evening however, we rocked up to our hotel, unbeknownst to us to be a 5 start AMAZING place, never stayed anywhere like it! After a quick shower we headed out for dinner where we had an amazing fresh fish dinner on the restaurant balcony overlooking the sea, was so so good. On arriving back at the hotel room that evening, in true Sallie style I sat down to check out what time breakfast was only to notice that Simon was down on one knee!!!!! Needless to say I was SHOCKED (and cried quite alot) The next 2 hours was spent in desperate attempts to get hold of family and friends and pass on the good news.

Saturday we got up to a lovely breakfast, went for a nice wander around the town then carried on our journey. We saw loads (and loads) of Koala in the trees, went to check out the oldest Lighthouse in Oz and have a lovely picnic on the beach before heading back to Melbourne. After arriving back in Melbourne we went to check out the Melbourne open qualifiers which were being played well into the evening before going for a nice dinner and a few drinks....AND we even caught a glimpse of Djokovic at the casino!

Sunday saw the end to our hols, we were told our pick-up would be at 2 so we thought it was a good opportunity to catch more tennis. Started out to be a good day, which then escalated to chaos, when at 2.30 (1.5 hours before our flight) our transport still hadn't arrived, we had a mad rush to get a cab - major panic, arrived at airport 55mins before our flight (check in desk closes 1 hour prior to flight) luckily we had a nice check in lady that helped us anyway....and relax!

We arrived back at the airport around 10pm, went through customs and realsied we'd left a bag on the flight......DOH, what more
All turned out ok and Gem picked it up the next day....phew!!

All in all, a very eventful week!

Christmas and New Year

Sorry its late......
This year was a slightly strange Christmas, the 1st in a long time without Mum and Dad :(
However, we tried to make the most of it.

Unfortunately I was working evenings in the run up to Christmas, I arrived home at 11pm on Christmas eve to find Gem and James had joined us for the holidays. Christmas morning we awoke nice and early (6am!) as Si had to go to work at 8. I cooked him a nice breakfast of eggs and bacon, put the Christmas music on, started up skype and settled down with Mum and Dad on skype to open all our pressies. After we said goodbye to Si we headed over to Waihi beach for the next 2 days. Had a lovely few days eating lots of BBQ food and playing on the beach.
I headed back to Hamilton on boxing day evening as I needed to be in work on the Monday and Tuesday. Those 2 days passed relatively uneventfully and thankfully I was then off again till after New Year.

Wednesday morning Si and I headed up to Auckland to join James, Laura and Alex (James' brother and his wife) for the day. We spent it over on Waiheke drinking wine and enjoying the weather.
That night Si, Andy, Dai and Ash (more friends of ours) and I headed up to the Bay of Islands for the upcoming week. Unfortunately due to our faffing and time on Waiheke we didn't make it up there till well past 1am, caused a stir at the campsite and were faced with slightly rude campsite owners the next day - oops, oh well its not like we tried to be noisy.

The next morning we awoke to rain :( and headed over to Russell to find the bach that we had booked for the next 4 nights......RIGHT ONT HE BEACH FRONT!! The weather soon cleared up and we spent the rest of the day on the beach. Throughout the evening we were joined by the rest of the troop.

The next day was New Years Eve and where better to spend it than chilling and playing on the beach, with a short trip into town to get some ice creams, have a few drinks and buy our supplies for our masked party! After enjoying spending our afternoon making our masks we had a musical masked party that night with a fair few drinks to see in the new year - has to be sad it was definitely one of my favourite New Years!

New Years Day was a nice lazy start followed by a fishing trip. Although it was an amazing trip and the sun shone for us we only managed to catch 1 fish worth keeping, slightly different to our last fishing trip! We were knid enough to put him back after deciding that 1 fish would not really stretch to feed 10 hungry tummies. After our trip we opted for the much better idea of fish and chips for dinner!

On Sunday we headed over to Paihia to go back and show the others the Waitangi treaty grounds - this time remembering our passports to get in free! Set in the most beautiful grounds with the best views over the Bay of Islands. Unfortunately after the treaty grounds visit Em, Andy, Dai and Ash had to head back South to start work. We stayed in Paihia for a few drinks and met up with one of Gem's friends from home.

Monday was leaving day. We spent the day again on the beach and having a generally lazy day before heading back home in the afternoon.

Tuesday Si and I popped into the travel agents and booked our holiday for the following week - MELBOURNE HERE WE COME!!
After which we popped over to Rotorua for the day to see Alex and Laura for the last time before they headed home the following week. We visited the Kiwi house and Wai-o-Tapu.

All in all a good Christmas break!