Another Wedding Another Birthday.

Saturday was rather windy when we arrived at Bel Haven Wentworthville for the wedding of Tony's ex work colleagues, Vicki and Neil at 4pm. We had the right day this time. The ceremony was held outside and the bride was late so I was glad when it was over so we could go inside and get warm. The place it was held at was where Catherine had her reception when she married Allan and it was then owned by Johnny Lockwood. Johnny was an actor and was on of the stars in 96 the serial on many moons ago.

After we had eaten and it was around 8.15pm and the speeches hadn't started we thought we

had better make a move before they did as it would be rude to walk out in the middle of them.....and you know how speeches waffle on. So we missed out on the wedding cake......and it looked such a lovely cake. We set our Navman on to Gordon Golf Club and headed for David's 60th surprise party. There were mainly teachers there from all the different schools he had taught and some from teachers college. They tell us David was surprised and had no idea that this was happening particularly as it was a couple of weeks after his birthday. Amanda had done a good job at organising and keeping it secret. David got a second surprise when we arrived and said he just thought we had not been invited.

This picture of the group was taken after everyone had left. Yes. I have on the same outfit I wore to the 50th Wedding Anniversary. Kristy did not attend as she had a migraine.

I have won the money for the second week in a row at our Monday Euchre night. Both times I have had to share 1st prize so hopefully I can win it by myself next week.

I looked after Felise and Jake as Kerry-Ann was working today instead of Thursday. So after hanging the clothes on the line, Jake having some yogurt and getting the children dressed we ventured off to Earlwood Library for Storytime for the under 5's. Felise got two chairs out, one for Jake and one for herself to sit on. They watched a short video then Steven read a few stories about pigs. Felise got a bit bored with the stories and proceeded to explore the library and give me lots of cuddles. Jake decided to stack all the chairs up and hide. When the singing started they both enjoyed this and Felise participated and Jake watched. They then coloured in pictures of a pig. This finished about 12 noon so then we went to McDonalds for lunch. When we pulled up at Mcdonalds Felise said "this is where David and Simone took me". We had nuggets and french fries and Felise polished off some for Jake. They then had a play in the playcentre before we returned home. After a drink of milk Jake was ready for a sleep and Felise got out the Lotto and won both games. We were just beginning to play a game where you take the children to Big school when Mummy came home.

Tomorrow is Craig's Birthday. Happy 39th Birthday Craig.

The red face of Luna Park

Photos of Bondi Beach and Luna Park

I awoke this morning and glance towards the open window and could see a red tinge outside. First I thought there was something wrong with my eyes so I got up and looked out. The sky was an eerie red/brown colour so I put on the news and found out it was a dust storm. Apparently there has not been one like this in Sydney since 1944. The wind has gradually been getting heavier throughout the day and rain is expected towards the evening. We have tickets to the Sounds of Ireland (something like Riverdance) at the Lyric Theatre at Star City tonight so I am hoping the weather is not going to be as bad as they expect.

A funny thing happened last Saturday. We were going to a wedding at 4.pm. I had arranged all the clothes we were wearing on the bed and was just about to wash my hair and get ready when I saw the wedding card and asked Tony did he want me to write it out. He said yes, so I got the invitation to make sure I spelt the names correctly and found that the wedding was not until the 28th, next Saturday. The thing is we had already made other arrangements for next Saturday .......Dancing 10 lunch at Raymond Terrace and in the evening brother, David's surprise 60th Birthday at Gordon Golf Club. So as we take another 3 people in our car to Raymond Terrace and we had to cancel, they have changed the date to 31st Oct. We will go to the wedding and then arrived later at David's party and he can get a second surprise.

AOTEAROA - Land of the long white cloud

On arrival in Christchurch we were taken to The Grand Chancellor hotel to meet up with our fellow travellers, Coach Captain, Leigh and Tour Director, Cheryl, for a welcome dinner. There were 25 on the tour; 17 of which had already completed a tour of the North Island. We were among the 8 that were only doing the South Island and we all seem to hit it off ok. The dinner was a delicious smorgasbord and after eating retired to our rooms for an early night as we had to be up at 5 am with bags packed and outside our door by 6pm the same time as breakfast. This sought of thing was to happen throughout the tour with the exception of Queenstown where we stopped in the same hotel for 2 days.

On our first day our coach left us to catch the Tranz Alpine train and would met up with us again at Arthurs Pass. The view from the train was breathtaking as it passed fields and farmland of the Canterbury Plains and followed the gorges and river valleys of the Waimakariri River into the South Alps. When we disembarked at Arthurs Pass we continued on to Hokitika to see skilled craftsmen carving Pounamo (Jade) or that was supposed to be what we saw but Tony and I decided to explore the town instead. After lunch with viewed the awesome Franz Josef Glacier and experienced a scenic helicopter flight with a snow landing.

We stayed overnight at Fox Glacier

Day 3 we travelled through the sub-tropical rainforest to Haast Pass and viewed the spectacular Thunder Creek Falls. Visited popular Arrowtown, a quaint and historic gold mining town. Continued on to picturesque Queenstown where our hotel room overlooked beautiful Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range. The mountains were allegedly named The Remarkables because they are one of only two mountain ranges in the world which run directly north to South. An alternate explanation for the name given by locals is that early Queenstown settlers, upon seeing the mountain range during sunset one evening, named them The Remarkables to describe the sight. We dined in style that night. Picture shows Tony and I with Peter and Gina, a couple who live at Thornleigh and dine at Zacs.
Day 4 was a free day in Queenstown. We took a ride by gondola to the skyline complex on Bob's Peak and discovered a view like no other spread out before you in a spectacular panorama. From Coronet Peak to the north, The Remarkables mountain range to the east and across the deep blue waters of Lake Wakatipu to Cecil and Walter Peaks in the southwest, it was magnificent and awe inspiring. The only time it rained the whole trip was this afternoon so we had lunch and ventured around the town. Late in the afternoon we boarded a vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw to cruise Lake Wakatipu and then enjoyed a wine tasting and dinner at Walter Peak High Country Station followed by a farm tour. I got to feed a baby lamb, it was awesome.

On the way back on the boat we had a singalong.

Day 5 we travelled through the breathtaking Fiordland National Park, where lush rainforests meet snow capped mountains. Then boarded the boat for an unforgettable cruise on Milford Sound, the most accessible of Fiordland's magnificent glacier fiords. Lush green rainforest clung to sheer rock walls washed with waterfalls and in the foreground was Mitre Peak, a majestic presence dominating the skyline. Tony got a fantastic video of the waterfalls but in doing so was drenched by the spray. The water in the lake was so calm and peaceful and you could see the reflection of the flora in the water. We returned to the lakeside town of Te Anau for an overnight stay at the Luxmore Hotel. On the long journey back, as there is only one road in and out of Milford Sound, they put on a New Zealand film called "Whale Rider".

Photos show the tunnel going into Milford Sound by coach & on the boat. Also the Kea which is a species of parrot found in forrested and alpine regins of the South Island. He was very tame and came up right inside the bus. He is used to tourists and wanted food but it is illegal to feed them as they must find the correct food for themselves and not eat our food which is junk to them.

Tony catching a fish in Te Anau

On day six we had the option of having an overnight stay with the local people in the countryside of Dunedin or at the Kingsgate Hotel. Everyone opted for the hotel. Dunedin is a university city of Scottish heritage and New Zealand's oldest city. This is where Kerry's husband, Michael was born and his Mum and Dad still live. I rang his Mum but we did not have enough spare time to visit her. The night before we arrived there had been riots among the students from different universities throughout the South Island. However, we didn't see any evidence of this when we arrived. We certainly felt a bit out of place as everybody walking along the street seemed to be students. Baldwin St in Dunedin is regarded by the Guinness Book of Records as being the steepest street in the world - 35% gradient

The next day we went to Larnach Castle in Dunedin. This was more like an magnificent old house rather than a castle but it did have the turrets on the top. It was built in 1871 and during our guided tour we heard about its tragic and scandalous history. After exploring the large garden we headed off along the Waitaki River to Omarama to see the Moeraki Boulders.

Tony standing on a Boulder

The Moeraki Boulders are huge spherical stones that are scattered over the sandy beaches, but they are not like ordinary round boulders that have been shaped by rivers and pounding seas. These boulders are classed as septarian concretions, and were formed in ancient sea floor sediments. They were created by a process similar to the formation of oyster pearls, where layers of material cover a central nucleus or core. For the oyster, this core is an irritating grain of sand. For the boulders, it was a fossil shell, bone fragment, or piece of wood. Lime minerals in the sea accumulated on the core over time, and the concretion grew into perfectly spherical shapes up to three metres in diameter.

The original mudstone seabed has been uplifted to form coastal cliffs. Erosion of the cliffs has released the three tonne captive boulders, which now lie in a haphazard jumble across the beach. Further erosion in the atmosphere has exposed a network of veins, which gives the boulders the appearance of turtle shells. Similar boulders occur at Shag Point, and the nearby swimming beach of Katiki. In Hawke's Bay in the North Island, scientists have found that the central core of similar boulders contained perfectly preserved skeletons of turtles, sea snails and extinct reptiles, such as plesiosaurs.

After spending the night at the Heritage Gateway Hotel in Dunedin we headed off pass picturesque Lake Pukaki and stopped and viewed Mt Cook. They say it is very rare to see Mt Cook as it is generally covered in cloud but we were lucky. We continued on to the glacier-fed lake of Tekapo, where we saw the Church of the Good Shepherd, situated right on the lakes edge. The glacial blue waters are amazing. This was day 8 and our farewell dinner was tonight back in Christchurch where our tour officially ends. The next day was a free day to enjoy the sights of Christchurch. We ventured to the Museum then on to the Botanical Gardens where we managed to get lost and found we had been walking around in circles. Eventually we found our way out. We walked for kms to find a Golf Club House so we could buy a golf shirt with an emblem on for David's 60th. We found one and also brought a cap to match. However, when we got it home found that it was a women's one as it buttoned on the opposite side.......what a shame we should have payed more attention. We did tell the lady it was for my brother.

Pictures or Coach Captain, Leigh and Tour Director, Cheryl - Our travellers companions -

Farewell dinner (on the left is Leigh, Christine, his mother, Gina and Peter and on the right, Tommy and Cathie, myself and Tony).

The final day all we wanted to do was get home. We really enjoyed our trip but could not have taken living out of a suitcase and strict schedule for much longer. Eight days on the coach was enough. We certainly couldn't have done the North Island as well. We were also lucky to have such a nice group of people that all got on so well and worked together otherwise it could have been a nightmare.

In the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch





Me walking like a penquin on Franz Josef Glacier

50 years wed

Last weekend we had a 50th Wedding Anniversary to go to. Our friends, Janet and Tony, were celebrating this special occasion with about 40 friends and family at a dinner held at Ridges Hotel, Camperdown.

This is a view from our hotel room.

We arrived at the hotel at about 3pm and checked into our room. Cocktails were not being served until 6.30pm and dinner at 7.30pm so we had time to go for a walk. We thought we would make our way down to Chinatown as somebody had told us you find lots of money around there. We got as far as Broadway and the big shopping centre when Tony had had enough walking and wanted to go for coffee. We had coffee and a look around the centre then made our way back to the hotel for a rest before getting ready for dinner. Tony had brought along a suit to wear but was not sure if he was overdressed. So I had to go downstairs first and check everyone out. I found Janet had the same skirt on as me but it was black so would not be so noticeable. About half had suits on so Tony was ok. The food was delicious. I have enclosed a copy of the menu.

It was like a wedding reception with cake and speeches. Tony and I even said a few words on the microphone. There was dancing and .......there was dancing and at one stage I had the floor to myself. The room was booked to Eleven and people began to disperse either to their hotel rooms, home or on to a night spot. Being the oldies we are we went to our room and saw the last 2 minutes of the South's game which they won in the last 14 seconds. Next morning everyone met up for breakfast at 8.30am and Janet and Terry got a big suprise when they saw their photo in the Sunday Telegraph.

My lastest craze

I have been neglecting my blog lately due to the fact that Farmville has taken over my life. Since Kerry Ann introduced me to Farmville I seem to spent most of my time planting crops and harvesting them. That is apart from looking after all my livestock and trees. I didn't think farm life would be so consuming. I even have to rush home so that I can harvest my crops before they die. I lost my strawberry crop some time again and didn't want that experience again. At the moment I am saving up to buy a Manor. This is a picture of my farm in miniature. It is actually Tony's farm because it is on his facebook but I run it. I will have to just plow my land and leave it without any crops when we go to New Zealand on Tuesday as there is nothing that takes 10 days to grow. I have six neighbours and need two more so if anyone would like to be my neighbour let me know.


Craig has been quite stressed out at work and needed a few days away so we looked after Emily on Sunday. We went to Parramatta Park for a picnic with Kerry, Felise and Jake. I packed a lunch of dip and biscuits, chips, sandwiches, mini cup cakes and strawberries. We munched into these then went to the playground for some fun. Unfortunately I lost my good watch. It must have come unclipped, so although everyone enjoy themselves, there was a hint of disappointment. Next day Tony went out and brought me a $10 one from BigW which is just as good as it does the same thing; lets me know the time.









On Thursday I hung out a line full of clothes for Kerry while looking after Jake. Rain was forecast but it turned out to be a very sunny morning and I took Jake to the park where he played on the pirate ship and ran around chasing all the birds. When we returned home we had lunch and I didn't realise it was starting to rain. When I did, I grab Jake and rushed out to bring in the clothes that were nearly dry. When I looked around Jake was standing there and the raining was pouring down on him. The look on his face was priceless. He looked at me as if to say "where's this water coming from. its all over me". He thought it was fun.

I'm about to pack my overnight bag as we are staying at Rydges Hotel, Camperdown tomorrow night. Our friends, Terry and Janet from Stanmore are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary with a dinner at the hotel. They were going to hire John Paul Young to perform but he wanted $15,000 for the night which was way too much so they have settled for a substitute.