An update - I'm back in NZ and I've moved my blog!

Hi to anyone out there who may be reading!

There's a lot about Blogger.com that I love but earlier this year, I was under the impression that Blogger were closing their site.  Not sure how I came up with that and whether it's true or not but I painstakingly started moving all of my posts across to another site.  And for a person who is not great with tech stuff, it was painful! However, along the way, I managed to lose most of my followers/viewers and I'm not sure how that's happened but it has.  So for anyone who may be reading this lonely little blog that hasn't had any love for most of the year, my new blog can be found over here

http://thetravelbug.home.blog

I haven't been the most prolific writer this year, but there is almost one post a month if you average it out and I'd love for you to have a look if you're interested.  I've moved back to NZ to live so there are a couple of posts since I've arrived back 3 months ago.  

Thanks for following me here and I may continue to share my latest posts here as well.

http://thetravelbug.home.blog/2019/11/20/moving-to-nz-take-two/

Have a great rest of the month!

The things we do!

I felt it appropriate to do an early in the New Year post given so much has happened in the last year and I'm heading into a fresh new year with more dreams of this place that has a firm hold on my heart and soul. 

Although the months since returning have been somewhat challenging in a number of ways, I wanted to share one of the things that created a regular social activity for me in NZ while also giving me the opportunity to learn new skills and in turn has kept me going here since leaving the land of the long white cloud.

Any of you who know me well will know while I have oodles of patience for many things, my patience for fine, fiddly type of activities is rather limited. Knitting falls fairly and squarely within that range. 

I was taught the very basics of knitting, how to do a knit stitch and how to do a purl stitch when I was very young and have made the odd scarf or shawl in plain stitches on occasion. Of course I also used chunkier yarn and larger needles, so I was less likely to make an error and the project didn't take long to finish, giving fairly quick gratification. It works well when there is a lack of patience!

Before moving to NZ, I had discovered there was a knitting group for all ages who met at a local cafe one evening a week and I figured it might be a good place to meet people while doing something that would hopefully be fun. Admittedly I wasn't 100% sure about the fun part given my patience level with knitting, however, I thought if there was a bunch of people of various ages, then it was bound to have some fun involved anyway just from the people mix.

I mentioned this to my housemate in the days after my arrival and she pointed me in the direction of a little pop up wool shop run by the woman who started Knit Club. So off I went to acquire some supplies and information about what was available locally. It was an added bonus to find a delightful, encouraging and funny woman who was helpful, knowledgeable and ever so welcoming.

I bought a few balls of yarn in different colours and what I loved was the backstory of both the yarns and the colours which all reflected the local landscape. I decided to make just a very basic small-ish blanket to start with, one that's great to use if you're wanting to snuggle up and read a book or watch a movie.

So I got started, then went along to the next Knit Club meet with my knitting in hand. Ironically, even though I was just doing the most basic garter (plain) stitch, I'd managed to make a mistake and had somehow dropped a stitch. 

I sat down with some of the women and the one beside me had been talking with someone else before noticing I was about to start unpicking. Next thing she has my knitting in hand saying she could fix it for me which she proceeded to do quickly, making it look incredibly easy. As she handed it back, she says there you go and by the way, I'm J and shared her name. She ended up becoming someone who's company I thoroughly enjoyed each time we met.

It took me three months to complete my first project which I finished last New Year's Eve (2017). One of my sons said it reminded him of a beach towel, (not quite so politely as that though), but the beach towel blanket seems to be a good name for it as it turns out. It also seemed kind of fitting I'd completed it on New Year's Eve and from there I went ahead in leaps and bounds to have a somewhat prolific year of knitting.

I loved the weekly get togethers at the lakefront café. They were held early evening, in time for happy hour for those who wanted to indulge and often some of us also had a light evening meal as well. Lots of talking, laughing, knitting, and there was always someone to help you with whatever you were working on or wanted to know.

It became my regular social outing and I found myself looking forward to it each week. I worked shift work, not nights but varying start/finish times between 8am-8pm and I was really lucky in that I was able to arrange to always finish work early on Knit Club nights which was the start of my 'weekend' anyway.

I found myself exploring yarn stores wherever I went and it wasn't long before I had a growing stash and a number of projects in mind. I found some delicious alpaca yarn from an alpaca farm near Akaroa I couldn't resist. I haven't made anything with it yet, but do have a project in mind when I have a little more experience. The alpaca yarn is on the left hand side of the basket in the pic below and there is a heap of other yarns of varying types, colours and thickness below the ones on top.

Living in an alpine climate, I noticed that knitting is a really popular pastime with all ages and while scarves are always an easy starting point, beanies were also a popular item to knit for a beginner. I started with a really simple pattern and made a couple of those before trying a loaned pattern where I had to learn new skills. The simple pattern is the one in the middle. I made a couple of others with the same pattern that aren't in the pic as they were gifts.

I found this burnt orange yarn in a little place called Geraldine. It's super soft and really warm.

The beanie below took a few questions, not too much unpicking thankfully and once I got the hang of it, I was happy with how it came up. It's cosy, warm and easy to wear. If anything, it's slightly big for my noggin so probably wouldn't be firm enough if you were out doing some type of activity in a strong wind, like jet boating or skiing.  I've been going to make another one in this pattern but haven't got there yet.

During the winter months, there was World Knit in Public Day and it just so happened to fall on my day off. It is quite an event in Wanaka and was hosted on the foot path outside of a local café in the middle of town. Couches and easy chairs were set up, with blankets to use if you got cold given we were out in the elements on a cloudy wintery day. It was such a fun couple of hours and I loved that once again, there was quite a variety of ages from the very young right up to the not quite as young, including one brave boy who came along with his mother. A pic below with yours truly, hair tied up despite the cold to keep the wind from blowing it in my face.

During the winter, I also made a few poncho's for the little people in my life. I made one for a newborn, one for an 18 month old and one for a 3 year old, as well as doing a tiny one as part of a larger knitting group project that was part of a donation to the premmie baby unit at one of the larger hospitals. The green one was a chunky wool and while it was very soft, I should have made it on larger needles so it had more movement or flow in it and wasn't quite as stiff.

I learnt how to make some basic baby bootees and tried my hand at using different stitch patterns on a couple of scarves, before moving onto a much larger project of knitting a blanket as a special gift after one of my sons called to share the news he was engaged.

Once again, the wool I used for the blanket was local and had a beautiful back story. My son's fiancé is initially from NZ so I thought it would be a nice tribute to her heritage as well. I figured I would have enough time to complete it before my return to Aus where we were having a family catch up and engagement celebration.

I have to admit there was lots of unpicking that happened with this blanket. LOTS!! And then I'd just finished the blanket when another son announced his engagement along with the news they were expecting their second baby. I knew about the baby first (only by a couple of hours) and already had decided to knit a baby blanket with some gorgeous, incredibly soft and lightly chunky alpaca yarn that is perfect for a tiny human.

I'd seen some stitches/patterns I liked, so I ended up creating my own pattern for the baby blanket. The thing with beginners trying to create patterns is that one doesn't always know exactly how many stitches you are going to need to cast on. The blanket was about 8-10 inches long when I realised it wasn't going to be wide enough, so I pulled the whole lot undone and started over. 

I started knitting the baby blanket before I left NZ and did some knitting on the plane while I was travelling back to Australia. One hot tip is to not knit where you have to count stitches or try to follow a pattern when you are tired. Suffice to say, I had some unpicking to do when I arrived back in Australia!

I then decided to make another blanket for the second engagement, which was much easier going next time around. When that one was finished, I then made one for myself. Making one for myself had been my original intention when the wool and pattern for the cabin blanket was first released before I got side-tracked with the engagement announcements.

I have to say it was an interesting exercise knitting chunky heavy wool blankets in the tropics! I would spend some time outside on the patio first thing of a morning and knit for half an hour before I got ready for work, then in the evenings would sit under the air conditioner to do the same.

Big projects finished, I decided to be a little more adventurous and volunteered to be a test knitter for two new patterns. I've completed the first one which is a snood/cowl that can be worn by either male or female. Once again, there were new things for me to learn with this one and again I had plenty of practice at unpicking. When I finished it, I noticed more errors but have decided to leave them as an unplanned feature. As you can see below, I'm unlikely to need a snood here in the tropics but it's ready to go for another NZ winter!

I've just started the second pattern which is an alpine beanie. I'm still in the early stages which is fairly straight forward at this point but to be honest, I think I've bitten off more than I can chew with this one as there are some really complex parts to this pattern. Thankfully, I have met someone locally who is a knitter and can help me with the things I know nothing about!

I enjoyed the knitting group in NZ so much, that I started a group back here in this hot humid climate in Aus. We are a very small group, but given we started very late last year I would think that's to be expected and it will be interesting to see if the group grows in the coming months.

It's funny because I've never envisaged myself as a knitter. I'd read a couple of fiction books a few years back that had knitting groups as part of the story line and I'd loved the idea but given my lack of patience with knitting, never dreamed it would be something I would take up and thoroughly enjoy.

The surprising thing I've found despite the frustration I sometimes feel when I don't know what I'm doing or I'm having to unpick for the umpteenth time, is I actually quite enjoy the challenge and I find it relaxing. It's been great for stress relief and I find when I'm at a loose end and don't know what to do with myself, I knit.

I take my knitting everywhere and have knitted in some unlikely places at times. On planes and in cafes/restaurants is fairly standard, but I've also taken it with me when I've gone on a walk. I did the Rob Roy Glacier walk in the month before I returned and when I stopped for a break at the lookout point, I did some knitting and updated my journal. 

Plenty of times I'd been for a drive sightseeing and knitted while I enjoyed the surroundings. I also used to take a book to read and my knitting to the Lavender Farm as it's always a good place to relax a while.

So one never knows what is around the corner when it comes to creativity. I would say to never say never as one day you may find something you thought was not your cup of tea so to speak, actually is!

Since returning to Australia, I've found knitting also brings me comfort because 99% of the yarn I have was purchased in NZ, so in some little weird way it makes me feel closer to the place.

For now I'm going to see how this fancy beanie turns out and I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to wear it and the snood when I return. That's it for now folks, thanks if you made it the whole way through a knitting post especially if you're a non knitter!

Navigating one's way through overwhelm

Trying to stay positive while feeling overwhelmed. Now, isn’t that just a bundle of fun to try and navigate! I promise this isn't going to be a full on rambling negative post, rather a 'this is where I've been and a where to from here' kind of a post. So after returning from NZ, life has been something along these lines. Warning - it's going to sound a bit like a verbal vomit to start with! 

When you feel you’ve made a massive mistake and you’re trying not to beat yourself up about it because there were sound reasons for doing what you did. When you struggle to get out of bed some days and don’t want to leave the house but you do because you have to. When you can’t get out of your own way to do much that’s productive. When you feel crappy despite the fact you can usually manage to plaster a smile on your face and act ‘normal’ whatever normal is. Or when you feel crappy one minute, okay the next and you feel a sudden little burst of energy or the I can do this, or it’s all good, it’s part of the plan and you’re all good for a few hours maybe even a day or so, then you crash again. 

When you couldn’t be bothered cooking decent meals sometimes and your freezer isn’t big enough to create a bunch of freezer meals on the good days in preparation for the not so good days, while still being grateful and loving the fact you actually have a fridge/freezer after living with a tiny bar fridge for 8 months. And ta daaa.. the last gem (it's a long one that totally ignores the rules of grammar just like the one above) - when you feel even crappier for feeling the way you feel because you also feel don’t really have any good reason to feel that way and because you are so incredibly fortunate you have had the experience of your life and although you didn’t want to come back, you’ve been lucky enough to return to a good job and live in a nice little unit that's handy to everything with water front views, hence you have no damn right to feel so down in the dumps.

Phew! Big eh? Round and round that's gone on, hand in hand with a big sense of de-ja-vu. Without meaning to come across as a spoilt petulant child for the whingy-ness above, the adjustment to returning has been a wilder, more challenging ride than I ever anticipated. Add to that some other personal stuff (apologies for the word stuff but it's one of those words than can cover anything and everything, including those you don't know how or don't want to put a label on or don't want to share in a public forum as such), feeling homesick for NZ, missing my family even though I've been living away from them for 4 years and it makes for a big old cauldron of issues simmering away.

Clearly, I couldn't continue on this path and lead an altogether functional life at the same time. I needed to find some strategies to manage this mess of yuck I was feeling. Any one of those things on their own can be enough to deal with but it seemed like I was in a cycle of one constantly feeding into another, if that makes sense.

I also felt that it was becoming somewhat self-indulgent to keep letting this get on top of me to the degree it was. I was starting to become a little scared that I would get stuck in this space of not feeling good. It's a weird mix of feeling an enormous sense of gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful year I'd had and then feeling guilty for feeling so bad now. So I set about looking at what I could do to minimise the impact this was having.

For me, that's not only about pulling everything back to the basics, but also about planning ahead. I'm one of those people who needs to have something to look forward to, some smaller goals and at least one bigger one. I need to look at the smaller stuff so I can work my way through to the bigger stuff and identify what I need to do in between to achieve it and scatter some things to look forward to along the way, regularly spaced out of course! 

Where to start! That in itself can be bigger than Ben Hur. Basically just pick a place, any place and start. I've found it doesn't matter where I start, once I have a pen and journal of some description in my hand, (particularly one with dividers for those of us who love stationery porn) it just kind of comes together. 

One of the first things I did was look at my finances. There were some things there I wanted to sort and I have gone as far as looking 6 months ahead in detail. I had also attended a Women and Finance workshop just after returning to Townsville and then did a short course to follow up. It gave me more food for thought and I acted on some of the hints and tips given there. Once I knew all was relatively okay there and I had a plan for moving forward, I was more at ease with all of that.

As noted numerous times, I have felt homesick for New Zealand which I know seems crazy when I wasn't born and raised there. However, that's the best way I know to describe how I feel. So I set about putting up a couple of panoramic postcards and some other photo's I took over there at home and at work. If I'm feeling lost or in turmoil, they are grounding for me and have a sense of peace about them. 

Getting rid of things or distancing myself from situations that make me feel bad and/or are dysfunctional in some way has helped hugely. It's amazing how much of an impact this has on how I feel at any given time.

I leave my personal phone on silent not only at work, but also at home now. That also brings me a sense of peace rather than being a source of anxiety and stress each time it makes a noise. When I do catch up with my family and friends by phone or Skype, I tend to have longer conversations with them.

I am trying to eat better. I'm not always successful with that, but I'm certainly putting in a lot more effort than I was. I've started taking some vitamins and am mostly remembering to take them daily. I'm going to bed earlier and enjoying a mug of herb tea beforehand. My current favourite is a blend of chamomile and spearmint.

I started a knitting group and while I had initially aimed to host the group weekly, I found it too much when I was struggling to do the day to day stuff so I changed it to fortnightly and that works well. There are times when I still have to force myself to get out and attend, however, I always enjoy the interaction once I'm there and it keeps me knitting which I find relaxing. 

Each week I set myself some small goals to achieve. I don't always achieve all of them but I'm mostly achieving at least half, often more. They are nothing earth shattering and sometimes just revolve around the day to day things that we do in our lives, but it helps to remind me that I'm moving and doing things and basically functioning.

I've started planning a return trip to NZ. I've not made solid plans as yet such as booking flights, but I have a vague time frame and have mapped out what I'd like to do in the days when I first arrive. 

I have managed to catch up with all of my immediate family again now since my return and have just had an early Christmas celebration with my sons and their families. There is a new baby due to join the family in January and while again, I don't have a solid time frame yet, I am looking forward to flying to Brisbane to meet the baby once he or she arrives. 

I want to do some writing, as in a bigger chunk of work. I have a bunch of ideas going through my head, so at the moment, I'm trying to capture those thoughts on paper in dot point form so I can hopefully string it all together.

I listen to my body more. Basically, if I'm tired, I rest. If I'm not feeling social or I'm feeling sad/out of sorts/peopled out, then I do whatever it is I need to do to feel okay. Sometimes this is a shower/bath with no lights on or just a candle burning. Sometimes I read, sometimes I knit (speaking of which, I've completed some projects that I'm delighted with), sometimes I write letters, sometimes I walk or go sit on the rocks and look for turtles, although it's so stinking hot and humid here that the walking and watching for turtles is an occasional thing at the moment rather than a regular thing.

Once a day, usually first thing in the morning when it's just coming light and everything is quiet, I take the time to jot down the things I appreciate and am grateful for. It helps immensely. I have also printed a page and pinned it on the wall next to my bed where I see it before I go to sleep and when I first wake up with words by Melody Beattie about gratitude. 

I try not to feel guilty about the way I've been feeling. It is what it is and that's okay. By being pro-active about finding strategies to manage it, I'm already having more better days than not so good days. Yes, I still feel blah from time to time but it's not as frequent, it's generally less intense and by reminding myself that I have some plans in place and a purpose to what I'm doing, then it eases and I get on with my day. 

Well that's enough waffling from me. If you made it this far, thank you. I promise to write a more upbeat post next time! And just because I can, here's a couple of my favourite pics.

Back in Aus... for now!

It has been six weeks since I returned to Australia and boy oh boy have I missed that land of the long white cloud! 

It was fantastic to see and spend time with family again. Lots of individual catch ups with an engagement celebration for one of my sons thrown into the mix, giving us a perfect opportunity to all be together at the same time in the same place.

Although the time difference between NZ and Australia is minimal, I was caught off guard by how long it took me to adjust. I wasn't expecting that, although who knows, there may be an element of female, age and hormones too!

Time with family went too fast and it wasn't long before it was time to make the long trip north back to Townsville, where I was due to return to my job following my 12 month leave of absence. Thankfully I had someone along with me to share the driving, given it's a 2-3 day trip.  You can do it much quicker if you don't mind long hours behind the wheel but 5-7 hours is more than enough for me.  

My intention had been to spend no more than 5 hours max in the car each day as I was having some issues with sciatica, however, a couple of minor mishaps blew that out the window and big days were had instead. It was so dry compared to the spring colours and snow we had just before I left.

Right from the get go leaving Brisbane, I had this over riding feeling that I was making a rather large mistake in coming back. It's been hard to shake that feeling, however, there is purpose to my return and I will stay a while to sort a few things that need sorting.

I have been a little overwhelmed at times by the feelings of homesickness for Wanaka. Is that even a thing? Homesickness for a place you were not born in or grew up in? I don't know, but homesick is the easiest way to explain the deep sadness and longing to be back there that I've been experiencing.

So it's been about finding ways to manage all of that while I settle back in and give myself a fair chance to do what I need to do. The biggest one has been around gratitude and the wisdom of none other than Dr Seuss. 

Yes, I definitely smile because it happened. I am so very grateful that I have been able to create the opportunity to follow my dream and I loved every moment of it. Without a doubt, it has been one of the best experiences of my life. 

The second big one is to remember the why. Why am I doing this? Coming back from a place and community I love and feel very much at home in, to live in a place where I don't have that same sense of connectedness and into a climate I truly dislike. 

On those down days, it helps me to remember my whys, my purpose in coming back. One is to spend a little time with my Dad who is in his late 80's and is now just 5 hours up the road rather than a country away - we are not particularly close, he is hearing impaired and has short term memory loss so we've had just over a year without any communication beyond the handful of letters I wrote him while away. I want to take the opportunity to spend a little more time with him while I am living so much closer than I was.

The remainder of my purpose is to be a little closer over the coming months for family celebrations (there have been two engagements and a new baby is due to join us in January); to re-familiarise myself with the work I was previously doing, use the time to up-skill, gain more experience and decide if this is the area of work I wish to stay in; to explore new possibilities for study, an alternative or secondary income and to sort the stuff that needs sorting!

I'm also grateful that I was able to find somewhere last minute to live (nothing like leaving things until the last minute when it comes to finding a place to live) and was lucky enough to find somewhere near the water. Quite a difference to my mountain home, but I feel if I'm close to the water it may help to cope with being back in the busy again.

And in the meantime, I have so many wonderful reminders of the place that is home in my heart. There are things that I can do to hold this place close until I can return and I have pinned up some panoramic postcards of my favourite areas along with a few favourite photos.

After joining a social knitting group in Wanaka, I came to love the art of knitting. The lushness of local yarns, their texture and smells can be a joy in itself and then there is the fun to be had in the creativity, the patience that comes with unpicking (I should have LOADS of patience by now!) and the excitement of finishing a project, especially one that has challenged me. 

Needless to say, yarn followed me home so I continue to find pleasure and relaxation in this craft I once thought was totally beyond me. The fun and benefits of knitting are another post waiting to be written.

Before I moved to NZ, I had identified a goal I would love to achieve over there. It was more of a personal goal and one I had serious doubts on my ability to achieve. I'm not the fittest person to start with and I have had previous ankle/leg injuries that left me with plenty of scar tissue. This doesn't mean I can't do anything, but I need to be selective on what I do and/or how I do it at times. Walking or hiking anything with a steep gradient is a challenge and depending on the gradient, sometimes it's too big a challenge.

For example, I'm well aware that climbing to the top of Roy's Peak is out of the question, however, it didn't stop me from going a little way (an embarrassing little way) up to see if I could take some pics of the area. I realised very quickly that the steepness was going to be an issue for me on the way back down and just that short walk back down created pulled muscles and lingering soreness due to the steepness. Unfortunately, I was unable to get high enough up to get the pics I was after. 

This goal I mentioned was to do the Rob Roy Glacier track which is one of the shorter trails in the area and after an hour long drive to the car park that includes numerous water crossings, the track is about 2-3 hours return. I'd seen photos of the area and was keen to have a go, although I was aware there are some steep sections. I decided if I could get halfway, I would be happy because I'd still be able to enjoy some of the scenery and the sounds of nature.

In the last few weeks of my time in NZ, I decided if I was going to have a go at this goal, then I needed to do something about it. The death of Mum's youngest sister was the the push I needed as I wanted some time out away from people for a while.

I set out early on my next day off from work as I wanted to be well on the way before the tourists were up and about, mostly because I knew I'd likely be slow going which I was! I'd used plenty of liniment (anti-inflammatory ointment) on the problem areas, enough that the wildlife would probably smell me coming before they heard or saw me. 

I was delighted to make it to the first look out which was a little further than I'd anticipated reaching. The views were magic and there is a seat to sit and enjoy the solitude, to be at one with nature and enjoy a cuppa and a snack. I also took the opportunity to write in my journal and do a little knitting! 

I had found some parts of the walk challenging but was enjoying the challenge too much to not continue. I figured I had liniment on where I needed it so that would cure all things despite the fact the muscles had been screaming for at least the last half of the walk so far.

After my break, I decided to keep going a little further. I know, listen to the muscles right? The hike became a little steeper again and was slippery in places. I eventually got to the point where I realised I was going to be in all kinds of trouble if I didn't stop and head back down soon. I'd hiked about another 15-20 minutes from where I'd stopped at the look out point and getting back down to that spot was a little trickier than I'd bargained on.

I had another break, let the muscles relax a little before going again. By the time I was about half way back, I'd slowed right down and walking was taking a lot of concentration and effort. The last 10-15 minutes to the car park was not pretty at all. I actually wondered if I would make it without my calf muscles giving out. My legs were not happy at all and felt like jelly by the time I reached my car plus I was feeling a little nauseous as well. 

I sat for a while and had some water before starting the trip back. I stopped a couple of times along the way to get out and stretch but my body was less than impressed about that idea, so I decided to get home,have a long hot shower and put loads of liniment on again. Long hot showers are magic for soothing sore muscles, so is a nap afterwards!

I talked with my colleagues a little later in the day who asked me how it went and how far I walked. I described where I got to and was gobsmacked when they said I must have been so close to the top it wasn't funny. My initial thought was ohhh no! But then, I realised I'd achieved well beyond what I'd expected to so was very chuffed with my effort.

The following week, I was still feeling excited about the walk I'd just done so I figured I'd do another one. This time I drove over to Twizel after work one evening, spent the night there and got up early to do the Hooker Valley walk at Mt Cook. It's another walk of a similar distance and I thought yep, I'm all good for that one too! 

There were stairs early in the piece, lots of stairs heading downwards and you know what that means eh. Knees and calf muscles were not happy right from the start and I still had a way to go. All good, I'll just keep going at a slow and steady pace. And rest regularly. Good in theory but with the muscles still complaining from the week before, the likelihood of me finishing that one was becoming more and more marginal with each step.  

I'm not sure how far I got along the walk, but I took around an hour to walk slowly to however far along I reached and realised it wasn't going to end well if I kept going. So once again, I sat and enjoyed the scenery a while before making my way back. This track was much busier than the Rob Roy Glacier track and there were lots of people about by the time I was half way back. Ah well, another time!

So what else does one do after a plan goes awry? Find a ski field to check out of course! The weather decided to be a little nicer and I headed off to Tekapo to find Round Hill ski field. Oh my gosh, now that is one gorgeous drive around the eastern side of Lake Tekapo. Stunning views most of the way around.

The first pic here is of Lake Pukaki which you follow around as you leave Mt Cook and the second pic is Lake Tekapo.

On my second last weekend in NZ, I went to stay on a friend's family farm where they were in the middle of lambing. On the way, I decided to drive a little further south and check out The Chasm near Milford Sound. I've been down that way before a few years ago, however, it was bucketing down rain so I didn't do the walk to The Chasm.  

It was late afternoon by the time I got there but I probably missed the busiest time of day with tourists and there was only a few people about. It's only a short walk in but it's amazing to see how the force of the water over time has smoothed and rounded the rocks, putting holes in them where the water flows through. Very impressive!

Well that's about it from me for now. There are still plenty of stories to tell from my year in NZ, so I'll continue to share my adventures. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this thought from Lewis Carroll.

In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take...

Where the heck ??

Ah yes, about that... so I kind of disappeared for a while after my last deep and meaningful post. A while? Mmm okay, maybe a little more than a while, it seems it's been almost 4 months since the last time I wrote. What can I say? Time flies when you are having fun. And you know what a long break is going to mean.. it means a long catch up post is likely. You might want to get comfortable for this if you're intending to sit and read through it all.

It is hard to believe my 12 months in New Zealand is almost up and in just over a week I'll be winging my way back to Australia. Am I ready for that? Nope, not at all. Do I want to go back? Hmm trick question there. I can't wait to see my family again and am very much looking forward to catching up with my loved ones. That's a good reason to go back eh? Do I wish I was coming back here afterwards? Hell, yes! I'd much rather be living here for a variety of reasons.

My time here feels unfinished. I have loved every moment of living here and I feel incredibly lucky to have lived and worked in paradise. The climate suits me well and I love living in a place where there are very distinct seasons, each one having it's own beauty. To live in the southern alps and next to a huge lake that's so close to ski fields and national park has been my kind of bliss.

This place has nourished and nurtured my soul. It feels like home to me. I've become a part of this community and I've made some great friends. I've learned new skills, had many great experiences and explored places I hadn't seen before and some I didn't think I was quite capable of.

And festivals! Oh my gosh, New Zealand is a bit like festival central!  Each area seems to have some type of festival at various times of the year. It's been fantastic to experience some of those.

Autumn in the Otago region is nothing short of magnificent so it stands to reason there is a festival! What better way to celebrate the wonder of autumn than at the Arrowtown Autumn Festival. The back drop of trees to the town are gorgeous at any time but in autumn they are breathtaking. The changing colours are spectacular and seem to get more and more beautiful until they are done. It's a photographer's paradise, even for the very amateurish.

Autumn at Glendhu Bay didn't disappoint either and offered plenty of opportunities to appreciate the marvels of mother nature, watch the leaves falling and enjoy the golden carpet they left behind.

At the end of May I travelled down to the Bluff Oyster Festival, a really popular festival going by the large number of people who had made the trek down to the southern most town in NZ. There is a lot of ceremony around opening the festival and it has quite a Scottish feel to it.

The oyster is piped in with bagpipes and is presented to the Master of Ceremonies.  Next the Ode to the Oyster is read solemnly and with reverence.

We put you on a pedestal, oh oyster from the sea

You’re such a delicious delicacy, that’s where you deserve to be

We carry you from Foveaux Strait to the safety of the shore

And free you from your protective shell so the people can adore

A gem, a pearl set in Bluff’s crown, so proudly we display

Our oyster, in all it’s glory for all who are here today

Oh oyster, bounty of the sea, it gives us so much pleasure

To set before the world such a truly delectable treasure

The oyster is then tasted, declared delicious and the Festival is officially opened! It's time for the entertainment to begin with school children performing traditional Maori songs, dances and the haka. These kids were not only fantastic but also absolute troopers, the weather was freezing and they were in skimpy summer outfits and barefoot! Yet they performed for around 20 minutes. I sure hope they were able to get warm fairly quickly afterwards. 

Plenty more great entertainment after the school kids and I shouldn't forget to mention there was LOTS of food on offer, some things I'd never seen before such as some type of sea urchin that looked suspiciously like a hedgehog and very long lines of people waiting to taste the various delicacies.  

The weather hadn't been great that weekend so there were a few things I'd planned to do but had to shelve as it was too wet and soggy underfoot. Wet weather does not prevent a visit to the yarn shop though and I have to admit yarn found its way home with me. 

However, wet weather also meant there had been plenty of snow across the Crown Range and it was like a winter wonderland up there! Of course I had to stop at the summit to check it out more closely, take some photos, look at a couple of large snowmen and watch the kids tobogganing on the other side of the car park. And it was a perfect opportunity to do a quick video call home to share with family.

A week or so later was the Steampunk Festival in Oamaru. That was a rather cool festival to attend with a Fire and Steam street event to kick things off on the Friday evening, followed by a street parade the next morning. All kinds of activities including a steampunk market, tea dunking championships and a tea pot race! There were fabulous and somewhat elaborate costumes worn by steampunk enthusiasts all through the Victorian Precinct. 

On the way over, I'd planned to have a look at Elephant Rocks but there were cows everywhere. As in herds of cows were being moved from place to place on long stretches of road, so the parking area was full of cows. I found out later it was Gypsy Day - the day to move your cows from one farm to another. Who knew? The roads were much clearer on the way back, so I was able to go for a walk and check out these spectacular rock formations.

An inversion layer of cloud sat across much of the Lindis Pass going through both Omarama and Omematata on my trip over and back to Oamaru. There was a hoar frost that probably stayed there the whole time, given some of the beautiful icy photos I took at 4 in the afternoon! Rather pretty and also rather cold.

World Knit in Public Day was in June and needless to say, it was a somewhat cold blustery day to be sitting out on a street corner on couches knitting. Luckily, plenty of blankets (knitted of course) were provided to help combat the cold and the cafe had plenty of warm drinks on offer. It was a lively fun morning with women and children of various ages plus a few bursts of sunshine to warm things up a little.

I learnt about inversion layers during the early part of winter. Irritating low lying layers of cloud that sometimes sit for days above an area and other times it will burn off by early afternoon leaving a few hours of clear sky. I was up early one morning and saw one come in off the lake and wrap itself around the mountains where it stayed for much of the day. 

There are areas/towns that experienced many days in a row with an inversion layer, so when this happens it's worth the effort to go for a drive to somewhere above the layer to have a break and get a fix of blue skies and sunshine.

In June, the Matariki Festival was held on the Wanaka lake front. I did a little research to learn more and found that Matariki is the Maori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades that rise in mid winter and for many Maori, it heralds the start of a new year.  It's a time to gather with family and friends to reflect on the past, celebrate the present and plan for the future. 

In Wanaka, Matariki was celebrated on the lake front as a community family event. Along with music and other entertainment was a hangi that was put on for the local community. For a gold coin donation, a meal was provided for the community. The elderly were fed first, followed by preschool children and their families, then the remainder of people.  The food was delicious and with two bonfires on the beach, there was some warmth from the chill in the air. My friend, her toddler and I settled in front of one to watch the fireworks that came afterwards.

Then of course is the Winter Festival in Queenstown. I didn't attend much of this as Queenstown is madness at the best of times, but there were so many more people around that parking was a nightmare. However, there was a Nordic Harp performance in the tiny hall at Cardrona that had it's own sense of unusual and quirky.  

Unusual in that the music was all set to scenic photo's from the Nordic area with a little history in the mix and the music was hauntingly beautiful. To close your eyes and listen added to the experience, although the music was so peaceful there was a danger in drifting off to sleep. 

An intermission during the evening provided home made scones with jam and cream which were served in addition to the coffee and tea. There was light snow and plenty of ice on the ground when we arrived and more by the time we left, but no black ice on the road thankfully.

I had my heart set on attending the Monteith Dog Derby and the Dog Barking Competition at Cardrona Ski Field but unfortunately didn't make it. Apparently it's a hoot and if the dog doesn't bark on the owner's command, then the owner has to bark instead. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to see this another winter.

Also in July, I was treated to a couple of visits from across the ditch by loved ones so it was nice to have the opportunity to show them around some of my favourite places and do a little more exploring with them. 

My sons bought me a Mother's Day gift voucher for dinner at the Skyline Restaurant in Queenstown, so it was a perfect opportunity to enjoy the experience with company. The food was incredible but can't say I'm as keen on the whole gondola experience at night, I think I prefer being able to see what's happening in daylight hours. Especially given the steepness of the gondola climb. 

We stayed in Arrowtown after the dinner and it was a rather crisp -5 the next morning. I'd bought a towel from the op shop the day before to cover my windscreen at night for frosts and it was frozen solid the next morning. Once we warmed up and got going, it was perfect opportunity to go for a walk and take some pics along the icy Arrow riverside.

One of the lovely things about working in the tourism industry is you learn about the different activities in your part of the world and sometimes have the opportunity to check them out as part of your work. I did a tour on a jet boat that followed the Matukituki River up into the valley of Mt Aspiring National Park. A fabulous way to experience the remote beauty of the national park, well beyond what you can get to by road.

I have absolutely loved the winter here and have had fun checking out different ski areas. Part of the fun/challenge for me has been getting my little car up the mountains and being bit of a tourist by making the most of photographic opportunities. 

As I've mentioned before, Treble Cone near where I live is one of my favourite places as the views are nothing short of spectacular even from the car park. On a clear day at Cardrona Ski Resort, you can see right across the valley through to Queenstown. The road up to the Remarkables Ski Field has a few larger areas where you can pull over and take photos of the Queenstown area. Coronet Peak ski area has beautiful views in all directions and I love the way it is lit up at night. You can see it from miles away. Round Hill Ski Area is on the eastern side of Lake Tekapo. With the glacier blue waters of the lake against the snow topped alps, the views are stunningly beautiful. 

The place I've had the most fun though is the Snow Farm, also at Cardrona where I had an absolute blast going down a hill on a tube numerous times. Great for the big kids who don't ski. I also had the opportunity to go on a dog sled ride which went across the tops of some of the back country. It would have to be one of the best experiences I've had so far, it's magic! I didn't drive the sled as I wanted to take pics, so I sat in the basket but driving also looked like a lot of fun. I'm hoping I can get at least one more visit into the Snow Farm before I leave here.

Well that's about it from me for now.  I'm unsure if I'll squeeze another post in before I head back to Australia or whether it will be a catch up one in a few weeks as there is still lots more to share from this adventure of mine. Thanks for reading :).