Birthday Dinner

 On Monday Becky made the most amazing lasagna and pirate cookies, and we drove out to Te Puke in the evening for dinner with friends at the Pettigrews Place.  (As you may recall, when we first arrived in New Zealand we lived with them for 2 weeks, so they’re now officially part of our Kiwi family).  There was amazing food and wine, good friends, and it was exactly what I wanted.  (I think Becky didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t want any other gifts, but I meant it!)  We ended the evening by watching Labyrinth, which was longer than I remembered it being… of course, it has been probably 15 years since I’ve watched it. 

It’s now Wednesday, and I start back at work tomorrow for two days, then it’s down to Taupo, where (weather pending) we’re hoping to do the Tongariro crossing (an 8-hour hike).  Becky’s back at home from night shift (sleeping obviously), and I’m writing this enjoying some brief sunshine, with the door opened and the wonderful sound of the ocean.

I also started another site, which I may or may not get into… the idea being an area to talk more about music - so check it out if you’re curious.  It basically documents my life working in music, gigs, recordings, updates etc.

Overdue Update

It’s now hours away from my New Zealand birthday - tomorrow we have a nice dinner planned with friends, and hopefully it will stop raining (otherwise our tennis & ping pong tournaments will have to be in the garage). Just as you’re all enjoying the beauty of spring, we’re heading into the grey rain of winter.

April hasn’t been a very exciting month - mostly a lot of storms. It’s been nice to watch these storms from our big windows, or out on the deck… we’ve been so much happier in our new place. It’s meant some adjustments to ensure we both get to work on time - for example, this past Friday I was playing keys in town, and got home just after 3AM. The alarm went off just after 5:30AM, and I drove Becky to work, came back home for a quick power nap before working all day Saturday.

I played at the Littleweed Music Festival in Katikati a couple weekends ago, which was a unique experience. I can now tell you where all the hippies have moved… Although, it was a chance to hear some other great Kiwi bands. May is NZ Music Month, so hoping to get involved in some fun projects in the coming weeks.

I’ve realized that it’s been some time since I’ve updated. We now have (painfully slow) dial-up internet, a home phone line, and a comfy couch. I’ll try to get a few new pictures up, but it seriously takes an eternity to get things uploaded.

Christchurch

Our Christchurch trip began at 4:15 Sunday morning, as we left Tauranga for Auckland International Airport.  We cut things a little tighter than we planned, and ended up doing an Amazing-Race-Inspired sprint (with backpacks and all) through the international terminal to the domestic one 20 minutes before our flight left (we did manage to make it on the plane thankfully).

The flight was a short one, and we were quickly landing on New Zealand’s South Island on a rainy morning.  We met up with some friends for lunch, and were fortunate to have a car loaned by them for the four days we were there.  We took an 80km drive out to the only french settlement in the country: Akaroa (once called the Riviera of Canterbury).  It’s a quaint small village, and we found a backpacker lodge to spend the night.

Monday morning we got an early start, and drove up to a farm hostel in the hills where we met up with a travel guide, who took us ocean kayaking.  Upon setting off from the shore a multitude of dolphins joined us.  When I paddled quickly 4-5 would catch up and swim alongside, jumping and diving under me - both Becky and I count this as one of the most incredible experiences we’ve had in this country.  

Even though it would be easy to enjoy the quiet and serenity of the outer Canterbury region, we wanted to take some time to enjoy the city.  We covered most of the touristy activities - riding the tram around town, going up to the top of Christchurch Cathedral and looking out at the city, visiting museums, and walking through the famous botanic gardens (which unlike Victoria are free!)

Christchurch is unique - as you’ll notice in the photos, the old buildings and the tram are framed by the river Avon, which winds through the city.  As Margaret commented to me earlier, it’s like a small piece of Europe in the South Pacific.